MINUTES |
PRESENT: Hal Bertilson, Glenn Carlson, David Carroll, Orv Clark, Timothy Cummings, Martha Einerson, Randy Gabrys Alexson, James Holter, Chris Kemnitz, Susan Loonsk, Peter Nordgren, Chuck Reichert, Joel Sipress, Cecilia Schrenker, Chad Scott, Nicholas Sloboda, and Gloria Toivola.
EXCUSED: Matt Faerber.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Motion (O. Clark/T. Cummings) to approve the minutes of the April 20 Faculty Senate meeting and accept the minutes of the April 27 Executive Committee passed.
REPORT OF THE CHANCELLOR--No report.
REPORT OF THE PROVOST--David Prior. The Spring 2004 Pilot General Education Survey Questionnaire was distributed and discussed. During the Summer and Fall 2003 Hal Bertilson assisted David Prior in designing a student citizenship survey which will allow tracking changes in citizenship behaviors over students' four-year college career. A summary of the results from the first cohort during Fall 2003 was distributed and discussed. There are some methodological shortcomings. Nevertheless it may be useful for longitudinal comparison. Provost Prior was asked about the absence of a teaching award this year. Provost Prior answered that there was only one nomination and the narrative support for that nomination was weak.
REPORTS
Chair--Joel Sipress.
| 1. | Concerns about the 2001 Faculty Handbook. A memo describing these concerns was circulated. Next year's Personnel Council was asked to address these concerns. |
| 2. | SPBC: The Executive Committee recommended Orv Clark and David Carroll as the new faculty members for the SPBC (Memo dated 4-28-04). Motion (H. Bertilson/T. Cummings) to approve the recommendation passed. |
| 3. | Personnel Portfolio. It was decided to place the proposal for the Personnel Portfolio on the agenda for next fall. |
Secretary--Hal Bertilson.
| 1. | A job description for the position of Faculty Senate Secretary has been prepared and is available at Secretary. |
| 2. | It was announced that Ted Cox was elected to the At-Large Senator position. |
Faculty Representative--Nicholoas Sloboda.
| Faculty Representative Report Friday, April 30, 2004 (Teleconference) |
| The issue of sabbaticals was discussed extensively. System is using terminologies like “reassignments” or “faculty development and retraining” to help explain the importance of this time period for faculty. A variety of legislators (members of the press, and even some regents) continue to question the necessity for sabbaticals. Accordingly, there was a call for special care to be taken in the writing of sabbatical proposals. Attention is needed to prioritize, in these reports, the benefits to the students, the discipline, the community, etc. There was a suggestion that individual campuses, particularly Provosts, emphasize to faculty the guidelines for the writing of sabbatical proposals. |
| The System continues to advance an argument for “quality faculty” as a key component of its budget request. The feeling is that such a proposal, working effectively across all the campuses, would be helpful in addressing the need for tenure-track lines and competitive salaries. It was noted that a variety of legislators feel that the hiring of academic staff rather than tenure line faculty is a preferred route. Accordingly, there was a call for the dissemination of information that faculty are needed to establish our campuses as “communities of scholars.” |
| In a further discussion of the budget, attention was given to the fact that it is now necessary to convey to the legislature that the recent budget cuts have actually damaged the quality of education and that, we will not be able to continue to absorb further cuts. |
| I was asked to present a report on what message faculty would like to give to the incoming President. After receiving input from a variety of faculty members on campus, I reported on the faculty’s desire for three key areas: integrity, communication, and practicality. Regarding integrity, I conveyed the call for trust between the President and faculty, respect for the uniqueness of each campus and its particular mission and service to the region, and commitment to higher education as a whole. Regarding communication, I conveyed the desire for a President who would be a strong and visible presence with the legislators and governor. I spoke about the desire for a President who would be strong in resisting further budget cuts. The discussion also addressed the need for a President to recognize our shared governance operating system. |
| Finally, there was a legislative update. The report drew attention to the possible problems for UW–System were a TABOR bill to pass, as we would take a heavy loss in our share of the budget. There was some discussion about a possible “Student Bill of Rights.” This Bill would affirm that tuition not be used for funding outside of education, that there be a maintaining of the right to receive an education through faculty, that there be a strong infrastructure (advising, libraries, etc) in place, and that lower income students have access to a college education. |
Planning, Budgeting, and Review Council--Peter Nordgren.
| 1. | Planning, Budgeting, and Review Council Minutes 4-29-04. |
Personnel Council--Randy Gabrys-Alexson. No report.
Undergraduate Academic Affairs Council--Tim Cummings.
| 1. | Excess Credit Policy. Motion (T. Cummings/M. Einerson) to receive policy passed. |
| 2. | German/Spanish minors for Elementary Education. Motion (T. Cummings/C. Schrenker) to approve Elementary Education Minors in German and Spanish (Memo, Tim Crow, dated 3-23-04) passed. |
| 3. | Department of Visual Arts Course Sequence for Arts Administration. Motion (T. Cummings/C. Kemnitz) to approve the Department of Visual Arts Course Sequence for Arts Administration passed. |
Graduate Council--Terri Kronzer.
| 1. | Graduate Council Minutes 4-14-04. |
Student Senate--No report.
