A Compendium Information and Resources for Faculty
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Updated April 2021
By request of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee, the Division of Human Resources provided answers to Frequently Asked Questions on the topic of Penn's Retirement Savings Plans Transitioning to TIAA.
A dedicated webpage regarding the transition is available on the Penn HR web site: https://www.hr.upenn.edu/PennHR/benefits-pay/saving-for-retirement/penns-retirement-savings-plans-transitioning-to-tiaa.
The Research Resumption Strategy Master Plan consists of three phases that gradually increase research on campus with structures that ensure social distancing and safety. The plan and additional resources can be located on the Vice Provost for Research website: https://research.upenn.edu/resources/resumption/.
Penn maintains a repository of coronavirus (COVID-19) related updates at this webpage:
Co-led by Professor Benjamin Pierce, the Association for Computing Machinery's Presidential Task Force on on What Conferences Can Do to Replace Face-to-Face Meetings presents:
Guidelines for Faculty Track Change Requests from Schools
For schools wishing to amend the faculty tracks laid out in the Faculty Handbook, the above Guidelines (approved by the Faculty Senate in 2011) must be followed for purposes of the Senate's review. Any supporting documentatoin, including records of approvals in School faculty meetings, should be routed to the Office of the Provost, which then relays the information to the Senate together with a cover letter indicating the Office's position on the proposal.
The documentation is then reviewed by the Senate Committee on Faculty and the Academic Mission (SCOF), which will reach out to the School with questions or clarification requests. SCOF meets monthly between September and April. Upon approval by SCOF, it is then reviewed by the Senate Executive Committee (SEC). Upon SEC approval, the Senate's review of the proposal is concluded.
Professor and Philosophy Department Chair Michael Weisberg's MOOC, "The Philosophy of Science," offers everyone an opportunity to consider how we think about science in the coronavirus crisis.
https://www.coursera.org/learn/philosophy-of-science?#about
Participation in the course is 100% free and takes about 9 hours to complete.
COURSE SUMMARY:
"For the last four centuries, scientists have aimed to provide us with an understanding of the world around us. By all appearances, science has made substantial progress during this time. But is this progress real or illusory? And if it is real, how has this progress been made? This four-week course will consider these important questions. Specific topics will include how scientists generate knowledge through observations, experiments, and simulations; scientific objectivity and failures of scientific objectivity; the self-correcting nature of the scientific community; the positive and negative influences that values can have on science; the relationship between science and religion; and the role of the public in guiding the scientific enterprise."
A Committee on Open Access Publishing was appointed by the Provost and Senior Vice Provost for Research in December 2009 to examine the status of open access publishing practices and to make recommendations for establishing procedures to promote open access that better serve the Penn community and the general public. In May 2010 the Committee presented its recommendations to the Provost, the Senior Vice Provost for Research and the Council of Deans. Between September 2010 and April 2011 these recommendations were discussed with the faculty of the schools across the University. In May 2011, the recommendations in the form of a Statement of Principles were endorsed by the Faculty Senate.
- Faculty Open-Access Statement of Principles for Scholarly Articles (September 13, 2011)
- SEC Discussion on Open Access Statement (April 2011)
- SEC Endorsement of Open Access Statement (May 2011)