University of North Carolina at Asheville FACULTY SENATE MEETING Minutes, October 12, 1995 Senate Members: S. Browning, T. Dohse, G. Henderson, D. Howard, C. James, N. Kauffman, B. Larson, P. Laughon, P. McDonald, M. L. Manns, K. Moorhead, R. Tynes, A. Wengrow, K. Whatley, A. White-Carter Visitors: S. Johnson, M. Moseley, B. Sensabaugh I. Call to Order Dr. Browning welcomed senators and guests to the Red Oak Room of Ramsey Library and called the meeting to order at 3:18 pm. Dr. Browning announced that Chancellor Reed, Dr. Cochran and Dr. Downes were out of town. Dr. Cochran is pursuing inquires about faculty exchanges while attending his daughter's wedding in England. Approval of Minutes The minutes of September 14, 1995, were approved as written (Larson/Whatley). II. Administrative Report Dr. Merritt Moseley gave the Administrative Report. Aqua-Tech Hazardous Waste Settlement The company UNCA used for years to dispose of its hazardous waste did not dispose of it properly and its site has been targeted for a Superfund cleanup. Groups that sent waste for disposal have to contribute to the cost of the cleanup; UNCA's contribution is $33,698. Low Productivity Program Report General Administration identified several of UNCA's programs as having low productivity based on the number of degrees per year. The criteria for low productivity is the same, regardless of university size. General Administration heeded Roy Carroll's advise that several of the programs were core programs, and shortened the list to four programs: Philosophy, Classics, Industrial and Engineering Management, and the MLA. The chairs/directors have written good defenses and pointed out that cancelling the programs would not save any money since they are involved in general education. The MLA has no faculty of its own. The administration has written a cover letter asserting that these programs are central to UNCA's mission. Most of the programs under scrutiny at other campuses are graduate programs; UNC-Greensboro has 26 graduate programs in question. Accessing faculty by e-mail Dr. Moseley and Mr. Kern Parker are working on an easy way to communicate with all faculty and department heads via e-mail. Two Grants in progress UNCA has grants in progress to the American Council of Learned Societies and to FIPSE. The American Council of Learned Societies grant incorporates service into the undergraduate curriculum, mostly by means of Humanities 414 and some Freshman English classes, and has a faculty development component. A five page FIPSE pre-proposal to underwrite UNCA's oral competency changes will be mailed next week. Most faculty members have never received training in how to instruct students to give oral presentations. III. Executive Committee Report Dr. Shirley Browning gave the Executive Committee Report. The Executive Committee discussed the possibility to having a campus mediation group to work with students, faculty, staff, and administrators as a pre-formal grievance conflict resolution arrangement. Chancellor Reed was very receptive to the idea and the Vice Chancellors have endorsed the concept. Efforts are underway to set up a planning group. The Board of Trustees will meet on November 1, 1995, and have asked for a formal presentation on how the institution develops and follows policy internally. Dr. Gravely will give a presentation on the planning process. The Executive Committee will explain how the Faculty Senate works and how academic policies emerge. The Executive Committee will meet on October 30th to plan the presentation. Dr. Henderson stated that Chancellor Reed emphasized that the Trustees' purpose was to understand the institution a little better. Dr. Browning stated that the Chancellor meets with new Trustees, but was uncertain as to the purpose. This will be the first time that the Executive Committee has given a presentation to the Trustees, in terms of explaining what the Faculty Senate does, its range of responsibilities and what its interests might be. Mr. Wengrow requested that Dr. Browning ask Chancellor Reed about what kind of orientation program UNCA has for new Trustees, and whether faculty concerns are worked into the orientation. Dr. Whatley stated that a lot of Trustees are not from the academic world, and they had some basic questions about how the university was managed. Dr. Whatley suggested that the Executive Committee discuss the campus' desire to have input into the decision-making processes and have a shared government. IV. Student Government Report There was no Student Government report. Dr. Kauffman stated that she met with Doc Patel. The SGA has accepted the Senate's recommendation that the Alternate Faculty Conciliator become the Faculty Conciliator next year. At the end of this year, the SGA will elect another Alternate so there will be a smooth transition. Dr. Kauffman is the current Faculty Conciliator and Dr. Bill Miller is the Alternate Faculty Conciliator. V. Academic Policies Report Dr. Bruce Larson reported for the Academic Policies Committee. Issues under Consideration The last APC meeting consisted of reports of business for the year. The APC discussed extensively the Learning Disabilities Policy which was distributed by Dr. Cochran earlier in the semester. A revised policy will be submitted to the Senate in November or December. Dr. Goedsche and Dr. Downes are working on a plagiarism policy. Dr. Laughon and Ms. Susan Johnson have developed material which will be helpful to the Senate's consideration of whether UNCA should expand its advanced placement program. UNCA seems to be at a competitive disadvantage given our present situation. Dr. James continues to work on multi-cultural issues. Dr. Dohse, Dr. James, and Ms. Susan Johnson are working on Catalog issues. A large number of inaccuracies need to be cleared up. A list of corrections will be sent to department chairs, requesting approval to make the corrections. The APC discussed the Sunset policy, not in terms of changing it, but how we might work with it more easily. The APC also began discussing how to approach the issue of Honors in Education which came before the Senate last year and is still not fully resolved. The APC is starting to receive documents in response to APC #1, #2, #3 Oral Competency which the Senate approved in September. Mr. Wengrow stated that Leda Neal, the writer/editor in the Publications Department, asked him about inconsistencies of style usage in the Catalog; Mr. Wengrow suggested that the APC meet with Ms. Neal to make the style consistent throughout the Catalog while changes were underway. VI. Institutional Development Committee/University Planning Council Report Dr. Kathy Whatley gave the Institutional Development