FACULTY SENATE
FULL MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 13, 2005
The first regular meeting of the 2005-2006
Agenda Item I. Call to Order
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 April 19, 2005, and April 26, 2005, were
approved as distributed.
Agenda Item III. Special Order of the Day
A. Roll Call
Senators absent were: Professors Bishop (Economics),
Robinson (Math), Burwell (Social Work),
Killingsworth (Faculty Assembly Delegate), Vice Chancellor Lewis, Vice
Chancellor Mageean, and the Administrative Council Representative.
Alternates present were: Professors Coonin for Winstead
(Academic Library Services), Walker for Painter (Allied Health Sciences), James
for
B. Announcements
Electronic
access to the Faculty Salary report (BD-119) is available via One Stop. This
information will be updated once 2005-06 salary information is made
public. Please direct any questions to
Kelly Zimmer at 328-4182.
The Chancellor has approved the following resolutions
from the April 19, 2005, Faculty Senate meeting:
05-29 Endorsement of a Faculty Assembly Resolution on Proposed Budget
Reductions.
05-30 Endorsement of a Faculty Assembly Resolution on Opposition to the
05-31 Curriculum matters contained in the minutes of the March 24, 2005,
University Curriculum Committee meeting.
05-32 Removal of the “
05-34 Request to change the name of the BS in Manufacturing to the BS in
Industrial Engineering Technology.
05-35 Resolution on Faculty Salary
Practices.
Faculty members are reminded of the research and teaching grant proposal
deadlines.
Research grants are due Wednesday,
September 14, 2005, in the Faculty Senate office.
http://www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/fsonline/rg/research.cfm
Teaching grants are due Monday,
October 3, 2005, in the Faculty Senate office.
http://www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/fsonline/tg/teachinggrants.cfm
Faculty members are reminded of the teaching award nomination deadline of
Thursday, September 15, 2005.
Portfolios of nominated faculty members are due in the Faculty Senate office by
Tuesday, December 1, 2005. A description of each award is available at: http://www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/fsonline/aa/academicawards.cfm. Please contact Dorothy Clayton in the Center
for Faculty Development (328-6470) if you have any questions.
Faculty
members not located on main campus (Allied Health Sciences, Medicine, Health
and Human Performance) and who serve on various academic standing committees
are reminded of special courtesy parking permits available from the office of
Parking and Transportation Services. Special Courtesy Permits allow faculty members attending meetings, etc. to
park in "A1/B1” lots on main campus.
These permits are issued to unit heads at no charge and are to be used
in conjunction with a paid parking permit. Information about these parking
permits was distributed to unit heads over the Summer. Additional information is available from Mike
Vanderven, Director of Parking and Transportation Services (328-1961).
All
Faculty Senate materials
(agendas, minutes, announcements) will be distributed via a Faculty Listserv that has been
established and used in conjunction with the Microsoft Exchange mail system.
Faculty choosing to opt out of the Faculty Listserv will continue to be able to
access the materials via the Faculty Senate website. Paper copies of documents will always be
available in the Faculty Senate office (140 Rawl Annex).
Faculty interested in periodically
receiving past copies of "The
Chronicle of Higher Education" are asked to call the Faculty Senate
office at 328-6537 to have their name placed on a distribution list.
Members of the Faculty Information
Technology Review Committee regret to inform the Senate that there are no funds
available for this year’s Student Computing and Technology Fee Innovative
Proposals. The Committee hopes to have the program revived for the 2006-07
academic year. Please direct any
questions to Karl Wuensch, Chair of the Committee at wuenschk@mail.ecu.edu.
The next Board of Trustees’ meeting
is scheduled for Friday, September 30, 2005. Copies of the meeting agenda will be
available in the
C. Steve
Ballard, Chancellor
Chancellor Ballard stated that due the threat of hurricane
Ophelia, the University would be closed Thursday, September 14, 2005. In reference to the status of ECU, he stated
that it was a great time to be at ECU. He
congratulated the faculty on what they do for the institution and society
noting from research on a cure for diabetes to successful programs dealing with
at-risk teen agers to the quality of the University’s coursework.
