FACULTY
SENATE MEETING
Minutes,
Senate
Members: L. Atkinson, B.
Butler, R. Booker, L. Cornett, J. Konz, B. Larson, D. Lisnerski,
S. Mills, G. Nallan, P. Nickless, D.
Pierce, B. Reynolds,
M. Padilla.
Visitors: M. Alm, J. Burges, D. Cline, B. Dennison, M. Gibney, B.
Massey, P. McClellan,
S. Robinson, A. Shope, J. Stevens,
K. Whatley, PARSEC team.
I. Call
to Order and Announcements
Dr.
There were no
announcements.
II. Approval
of minutes
The
minutes of
III. Administrative Report
Dr.
Alumni and Development
Report
Mr. Bill Massey, Vice Chancellor for Alumni and
Development, welcomed the opportunity to visit
with the Faculty Senate and to answer
questions. His report is available
at: Report of the Vice Chancellor for Alumni and Development
.
Mr. Massey noted that Alumni and Development is more
successful in bringing attention to the university when it works with
faculty. Fundraising for this year is
considerably ahead of last year. In the
not too distant future, announcements will be made about some very significant
private support of the university – including the largest private gift that has
been made in the university’s history.
The level of endowed scholarships has been raised from $10,000 to
$25,000. The thrust of their effort is
to ensure the future through endowed scholarships, professorships, and programs
in individual departments.
Mr. Massey asked faculty to consider two changes that
would generate better relationships between alumni and the university:
1) At the May commencement, allow students who have
shown that they can graduate in the summer and have registered for those
courses in the summer, to walk across the stage. That is a transforming moment for most
students, and those who do not march in May may be less inclined to support the
university.
2) Make the December ceremony a full
commencement. Those students also
graduate – do we really give them the full measure of what we perhaps
should?
Dr. Lisnerski hoped that having ceremonies throughout
the year would shorten May graduation.
Many students are graduating in December.
Questions/Comments
Dr. Rossell asked how close we are to publishing a
magazine. Mr. Massey replied that we are
getting closer to that goal because the quality of our publications is catching
the attention of significant people with resources who say we need to have a
regular magazine. Magazines are very
expensive but do a lot of good. He could
not imagine going into a capital campaign, which is probably some years away,
without a magazine.
Dr. Nallan asked how we currently define the
threshold dollar value of a major gift.
Mr. Massey explained that this figure fluctuates. A year ago, $1,000 was defined as a major
gift – we now think of $10,000 as a major gift.
We need to move to $100,000 as a major gift. Last year their goal was to raise
$2,000,000. This year they will raise at
least $5,000,000 and they need to be raising $10,000,000 a year. This increase in needed donations is a
reflection of what faculty do in their classrooms and
labs.
Further discussion on
Commencement
Dr. Padilla added that he and the Chancellor support
Mr. Massey’s suggestion that students be allowed to walk at commencement if
they are short the number of credits that they can make up in summer school and
if it is reasonable to expect that they will make them up. It seems mean spirited not to include these
students. At the same time, members of
the faculty have resisted the idea because commencement represents a completion
and it cheapens the experience for others.
He proposed that they make it consensual starting with May
commencement.
Discussion turned to the winter ceremony that
recognizes students that have completed or are likely to complete their degree
requirements once the grades are fully tallied.
Dr. Padilla raised the questions:
Do we turn the ceremony into a commencement – then make the students
ineligible to walk in the spring? Do we
have a commencement address? Do we have
an honorarium dinner? The Senate briefly
discussed calendar issues associated with a winter commencement.
Dr. Padilla has proposed to the Chancellor that we
discontinue the August ceremony for students graduating in the summer.
New Class Schedule Grid
The Executive Committee asked Dr.
Padilla to answer questions about the new class schedule grid because Senators
were getting questions from faculty.
Pat
McClellan reported that she initiated the discussion in response to the number
of requests they were receiving to offer either 3-credit hour classes in a
2-day format, or 4-credit hours in a 3-day format. The grid was reworked to give departments
more flexibility.
A
revised grid was first taken to department chairs/program directors in
April. Academic Affairs received some
feedback, but it was shelved because a couple of department chairs indicated
there would be problems. In August,
people asked what had happened to the new grid; it was brought back to the September
department chairs/program directors meeting for feedback, then again in
November for a consensus. It was decided
to try the new grid.
