University of North Carolina at Asheville
FACULTY SENATE MEETING
Minutes, September 8, 2011
Senate
Members: R. Berls, R. Bowen, M.
Burchard, G. Ettari, V. Frank, E. Gant, B. Hook, G. Kormanik, T. Meigs,
K. Moorhead,
G. Nallan, K. Reynolds, R. Roig, N. Ruppert, B. Schaffer, S. Subramaniam;
J.
Fernandes.
Excused: G. Boudreaux, S.
Mills.
Visitors: G. Ashburn, R.
Binderwald, S. Capone, L. Friedenberg, A. Gravely, B. Judge, L. Langrall, E.
Katz,
J. Konz, K.
Krumpe, A. Lanou, B. Larson, P. McClellan, P. Mitchell, R. Pente, R. Ridenour,
A. Shope.
I. Call
to Order and Announcements
Dr. Volker Frank called
the meeting to order at 3:16 pm and welcomed senators and guests.
II. Approval of minutes:
The minutes of April 7, 2011, April
28, 2011 (3:15pm), and April 28, 2011 (4:30pm) were approved with two editorial
corrections.
III. Executive Committee Report
Dr. Frank reported for the
Executive Committee.
Standing
Rules and Rules of Order
The Standing Rules and Rules of Order remained the same as in
2010-11. The Standing Rules and Rules
of Order passed without dissent and became SD0211F.
Major
challenges of 2011/2012 academic year (not in order of priority) include:
1) Look into the
large number of faculty committees. A
good number of committees have not submitted annual reports, which brings up
the question if they had any significant work during AY 2010-11. They may very
well have had a lot of work, but we need to look into this. Reports are windows into faculty activity and
if there is important material, we need to look at that. In some cases we may have to clarify domains,
combine committees, and perhaps even clarify the Faculty Handbook. The large
number of committees also speaks to faculty work load issues.
2) Senate will also look at the review of
tenure and promotions report. FWDC will
look at that very carefully. This report
reflects sentiments and experiences of our faculty. We need to find ways and means to integrate
the findings of this report into our understanding of the work we do here, the
kind of faculty we wish to attract, promote, and develop. How we understand our
work here also affects the kind of student we (want to) produce.
3) Curriculum Review Task Force. This is
ongoing work and a lot has been done since we started. Any faculty interested in finding out where
we are can contact Jane Fernandes or myself, as well as our point persons (Konz,
McClellan, Dunsmore, Gibney,
Bahls).
1-3 above constitute important business of
Senate, and the outcome of this work will have relevant consequences for all faculty. 1-3 also
constitute an important example of shared governance.
4) Senate needs to continue its support of
our attempts to diversify our University.
For that purpose, we will continue to work with the Diversity Action
Council (DAC). They will come to Senate
this year and we will visit them.
5) Senate needs to take a look at partner
benefits, including tuition support. It
is a part of faculty welfare and we need to keep working on these issues. This is not a UNCA issue alone, but a system
wide issue. Senate could work with DAC
and other campus groups on this.
6)
Faculty also needs to take a closer look at faculty-staff
relations. Even though our Senate constitution
mentions (article II, section 1, line q) “maintain and promote the welfare of
all members of the University community”, the nature of this relationship is
unclear, and too often, there is “fluff”. For example, this past year, when
some staff lost their work, faculty reacted in protest. This is a sign of solidarity and does indeed
address the above cited line. However,
when staff invite faculty to come and hear their concern, or when staff and
faculty representatives organize information meetings about staff issues, few
if any faculty show interest. Among
other questions, we need to ask: where
can this relationship go? What are limits
- legal, practical, etc – to this relationship?
For example, are there opportunities to do work together (internships,
undergraduate research)?
7) Similar to our need to get a clearer
understanding of our relationship with staff, we need to work closer with the
UNC Faculty Assembly. Incoming president
Ross as well as incoming VP for Academic Affairs Ortega have sent signals that
they are interested in exploring the relationship (and improving communication)
with GA. For that to happen,
communication between our campuses must improve, and here our faculty
representatives to the Assembly play an important role. Strengthening the Assembly has a lot of
potential, including point 5) benefits for UNC employees.
8) We must make sure that we get SACS
approval. Senate will continue to
support our colleagues who work on this.
9) We look forward to working with our colleagues
in administration on these and other issues.
