FACULTY SENATE
FULL MINUTES OF 10 OCTOBER 2000
The second regular meeting of the 2000-2001 Faculty Senate was held
on Tuesday, 10 October 2000, in the Mendenhall Student Center Great
Room.
Agenda Item I. Call to Order
Bob Morrison, Chair of the Faculty called the meeting to order at 2:10
p.m.
Agenda Item II. Approval of Minutes
The minutes of 5 September 2000, were approved as distributed.
Agenda Item III. Special Order of the Day
A. nRoll Call
Senators absent were: Professors Holbert (Allied Health Sciences),
Joyner (Education), Rigsby (Geology), Barnes, Boswell, and McGhee
(Health and Human Performance), Lyandres (History), Meredith,
Mustafa, and Wooden (Medicine), Theurer (Music), Williams (Nursing),
Conradt (Political Science), Varner (Administrative Council
Representative), and Killingsworth (Past Chair of the Faculty).
Alternates present were: Professors Voors for Arnold (Art), Schmidt for
Stanley (Biology), Spickerman for Tabrizi (Computer Science), Deena for
Palumbo (English), Jones for Watson (English), Everett for Tranbarger
(Nursing), Pokorny for Droes (Nursing), and Lapicki for Shinpaugh
(Physics).
B. Announcements
1. The Administrative Citation Appeals Board has four faculty vacancies.
This Board serves as an appeals board for students, staff, faculty,
and visitors of ECU for the appeal of campus parking and traffic
citations. Anyone interested in serving on this Board is asked to call
the Faculty Senate office at ext. 6537.
2. This is to advise that one ceremony is scheduled for Fall
Commencement 2000. Previously two ceremonies were scheduled in
the fall. Fall commencement is scheduled for Saturday, December 9
at 9:30 a.m. in Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum for eleven
professional schools and the departments within the College of Arts
and Sciences. Graduates of summer school and fall semester 2000
will be recognized.
3. Faculty interested in periodically receiving past copies of "The
Chronicle of Higher Education" are asked to call the Faculty Senate
office and place their name on a list for distribution.
4. The Committee on Committees is charged with filling two upcoming
alternate vacancies on the Faculty Assembly Delegation. Information
was distributed to all faculty via the faculty listserv. Nomination
forms are due in the Faculty Senate office by Monday, 20 November
2000.
5. Faculty Senators or Alternates interested in serving as the Chair of
the Faculty's representative (with vote) on the Admissions and
Recruitment, Faculty Welfare, or Research Policies Committees are
asked to call the Faculty Senate office at ext. 6537. The activities of
these committees may be reviewed on the Faculty Senate website at
http://www.ecu.edu/fsonline/commin2.htm.
C. Richard Eakin, Chancellor
Chancellor Eakin discussed the Higher Education bonds issue. Eakin
distributed a fact sheet and pamphlet, including letters from Harlan
Boyles, State Treasurer, supporting the bond referendum. The
Chancellor urged faculty Senators to carry this information back to
colleagues in the various units; frequently asked questions are included
as well. Chancellor Eakin has been all over eastern North Carolina
educating people about the bond referendum. Sentiment toward the
bond referendum is favorable; polls indicate at least a 55% public
approval for the bond. There is little organized opposition to the bond
referendum, except from the John Locke Foundation, and a former
House Speaker. The Chancellor urged faculty Senators and faculty to
work hard for next 30 days on getting word out about the bond.
The Chancellor stated that ECU has recently received 5 of the largest
gifts in its history.
Bass (Social Work and Criminal Justice Studies) asked a question about
the PIR survey administered to graduating seniors. The Chancellor
stated that such surveys are administered as required by General
Administration. General Administration places the constituent universities
in the uncomfortable position of requiring a 90 percent return rate. The
Chancellor noted that concern has been expressed because certain
faculty members' names were not deleted from the survey results. This
situation will be remedied.
D. Phil Dixon, Chairman of the ECU Board of Trustees
Mr. Dixon discussed the Chancellor search. Planning for the search
was completed early. The pool includes over 100 applicants, including
more than 10 sitting chancellors. The search committee is now in phase
4, the selection phase. The advertisement for the position has appeared
in several venues, including The Chronicle of Higher Education, and
other publications targeting female and minority applicants. The next
meeting is scheduled for October 27th; interviews should begin around
November 9th. Dr. Jan Greenwood of A.T. Kearney is the consultant for
the search. She spoke to the chair of the search committee in support of
the bond referendum with respect to new opportunities for the incoming
Chancellor.
