FACULTY SENATE
FULL MINUTES OF OCTOBER 11, 2005
The second
regular meeting of the 2005-2006
Catherine
Rigsby, Chair of the Faculty called the meeting to order at 2:10 p.m.
Agenda Item
II. Approval of Minutes
The minutes
of September 13, 2005, meeting were approved as presented.
A. Roll Call
Senators absent were: Professors
Zoller (Art and Design), Fletcher and Willson (Medicine),
Alternates
present were: Professors Walker for Painter (Allied Health Sciences), Dosser
for Lamson (Child Development and Family Relations), Holloman for Warren
(Education), Boklage for Gilliland
(Medicine), Moll for Taggart (Music), Abrahamson for Ciesielski (Technology and
Computer Science), Parker for Funaro (Theatre and Dance), and Cope for Allred
(Psychology).
B.
Announcements
Chancellor Steve Ballard was unable to attend the meeting
due to his attendance at the opening
of the NC Biotechnology Center and later alumni event in
Bob Morrison (Chemistry) graciously agreed to serve as
Parliamentarian during the meeting.
The Chancellor has approved the following resolutions from
the September 13, 2005, Faculty Senate meeting:
05-38 Cycle for
Five-Year Unit Evaluations
05-39 Classroom
discussion on alcohol
05-40 Interpretation
to the ECU Faculty Manual, Appendix L
Said Said (Mathematics) and Paul
Fallon (Foreign Language and Literatures) served as tellers during the
elections.
Candidate’s
portfolio of evaluative materials (teaching philosophy, nominating letter, list
of courses taught, student and peer evaluations, and 3 letters of support from
former students) for the University
Award for Outstanding Teaching
and Robert L. Jones Award for Outstanding Teaching should be submitted
to the Ad Hoc Teaching Awards Committee via the
Candidate’s
portfolio of evaluative materials for the Board of Governors Distinguished Professor for Teaching Awards and the Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching should be
submitted to the
Nominee’s materials (departmental and unit review committee nominating
letters, complete CV, and 3 letters from outside referees) for the ECU Awards for Excellence in Research or
Creative Activity should be submitted to the Academic Awards Committee
via the
The Committee on Committees is charged with filling two
upcoming delegate and alternate vacancies on the UNC Faculty Assembly. Information has been distributed to all
faculty and nomination forms are due in the
Prior to the meeting, Jim Smith, Provost and Vice Chancellor
for Academic Affairs, thanked the Senators for serving in the Faculty Senate and for all they did
for ECU. He provided the Senators with the noted below overview of
Academic Affairs activities this month.
1. Budget
Matters: The Chancellor’s Executive Council continues to evaluate
divisional requests on the $6.5million General Institutional Support budget.
This is the first time in many years that such collaborative discussions have
occurred, if ever. Each division has the opportunity to request monies
from this fund, now that the $2.5million mandated cut has been taken
(proportionately from the 4 areas of enrollment increase monies: faculty
positions, academic support, library support, and general institutional
support). These discussions should be completed in the next 2-3 weeks.
2. Faculty
Position Allocations: There were approximately 129 new faculty
positions earned by OP-agreed upon enrollment projections for 2005-06.
After the 15 positions given back as the prorated percentage of the cut from
the enrollment increase monies, that leaves 114. Given the 83% vs. 17%
balance of student credit hour increases between Academic Affairs and Health
Sciences, after agreements are reached on priorities to be considered first,
the balance of the faculty positions will be divided between the divisions on
the 83/17 percentage basis. Position allocations should be determined by
the November Senate meeting. I will share the relevant memorandum.
3. New
Operating Monies in Academic Affairs and Health Sciences: The
academic support money portion of the enrollment increase money covers faculty
benefits and increased operating costs. The new operating money totals
$1,554,342, and the 17/83% HS/AA should apply. Those monies will be
allocated over the next month on the basis of deans’ priorities in both
divisions.
4. Promotion
and Tenure Recommendations: As you know, these processes are well
underway in the units. These actions are among the most important that we
do as a university and I trust that we continue to mentor our younger faculty
and work together to produce the best possible guidance in these important
matters.
5. Leadership
Proposals Sought re the BB&T Gift: The ten deans have received
grant application forms for proposals for matching funds for leadership
projects. If you have an interest and wish
more information, please consult with your dean’s office. We have
approximately $150,000 a year from BB&T to foster leadership programs for
our students.
6. Service
Learning and Leadership Courses and Programs: Please know that any
and all matters relating to service learning and leadership curriculum
development are, as with all curriculum matters, the province of the faculty to
develop and evaluate. We have a long tradition of faculty guidance in
curriculum. Accreditation agencies insist on it as well.
