Academic Senate
Minutes of the Meeting of September 16, 1998

Present: E. Accampo, G. Albrecht, J. L. Anderson, M. Baer, M. Cheng (proxy for M. Apostolos), A. Crigler, D. Crockett, J. Gates, R. Guralnick, P. Heseltine B. Kosko, B. Jansson, M. Kann, R. Labaree, D. Leary, D. Mayer (proxy for D. Polan), A. Mircheff, J. Nyquist, N. Petasis, J. Rho, M. Safanov (proxy for C. Synolakis), G. Schierle, H. Schor, C. Silva-Corvalan, H. Slucki (proxy for H. Kaslow), A.P. Starr, N. Stromquist, W. Thalmann, W. Tierney, L. Wegner, M. Weinstein, K. Wilber, M. Zeichner-David, R. Zimmer

Absent: M. Bolger, H. Cheeseman, T. Gustafson, , R. Jelliffe, K. Price, J. Russell

Guests: M. Levine, D. Fabanish

The meeting was called to order at 2:50 p.m. by President William G. Thalmann

Agenda Item #1. Opening Remarks.

President Thalmann introduced himself and the members of the 1998/1999 Academic Senate Executive Board. He also introduced Dr. Martin Levine, the new Vice Provost for Minority and Faculty Affairs, and past president of the Academic Senate. At President Thalmann's request, all attending Senators introduced themselves.

President Thalmann gave brief opening remarks. He stated that in recent years the Senate has put a lot of time and effort into producing a new Handbook, which is near completion. He indicated that after this "watershed event" the Senate should continue to deal with other matters relating to the conditions of employment and should also continue to be very vigilant in protecting academic freedom and faculty rights. Dr. Thalmann also pointed out some things that the Senate can do to make it a more effective body in dealing with the administration and the university community. He indicated that the Senate should be responsive when the administration seeks faculty input on important issues. He also said, that while the faculty should be proactive and should claim a strong voice for many issues, any disagreements should be made in a constructive manner.

He encouraged all Senate members to attend the monthly meeting of the Senate. He pointed out that the entire time available to the Senate for its deliberations during the academic year is only a total of 16 hours and this time should be used as effectively as possible. He also said that there are many issues that need the Senate's attention and the discussions should be kept focussed, while giving adequate time to each issue. Finally, he indicated that the Senate should take a lead in shaping the professional and academic environment at the university, while maintaining collegiality with the administration and with each other.

Agenda Item #2. Announcements.

President Thalmann made three announcements:

a. A Senate Retreat was held on August 28, 1998 with the presentation of several white papers that have developed ideas and suggestions for consideration by the Senate. President Thalmann thanked all of the contributors to the white papers and the Retreat and indicated that these discussions will help develop the agenda for the academic year. For example, Resolution 98/99-01 "Women and Underrepresented Minority Faculty", (Agenda Item #5) represents the beginning of an outcome of one of the white papers:

"Minority and Women Faculty Hiring, Promotion, and Retention."

b. An Open Meeting with the Provost regarding the University Strategic Plan, will be held on Thursday, September 17, in the Andrus Gerontology auditorium. President Thalmann encouraged every Senator to participate and asked that they also encourage their colleagues to attend. This is one of the important issues in which faculty should be involved and give their opinion, Dr. Thalmann added.

c. A Distinguished Lecture series will be hosted by the Academic Senate and will be sponsored by the Provost. President Thalmann indicated that this series should enable the Academic Senate to promote the intellectual life at USC. He announced that the first distinguished lecturer will be Professor George Lakoff, of the Department of Linguistics at the University of California at Berkeley. The lecture, titled "Philosophy in the Flesh: How the Embodied Mind Challenges the Western Philosophical Tradition" will be held on October 19, at 3:00 p.m. at the Faculty Center, followed by a reception at 4:00 p.m.

Agenda Item #3. Approval of Minutes of the May 1998 Meeting.

A Senator raised the issue of quorum at the May 1998 meeting and Past President Anderson indicated that the meeting was conducted properly. Following a discussion of this issue, and a correction to the list of Senators present at the meeting, a motion was made to approve the Minutes of the May 1998 Meeting. The motion passed with 19 votes in favor, 1 opposed and 5 abstentions.

