EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY
FACULTY SENATE
FULL MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 26, 2002
The sixth regular meeting of the 2001-2002 Faculty Senate was held on Tuesday, February 26, 2002, in
the Mendenhall Student Center, Room #244.
Agenda Item I. Call to Order
Mark Jones (Social Work and Criminal Justice Studies), Vice Chair of the Faculty, called the meeting to order at 2:10 p.m. Vice Chair Jones noted the absence of the Secretary due to illness and requested that the body approve the appointment “Pro Tem” of Ralph Lee Scott as Secretary. The motion passed on voice vote with opposition by the body. The Vice Chair declared Senator Scott elected as Secretary for this meeting.
Agenda Item II. Approval of Minutes
Action on the Minutes of January 29, 2002, will be postponed until the March 19, 2002 meeting.
Agenda Item III. Special Order of the Day
A. Roll Call
Senators absent were: Professors Albright (Allied Health Sciences), Graziani (Art), Tabrizi (Computer Science), Schumacher (Economics), Griffin (Education), Watson (English), Gares (Geography), Dobbs (Medicine), Meredith and Wooden (Medicine), Taggart and Ulffers (Music), Mooney (Sociology), Morrison (Chair of the Faculty), Allred (Secretary of the Faculty), Chancellor Muse and Interim Vice Chancellor Horns.
Alternate present was: Professor Tovey for Wilentz (English).
B. Announcements
1. Chancellor Muse was out of town attending a Pitt County Memorial Hospital retreat in Outer Banks, NC.
2. Bob Morrison, Chair of the Faculty, was out of town attending an International Symposium on Atomic, Molecular, and Condensed Matter Theory and Computational Methods in St. Augustine, Florida. He was scheduled to present a paper entitled "The v-Representability Problem in the Beryllium Iso-electronic Series”.
3. The Chancellor has approved the following resolutions from the January 29, 2002, Faculty Senate meeting:
02-01 Curriculum matters contained in the minutes of the November 8, 2001, University Curriculum Committee meeting.
02-02 Revised Administrative University Athletics Committee charge.
02-03 Request for Permission to Plan for a Great Books Minor – Request for Permission to Establish a Clinical Audiology Concentration within the Communication Sciences PhD program – Request for Authorization to Establish a Masters of Public Health
02-04 Revised ECU Faculty Manual, Part VI., Section VIII. Frequently Asked Questions About Faculty Personnel Records.
02-05 Revised ECU Faculty Manual, Appendix D., Section II. Faculty Appointments.
4. The Chancellor and Mrs. Muse will host a Faculty Senate reception in their home on Tuesday, March 19, 2002. Formal invitations will be forthcoming.
5. Appendix F. Graduate School Organization of the ECU Faculty Manual has been revised. The revision allows graduate student representation and voting privilege on the Administrative Board and Graduate Curriculum Committee. Please note the revised document on the Faculty Senate web site at:
http://www.ecu.edu/fsonline/FacultyManual2/contents.htm.
6. Letters concerning unit elections for the 2002-2003 Faculty Senate representation have been mailed to unit
code administrators. In accordance with the ECU Faculty Manual, Appendix A, elections are to be held
during the month of February. Units are reminded that “all full-time faculty members of East Carolina University in at least their second year of appointment to the unit which they will represent are eligible for election to the Faculty Senate”. This includes tenured, tenure-track and non-tenure-track faculty. Please call the Faculty Senate office if you have any questions.
7. One additional 2002/2003 Research/Creative Activity Grant was funded by Vice Chancellor Tom Feldbush.
Timothy Gavin Health and Human Performance $18,612.00
“Regulation of vascular endothelial growth factor expression (VEGF) by ethanol in skeletal muscle myotubes: potential mechanism for the cardiovascular protective effects of ethanol?”
8. Faculty members interested in receiving particular monthly Academic Committee agendas and minutes are asked to notify the Faculty Senate office at ext. 6537. All Academic Committee activities are included on the individual committee websites located at: http://www.ecu.edu/fsonline/commin.htm.
