Faculty Senate Motion to the President and Provost Expressing Continuing Concern about the Displacement of Scheduled Classes from the Polymer Science Auditorium

November 10, 2006

The Faculty Senate is very concerned about the number of forced relocations or cancellations of classes that had been assigned to the Polymer Science auditorium this semester. Relocations and cancellations of these large classes are a direct result of the continued scheduling of other events in the auditorium.

Senate officers initially expressed their concerns regarding this issue to the President and Provost on October 10, 2006 and have since continued to express concerns in meetings and emails. Each time, the President and Provost have assured officers that students come first and that classes scheduled in the Polymer Science auditorium would not be displaced by the subsequent scheduling of ad hoc events. Nonetheless, relocations and cancellations of regular classes have continued.

In an August 31, 2006 email to all deans, the Provost emphasized that “classes take priority” and that “students are the priority at Southern Miss.” Considering the assurances we have been given by the senior administration on this matter, we are disappointed that the displacement of regularly schedule classes from the Polymer Science auditorium has continued. The Faculty Senate urges the administration to take the appropriate action to ensure that there are no more cancellations or relocations of classes from the Polymer Science auditorium during the remainder of the fall semester. We further urge the administration to take immediate steps to ensure that this matter is not a recurring one in the 2007 spring semester.