April 5, 2004 Minutes
The Faculty Senate of Eastern Kentucky University met on Monday,
April 5, 2004 in the South Room of the Keen Johnson Building. Senator Johnson
called the eighth meeting of the academic year to order at 3:30 p.m.
The
following members of the Senate were absent:
| L. Collins* |
C. Cooper* |
J. Harley |
| R. James |
D. Jones |
L. Kelley |
| M. Marchant |
M. McNew |
R. Messerich* |
| L. Patterson |
J. Payne |
K. Rahimzadeh* |
| F. Sharp |
F. Souther |
|
| |
|
|
* denotes prior notification of absence to the Faculty Senate Secretary
Visitors to the Senate were:
Paul Blanchard, Government Relations; Byron Bond, Continuing Education &
Outreach; Sue Cain, Academic Testing; Jim Conneely, Student Affairs; Julie George,
Library; Cassandra Kirby, The Eastern Progress; Diane Leggett, Family
& Consumer Sciences; Diana McGregor, Academic Advising; Kristina O'Brien,
SGA; John Shafer, Athletics; William St. Pierre, Continuing Education &
Outreach; Aaron Thompson, Enrollment Management; Virginia Underwood, Equal Opportunities;
and Elizabeth Wachtel, Academic Affairs.
APPROVAL
OF THE MINUTES:
The March 1, 2004 minutes were approved as written.
REPORT
FROM THE PRESIDENT: Senator Glasser
Frankfort
still hasn't approved a final state budget. At present, the only things
known are that there will be no new state appropriations; there have been
two-mid year budget cuts; and there are a number of fixed costs that must
be fulfilled. Personnel costs, both faculty and staff, comprise slightly
more than 70% of EKU's overall budget which leaves very little room for
flexibility to either reallocate or renegotiate funds. Senator Glasser reiterated
her commitment to maintain quality of faculty and academic programs as well
as quality to our students both in and out of the classroom. Furthermore,
she remains committed to honor personnel which, to date, has meant no layoffs.
In addition she remains committed, to the extent possible, to maintain health
insurance benefits and to provide a cost of living adjustment for employees.
At the Board of Regents meeting on April 22, Senator Glasser will be submitting
budget guidelines with a recommendation for tuition, fees, and residence
hall rates for the next year. While an increase in all fees is unavoidable,
EKU will still be among the least expensive institutions in Kentucky.
Senator Glasser plans to meet with the University community on Friday, April
23 to share her budget recommendations. Further details will be forthcoming.
In
preparation for next year's expected budget shortfall, Senator Glasser plans
to form either a Budget Task Force or a Budget Advisory Committee which
will be charged with the task of determining the true cost of educating
a student at EKU.
Senator Glasser recently toured four cities on a three-day tour to meet
with Alumni in Orlando, Tampa, Fort Myers and Sarasota, Florida. For the
past two years Senator Glasser has been diligently trying to reconnect with
EKU alumni in an effort to stress the importance and necessity of alumni
contributions to the University. This becomes increasingly important in
tight budget times, and will hopefully prove fruitful once the national
campaign is announced.
The annual Alumni Recognition Dinner will be held on Saturday, April 24.
This year's Outstanding Alum will be Lieutenant Governor Stephen Pence.
This year's Outstanding Faculty recipients will be Marianne McAdam, in the
Department of Exercise & Sports Science and Allen Engle in the Department
of Management, Marketing & Administrative Communication.
Congratulations to Jessica Frazier and her colleagues for their excellent
work organizing the National American Association of Accountants Conference
which was held in Lexington at the Hyatt this past week.
On a sad note, two significant members of EKU's family passed away this
past week, Dr. John Rowlett, former Vice President for Academic Affairs
and Dr. Dean Cannon, Professor in the Department of Communications. EKU's
annual memorial service will be on April 14 at 4:00 p.m. at the Meditation
Chapel to honor all those who have passed away during the past year.
