FROM FS LISTSERV:

Feb. 8, 2005

Dear Faculty Senators,

     The story of post-tenure review (PTR) has gotten "curiouser and
curiouser."
When last we left it, University Attorney Lee Gore and Provost Jay Grimes had
determined at a meeting with the deans and Bill Powell and me that we did NOT
need a stand-alone PTR document.   Bill Powell and I objected strenuously,
stating that the IHL had requested that all of the universities reporting to
IHL were to provide updated PTR documents by early this month.  This suggested
to Bill and me that the university might be in "hot water" if it did not turn
in such a document.

     Apparently, the administration did an about-face on this last week.  Dr.
Grimes, Attorney Gore, and the deans met (Bill and I were not invited) this past
Thursday and came up with a PTR policy which was a mutated version of ours.  We
learned this at a lunch meeting with Dr. Grimes this past Friday; Bill and I
were told the "new PTR" policy would be sent that day to the IHL.  Bill and I
objected so strenuously to the "new" PTR policy that we were given the weekend
to work on it.  I realize that I could have just said "the heck with it" (or
something to that effect) but if I had done so we would have been stuck with a
PTR policy which the faculty would have found undesirable.

     Consequently, I mustered members of the Executive Committee who were in
town and members of the Faculty Senate PTR committee that I could find and we
worked on the policy Friday, over the weekend, and Monday.  In the end we
restored much that was good in the document(but unfortunately not all, due to
subsequent negotiations).  Final negotiations were done via phone near close
of business on Monday.  I will send a copy of the PTR policy sent to the IHL on
facsen.  I will provide further details of all this at this Friday's Faculty
Senate meeting (yes, we have a faculty senate meeting this Friday).  See you
then.

                                                       Best wishes,
                                                       Dave Beckett
                                                       President,
                                                       USM Faculty Senate