Spectrum - Volume 20 Issue 07 October 9, 1997 - Staff Senate holds elections and hosts self-study report

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Staff Senate holds elections and hosts self-study report

By Jill Elswick

Spectrum Volume 20 Issue 07 - October 9, 1997

At the September Staff Senate meeting, senators elected representatives for vacant University Council committee and commissions seats. Peggy Rasnick of Sponsored Programs was elected to the University Council. Janet Town of the College of Architecture was elected to the Commission on Administrative and Professional Faculty Affairs. Jody Bolen of the Center for Public Administration and Policy was elected to the Commission on Graduate Studies and Policies. Judy Fielder of plant pathology, physiology, and weed science was elected to the Commission on Student Affairs. William R. Aliff of Veterinary Medicine was elected to the Commission on Classified Staff Affairs. Janet Bryant of the College of Human Resources and Education was elected to the Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Committee.
Also at the meeting, David Conn, director of the 1996-1998 University Self Study, gave a presentation about the importance of the study to Virginia Tech's accreditation being re-affirmed by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). Conn announced that John Prados of the University of Tennessee will chair the SACS committee, which will convene on campus in March, 1998. A final decision by SACS will be reported in December, 1998.
The self study has two components, an institutional-effectiveness component, which evaluates standard requirements, and a strategic component, which is a study of Tech's own choosing. Both components are essential to ensure Virginia Tech's accreditation, the currency of its degrees, and its eligibility for federal funding.
The strategic component, "Transforming Virginia Tech for the Information Age," measures faculty, staff, graduate student opinions about the effectiveness of information technology on campus. The self study is conducted every 10 years. For more information, visit the self-study website at http://www.vt.edu:10021/admin/provost/selfstudy . A draft report of the strategic component--with comments requested--is now available on the website. Results from graduate-student and faculty and staff surveys are also available.