Minutes of the Faculty Senate

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Meeting convened at 1:03 p.m. by Peggy Stockdale, President.

ROLL CALL

Members present: James S. Allen, Mark A. Amos, Gary Apgar, Joseph Brown, Brad Colwell (for Spyros Tragoudas, ex officio), Lisabeth DiLalla, George Feldhamer (for Matt R. Whiles), Carl R. Flowers, Philip C. Howze, H. Randy Hughes, Kathryn A. Hytten, Allan Karnes (ex officio), Sanjeev Kumar, Mary E. Lamb, Douglas W. Lind, John D. McIntyre, Don Rice (ex officio), R. William Rowley, David Rush (for Lori Merrill- Fink), Pamela A. Smoot, Gerald R. Spittler, Peggy Stockdale, John R. Winings, Kay M. Zivkovich.

Members absent: Fernando Trevino (ex officio), Russ Trimble (ex officio).

Members absent without proxy: Edward J. Alfrey, Peter Borgia, Terry Clark, Jon D. Davey, Paula K. Davis, Stephen D. Ebbs, Maureen D. Francis, David A. Lightfoot, Aldo D. Migone.

Visitors and guests: David Carlson (Library Affairs).

MINUTES

J. Brown noted that he mis-spoke at the February meeting when commenting on the Student Conduct Code Review Committee. He had suggested that the mandate should come from the Chancellor's office instead of the Vice Chancellor's office. He was informed that it actually did come from the Chancellor's office. The minutes were corrected to delete that sentence. Minutes were approved as corrected.

REPORTS

1. P. Stockdale reported she attended the January 17 Board of Trustees meeting. The meeting was uneventful. She has also been attending the Chancellor's Planning and Budget Advisory Committee meetings. The first meeting of the year was turned over to President Poshard so he could review his mid-year goals for the University and the system. Chancellor Trevino charged each of the [areas] of Southern at 150 to review their goals and conduct a five-year assessment of them. There was also a presentation by a group that is interested in redeveloping the corner of Route 13 and Grand Avenue where the Interfaith Center stands. The group would like to expand that facility to make it an interfaith residential center called Gaia House. P. Stockdale indicated she asked the group if they would come to a future Faculty Senate meeting and give a short presentation.

P. Stockdale commented that her goals/agenda for the few months she will be in the office of Senate President will be to "keep the ship floating." She has talked with the Senate standing committees about some issues she would like each to work on [over the next few months]: examine the proposal of offering in-state tuition to border counties in Missouri, Indiana and Kentucky to see if it is feasible (Budget); examine other-than-salaries (OTS) funding over the years and determine whether a statement should be made about replenishing those funds (Faculty Status and Welfare); revisions to the Operating Paper (Governance); electronic voting for Faculty Senate and Judicial Review Board elections (Elections Committee); vetting the revised plagiarism policy in the Student Conduct Code (Governance and UEPC).

2. Provost Rice spoke to two issues raised by P. Stockdale. The first, in-state tuition for students in contiguous counties, has been under discussion by President Poshard and Vice President Haller. Both favor creating some type of arrangement that would allow the University to give in-state tuition. However, they are interested in defining the cohort of students who should receive the benefit rather than opening it up to all students in those counties. Provost Rice asked that when the Budget Committee reviews this issue, they meet with Victoria Valle (Assistant Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management) because she is considering using this kind of inducement to bring the better students to SIUC. With regard to OTS, Provost Rice indicated that colleges have suffered with the rescissions and give-backs and have pretty much given back all they can without ceasing to be able to function. He has been concerned with this issue, particularly as it affects the faculty hiring initiative. He indicated he will provide the Senate with a listing of the annual OTS amounts by college since 2000 that can be used as a starting point. G. Apgar asked Provost Rice if it would be possible to meet with someone in his office to help explain some of the budgetary areas. Provost Rice responded that Cheryl Reinhardt would likely be the best person to talk with because she can give a perspective on the loss of OTS and also point out when give-backs were made.

