EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY

FACULTY SENATE

FULL MINUTES OF 20 MARCH 2001

The seventh regular meeting of the 2000-2001 Faculty Senate was held on Tuesday, 20 March 2001, in the Mendenhall Student Center Great Room.

Agenda Item I. Call to Order

Bob Morrison (Chemistry), Chair of the Faculty, called the meeting to order at 2:10 p.m.

Agenda Item II. Approval of Minutes

The minutes of 27 February 2001, were approved.

Agenda Item III. Special Order of the Day

A. Roll Call

Senators absent were: Professors Karns (Vice Chair/Business), Albright (Allied Health Sciences), Holbert (Allied Health Sciences), Hutchinson (Anthropology), Arnold (Art), Stanley (Biology), L'Esperance, Joyner, Kester, and Mott (Education), Taylor (English), Gares (Geography), Lyandres (History), Pravica (Mathematics), Cox, Fiordalisi, Meredith, and Mustafa (Medicine), Shinpaugh (Physics), Conradt (Political Sciences) and Varner (Administrative Council Representative).

Alternates present were: Professors Hebert for McCarthy (Business), Jones for Palumbo (English), Hanrahan for Dobbs (Medicine), and Worthington for Wooden (Medicine).

B. Announcements

The Chancellor has approved the following resolutions from the 27 February 2001, Faculty Senate meeting:

The Chancellor and Mrs. Eakin will host their annual Faculty Senate reception in their home on Thursday, 19 April 2001, from 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. Formal invitations will soon be mailed to all Faculty Senators. Please make plans now to attend this event.

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.

The Annual Teaching Awards Ceremony is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 2, 2001, in the Speight Auditorium. Chancellor Eakin will host a coffee and dessert reception in the Gray Gallery immediately following the ceremony. Please make plans now to attend.

Chair Morrison noted that personal letters had been mailed earlier in the month to the Governor, Lt. Governor and various NC Senate and House of Representative leaders noting the two Faculty Senate resolutions passed last month on the State Employee Health Plan and State Retirement plan. He has since heard from several of the recipients; all supporting the Faculty Senate's position on the issues.

C. Chancellor's Report

Chancellor Richard Eakin discussed the recent Board of Trustees meeting. He selected Robert Thompson for the interim Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs position effective April 1st. Dr. Eakin stated the budgetary situation for next year poses extraordinary difficulties, especially if the one offered by Governor Easley is adopted. In a letter to the Trustees, Vice Chancellor Richard Brown discussed budget difficulties, specifically, a major drop in operating funds, no funding for distance education enrollment increases, a gaping hole (approximately $2 million) in utility expenses. These matters typically receive little attention from the General Assembly. These are not reversions but are permanent elimination of positions and moneys. Projected student dollars will be below budgeted dollars for next year; this will be compounded by the reduction in distance education funds. The Governor’s proposed budget does not include doctoral ll money either. The only positive is a proposed 2% faculty salary increase (President Broad had requested 6%) and this will come in exchange for reduced contributions to retirement and taking away from medical insurance coverage. The budget cuts would impact the administration and quality of service. The Chancellor will name a budget task force to address budget shortfalls. The task force will develop strategies to deal with budget shortfall. It will include two deans, the chair of the faculty, the chair of the staff forum, the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, the Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences, the SGA president, and the Vice Chancellor for Business affairs.

Godbold (Communications) expressed concern about losing faculty to other universities, and asked what could be done. Dr. Eakin stated that her concern was of utmost importance, and that faculty should inform the local legislative delegation and others in the General Assembly about their concerns.

Hanrahan (Medicine) asked about the chances of getting away from the 18% limit on out of state students. Eakin stated that the chances of that are very low, given the dramatic number of in state students coming on in the next few years. The one possibility lies with the existing teacher shortage in North Carolina, by possibly getting out of state education majors to agree to stay in state after graduation in exchange for tuition reductions of some form.

Schneider (Business) expressed surprise at the proposed budget cuts in view of Governor Easley’s campaign pledges and stances. Dr. Eakin stated that he understood the budget crunch, but that we have a political responsibility to support higher education in North Carolina.

Rosenberg (Medicine) asked for Richard Brown’s figures, so they can be taken to the Faculty Assembly. Chancellor Eakin offered to have the information forwarded to the Faculty Senate office for interested faculty.