Agenda Item #4. Discussions of Faculty Handbook; Sections Still in Question

A copy of the entire proposed Handbook along with a cover memo by President Thalmann was distributed to all voting Senate members two days before the meeting. Dr. Thalmann said that during the summer a number of "cosmetic changes" to the approved text were accepted by the Executive Council of the Academic Senate, following discussions with the administration. He noted however, that two substantial changes proposed by the administration to the draft endorsed by the Senate at the May 1998 meeting, require further discussion by the Senate.

The first proposed changed concerns the "burden of persuasion" in the sub-section on the grievance policy. The version previously approved by the Senate stated the following:

"Except in cases involving the revocation of tenure for cause, the grievant has the burden of persuasion and it shall be satisfied if a preponderance of the evidence, considering the record as a whole, establishes that the University violated rights provide by law, ..."

The administration has proposed the following change:

"... the grievant has the burden of persuasion and it shall be satisfied only when a CLEAR, PERSUASIVE, preponderance of the evidence..."

A motion was made and seconded to accept the proposed change by the administration. It was argued that the proposed language is similar to the one in the 1987 Handbook and that the exact language does not really matter that much because the faculty will still be involved in making the decisions on these issues. Another Senator argued that a higher standard should be to the best interests to the faculty at large and to the preservation of the academic environment. It was also stated that it seems fair to have "symmetry" with the burden of persuasion required for dismissal for cause (described in another section of the Handbook). In opposition to approving the proposed change, it was argued that the faculty will be loosing significant rights with the higher burden of persuasion. Another Senator argued that the proposed words "clear" and "persuasive", despite indications that they may have a legal basis, they are actually not clear and are quite "fuzzy". It was pointed out that the administration may prefer such "fuzziness" because that would allow them more room to define these standards at will. It was also suggested that the Senate should obtain proper legal advice before accepting such language. Following additional discussion, the motion was not passed: 14 opposed, 11 in favor, 3 abstentions.

The second proposed change was in the section of Faculty Appointments, Promotions, and Tenure which states:

"Faculty Members in their probationary periods are appointed for specific terms in accordance with the customs of their academic units, of one to three years. The University is under no obligation to reappoint a probationary faculty member or to renew the appointment for the full probationary period."

The above language is currently in the 1987 Handbook and was omitted from the draft passed by the Senate. After some discussion, a motion was made and seconded to accept the administration's proposal with an amendment to include a cross-reference to the Handbook procedure for non-reappointment. The motion was passed: 22 in favor, no opposed, and 2 abstentions.

Agenda Item #5. Resolution 98/99-01. Women and Underrepresented Minority Faculty

President Thalmann summarised the white paper presented at the recent Senate Retreat regarding Women and Underrepresented Minority Faculty, and based on its recommendations, he presented to the Senate the following Resolution:

Resolution 98/99-01. Women and Underrepresented Minority Faculty: "The Academic Senate endorses minority faculty as a percentage of total tenured and tenure track faculty at the University of Southern California. As a means of achieving this goal, it urges the President and the Provost, in collaboration with the Academic Senate, to establish an ad hoc committee that would consider the implementation of the recommendations of the August, 1998 Senate white paper on the hiring, retention, and promotion of women and underrepresented minority faculty."

In the absence of a motion to have further discussion on this issue, a motion was made to adopt the resolution, which was passed: 23 in favor, 2 opposed, 2 abstentions.

Agenda Item #6. New Business

The Senate members raised concern as to whether the Faculty Contract will ever be issued this year. President Thalmann asked Vice Provost Levine to address this concern. Dr. Levine said that the administration is trying to issue a contract to all faculty members but the person in-charge was on jury duty, resulting in a delay . In response to a question, Dr. Levine agreed to find out if faculty members of the School of Medicine will also get contract this year.

A concern was raised by a Senator on how to go about revising the Faculty Handbook in the future, since it still contains parts that are vague and ambiguous. In response, it was indicated that the Senate can still recommend changes in the future, after the final approval of the new Handbook.

Following a question and a suggestion, President Thalmann stated that the Senate Committee on Rules, Memberships and Elections, should clarify the rules and procedures of the Senate meetings.

There was a discussion on changing the meeting location to a more appropriate place. President Thalmann indicated that he will explore some possibilities and report to the Senate.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:30