[Faculty] CALS/CES Faculty Council Update-Advocacy for Transparency and Fairness in Merit Decisions

[Linares-Gaffer, Ashlee L - (alinares)]

Dear CALS/CES Faculty,

As we wrap up the year, I would like to thank Dr. Jeffrey Fehmi for his leadership on the CALS/CES Faculty Council (FC). Jeff is an Assistant Professor, School of Natural Resources and the Environment and provided steady and proactive leadership to the council this year.

As the current chair-elect and incoming chair, I am writing to provide an update on behalf of FC. One of the topics that our council members discussed and addressed this year were the persistent concerns being raised by faculty regarding perceptions around transparency and fairness in the merit decision processes across the college. This year, council members worked together to advocate for improvements and more consistency regarding the communication of criteria and decision-making practices related to merit in units across the college, which is a topic that Faculty Council has worked to address in years past.

Faculty Council in Action: Please see the attached memo that was shared with CALS Administrators, titled "Merit Memo Feb 2023".

Faculty Council Impact: In response to this memo and a parallel effort led by Staff Council, Dean Burgess tasked a working group of administrators, staff and FC/SC Council Representatives with identifying ways to address the concerns raised by Faculty Council (see working group's response, attached). These recommendations were relayed to Unit Heads and the CALS Executive Council and many were put into practice immediately.

Turning concerns and complaints into action and progress in an organization the size of ours is complicated and time consuming; I would like to take this opportunity recognize the Faculty/CES Council members, including CALS Faculty Senators, for their advocacy on behalf of faculty they were elected to represent. Additionally, for the receptiveness and collaboration from CALS administrators to find solutions to address some of the concerns that faculty have raised regarding merit. This is not to say the work is done, but to recognize the efforts and progress on this topic that were made this year.

As a reminder, all CALS/CES Faculty Council meeting notes and our current roster are available for your review at CALS/CES Faculty Council | ALVSCE Compass: Employee Resources (arizona.edu)<https://compass.arizona.edu/faculty-council>.

I look forward to serving you as the Faculty Council chair during the 2023-2024 academic year,

[The University of Arizona block 'A' logo.]
Ashlee L Linares-Gaffer, MS, RDN, FAND
Associate Professor of Practice
Director, Student Success, Retention and Equity
School of Nutritional Sciences and Wellness
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
Shantz, 615 | PO Box 210038 | Tucson, AZ 85721
alinares at email.arizona.edu<mailto:alinares at email.arizona.edu>
Pronouns: She/Her/Ella
[Integrity, Compassion, Exploration, Adaptation, Inclusion, Determination]<https://brand.arizona.edu/signature>


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