C. Deirdre Mageean, Vice Chancellor for Research and
Graduate Studies
Vice Chancellor Mageean discussed the opening of the eastern
office of the
Tabrizi (Technology and Computer Science) asked if Dr.
Mageean would continue to support the one-time research grant funding of
$40,000 as seed money to encourage more outside funding. VC Mageean noted that yes, she hoped to
enhance this program yet will first look at the old process and consider
changes according to what is a fair and equitable process for all on campus.
D. Garrie Moore, Vice
Chancellor for Student Life
Vice
Chancellor
E. Terry Holland, Director of Athletics
Mr. Holland
discussed the class attendance policy and zero tolerance for missed classes
unless it is an excused absence. Some
sports may not require any classes to be missed but others carry a heavy burden,
which can impact class attendance.
Coaches expect students to attend all their classes. The same criteria that makes a student a good
athlete must be applied to academics.
Information from the faculty is vital.
Mr. Holland is asking the faculty to cooperate in filling out the grade
report. The percentage of faculty
supplying this information has gone from 58% to 66% but more is needed. We need to work together to support reasonable
policy, and information ahead of time is vital if we are to work effectively
and efficiently. Prior knowledge upon
entering ECU will allow students to make important decisions about which sports
they can participate in. Cooperation
within the conferences in setting schedules will help get student to
class. He asks the faculty to supply
reasonable guidelines so that we can educate our students before they enroll as
to what their choices will be and give as much information as possible on the
current students.
Wang
(Geography) asked if Mr. Holland could discuss the recent firing of the
baseball coach. Mr. Holland stated that
this was a personnel issue that, by law, could not be discussed.
F. Catherine Rigsby, Chair of the Faculty
Dr. Rigsby
stated that there are still vacancies on committees and anyone interested in volunteering
for the Citation Appeals Board (2006 term), Research/Creative Activity Grants
Committee (2006 term), Student Scholarships, Fellowships, and Financial Aid
Committee (2007), or University Budget Committee (2008) should contact her. The Board of Trustees had met the previous
week and some of the items discussed included 1) the site of the new
Rigsby
discussed a request from the Provost for all tenure track faculty to complete
the Harvard Graduate School of Education Survey. This survey was being used to gather
information on the institutional support and satisfaction of tenure track
faculty. Rigsby also discussed the
request from the Service Learning Administrative Committee to become a Faculty
Senate committee. This request had been
forwarded to the Committee on Committees for their consideration. She noted that the request was a positive
step in formulating this new aspect of student learning and that service
learning is an important part of the University’s curriculum.
Tabrizi
(Technology and Computer Science) asked if there would be money next year for
innovative technology proposals. Provost
Smith noted that he would look into this and let Professor Tabrizi and others
know.
G. Rob Lange, Associate Director of Admissions
Mr. Lange
presented the annual report on the freshman class. 3238 were enrolled of which 544 were out of
state. Average SAT score was 1050. Average high school GPA was 3.524 on a 4.0
scale. Out of class rank the average
student is the 74% percentile in their senior graduating class. Mr. Lange stated that this is the highest it
has ever been. Male to female ratio this
fall is 38% male, 62% female. Efforts
are continuing to be made to increase diversity on campus. The number of students who have self
identified themselves as minorities has increased and will continue to increase. This was the first time a home schooled
student has won an ECU Scholar Award for incoming freshman.
Chair Rigsby (Geology) asked about first-generation college students. Mr. Lange
noted that he did not come with that information but would be happy to forward
it to the body after the meeting. Levine
(Medicine) asked about freshmen on athletic scholarships. Mr. Lange offered to also forward that
information to the body following the meeting.
H. Jan Tovey, Faculty Assembly Delegate
Dr. Tovey presented
a report on the September 16, 2005, Faculty Assembly meeting. She stated that
the resolution honoring past chair, Jeff Passe, was approved. Brad Wilson, Chair of the UNC Board of
governors, reported on 1) Presidential Search:
Dr. Tovey noted
that in spite of a cut of $42 million (1.7%), the final state budget saw an
increase of 10.9%. We can expect hurricane relief to impact federal monies. She
stated that steps have been taken in the admissions process to ensure the
safety of UNC students. About 12 students were not offered admission because of
failure to disclose information asked on the admissions form.
Committees
reported their priorities for the year. These include review of best practices
for tenure and review procedures, adoption of the Academic Freedom Resolution,
further exploration of strategic plan directions and their impact on the
budget, examine role of faculty benefits as recruitment/retention issue, review
of organizational structure of the Assembly, improve faculty input into new
program development and reallocation of space, and review of the use and impact
of Delaware data on resource allocation. In addition, the Governance Committee
will work on helping to bring campuses in compliance with the new Minimal
Standards for Shared Governance, passed at the April 2005 meeting.
