University of North Carolina at Asheville
FACULTY SENATE MEETING
Minutes, September 18, 2003
Senate
Members: M. Alm, R. Booker, K. Bramlett, T. Brown, J. Konz, ML Manns, S. Mills, P.
Nickless, S. Patch, D. Pierce, K. Reynolds, I. Rossell, M. Ruiz, J. Wood; M. Padilla.
Absent: D. James.
Visitors: S. Cornish, T. Glenn, G. Nallan, C. Schaller, E. Snyder, B. Spellman.
I. Call to Order/Announcements
Dr. Steve Patch called the meeting to order at 3:17 pm and welcomed senators and guests.
There were no announcements.
II. Approval of Minutes
The minutes of August 28, 2003, were approved as distributed.
III. Administrative Report
Vice Chancellor Padilla gave the Administrative Report.
Collaborative initiatives of the new AVCs
Last year during the administration reorganization there was a lot of concern about the AVC's
working collaboratively rather than each representing a separate division. Dr. Padilla is confident that we
are fulfilling that expectation. The AVCs are meeting regularly with each other and also with Dr. Padilla.
Communication is improving and there is a lot of collaboration -- there is great esprit de corps.
Progress this semester
Departments have their operating budgets for the year.
With help from the Computer Center, the most outdated models of desk-top computers have been identified. Computers that were unable to handle the current version of Pipeline have been replaced.
The AVCs have had an orientation session for the new Chairs and they have put together a packet of information that could be the basis for a larger packet that Chairs could be provided on a regular basis.
The AVCs have been working with Department Chairs and Program Directors on the adjunct needs for the spring and on the spring schedule.
Beginning September 26, 2003 at 3:30 pm, the AVCs will occasionally host discussion sessions in Karpen Hall 006. At the first meeting, UNCA Counsel Tom Lawton will be available for a question and answer session about legal issues relative to field trips, internships, service learning and other off-campus class activities. These focused sessions will facilitate communication between the AVCs and the faculty. All sorts of information, perspectives, ideas, and concerns have been filtering up through the AVCs to Dr. Padilla.
Committee on Allocation of Positions (CAP)
Dr. Padilla has set up a new Committee on Allocation of Positions (CAP) which picks up the
Council of Chairs' function of making recommendations to Dr. Padilla on the allocation of faculty positions.
The committee consists of:
VCAA
AVC for Natural Sciences
AVC for Social Sciences
AVC for Humanities
AVC for University Programs
4 Department Chairs [1 from each division (chosen alphabetically from a list of departments within
divisions); one elected at large]
Dr. Nickless pointed out that Women's Studies is no longer able to have a seat or a voice on the committee. Program Directors and/or Chairs could be elected to the Council of Chairs -- this new structure excludes Program Directors. Dr. Padilla stated that Program Directors are eligible for the "at large" position.
Dr. Alm asked who would represent the Humanities -- it is a program with huge needs. Dr. Padilla stated that the AVC of that area sits on that body and represents that group.
Dr. Nickless commented that the Humanities Program Director could never serve on this body. Dr. Padilla explained that the programs that have staff are the departments and we do not have a position in Women's Studies. This is something Dr. Nickless would have to advocate.
Dr. Nickless expressed concern that the Interdisciplinary Programs at one time had the ability to have a voice on the Council of Chairs and now no longer do on this new committee.
Faculty Salary Study Update
Dr. Padilla reported that a process has been put into place to study a campus-based tuition
increase in the area of faculty salaries should the campus desire it and should the Board of Governors
allow it. He has been collecting data on our comparators, our salary structure, and our needs -- and how
much we would need to hold students harmless. Groups are forming to move this along.
IV. Executive Committee Report
Dr. Steve Patch gave the Executive Committee Report.
Task Force on Faculty Salaries
One of the goals of the Executive Committee is to assist the administration in improving faculty
salaries and they have decided to accept Dr. Padilla's invitation to have faculty involvement in deciding
how any future salary increases might be distributed. The Executive Committee has determined that
the best approach to this would be to form a Task Force. They plan to bring a document outlining the
charge and the composition of such a task force for first reading in October. Dr. Patch solicited
guidance from senators on the charge or people suitable to serve on the task force.
Diversity
The Executive Committee discussed the issue of diversity and reviewed the Senate document
passed last year. In summary, all of the committees of the Senate should be concerned with the
implications of any of their actions on diversity and think of ways their committees can advance the
cause of diversity of campus.
