History
Background
In the years prior to the 2008 establishment of the Professionals and Professional Faculty Assembly, some College of William and Mary professional faculty had identified the need for an organization. For example:
- professional faculty wanted more opportunities to contribute their knowledge and skills to university planning and decision-making, including serving on more campus-wide committees
- organizations already existed for instructional faculty (Faculty Assembly) and classified and hourly staff (Hourly and Classified Employees--HACE). Professional faculty identified the need for a similar organization to network, become more involved in university planning and decision-making, share expertise, and voice interests and concerns.
- professional faculty wanted to compile and codify personnel policies and procedures for professional faculty and to have more input about proposed new personnel policies, pay raises, etc.
The W&M Librarians Assembly had begun work in the early 2000’s, gathering together documents that contained policies and procedures about professional faculty and looking at similar documents at other institutions.
May 2006
At William & Mary Librarians Assembly meeting, with guest speakers Susan Grover (W&M’s Equal Employment Opportunity Director) and Earleen O’Roark (W&M’s Human Resources Director) the librarians (as professional faculty) discussed the need for a handbook of policies and procedures for professional faculty, plus an organization of professional faculty to represent this group of employees.
June 2006
A survey of Librarians Assembly members indicated that forming a professional faculty organization on campus was a high priority.
Summer 2006 through Winter 2006
Librarians Assembly President Mary Molineux worked with W&M EEO Director Susan Grover to initiate a meeting with college officials to discuss the establishment of a professional faculty organization. (Note: when discussions began, university administration authorized forming a group only for professional faculty, not to include administrative faculty.)
Spring 2007
With Provost Geoff Feiss’s approval, a general meeting of professional faculty was called to gauge interest in a campus organization. A second general meeting was held and volunteers recruited to serve on an Initial Executive Committee. That Initial Executive Committee was:
- Greg Baker, School of Law
- Priscilla Case, School of Business
- Judy Corello, School of Law
- Tammy Currie, EEO Office
- Susan Evans, Information Technology
- Lee Foster, Development
- Kristin Gladsky, Development
- Katey Howerton, Development
- Ilsa Kaattari, Virginia Institute of Marine Science
- Carol McAllister, Swem Library
- Elaine McBeth, Public Policy
- Mary Molineux, Swem Library
- Maria Elena Pada, Information Technology
- Tom Rideout, School of Business
- Jobila Williams, Academic Advising
Summer 2007 through Fall 2007
The Initial Executive Committee researched similar organizations at other institutions, drafted a constitution and bylaws, and met regularly with the Provost to move towards establishment of the new organization, which they named the Professional Faculty Assembly (PFA). Also, a listserv and webpage were created to keep professional faculty informed about progress.
Winter 2007
The Initial Executive Committee continued to polish the constitution and bylaws. From this point through the September 2008 establishment of the Assembly and the organizational phase of October and November 2008, this was the core Initial Executive Committee:
- Priscilla Case, School of Business
- Judy Corello, School of Law
- Lee Foster, Development
- Ilsa Kaattari, Virginia Institute of Marine Science
- Elaine McBeth, Public Policy
- Mary Molineux, Swem Library
- Maria Elena Pada, Information Technology
- Tom Rideout, School of Business
- Jobila Williams, Academic Advising
February 2008
The Professional Faculty Assembly was on the agenda to be approved by the W&M Board of Visitors (BOV), but more pressing topics resulted in the PFA being postponed until the May 2008 BOV meeting.
May 2008
The PFA’s establishment by the BOV was again postponed to allow more time for review of its proposed constitution and bylaws. The Initial Executive Committee met with the Provost and with W&M’s Office of Legal Affairs coordinator Kiersten Boyce to revise the documents.
Summer 2008
Three general meetings for professional faculty were held. Agenda items included (1) progress on the establishment of the new assembly; (2) Human Resources restructuring factors that would affect professional faculty; (3) a restructuring proposal to change the name of the category of professional faculty to “professional employees.”
The Initial Executive Committee, in support of retaining the term “professional faculty,” wrote a memo to university administration. In discussions and meetings, a compromise was reached to name the category “Professionals and Professional Faculty,” with the new organization to be the “Professionals and Professional Faculty Assembly” (PPFA).
September 26, 2008
The W&M Board of Visitors (BOV) approved the establishment of a Professionals and Professional Faculty Assembly.
October 2008
An Interim Elections Committee was formed: Ilsa Kaattari, Karlene Jennings, Mary Molineux, Maria Elena Pada, and Jobila Williams. 35 nominations were made for the 21-seat Assembly.
November 2008
Voting for the 21 seats ran from November 12 through 24, using on online survey tool. Maria Elena Pada, with design and technical assistance from W&M Information Technology's Tammy Thrift and Mark Eaton, spearheaded use of the Opinio online survey tool for the ballot. 272 of the 407 eligible voters (66.8%) voted.
December 9, 2008
First meeting of the newly-elected Assembly.
