Faculty Council Renews, Reshuffles Key Positions

With a new secretary and parliamentarian in line, the Faculty Council announced yesterday that it would reshuffle some existing positions in response to zoologist Farish A. Jenkins Jr.’s withdrawal from the Council.

For health reasons, Jenkins has withdrawn from the council, the 18-member governing body of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Robert A. Lue, a professor of molecular and cellular biology, will fill the seat until Jenkins’ return.

Additionally, history professor Ann M. Blair confirmed that she will replace Jenkins on the docket committee. Chaired by former Graduate School of Arts and Sciences dean Peter T. Ellison, the committee directs the proceedings of Council meetings and plans the agenda for the meetings of full Faculty.

As for the other changes, Susan L. Lively will replace Noel Bisson as the Secretary of the Faculty in early November.

“I think that she’s a wonderful and very strong person ideal for this position,” said Bisson, an associate dean of undergraduate education. “[Lively] brings real strength and experience to the position.”

Lively herself said she was “delighted” to take the position and that she looks “forward to working with Dean Smith and the faculty.”

The council’s nomination of Donald H. Pfister for parliamentarian—who runs the proceedings for faculty meetings—will be voted on by the FAS.

In addition to assigning these new posts, the council also approved a set of revisions to the FAS “procedures for responding to allegations of misconduct in research” in order to accommodate mandated regulations from the Public Health Service, a federal program that distributes research funds.

One policy revision will allow FAS Dean Michael D. Smith to review research issues that do not fall within the federal government’s definition of research misconduct, including administration of sponsored awards and representation of academic credentials, according to Dean R. Gallant, assistant dean for research policy and administration and director of the Science Center.

The changes will not be particularly significant, as the reform will merely codify procedures already practiced by the faculty, Gallant said.

“It’s like a fire alarm system,” said Gallant, who presented the proposal at yesterday’s meeting. “You don’t want to have one, but you’re happy when you do.”

—Staff Writer Benjamin A. Jaffe can be reached at bjaffe@fas.harvard.edu.

—Staff Writer Esther I. Yi can be reached at estheryi@fas.harvard.edu.