Faculty
Senate Representative on SGA
Dr. Subramaniam agreed to serve as the Faculty Senate representative on
SGA. SGA meets on Wednesday’s at
9:00pm. Mr. Berls and Dr. Frank will
attend in Dr. Subramaniam’s absence.
IV. Faculty Welfare and Development Committee Report
Mr. Rob Bowen reported for the Faculty Welfare and
Development Committee.
FWDC has met twice and has
several items on its agenda: review
committee annual reports, membership, and restructure some committees. FWDC will review the on-line evaluations,
benefits and tuition, and updating the Faculty Handbook. The administration and the Faculty Senate will
discuss the Tenure and Review report.
Committee
assignments (follow-up from 04/28/11)
The Senate
approved the following committee assignments:
Minority Affairs Commission (SD4606S) (SD5000S)
2010-13: Katherine Min (replaces Phillip Delacruz)
University Research Council
(URC) (SD1209S; SD7808S)
2010-12: Jeanne McGlinn (replaces
Jeff Foreman) EDUC
University Teaching Council
(UTC) (SD1309S)
2011-12: Robert
Bowen FWDC Representative
ILS Intensive Subcommittees (SD6309S; SD8307S, SD0105F;
SD0304F; SD0703F)
ILS Writing Intensive
2011-15: David Hopes (replaces Amanda Wray)
ILS Colloquium
2011-15: Constance Schrader (replaces Ana Teixeira)
University Relations Faculty
Advisory (SD5407S)
2011-13: Curtis
Cloninger (replaces Susan Reiser) Natural Sciences
Intellectual Property
Committee (See Section 9.4) (SD1105S) (SD3402S)
2011-14: Elena
Adell (replaces Virginia Derryberry) Humanities
Textbook Committee (SD3508S)
2010-12: Cathy Pons (replaces Ronald Sousa) Humanities
Faculty Scholarship and
Service Awards Committee (SD7708S)
2011-13: Brian
Hook FWDC Representative
Distinguished Scholars
Committee (SD0708F) (SD5500S)
2011-13:
Bert Holmes (replaces Marcia Ghidina)
V. Institutional Development Committee / University Planning
Council Reports
Dr. Kevin Moorhead reported for Institutional
Development Committee and University Planning Council.
Report
on University Planning Council meeting – August 26, 2011
Dr.
Moorhead reported on three agenda items:
•
The
first agenda item was a budget update by the Chancellor, presented in context
of our new financial landscape. Last
year we planned for a budget reduction of 10%.
Our actual budget reduction was 11.8%, but the supplemental tuition
increase made up the difference. The
Chancellor reviewed many of decisions made last year in relation to UPC‘s
Strategy for 2011-13 Resource Allocation document. Recent changes in the financial practices of
the Office of State Management and Budget have created a reality where the
11.8% reduction is closer to 15%. The
University was not allowed to carry over money and as a result, financial
commitments made last year must be met with our existing 2011/2012 budget. Accounts were swept for available cash at the
end of the fiscal year which resulted in the loss of almost $1,000,000. The upcoming year will be very austere. The University did not receive any Repair and
Renovation funding last year and we do not know if any will be available this
year.
•
The
Chancellor provided an update on other planning issues, including the decision
to outsource the bookstore and how the Rhoades Property will be used for the
next three to five years. There may be
an opportunity for UNC Asheville to acquire the MAHEC property on W.T. Weaver
Boulevard and the abandoned Health Adventure property on Broadway.
•
A
list of budgetary decisions made in 2010/2011 can be found in the minutes of
the August 26, 2011 UPC meeting.
•
The
second agenda item was an introduction of Mr. Don Gray as the interim Director
of the UNC Asheville Foundation. Mr.
Gray will be at UNC Asheville for 6 to 12 months. He will help the university search for a permanent
Vice Chancellor for Development. Mr.
Gray has expertise in training people to conduct fundraising and one of his
goals is to provide that training to faculty and others to develop a culture
where everyone at the university is part of the development team.
•
The
final agenda item was a group discussion on possible topics for the UPC to
consider as part of our work for the upcoming academic year.
Comments
•
Dr.
Meigs added that UPC met with branding consultants over the summer and were
shown several layouts and types of media videos. One consideration is a 30-second commercial that
will show during the nationally televised basketball against UNC Chapel
Hill.
•
Dr.