He made reference to his speech at
the Faculty Convocation and congratulated the faculty for their hard work and
stated 444 new faculty positions had been created through the work and
scholarship of this University. He stated that the work of the faculty and
administration will allow us to form the type of University we want to have and
again he congratulated everyone on what had been done. He cautioned that the
University could not continue to grow at the current rate.
Chancellor Ballard noted that
despite predictions of five months ago, a great year was had in the
Legislature, which started with a $1.2 billion deficit but the bottom line for
ECU is plus $27 million due in part to huge growth in enrollment. Overall
impact to our base budget is a cut of 1.72% to be taken off the top with
minimal impact. The $27 million is not sitting for open claims and there are
numerous allocations. As far as compensation, the state provided 2%
compensation for non-SPA and EPA employees, which he believes, is insufficient.
The Chancellor stated that for the
first time we have a steering committee with a team approach in place on campus
for fund raising issues for the institution. He stated that we all need to work
together towards a situation where fund raising for
Chancellor Ballard distributed a
document relating to the Status of UNC Health Care Initiative and stated that
the healthcare initiative was disappointing and not working to the faculty’s
advantages. Minimal raises will not
cover the increased costs. We must work much harder and all 16 campuses must
exert more pressure. There is a lot of work to do to try to make a difference
in healthcare coverage.
In connection with hurricane relief
efforts, the Chancellor stated that ECU community was to be congratulated for
its contributions. It is still hard to
know all the best ways to help. Our
institution stepped up during a time of great uncertainty.
Sprague (Physics) asked what could
the University do for displaced faculty members from Hurricane Katrina. The Chancellor responded that the Provost was
working to identify those in need.
Professor Rigsby noted that Vice
Chancellor Mageean was called away on important family business and apologized
for missing the Senate meeting.
Professor Rigsby noted that invitations to join the University Research
Council were going out soon to various faculty members and administrators. The
intent of the Council will be to nurture research on campus.
D.
Jim Smith, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
In addition to the report
distributed electronically that morning and noted below, Provost Smith stated
that he was very impressed that for five straight years we have had enrollment
increase money at a very significant time.He cautioned that although we can
continue to grow it could not be at this rate. In addition, we may have over
$20 million to allocate this year that may not be the case next year. There are
serious concerns about enrollment management and how much more we can do. There
are many valid requests for this money, which could be double what we actually
have. He cautioned that we must be careful this year and thanked the faculty
for all their hard work, which gave us this opportunity. There were no questions posed to Provost Jim
Smith at this time.
Items included in Provost Smith’s
electronic transmittal:
#1.
Salary matters: the salary memoranda that describe the 2005-2006
process and criteria have been distributed. Chancellor Ballard has
indicated that we will find internal dollars to bring the total aggregate average
faculty and NT-EPA salary increments to 3% (2% legislative average;
campus-based tuition increases raise the average to 2.7% and central dollars
will be used to raise the average to 3%). The schedule for this process
has been distributed as part of the memoranda and the increments approved
should be present in the October 31 payroll, retroactive to July 1.
#2.
Budget matters: ECU’s enrollment increase projections for 2005-06
have been completely funded for the first time in five years. This means that
approximately 129 faculty positions and associated benefits, operating dollars,
library funds, and general institution support monies are coming our way (minus
cuts noted below). This adds up to approximately $20.5 million and gives
us an opportunity to benefit the University. We do have a total reversion
(budget cut) of approximately $2.5 million that will be absorbed across the
four categories mentioned above, i.e., will be absorbed entirely out of the new
enrollment increase monies. Stated differently, no cuts will be taken in
current budgets. That state of affairs may not continue forever and we
must be cognizant of possible cost savings as we go forward.
#3.
