Faculty Senate President-Elect Vote

I am honored to have been nominated for the Faculty Senate President ballot this year. My name is Steve Barney, and I have been on the Psychology Department faculty since 1998…that is almost 28 years…56 Semesters. One thing I have come to believe is that the faculty are the backbone and the stabilizing force within the university.

Through the years, I have served as a faculty senator and twice as senate president. I served as department chair, and as a program director. In my tenure, I have worked with 5 different university presidents and 6 university provosts. Even students, the most important part of the university, come and go with regularity. The faculty provides the equilibrium.

Over the past several years, various forces have been impacting higher education. The recently passed HB 265 is simply one more effort to redefine what we do and how we do it. Societal demands have changed rapidly, and the Utah System of Higher Education is trying to balance the stability of the academe with the rapidly evolving landscape of industry. These next three years of reinvestment planning are crucial for SUU. Amidst myriad changes and adjustments, there needs to be a voice advocating for faculty. In my opinion, that voice is the senate, and the president position is infinitely important.

I have never aspired to leadership positions. At the same time, I have never shied away from representing what I value. If you confide in me, I will devote my time and energy to serving the faculty of SUU through these next transformative years.  Should you elect another, I am poised to be of whatever service I can to help sustain their efforts.

Associate Professor of Accounting.

During my time at SUU, I have served on the Faculty Senate, GE committee, Academic Integrity Policy Committee, Accounting Public Relations Committee, Faculty Review Board, multiple hiring and P&T committees, and served as the Accounting Direction Committee Chair. In addition, I have been honored to receive the Distinguished Educator Award for the University, Outstanding Teacher for the School of Business, and International Students’ Choice Professor of the Year Award.

My education and experience in corporate financial and managerial accounting give me unique skill sets that I hope to use on behalf of the University as it relates to the new legislation (HB 265) regarding “Strategic Reinvestment.” I believe that my knowledge regarding budgeting, incentives, and financial analysis would lend itself well to understanding policy, analyzing appropriate data, and helping to find and evaluate unique solutions that would limit risk to faculty positions and salary while still meeting policy requirements.

Thank you for your consideration as I run for Faculty Senate President. I have been in the Biology department for almost 15 years and am completing my second year in the faculty Senate. As I have served on the Senate Executive council for the past year, I have learned the importance of standing up and representing all faculty if I am elected as Senate President. Working with such amazing leaders makes me want to grow into a better leader and find ways to support our faculty through these trying times. I am confident that I will be able to push for more transparency from administration as they work through legislation and continue to find ways to support those faculty whose programs are affected by these changes. I would remind our university leaders of the value of our faculty to the university and to follow the policies that we have laid out to protect our community. Thank you for your vote and the opportunity to continue my work with the Senate.

Faculty are in a vulnerable state. Every member of the SUU family matters. I will be intentional in inserting faculty needs into every conversation that takes place at SUU. 

I do supercomputing and large dataset analysis as a researcher. I plan to leverage my abilities both with data and as a person to articulate faculty needs and their value to the administration. 

I've previously served on the Faculty Senate Executive Committee, working closely with several wonderful faculty senate presidents. I've also collaborated with our previous provost on some institutional initiatives, and so know a bit about the administrative side of things too. I'm passionate about teaching and, like you, I live for my time in the classroom. 

I intend to

• find the smartest ways to protect faculty 
• provide a clear voice to administrators about faculty needs. This includes starting or facilitating challenging conversations with administration as appropriate. 
• create a safe environment for faculty across campus to voice concerns and feel they are taken seriously
• be guided by principles of compassion, understanding and problem-solving

Representing faculty during this time is a serious undertaking with real consequences. I'm eager to serve you to the best of my ability.