D. Vice Chancellor's Report

Richard Ringeisen, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, stated that the budget situation may affect equipment and facilities needs in programs. Ringeisen stated that his office was close to completing two dean’s searches; for Industry and Technology and Social Work and Criminal Justice Studies.

E. Dana Espinosa, Director of Enrollment Management

Dana Espinosa, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Director of Enrollment Management, stated that she was housed in 107 Whichard with her administrative assistant Susan Stocks. Dr. Espinosoa is responsible for financial aid, undergraduate admissions, and the registrar’s office. She suggested that senators spread the word to colleagues that she needs the support of faculty to make enrollment management a success.

F. Brenda Killingsworth, ECU's SACS Self-Study Director

Brenda Killingsworth, Self-Study Director, provided a overview of the SACS self study, its purpose, organization, and current status. Information was provided to all senators, including a leadership directory, a self-study overview, the proposal, and a list of the working committees. The schedule date for the SACS site visit is March 24-27, 2002.

Clark (Theater and Dance) asked how the coming budget woes would affect compliance. Professor Killingsworth stated that she does not expect any major shifts related to budget items. Chancellor Eakin stated that SACS generally understands temporary budget problems, and can distinguish them from long term financial woes. He stated that SACS typically gives schools several months to remedy short term financial or funding problems, and may request progress reports concerning financial issues.

G. Spring 2001 Graduation Roster

Britton Theurer (Music) and Ralph Scott (Academic Library Services) moved the approved of the Spring 2001 Graduation Roster, including honors program graduates, subject to the completion of degree requirements. RESOLUTION #01-18.

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 Governance Committee

Henry Ferrell (History), Chair of the Committee, presented first the proposed revisions to the ECU Faculty Manual, Appendix D. It was suggested the both Committee reports be considered at the same time to allow more indepth discussion of the issues. Therefore, Professor Ferrell then presented the proposed addition to the ECU Faculty Manual, Part XII. Schneider (Business) asked if faculty who had been promoted to associate could have the PAD back when they wanted to seek promotion to full professor. Professor Ferrell stated that they could have it back at any reasonable time since it was part of their personnel file.

Niswander (Business) expressed concern about the size limit of the portfolio, fearing it may open the university to lawsuits by limiting what someone can present on their own behalf. Professor Niswander moved that paragraph K, concerning the size of the dossier, be omitted from the report. Professor Ferrell stated that there is no limit on what is referenced in the PAD, only on what is presented, and that colleagues can determine a faculty member’s performance by referencing. Allred, (Psychology) stated that faculty members may provide an annotated list of everything they have ever done. The concern is not to force faculty members to send everything up the line, such as books. Clark (Theater and Dance) asked about performance videotapes for portfolios. Vice Chancellor Ringeisen stated that most faculty members who were a part of this process admitted that they do not read much of the information in the PAD anyway. Martinez (Foreign Language) stated that career accomplishments should not be reduced to a number as indicated in the recommendation. Tranbarger (Nursing) stated that he had no problem with control volume, but that the current proposal is too specific. Morrison (Chair) stated that some information can be put on compact disk. Scott (Library Science) spoke against the amendment, stating that faculty members can manipulate items such as paper weight and font size. Rigsby (Geology) stated that there is no requirement that voting faculty have to look at the material no matter how it is presented. After further discussion, a vote was called with a standing count noted with 17 for the amendment of revising appendix D and with 20 against. The motion to amend the report to eliminate the reference to size failed.

Following a lengthy discussion, the proposed revisions to the ECU Faculty Manual, Appendix D. and proposed addition to the ECU Faculty Manual, Part XII. was approved as amended. RESOLUTION #01-19 (Following approval by the Chancellor, Board of Trustees and Board of Governors, the revised Appendix D. will be included in the ECU Faculty Manual, located on the Faculty Senate website. Following approval by the Chancellor, the new Part XII. will be included in the ECU Faculty Manual, located on the Faculty Senate website.)

B. Student Advising and Retention Committee

Michael Brown (Psychology), Chair of the Committee, presented a resolution stating support for Career Counseling on campus. He noted the following about the current situation with the Center for Counseling and Student Development and that most of these factors are related to personal/career concerns, which can be addressed by the Center for Counseling and Student Development.