I. Question Period
Robinson
(Mathematics) asked about the Strategic Planning process and 5 year unit
evaluation. Provost Smith noted that the
Faculty Senate approved Resolution #05-38 in September 2005 stated: “In accordance with Faculty Senate
Resolution #04-21, the cycle for the Five-Year Unit Evaluations should be
modified to fit the schedule of (combined undergraduate and graduate) program
review (coordinated with external professional accreditation reports whenever
possible). The Unit Evaluation would serve as a faculty comment
on the unit’s self study, a response to the findings and recommendations of the
review team, and would be used in the development of a unit response to the
recommendations derived from the program review. For the purpose of this
recommendation, a unit is defined in accordance with Appendix D of the East
Carolina University Faculty Manual which states “academic units are defined as
departments described in the codes of operation of professional schools, the
departments in the College of Arts and Sciences, professional schools without
departments, Academic Library Services, Health Sciences Library, and any other
units in which faculty appointments are made. In the
Provost
Smith noted that the unit evaluation was not tied to the planning process. Chancellor Ballard had been discussing more
flexibility with the Strategic Planning process and Vice Provost Henry Peel had
been asked to lead this discussion.
Tabrizi
(Technology and Computer Science) stated that innovations in technology were
being created by faculty but the University was not using or supporting the new
creations. He asked why the University was
not being supported. Vice Chancellor
Mageean responded to Professor Tabrizi by stating that an integral part of our
research infrastructure was to be responsive to the needs of faculty. She invited him to meet with her sometime
soon after the meeting to discuss this further.
Provost Smith also called for any suggestions for supporting innovation
to be passed on to him.
Agenda Item
IV. Unfinished Business
Report from
the Chancellor’s Smoking Task Force
Bill Koch,
Director of the Environmental Health and Safety Department, presented a report
on the Task Force on Non-Smoking. This
task force was established by the Chancellor and has met several times over
several months to discuss health issues regarding tobacco smoke. Bill Koch gave a brief history of the
formation of NC laws in regards to smoking but also stated that you will not
find a written smoking policy on this campus.
However, it is understood that there is no smoking in the buildings. Contacts made to Human Resources and the
Attorneys office did not provide any information on a smoking policy. The Task Force is supportive of the concept
to create a cultural shift rather than a written policy to discourage
smoking. In general, the Task Force
concept entails putting signs on building stating that there will be no smoking
within 25 feet of the buildings or high traffic areas or areas (which could
pull smoke into the buildings) and providing designated smoking areas (which
will protect smokers from the elements and will be convenient). Smoking will
not be allowed in any shared University vehicles. There will also be access to
smoking cessation programs. There will be no formal written policy and we
expect everyone on the campus will work together to respect each others rights.
The task force will continue to work with the Office of the President on
smoking issues.
Morrison
(Chemistry) thanked Bill and the Task Force for their work thus far on this
important issue.
Agenda Item
V. Report of Committees
A. Committee on Committees
Henry Ferrell
(History), Chair of the Committee, first presented the Committee’s wish to
change Professor Angela Thompson’s (History) 2006 alternate term on the
Grievance Appellate Board to a 2008 regular term. There was no objection. Then
Professor Ferrell presented Professor Christa Reiser (Sociology) as the nominee
for the new 2006 alternate term on this appellate committee. Professor Reiser
was accepted by acclamation.
Professor
Ferrell then presented nominees for Hearing Appellate Committee: Anne Dickerson
(Allied Health Sciences), David Long (History), and Jim Kirkland (English). The
nominees were accepted by acclamation with Professors Dickerson and Long
serving 2006 Alternate member terms and Professor Kirkland serving a 2008
Alternate term.
B. Admission
and Retention Policies Committee
Larry Seese
(Business), Chair of the Committee, presented a proposed revision to the ECU Undergraduate Catalog, Section 5:
Academic Regulations, relating to Class Attendance and Participation
Regulations.
Horst
(Music) moved to strike “and may be advised to drop the course.” in the third
paragraph of the proposed text.
Following discussion and a standing vote, the motion to strike was
approved.
Moll
(Music) moved to change the word “required” in the third paragraph of the
proposed text to “advised”. The motion
to change failed.
Decker
(Health and Human Performance) moved to add “Instructors are required to
recognize and honor University-excused absences.” as the first sentence in the
third paragraph of the proposed text. Following discussion, the motion to add failed.
