10
Minutes
Thirty-sixth Faculty Senate
February 3, 2010 at3:15 p.m.
Shared Conference Room
Administration Building
Max Fridell, President
Doug Sudhoff, Past President
Rich Fulton, President-Elect
Shelly Hiatt, Secretary
Senators in Attendance:
Mike Bellamy, Martha Breckenridge, Judy Clark, Frank Grispino, Shelly Hiatt, Carolyn Johnson,George Kegode, Lauren Leach,Carolyn McCall, Michelle Nance, Jason Offutt, Amanda Petefish-Schrag, Vince Bates, Renee Rohs, Jenny Rytting, Thomas Spencer, Jeff Thornsberry, Terry Long for Rheba Vetter, James Walker, and Denise Weiss
Also in Attendance:
President, Max Fridell, Past President, Doug Sudhoff; President-Elect, Rich Fulton, Interim Provost, Doug Dunham; University President, John Jasinski
Representatives from other University Committees: Erin Holm, Terri Christiansen, Carla Edwards
Other Guests: Angel McAdams, David Quad, Walter Tebe, Stephen Dawes, Jason Williams, Lawrence Franklin, Montoya Lucas, Lloyd Fontenot, Jason Sack, Bobby Bearcat Crew, Northwest Cheerleaders, and Bearcat Steppers.
Call to Order
Dr. Fridell called the meeting to order at 3:25 p.m.
Approval of Decemer, 2009 Minutes
Motion to approve the December, 2009 minutes by McCall. Second by Breckenridge. Unanimous approval.
Approval of Agenda
Motion to approve the agenda by Rohs. Second by Rytting. Unanimous approval.
Recognitions
Glenn Williams was recognized for artwork to be created for Columbia’s new Fire Station No. 9. The stainless-steel sculpture will be 12 feet tall. Glenn was not present. Senator Breckenridge will relay the Senate’s congratulatory certificate. The full article about Williams follows as an addendum to the minutes.
The Bearcat Steppers, Northwest Cheerleaders, Bobby Bearcat Crew, and Mr. Jason Sack were recognized for their successful and stellar performances at their national competitions.
Presentations
STATS
Jason Williams, Lawrence Franklin, Montoya Lucas, and Lloyd Fontenot returned with a follow-up to their report from the December senate meeting. Senators were reminded of the group’s mission to strive to help inner city youth access education. An update on STATS study sessions was given. Mr. Franklin provided a handout explaining that faculty can sign up to tutor by emailing Jason Williams. Ms. Lucas shared the website www.statsnw.org. The group has made a chat option available on their website that can be utilized to contact STATS and to tutor. Students and faculty will be able log on and chat about subject area questions. Students will know in advance to bring laptops to study sessions. Faculty interested in volunteering to tutor can attend study sessions or log on to chat with students. Students attending tutoring will notify STATS in advance about subject areas of need and Mr. Williams will let students know what departments will be represented in advance. Mr. Franklin stated that faculty interest is a good motivator for students. Sign-up times were offered for those in attendance. STATS will notify faculty that sign up to be available on site or via the chat option if there are no students signed up for tutoring in their subject area. Between 42-45 students consistently attend STATS meetings and between 30-35 consistently attend the weekly study sessions. Senators are asked to share this information with departments. Interested faculty can contact STATS via their website.
Reports
Provost’s Report, Doug Dunham
Dunham began his report by deferring to President Jasinski. They tag-teamed their reports.
· Noted that Commissioner Stein had taken notes from a brainstorming meeting and published those in the media. The action created misunderstandings that are now being cleared up on Missouri campuses and with State Constituents.
· Indicated that The General Assembly is facing tough budgetary issues for the next 2 years, and they are not finding easy answers to solve the budget shortfalls.
· Representative Thompson continues to believe that conceal carry will not get out of Senate.
· Questions were invited. Answers to those follow. Stacey Carrick will begin Monday. Dan Edmonds’ last NLT meeting is tomorrow. Please send appreciations to Dan Edmonds.
· Jasinski asked about tenor across campus. Faculty indicated a resurgence of applying for external resources and a need to address grants/research. Concern still exists over raising caps for class sizes.
Regarding a question about REEP Dunham noted:
· The original plan called for 30 additional faculty.
· The University is 2/3 of way through REEP enrollments and 1/3 through planned faculty growth
· Current student to faculty ratios are back down to 21:1.
· The increasing enrollment has added nearly 6 million to the budget, and has helped to offset shortfalls.
Jasinski
· Retention resonates, have to look at practices to support retention.
· When asked if University Wish Lists will be funded, we learned that MDHE did site visits after the last requests and a bond issue was sponsored by Representative Kelly, but it is still not ready for consideration.
Dunham
· Building plans were considered for REEP. Some progress has been made to reconfigure existing spaces to accommodate for classroom space.
Jasinski
· Residence halls above average capacity (90%)
· Dr. Paul McGraw with environmental services is doing analysis of campus spaces.
