There was no clear winner after Senators discussed potential governance changes at a special University Senate meeting Thursday.
The meeting had been called after the March 28 meeting was spent discussing the 2002 Fall Break, leaving no time for discussion about possible changes to the Senate's structure.
Senators and visitors debated about the positives and negatives of a revised senate model and the three-senate or faculty senate models.
Mark Popovich, the chairman of the task force which developed the models, stated his full support for the faculty senate model.
"We need a faculty senate system now more than ever," Popovich said. "We need a clear voice to the Board of Trustees."
Popovich's comments raised discussion about how faculty salary would be discussed and dealt with in both structures.
Task force member Ray Scheele reminded the Senate that the discussion was conceptual and not to focus on details of either model.
Jim Hammons of the University Libraries said a vote of professional employees showed 28-to-one were in favor of the revised senate model.
"Professional personnel may not need a full-blown senate of their own or have the time and energy to start," Hammons said.
Senator Joe Losco, chairman of the Department of Political Science, said topics such as Fall Break could have been ironed out in individual senates rather than the large forum of the current system.
"What happened (March 28) could have been avoided if each body looked at the issue on its own," Losco said.
Megan Pickens, Student Government Association vice president, said she disagreed.
"Things students want to do affect the administration," Pickens said. "This is a forum to talk about issues together where all groups have a voice toward a solution that works."
Senator Inga Hill, associate professor of management, supported the revised senate system.
"The times the system is most effective was when it is in collaboration," Hill said. "I'm not sure separate senates allow us to arrive on a powerful consensus."
With questions remaining among students, faculty and professional personnel, a consensus on the issue is not apparent.
The University Senate will reconvene for its monthly meeting on April 25 at 4 p.m. in Teachers College Room 101.
They will vote on one of the models at the meeting.
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