The meeting was called to order by the Chair at 7:45 AM in Room 125 Gazes. A quorum was not present.

MEMBERSHIP ROSTER:

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

A quorum was not present. Approval of the minutes of the July 6, 2004, meeting were deferred until the September 7, 2004 meeting. The unapproved minutes are posted on the Senate's Web site.

MEETING PROCEEDINGS

I. COMMITTEE REPORTS

Committee on Strategic Planning - Mr. Geoff Freeman, chair, reported that the committee is drafting proposed strategic goals and action items to support the Faculty Senate’s mission statement.

Committee on Institutional Advancement - Dr. Debra Hazen-Martin reported that the date for the Senate orientation would be announced within the next two weeks. The orientation will be scheduled for late September. Dr. Kathy Chessman, chair of Faculty Senate, asked Senators to send Dr. Hazen-Martin suggestions for topics and issues that need to be addressed during the orientation.

Committee on Communication and Education – Members of the Committee on Communication and Education are planning the fourth quarterly faculty meeting of the year. This meeting will be held in October and a speaker will be announced in the near future.

Governance Committee – Dr. Elaine Amella, Past Chair, reviewed changes to the proposed Constitution and Bylaws. The Senate voted to approve the proposed documents and the chair of Faculty Senate will present the proposed documents during Deans’ Council and President’s Council. If approved by these councils, all faculty will vote upon the documents during the upcoming Senate elections.

The Governance Committee is continuing to work on the election process scheduled for August/September. Dr. Tara Hulsey, Chair of the Governance Committee reported that everything was on schedule for the election to take place.

The Governance Committee has also been reviewing the faculty handbook. In order to reconcile differences between the published faculty handbook and the working copy of the handbook, the Governance Committee reviewed both documents. Dr. Hulsey reported that recommendations will be forthcoming from the committee. Dr. Chessman asked all Senators to review both documents to determine if there were additional issues that needed to be addressed.

Committee on Faculty and Institutional Affairs – Dr. Paul Gold, Committee Chair, reported that the committee is continuing to explore strategies for faculty development. The Committee’s goal is to design proposals for faculty development that is aligned with MUSC’s strategic plan. The committee will narrow their focus to one or two goals of the strategic plan. During the September Faculty Senate meeting, the committee will present suggested statements for faculty development that will be included in the targeted goals of the strategic plan. Dr. Chessman asked interested Senators to participate in this effort.

II. OLD BUSINESS - Kathy Chessman

Faculty Senate Sponsored Research Workshop –Dr. Libby Dismuke provided a status report on plans for a Research Workshop sponsored by the Senate. The proposed workshop would support the work of the Office of Research and include a number of activities. Proposed activities include discussions with senior researchers from MUSC, project officers, and opportunities for networking across colleges. Dr. Dismuke and Dr. Chessman asked for a volunteer to head this effort and senators to volunteer to help plan this workshop.

Faculty Contract Process – Dr. Chessman reported that representatives at Deans’ Council and Presidents’ Council are aware that although the faculty contract process has improved, several issues still need to be addressed. These issues include mailing contracts to faculty without meeting to discuss/review evaluation and distribution of salary efforts without discussion. Dr. John Raymond is working with colleges to resolve any outstanding issues.

Faculty Evaluation of Chairs/Deans – Dr. Chessman reported that Dr. John Raymond is concerned about the low response rate for Chair/Dean evaluations. Confidentiality of responses appears to be a concern among faculty. Senators also reported that faculty were reluctant to submit the evaluations since results were not reported back to faculty. A suggestion was made to ask Dr. Raymond if evaluations could be conducted online and to generate a “report card” if 60% of a particular department/college submitted the evaluations. The report would continue to build upon the previous year’s report. Dr. Chessman will work on a draft proposal for review by Senate.

III. ANNOUNCEMENTS - Kathy Chessman

Dr. Eberhard Voit was recognized for his continued contributions to the Senate. Dr. Voit will be leaving MUSC this month to accept an Endowed Chair at the Georgia Alliance Research Center.

IV. ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 AM

Next meeting: 7:45 AM, Tuesday, September 7, 2004. 125 Gazes

Respectfully Submitted by:
Mary Mauldin, Secretary to the Faculty Senate