FACULTY COUNCIL
Minutes
March 27, 2014
Present: Kirk W. Beisel, Olaf E. Bőhlke, Charles B. Braymen, Laura L. Bruce, Susan A. Calef, James Jay Carney, Murray J. Casey, Stephen J. Cavalieri, D. Roselyn Cerutis, Bartholomew E. Clark, Thomas F. Coffey, Cindy L. Costanzo, Diane M. Cullen, Pamela A. Foral, Alicia K. Klanecky, Thomas L. Lenz, Sandor Lovas, Mark A. Malesker, Edward A. Morse, Michael G. Nichols, Martha E. Nunn, Karen A. Paschal, James E. Platz, Lori B. Rubarth, Anne M. Schoening, David L. Sidebottom, David S. Vanderboegh, Tammy O. Wichman, Marlene K. Wilken, Jinmei Yuan
Excused:
William M. Duckworth (proxy, Trent R. Wachner), Maorong Jiang (proxy, Fidel Fajardo-Acosta), Erika L. Kirby (proxy, Christina A. Clark), Martha E. Nunn (proxy Naser Z. Alsharif), Victor A. Padrón (proxy, William R. Hamilton), Enrique Rodrigo (proxy, Greg W. Zacharias), Sonia M. Sanchez (proxy, Michael D. Weston), Garrett A. Soukup (proxy, Kenneth L. Kramer)
Absent:
Karl A. Bergmann, Charles S. Bockman, Lucinda R. Carroll, Venkatesh Govindarajan, William J. Hunter, Jeffrey J. Maciejewski, George W. McNary, Nicholas A. Mirkay, Margaret A. Scofield, and Sanjeev K. Sharma, Jos V.M. Welie
Call to Order:
Dr. Thomas F. Coffey, President of the University Faculty, called the March 27, 2014 meeting to order at 3:01 p.m.
Approval of the Meeting Agenda:
The agenda for the present meeting was approved by general consent.
Approval of Minutes of the Faculty Council Meeting of February 27, 2014:
The minutes were approved by general consent.
Review of Minutes of the Academic Council Meeting of February 27, 2014:
There were no comments.
Review of the Minutes of the Academic Administrators’ Council (aka Council of Deans)
It was noted that, in the upcoming Academic Council meeting, there is a need to
comment on: the credit hour policy, academic calendar, and Digital Measures.
Reports of Standing Committees:
Handbook and Statutes – Mr. Michael J. LaCroix
No comments were made concerning this report to be presented at the
Academic Council meeting.
Presidential Committee Reports:
Dr. Coffey said that he had several questions to raise about the reports; there were no
additional questions raised.
Dependent Verification Process:
A large number of concerns, issues and opinions regarding this process were expressed;
these are:
· Possible civil rights violations
· Possibility that Aon/Hewitt can lose confidential data or transfer it to another entity
· Is Creighton paying a corporation to throw beneficiaries off our benefits plans?
· Creation of a culture of suspicion
· Other institutions have given much longer deadlines completion of such processes
· An accounting of any savings realized is needed (take into account lost premiums)
· HR should set up a mechanism for a “walk-in” presentation of needed documents
· What is our annual outlay of funds to Aon/Hewitt?
Committee on Academic Freedom and Responsibility:
A fair number of concerns, issues and opinions regarding this Committee were expressed;
these are:
· Concern that the University’s Administration is looking to outsource faculty dismissal cases related to Title IX
· The need for there to be three separate Policies for Discrimination, Harassment, and Grievances
· There is serious concern that a recent faculty dismissal case did not follow preliminary procedures. Significant concern was expressed that the University had not followed due process and that, at times, the faculty voice in such matters is seemingly helping the University protect itself from itself.
· It was proposed that a motion to amend the Faculty Handbook in response to recommendations of the Committee on Academic Freedom and Responsibility be prepared for the April 24, 2014 meeting of the Academic Council.
Report of the Faculty Council Committee on Innovation:
Edward A. Morse (chair) presented an oral report of the highlights of the draft written report prepared by the Committee (Attachment FC-1 March 27, 2014).
Motion on Faculty Involvement in Shared Governance:
The motion (Attachment FC-2 March 27, 2014) led to a spirited, if time-limited, discussion where the following comments were expressed:
· Currently we have a mirage of shared governance
· Ideas expressed in accusatory, conclusory, unspecific language are not constructive or helpful
· Faculty voice is at a critical juncture in the Faculty-Administration relationship; there is now serious concern regarding the potential for mission-creep and identity-creep
· The work of the Faculty Council Committee on Innovation is a positive step
The discussion was truncated at this point and the remainder of the Agenda was tabled due to lack of time.
Adjournment:
The Faculty Council adjourned at 4:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Bartholomew E. Clark, Ph.D.
Secretary, Faculty Council 2013 – 2014