C. Vice Chancellor's Report
James Lanier, Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement, noted that the University had recently received a $5.1 million grant from a couple who lived near Charlotte, N.C. He gave a report on the Faculty – Staff campaign for merit scholars. He noted that 183 faculty gave some $199,935 dollars to the recent campaign. Vice Chancellor Lanier suggest that the Faculty Senate Student Scholarship, Fellowship and Financial Aid Committee should be involved the award of these monies. He noted that the Pepsi Contract will match faculty gifts. Pepsi has pledged some $7 million dollars over the next ten year period. Some $200,000 will match the faculty gifts collected or pledged during the recent campaign. Currently some 4.1 million has been paid on the total Pepsi pledge. Senator Glasscoff asked about the status of the Scoreboard pledge, given the fact that the Scoreboard is already in place. Vice Chancellor Lanier noted that the Scoreboard at the stadium had been paid for out of Pirate Club Reserve Funds. He next referenced the Centennial Campaign chart timeline that Senators had at their place. Institutional Advancement is currently building a “case” of needs for the future. He thinks that the campaign will be in the range of $150 million. The Campaign will start on July 2002. Senator Schneider asked if the recent $5.1 million dollar grant would be part of the new campaign? Lanier opined that it would and he gave reasons why this would be appropriate.
Interim Vice Chancellor Thompson reported that the job ad for the Director of Institutional Effectiveness has been placed. He noted that the tenure and promotion timeline this year would be different due to the fact that the Board of Governors will meet before the meeting of the ECU Board of Trustees meeting that will approve the tenure and promotion recommendations. He noted that arrangements had been made to send the recommendations to the Board of Governors, but that the letters of the awards would not be sent at the “regular” time faculty might expect them. This is not a matter of concern, but simply a procedural issue that his office has made every effort of facilitate. Thompson next noted changes to the funding formula for Summer School. There would be a maximum of $10K for a full load for the two semesters this summer with their being a floor of $6K (3K each semester) for the first time this year.
Professor Chauncey stated that faculty should think about the nice future they would have when they retire! She noted that the Association was started in 1987 and that it continues to grow. Their purpose is for members to keep up with the institution and friends. She passed out the Association newsletter “The Golden Years” for Senators to review. She noted that they currently have 200 members. Other activities of the Association are Spring and Fall Socials, a Dowdy Dinner, and a reception at the Chancellors residence. Rudolph Alexander leads a trip this year to New York City and Bea will be directing a trip of Italy. The Association also awards an undergraduate and a graduate scholarship. This is also an opportunity for the Student Scholarship, Fellowship and Financial Aid Faculty Senate Committee to become involved in the award of scholarships.
E. SACS Self-Study
Brenda Killingsworth (Business), Director of the SACS Self-Study Group, discussed the upcoming SACS Re-Affirmation Team visit. She noted that we have done a serious effort in process and review for this visit. Some 800 people have participated in the SACS review. She noted that the final report is now available on the web site: www.ecu.edu/sacs.
The Re-Affirmation Team visit will be March 24th to 27th 2002. Additional documentation will be available via compact discs reports. Faculty Senators will receive an executive summary of the report as well as the CD documentation. She made reference to a handout at the Senators places that reference “the Institutional Purpose.” Brenda noted that we will be having a “seasoned” team coming for the visit. The team will review the report and ask questions for us based on further information they wish to have. Major areas of review are: assessment, credentials, and distance education. Team members will want to know if faculty members have read the report. She suggests that faculty review the report and be prepared to answer questions. Brenda called for open and honest input to the team from faculty. She passed out a handout entitled “Potential Interviews during SACS Visit – Faculty by Position/Role”. She will try to let faculty know about a week in advance if they will be interviewed, but this schedule is subject to change by the Re-Affirmation Team. Please feel free to call the SACS office if you have need for further information or support in this matter.
F. UNC Faculty Assembly Report
Ralph Scott (Academic Library Services), presented a report on the February 15, 2002, UNC Faculty Assembly meeting.
Minutes will be made available later at: http://www.uncwil.edu/facassembly/minutes.htm.
G. Election of Faculty Officers Nominating Committee
According to the ECU Faculty Manual, Appendix A, Section VII., the following faculty members were elected by acclamation to serve on the Faculty Officers Nominating Committee:
Mark Taggart (Music), Alice Arnold (Art), John Cope (Psychology), David Pravica (Mathematics), Catherine Rigsby (Geology). This Committee will present a slate of 2002-2003 Faculty Officers to the Faculty Senate on April 30, 2002.
H. Question Period
Senator Pravica asked about the optional calculator policy for the Math Placement exam. Interim Vice Chancellor Thompson noted that this was an administrative matter and that the policy had been implemented to regularize the Math Placement exam with other standardized exams which allow calculators.
Agenda Item IV. Unfinished Business
Faculty Governance Committee
Mary Glascoff (Health and Human Performance), Chair of the Committee, presented the proposed revision to the ECU Faculty Manual, Appendix D., Section IV.A.3.b. Composition of Personnel Committee. A number of Senators spoke against the revised policy. Senator Pravica asked if anyone was in favor of the revision. No one responded to the query. Senator Yarbrough called the question. The motion on the question passed on a voice vote. The motion on the proposed revision failed on a voice vote.
