December 11, 2006 Minutes
The Faculty Senate of Eastern Kentucky University met on Monday,
December 11, 2006 in the South Room of the Keen Johnson Building. Senator May
called the fourth meeting of the academic year to order at approximately 3:30
p.m.
The following members of the Senate were absent:
| T. Adams |
D. Carter*^ |
A. Chapman |
| J. Chapman* |
D. Clay |
D. Eakin* |
| B. Gaffney*^ |
J. Glasser* |
B. Foley |
| M. Gebert*^ |
M. Hesse |
J. Koontz*^ |
| P. Kristofik |
M. McDermott |
S. Neumann |
| C. Resor*^ |
C. Rich* |
C. Ruppel* |
| J. Sexton |
B. Staddon |
B. Wesley |
*Indicates prior notification of absence to the Faculty
Senate Secretary
^ALT Stuart Kendall attended for D. Carter
^ALT Kathy Halcomb attended for B. Gaffney
^ALT Pat Costello attended for M. Gebert
^SUB Elizabeth Young attended for J. Koontz
^ALT Rob Christensen attended for C. Resor
Visitors to the Senate were: Jim Conneely, Student
Affairs; David Fifer, SGA; and Deborah Newsom, Financial Affairs
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
As Senator Eakin was absent due to illness, Senator May announced that he would
chair the meeting.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
The November 6 minutes were approved as written.
REPORT FROM THE PRESIDENT:
Senator Glasser
Senator Glasser was in attendance at the 2006 SACS-COC Annual meeting and sent
her apologies for missing the Senate meeting. She shared the following information
in her written report to the Senate.
The QEP draft report will be distributed to the campus communities for review
and feedback in early January. Also, the QEP Committee welcomes the opportunity
to visit with any department, unit, and group to discuss the plan and answer
any questions.
Deans and chairs have been informed about the new budget process for the next
academic year. The process is intended to give departments the opportunity to
include for consideration in their budget requests needed academic support.
This includes both operational and capital requests.
Since the last President's report, the CPE has established tuition and fee
parameters for all Kentucky public universities. The maximum percentage increase
for all the comprehensive universities is 9.5%. EKU's Budget Advisory Council
has completed its work relative to the overall budget guidelines for next year's
budget. The proposed budget guidelines and a tuition recommendation will be
presented to the Board of Regents for approval at the January 12th Board meeting.
Following the Board's approval, the University's tuition increase request will
go forward to the Council on Postsecondary Education in late January. There
is also a plan to discuss the tuition, residence hall, and meal plan increases
at a student forum in January.
More detailed information regarding the budget guidelines and tuition request
will be available in early January.
Senator Glasser expressed her gratitude again for the EKU Foundation's commitment
of one million dollars for one-time funding of campus-wide proposals. Numerous
proposals were received, and the committee, chaired by Mr. Tom Coffey, has spent
countless hours reviewing proposals and carefully considering their funding
decisions. The committee should be able to make announcements by December 8th.
The Provost & Vice President for Academic Affairs Search Committee has
completed the on campus interview portion of the search. Five finalists were
interviewed: Dr. Rodney Piercey, Dr. D'Ann Campbell, Dr. Chris McGowan, Dr.
Linda Calendrillo, and Dr. William Trumble. Each candidate was on campus for
a two-day interview schedule. The committee is now considering the summaries
of strengths and weaknesses for each candidate that will be provided to the
President.
Senator Glasser announced that Mr. Dan Mason will be the Honorary Degree speaker
at the 10:00 a.m. Commencement Ceremony on December 16. At the 3:00 p.m. Ceremony,
Mr. Homer Ledford will be the Honorary Degree recipient. Mr. Ledford's daughter,
Ms. Cindy Lowy, will speak on Mr. Ledford's behalf.
Senator Glasser thanked everyone for their hard work and dedication throughout
the fall semester and wished everyone a safe and happy holiday season.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS:
Report from Council on Academic Affairs
- Incomplete Grades Proposal
Senator May announced that the discussion on the Incomplete Grades Proposal
would be postponed until the February Senate meeting.
Motion to include faculty on Council on Academic Affairs. At the November
meeting, Senator May moved approval of the motion to include faculty on the
Council on Academic Affairs, seconded by Senator Hubbard.
