FACULTY GOVERNANCE NEWS

November 2021

Meeting of the Faculty Council and the General Faculty on November 5

Once each semester, a joint meeting of the General Faculty and Faculty Council is held during the usual Faculty Council Friday afternoon time slot. The next such meeting takes place remotely on Friday, Nov. 5 from 3 to 5 p.m. The meeting agenda is available online.

Members of the General Faculty who wish to attend on Zoom can register at this link. Registration closes at 11 a.m. on the meeting day. Please contact Faculty Governance if you need assistance or have questions.

Award Nomination Deadlines

O. Max Gardner Award nominee from UNC-Chapel Hill (for 2022)

due November 22, 2021

Distinguished Alumna/Alumnus Award nominations (for 2022)

due November 22, 2021



2021-22 Faculty Council dates

September 3

October 1

November 5 (with General Faculty)

December 3

January 14

February 11

March 11

April 8 (with General Faculty)



The agenda focuses on two current areas of concern: the University Libraries and community well-being.

The library discussion will center on open access and faculty advocacy for it. University Librarian Elaine Westbrooks and Chair of the Faculty Mimi Chapman will be joined by University of California Professor Richard Schneider who has engaged in issues related to the UC libraries, scholarly publishers, open access, new publishing models, information technologies, and scholarly communications since 2004. He chaired both the San Francisco campus's local Senate Committee on Library and Scholarly Communication and its system-wide counterpart, and was one of the lead faculty negotiators with Elsevier, Springer Nature and other publishers as part of the UC Negotiating Team. UC has also shared resources about open access and the approach that system has taken over the past few years. Please see below for an interview with Vice Provost Westbrooks and a link to "FAQ About Collection Cuts" from the University Libraries.

A discussion of community well-being and crisis response will begin with brief updates from campus leaders, including Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Amy Johnson, Carolina Housing Executive Director Allan Blattner and CAPS Associate Director Avery Cook. Then faculty will be asked to share their perspectives on recent events and the effects they have felt in the classroom, research lab and campus in general. Professor Samantha Meltzer-Brody (Psychiatry) will also give a brief preview of the upcoming Campus Mental Health Summit scheduled for Nov. 15.

The meeting will be recorded and streamed live at this link.

Faculty encouraged to submit award nominations

The Honorary Degrees and Special Awards Committee invites faculty to submit nominations for two awards they will be considering for 2022: Distinguished Alumna and Alumnus Awards and the O. Max Gardner Award nominee for this campus.

Having a broad and diverse pool of extraordinary candidates, including individuals from underrepresented groups and a wide variety of disciplines, from which to make its selections is of great importance to the committee. Nominations are submitted online in a straightforward process.

Please note that submission deadlines for both awards are Monday, Nov. 22 and will not be able to be extended this year.

Nominate an alumna or alumnus for a

2022 Distinguished Alumna/Alumnus Award

Nominate an outstanding faculty colleague for the

2022 O. Max Gardner Award



A strong library is critical

An article from The Well

An interview with Elaine Westbrooks, vice provost for University Libraries and University librarian, about challenges the libraries are facing, what they mean for the campus community and how the University Libraries is preparing to keep research, learning and clinical care moving forward. Featured in The Well on Oct. 26, 2021.

Elaine Westbrooks

Also, see FAQ About Collections Cuts from the University Libraries.

Best Practices to Support Fixed-Term Faculty

Register for a discussion session this month

The Committee on Fixed-Term Faculty is charged with addressing concerns and making policy recommendations on matters specific to fixed-term faculty members. The committee is reviewing and revising a 2018 document on "Best Practices to Ensure the Success of Fixed-term Faculty" [PDF] and is seeking input from faculty by holding sessions to discuss the document and hear faculty recommendations on:

• Tuesday, Nov. 9, 5:30-6:30 p.m.
• Friday, Nov. 12, 12-1 p.m.

Please register for either session at this link.

If you are unable to attend a session, you can email your feedback to FixedTermFaculty@unc.edu.

Faculty awards presented at University Day 2021

Ralph Baric is the recipient of the UNC-System-wide 2021 O. Max Gardner Award. He is the William R. Kenan Jr., Distinguished Professor of Epidemiology at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health with a joint appointment in Microbiology and Immunology in the School of Medicine. A faculty member since 1986, Professor Baric has been a global leader in the study of coronaviruses for the past three decades and is responsible for UNC-Chapel Hill’s world leadership in this research. His expertise aided in the development, testing and roll-out of the Moderna vaccine.