Provost Rice reported: a) the faculty hiring initiative was suspended last year because of financial concerns; however, the initiative was allowed to take place where positions were not filled initially or when someone has left one of those positions. He and Vice Chancellor Koropchak have discussed with the Chancellor renewing this program, though not at the same funding level. There is a possibility there will be a faculty hiring initiative competition this spring for searches to take place in FY09 for hires in FY10; b) the Chancellor has asked the vice chancellors and other administrators who are in charge of particular areas of campus to re-read the document, Southern at 150 and critique the report with respect to whether the commitments, goals, etc., are still valid. He noted that when the document was initially released, the process was considered a long term planning process with periodic review. The first review would take place in approximately five years, which is where it is currently. The Chancellor is not asking them to make recommendations for changes but rather to pinpoint areas that need re- examination. Those individuals would then help craft a revised draft that will be released to constituency groups for review and comment; c) his office will be undertaking a review of off-campus program delivery and the role of continuing education on campus. Many are uncomfortable with a cost recovery model for off-campus delivery. It is also not clear that continuing education as an entity is the best way for the University to deal with off-campus or online education, largely because it takes some of the control of the courses out of the hands of the departments that should be making the delivery and assessment and so on. He has asked Dean Cradit (Business and Administration) to chair a committee that will consist of some of the deans who have the biggest responsibility for off-campus programs and some members of the Faculty Senate and Graduate Council. The committee will look to see if there are better models for delivering off-campus education than the ones the University has been pursuing. He will be asking for names for the committee and would like the group to convene by spring break; d) the computer and audio/visual equipment installed in the high tech classrooms are beginning to break down and need replacing. The program for creating these high tech rooms is a good one, but there was no planning for centralized replacement of equipment. Dean Carlson has been tracking the problems and is attempting to find the money to pay for upgrading the equipment. Currently, a plan is being created that would centralize funds to pay for these upgrades. Provost Rice asked anyone who knows of equipment that does not work to let him know because the immediate fix will be paid for out of the Provost and Vice Chancellor area. For the long term fix, in terms of creating a centralized pool of funds, it gives him the information he needs to convince the President's office and the Chancellor that this is a priority; e) a research town meeting will take place on April 1. Representative Jerry Costello has been invited to give the opening remarks; f) as a result of the incident at Northern Illinois University, he has asked Todd Sigler (Director, Public Safety) and Rosemary Simmons (Director, Counseling Center) to talk with deans about identifying emergency situations and what to do in those situations and about identifying students and colleagues who may need help. There is also a new emergency response guide that can be obtained through Public Safety that includes the addition of a section called "active shooter." It outlines what to do in the event someone has a gun. T. Sigler has indicated his office would be happy to talk to any department or group about what they are currently doing with respect to notifying people of an event on campus. Provost Rice noted that in every department, college and administrative office there should be an emergency scanning telephone. Staff need to make sure those are centrally located and that the batteries are charged and available. The phone will lead immediately to a dispatcher in the Public Safety office. Currently, that is the first line of communication. Provost Rice indicated the Counseling Center has a brochure that identifies how to make an initial assessment as to whether or not a student or colleague is in emotional trouble. They are available at the Counseling Center, but it would be a good idea to make them available to students.

J. Brown commented that throughout his academic career he has always heard the response, "That is not what we're trained to do." At some point, everyone should invest themselves in doing what is necessary, even if it has not been traditional. The issue this often raises, "we're not rewarded for this" should never be said again. Further, he believes there should be ongoing training for all teaching assistants and ongoing training for all student leaders. Every college should have a mandatory session with the Department of Public Safety and these other experts. People need to be educated now.

QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION

1. P. Howze asked about promotion and tenure decisions. Provost Rice responded they will be announced by March 1.

2. P. Stockdale asked Provost Rice if he has a role in the decision to close campus for weather-related purposes. Provost Rice responded that the decision to close the campus on February 12 was his (the Chancellor was unavailable). He did not make the decision to be open the following day, and although the Chancellor was available, the decision was made at the President's office. He indicated there is a protocol for closing the campus; it is a list of conditions that need to be fulfilled under particular circumstances. The protocol outlines such things as what percentage of the parking lots have been cleared; what percentage of the sidewalks, or are the main sidewalks clear; is there heat; what is the projected forecast, etc. S. Kumar questioned what it means to have a clean parking lot. He pointed out that although the parking lots were cleared of snow, there was still two inches of ice. J. Smith believed there should have been some reasonably understandable rationale for closing and opening [the campus]. It is unclear to the University community what went into making the decision. He asked what liability the University has to protect the safety of the community. It would be nice to have that clearly laid out when these communications are made to the University community. K. Zivkovich thanked Provost Rice for making the call to close on Tuesday. She commented that the University has been trying so hard to present a positive image and then does something so absurd as to open the following day. It seems to her that the University has wasted a lot of money in a lot more ways by not calling off school one more day.

REPORTS (cont.)

3. P. Stockdale reported Dean Teitelbaum was unable to accommodate the change in Senate meeting dates this month so he will be scheduled for the March meeting.

4. A. Karnes reported on the February 8 meeting of the Faculty Advisory Council to the IBHE (see appendix).

5. B. Colwell reported the Graduate Council met on February 7. There were no action items on the agenda; however, it was reported that all eight of the internal reviews being done this academic year have been completed. The Council will be reviewing and approving those at its next meeting.