The Honor's Day Assembly will be on Sunday, April 18 at 1:00 p.m. in the
Student Services Building Auditorium. Senator Glasser thanked Lee Van Orsdel
for organizing the event.
The last theater production of the year, "How the Other Half Loves ," will
be performed from Wednesday, April 14 through Saturday, April 17.
The Associate Provost for Graduate Education and Research search process
is in the final stages and hopefully an appointment will be announced soon.
Several
noteworthy faculty highlights since the last meeting include:
-
Anne
Gossage and Sandra Hill had papers accepted for presentation at the Modern
Languages Association Convention in Philadelphia this coming December.
-
Helen
Bennett will be attending an NEH Summer Institute in Cambridge, England.
The Institute will focus on Interdisciplinary Studies of Medieval Anglo-Saxon
Culture.
-
Anne
Gossage will be attending an NEH Summer Institute in Staunton, Va., and
London, England and she will be working with scholars as well as actors
and directors of the Shenandoah Shakespeare Company and Shakespeare's
Globe.
-
John
Gregory, Assistant Manager of WEKU-FM, and his wife, Cameron Lawrence,
received the prestigious Peabody Award for their radio documentary, "Sisters
in Pain."
EXECUTIVE
COMMITTEE REPORT: Senator Johnson
Senator Johnson
reported that the Executive Committee met on March 22, 2004. Senator Dunston
was in attendance to present the committee's work on a shared governance
survey which will eventually be distributed to all faculty online.
William St.
Pierre was in attendance to present an informational report on a distance
learning proposal.
The committee
discussed and approved listing a Promotion and Tenure Appeals motion on
the Senate's agenda. After further consideration, the committee decided
to postpone the motion until a later date.
The committee
discussed the issue of an evaluation process for coordinators. It was agreed
that Senator Johnson would pursue the matter with the Provost.
COSFL
Report : Senator Siegel
Senator
Siegel reported that the next COSFL meeting would be on April 17, 2004.
REPORT FROM
THE PROVOST: Senator Cook
Senator Cook
continues to visit with departments to discuss three main issues: 1) general
education, 2) Promotion and Tenure, and 3) intellectual property documents.
The salary
equity appeals process is proceeding with approximately 12 to 14 appeals.
The Faculty
Welfare Committee shared with Senator Cook a 14-page document on how to
make the salary equity process more effective.
The Provost
has been working with the Student Senate to consider ways to improve academic
advising for students. As a result, sample curriculum guides will be placed
on the web for all majors in the near future.
REPORT FROM
STUDENT GOVERNMENT: Kristina O'Brien
There will
be a forum for SGA candidates this evening from 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. in
the Student Services Building.
The Campus
Safety Walk will be on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. Students, faculty and staff
are encouraged to participate.
There will
be a candlelight vigil on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the Ravine.
This weekend
will be First Weekend.
The SGA elections
will be held on April 13. Voting will be online and/or in the Powell Building
from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Spring Fest
is scheduled for April 14.
The spring
concert with Diamond Rio is scheduled for April 19th at 8:00 p.m. Tickets
will be $12 for full time students and $20 for the general public.
The Student
Government Association's Inauguration Banquet will be on April 22.
STANDING
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Budget
Committee. Senator Siegel reported that the committee
met on March 25 with John Shafer, Athletics Director, in attendance to discuss
the Athletics budget. The Athletics budget is approximately $5.8 million of
which 57% is from EKU support and 43% is from student fees of $90 per semester
per student and other monies. Athletics received a budget cut of $110,000.
The cuts were in money raised, which will be offset by increasing revenue
and looking for more in-kind arrangements. Mr. Shafer also noted that EKU's
football team will be playing Vanderbilt next season, which is expected to
bring in $250,000 in proceeds from the sale of 2,000 tickets. This will generate
new revenue.
The second annual
budget forum is scheduled for Tuesday, April 6 in Library 108 from 1:30 p.m.
to 3:00 p.m.