The Executive Committee plans to invite some of the campus experts on diversity to make short presentations to the Senate to help us evaluate our current status and to help us think about what directions we need to work on to improve diversity on campus. Dr. Patch has asked Dr. Dwight Mullen to attend the next Senate meeting. Senators suggested inviting the Director of Disability Studies and representatives from the GLBT community and the Commission on Minority Affairs. Dr. Katz will also be asked to address diversity in our curriculum when he reports on Integrative Liberal Studies.
The Constitution Task Force
Task Force members Pamela Nickless (Chair), Bill Sabo, Leigh Atkinson, Charles James, Alice
Weldon, and Mary Anna LaFratta are reviewing our constitution last revised around 1981. Our
constitution is roughly four pages while most other faculty constitutions they have seen are 12 -25
pages. A lot of the information in UNCG's and Pembroke's constitutions is located in our Faculty
Handbook. Some schools have by-laws. Although our constitution does not include by-laws -- it gives
the Senate the ability to create by-laws. The Task Force has divided the task of reviewing constitutions
from other universities, including some of the private liberal arts colleges.
The Task Force is also discussing shared governance. Dr. Nickless distributed a handout on Faculty Governance from the American Associate of University Professors (AAUP) website with a two page survey on "Evaluation of Shared Governance," and a checklist of "Traits of Effective Senates." This helped the Task Force think about what we do and how the constitution can help us. She asked senators to peruse the material, to think about shared governance and the importance of the constitution, and to send her their ideas. She plans to contact previous members of the Executive Committee for their input.
Academic Progress, Student Athletes
Dr. Gary Nallan, Faculty Athletics Representative, distributed a report on Academic Progress
and Student Athletes:
UNCA's mean GPAs, Spring 2003
Student-Athletes: 2.98
All Students: 2.98
Graduation-Rate Data, entering class 1996, six-year rate:
Student-Athletes: 73%
All Students: 51%
First Reading
The following document was distributed for First Reading:
EC 1: Presentations of Vice Chancellors at Faculty Senate Meetings
(Revision of SD3290S)
The document was modified by a friendly amendment.
V. Student Government Association Report
Mr. Tarik Glenn gave the Student Government Association Report.
Newly elected Freshmen senators are: Margot Garnick, Jeremy McKee, and Ben Walsh. Only
eighty-seven freshmen voted in the online election.
As a strategy to improve voter turnout next year, Dr. Padilla suggested SGA approach instructors in the Freshman Colloquium and saturate those courses with information -- or perhaps come into the classrooms -- to get the students involved.
Mr. Glenn reported that SGA is concerned about diversity and asked how SGA might contribute to this effort. Dr. Alm explained that the Faculty Senate's goal is to see that what we do as a group takes into consideration diversity issues. A parallel effort might be for SGA to ask what it is doing about diversity on campus. What are SGA's goals to contribute to diversity on campus?
Dr. Patch announced that senators have an open invitation to attend SGA meetings and that SGA would appreciate input from the Senate. Dr. Ruiz suggested that the SGA send its agenda to members of the Faculty Senate via email.
VI. Faculty Welfare and Development Committee
Dr. Mary Lynn Manns gave the Faculty Welfare and Development Committee (FWDC) Report.
Faculty Service Assignments
The list of Faculty Service Assignments has been distributed by Academic Affairs and minor
changes are still taking place. FWDC plans to restructure the process for assigning faculty to standing
committees.
Dr. Konz asked what FWDC was considering. Dr. Manns replied that FWDC has a lot of power in assigning standing committee assignments and they try to put faculty on the committees they expressed an interest in on the committee preference form, but this is not always possible. Also, the campus community has grown and FWDC no longer knows all the faculty on campus. Faculty have indicated that they want to serve on committees and they have asked why they are not on more committees. Therefore, FWDC will consider a process that puts a faculty member's committee assignments in his or her own hands. For example, at the beginning of each year, a list of committees and the contact person could be sent to all faculty. There are a lot of committees and task forces on campus and faculty can find the best fit for themselves.
Dr. Alm noted that more committees were listed on the preference forms than were on the list distributed by Academic Affairs. Dr. Manns explained that some committees were eliminated because they did not have Senate documentation and chose to dissolve, others had Senate documentation but filed proposals to dissolve, and some did not report to the VCAA and were eliminated. The committees on the list have Senate documentation, have faculty members who serve on them, and report to the VCAA. A few committees on the list report to the Chancellor.