Roig asked if faculty were involved in the decision to outsource the
Bookstore. Was it discussed at UPC?
o Dr. Moorhead said faculty were not involved in the decision. There was some discussion about potential
ways to deal with budget issues at UPC last year. Senators on UPC could not recall a
discussion on outsourcing the Bookstore.
N.B. Some
of the wording of this report is taken from the minutes of the UPC meeting. The complete minutes are available: http://www.unca.edu/node/2861
Report
on Institutional Development Committee meeting – August 30, 2011
•
The
IDC planning meeting for the upcoming academic year was held on August 30,
2011. Faculty members of IDC developed a
list of topics and issues that we will discuss.
The next meeting on September 22 will focus on university assessment of
student learning (current framework, future trends, and faculty concerns) with
our guests Lisa Friedenberg and Jessica Dunsmore.
VI. Academic Policies Committee Reports
Mr. Rob Berls reported for the Academic Policies Committee.
APC
representative on ILSOC
Mr. Berls agreed to serve as the APC representative on the ILS Oversight
Committee.
First Reading
The following documents were
available for first reading:
APC 1: Proposal to allow
double major in Anthropology & Sociology
APC 2: Proposal to amend Class Attendance Policy (Revision
of SD0510F) (Handbook 3.1.4.3.4)
A sentence was amended in APC 2.
“As per North Carolina legislation, students may also be given up to two days excused absence per semester for
religious observance.” was amended as follows:
“As per North Carolina legislation, students must be given up to two days excused absence per semester for
religious observance. “
Second Reading
The following document was considered for second reading:
APC
90: 2013-14 and 2014-15 Academic
Calendar
At the request of Dean
Krumpe (a member of the calendar committee), Mr. Berls made a motion to
consider only the 2013-14 academic calendar today and return the 2014-15
academic calendar to APC. Dr. Bowen
seconded the motion which passed.
Dean Krumpe discussed
our contract with Chartwell’s dining services and General Administration’s
mandate to have 75 scheduled learning days per semester (including final
exams). At certain times in the sequence
of years, as in the 2013-14 calendar, commencement is
slated for December 21. The largest
implication is that staff in the registrar’s office will likely work through
December 24 when the university is technically closed. Based on input from faculty on the committee,
the calendar was structured so there is at least a week of learning when the
university returns from Thanksgiving break.
A number of constituencies on campus would like the calendar to be
pushed forward a week: classes would start a week earlier, there would be a
reading day when returning from Thanksgiving and then final exams would
start. By returning the 2014-15 calendar to APC and the calendar committee, they will see if
there are better ways to solve this in the future.
Dr. Moorhead made
suggestions: make Labor Day a learning
day and having the reading day on the weekend; have final grades for seniors
due on Friday and commencement on Sunday afternoon/evening the weekend
before.
Dean Krumpe said we
have held classes on Labor Day in the past.
A few years ago when we went to a Monday – Friday final exam period our
students were severely penalized because many of the faculty have moved away from
final exams and have moved to papers, projects and presentations. The students have found that the weekend that
separates the final exam period into two sections gives them an opportunity to
study for exams, work on papers, projects and presentations, and then come back
and take final exams.
SGA President
Bindewald addressed the conflict students face: to work on projects when they must travel
during the holiday. Students who work
need a non-weekend reading day.
Mr. Berls said there is
not enough time to have commencement the weekend before. Dean Krumpe said unlike other institutions,
our students receive their diploma when they walk across the stage; this has
scheduling implications.
Dr. Frank said when
contemplating the opening and closing dates for university events to consider
what dates would ensure greater faculty participation.
Mr. Berls moved to
approve APC 90 for the 2013-14 academic calendar. Dr. Bowen seconded the motion.
Dr. Burchard
questioned why we were moving to approve the calendar without fixing the
December 21 commencement.
Dr. Krumpe said the
problem exists on both the 2013-14 and the 2014-15 calendar. He asked that the Senate remove the 2014-15 calendar to try to find a solution that works; they would
then return and amend the 2013-14 calendar.
The university made a decision for planning purposes to have three
approved calendars at any given time.
That is why the 2013-14 calendar is being
pushed forward – to have three approved calendars.
Dr. Burchard asked if
we approve the calendar, what are we saying?
Mr. Berls said we are
saying that if a solution can be found we can come back and amend it. If a solution cannot be found we have the
calendar ready to go.
Mr. Berls and Dr.
