Dear Faculty Colleagues,
My name is Jenifer Jasinski Schneider and I am your new USF Faculty Senate President. I am a Professor of Literacy Studies in the College of Education, and I have previously served the Senate as Vice President (2020-2022), Chair of the Library Council (2020-2022), Vice President for Tampa Faculty Senate (2019-2020), and Committee on Committees Chair (2000-2001). Through these experiences, I hope to leverage my knowledgeable of the Senate and its councils to optimize shared faculty governance.
As the USF Senate President, my goal is to provide consistent and strong Senate leadership during unprecedented budget swings (from $90 million in predicted budget cuts in 2020 to the anticipation of the largest budget influx in USF history in 2022), alongside changes in USF administration at the President and Provost level. As a faculty, we have experienced significant and consequential strategic planning processes, and I hope to create opportunities for open dialogue, honest discourse, transparency in decision-making, and shared faculty governance. Additionally, now that faculty have experienced the realities of consolidation, I am interested in supporting collaborative solutions to consolidating our policies, processes, and practices to strengthen the academic climate of the university. By facilitating strategic connections across Senate councils, colleges, and campuses, we can ensure meaningful faculty participation in decision-making and advocate for the personal and professional development of all faculty across all three campuses.
I encourage you to get to know your senator and engage with the various Faculty Senate councils to make sure your voice is heard. You can also follow the USF Faculty Senate on Twitter, search @USF_Fac_Senate and visit the Faculty Senate website for additional updates.