ELECTION OF OFFICERS/COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES

1. P. Stockdale reported the Senate needs to elect a Vice President and a Secretary. Two nominations have already been announced: S. Kumar as Vice President and L. DiLalla for Secretary. She opened the floor for other nominations for Vice President. Hearing none, she called for other nominations for Secretary. Hearing none, she called for a vote by acclamation.

S. Kumar was elected Vice President and L. DiLalla was elected Secretary for 2007-08 by acclamation.

2. P. Stockdale reported there are two vacancies to fill on the Committee on Committees, one for a one year term, and another for a two year term. Hearing no nominations, M. Lamb and C. Flowers volunteered to serve. P. Stockdale called for a vote by acclamation.

M. Lamb and C. Flowers were approved by acclamation.

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL/COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES

P. Stockdale presented for approval the Joint Resolution to Approve Retaining Eligible Judicial Review Board Nominees to Fill Vacancies on the JRB (included as Attachment A). She indicated the resolution was revised as a result of discussion that took place at the December Senate meeting. There were approximately eight individuals who had been nominated and vetted by the joint committee but who at that time were not selected to serve on the JRB. The resolution allows those individuals to be considered to fill vacancies without having to be re-nominated and re-vetted. M. Amos asked if the nominees would still be approved by the full Senate. P. Stockdale responded that the nominees would still need Senate approval. She added that this also does not preclude the soliciting of other nominations.

Resolution was approved on a voice vote.

ELECTIONS COMMITTEE

1. P. Stockdale reported that the committee is currently conducting elections in Liberal Arts, Engineering and Applied Sciences and Arts to fill vacancies left by Robert Benford, R. Viswanathan and David Worrells, respectively. These elections have been combined with the regular election vacancies so that in addition to the regular vacancies, their spots can be filled for the remainder of their terms. The process to fill regular vacancies coming up in the other colleges will also begin soon.

2. P. Stockdale reported that in looking at the reapportionment (included as Attachment B to the Agenda) to determine how many representatives to elect in each college, it shows there are 31 current Senators (excluding the two term faculty). After the reapportionment, the total number drops by one (although the FTE number shows 30, which is a result of rounding differences). She suggested the Governance Committee may want to study the reapportionment issue to see if they want to come up with a better formula so there will not be a loss of seats. There was a question as to how the process will work with respect to electing members to fill the three vacancies. P. Stockdale explained that in Liberal Arts, for example, there is now only one vacancy since that college dropped by one as a result of the reapportionment. R. Benford's seat will be filled for the remainder of his term, plus the three year term. K. Hytten asked about the difference in numbers if there are two seats being lost, which actually brings the total number of Senators to 29; the total representatives after reapportionment is 30. S. Kumar responded that he raised the same issue, that the rounding shows a different number than the actual number. However, the Senate's Operating Paper states that the Senate will have "approximately 32" seats. He believes this is another issue that the Governance Committee should examine (whether there should be an approximate or an actual number of seats).

3. P. Stockdale reported another issue that has been raised is the recently-created rank of "senior lecturer." This will require an operating paper change if it is felt this new rank should be included in the definition of voting faculty.

COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES -- S. Kumar, Chair

S. Kumar reported the committee had two requests to fill committee vacancies one to replace D. Worrells on the Plagiarism Policy Review Committee and another to fill his seat on the Chancellor's Planning and Budget Advisory Committee. The committee appointed M. Amos to serve on the Plagiarism Committee and submits for approval S. Kumar to serve on the Chancellor's Planning and Budget Advisory Committee.

Nomination approved on a voice vote.

BUDGET COMMITTEE -- None.

FACULTY STATUS AND WELFARE COMMITTEE -- G. Apgar, Chair

G. Apgar reported he plans to schedule a meeting next week and hopes to have Cheryl Reinhardt from the Provost's office attend as well.

GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE -- M.Amos, Chair

M. Amos reported he also hopes to schedule a meeting next week to review the charges given the committee by P. Stockdale.

UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION POLICY COMMITTEE -- P. Smoot, Chair

P. Smoot reported the committee will meet next week to review an RME.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. G. Apgar announced that the College of Agriculture will be hosting for the fourth year its Agricultural Industry Day. There will be afternoon workshops, with Senator Dick Durbin as the guest speaker.

2. P. Stockdale announced that the Southern Illinois Symphony will perform this evening at Shryock Auditorium. Also, the Public Policy Institute is hosting Ray Suarez, a senior correspondent for "The News Hour with Jim Lehrer" on February 26.

3. D. Rush announced that Nobel Prize winner Wole Soyinka will be on campus February 28-29 for a two-day symposium and for the production of his play, "Death and the King's Horseman."

4. L. DiLalla announced this evening will be the presentation, "The Making of the Fittest" at the Student Center Auditorium.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 2:27 p.m.