DeKALB | Electing new members, debating on tenure and NIU Connect were the main focus of Wednesday’s Faculty Senate meeting.

Early in the meeting, Paul Stoddard, associate geology professor and president of Faculty Senate, addressed the implementation of the NIU Connect software package. NIU Connect is a student information system that is set to replace WebConnect and other student information services.

There have been several meetings discussing “what the software can do, what we need it to do, where the two overlap, and more importantly, where there are gaps,” Stoddard said. The goal is to have the system set up by Fall 2008.

The bulk of the meeting concerned elections of several positions. Associate anthropology professor Thu Kendall has filled the vice president position. Communicative disorders professor Nancy Castle will be the secretary.

Near the end of the meeting, various members began addressing numerous concerns with tenure and promotion cases, debating mainly over what determines a payroll increase based on position.

The problem affects about eight faculty members, who were hired as faculty members but were promoted to administrative positions. Pay increases were originally handled similarly for faculty and administration, but this is no longer the case. Many members expressed how strongly they considered this to be a serious problem.

The Faculty Senate will meet again at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 4, in the HSC’s Clara Sperling Sky Room.