Wall (Philosophy) asked why the committee mentioned that the
educational qualifications state Ph.D. "preferred" as opposed to required.
Mr. Dixon stated that many good candidates may not have typical
academic backgrounds, and that the door should be left open to these
candidates. In addition qualified Ed.D. and J.D. candidates may be
considered.
E. Tom Feldbush, Vice Chancellor for Research
Vice Chancellor Feldbush spoke of the proposed Roanoke Island project.
(A copy of the Roanoke Island report is available for review in the Faculty
Senate office.) A Center for Coastal Studies will be established, under
ECU's sponsorship and administration. A plan has been submitted for
physical facilities and an annual budget. The plan includes 3 physical
facilities as part of the proposal, with a projected budget of $12 million.
F. Ralph Scott, Faculty Assembly Delegate
Professor Scott (Academic Library Services) presented an overview of
the Faculty Assembly meeting held on 15 September 2000, in Chapel
Hill. A copy of his report is available in the Faculty Senate office.
Agenda Item IV. Unfinished Business
There was no unfinished business to come before the Faculty Senate at
this time.
Agenda Item V. Report of Committees
A. Committee on Committees
Jack Karns (Business), Vice Chair of the Faculty, presided over the
presentation of this report.
Henry Ferrell (History), Chair of the Committee, first presented the first
readings for the following academic committee charges: Academic
Awards, Admission and Recruitment, Calendar, Faculty Information
Technology, and University Curriculum. Professor Ferrell stated that the
committee was charged with reorganizing committees by Immediate Past
Chair Killingsworth. Ferrell noted the difficulty in getting people to serve
on committees, and stated that some committees could be combined to
conserve effort and improve efficiency. Professor Ferrell also noted that
a copy of the revised Academic Awards Committee charge was available
at the Faculty Senators' seats. (Please call the Faculty Senate office at
ext. 6537 if you are interested in obtaining a copy of the revised report.)
The Faculty Senate was given the opportunity to announce their
intentions to offer revisions at the second reading of these charges on 14
November 2000. A number of questions and comments followed, and
were noted by Chairman Ferrell and Ralph Scott. They will be reviewed
at the next committee meeting.
Professor Ferrell then offered the following nominees to fill two vacancies
on the Appellate Due Process Committee: Patricia Anderson (Education)
and Rick Taylor (English). The nominees were accepted by acclamation.
B. Faculty Governance Committee
Henry Ferrell (History), Chair of the Committee, presented a proposed
policy on requesting a leave of absence. The new policy would include
the following: "The faculty member should forward a written request for a
leave of absence to the unit administrator. The request should include
the reason(s) for the request and the dates the faculty member is
requesting leave. The unit administrator will forward the request to the
Personnel Committee, which will make a recommendation to the unit
administrator. The unit administrator will make a recommendation and
will forward both recommendations to the immediate supervisor. This
procedure shall be repeated at each administrative level until the
recommendation reaches the appropriate vice chancellor. After
reviewing the recommendations, the vice chancellor will make a decision
and will notify in writing the faculty member, the unit administrator, and
the administrator's immediate supervisor."
Chancellor Eakin expressed concern about medical leave versus
personal leave, and that a lack of flexibility could lead to problems.
Following further discussion, the proposed policy on requesting a leave
of absence was returned to the Faculty Governance Committee for
further consideration.
C. Faculty Grievance Committee
Gene Hughes (Business), Chair of the Committee, presented an
overview of the 1999-2000 Committee activities. He noted that a revised
overview was available at the Faculty Senator's seats. (Please call the
Faculty Senate office at ext. 6537 if you are interested in obtaining a
copy of the revised report.) There was no discussion and the report was
accepted as presented.
D. Unit Code Screening Committee
Ralph Scott (Academic Library Services), Chair of the Committee, first
noted that the School of Education's Unit Code of Operation was being
withdrawn from consideration at this time. The School's code is pending
additional revisions that the Committee will consider at a meeting later
this month. He then presented the School of Music's Code of Operation
for the Senate's approval. There was no discussion and the revised
School of Music's Code of Operation was approved as presented.
RESOLUTION #00-27
Agenda Item VI. New Business
There was no new business to come before the Faculty Senate at this
time.
There being no further business to come before the Faculty Senate at
this time, the meeting adjourned at 4:00 p.m.
