Southeastern Louisiana University Faculty Senate
Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, 29 November 2006
Alumni Center
I. Senate President Gonzalez-Perez called the meeting to order at 3:05 p.m. in the Alumni Center. Membership Secretary Ply called the roll. Senators absent were: Bancroft, Beard, Bornier, Brown, Coxe, Echols, Johnson, Kirylo, Lee, Merckx, Muller, Noto, Ratliff, Smith, G. Traylor, Trowbridge, and Wyld. A quorum was present.
Senate President Gonzalez-Perez called for the approval of the minutes of the 1 November 2006 meeting. The minutes were approved as distributed.
II. Old Business
A. Senator Ramsey presented Resolution 2006-07:10 [ADDENDUM A] on the Reorganization of Academic Units. After senators were given time to read the resolution, Senator Shwalb moved to accept. Senator Naquin made the second. Senator Ply offered a friendly amendment to change the phrase “compete in” in the second Whereas clause to “contribute to.” Senator Ramsey agreed to this, and a vote was taken. The resolution as amended passed.
B. Enforcement of Traffic Laws. Committee Chair Bancroft was absent. He
sent word that his committee will present a resolution in January 2007.
C. Senate President Gonzalez-Perez made a report on the Draft Attendance
Policy.
1. She was present when the Senate’s resolution was presented to the
Academic Affairs Council. The council agreed with most of the
suggestions in the resolution; however, there were still some
unresolved issues. Therefore, an ad hoc committee has been created
to further discuss the policy.
2. Dr. Crain said that after he met with the Council of Department
Heads and listened to their concerns, he decided to create the ad hoc
committee. The committee can create an alternate draft for consideration, one that is perhaps more “palatable” to faculty.
Senator Kleiner suggested that a student representative from SGA (Student Government Association) should be on the committee since the policy also affects students. Dr. Crain responded that the SGA President is a voting member of the Academic Affairs Committee, but he agreed that it would be a good idea to add an SGA member to the ad hoc committee.
D. Senator Yeargain made the report on the senate’s resolution on Tenure
and Promotion guidelines. The resolution was sent on to the Academic Affairs Committee.
1. The Academic Affairs Committee approved most of the items in the
resolution. However, they objected to the suggestion that the
guideline referring to a senior member of the department being
“unable to serve” should be changed to “not be able or be
unwilling.” The resolution was sent back to the ad hoc committee
for rewording. Senator Yeargain said that the committee is willing
to drop the phrase if that is what the senate wants, or senators can
send him suggestions for alternate wording.
2. Senator Lewallen asked why the wording was added? Senator
Yeargain said that some senior members might not be “adept” in
the position, or could just say, “I do not want to serve.” It seems that
the Academic Affairs Committee did not want faculty to have carte blanche not to serve. At this point, the discussion ended because there was no motion on the floor.
III. New Business. There was no new business.
IV. Announcements
A. Senator Yeargain said that the Board of Supervisors will meet on Friday.
Southeastern will be asking permission to demolish Cefalu Coliseum.
Dr. Crain said that this is part of the Nursing and Kinesiology expansion.
The original plan was to renovate the Old Men’s Gym and the Coliseum, but that is no longer economically feasible.
B. Two other items for approval are the “503” facilities corporation, which is
how constituent universities build student housing, and the emergency leave provision.
C. Senator Yeargain also submitted the proposed academic calendar and asked for comments.
1. The 2007 summer semester will begin on June 6 and end on July 26. Term I will end on June 28, and Term II classes will begin on July 5. Exams will begin on July 30; grades will be due by August 1. Fall classes will begin on August 20 and end on December 1. Finals will be from December 3-7, with graduation on December 8. The Spring 2008 semester will begin after the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. Mardi Gras break will be February 4 and 5. Spring Break will be March 21-28, and classes will end on May 9. Graduation will be on May 17.
2. Senator Ply questioned why summer grades must be submitted
by 9 a.m. since there is no graduation ceremony. Senator Yeargain said that he would pass her question on to the committee. Senator Slawson noted that Term I is only 22 days and asked if that was a change. Senator Yeargain said no. Senator Ramsey noted that it is difficult for those with evening finals to get grades in by the next morning at 9.
3. Senator White asked if the Spring semester could start earlier?
Senator Yeargain replied that the start date is controlled by financial aid and housing. Southeastern wants to have all tuition monies in hand before classes start, which is fiscally responsible, but many universities do not set their calendar that way.
4. Senator Dranguet asked if the committee could meet earlier so
that the summer school schedule would be set sooner. He spoke
on behalf of the international initiatives. They find it difficult to plan for summer programs when they do not know the calendar.
They would prefer to be advised of the summer schedule in
September for planning purposes. Senator Yeargain responded that the Registrar is the chair of the committee, but he will bring up these issues. He said that it would also be a good idea for faculty to take their concerns to their supervisors.
5. Senator Ramsey noted that the start of the Spring semester is
determined by the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. We either
begin before that day and then take a break, or start after, which is what we do now. There is little latitude.
V. The meeting was adjourned at 3:45 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for
17 January 2007.
Respectfully submitted,
Rebecca Hite