Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes

June 18th, 2004

Hall of Honors

2:00 p.m.

 

(Continuation of May 7th Meeting)

 

8.0                 Call to Order (continuation of May 7th meeting) 2:12 pm

 

9.0                 Election of 2004-2005 Faculty Senate Officers

 

9.1                 Election of Senate President:

9.1.1            Nominations from the floor (Bill Powell and Pat Smith): nominations closed by acclamation; comments were made by both regarding the position. Bill Powell elected by secret ballot.

9.2                 Election of Senate Secretary:

9.2.1            Nominations from the floor (Mary Beth Applin); nominations closed by acclamation; Mary Beth elected by acclamation.

9.3                 Election of Senate Secretary-Elect:

9.3.1            Nominations from the floor (Bonnie Harbaugh and Mary Dayne Gregg); nominations closed; Bonnie Harbaugh elected by secret ballot.

 

10.0              Adjournment of May Meeting 2:38 pm

 

June 18th Meeting Agenda

 

1.0                 Call to Order 2:39 pm

 

2.0                 Approval of June 18th Agenda: moved/seconded/passed

 

3.0                 Officers’ Reports (Myron Henry)

3.1                 President

3.1.1            Presentation to Rachel Quinlivan, past editor of Student Prinz: plaque presented to Rachel by Myron for her dedication and honesty in her reporting and editing last year.

3.1.2            IHL Board meeting report (Myron defers to Mary Beth Applin): Mary Beth mentioned the approval of the tuition increase. Noted the concern of the IHL Board regarding the number of increases in tuition; also mentioned the decrease in undergraduate hours to 120 from 128; deferred discussion on that topic.

3.1.3            June 9th meeting of the President’s Council (PC)

3.1.3.1        Reported on the last meeting of the PC regarding the election of Senate representatives.

3.1.4            Comments on the June 9th meeting of the Senate ExecCommittee (EC) and President Thames: Myron reported that the President offered a PowerPoint presentation regarding potential pay raises for faculty. The EC stressed the importance to have a transparent process regarding the process of pay raises to faculty. Other issues were touched upon, but not addressed in an in depth manner.

3.1.5            Current status of meeting with Provost office regarding Awards Committee

3.1.6            Outgoing remarks/reflections: Myron offered his remarks/reflections on his past year as President of the Senate. Issues mentioned by Myron included the Senate as the voice of the faculty; issues raised in the January 31st 2003 open letter to Dr. Thames and the absence of a response from President Thames; the deleted “preface” to the FAR; the drafted faculty handbook by the Faculty Handbook Committee; the Drug and Alcohol Policy; concerns regarding the membership makeup of the Awards Committee; the process of mid-year salary increases of 2003 and 2004; the lack of formal searches and faculty input and the growth in numbers regarding appointments of administrative officers; lack of Senate involvement in the budget and planning process; post tenure review; the attempted firing of Drs. Stringer and Glamser; faculty academic freedom/freedom of speech; communication between the President and the faculty; respect/trust/inclusion of the faculty on the part of the current Administration; the President’s Council as the tool of the Administration to foster communication with the faculty/staff; the continued visibility of the Senate. Standing ovation from the attending Senators.

3.2                 President-Elect (Dave Beckett)

3.2.1            Commented on the President’s Cabinet meeting regarding the lowering of minimum number of credit hours from 128 to 120; Fall Break moved to Monday and Tuesday of the coming academic year; labs will be conducted on Thursday afternoons when football games are slated; David will clarify that further. Salary increases for the coming year were also discussed with the process being articulated, but the ultimate decision will be made by the Administration. Much discussion ensued regarding the issue of raises and how they would be distributed. David made comments regarding the Drug and Alcohol Policy and the form it would take. The committee formed to address this issue will propose a revised policy for review by faculty and staff and others pertinent to the review process.

