The UI Faculty Senate for the 2019-20 academic year held its first meeting on Tuesday, listening to open remarks from their new president Sandra Daack-Hirsch and results of officer elections.

By Katie Ann McCarver | The Daily Iowan | 4/24/2019

The University of Iowa Faculty Senate convened on Tuesday for the last time this year, ending with the departure of the current officers and welcome of incoming officers for the 2019-20 academic year.

Current Faculty Senate Vice President Sandra Daack-Hirsch will assume the role of president, and she thanked current president Russ Ganim and his predecessor Peter Snyder for their service.

Daack-Hirsch, an associate professor and director of the Ph.D. program in the College of Nursing, served as chair of a committee dedicated to lifting a sanction the national chapter of the American Association of University Professors placed on the UI to condemn the lack of shared governance on the 2015 UI presidential search — the process that led to the hiring of current UI President Bruce Harreld.

The search process was scrutinized because of then-presidential candidate Harreld’s private meetings with five regents and because of the lack of involvement from the UI community. The 21-member Presidential Search Committee was disbanded after semifinalists were selected.

The national chapter voted to lift the sanction in June 2018 after Daack-Hirsch aided in the creation of a document that specified best practices for the UI presidential-search process.

“We need to be in the forefront of finding solutions when issues are identified,” she said at the meeting.

She spoke about the importance of Faculty Senate and interdisciplinary cooperation among its members.

“This is an amazing opportunity to step out of your department and collaborate,” Daack-Hirsch said.

Click here to read the full article by The Daily Iowan

# # #