The MU Faculty Council discussed a proposal that would aim to give faculty a more prominent voice in budgetary issues Thursday.



The proposal said the faculty’s authority item budget and resource allocation should be moved from “advisory into shared authority.” It also said “planning, including capital expenditures and physical facilities” should be moved the same way.



Budget and resource allocation decisions are important in impacting “short- and long-term planning of the university’s teaching, research, economic development and extension missions,” according to the proposal. It expressed that a faculty voice is paramount to maintaining the university’s vibrant academics.



Faculty Council Chairman Harry Tyrer simplified the proposed motion.



“The change that is being proposed is basically to change us from being observers to basically being participant,” Tyrer said.



Current faculty bylaws give staff the freedom to “examine general budgetary allocations and priorities” and “make recommendations on development and fiscal matters to the chancellor.” The proposal stated that changing status from advisory to shared authority would ensure collaboration from faculty in the university’s budget and resource allocation committee.



Shared authority would also be more consistent with UM System-wide peer faculty organizations, the proposal stated.

“Faculty bylaws for each of the other three University of Missouri System campuses indicate either faculty shared authority or prescribe the manner by faculty involvement in budgetary and resource allocation,” the proposal stated.



Tyrer emphasized that establishing shared authority is important to faculty.

“If we’re going to effect a change in the university, we’ve got to get in the budget discussion,” Tyrer said.

Management professor Art Jago questioned the difference between advisory and shared authority. He said they needed clarification on what the new definition would mean in a bylaws document. He said his assumption might be different from someone else’s.



Shared authority would ultimately give faculty more of an official say, Tyrer said.



“I think what shared authority means is that we sit down together in a committee and we have a dialogue and we have faculty input,” Tyrer said. “The administration still makes the decision.”



But Nicole Monnier, associate teaching professor of Russian, said the university should not be changing the definition at all. The faculty should only move to shared authority if it means they can vote, Monnier said. Since they still would not be able to vote under the new definition, changing feels like “throwing in the towel.”



“I know we want to have input, I know we should have input,” Monnier said. “If our advisory system worked, we’d have input.”



Nursing professor Rebecca Johnson said she thinks the council is going about this all wrong.



“If we want to engage ourselves more in the process, we need to engage more with our administrative colleagues,” Johnson said. “And I don’t think passing around a motion saying ‘we want more’ is the way to do it.”



Although there were different opinions on the proposal Thursday, a decision was not reached. The proposed motion will be voted on sometime in the future, although a date has not been set.



“I have talked to (the chancellor) about (the definition),” Tyrer said to the council. “ I have not had an in-depth discussion about this. I wanted to hear what you all have to say.”