FACULTY SENATE

 

FULL MINUTES OF 5 OCTOBER 1999

 

The second regular meeting of the 1999-

2000 Faculty Senate was held on Tuesday,

5 October 1999, in the Mendenhall

Student Center Great Room.

 

Agenda Item I.  Call to Order

Chair Brenda Killingsworth called the

meeting to order at 2:10 p.m.

 

Agenda Item II.  Approval of Minutes

The minutes of 7 September 1999 were

approved as distributed.

 

Agenda Item III.  Special Order of the

Day

 

B. Announcements

As requested, the 1998-1999 Summer

School budget summary has been

distributed to all Senators, and is

attached to the minutes.  Niswander

(Business) announced that flood-related

distribution efforts are continuing.  He

encouraged faculty to reach out to staff

and housekeepers, and others not on the

ECU announce system, and inform them

that some resources are available.  The

distribution center is located at 4th

and Reade St. The center will operate at

least through October 15, and maybe

longer.  Gilliland (Medicine), in her

capacity as Medical Examiner, announced

that rumors of mass deaths in Pitt and

Edgecombe counties are untrue.  It is

also untrue that the true figures are

being withheld from the public.  Five

known deaths from the hurricane and

flooding have occurred in Pitt County.

 

C. Richard Eakin, Chancellor

The Chancellor provided updates on

information about flood recovery

efforts.  He mentioned the "staying

power" of ECU students, stating that

there had been only 38 withdrawals, 11

due to hurricane and flood.  He stated

that the number of total withdrawals to

this point in the semester is actually

down from the same point in previous

years.  The Chancellor encouraged

faculty and students to let him know of

student needs that can be met by his

office.  The Chancellor thanked the

School of Business for taking over

disaster relief efforts.  A mobile home

village for students will be available

soon, with some already available on

Dickinson Avenue.  FEMA will build 180-

220 single mobile homes for 900 people. 

The University will manage these homes. 

The homes should be ready by October 24. 

These homes will be rent-free for

several months to qualifying students. 

A transit service will also be opened. 

Because of the flood, ECU incurred $4.5

million in capital repairs cost,

$820,000 in overtime expense, and $1.6

million incremental operating costs. 

The Governor has asked state agencies to

set aside 1% of their budgets for flood

relief, but at ECU the 1% budget return

will be directed toward costs that

already far exceed 1% of the total

budget.  The Chancellor stated that

General Administration is being very

cooperative in relief efforts.  The

Chancellor stated that the calendar was

changed quickly and abruptly for the

benefit of students, and he trusts that

approval will come.  The Chancellor

stated that flood relief efforts would

continue for at least 2-3 years.  The

SACS self-study proposal has been

forwarded.  Tilley (History) asked about

the 5-year program review for all

departments and if it would be possible

to delay the review until either the

spring semester of this academic year or

until the next academic year.  The

Chancellor stated that he would be

receptive to that request, and would

investigate the proposed changes in the

timeline.

 

D.    Vice Chancellor's Report

Thomas Feldbush, Vice Chancellor for

Research and Graduate Studies discussed

ECU's role in flood recovery, noting a

groundswell in faculty willingness to

provide expertise.  The ECU Outreach

Network is being formed through Regional

Development Services.  Al Delia is

coordinating this effort.  Expertise is

needed in the areas of environmental

health, business, counseling,

construction management, planning,

language skills, and other miscellaneous

areas.  At least 110 faculty members

have expressed interest.  Dr. Feldbush

asked that faculty provide more specific

descriptions of their expertise.  Dr.