The last meeting
of the semester is scheduled for April 22. The special guest will be Jim Keith,
Director of ITDS.
Rules Committee. Senator
M. Yoder reported that the committee met on March 19 to set the format for
the internal procedures. The document should be ready to present to the Executive
Committee at their last meeting of the year.
Rights
and Responsibilities Committee. Senator
Dunston distributed a copy of the committee's
report on the issue of shared governance along with a motion to be presented
under New Business.
Elections
Committee.
Senator DeBolt announced that Senator Schlomann was re-elected as the faculty
representative on the Board of Regents. This year 261 faculty participated
in the online election.
Senator DeBolt
asked the senators whose terms are expiring to notify the chair and secretary
of their replacements.
Committee
on Committees.
Senator G. Yoder reported that the Institutional Research Office is preparing
the online self-nomination form which will be distributed to all faculty in
the near future.
Faculty Welfare
Committee. Senator G. Yoder reported that the committee met three times
in March. One of the committee's actions was to write a letter to the Provost
with four suggestions on how to make the salary equity process more effective.
Senator G. Yoder
distributed a motion
on merit pay which will be discussed under New Business.
NEW
BUSINESS:
Council
on Academic Affairs. Senator Cook presented the following items:
- Credit-by-Examination
Policy Revision Proposal (information item only)
- Non-Degree
Student Enrollment Policy (Informational Item Only)
- Health
Information Technology (AS) - Suspended
- Design
and Merchandising Minor - Name Change
Senator Cook moved
approval of number three, seconded by Senator Flanagan. The motion was approved
by the Senate.
Senator Cook
moved approval of item four, seconded by Senator Farrar. The motion was
approved by the Senate.
Posthumous
Degree for Kelli Smoot.
Senator Sexton moved approval, seconded by Senator Siegel, of the Posthumous
Degree for Kelli Smoot. The motion was approved by the Senate.
Distance
Learning Proposal. Byron Bond and William St. Pierre presented an informational
report on a new distance learning proposal.
Senate
Chair Nominations. Senator A. Jones nominated Senator Siegel for Senate
Chair. As there were no further nominations, Senator Dunston moved that
nominations cease, seconded by Senator Smith. All were in favor of closing
further nominations.
Rights
and Responsibilities Motion. Senator Dunston moved, seconded by Senator
Smith, to approve the following motion:
- The Committee
moves that since members of the Faculty Senate represent the faculty leadership
of Eastern Kentucky University (EKU), this body, through the efforts of
the Faculty Rights and Responsibilities Committee, with the help of the
EKU Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP),
and the Office of Institutional Research (IR), undertake a Survey to evaluate
the state of shared governance at EKU.
The majority
of the Senate were in agreement and the motion passed.
Welfare
Committee Motion. Senator G. Yoder moved approval of the following motion,
seconded by Senator A. Jones:
- The Faculty
Senate Welfare Committee moves that Section I C. under "University Merit
Pay Guidelines for Academic Units" of the EKU Faculty Handbook be amended
to read:
- The
current practice which combines a standard award with a merit award
and which bases both on performance shall continue. The standard award
is a percentage of one's annual salary awarded across the board to
all faculty/staff who meet minimum performance standards. The merit
award varies from individual to individual and is dependent upon the
extent to which an individual exceeds minimum performance standards.
University merit dollars are to be divided proportionately among departments
based on the number of full-time faculty in each department. Individuals
who exceed minimum performance standards to an equivalent extent receive
merit awards in equal dollar amounts.
Senator Johnson
ruled the motion substantive and deferred a vote to the May meeting. After
further clarification discussions, Senator G. Yoder stated that he would
have an amendment to the motion by the May meeting.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Senator
Gossage suggested that outgoing Senators remind their replacements that they
are expected to be at the organizational meeting in May.
ADJOURNMENT:
Senator Cook moved to adjourn at approximately 5:15 p.m.
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