Dunham
· Budget will be cut by 1.7 million next year. A one-time appropriation was/will be received to fund completion of the BSN to RN program. The following year another 5% cut will likely occur. Voluntary contributions by departments have and will continue to go into reserves. Current reserves are between 3.3 and 3.4 million. It is difficult to decide to take a full 1.7 million from reserves to fund budget expenditures next year when projections are considered.
· A solution is to work with departments and target 5% cuts. The goal is to be ready with a plan to implement, but not to execute the plan until we know what funding will come
· Faculty stated a concern questioning if our efficiency helps us? In regard to the energy savings at Northwest, the resounding answer to the question was NO. We have not been “rewarded” for that.
· Summer camps (college prepatory camps, camps for seniors) are one revenue generating idea to compensate so NW is able to continue operatation without cuts.
· Good news is the Board approved 2 sabbaticals for the next academic year for Mary Shepherd and Phil Heeler. The Board shows good support of faculty.
· Dunham, along with other University personnel, will accompany Amanda Petefish-Schrag to the Governor’s Award Ceremony where she will receive her award for teaching. The Senators applauded.
FS President Report, Max Fridell
· Move March FS Exec Comm from 3/17 to 3/10, 3:15 p.m., BH215
· Since November 4 Fridell’s activities have included:
M.O.R.E. Mentoring meetings Jan 21, 28
When Students Threaten a Professor, Jan 19
Board of Regents report on Provost Selection, Jan 22
Academic / Student Affairs Initiative Committee, Jan 25
Meeting with Jackie Elliott, Jan 26
Strategic Leadership Team Sub-Committee, Jan 27
Professional Education Unit Leadership Team, Jan 28
Intercultural Summit, Jan 28
Indian Student Organization dancers to Lawrence, KS, Jan 29-31
Dana Brown, student, funeral in Kansas City, Feb 1
· Upcoming: Missouri Association of Faculty Senates Spring Meeting Feb 8-9, Jefferson City
Support Staff Council , Tanner Walker
No report
Student Senate, Erin Holm
Student Senate is planning for their Legislative Reception on February16. An invitation was extended to faculty who would like to travel and lobby with students. Those interested can sign up online.
Constituent reports from Student Senate indicated that students have questions about ecompanion usage requirements for faculty. Why is ecompanion not used or required for all faculty? The Senators listed some of the following reasons that some faculty are not utilizing ecompanion: 1) It is not efficient for labs, 2) It can encourage student irresponsibility, 3) Some students won’t come to class if course materials are posted, 4) When grades are available online students do not come to talk with professor.
Administrative Staff, Terri Christensen
Work on the new Degree Audit system started this week. State auditors here for the next 4-6 months checking for state compliance. They are here 4 ten hour days each week. Stacy Carrick starts on Monday.
University Chairs Council, Carla Edwards
A full report is available in an addendum to the minutes.
Residential Housing, Rose Viau
No report
Committee Reports
Committees Level III: Committees Responsible for Matters Involving Faculty Advisement
Access and Accommodations, Lori Durbin: No report
Athletics and Intramurals, Joni Adkins, Interim: No report
Calendar, Merry McDonald: No report
Educational Technology, Nancy Zeliff: No report
Employment Equity, Cindy Kenkel: See Addendum to minutes
Faculty Hearing,Pat McLaughlin: No report
Health and Safety, Jeanette Padgitt: No report
International Studies and Programs, Phil Laber – see updated agenda
Multicultural Affairs, Theo Ross: The committee has completed the task of updating the committee mission and name. A handout of the committees work was submitted to Faculty Senate. The updates will need to be on the agenda for a first reading prior to an approval. Approval will require a 2/3 vote. Motion by Thornsberry to approve today’s presentation and the accompanying handout as the required first-reading of the suggested changes to the constitution regarding the Multicultural Affairs Committee. Second by Leach-Steffens. Unanimous approval
One-Time Course Offering, Rich Fulton: No report
Student/Faculty Discipline, Daniel Smith: No report
Student/Faculty Traffic, David Vlieger: Denise Weiss reported for David Vlieger. The committee has had several meetings so a copy of the full report is attached as an addendum to the minutes.
Committees Level II: Committees Responsible for Matters Requiring Faculty Advisement
Animal Welfare, Karen Schaffer: No report
Assessment, Jenny Rytting: The committee met for the first time this semester on February 10 at 4:30 in Colden Hall 3010. A subcommittee has started work with Bev Schenkel, Dean of Enrollment Management, and a team of Marketing Students to conduct a study on student perceptions of academic rigor at Northwest.
Budget, Planning and Development, Jeff Thornsberry: The committee will meet February 10.