As Senator May proposed the original motion, he temporarily stepped down
as chair and Parliamentarian Bob Miller opened the floor for further discussion.
Senator May asked to amend the motion on the table to include the following
language, seconded by Senator Johnson.
The Council on Academic Affairs is the major policy-making body for the academic
programs of the University. All college curriculum committees report to the
council. All actions of the council are reviewed by the Faculty Senate and
subsequently presented to the President of the University and the Board of
Regents for final approval. Council membership includes representatives from
the following:
One voting representative each from
• the dean's office of each academic college
• each college faculty (an elected, tenure-track representative)
• the office of the Dean of Libraries
• the Faculty Senate
• the Chairs Association
• the office of the Dean of Graduate Education and Research
• the library faculty (an elected, full-time representative)
Two voting representatives from the student body
One non-voting representative each from
• the office of the Director of Admissions
• the office of the Director of Advising and Retention
• the office of the Registrar
With the exception of the student representatives, all voting members must
hold academic rank at the university. The Associate Vice-President of University
Programs will serve as the non-voting chair of the council. Other key personnel
may be represented on the Council but in non-voting roles. Each college shall
determine the qualifications of its faculty representative.
Senator Johnson moved to
amend the new amendment in two places, seconded by
Senator Milde. He first proposed to change the following sentence
from
"All actions of the council are reviewed by the Faculty Senate and subsequently
presented to the President of the University and the Board of Regents for final
approval."
to "All actions concerning policies
and major curriculum items of the council are reviewed by the Faculty Senate
and subsequently presented to the President of the University and the Board
of Regents for final approval." His second proposal was to add the following
sentence
"Faculty representatives shall serve terms of
three years."
Parliamentarian Miller stated that unless there was considerable objection,
the two amendments would be considered as one motion. The majority were in
favor and the amendment to the new amendment was approved.
The majority of the Senators were in favor of the newly revised motion and
the motion carried.
NEW BUSINESS:
Report from Council on Academic Affairs
-
-
-
-
-
- Horticulture w/Business Minor Program Suspension
- Post MSN Certificate - New Certificate
- Agriculture Area Major (B.S.) - add Minor in Business option
- Horticulture Area Major (B.S.) - add Minor in Business option
- MBA - add Accounting option & Integrated Communication Option
Items 1-2 were presented as informational items only. On behalf of Senator
Chapman, Senator Johnson moved approval of items 3 - 10, seconded by Senator
Ciocca. The majority were in favor and the motion carried.
SACS Update Report. Senator Johnson gave a brief update on SACS and the
QEP report. He announced that Onda Bennett, Jaleh Razaie and Byron Bond are
willing to meet with individual areas to discuss the QEP report and to answer
any questions. He reminded everyone that the SACS visit will be on April 10-12,
and that SACS must give their approval before any funds can be expended on
any of the QEP proposals that have been put forth up to this time. Check the
QEP web site for any additional information you might need.
Update Report on Parking & Transportation. Vice President Conneely
give an update on campus parking and transportation. He first addressed a
question from the last Senate meeting regarding the Enterprise leasing program.
He has received confirmation from Enterprise that cars may be picked up the
night before without incurring additional charges.
He announced some upcoming changes regarding on campus parking. Beginning
in January, the Powell West lot will be converted to visitor parking. All
of the visitor parking behind the Student Services Building will be converted
to employee parking which means a net gain of 21 additional faculty/staff
parking spaces. Secondly, all the spots in front of SSB which are now faculty/staff
and handicap will be converted to metered parking.
New electronic hand-held readers will be implemented in the spring semester
to provide more efficient and effective ticketing of illegally parked vehicles.
Also in the spring semester, new shuttle buses, similar to those used at airports,
will be purchased.
Handicap tickets will increase in January to $100 and fire lane tickets
will increase to $60. An updated towing and booting policy will also be finalized
sometime during the spring semester.
3 Rules Committee Motions. Senator McKenney introduced three rules
committee motions for approval. The first two motions will need to be presented
to the faculty-at-large, if approved by the senate. The third motion is for
the Senate internal procedures and will not have to go before the faculty-at-large.
Senator Dieckmann moved approval of motion 1, seconded by Senator Collins,
to change the Faculty Handbook under VII.C.3.A. to the following: "The
Secretary shall be appointed annually by the Chair of the Senate at the regular
meeting in December. The term of the Secretary shall be for one year and shall
begin on January 1. The Secretary will be paid on an hourly basis from the
Senate budget for all services rendered to the Senate." Motion carried.
