Members of Faculty Senate met Wednesday to discuss non-tenure positions and fall break truancy Wednesday in the Hughes-Trigg ballroom. Senate met in both executive and open sessions.

One of the main topics discussed in the meeting was the formation of a task force to investigate the status of non-tenured full-time faculty. The committee comprises one representative from each school, except Dedman College, which has three representatives.

Ellen Jackofsky, associate provost of academic affairs, said SMU employed 28 non-tenure faculty members in 1992. Since then, that number has risen to 103 lecturers.

The task force’s projects will include legal issues, instructor contracts and discussing whether automatic tenure should be awarded after a specific amount of time.

Another topic discussed in the meeting was the issue of absenteeism on the days directly before and after fall break. Professor of anthropology Caroline Brettell had, in a previous meeting, brought up the issue that students often miss class on the days preceding and following the long weekend. Another member of Senate noted that some faculty members cancel classes, which aggravates the problem and minimizes the quality of education.

Faculty Senate President William Bridge commented that fall break happens during a time that students find difficult to travel. He described the situation as “hydraulic,” in that as the break approaches, students’ priorities are pushed back earlier and earlier to allow them the extra time to prepare for their vacations, adding to the increasing absences.

According to information collected from faculty members by Brettell, many instructors like fall break because it gives them time to catch up on school work.

Bridge concluded that the increase in absences around fall break is more of a student responsibility than a concern of the faculty. Senate agreed that the issue was not a serious one and that fall break will continue as one of SMU’s various holidays for students.