Feldbush reminded Senators of an e-mail

he sent today urging volunteerism among

faculty.  He stated that these

opportunities may be a boon to programs

and scholarly activities, and that

faculty members should call Al Delia or

the Vice Chancellor to volunteer.  He

stated that requests to the Governor to

fund such activities are ongoing.  Vice-

Chancellor Feldbush distributed a chart

comparing graduate stipends of ECU

students with other institutions.  He

stated that graduate stipends have

increased but that ECU is still behind

some competitors.  On the subject of

tuition remission, he stated that 63

tuition remissions remain available for

use now, but that a supplement will

increase the number of remissions to

There will be 60 in-state

remissions for coupling with

graduate scholar rewards, and 36

stipends to support doctoral programs on

campus.  Within 2 years more will be

needed.

 

D. Marion Sykes, Associate Director of

Admissions, reported on the Freshmen

Class profile.  ECU had 3,258 freshmen

admitted in fall 1999, the largest

freshman class in history.  He stated

that the quality of students is good,

the average SAT is 1016; the average

grade point average is 3.2-3.25.  ECU

has its largest ever African-American

student enrollment.  Of the incoming

freshmen, 737 were out of state

students, and 1048 transfer students

were admitted, which is a slight

decrease.  Clark (Theatre and Dance)

asked how many were home schooled. 

Sykes responded that the number was less

than 10.  Rosenberg (Medicine) asked how

many students lived east of I-95, and

for a breakdown by gender and ethnicity. 

Sykes stated he would obtain that

information.

 

F. Brenda Killingsworth, SACS Self-

Study Director, stated that the self-

study proposal has been forwarded. 

The proposed title is "Growth and

Quality: Excelling as an Emerging

Doctoral University".  The proposal has

been placed on the ECU web site for

viewing.  The address is

http://www.ecu.edu/pir/sacs_proposal.htm

 

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. Faculty Grievance Committee, Gene

Hughes (Business), Chair of the

Committee, provided the Faculty Senate

with the Committee's 1998-1999 annual

report as required by the ECU Faculty

Manual, Appendix Y, Section IV.  A copy

of this report is available for review

in the Faculty Senate office.  He

recommended adoption of the report. 

Rosenberg (Faculty Assembly), asked for

Professor Hughes's thoughts on the

grievance process since it has been

changed.  Professor Hughes stated that

many grievants are in steps 1-3 and not

the higher levels.  He stated that

during steps 1-3, the committee has no

control, and that this is due to a

weakness in Appendix Y.  Rosenberg

expressed concern over the time factor

involved in the resolution of

grievances.  Professor Hughes stated

that mediation efforts involving

negotiation lengthens the process, and

that since mediators are faculty needed

to perform regular duties, mediation

includes a built in delay.  Ferrell

(Faculty Assembly) suggested that

Tinsley Yarborough, ECU's representative

 to General Administration on the

grievance procedures, and Hughes meet to

 discuss the grievance procedures used

on our campus.  Professor Hughes stated

that some faculty members have praised

the mediation process.  Rosenberg

(Faculty Assembly) asked if the

committee chair can set time limits on

grievance procedures.  Professor Hughes

stated that the committee cannot mandate

a time frame, because of a range of

complexities.

 

 

Agenda Item VI.  New Business

Dave Glascoff, Chair of the Calendar

Committee, stated that a called Calendar

Committee meeting was held on September

22 to discuss changes in the semester

calendar due to the flood.  Professor

Glascoff read the minutes of the called

meeting.  The calendar has been

distributed to faculty and students, and

approval is expected at the next

calendar committee meeting.  Schneider

(Business) asked for date

clarifications.  Ferrell (Faculty

Assembly) moved for a resolution to

approve the calendar change.  Pravica

(Mathematics) asked if housing will be

available on the Wednesday before

Thanksgiving, and was told that it

would.  Chancellor Eakin spoke in favor

of the resolution.  The motion carried.

 

 

Ralph Scott (Library Sciences), Chair of

the Unit Code Screening Committee,

stated that the Committee has approved a

code for the Department of Philosophy

and moved for approval.  The motion

passed.

 

There being no further business to come

before the Faculty Senate at this time,

the meeting adjourned at 3:05 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

 

Mark Jones

Secretary of the Faculty

School of Social Work and Criminal

Justice Studies