Mr. Bramlett commented that there is a perception on campus that the same faculty members serve on certain committees year after year. Shared with that perception is that this is not necessarily a good thing. Dr. Manns replied that FWDC only has committee information for the previous two years. Dr. Alm noted that putting this power into the hands of the committees could exacerbate the problem. Dr. Manns stated that she has received email about this very problem and FWDC is struggling with it -- perhaps there should be term limits. All of the details have not been worked out.
Dr. Rossell suggested that faculty file their preference forms through their department Chair before sending it to FWDC. There are some people on campus who seem to never get on committees -- it has always been a bone of contention -- and it would be useful for a Chair to know who is volunteering to serve and who is not. Dr. Manns stated that it should probably not be a concern because faculty turn in annual reports of their activities, and Chairs and the VCAA should notice if there was little or no service.
Dr. Rossell stated that faculty have told her that they were not on committees because they were never assigned to any -- they may or may not have volunteered. Dr. Manns stated that is another reason for putting this in faculty hands. Faculty who filled out a preference form and were not assigned to a committee simply fell through the crack. Dr. Manns repeated that the existing process is not working, but the details for a new process have not been worked out and suggestions are welcome. She suggested that we need to try something else, and if it does not work, we can try something else in a few years.
Issues FWDC is working on this year
In addition to working on a new process for committee assignments, Dr. Manns pointed out other
issues FWDC is working on this year.
At Dr. Padilla's suggestion, FWDC is working on three documents, involving the following: how lecturers are reviewed and reappointed, how faculty Chair's are reviewed, and how off-campus scholarly assignments are processed.
FWDC received a proposal to establish an Integrative Liberal Studies Oversight Committee (ILSOC).
FWDC plans to evaluate and look at the election process.
Comments
Dr. Nickless asked if FWDC will seek input from faculty who have previously served on the
Tenure Committee and have experience reading those files. Dr. Manns replied that is what prompted the
review. Faculty reading the files gave Dr. Padilla considerable input and it became apparent that areas
need improvement. FWDC wants feedback from faculty on all of these issues before bringing anything to
the Senate.
VII. Institutional Development Committee/University Planning Council Report
Dr. Irene Rossell reported for the Institutional Development Committee/University Planning
Council (IDC/UPC).
Biology Department proposal to change degree from B.A. to B.S.
Dr. Petranka submitted a proposal from the Biology Department to change the degree that they
offer from a B.A. to a B.S. There was some uncertainty about whether this was a UPC or an APC issue;
although it impacts an academic program, there are no resource issues. The Biology Department is not
currently planning to change any of their degree requirements. Their goal is to make their students more
competitive in academia and the job market, both of which currently favor recipients of the B.S. There are
no university or national standards for either degree. Dr. Padilla favored offering both degrees, in case the
movement to a B.S. leads the department towards more rigorous requirements that cannot accommodate
students who might want to double-major. The proposal passed UPC unanimously. Dr. Padilla suggested
that the proposal be taken to APC to discuss any curriculum implications that might be inherent in
replacing the B.A. with a B.S.
Fall enrollment report and projected enrollment for 2004-2005
Dr. Gravely gave the current enrollment report, and distributed next year's enrollment projects. As
of our census day (September 3), the headcount for 2003 is 3,344. Minority enrollment is up in every
category except American Indian. Transfer enrollment is down by 23%, which was of some concern to Dr.
Rossell and Dr. Pierce, who believe that transfer students add significantly to the socioeconomic and age
diversity at UNCA. The projected headcount for 2004-05 is 3,395 (51 more students), and those 51
additional students will bring $1,000,000 in new money for UNCA. The new money will generate 8.3 new
faculty positions next year. Issues discussed during the enrollment report included the role of distance
learning at UNCA (both web-based courses, as well as courses that are taught off-campus, such as
humanities courses at AB Tech). Dr. Padilla asked UPC to discuss distance learning in more detail at a
future meeting. Dr. Padilla also suggested that one of UNCA's goals might be to become second in the
state for SAT scores. Our current scores of 1,166 are third in the state (behind UNC-Chapel Hill and NC
State).
Mr. Bramlett noted that many students identify themselves as bi-racial or multi-racial, yet North Carolina has lagged behind in offering these categories. The US Census has multi-racial and multi-ethnic categories for identity. At the very least, UNCA should include these categories for internal use.
