Academic Senate
Minutes of the March 22, 2000 Meeting

Present: A. Crigler, W. Dehning, M. Dudziak, W. Dutton, J. Gates, T. Habinek, N. Hanel, A. Hendrick, H. Kaslow, M. Kinder, B. Kosko, J. Kunc, R. Labaree, S. Lund, J. Manegold, M. McLaughlin Gray (G. Salem's proxy), L. Miller, A. Mircheff, J. Nyquist, W. Petak, N. Petasis, A. Pope, H. Schor, M. Schuetze-Coburn, G. Siegel (F. Feldman's proxy), N. Stromquist, W. Thalmann, W. Tierney, M. Weinstein.

Absent: G. Davis, V. Henderson, P. Heseltine, C. Julienne, M. Kann, D. Kempler, B. Knight, R. Koda, L Laine, N. Lutkehaus, M. Mazon, P. Nosco, D. O'Leary, R. Patti, K. Price, G. Schierle.

Guests: M. Chuang, M. Levine, C. Sullivan, J. Zernik.

President William Tierney called the meeting to order at 2:50 p.m.

Agenda Item #1: Approval of Minutes

The minutes of the February 16, 2000 Senate meeting was approved unanimously.

Agenda Item #2: Provost's Comments (Vice Provost M. Levine)

President Tierney announced that the Provost was unable to attend the Senate meeting due to travel and introduced Vice Provost M. Levine who made the following remarks:

(a) Development and training of Department Chairs: The yearlong process has been completed and it was well received. Vice Provost Levine thanked President Tierney for his leadership on this issue and said that this idea will be continued and expanded. A similar effort will be undertaken for Assistant Professors.

(b) Accreditation report: During a recent accreditation of a major School it was noted that it sometimes takes too long for grievance procedures to take place and that the Senate should play a watchdog role. In the accreditation report the Senate was mentioned favorably and it was rated highly for their effective role in representing the faculty. It was also noted that it is sometimes hard for School Councils to keep up with year to year changes in procedures and practices.

Vice Provost Levine was then asked to comment on the actions taken by the Provost’s office to implement what was outlined in a letter send to the AAUP by Past President W. Thalmann. Following a request at the January Senate meeting, this letter was released and distributed to the senators at the meeting. As mentioned in the letter, dated April 9, 1999, the Provost was informed about it and he also supported it. Vice Provost Levine replied that he personally was not familiar with this letter. However, after a brief review of a copy of the letter, he indicated that several actions were taken to improve the procedures and practices of the university, including the training of Department Chairs, as mentioned earlier and the revision and reaffirmation of the Faculty Handbook that was signed by the President. He also noted that the university is improving the procedures for misconduct allegations and other grievances, including the involvement of a faculty mediator.

Agenda Item #3: Announcements (W. Tierney): Nominees, May Retreat

President Tierney made the following announcements:

(a) Open meeting of the Senate: This year’s open meeting of the Senate will be held on April 14, from 1-3:00 p.m. at ASC 204. The topic of the meeting will be Distance/Distributed Learning. Academic Vice President Dutton, the organizer of this meeting, invited all of the senators to attend and mentioned that some material regarding the meeting’s topic will be posted on the senate’s web page. Several hand-outs related to Distance/Distributed Learning were also distributed to the senators at the meeting.

(b) May retreat: In order for the Senate to address several pending issues, President Tierney mentioned that a Senate retreat is being considered. He indicated that while a number of senators indicated that they may not be able to attend, this retreat may turn out to be a useful and nice event. He mentioned that the senators will be asked to respond with their preferences regarding this retreat.

(c) Selection Committee: Administrative Vice President A. Criegler said that the committee is now completed and will nominate faculty for the various committees in the near future. She also invited all of the senators to volunteer or nominate others for these committees.

