Academic Senate
Minutes of the Meeting of March 18, 1998
Present: J. L. Anderson, M. Appleman, T. Banerjee (proxy for N. Verma), M. Breuer, K. Challoner, E. Cooper, A. Crigler, R. Curfman, R. Farley, G.A. Fleischer, S. Formenti, R. Guralnick, N. Hanel, C. Hempel, P. Heseltine, Julia Johnson, H. Kaslow, P. Knoll, R. Labaree, F. Mason, Allan McCurdy (proxy for T.C. Cheng), B. Nelson, M. Nichol, S. Nutt, J. Nyquist, St. Ross, J. Russell, C. Silva-Corvalan, H. Slucki (proxy for A. Mircheff), R. Stellwagen, W. Thalmann, Y. Tang, M. Weinstein
Absent: M. Apostolos, D. Bunn, R. Chase, H. Cheeseman, E. Chemerinsky, B. Comrie Janet Johnson, W. Meezan, G. Schierle, W. Waugaman, K.Wilber, D. Yaden
Guests: D. Fenton, S. Pratt, B. Solomon, C. Sullivan
The meeting was called to order at 2:50 p.m. by President J. L. Anderson.
Agenda Item #1. Announcements and approval of minutes
President Anderson announced that Vice President Dougherty requested faculty volunteers to serve on a committee that will review the issue of USC casual employees who have been working for more than three months. After some further information was given, the following senators volunteered (two will be chosen):
Ron Curfman - Cinema T/V
Najwa Hanel - Science and Engineering Library
Peter Heseltine - School of Medicine
Robert Labaree - University Libraries
Joe Zernick - Dentistry
President Anderson called for the approval of the minutes. Prof. Breuer, Engineering, asked for corrections to the minutes on Agenda item #6:
"Two issues were discussed: "where tenure resides" and "what Faculty Governance really means."
"Provost Armstrong spoke before the Senate. He commented that the answer to the question of "where tenure resides" is a never ending issue. The faculty and administration will probably disagree with one another but itÕs not necessary to resolve this problem. Senate members gave their views as to why they believe tenure should reside at the university level."
The Minutes of February 18, 1998, were approved as corrected.
Agenda Item #2. Decision about May Meeting.
The final meeting of the Academic Senate had previously been scheduled for May 13, 1998. President Anderson explained to the floor that this date is after finals and past commencement. It was proposed that the Senate move its May meeting to May 4. By majority vote, it was decided that the meeting would be held on May 4 at 2:45 p.m. in the Faculty Center Main Dining Room.
Agenda Item #3. Report of Nominating Committee
Dr. Anderson, who also serves as chair of the Nominating Committee, presented the CommitteeÕs nominations for the six open seats in the 1998/1999 Executive Board election as follows:
Nominees for Academic Vice President are Donna Shoupe (Medicine) and William Tierney (Education).
Nominees for Secretary General are Nicos Petasis (Chemistry, College of L.A.S.) and Carmen Silva-Corvalan (Spanish and Portuguese, College of L.A.S.).
Nominees for Members at Large are Michael Bolger (Pharmacy), Michael Cody (Communication), Ann Crigler (Political Science, College of L.A.S.), Greg Davis (Earth Sciences, College of L.A.S.), Najwa Hanel (Science and Engineering Library), Albert Herrera (Biology, College of L.A.S.), Eunice Howe (Art History, College of L.A.S.), Austin Mircheff (Medicine), Mike Safonov (Engineering), Carmen Silva-Corvalan (Spanish and Portuguese).
All nominees were accepted by the floor.
In addition to the Nominating Committee Report, the following documents were distributed to the members at the meeting: a schedule of election deadlines, a list of the current and open Executive Board membership for 1998/1999, a list of eligible voting members of the Academic Senate.
Agenda Item #4. Revision of Faculty Contracts
Three handouts were distributed at the meeting: proposed contract for tenured faculty, proposed contract for non-tenured faculty, and current faculty contract. There was a long discussion from the floor. Concern was expressed that, before making any decision, the Senate should get a contract lawyer to review the old and proposed contracts. After a number of other questions and comments, a motion was made by Professor Steven Ross and seconded by Professor Michael Appleman, as follows: "to continue with the current faculty contract for the time being." A revised contract will be put on the table as soon as the lawsuit of some faculty of the Medical School has been adjudicated. The motion was voted with 22 in favor, 3 against, and 2 abstentions.
Agenda Item #5. Revision of Faculty Handbook
President Anderson informed that the Faculty Handbook Committee has been meeting and working on revising the Handbook. Each member of the committee has been assigned to review a section of the Handbook. The purpose of this is to make sure which part has been revised and endorsed by the Senate and approved by the administration, which one has been changed but has not gone through a collegial process, and which part remain unchanged. President Anderson indicated that the committeeÕs work should be completed by the April meeting.
Agenda Item #6. Resolution 97/98-07 re: Procurement of Travel Services
Discussion of Resolution 97/98-07 resulted in the adoption of one friendly amendment, the addition of one sentence (underlined) that reads: "Be It Resolved That: The Academic Senate strongly opposes the policy enunciated in the memo of February 11 on "Procurement of Travel Services" and requests that it be rescinded; and The administration thoroughly consult with the Academic Senate before taking actions that affect faculty." Resolution 97/98-07 was passed unanimously.
Agenda Item #7. Policy on Acts of Violence in the Workplace
Dr. Carrie Hempel explained that the draft of the policy that she has written follows the model of the Policy on Sexual Harrassment. The Draft Policy on Acts of Violence in the Workplace was tabled for consideration at the April Senate meeting.
Agenda Item #8. New Business
There was no new business, except for the announcement of the meeting of AAUP to be held on March 25, 1998 at 3:00 p.m., at the Religious Center. Faculty were encouraged to attend.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:30 p.m.