Promotion/Tenure/Reappointment Mentoring: As we begin another year
of academic life and work, please emphasize the importance in your departments
and schools of the mentoring process for our tenure-track faculty.
We do three very important things for our University: we hire
faculty, we allocate and use resources, and we participate in the reemployment,
reappointment, promotion, and tenure processes. When any fail in these
processes, we all lose something. Please contribute positively all along
the way to make our university more effective and to make these processes more
personally fulfilling for everyone.
#4.
ECU 2005-2010 Compensation Plan: You will recall that a year ago,
Chancellor Ballard asked that we develop a compensation plan for the next few
years. Given that a $25 a week raise for all ECU employees would cost
$6million, this is a daunting task. The goal of valuing all of our
employees is a good one and the attachment is a start in that direction.
The document contains some interesting information and ten action steps.
The Faculty Welfare Committee and the Faculty Budget Committee have received
copies and have been invited to contribute suggestions and recommendations for
the plan as it evolves. We are particularly concerned about our SPA
colleagues because they have not had the advantage of a campus-based tuition
increase salary augment. Therefore, one of the action steps is to set a
side $300K this year (and hopefully over the entire period, each year) to
address SPA salaries in a way to be determined as the year proceeds.
#5.
The Impact! Task Force: The announcement yesterday of the revised
Impact! ECU Committee as a task force under the guidance of Brian McMillen and
Mary Lou Antieau marks an important step for the University. The good
work of the committee over the years must be constant in the future if we are
to have a positive impact on the personal decision-making of our students in
these important areas of concern. --Many thanks to Brian, Mary Lou, and
all who have been and will be associated with this work.
E. David Dosser, Chair
of the Academic Integrity Subcommittee
Professor Dosser (Child Development and Family Relations)
presented several items of interest to the Senate. Those items included an
overview of his activites, a report on the Academic Integrity Subcommittee, and
the University Athletics Committee’s 2004/05 Annual Report. Professor Dosser’s full report to the
http://www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/fsonline/at/9_05senatereport.cfm
F. Catherine Rigsby,
Chair of the Faculty
Professor Rigsby (Geology) spoke briefly to the group about
committee openings and asked for volunteers. She discussed her wish to
spotlight various junior faculty in her remarks to the Board of Trustees and
asked Faculty Senators to let her know of faculty within their unit who they
felt deserved the extra attention.
G. Brief Moment in
History, Henry Ferrell
Professor Ferrell (History) discussed various historical
happenings relating to a distributed 1956 black and white picture of various
ECU supporters.
H. Question Period
There were no questions posed to the body at this time.
Agenda Item IV. Unfinished Business
A. Recommendation from the Process Improvement
Committee Concerning Five-Year Unit Evaluations
Michael Poteat, Director of Institutional Effectiveness,
presented the Committee’s recommendation, in accordance with Faculty Senate
resolution #04-21, that the cycle of 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).
There was no discussion and the recommendation was approved
as presented. RESOLUTION #05-38
B. Resolution on
Classroom Discussion on Alcohol
Brian McMillen, Co-Chair of !mpact ECU presented a resolution on classroom discussion on alcohol.
Allen (Chemistry) noted that he was not up on all that caused the resolution to
be drafted but stated that the if goal was to prevent poor judgment, which
would cause the cancellation of classes or moving exam dates due to perceived
student inebriation then perhaps the resolution should be rewritten to reflect
that rather than the use of a broad no-no about speaking about alcoholic
beverages. Catherine Rigsby asked if he would like to propose an amendment,
which he declined to do at that time.
Glascoff (Health and Human Performance) made a motion to reword “Therefore Be
It Resolved” to read: “Therefore Be It Resolved, that the Faculty Senate
recommends that a letter (similar to the one noted below) be sent to all ECU
Faculty under the endorsement of the Faculty Senate and with the signature of
either the Provost or the Chancellor.”
There was no discussion and the amendment was approved.