Bowen withdrew the motion to vote on the 2013-14 calendar
at this time.
Mr. Berls said given
the concerns expressed, he suggested APC amend the calendar and bring it back
to the Senate for first reading. Dean
Krumpe said he did not believe they would arrive at a solution and return the
calendar to the Senate. This is based on
two constituents: commentary from faculty and from students.
Dr. Frank said by
sending the calendar back, both bodies will know there is some urgency to amend
the calendar with something that Senate can approve.
Dean Krumpe said
people recognize the need for the university to be able to plan – that is why
we are saying the 2013-14 calendar is not ideal but it
is the best that the calendar committee and APC could come up with right
now. He is willing to work on it, but he
is not optimistic that it will change without significant cultural changes on
this campus.
Mr. Berls said APC
considered this at length and he did not believe APC would be able to solve
this at this time.
Dr. Moorhead said he
knows it sounds great that we are the only institution that hands students
their diploma, but we could graduate this group of students without the
diploma. December 21 is so close to
Christmas and many families have plans.
Ms. McClellan said this
would be a major culture shift and that will be a broad conversation. We can deal with commencement on December 21
if we receive grades from everyone within 24-36 hours after exams are given.
Dr. Burchard said we
have only had large December graduations for three or four years. We are capable of culture change if that is
how we are going to describe the problem.
The most concern is that we are asking people to give up their holiday
time in order to process things so that we can say something about
ourselves. It would be better to say
about ourselves that we value our staff and their work so highly that we make
sure that they get what they need and not expect them to take on an extra
burden because of calendar fluctuations.
Dr. Meigs said a year
or two ago, during a snow storm the ceremony was delayed until May and diplomas
were mailed to students. It can be done.
Dr. Reynolds moved to
approve the 2013-14 academic calendar in APC 90. Dr. Hook seconded the motion.
Dr. Burchard called
the question. APC 90 as amended
failed by a vote of 7 to 8.
APC workshops
APC will host three
workshops on September 12, 19, and 26 at 10:00am in New Hall-121 to help
departments who plan to submit proposals to APC.
VII. Administrative Reports
Academic
Affairs
Peer
Selection Recommendations
Dr. Archer Gravely reported that we
established our first UNC-General Administration approved peer group in
1999. The peer group was updated in 2004
and most recently in 2007. Until recently
there was no consequence to picking overly aspirational peers. Peer Institutions are now used to benchmark
faculty salaries with the UNC system goal of being at the 80th
percentile, tuition and fees, and various performance funding measures such as
retention/graduation rates and degrees awarded per 100 FTE. It is no longer to our advantage to have
overly aspirational peers. For the
current peer selection process we have to identify 16-18 peers, private schools
are discouraged and must be justified and we are limited to 20 percent of peers
rated as aspirational. Provost Fernandes
formed a peer selection committee in May and the group identified the important
enrollment, financial, faculty, and institutional characteristics that should
be used to identify our peers. The report
provides the committee members, selection process, and a comparison of our 2007
peers with the proposed 2011 peer recommendations. Senior staff reviewed the committee’s work
and made a couple of changes.
SACS
report
Dr. Bruce Larson announced that we
have met the deadline for the submission of UNC Asheville’s SACS Commission on
Colleges compliance certification materials.
The Senate gave a round of applause.
Hundreds of faculty, staff, students, and community members have done
much, directly and indirectly, to get us to this point.
Many thanks to SACS Document Group
members: Eileen Crowe (SACS Editor), Jessica Dunsmore (Director of
Institutional Effectiveness), Annis Lytle (SACS Reaffirmation Assistant), and Louis
Toms (SACS Data Manager). Eileen Crowe
provided consistent, repeated, and precise editing of multiple drafts. Jessica Dunsmore provided an insider's
knowledge of SACS that was indispensable.
Annis Lytle kept everyone informed and coordinated the activities of all
concerned. Louis Toms was the person who
received, distributed, and assembled multiple drafts of hundreds of compliance
documents and singlehandedly assembled the final compliance certification materials.
Many thanks, as well, to SACS Working
Group members: Jessica Dunsmore, Jane Fernandes (Provost and VCAA), Lisa
Friedenberg (Director of Academic Assessment), Amy Lanou (QEP Assistant Chair),
Mary Lynn Manns (QEP Chair), Susan Reiser (QEP Researcher), Nancy Yeager
(Director of Student Affairs Planning and Assessment), and Regina Pente
(Translator) . He thanked SACS
Executive Committee members Ben Judge and Zarian Bowers and Vice Chair of the
Board of Trustees Nathan Ramsey.