3.3                 Secretary NR

3.4                 Secretary-Elect NR

 

4.0                 Committee Reports

4.1                 Academic and Governance

4.1.1            Bill Scarborough reported for Steve Oshrin and noted the report contained in the packet.

4.2                 Administration and Faculty Evaluations

4.2.1            Ray Folse reported for the Committee. He referred to the report contained in the packet.

4.3                 Awards

4.3.1            Alan Thompson offered the report on behalf of Tony Lewis, the Chair of the Committee noting the lack of resolution regarding the current status of membership and responsibility of the committee and the lack of information from our Public Relations Department regarding those who received the awards.

4.4                 Budget

4.4.1            Paula Smithka reported for the Committee

4.5                 Constitution and Bylaws

4.5.1            Bonnie Harbaugh reported for Darlys regarding constitutional changes, specifically the closed meetings change, changes in Senate composition in line with the organizational changes (reapportionment), and certain by-laws changes.

4.6                 Faculty Welfare

4.6.1            John Meyer referred to the attached report in the Senate packet, noting adjunct faculty pay and the university calendar.

4.7                 Government Relations NR

4.8                 Technology

4.8.1            Mary Beth Applin reported on behalf of the Committee and noted the attached report in the packet.

4.9                 Elections

4.9.1            Gerry Mattson reported for Peter Butko; David Beckett reported that several appointments have had to be made because some turned down their election to the body.

4.10              Ad hoc committee reports and liaison reports

4.10.1         Ad Hoc Committee on Credentials and Hiring and Tenure Processes

4.10.1.1     Jim Crockett provided an oral report (work not yet completed) regarding a request by the Senate to ask the State Auditor to review the hiring process of the new administrative appointments. That letter was sent; a response was received from Phil Bryant stating that there are no set criteria or set procedures for the hiring process. Also, the Attorney General has ruled that the State Auditor cannot audit the University Foundation. He also reported on the past request directed to Dr. Angeline Dvorak for a copy of her vitae. The Committee met with Dr. Dvorak two days ago and addressed questions to her regarding information on her vitae. She did provide a copy of her vitae for review. It was his impression that she did not intend to misrepresent; that her vitae is more a resume rather than a curriculum vitae. The Committee offered a resolution for review by the Senators pertaining to the issue; vote to set aside rules to entertain the resolution with editorial changes to be done by the Committee members; passed; vote on resolution passed. Editorial changes will be addressed. Jim also offered comments regarding requests for information regarding procedural guidelines regarding future searches.

4.10.2         AAUP (Bill Scarborough)

4.10.2.1     Bill reported that Mike Forster, the state leader of the AAUP, attended the national conference of the AAUP. He reported that the national office is still concerned regarding the state of affairs at USM; there are two possible routes that can be undertaken by the AAUP; that of censure (which is not possible under the current circumstances given that a settlement occurred in the case of Stringer and Glamser) or sanctioning; Bill’s opinion was that we should wait before acting.

4.10.3         Transportation Committee (Bill Scarborough)

4.10.3.1     Bill reported that the transportation committee will be going to the sticker situation; Bill reported that he was advocating the optional hang tag for faculty and staff.

 

5.0                 Senate President’s comments to Senate committee chairs: Myron thanked chairs and committee members for their time/efforts.

6.0                 New Business

6.1                 Selection of Senate representatives to the President’s Council (2): year-long member: Myron Henry; 6-month member: Ray Folse

 

7.0                 Out-going President comments to departing officers/senators: Myron offered comments of appreciation to the work of the departing senators and out-going executive officers.

8.0                 Myron Henry welcomes new senators; asks senator-elect Frank Glamser to make comments: Frank Glamser was duly elected and served this body for 1 month.

9.0                 Seating of new senators/officers: Action enacted by Myron.

10.0              Passing of gavel to David Beckett

10.1.1         Anticipations of 2004-05: David offered remarks in appreciation of Myron and his work for the Senate and faculty of the University. David offered his goals for the upcoming year.

10.1.2         August Faculty Senate retreat: please note that it will be upcoming with specific changes, namely it will occur not over the break between summer and fall, but rather at the beginning of the fall semester.

 

11.0              Adjournment 5:22 pm