UPC role in budget issues
UPC discussed the $1,000,000 of new money that is projected to come to UNCA next year. Half
of that money will be used to fund the 8.3 new positions, leaving approximately half to be used for other
purposes. Since one of UPC's charges is to participate in annual budget setting and allocations, Dr.
Rossell suggested that they start working on recommendations for these new funds at their next meeting.
Expenditure of Engineering planning monies
After the last Senate meeting, several Senate members had expressed interest in knowing how
the $300,000 that was earmarked by the legislature for planning a new engineering program would be
spent. Dr. Padilla said that the money was one-time startup money and would be spent to buy equipment
for labs, to search for a program director, to recruit students to the program, and to pay consulting costs.
Strategic thinking/planning at UNCA
During UPC's meeting, Dr. Padilla distributed a handout with the proposed membership of the
new Strategic Thinking Task Force. He said that he envisions that the task force will meet for one year.
He also distributed information on the strategic thinking consultants who have been hired to help
facilitate the process. The consultant is the Institute at Biltmore, and they have a one-year contract with
UNCA. The Chancellor has paid for this contract out of Foundation funding. The consultants will help
the task force to determine how UNCA will be distinctive from other colleges and universities and how
to communicate who we are. At the end of the year, the task force hopes to produce a document that
will contain a Strategic Vision for UNCA. However, the task force will not produce a strategic plan, and
no plan is foreseen for the near future. There was some discussion about the need for a plan,
especially as we approach our maximum headcount of 3500. Dr. Brown and Mr. Baxley brought up the
fact that UNCA needs to be well-prepared for the second phase of the bond issue, and that planning for
new buildings should be completed before the money is appropriated.
Dr. Padilla explained that Chancellor Mullen is convening and appointing the Task Force. Dr. Padilla will Chair the Task Force and is making recommendations to the Chancellor. The proposed membership of the 2003-04 Strategic Thinking Task Force reporting to Chancellor Mullen follows:
4 Vice Chancellors (VCAA chair/ VCFA vice-chair)
4 faculty members of UPC (at least 2 from Faculty Senate)
AVC for University Programs
Athletic Director
1 UNCA Board of Trustees
1 or 2 friend-donors and/or alums
1 student member
Chief Research Officer
(N.B.: the membership will be a mix of men and women with at least one minority group represented.
Total members will be 14 or 15 and UPC membership on that Task Force will be 8 or 9)
VIII. Academic Policies Committee Report
Mr. Keith Bramlett gave the Academic Policies Committee Report.
Update on Integrative Liberal Studies Implementation Proposal
APC has devoted four meetings to the Integrative Liberal Studies (ILS) proposal. The proposal
has three sections: the Overview, the Integrative Liberal Studies, and the Catalog copy. APC is looking at
sections one and two. Dr. Katz and members of the Implementation Team have been attending APC's
meetings and are integrating changes into the document as recommended.
APC has completed the Overview (the history and philosophy, integration opportunities, coursework timeline, and impact and resources). Before the proposal goes out to the larger faculty, there needs to be a fairly substantive, detailed, statement about the rationale and the impact on resources so that questions people might have could be addressed up front. The Implementation Team is making the impact statements on faculty resources in the Overview much more concrete.
Under section two, Integrative Liberal Studies, APC has covered the Foundation courses (writing and critical thinking, mathematics, lab science, health and fitness, and foreign language) and the Intensives (writing, diversity, quantitative, and literacy). APC anticipates completing its review of the ILS Clusters next week.
When APC completes sections one and two, the turnaround time should be fairly short. Tentatively, APC is hoping that this document will be given to the faculty by October 8th, and definitely by October 13th. The first campus-wide forum is tentatively scheduled for Friday, October 17. It is important that Senators attend the meeting to hear questions and concerns that arise.
The Implementation Team is putting clusters together so that faculty will see examples of how clusters work. There will also be color-coded charts for each department in terms of the different aspects of ILS so that individual department members can understand fairly quickly how the different components of ILS will impact the department as a whole.
Following the campus-wide forum, APC will look at the proposal once again, including all the Catalog copy. The entire proposal will come to the Faculty Senate for consideration.
Dr. Patch thanked APC for the incredible amount of work it is doing when we really need it.
IX. Old Business
There was no Old Business.
X. New Business
There was no New Business.
XI. Adjournment
Dr. Patch adjourned the meeting at 5:00 pm.
Respectfully submitted by: Sandra Gravely
Mary Lynn Manns