University Times

Medical school faculty members voted to triple faculty representation on the School of Medicine’s executive committee, but rejected a motion to approve the 2011 version of the school’s governance document known as the Plan of Organization.

In an Oct. 7 faculty meeting in Scaife Hall, faculty voted 75-1 with 1 abstention in favor of increasing the number of faculty representatives on the medical school executive committee from three to nine. The executive committee is the medical school’s administrative body, serving in an advisory role to the dean.

School of Medicine Vice Dean Steven Kanter said the executive committee had been discussing increased faculty representation, given that the medical school and the number of departments have grown, but that the number of faculty members had not increased.

In addition to the faculty representatives, the executive committee consists of the dean, vice dean and 31 department chairs.

The expanded faculty representation will retain the 2:1 ratio of clinical department faculty representatives to basic science department faculty representatives, roughly mirroring the ratio of clinical departments to basic science departments among the School of Medicine’s 31 departments.

Despite a provision to move quickly to develop a new Plan of Organization, a motion to approve the 2011 Plan of Organization failed, in a vote of 26 for and 40 opposed, with 3 abstentions.

The 2011 plan, which Kanter said revised the school’s 1995 document “to reflect changes in practice over time,” has come under fire.

“There are some problems with the 2011 version and statements many of us do not believe are in the best interest of the school,” Kanter acknowledged. Among the issues was a reduction in the number of required faculty meetings from three to one.

In addition, some faculty opposed other language changes that could be construed as “cutting faculty out of the loop,” as faculty member James Becker put it.

Kanter said the School of Medicine still must move forward to develop a 2014 version of the Plan of Organization. Once new faculty members are elected, a subcommittee will be appointed with a goal of having a new document in place before the end of the academic year.

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In addition to discussing increased faculty representation, the medical school’s executive committee has been working on four other issues over the course of the past year, Kanter reported.

• A team is examining best practices in faculty diversity across the medical school. Kanter said the group will provide a report at a future faculty meeting.

• A faculty affairs team is dealing with logistical challenges presented by University requirements that individuals — including faculty and staff — with a significant likelihood of regular contact with children apply for child protection clearances.

• The committee has examined the issue of identifying appropriate “arm’s-length” referees to evaluate faculty promotions and appointments.

“It’s important that departments recommend appropriate referees or else it slows the process down for the candidates,” Kanter said, noting that referees must be familiar with an individual’s work, yet distant enough to provide an objective assessment.

• The committee approved a streamlined process for reviewing proposals to award adjunct prefix titles. The new process eliminates required letters from external referees in favor of a two-step review process that would retain existing department and executive reviews. The change still must be approved by faculty as an amendment to the Plan of Organization, Kanter said.

• The committee also has received reports on the school’s consultation and measurement activities related to the establishment of a medical school in Kazakhstan.

—Kimberly K. Barlow