Dr. Margery F. Overton

Candidate for Chair Elect of the Faculty

Statement and Bio

Dr. Margery F. Overton, professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering

First, I would like to thank you for taking the time to participate in the university election for chair of the faculty. Faculty governance does not exist without the participation of the faculty. Faculty participation in governance can take on many forms in a university as large and diverse as NCSU. We serve on departmental committees, college committees, university committees. The faculty senate, by its makeup, uniquely serves to bring together members of the NCSU community from among the varied and complex parts of the university to work together on issues of importance to all faculty members.

I will complete my third year as faculty senator for the College of Engineering this spring. During these three years, the senate leadership has stressed improved communication between the senate and the upper administration, between the senate and university standing committees and between the senate and special task force committees. Important issues with respect to personnel policy (e.g., post tenure review), academic policy (e.g., online teaching evaluations, interdisciplinary programs, etc.), resources and the environment (e.g., campus safety, well-being study, etc.) and governance (e.g., faculty bylaws) have come to the senate, have been discussed by representatives from each college and from different walks of faculty life and recommendations have been sent back to the administration. I believe that we need to continue to improve on this vital interaction between faculty constituencies and the university administration to better represent the concerns and vision of the faculty.

The opportunities for us to shape the discussions of UNC Tomorrow and communicate our vision of the mission of the university are here now. The alignment of resources with our articulated mission is essential for success. If we want to shape this process and assure equity for faculty in all of the university units, it will require faculty input and support. A strong faculty senate is necessary and a strong chair must represent the faculty at the highest levels and enable our input. In times of change, an effective chair will need to have skill in analyzing problems and planning effective solutions.

In my 25 years at NC State, I have moved through the ranks of assistant, associate, and professor in the civil, construction, and environmental engineering department (CCEE) During this time, I have raised three children (currently, two in college, one in middle school) and have had significant eldercare responsibilities, experiences that have created a heightened awareness of issues surrounding work-life balance. At present, in addition to being a faculty senator, I serve on the faculty senate executive committee (two years), chair the personnel policy committee of the faculty senate (this year), chair the CCEE undergraduate programs committee, serve on the CCEE executive committee representing the water resources and environmental faculty, teach undergraduate and graduate courses and maintain a research program in coastal engineering. Since Hurricane Katrina, I have advocated expansion of that program and am pleased to be a member of a research team that developed the NCSU Civil Engineering, Resilience of the Built and Natural Environment component to the recently awarded Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence on Natural Disasters, Coastal Infrastructure, and Emergency Management led by UNC-CH.  Off campus, I have served on and currently chair the NC science panel on coastal hazards, a state of NC advisory committee to the N.C. Coastal Resources Commission communicating coastal science and engineering relevant to policy decisions. I believe that the sum of my professional experiences is greater than any one piece and taken synergistically, positions me to be an effective chair of the faculty. I look forward to working with you in that role.