After Jeffrey S. Flier, HMS dean, called the Dec. 15 Faculty Council meeting to order, Martin Samuels, HMS professor of neurology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, reported that the Docket Committee will propose a year of self-study with the aim to better understand who members represent, and to determine whether the Faculty Council election process should change.
Flier then introduced Susan Farrell, HMS assistant professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, to report on the Joint Committee on the Status of Women (JCSW).
Farrell gave a brief history of the JCSW and explained the makeup of the organization’s membership. Membership is open to any interested parties in the community, regardless of gender, rank or status. The mission JCSW is to facilitate the recognition and encourage the development and contributions of all women affiliated with Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Dental Medicine; to identify and prioritize initiatives and opportunities for the advancement of women; to educate members of the biomedical community on issues and practices that influence the advancement of women; to appraise, monitor and document the status of women; and to make recommendations and inform policy decisions related to the status of women.
Farrell reported on some of the JCSW’s recent initiatives and noted that they are exploring the development of mentoring initiatives, in alignment with the Task Force on Faculty Development and Diversity recommendations.
Flier then introduced members of the HMS/HSDM Student Council: Akash Chandawarkar, Lekha Tummalapalli and Allen Ho.
Chandawarkar, the student council outgoing president, gave an overview of the Student Council and described some of their initiatives for academic year 2010.
Tummalapalli, outgoing vice president of activities, explained that the goals of the Student Council are to support and plan student activities and to provide advocacy for the students. She then gave an overview of the student groups and organizations that receive funding from the Student Council and the major events hosted by the Student Council.
Ho (outgoing treasurer) presented the Student Council budget, noting that the Student Council provides funding to over 60 student groups. For AY 10, the Student Council was not able to meet all the requests they received for funding. Ho added that the Student Council would like to have more information on funding decisions and to have student representation on finance committees.
Chandawarkar concluded the presentation by discussing the Student Council’s role in student advocacy.
During the discussion period following the presentations, the students expressed concern about the varying quality of the tutorial session leaders. Ho noted that he would like more transparency on financial issues. Tummalapalli said that the course work is the number one issue for students and that the quality of instruction is of the most importance. She suggested that there be a Student Council representative to the Curriculum Committee. Flier suggested scheduling a future meeting on the topic of curriculum and education. Maureen Connelly, dean for faculty affairs, expressed interest in an exchange program with Student Council to have Faculty Council members attend a Student Council meeting.