Kathryn E. "Beth" Moracco is the recipient of the 2021 Edward Kidder Graham Faculty Service Award. She is an associate professor in the Department of Health Behavior at the Gillings School of Global Public Health and associate director of the UNC Injury Prevention Research Center. Professor Moracco’s research program is dedicated to the widespread public health problem of reducing gender-based violence. She is also recognized as a dedicated mentor, instructor and administrator. She has won numerous teaching awards since joining the faculty in 2008. 

The 2021 Distinguished Alumna and Alumnus Award recipients were also honored at the University Day celebration. Their biographies can be found here.

University Research Week

Nov. 8-12, 2021

Visit https://researchweek.unc.edu/ for information and a list of events.

Highlights from Faculty Council in October

The Faculty Council met October 1, 2021. The recording of the meeting can be viewed online.

Professor Amir Barzin (Family Medicine) gave a presentation on the Carolina Testing Together Program including weekly testing numbers, vaccination rates and testing information from the Carolina Together Dashboard and vaccination rates for counties with a UNC-System university. 

University Librarian Elaine Westbrooks gave an update on the University Libraries. In the effort to manage the campus budget, the Library has been asked to absorb a cut that will have a serious impact on library collections.

Professor Lissa Broome (Law), faculty athletics representative, introduced the new ability of student-athletes to be compensated by third parties for use of their “Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL).” Professor Melissa Geil (Business), chair of the Faculty Athletics Committee conducted a "Question and Answer" on NIL with student-athlete Chris Grey (Men's Lacrosse).

Associate Athletic Director for Event Management John Brunner gave a presentation on safety protocols for athletic events.

Professor Cristy Page (Family Medicine), executive dean of UNC School of Medicine, gave a presentation on the UNC Health COVID-19 Census, including hospital and ICU (Intensive Care Unit) forecasts.

Additional Events and Announcements

• Parr Center Presents: Ian Leahy, "Tree Equity" (Nov 2)
• Military and Veterans Law Clinic – Purple Heart Ceremony (Nov 4)
• Abbey Speaker Series: Bridging the Rural-Urban Divide (Nov 4)
• The Spark with Tift Merritt featuring Toshi Reagon (Nov 4)
• Daphne Athas Memorial Event (Nov 7)
• Debating Public Policy Series: Voting Reform – an Agonistic Dialogue (Nov 8)
• 2021 Dr. Sonja Haynes Stone Lecture by Professor Emerita Genna Rae McNeil (Nov 9)
• John and June Allcott Gallery: Betsy Kenyon, Grey Matter (Nov 9)
• Doomed to Love You: The Music of Bob Dylan Sung and Explained (Nov 10)
• Africa Fest (Nov 13)
• Planning for Your Promotion on the Teaching Track (Nov 16)
• FPG Distinguished Speaker Series welcomes Sandy Magaña (Nov 17)
• Craig Fletcher to Deliver 2021 Norma Berryhill Distinguished Lecture (Nov 18)
• Nominations for the 2022 Ned Brooks Award open in November
• 2021 Carolina Cares, Carolina Shares campaign pledge deadline Dec 11
• Nominations for the 2022 Office of the Provost Engaged Scholarship Award open in December
• Nominations for the 2022 Robert E. Bryan Public Service Award will open in December
• APPLES service-learning course development grants available to faculty
• Institute for the Arts and Humanities grants and awards
• Provost's Committee on LGBTQ Life offers funding
• University Libraries: Fall 2021 Virtual Events (various dates)
• Lunch with Friends and Strangers: Conversations with UNC Faculty hosted by Carolina Public Humanities (recurring event) 
• The Center for Faculty Excellence hosts “Conversations on Teaching” (recurring event)
• Equity in Teaching Institute (resource) 

November 2021 Faculty Governance Calendar

Meetings are subject to change on short notice. Please consult our online calendar for updates, meeting times and locations. All meetings are open to everyone, including members of the public, unless held in closed session in accordance with state open meeting regulations.

November 1

November 2

November 3

November 5

November 8

November 10

November 11

November 15

November 16

November 17

November 18

November 19

November 22

November 29

November 30

December 1

December 2

December 3