Senator Shasby moved approval of motion 2, seconded by Senator Shaffer,
to change the Faculty Handbook under VII.D.4. To the following: "The
current edition of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern conduct
of meetings of the Senate, except when the Senate shall adopt rules otherwise.
The Executive Committee shall seek a parliamentarian from among the faculty
or retired faculty. The parliamentarian shall not be at the same time a member
of Senate. If no qualified person is available and willing to serve, or in
the absence of that person, the vice chair shall serve as parliamentarian
until a qualified person is found." Motion carried.
Senator Taylor moved approval of motion 3, seconded by Gerken, to add the
following statement in the Internal Procedures under the Senate Chair section
titled "After the May Senate Meeting": "Work with the
incoming Vice Chair to define how to share your duties. You should arrange
to work together in a way that is comfortable to both of you, and which reflects
the ratio of course releases given to each of you. The Chair has two releases,
the Vice Chair one, so your arrangement should give about one-third of the
burden to the Vice Chair." Motion carried.
GENERAL & STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS
REPORT FROM COSFL: Senator Ware
COSFL met on Saturday, December 9th with the main discussion centering on the
search for the CPE President. Senator Ware asked for input from faculty on the
criteria that should be considered by the search committee in selecting the
next CPE President. E-mail comments to her at mixon.ware@eku.edu.
REPORT FROM STUDENT GOVERNMENT: David Fifer
SGA is sponsoring a contest to name and design the new shuttle bus system.
A $500 prize will be awarded to the winning design.
All students are charged a technology fee. SGA receives $100,000 of that money
to distribute to the university community every spring. This grant program is
available to any segment of the University through an application process. Applications
will be available beginning next Wednesday with an anticipated deadline in late
February or early March.
SGA has scheduled the following events in late January and early February:
- Listen Up Legislators
- Rally for Higher Education in the Capital Rotunda in Frankfort
- O ld Crow Medicine Show Concert - Brock Auditorium
- Lecture session "Inside Iraq" - Brock Auditorium - February 7
- President's Ball - Keen Johnson - February 9 @ 8p.m.
STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Budget Committee. In her written report, Senator Taylor
shared the following:
The committee has just received the data from the faculty survey regarding
scheduling.
Forty-eight percent of the tenured and tenure-track faculty on this campus responded.
The
committee is now analyzing the date and will submit the findings to the Executive
Committee in January.
Rules Committee. In her written report, Senator McKenney
shared the following:
The Rules Committee met on November 13, 2006 and finalized three motions to
be presented to the Faculty Senate on December 11.
Rights & Responsibilities Committee. Senator Robles shared the following
in her written report:
The Rights and Responsibilities committee has met a few times with the Provost
regarding the charge of "Faculty Workload." The committee are looking at FTE
distribution, committees and other service work, scholarship expectations, and
flexibility for departments to work within general parameters of the college
and the university. Discussion has included the use of faculty activity forms,
the accuracy of the FTE calculations, inclusion of faculty/department expectations
in the strategic plan, and methods for receiving feedback from Senate members.
Election Committee. Senator Randles reported that the committee met
earlier today to discuss two upcoming elections--faculty regent and part-time
faculty representatives. More information will be announced on January 26. He
urged senators to consider running for faculty regent and also urged them to
encourage their part-time faculty to run for the part-time faculty representative
position.
Committee on Committee. Senator Dieckmann shared the following in her
written report:
The committee met on Thursday, November 16th to plan to address the two charges
of the committee. The committee identified three action steps for the upcoming
year:
- Contact the former Chair of Committee on Committees to learn how to recommend
faculty for the various university committees (I.e., to complete our primary
purpose);
- Obtain archived lists of university committees for the past 10 years and
analyze to determine if a problem actually exists regarding faculty who are
sitting on too many university-level committees; and
- Obtain minutes of all university-level committees over the past 10 years
to determine activity and develop a recommended list of committees that could
effectively be merged or deactivated.
The committee is in the process of drafting a report to the Executive Committee
that effectively explains the philosophy of the Committee on Committees regarding
this task. Such letter will be delivered to the Executive Committee at the
beginning of the Spring semester.