Dobbs (Medicine) moved to add “3. participation in activities directly related to university
course work and part of the course requirements.” and “To qualify for a university-excused
absence, as in 3., above, an activity must:
• be directly related to the course work; • be of a nature that prevents
it from being accomplished at a time that does not conflict with a class; • be announced
on the first day of class with complete information regarding date, time,
purpose, and duration; • be limited to one per course per term; and • be
submitted by the course instructor, through the appropriate departmental
chairperson, director, or dean, to reach the Office of the Provost or his or
her designee not later than one month prior to the start of the term.” Following discussion, the motion to add failed.
Following
further discussion, the proposed revision to the ECU
Undergraduate Catalog, Section 5: Academic Regulations, relating to Class
Attendance and Participation Regulations, was approved as amended. RESOLUTION
#05-41
C. Faculty Governance Committee
Purificacion
Martinez (Foreign Languages and Literatures), Chair of the Committee, presented
an interpretation of the ECU Faculty
Manual, Appendix D, relating to faculty members’ eligibility for serving on
search committees.
Winstead
(Health Sciences Library) spoke against the interpretation, noting that her
unit code stated that all faculty and staff are eligible to serve on search
committees. Eakes (Nursing) spoke
against the interpretation stated that 59% of faculty in the
Allen
(Chemistry) asked about past search committees that had violated this
interpretation and had fixed-term faculty on them. Chair Rigsby stated that we can do nothing
about past violations to our Faculty Manual policies; we can only encourage
people to comply with the Faculty Manual in the future. Long (History) asked what was the alternative
to accepting this interpretation.
D.
Faculty Grievance Committee
Gene Hughes (Business), Chair of the Committee, presented for information only
an overview of the 2004-05 Committee activities. There was no discussion
and the annual report of the Faculty Grievance Committee was accepted as
presented.
The meeting
adjourned at 4:30 p.m.
Respectfully
submitted,
Christine
Zoller Lori
Lee
Secretary
of the Faculty Administrative
Officer
Jan Tovey
Interim
Secretary of the Faculty
Department
of English
05-41 Revision to the ECU
Undergraduate Catalog, Section 5: Academic Regulations, relating to Class
Attendance and Participation Regulations.
Replace the current text with the following:
“CLASS ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION REGULATIONS
Students
are expected to attend punctually all lecture and laboratory sessions and field
experiences and to participate in course assignments and activities as
described in the course syllabus. Absences are counted from the first class
meeting, and, at the discretion of the instructor, absences because of late registration
may not be automatically excused.
Each
instructor shall determine the class attendance policy for each of his or her
courses, as long as the instructor’s policy does not conflict with university
policy as described herein. The instructor’s
attendance policy, along with other course requirements, will be presented to
the class, preferably in writing, at the first class meeting. Faculty may
include class attendance as criteria in determining a student’s final grade in
the course. If class attendance is to
affect a student’s grade, then a written statement to that effect must
be part of the course syllabus.
Excused absences should not lower a student’s course grade,
provided that the student, in a manner determined by the instructor, is able to
make up the work that has been missed and is maintaining satisfactory progress
in the course. If a student anticipates
that he or she may miss more than 10% of class meeting time as a result of
university-excused absences, the student is required to discuss this matter
with the instructor at the beginning of the semester.
Instructors
may require that students provide reasonable advanced notice of a
university-excused absence, when possible. It is the student’s responsibility
to obtain verification of a university-excused absence by contacting the Office
of the Provost or his or her designee.
Requests for university-excused absences should be submitted, whenever
possible, to the Office of the Provost or his or her designee at least a week
prior to the scheduled absence. Requests
submitted after the fact will be disapproved unless circumstances made prior
approval impossible.
The death
of an immediate family member or student participation in religious holidays
may be considered an excused absence under university policy. Should such a
circumstance occur, and the faculty member desires verification, the student
should contact the Office of the Provost or his or her designee for a
university-excused absence and provide documentation of the particulars.
The
Student Health Service does not issue official written excuses for illness or
injury except in the case of a final examination when a grade of incomplete (I)
is requested by the student. Upon student request, however, the Student Health
Service will confirm that the student has received medical care.
The
Office of the Provost or his or her designee may authorize university excused
absences for the following activities:
1.
Participation
in authorized activities as an official representative of the university (i.e.,
sporting events, delegate to regional or national meetings or conferences,
participation in and necessary travel to and from university-sponsored
performances);
2.
Participation
in other activities deemed by the Office of the Provost or his or her designee
to warrant an excused absence.
Any
student who feels that he or she has been treated unfairly concerning absences
or has been misinformed by the faculty member regarding that instructor’s
absence policy shall have the right to appeal through the appropriate Dean.”