Following discussion, the resolution on classroom discussion
on alcohol was approved as amended. RESOLUTION
#05-39
Agenda Item V. Report of Committees
A. Committee on
Committees
Henry Ferrell (History), Chair of the Committee, presented
first the nominee for the Faculty Assembly Delegate vacancy. There were no
nominations from the floor. Professor
Jan Tovey (English) was elected by acclamation and moved from a Faculty
Assembly Alternate to a Delegate with a 2006 term. Elizabeth Hodge (Education)
was elected to fill the 2008 Faculty Assembly Alternate seat.
Professor Ferrell then presented the nominees for the two
open regular member seats on the
Appellate Hearing Committee. There were no nominations from the floor.
Professors Richard Mauger (Geology) and Maury York (Academic Library Services)
were elected by acclamation to fill the regular membership vacancies, with a
2006 and 2008 term respectfully.
Professor Ferrell noted that the Committee on Committees
would report in October on nominees for the three alternate seats on the
Appellate Hearing Committee and one seat on the Grievance Board.
B. University Budget
Committee
Henry Ferrell (History), Past Chair of the Committee,
presented a summary of the University’s expenditures. He noted a report on the cost of distance education relative to on-campus
for the UNC system and for ECU is available online.
Jack Brinn, Interim Chief Information Officer, spoke briefly
on activites of Information Technology and Computer Services (ITCS). Additional information is available online at
http://www.ecu.edu/cs-itcs/.
C. Faculty Governance
Committee
Dee Dee Glascoff (Health and Human Performance), Past Chair
of the Committee, presented the proposed interpretation to the ECU Faculty Manual, Appendix L.
Boklage (Medicine) asked what “regular” meant in the
sentence “who has regular academic faculty rank”, noting that this was a hard
word to define. Glascoff responded that
“regular” refers to the rank of a faculty member.
There was no further discussion and the proposed
interpretation to the ECU Faculty Manual,
Appendix L. was approved as presented. RESOLUTION
#05-40
There was no additional business to come before the
Respectfully submitted,
Christine Zoller Lori
Lee
Secretary of the Faculty Administrative
Officer
FACULTY SENATE RESOLUTIONS APPROVED AT THE SEPTEMBER 13, 2005, MEETING
05-38 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
Disposition: Chancellor
05-39 Resolution on Classroom Discussion on Alcohol
Whereas, students have complained
about instructors either joking about student drinking, canceling classes or
exams because of concern too many students will be hung over, or telling their
own drinking stories, and
Whereas, 20% - 23% of ECU students
report that they are either abstinent or non-drinkers and another 20% report
that they are light drinkers(OtC Student Health Survey 2002, Core Inst. Student
Survey 2004), and
Whereas, the majority of ECU students
are enrolled in order to gain an education, and
Whereas, jokes about student drinking and canceling classes or exams promote
drinking and insult the non-drinkers, and
Whereas, heavy problem drinking has caused serious harm to a number of
students and one recent death, and
Whereas, the Student Government Association has asked the Faculty Senate of
East Carolina University to join with them in a request that the draft letter
noted below be sent to all members of the faculty at the University.
Therefore Be It Resolved, that the Faculty Senate
recommends that a letter be sent to all ECU faculty under the endorsement of
the Faculty Senate and with the signature of either the Provost or the
Chancellor.
Disposition: Chancellor
05-40 Interpretation to the ECU Faculty Manual, Appendix L.
Part B of Appendix L allows ALL
permanently tenured faculty members, regardless of administrative
appointments, leaves of absence, etc., to vote on the acceptability of the
nominees. Hence, in the case of a search for a new department chair, a
nominee would be considered acceptable if he or she gets the endorsement of a
majority of all of the permanently tenured faculty in the department. The total
number of permanently tenured faculty in the department includes any tenured
departmental faculty on leave of absence (if present and voting) or on
administrative assignment within or outside the department.
Disposition: Chancellor