The Faculty Senate met Wednesday and discussed possible changes to workload policies for faculty.

The current workload policies are handled on a college basis, and no university-wide policy currently exists. The current policy draft was put to the floor for discussion, which focused on the intent of the new policy and what purpose it would serve the university.

Some, like geography professor David Goldblum, thought the proposed policy could explain the work of professors.

“This draft describes for a large audience what we do as university professors, which is an important feature of the document,” Goldblum said.

Others, like Faculty Senate President Alan Rosenbaum, said the new policy has problems that need to be taken care of before it is finalized. Rosenbaum said the new workload policy encourages teaching bigger sections and larger bodies of students.

“We want to be a student-centered, research based university, yet this policy seems to encourage larger sections,” Rosenbaum said.

The Faculty Senate also discussed the future of the faculty fund. This fund has been entirely funded by faculty members since 1976 and provides the third largest merit-based university scholarship at NIU, said professor emeritus Linda Sons.

“The scholarship allows for about $32,000 in continuing funds for high achieving students,” Sons said. “This money is not associated to any particular department, but rather focuses on the quality and merit of the student.”

Austin Quick, Student Association Senate Speaker, gave a report on new developments in the SA. Among these are the SA’s support of the continuance of the Ombudsman position at NIU. The SA will also stop funding any club sports and will create a new system to fund such activities to avoid liability issues within the university.

A 26-10 vote led to the change of the Bob Lane Eternal Vigilance Award to the Bob Lane Faculty Advocacy Award. The award is presented to faculty members who are dedicated to strengthening relations between faculty and the administration. This year’s nominees are Charles Cappell, associate professor of sociology; Laurie Elish-Piper, Director of the Literacy Clinic; and Suzanne Willis, Director of Graduate Studies. The winner will be announced at the next Faculty Senate meeting.