Committee/University Planning Council Report. Low Productivity Programs Dr. Whatley referred to Dr. Moseley's earlier report on low productivity departments. The UPC approved the letters sent to General Administration. Dr. Whatley did not expect to hear from GA concerning this matter for several months. Schedule of Departmental Self-studies The UPC expects to bring a schedule of departmental self- studies for the next several years to the Senate soon. This will be distributed to department chairs as soon as it is finalized. Planning Dr. Whatley distributed copies of the UNCA Planning Process (draft #4). The UPC is soliciting input and asked Senators to notify her of any errors in the plan. The UPC has discussed the mission statement and the guiding concepts. Ms. Leda Neal has agreed to serve as UPC's wordsmith. Board of Visitors The UPC will meet with the Board of Visitors during their campus visit on November 10-11, 1995 to discuss visioning and the planning process. Master Planners The Master Facility Plan consultants from Coral Gables, Florida will make the first of four visits to UNCA on November 14-15-16, 1995. The consultants will gather information while planning the campus' physical facilities and will solicit input from all facets of campus. Dr. Whatley urged faculty to give input early in the process. Dr. Henderson stated that the November meeting will be an orientation meeting. The group will be on campus in January, February, and March, and will give a final presentation on May 7, 1995. VII. Faculty Welfare and Development Committee Report Dr. Paul McDonald gave the Faculty Welfare and Development Committee report. First Reading: The following documents were distributed for First Reading: FWDC #1: Change in recommendation process for emeritus status FWDC #2: Clarification of Grievance Committee meeting guidelines Dr. McDonald stated that FWDC #1 and #2 both concern changes in the Faculty Handbook. FWDC #1 is in response to Dr. Browning's request as Senate Chair. The policy, found on page 16 of the Handbook, states: "In each instance of faculty retirement, the Chair of the Faculty Senate shall initiate the process of recommending emeritus status, provided such action meets the approval of the individual concerned." Dr. Browning felt the initiation process might more reasonably start in the departments or programs where the retiree worked. In the case of Chairs of departments or programs, initiation would come from the Chief Academic Officer. Mr. Wengrow asked if a retired faculty member and an emeritus faculty were treated any differently. Senators agreed that there were differences. Dr. McDonald quoted page 53 of the Faculty Handbook, which states: "Faculty members retired and emeriti possess such privileges as continued listing in the university catalog, standing invitations to march in all academic processions and to participate in other faculty events on the same basis as currently employed faculty, use of athletic and library facilities and faculty parking areas, and such other privileges as may be extended by the Board of Trustees." Dr. Henderson asked Dr. McDonald to please check this further. Dr. Browning stated that there were very few emeriti faculty at UNCA, and he had been assured by Academic Affairs that retiring faculty had all been reviewed at some point. FWDC #2 addresses problems that arise when grievances are filed late in the spring and the committee needs to meet during the summer. If, after the election of new Grievance Committee members in the spring, a grievance petition is received and a quorum cannot be made from current Committee members alone, newly-elected members will be eligible to serve on the Committee. Standardize Executive Committee Duties Dr. McDonald recently discovered that he was charged to call the Grievance Committee together immediately following the full faculty meeting. Neither Dr. McDonald nor previous FWDC Chairs were aware of this responsibility. FWDC may standardize and list the various duties of the Executive Committee to make individuals aware of their responsibilities. Request to review Grievance/Hearing Procedures Dr. Henderson asked the FWDC to consider looking at grievance procedures, as well as the grievance content in hearings. Dr. Browning stated that the Hearing Committee's role and scope was defined by the Code, and hence the Tenure document. Although it is not always clear which committee should handle these concerns, virtually every other disgruntlement falls to the Grievance Committee. Dr. Henderson concurred, and referred to President Friday's letter, which could be seen as being different from what is in the Handbook, relative to what some people think the Code says. One example is whether you should meet with a faculty member to discuss a problem. The Handbook reads that you should have a "...simple, unadorned statement in writing," but President Friday's letter clearly does not say that you should not meet with the person and indicate that there are problems the person needs to work on if he or she is planning to stay. Some people have interpreted this to mean that you don't say a word to the faculty member. Dr. Henderson also asked the FWDC to look into what is meant by "malicious behavior." VIII. VCAA Search Committee Update Dr. Browning gave a progress report on the VCAA Search. All UNCA employees should receive the position description, status report, list of committee members, and a list of expectations, criteria, and characteristics in campus mail. The Committee has placed ads in The Chronicle of Higher Education and Black Issues in Higher Education. The Committee is submitting a copy of the ad and position description to several professional organizations, such as The American Council on Higher Education, asking them to circulate it to their membership. Letters are being sent, seeking nominations and applications to all Baccalaureate I institutions in the U. S. and to approximately 250 historically minority and women's colleges and universities. The Committee is developing a third group of institutions and organizations - for example, institutions active in the National Conferences on Undergraduate Research - that may be helpful in informing candidates with interests and experience in undergraduate liberal arts education. The announcement will be placed on the World Wide Web in locations regularly accessed by organizations and individuals interested in educational issues. The Search Committee may be contacted directly via e-mail or fax. IX. Old Business There was no Old Business. X. New Business There was no New Business. XI. Adjournment Dr. Browning adjourned the meeting at 4:10 pm. Respectfully submitted by: Sandra Gravely Paul McDonald