Welfare Committee. Senator Collins reported that
the committee is analyzing the data gathered with regards to the number of full
time faculty, part time faculty, and administrators. The committee should have
some data available to share at the next Senate meeting.
FOR THE GOOD OF THE ORDER:
The topic of discussion was "Discussion of EKU's Benefits Package and Arlington
Membership."
Senator Flanagan stated that with the new increase in Arlington membership
dues, it is becoming increasingly more difficult for faculty to participate
which is why he asked for this to be considered as a "For the Good of the Order"
topic.
Senator Johnson mentioned that when he was chair of the Senate, he went to
the Board at Arlington and voiced frustration concerning their raising of fees,
etc., and suggested that they break apart some of the memberships so it would
be more affordable. In their bylaws it states that Arlington is supposedly for
the faculty and staff of the University and yet the vast majority of the faculty
and staff at this institution cannot afford to be members.
Senator Flanagan said that it actually states in the bylaws that Arlington
is for faculty, staff and members of the University community plus friends of
the University community.
Senator Shasby indicated that she and her husband are Arlington members and
it saddens her to hear people in the community refer to it as "the Richmond
Country Club" or "the Arlington Country Club". A large number of people do not
realize that it is an EKU event. She expressed concerns about the $2800 assessment
fee that has been mandated and how that will affect current membership.
Senator Rainey mentioned that she and her husband used to be members of Arlington
and dropped their membership some years ago. When they first joined there were
various social activities and other activities available. After that, it seemed
to become more or less a restaurant. Why pay dues to belong to Arlington when
you can go to any restaurant without having to pay monthly fees?
Senator Gerken said that if this is really a place where we are wanting faculty
and staff to be engaged, then there should be opportunities available for those
that want to go maybe one time a week or one time a month.
Senator May suggested that the Executive Committee write a letter to the Arlington
Board capturing the discussion today. Once drafted, the letter would be shared
with the Senators for feedback before forwarding on to the Arlington Board.
Senator May asked that anyone with comments or suggestions should contact either
the Senate secretary or one of the Executive Committee members.
Senator Flanagan called for a straw pool to see how many senators are members
of Arlington and about how many of those will drop the membership because of
the increase in dues. Approximately 10% are current members and of those the
majority indicated they plan to drop their membership because of the assessment
fee and the dues increase.
Senator Robles stated that one faculty member suggested allowing faculty to
go to Arlington for a year without having to pay the initiation fee but being
required to pay the monthly dues. Then if they wanted to continue membership
after the one year period, they could pay the initiation fee at that point.
Senator Houston would like the Senate to discuss what has been going on with
the employer contributions to the optional retirement plan and asked that it
be discussed as a"For The Good Of The Order" topic at some point.
Senator Ware stated that while she didn't have an answer, she could address
the topic. The Benefits Committee has been reviewing this topic as well as all
the other Universities. She heard an unconfirmed report at the last COSFL meeting
that one of the new KTRS board members is from Murray State and that individual
reports that KTRS is aware of the displeasure and realizes that something is
going to have to be done. Senator May requested that Senator Ware include any
updates on this situation in her monthly COSFL reports.
Senator Johnson asked that anyone with suggestions regarding the ORP should
contact a member of the Senate Welfare Committee, because they also serve as
members on the University Benefits Committee.
Senator Collins reminded everyone that EKU is self insured and the health
costs keep going up. The biggest way to help insurance costs, is to reduce health
care costs. That is one of the reasons why so much emphasis is being placed
on wellness programs.
Senator Waters indicated that the University is looking at several programs
aimed at reducing costs, especially pharmaceutical costs. When compared to benchmark
schools, EKU's medical claim costs and pharmaceutical costs far exceed those
of other surrounding Universities.
Senator Robles commented that if the University is focused on reducing health
care costs, one benefit the university could offer is to allow faculty to join
the new fitness and wellness center. The cost isn't that much per year, and
it might help reduce health care costs.
Senator Collins mentioned that Weaver is available for use and has a lot of
the same type of equipment as the new center. The new facility was originally
designed for students.
Senator Waters mentioned that flexible spending accounts can help in costing
out health care dollars, and it is also pre-taxed. More faculty should consider
this option.
Debbie Newsom stated that the University spends $11 million a year in health
care costs.
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