Agenda Item V. Report of Committees
A. University Curriculum Committee
Rita Reaves (Academic Affairs), member of the Committee, presented the curriculum matters contained in the January 10, 2002, and January 24, 2002, University Curriculum Committee minutes. There was no discussion and the curriculum matters were approved as presented. RESOLUTION #02-06
Karl Wuensch (Psychology), Chair of the Committee, the nomination procedures for the Oliver Max Gardner Award.
There was no discussion, and the Nomination Procedures for the Oliver Max Gardner Award was approved as presented.
RESOLUTION #02-07
John Cope (Psychology), Chair of the Committee, presented the proposed revision to the ECU Undergraduate Catalog, Section 5: Academic Regulations, subsection Grade Replacement Policy, changing the deadline to the last day of classes.
Senator Schneider spoke in favor the revision noting that students often missed the current deadline for grade replacement. Senator Ferreira asked if their were other reasons students would want to replace grades? Senator Schneider noted that without the present policy students could take courses over and over again. Senators Wolfe and Cieselski noted that the wording of the proposed revision was confusing. Senator Palumbo suggested that “retakes the course” be added to the end of the revision. Senator Tovey suggest that the wording be changed to “retakes the course and implements the policy.” Senator Niswander suggested that the phrase “To implement the Policy, … the form must be submitted … when the student retakes the course…” Senator Niswander editorial change was adopted and the entire motion was adopted by the Senate on a voice vote.
Professor Cope then requested that an editorial change be made to reflect this new deadline in all
University Calendars beginning with Fall 2002 and any Calendar Committee Guidelines. Following discussion, the proposed revision to the ECU Undergraduate Catalog, Section 5: Academic Regulations was approved as editorially amended. RESOLUTION #02-08
D. University Budget Committee
Rick Niswander (Business), Chair of the Committee, presented an overview of budgetary issues. Senator Niswander made reference to the handout regarding the budget that was included with the packet of materials placed before the senators. He noted that the outcome of the tuition increases was uncertain at this time. The Office of President (of the University of North Carolina) was reviewing the system wide impact of tuition increases. Senator Palumbo asked why the average funding for new positions was $62,827 since this figures would seem in practice to vary among positions. Interim Vice Chancellor Thompson responded that this was what the amount averages out to given the range of new positions from Professor to Lecturer. Senator Schneider noted that the North Carolina State University Student Government Association had voted for a freeze on faculty salaries during the current crises. He hopes that this would not become a widespread practice in the system, and noted that the East Carolina Student Government Association had not passed a similar motion. Senator Ferrell noted that while we do not have a freeze, we have “frosted” salaries. Senator Ferrell suggested that we consider a cap on enrollments if there is no additional funding for enrollment increases. Senator Martinez asked about what was meant by “position give backs” in the budget overview presented by Senator Niswander. Senator Niswander responded that “position give backs” was essentially a reduction in force. Senator Pravica asked if any faculty could have a say in how “merit” monies were awarded. Niswander made reference to section of his report that addressed monies award funding to “attract and retain qualified faculty.” Senator Ferriera expressed a concern about how we would serve new students without new faculty, classrooms, and parking spaces. Senator Ferrell noted that this lack of funding “waters down” the quality of what we are able to offer. Senator L’Esperance noted the funding issues that Public Schools in North Carolina were working under. He stated that we were a public university and that caps and other methods of cutbacks were arrogant and not in the best interest of the taxpayers and the university. Senator Pravica noted that at the Faculty Assembly some 54% of people in North Carolina would support additional funding to insure quality in their university system. He also noted that due to information on television and in other media, citizens actually thought higher education in North Carolina was more expensive that it actually was.
Agenda Item VI. New Business
There was no new business to come before the Faculty Senate at this time.
The meeting adjourned at 4:15 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Ralph Scott Lori Lee
Secretary “Pro Tem” of the Faculty Faculty Senate office
Academic Library Services
FACULTY SENATE RESOLUTIONS APPROVED AT THE FEBRUARY 26, 2002, MEETING
02-06 Curriculum matters contained in the January 10, 2002, and January 24, 2002, University Curriculum Committee minutes.
Disposition: Chancellor
Disposition: Chancellor
02-08 Revision to the ECU Undergraduate Catalog, Section 5: Academic Regulations, subsection Grade Replacement Policy.
Disposition: Chancellor
