The Faculty Senate Steering Committee, made up of one elected Faculty Senator from each school or college, is a body that represents the interests and concerns of the faculty members at Temple University. The President of the Faculty Senate serves as Chair of the Steering Committee. The main activities and issues that the committee addressed at the beginning of the academic year 2023-2024 include: improving faculty governance, increasing adjunct faculty representation, and providing input into the presidential search process. 

One of the major issues that the committee faces is the state of faculty governance at Temple. Concerns over the state of faculty governance were raised in a letter submitted to the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate in August, which was signed by twenty senior and emeritus professors. The committee invited some of the signatories of the letter to present their suggestions at a meeting in October and promised to produce a response to the letter soon. The work to strengthen faculty governance is progressing. 

Another issue that we have considered is the representation of adjunct faculty members in the Faculty Senate. Adjunct faculty members play a large and vital role in delivering quality education to Temple’s students. However, adjunct faculty members face some challenges and disadvantages that are not faced by full-time faculty members. They also have limited voice and influence in the governance and administration of the university.

Adjunct faculty members argued for greater representation and recognition in the Faculty Senate, which is the main body that represents the faculty interests and concerns at Temple. The committee met with two adjunct faculty members who serve on the Senate Committee on Adjunct Constituency Concerns (CACC), which focuses on the issues and needs of the adjunct faculty. The committee agreed to increase the number of adjunct faculty members on the CACC from four to six, and to have a co-chair system, where one of the co-chairs would be an adjunct faculty member.

The committee also discussed the possibility of having the adjunct faculty member serving as the CACC co-chair as a member of the Steering Committee. However, this idea was not implemented, because the current structure of the Steering Committee is based on the representation of each college, not each classification of faculty. The committee argued that the college representatives should consider the views and interests of the adjunct faculty members in their colleges, and that the Committee on Adjunct Constituency Concerns should communicate and coordinate with the Steering Committee on the issues and concerns of the adjunct faculty. Changing the composition of the Steering Committee would have also required revision to the bylaws and constitution of the Faculty Senate.  

The third issue we addressed was the presidential search process. This search concerns multiple stakeholders, such as the board of trustees, the administration, the faculty, the staff, the students, and the alumni. The outcome of this crucial search has implications for the future direction, vision, and success of the university.

The committee met with the Chair of the Board of Trustees, Mitch Morgan, and one of the trustees, Jane Scaccetti, who is also a member of the presidential search committee. We asked them several questions about the search, such as the composition of the search committee, whether the search would be open at any point in the process, about the provisions for due diligence, and the role and involvement of the faculty and other stakeholders in the search.

We also shared our opinions and suggestions on the characteristics and qualifications that the new president should have. The committee appreciated the candor and openness of Chair Morgan and Trustee Scaccetti, and their willingness to speak to the larger Representative Faculty Senate, which is the general assembly of the Faculty Senate. The committee expressed its hope that the search would result in the right president who will focus the energies of our great university on the issues critical to our continued success.