Ms.
McClellan referred to an email that Dave Peifer sent to the Senate, and stated
that his model is up for discussion. Dr.
Peifer and Ms. McClellan discussed his proposal on the very day that she sent
out the new information. She explained
to him at the time that this was a pilot.
It will be tweaked, and part of the discussion will be to perhaps look
at his proposal.
Dr.
Nickless asked how long the pilot grid would be used before it was
reviewed. Ms. McClellan noted that if an
obvious problem is discovered, it could be tweaked right away. Academic Affairs would request feedback from
department chairs/program directors because they are constructing the schedules
and she would also work with folks individually. She was open to making major tweaks, minor
tweaks, scrapping it, or going like it is -- we need to be able to adapt it as
needed.
Dr.
Padilla cited the no class section as an example of possible change. When the grid was presented last April, one
of the long term goals was to create times that were not scheduled so that
departments, clubs, or students could meet.
This change was incorporated over the summer and he did not know if that
change will work. If people do meet,
there will be more logjams because everyone will be scheduling their events
during these slots. If one or both of
those periods turn into a waste of good class time, this can be modified.
Dr.
Ruiz asked if the math department could continue to offer 4 classes of 50
minutes. Ms. McClellan replied yes – the
goal was not to constrain departments.
Dr.
Cornett understood that the new grid would set aside time for no classes and
there would also be no departmental or campus meetings so it could be a
student-oriented time. The grid has
departmental events/meetings during a no class slot. Ms. McClellan explained that they tried to
bring some organization to this time.
For example, Tuesdays could be used for department-focused events and
Thursdays could be used for broader campus-focused events. However, departments could come up with their
own rubric. Dr. Padilla added that they
are not presuming to tell departments when to meet -- it is a resource that
faculty can use to be with students.
During
further discussion, Senators expressed concerns about the pilot grid:
-
a number of class slots are being lost
-
it is more difficult to put together schedules
-
there are problems of space utilization, particularly for
the 3-hr courses put in 2-hr time slots
-
it makes for a longer day
-
the down times between class blocks do not allow
sufficient time to accomplish anything.
Dr. Padilla supported the grid as a
reasonable compromise. Academic Affairs
and department chairs/program directors will evaluate the grid and they expect
a lot of feedback.
Academic Calendar for
2005-06, 2006-07
Dr. Nickless noted that last month
the Senate discussed the final exam schedule at length and as a result
neglected to approve the 2005-06 calendar. She distributed Section 7.4 of the Faculty
Handbook on the Academic Calendar. She
suggested that perhaps this should be modified as it is not current practice:
Annually,
the Office of Academic Affairs prepares two academic calendars, one is
a final draft of the Academic Calendar for the following
year and a preliminary draft
of the subsequent year. Both calendars
are presented to the Chancellor's Administrative
Cabinet for
initial approval.
The final draft of the following year's calendar is then
presented to the Faculty Senate for their
adoption. The calendar is available online at Academic Calendar for 2005-06 pages vii-viii.
Dr. Whatley distributed the final
exam schedule in an easy to read format, as well as draft calendars for 2006-07
and 2007-08, and a 2003-04 through 2007-08 calendar with important dates. No snow days have been added in 2005-06
because we are hosting NCUR. In response
to faculty recommendations, two snow days have been included as reading days in
the 2006-07 and 2007-08 spring semesters; these days can be used as make-up
days if needed.
Dr.
Nickless explained that the Faculty Senate’s task was to approve the 2005-06 calendar and to give input on the 2006-07 calendar. Dr. Konz made a motion to approve the
2005-06 academic calendar. Dr. Larson seconded the motion, which passed
unanimously.
Discussion
Dr. Whatley explained that the
schedule requires that we have 14 of each kind of day. Dr. Rossell and Dr. Ruiz spoke on behalf of
the sciences -- it is extraordinarily difficult to schedule labs when classes
start on Wednesday and there is no class the following Monday. Dr. Whatley will discuss this issue with the
science chairs on Monday.
Dr.
Padilla commented on possible new options for Bulldog Day and the advantages to
holding it later in the semester.
