Meet Kevin Schalinske, Faculty Senate president

Faculty Senate president Kevin Schalinske

Position at ISU

Professor, food science and human nutrition

Years at ISU

15 years

What one word would you use to describe yourself?

Laid-back. Even when I'm extremely busy or under a lot of stress, you're not going to be able to tell.

What interests do you have outside of work?

Music, art and sports, but family probably is the biggest one.

Why did you run for president?

I think as you get more involved in Faculty Senate, you really see what is going on at the university and the ability to have an impact is realized.

What strengths do you bring to the senate presidency?

I was director of graduate education and I think I learned from that. I'm a very active listener. I let people talk. I get things done promptly and I'm never hesitant to get help if I don't know something. I engage other people to get their help.

What is your top priority this year?

We have a couple things we started a while ago that we need to work on. Post-tenure review has been on the books for a while, but we need to try to address some of the issues. The other one -- that still is in the early stages and we want to complete -- is looking at position responsibility statements (PRS). Our initial plan is to get a landscape of what variations there are across campus, and develop some best practices about what goes into a PRS.

What challenges face the senate this year?

We need to be diligent on some of the things we've implemented and make sure they're moving forward, and communication is one of them. Last year we stressed the communication between general faculty, their senators and the Faculty Senate. We want to keep on that.

What would you like to tell the faculty you represent?

I'm open to hear comments in any way, shape or form at all times. I think the general faculty should always feel free to contact me or anyone else on the Faculty Senate when there's an issue. I promise to act on whatever the issue is.