Academic Staff Senate--Mary Lee Vance. Faculty Chair Sipress read an announcement from Dr. Vance that Donna Dahlvang, Robin Florestano, and Ray Reinertson have been elected to 3-year terms on the Academic Staff Senate. Paul Nisius has been elected to a 2-year term on the Academic Staff Senate.
OLD BUSINESS.
| 1. | NCA Working Groups. Faculty Chair Sipress discussed the 4-28-04 Proposal for Specific NCA Progress Report Working Groups in the Agenda packet. It was agreed that item 4 Faculty Senate Working Groups would read "Languages other than one's native language." It was agreed that item 4 of the University Working Groups read "Promoting" an Open and Respectful Campus Climate. Motion (C Kemnitz/C. Schrenker) to approve all working groups as amended passed. Motion (G. Toivola/N. Sloboda) to include ad hoc faculty from departments that choose to participate passed. Amendment (G. Toivola/N. Sloboda) that members of the General Education Subcommittee may serve on Working Groups as ex officio members passed with three nays and one abstention. |
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| 2. | Open Discussion on Faculty Conduct. Motion (P. Nordgren/C. Kemnitz) to table until the fall passed with one nay. | |
NEW BUSINESS.
| 1. | TASK FORCE REPORT: The Executive Committee recommends that the Task Force Report on the Liberal Arts Mission be discussed as an open forum immediately following the opening session at Welcome Week and on the agenda for the first Faculty Senate meeting in the fall. Motion (N. Sloboda/C. Schrenker) to approve the Executive Committee recommendation passed. |
| 2. | Eight sets of department rules meet the standards. One set does not meet the standards. The Executive Committee recommends that the Personnel Council bring forward these nine sets of department rules to the Faculty Senate as soon as possible and that the other six sets of department rules be forwarded to the Personnel Council by October 1 and for the Personnel Council to forward to the Faculty Senate as they complete their review. Motion (O. Clark/C. Kemnitz) to accept the April report of the Personnel Council passed. Motion (C. Schrenker/O. Clark) to approve this recommendation passed. |
| 3. | Motion (T. Cummings/G. Toivola) for the following resolution passed. |
| WHEREAS, Dr. Joel Sipress has given considerably of his time during the past two years in service to the University as Chair of the Faculty, and | |
| WHEREAS, Dr. Sipress has graciously agreed to give additionally of his time to serve as coordinator of the interim NCA report, | |
| THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Faculty Senate of the University of Wisconsin-Superior expresses its deepest thanks to Dr. Sipress for this service. |
ADJOURNMENT
CALL TO REORDER. Faculty Chair David Carroll called the meeting to reorder.
SEAT NEW MEMBERS. Chris Kemnitz was seated as the new senator for Biology. This vacates the last two years of an At-Large Senate seat. Election will be held in the fall. Senators representing HP&HP and Counseling & Psychological Professions are not known at this time.
PRESENT: Hal Bertilson, Glenn Carlson, David Carroll, Orv Clark, Timothy Cummings, Martha Einerson, Chris Kemnitz, Susan Loonsk, Peter Nordgren, Chuck Reichert, Cecilia Schrenker, Chad Scott, Nicholas Sloboda, and Gloria Toivola.
ELECTION OF OFFICERS
Senate Secretary. When Ken Redding was Senate Secretary he had release time. Provost Prior has agreed to .2-.25 FTE release time for the Senate Secretary where appropriate. Motion (T. Cummings/C. Kemnitz) was made to elect Hal Bertilson Senate Secretary. Motion (O. Clark/G. Toivola) to close nominations passed. Hal Bertilson was elected Senate Secretary. The release time agreement may be found at Senate Secretary.
Faculty Representative. Motion (G. Toivola/C. Schrenker) was made to elect Nick Sloboda Faculty Representative. Motion (M. Einerson/C. Kemnitz) to close nominations passed. Nick Sloboda was elected Faculty Representative.
Chair Pro Temp. Motion (H. Bertilson/C. Kemnitz) to elect Martha Einerson Chair Pro Temp passed. Martha Einerson was elected Chair Pro Temp.
At Large Representative to Executive Committee. Motion (N. Sloboda/T. Cummings) to elect Gloria Toivola the At Large Representative to the Executive Committee passed. Gloria Toivola was elected At Large Representative to the Executive Committee.
OLD BUSINESS
General Education Working Group. Motion (G. Toivola/H. Bertilson) to reconsider the General Education Working Group passed. Motion (T. Cummings/C. Kemnitz) to add one member from the teaching academic staff passed.
NEW BUSINESS
ADJOURNMENT. Motion (C. Schrenker/T. Cummings) to adjourn passed.
Prepared by the Faculty Senate Secretary, Hal Bertilson. July 9, 2004.