By Steven Krolak

(NEW ALBANY, Ind.)—Prof. Joe Wert, associate professor of political science and outgoing dean of the School of Social Sciences, has been elected co-chair of the University Faculty Council of the Indiana University system.

The co-chair office is new, created to give IU’s regional campuses a greater voice in the affairs of the IU system. The other two co-chair positions are occupied by the Faculty Council presidents of IU (Bloomington) and Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI).

Wert, president of the IU Southeast Faculty Senate, was elected by his president peers at the other IU regional campuses. The term is for one year.

Formally organized in 1947, the University Faculty Council is the highest-ranking faculty representation in the IU system. It is “the primary academic and faculty policy maker at Indiana University,” according to its webpage.

The UFC addresses a range of opportunities, concerns and other issues relating to academic life in the system. These may be directly academic in nature, such as credit equivalency for online courses taken through other campuses. Or they may affect academics more indirectly, for example in the matter of the qualifications of high school teachers who deliver dual-credit courses.

The UFC also tackles broader questions of institutional culture and competitiveness in the higher education market. Last year the UFC submitted a referendum to address the question of health benefits for non-married cohabiting partners of faculty, an issue that affects the university’s ability to recruit and retain the best possible instructors and thus impacts the character of education received by students.

“I hope to give voice to the concerns of the regional campuses,” Wert said.