(d) Nominating Committee: President Tierney announced the list of nominees for the open seats in the 2000/2001 Senate Executive Board election and reminded the voting members to return their votes before the deadline of April 28. The nominees are:

Nominees for Academic Vice President:

Gene Bicker (Professor of Physics and Astronomy, College of L.A.S.),
Hilary Schor (Professor of English, College of L.A.S.)

Nominees for Secretary General:

Jerry Gates (Associate Professor of Clinical Family Medicine, School of Medicine),
Julie Kwan (Librarian III, Crocker Business Library, Information Services Division

Nominees for Member-at-Large:

Wendy Mack (Associate Professor of Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine),
James Manegold (Associate Professor of Accounting, Marshall School of Business),
Teresa McKenna (Associate Professor of English, College of L.A.S.),
Austin Mircheff (Professor of Physiology, Biophysics & Ophthalmology, School of Medicine),
John Odell (Professor of School of International Relations, College of L.A.S.),
Michael Renov (Professor of School of Cinema/TV), Robert Rueda (Professor of Division of Learning & Instruction, Rossier School of Education),
Michael Safonov (Professor of Electrical Engineering, School of Engineering),
Costas Synolakis (Professorof Civil/Environmental, School of Engineering),
Joseph Zernik (Professor of Orthodontics, School of Dentistry).

Agenda Item #4: Handbook Matters (W. Thalmann)

Past President Thalmann introduced the discussion on several Handbook items that were not revised during the recent revision. Several hand-outs on these items were distributed to the senators.

Section 3.21 regarding "Conflict of Interest" was reworded to reflect new social conditions and new university policies. A senator suggested that this policy should be consistent with the policy on "Sexual Harassment." In response to a question regarding situations involving the hiring of family members on grants, another senator pointed out that such issues are covered by the university’s policy on conflict of interest involving research, which is mandated for all government grants. Past President Thalmann responded by saying that this section will be revised to reflect these suggestions.

The procedures for ammending the Handbook was also discussed. It was noted by Past President Thalmann that some concerns were raised about the authenticity of the web-editions of the Handbook. The web edition should be considered a facsimile of the copy signed by the President. In response to questions about new changes to the Handbook, Past President Thalmann indicated that most changes will be added once a year, while in some special cases the changes can be effective immediately. Another senator commented that Handbook changes suggested by senators should not be suppressed. Past President Thalmann replied that there is an orderly procedure on how such motions are handled by the Senate, such as review by the Executive Board and the Handbook Committee, but all such suggestions are ultimately considered by the Senate. A senator pointed out that not all matters should be referred to Committees and that it should be possible for the Senate to suspend the normal procedures, especially if there is a sense of urgency. After additional discussion on this issue, it was concluded that any changes to these procedures require changing the Senate By-Laws and that most changes to the Handbook are complex and should not be done without proper deliberations and consultations with the Administration.

The proposed language for procedures on amending the Handbook was also discussed. A motion to strike the sentence on item 3 referring to consultation with the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs did not pass, with 7 yes and 11 no votes. Another suggestion that would allow referring proposed changes to "a specially tasked group" was also accepted with 15 yes, 3 no and no abstentions.

The various Appendices to the Handbook were also discussed. Past President Thalmann pointed out that these vary in importance and most of them are just informational in nature. It was suggested that rather than have this information in the Handbook as appendices, it would be preferable to just have web links to them. A number of such links, such as to the University By-Laws, etc, would be useful but do not constitute an integral part of the Handbook.

Agenda Item #5: Department Chair resolution (Executive Board)

Due to the lack of time this item was postponed until the next meeting.

Agenda Item #6: Senate Communications

President Tierney mentioned that an Integrated Faculty Database is being produced in the Provost’s office that will include information for all faculty. The key information will be available for all faculty, while any additional information can be added by the faculty on a voluntary basis.

Regarding the issue of senate communications President Tierney indicated that there is room for improvement. He also suggested that the Secretary General take the additional role of organizing senate information, the web-site etc.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:30 p.m.

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Respectfully Submitted,

Nicos A. Petasis
Professor of Chemistry
Secretary General of the Academic Senate