This version of the article has been edited due to a reportng error that appeared in the original version.

In the upcoming year, Faculty Senate will focus on moving the university forward, said Steve Morrison, who chairs the Senate’s Agenda Committee.

The Faculty Senate maintains the academic standards of the university, improves the experiences of working and studying at Northeastern and works to ensure the university functions effectively, according to the Senate bylaws of the body.

“The biggest issues will be generic issues of change with our two-year-old president and our new provost,” Morrison said. “They’re going to be proposing things and we’ll be involved in discussion.”

Faculty Senate will resume for the school year next Wednesday.

Morrison, who is also chair of the economics department, has served on the Faculty Senate for about 10 years, six of them on the Agenda Committee.

Morrison said the tension between President Joseph Aoun and the faculty, which came to a head during the first few meetings of the Senate last year, are no longer issues.

“That was largely around issues relating to tenure processes,” Morrison said. “And those were, in my mind, fully resolved.”

Next Wednesday, recently appointed Provost Stephen Director will address the Senate, Morrison said. This will be his first formal conversation with the faculty; so far he has only spoken to academic departments and smaller subsets of the university community, Morrison said

Political science professor and chair John Portz, who also serves on the financial affairs committee for Faculty Senate, said adjusting to the new provost will be one of the key issues this semester.

“Every provost is going to want to work in a way that they’re familiar with and that serves the best interest of the university, so there’s always going to be variation,” he said. “There’s kind of a sorting out process.”

The Senate will discuss the implementation of the Teacher Rating Course Evaluation (TRACE), the online professor evaluation tool accessible on the myNEU portal. This was first used last year, replacing paper teacher evaluations. The Senate will also address the relatively new NU Core, a new set of required courses for all students used by each incoming class, Morrison said.

Portz said the political science department had a low return rate for TRACE and that was something Faculty Senate was going to “address quickly.”

In addressing TRACE and NU Core, Morrison said the Senate wants “to be on the lookout for any problems and make suggestions for any enhancement.”

The Faculty Senate is als expected to act on the grievance filed this summer by professor David Massey, who is seeking to reverse his suspension, according to an article that ran in the May 221 issue of the Northeastern News., Massey was suspended March 3 following an undisclosed complaint filed through the Office of Affirmative Action and Diversity, prompting several faculty members and students to question whether due process was followed.

Neither Massey, his attorney nor university officials have discussed or disclosed the reason Massey, the chair of the mathematics department, was suspended.

Morrison would not comment on any grievances before the Senate, citing their “sensitive nature,” but confirmed the Senate’s procedure for responding to them, which is detailed in the Faculty Handbook.

When responding to grievances, the Senate Agenda Committee appoints an ad hoc Mediation Committee, which meets confidentially and seeks to find a resolution.

Massey’s suspension expires in the Spring 2009 semester.

Morrison also said the Faculty Senate will not investigate the resignation of Former Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Jim Stellar, who stepped down just before the start of the fall semester.

“The Senate will not look into that,” Morrison said. “When the provost decides to mount a search [for a new dean], the Senate Agenda Committee is involved.”

The Senate will not be addressing the proposed suspension of the athletic training department at its first meeting, Morrison said, but it can be called back to the agenda at any point. When last addressed, the decision was sent to the Senate Agenda Committee for review before the issue returns to the Senate for final consideration, according to the minutes from the Senate’s April 16 meeting.

Morrison said he is excited to be taking on the role of chair of the Agenda Committee, the leader of the Faculty Senate.

“It’s my first time in the role, I’ve only watched from nearby before,” he said. “It’s an exciting time to be in this role.”

The meeting will be held from 11:45 a.m. to 1:25 p.m. at the Raytheon Amphitheater in the Egan Research Center. The meetings are open to the university community.