Discussion
turned to final exam make-up days, fall break, and the draft 2007-08 academic
calendar. There are two days for make-up
exams; if these days are used, grades will be due later. Two days will be taken for fall break. Again, this occurs because we need to have 14
of each kind of day in the calendar.
Fall break can be longer if the semester begins earlier. It was agreed that the Senate would look at
the 2007-08 calendar next year. Dr.
Nickless suggested that Academic Affairs and the Executive Committee discuss
the calendars earlier in the process.
Dr.
Whatley encouraged senators to share the draft with colleagues so they can
receive comments now and can incorporate them into the next draft. The calendar will be placed on the Faculty
Senate webpage.
Administration Reorganization
The
Executive Committee asked Dr. Padilla to discuss the reorganization of the
grant development office in response to several questions from faculty.
Dr.
Padilla explained that the area of grant development/economic development/tech
transfer and center support is getting too complex for one person to develop
the grants, help administer the programs, and ensure compliance. He has asked John Stevens to play a new role
-- to focus primarily as Chief Research Officer of the administration with
certain obligations to the Office of the President (OP). There is pressure on the administration to
represent ourselves in the community in economic development that requires
traveling to board meetings, to biotech workshops at OP, and other off-campus
functions. The Chief Research Officer
will be the public face for economic development that OP is asking for, and
will also look for larger grant opportunities and represent the Provost at many
of these functions.
Dr.
Gerard Voos will serve as Director of the Office of Sponsored Scholarship and
Programs (OSSP) in a half-time position reporting directly to the Provost. Dr. Voos has been working with the National
Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center (NEMAC) and has worked very successfully with
faculty and administration. He is an
expert in external grant processes and applications, particularly government
sponsored programs. He has a Ph.D. in
Biology and has been a researcher. His
role will be to work in OSSP with whoever walks through the door, but to try to
work with chairs and individual faculty on areas of support that they
identify. Dr. Padilla is hoping this
will provide more coverage for faculty.
Dr.
Padilla foresees a new Office of Compliance emerging in the next several months
to manage grant implementation and maintain best business practices as defined
by the Office of Finance, OP, and granting agencies. The key focus will be to help ensure that
UNCA adheres to required procedures, guidelines, and protocols. The Compliance Officer will report directly
to the Provost.
Dr.
Voos is currently serving as a development officer and operational officer for
NEMAC. He has agreed to forego the
operational functions and to accept the OSSP director position.
Dr.
Rossell asked if Dr. Stevens will remain the contact for Centers on
campus. Dr. Padilla stated that he is
shying away from the idea that we need to administer Centers. Centers cannot and should not be controlled
by a single entity or single person. The
directors of the Centers will administer the Centers. He sees Dr. Stevens’ role as looking for
funding opportunities for the Centers.
Dr. Padilla is decoupling some of Dr. Stevens’ former roles from the
Centers and asking him to have a more public face and to work with Dr. Padilla
on a legislative strategy.
IV. Executive
Committee Report
Dr. Nickless gave the Executive
Committee Report
Faculty
Senate Constitution
The
Chancellor has approved the revised Faculty Senate Constitution (SD0204F). The Executive Committee will prepare a draft
of Standing Rules and Rules of Order for next year. This Constitution allows for greater
flexibility in how we conduct elections.
Chancellor
Search Committee Report
Dr. Konz
reported that the first meeting of the Chancellor Search Committee was held on
The committee heard presentations
from two search firms and decided to hire the search firm of A. J.
Kearney. Shelly Storbeck is the contact
person who will be working with the search committee.
Emails went out last week announcing
several forums to be held next week. The
faculty forum will be held Wednesday, January 26th, at
V. Student
Government Association Report
There was no Student Government Association
report.
VI. Academic
Policies Committee Report
Dr.
First
The
following documents were distributed for First Reading:
Wellness Promotion; Changes to
Dance Minor, Sports Medicine Minor, and Health
and
Wellness Promotion Minor
and
Addition of New Prefixes
Changes in required Biology courses for Middle School Teacher Licensure;
Change
in required courses for Comprehensive Science
Licensure for Chemistry Majors
6-12 Licensure
Students
(EDUC 321, 331, 341, 351, 355,
361)
Dr.
Konz asked Senators to read
Final
Exam Schedule
Dr.