• Each year the demand for services increases, there has been a 36% increase in services
• Outreach services have increased 42%
• 47% of referrals come from faculty
• Reasons for referral include academic (49%), personal (38%), and career (13%)
• During most of the academic year students have to wait 2 ½ weeks before they can be seen, unless a student is in crisis
• Our accrediting association, International Association of Counseling Services, Inc. recommends that the ideal student/counselor ratio should be 1,900:1. Our current student/counselor ratio is 2,769:1

Career Services

• UNC Charlotte enrollment 17,000 12 professional staff in Career Services
• UNC Wilmington enrollment 9,884 9 professional staff in Career Services
• UNC Greensboro enrollment 12,731 9 professional staff in Career Services
• UNC Ashville enrollment 3,234 3 professional staff in Career Services
• East Carolina enrollment 17,850 4 professional staff in Career Services

Factors Contributing to Academic Difficulty (information from Undergraduate Studies)

(Academic Difficulty defined as any student with a GPA under 2.0)

• 1167 students were on Probation beginning spring semester
• 523 students were on academic warning beginning spring semester
• 43% Lack of academic motivation
• 42% Poor test-taking skills
• 40% Too much stress in my life
• 28% Experiencing test anxiety
• 23% Trouble adjusting to a college routine
• 20% Money management problems
• 18% Lack of career direction
• 16% Poor note-taking skills

Several friendly amendments were offered and accepted with the proposed resolution. Allred (Psychology) asked that "suggests" be changed to "supports"; Rosenberg (Medicine) asked that "and is not comparable to peer institutions" be added; Hanrahan (Medicine) suggested that the first sentence be reworded to read "Whereas, one purpose of the University is to prepare students for a productive career; and". Following discussion, the proposed resolution of support was approved as amended. RESOLUTION #01-20

C. Teaching Effectiveness Committee

Rose Allen (Allied Health Sciences), Co-Chair of the Committee, presented a proposed implementation of the Student Opinion of Instruction Survey during the Summer Sessions. Following a brief discussion, the proposed implementation of the Student Opinion of Instruction Survey during the Summer Sessions failed.

D. University Curriculum Committee

Jim Smith (Business), Chair of the Committee, presented the curriculum matters contained in the 22 February 2001, and 8 March 2001 University Curriculum Committee minutes. There was no discussion and the curriculum matters contained in these minutes were approved as presented. RESOLUTION #01-21 (Copies of all Committee minutes are available on the Faculty Senate website at: http://www.ecu.edu/fsonline/cu.htm.)

Agenda Item VI. New Business

Linda Allred (Psychology) presented the following resolution honoring Vice Chancellor Richard Ringeisen. There was no discussion and the resolution was approved as presented. RESOLUTION #01-22

Whereas, Vice Chancellor Ringeisen has been a strong proponent of shared governance at East Carolina University; and Whereas, Vice Chancellor Ringeisen has assisted in the development and implementation of new policies and programs; and Whereas, Vice Chancellor Ringeisen has worked with the Faculty Senate to appoint committees to address the critical issues of Faculty Roles and Rewards and Fixed-Term Faculty Appointments; and Whereas, Vice Chancellor Ringeisen has maintained active involvement in Faculty Senate committees by attendance at organizational meetings and by appointing faculty to represent and report to him; and Whereas, Vice Chancellor Ringeisen was instrumental in the recognition of outstanding faculty achievement through the ECU Scholar/Teacher awards; and Whereas, Vice Chancellor Ringeisen has capably represented ECU on UNC system-wide task forces and committees; and Whereas, Vice Chancellor Ringeisen has been a strong supporter of the Merit Scholars Program and the Honors Program, bringing outstanding students to ECU. Therefore Be It Resolved, that Richard D. Ringeisen has served the University community well in his five years as Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at East Carolina University; and Therefore Be It Further Resolved, that the Faculty Senate this day acknowledges its appreciation to Dr. Ringeisen for these accomplishments and wishes him continued success in his new endeavor as Chancellor of the University of Illinois at Springfield.

There being no further business to come before the Faculty Senate, the meeting was adjourned at 4:15 p.m.