CAS All Senate Meeting Minutes
April 07, 2017, 2 PM in W1
CAS SEC Members in attendance: Chris Lauer (Chair), Susan Brown (CAS Dean), Yoshiko Fukushima,
Jean Ippolito, Mazen Hamad (Secretary), Michael Peterson, Ken Hon, Doug Mikkelson, Katie Young, Margary Martin
1. Introductory remarks. Chris Lauer sent around a sign-in sheet to determine if enough senators were present to meet a quorum. 47 senators were present at the meeting. There are 126 active faculty in CAS and we need at least 51% for a quorum, therefore, the meeting did not have enough senators for a quorum.
2. Reorganization
a. Reorganization poll results (Mike Peterson)
i. Mike Peterson presented the reorganization poll results, noting that a newer plan is out so some issues may be out of date.
ii. The full version of the poll results was sent out to CAS faculty and staff on Wednesday, March 29.
b. The Chancellor's newest proposal (Ken Hon)
i. Over spring break, Ken Hon and few others met with the Chancellor to discuss the plan that the chancellor proposed. The Chancellor was not that set on the plan and was willing to consider a different plan that includes Department Chairs. It was noted there was no external pressure on UHH to reorganize. Ken wrote up a new reorganization plan and the plan was sent to the Chancellor. The Chancellor sent this new plan out to faculty on Wednesday, April 5.
ii. Some weak points in the plan may be how to organize KES and Nursing. If they stay with Natural Sciences, then Natural Sciences will be large compared with social sciences and humanities.
iii. A discussion followed Ken’s presentation:
1. It was noted that organizing DPCs remains a challenge. However, since the contract is currently under negotiation, it might be possible to modify the contract to allow for different ways to organize DPCs.
2. Several senators suggested that a new survey should be administered.
3. A question about the confidence in the Chancellor’s leadership was raised.
4. Some senators expressed concern about the real motivation for reorganization because the reasons of “enrollment” and “retention” do not seem associated with the proposed plans. It was stated that there was no external pressure on UHH to reorganize.
5. It was stated that leadership should also come from the faculty and faculty governance, in addition to the leadership from administration.
6. It was suggested that a two college model might be worth investigating.
7. It was suggested that some faculty might not want to reorganize because they naturally resist change. However, change might be a good thing.
8. It would also be helpful to include the size of other colleges in the survey.
9. Faculty asked to know how much the 3 college model would cost.
3. The empty East Hawaii Board of Regents seat
a. 3 out of 4 of the empty seats on the Board of Regents were nominated by Governor Ige. The East Hawaii seat has been vacant the longest, but failed to receive a nomination. Kai Kahele asked the faculty to make a statement.
b. It was noted that faculty response should come from Faculty Congress, since this is a UH wide issue. Faculty Congress will include this topic on their agenda for the next meeting.
c. Finally, it was noted that faculty members can each send letters to the governor. Furthermore, emails to the governor’s office can be ignored, so it is better send hard copy letters via the mail, where they must be registered.