Faculty Senate passed legislation supporting faculty oversight of the University’s investigations into allegations of racism and sexism on the cheerleading team. Senators also endorsed a letter to address the pandemic’s disproportionate impact on caregivers.
The legislation calls on the University to incorporate input from the Faculty Senate, update the Faculty Senate Executive Committee quarterly about the status of the review and ensure effective oversight of and a safe environment for the cheer team.
History Prof. David Schoenbrun, one of the legislation’s authors, said the legislation intends to give the Faculty Senate influence over the University’s actions.
Concerns about a lack of transparency and the University budget sparked debate during the January Faculty Senate meeting.
Faculty Senate President Therese McGuire delivered the Executive Committee’s response to the NU-AAUP report, which criticized several of the University’s academic decisions.
“We concur that there is room for improvement on the part of the administration, in terms of transparency consultation with the faculty in decision-making,” McGuire said. “However, we have a more tempered view of the situation than the authors of the report.”
McGuire cited both the difficulty of decision making during a pandemic and the existing routes of communication between the administration and the faculty as reasons for the committee’s more moderate response.