Two of Mississippi State's top administrators will spend time over the next two months updating the Holland Faculty Senate about the university's current financial practices and its budget priorities.
At its recent October meeting, the Senate approved a report of the University Resources Committee that began earlier this year with a letter from associate professor Richard Wolf of English. Wolf raised questions regarding practices of the university that led to the shortfall in the budgetary reserve fund and subsequent planning and actions taken by various university units to deal with it.
In responding to Wolf's inquiry, the resources committee recommended that Leah Norman, vice president for business affairs, be asked to summarize problems that were found and actions taken to alleviate the problem, as well as to say how the university now stands financially. Tentatively scheduled to address the Nov. 10 meeting, Norman also is being asked to identify budgetary problems that occur perennially and what can be done to alleviate them.
In December, Provost Derek Hodgson is tentatively scheduled to address the second part of Wolf's original inquiry: budget priorities.
"One example of a situation affecting both academic and financial practices is the recurring problem of finding funds to support our library," the committee report said. "An identification of those budget items that have increased and . . . decreased is of importance to many faculty in the pursuit of their academic and professional responsibilities."
Also at the Oct. 13 meeting, President Donald Zacharias and Faculty Senate Chair Dan Embree each told senators of a meeting they had held earlier that day. Both said that they agreed to work for closer cooperation and better communication between the administration and senate in future matters.
In other action, the senators passed a resolution honoring the late George Lightsey, a chemical engineering professor and former faculty council member who died last month at a Memphis hospital.
Lightsey, a veteran faculty member and winner of the Mississippi State University Alumni Association's undergraduate teaching award, was a graduate of Mississippi State and Louisiana State universities.
Beginning with the October meeting, a complete summary of faculty senate business can be read on the new Faculty Senate Home Page at http://www.msstate.edu/Org/FS/faculty_senate.html.
This World Wide Web version of MSU Memo was modified and updated by Chris Brown.
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Last modified: Friday, 14-Jun-2002 15:58:58 CDT.
URL: http://msuinfo.ur.msstate.edu/msu_memo/1995/10-23-95/senate.htm
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