Faculty Welfare,Amanda Petefish-Schrag: The committee met January 28 and discussed the satisfaction survey. They are working in a professional development survey about opportunities offered on campus for AQIP. A meeting is scheduled with the President and the Provost to go over results from the last survey and to discuss altering the survey to make it more actionable. The current survey will be utilized this year to ensure that data are consistently gathered. The committee discussed the final exam schedule and how to go about getting faculty input. Satisfaction surveys were passed around to the Senators to distribute to their respective departments along with some brief instructions. The surveys should be returned to Matt Walker by February 26.
Institutional Review Board, Rebecca Hendrix:There were no formal meetings of the IRB during January, 2010. Via email the following proposals were approved: 2 proposals carried over from December were approved; 6 proposals were submitted to the IRB during January.
· 2 Full: 2 approved
· 1 Expedited: 1 awaiting further documentation
· 3 Exempt: 2 approved, 1 awaiting answers for follow-up questions
Research, Stephen Town:All of the funds were depleted at the November 4th meeting, and unless additional funds are forthcoming, that meeting was the committee’s final one.
Committees Level I: Committees Responsible for Matters Related to Faculty Sovereignty
Academic Appeals, Judy Clark: No report
Admissions and Advanced Standing, Michelle Nance: No report
Curriculum and Degree Requirements, Renee Rohs: The committee has met twice. They dealt with 6 proposals. Approved 2, returned 4 for revisions. Now that fewer proposals are coming in the committee is dealing with the general education package, and also with other committee processes, like what constitutes a curriculum proposal versus what is a catalog edit. The committee is discussing an expedited process for edits and other needs that are not full proposals.
Designated Curriculum Matters, Christine Benson: The committee is looking at a method for reviewing the general education package. It was last reviewed in 2002. A white paper was written to address what General Education means at Northwest. A few possible models have been generated, and the committee is ready to get faculty feedback and involve them in the discussion. The 42 hours state mandate still exists.
Special Ad Hoc Committee, Faculty Evaluations, Rich Fulton: The committee will meet Thursday, Feb. 4 at 3:40.
Special Ad Hoc Committee , Comment Cards, Carolyn McCall: Carolyn McCall,Tom Spencer, Jodi Strauch, and Frank Grispino met with the Provost. They discussed the current routing for the cards and expressed that the faculty would like signatures to be required. The concern went to the Dean’s Council today. Comments can be sent to McCall.
Old Business
Old business regarding the change of all “Level” references to a term or a phrase which does not indicate degree of importance was discussed:
LEVEL I: Committees Responsible for Matters Related to Faculty Sovereignty
LEVEL II: Committees Responsible for Matters Requiring Faculty Advisement
LEVEL III: Committees Responsible for Matters Involving Faculty Advisement
Comments from deparments have been shared via email. Discussion was to drop level 1, 2, 3 and keep descriptors as it is felt the numbers indicate hierarchy. Former members of the rank committee do not remember this as being a significant issue in decisions regarding faculty rank, but rather service is the overall issue. Those speaking in regard to rank cannot speak for tenure committee. Chairs may evaluate via levels and this could impact chair letters of support and also letters from the Deans.. Sudhoff suggests discussing the matter with Dean’s. Motion by Thornsberry to remove “LEVER I, LEVEL II, and LEVEL III” from the language describing committees and keep just the descriptive titles as they stand. Second by Leach-Steffens. No discussion. Unanimous approval. Motion to discuss the issue of committee service with the chairs and the deans by Breckenridge. Second by Johnson. No discussion. Unanimous approval. [Note: On February 15 at 1:30 p.m., FS President Fridell met with Deans Billesbach, McAdams, and Ruhl to discuss this issue.]
New Business
Vote to consider proposal 109-44-15
Motion to consider said proposal by Rytting. Second by Leach-Steffens. Unanimous approval.
Motion to approve proposal 109-44-15 by Rytting. Second by Leach-Steffens. Unanimous approval.
Committee for Distinguished Lecture Series, Jeff Thornsberry
Thornsberry presented a possible plan for making the Distinguished Lecture Series committee a formal Faculty Senate committee. It was suggested the committee be a “Committee Responsible for Matters Involving Faculty Advisement” committee and not a subcommittee. There was concern that this would take too much away from the Student Activities Office. Angel McAdams indicated she would like to add a few more to the table and wanted to ensure the guidelines were sufficient to address the type of integration desired regarding the academics. If this became a Faculty Senate Committee, a purpose statement would be developed to address these issues and be included in the Constitution/Bylaws. This committee would serve in an advisory capacity. There was discussion that the proposed membership might not include all of the important players. For instance, did Freshman seminar need to be represented? It was suggested to make a campus activities representative an ex-officio member of the suggested committee.There was concern regarding too many members. Time is an issue as McAdams needs to move forward to prepare for next year. Thornsberry, Fridell, and McAdams will come back to next Faculty Senate meeting with an agreement to propose. McAdams will work with ad hoc committee until a plan is finalized. Ad hoc committee volunteers were Petefish-Schrag and Weiss.