In November, the University will
receive a response to our submission.
The Senate gave a round of applause
to Dr. Larson for his role in the completion of this milestone.
QEP
report
Dr. Amy Lanou said the draft QEP
document prepared over the summer based on information received last year was
sent to faculty today. Faculty now have access to the draft document and links to
provide feedback.
Student
Government
Highlights of SGA President Renee Binderwald’s
report:
•
Ryan Ridenour will be the liaison for the Faculty
Senate this year.
•
Freshmen elections went into a run off.
•
SGA
is preparing for its retreat.
•
SGA
is hosting and sponsoring student Olympics for well-a-bration
with events that cover physical, mental and social wellness.
•
SGA
is working with ASG for national advocacy efforts for all of the UNC schools,
lobbying for pell grants and research funding.
VIII. Old Business
Non-departmental Specialty Funds
Dr. Ted Meigs distributed an update
on the Non-departmental Specialty Funds with thanks to Julie Heinitsh and
Claudel McKenzie :
Highsmith
Visiting Scholar Fund 995151
Endowment
value as of Feb 2011: $76,557 ($78,362
as of June 30, 2011)
Person
responsible: Jane Fernandes
Amount
available for fiscal year 2011: $3,659.20
Amount
spent in fiscal year 2011: -0-
Amount
available for fiscal year 2012: $3,549
Ruth
and Leon Feldman Professor Fund 995144
Endowment
value as of Feb 2011: $72,593 ($72,017
as of June 30, 2011)
Person
responsible: Jane Fernandes
Amount
available for fiscal year 2011: $3,932.38
Amount
spent in fiscal year 2011: $2,400
Amount
available for fiscal year 2012: $3,634
*
# Ruth Feldman Outstanding Scholar Award 995001
Endowment
value as of Feb 2011 $45,705 ($44,833
as of June 30, 2011)
Person
responsible: Beth Bartlett
Amount
available in fiscal year 0211: $2,338.79
Amount
spent in fiscal year 2011: -0-
Amount
available for fiscal year 2012: $2,198
†
Ruth and Leon Feldman Endowment Fund 995105
Endowment
value as of Feb 2011: $32,844 ($33,782
as of June 30, 2011)
Person
responsible: Beth Bartlett
Amount
available in fiscal year 2011: $1,901.36
Amount
spent in fiscal year 2011: $1,901
Amount
available for fiscal year 2012: $1,745
UNC
Asheville Foundation Adjunct Faculty Fund 994126 Note: this is not endowed.
Person
responsible: Jeffrey Konz
Fund
balance: $5,992 ($6,022 as of June 30, 2011)
The
funds remaining at the end of the fiscal year in the UNC Asheville Foundation
Adjunct
Faculty Fund 994126 automatically carry
forward and are available the next year.
The
other four funds are endowment funds, and the income from the endowment each
year is available for spending. Any
amount remaining in the current year's income account will be added to the
principal at the end of the fiscal year -- with the following exception. The person responsible for the fund can
request (in early May) that all or some portion of those funds be carried over
to the following year. Funds that are
carried forward will not show in next year's income amount, but they will be
available for spending.
*
Feldman Outstanding Scholar Award is typically spent at this time of the year
(April 2011).
#
Feldman Outstanding Scholar Award is awarded by the History department.
†
Ruth and Leon Feldman Endowment Fund is a scholarship awarded by the Financial
Aid office.
IX. New Business
President Ross’s inauguration
Dr. Frank is unable to
attend President Ross’s inauguration and extended his invitation to any senator
who can attend the event on October 6, 2011 at 10:00am.
Request to go into closed session
Mr. Rob Bowen made a motion
that the Senate go into closed meeting.
Under the Sunshine Law the Senate has to be open but we can close the
meeting to discuss personnel issues. The
motion was seconded by Mr. Berls and passed unanimously.
Request to go into open session
Mr. Bowen made a motion to
return to an open meeting. The motion
was seconded by Mr. Berls and passed.
X. Adjourn
Dr. Frank adjourned the
meeting at 5:52pm.
Respectfully submitted by: Sandra
Gravely
Executive
Committee