Tuesday, September 12, 2000
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called
to order by Dr. Adrian Reuben at 7:45 am on Tuesday, September 12, 2000.
The meeting was held in Room 100 instead of Admin./Library Room 107.
Senators
Present:
Basic Sciences: Dan Knapp, Philip Privitera, Jerry Webb, Michael Schmidt, Kathryn Meier
Clinical Sciences: Peter Carek, Adrian Reuben, Janice Key, Timothy Lyons, Thomas Gettys
Dental Medicine: Jon Rampton, Luis Leite
Health Professions: Andrea White, Richard Hernandez
Library Science & Informatics: Elizabeth Connor, Jennie Ariail
Nursing: Tara McComb Hulsey, Elaine Amella, Francine Margolius, Sally Stroud
Pharmacy: Anne Spencer, Deborah Carson
Future Senators: Janice Hundley, Subbi Mathur, Naren Banik, Terry O'Brien
APPROVAL OF JUNE, JULY, AND AUGUST MINUTES
The minutes for June, July, and August were approved and passed.
A proposal was made
that the minutes should be posted on the Web as soon as possible after
the meeting
and referred to as draft minutes, yet to be approved.
ELECTION RESULTS
The election results
for new Senators were reported by Francine Margolius. Nominations and
ballots were
carried on the Web from August 23, 2000 to August 31, 2000. The College
of Pharmacy had the highest
percentage of faculty voting (62%) followed by College of Dental Medicine
(55%), Library Science &
Informatics (50%), College of Medicine - Basic Sciences (48%)College of
Nursing (33%), College of
Health Professions (24%) and the College of Medicine - Clinical Sciences
(11%).
While recognizing
that the bylaws need to be modified to better define the role of alternates,
Dan Knapp
made a motion to allow alternates to stand in an election. Motion was
seconded and passed.
TERM OF APPOINTMENT
A motion was entered
and approved to modify the section of the Faculty Handbook entitled, "Term
of
Appointment," with the subtitle, "Term of Appointment for Non-Tenured
Faculty," as follows and indicated
in bold type:
Start of Draft
Term of Appointment
Appointment of faculty members with respect to term is of three types:
1. A twelve (12) month appointment
2. A nine (9) month appointment
3. Appointment for other specified periods of time
Appointments are made on an annual basis: Twelve (12) month appointments
usually begin July
1st. Appointments for time periods other than twelve (12)
months span the academic year of the college of primary responsibility.
The initial letter
of appointment and/or contract and subsequent written
notification of reappointment specifying the salary, rank, term
of appointment, and
tenure status, is given by the department chairman or other
responsible administrative
officer with the approval of the Vice President for Academic
Affairs and Provost.
Term of Appointment for Non-Tenured Faculty
Any change in term of appointment for non-tenured faculty must be based
upon documented evidence
of financial exigencies or impending financial exigencies
or of need for program redirection to insure the viability of a
department or college. Efforts to make suitable reassignments of affected
personnel will be made
by the responsible administrative officers should the
faculty desire to retain his or her original term of appointment.
The recommendation and rationale for faculty term of appointment changes
must be written by
the Dean or responsible administrative officer and submitted
to the Provost for approval. Following approval by the Provost,
written notice of the
intention to change the term of appointment of a non-tenured
faculty member shall be given, to the extent that appropriated
funds are available
and legislation permits, as follows:
A. At least (3) months prior to the expiration of the contract for faculty
under his or her initial faculty appointment.
B. At least six (6) months prior to the expiration of the contract for
faculty appointed under a second-year contract.
C. At least one (1) year prior to the expiration of the contract for
faculty under a third (3rd) year or subsequent-year contract.
End of Draft
ELECTION OF OFFICERS
Dan Knapp said that
the election of new senate officers takes place traditionally at the October
meeting. Each college votes for a representative on the executive committee,
and from this group of representatives, the senate votes for a chair,
vice chair and secretary. To maintain some level of continuity within
the executive committee, Dr. Knapp proposed a one-time solution to delay
elections of the executive committee officers until the November meeting
in order to let the new bylaws changes to take effect. We expect the bylaws
changes to be approved by the university Board of Trustees at their mid-October
meeting. The bylaws change allows senate committee members and officers
to serve for four consecutive years, if elected. Said motion was passed
and approved.
GENERAL FACULTY MEETING 9/7/00
Although President Greenberg plans to hold regularly scheduled faculty meetings, Adrian Reuben discussed the value of the Faculty Senate calling some of those faculty meetings, and informed the senators of issues discussed at the recent general faculty meeting. Issues included proposed bylaws changes, the role of Faculty Senate alternates and whether faculty would be willing to pay contribute money to pay for legal advice.
- The Governance committee presented a motion to change the bylaws to permit officers and committee members of the Senate to serve as officers or committee members for four consecutive years, if elected. The bylaws change was passed by an overwhelming majority and will be presented by Dr. Rosalie Crouch for Board of Trustees approval at their mid-October meeting.
- Dan Knapp expressed his opinion that the Senate should invalidate the recent elections because some qualifiedcandidates were disqualified from running because of their alternate status. Some faculty asked for roles of alternates to be clarified.
- The Faculty Senate needs legal representation to review various faculty Senate documents, and has asked facultywhether they would be willing to contribute $50 per year. We will develop bank account arrangements, the identities of contributors will not be identified, and details will be worked out and communicated to faculty.
FACULTY HANDBOOK APPROVAL
Due to a mistake, the Faculty Handbook as presented to the Board of Trustees in 1999 was not actually approved. The Board reaffirmed its approval of the updated components but the handbook in its incorporated form was not actually approved. Dr. Rosalie Crouch will resubmit the 1999 Handbook to the Board.
Future charges of the Faculty Senate will be to update and revise the handbook and bylaws in a detailed way.
SENATE REPRESENTATION
The Faculty Senate has been charged with handling enhancements to
the post-tenure review process as the university is not in compliance
with the Commission for Higher Education. Dr. Tom Higerd has requested
representation from the Faculty Senate. Philip Privitera, Subbi Mathur
and Jerry Webb volunteered to work with Dr. Higerd.
Additional Faculty senate representation has been requested to help update and define rules of consultancy. Dan Knapp, Michael Schmidt and Deborah Carson volunteered to assist Dr. Valerie West with this important task.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 8:55 am.
The next meeting will be held
on Tuesday, October 3, 2000 at 7:45 am, Admin./Library Room 100.