Konz reported that Dr. Whatley and Ms. McClellan circulated the new exam
schedule model to Dr. Nickless, himself, and others in mid-December for
feedback. It was also circulated to the
Executive Committee and
VII. Institutional
Development Committee Report
Dr.
Update
on Enrollment Growth and University Size Task Force
The task
force will be holding its second campus-wide forum on January 27, from
BA
in Women’s Studies
In
December, IDC met to discuss a Request to Establish a BA in Women’s
Studies. This program is already
granting a B.A. through IST, but the Women’s Studies faculty would like
students to receive a degree in Women’s Studies rather than in
Interdisciplinary Studies. They
anticipate about six graduates per year.
They have proposed one new course beyond what is already being taught,
so the resource implications of their proposal will likely be one adjunct to
pick up one course per year. IDC had no
objections to the proposal and it has gone to
Withdrawing
proposal on Planning, Establishing, Reviewing, Discontinuing Centers
Dr. Rossell informed Senators via
email that IDC was withdrawing IDC 2 (Proposal on Planning, Establishing,
Reviewing, and
Dr. Padilla explained that he is
looking to link the Center creators with the
Dr. Rossell noted that one Center is
before the Senate for second reading today, a proposal for another Center has
been distributed for first reading today, and she anticipates receiving yet
another proposal in the near future. This
is all taking place without a policy document in place. IDC initially planned to approve the policy
document prior to considering proposals to establish centers. Dr. Padilla added that essentially we started
creating centers and did not have a policy in place. He suggested that the Senate consider the
current proposals prior to completing the policy document, but to hold off on
the creation of more centers until the policy is complete.
Dr. Nickless clarified that the
Senate would not be considering any more requests to establish centers. Dr. Padilla added that it is not likely – he
cannot stop anyone from making a request, but he is hoping that people will go
with the new model.
Dr. Lisnerski asked if a policy is
established and one of the centers that was approved
violates the policy, will they be grandfathered in or will they be expected to
conform to the new policy? Dr. Padilla
stated that they would conform to the new center policy document because it
will administer all of the centers.
In December, IDC met to discuss a
Request to Establish an
Dr. Stevens explained that they are
doing some re-evaluation because we are restructuring ourselves at UNCA, and
also because the UNC Office of the President system is a moving target in terms
of us understanding the development of the centers both UNC-wide and
institutional-wide. He asked IDC to postpone
further discussion of this center until they address new problems that have
surfaced. Dr. Padilla added that with
the new model, he can bring a complete proposal where a lot of issues have been
worked out.
First
The
following document was distributed for First Reading:
IDC 4: Request to Establish a
In December, IDC met to discuss a
Request to Establish a Human Rights Center at UNCA. Mark Gibney is the faculty member who has
taken the lead on the creation of this Center.
The proposal has no immediate personnel or space requests, although the
Center would eventually like to have an office for a Director and a conference
room for meetings.
Second
The
following document was considered for Second Reading:
IDC 3: Proposal to Establish the Pisgah Astronomical
Research and
IDC met in November to discuss the
creation of this Center. PARI is an
astronomical institute in
In summary, IDC agreed that the
opportunities provided by the Center are certainly worthwhile. IDC’s concerns were largely with two
issues: the administrative burden posed
by centers such as PARSEC, and its request for space on the UNCA campus for an
administrative office. Dr. Padilla
stated that ultimately it was his responsibility to find the space on
campus.
Dr. Stevens presented historical
background on PARI and PARSEC. Members
of the PARSEC team were in attendance in support of the proposal.
Dr. Booker introduced Dr. Brian
Dennison, our new Glaxo Chair of Astronomy.
Dr. Dennison has over twenty-five years of experience in radio astronomy
at Virginia Tech. Dr. Stevens gave Dr.
Dennison as an example of the excellent people that the Center can draw to
UNCA. IDC 3 passed unanimously and
became Senate Document 1005S.
VIII. Faculty
Welfare and Development Committee Report
Dr. Don Lisnerski gave the Faculty
Welfare and Development Committee Report.
Election
Schedule
Dr. Lisnerski distributed the
2005-06 election schedule. FWDC is considering a nomination process for
next year that would still allow everyone eligible to be on the ballot.
First
The
following documents were distributed for First Reading:
FWDC 2: Proposal to Change Membership on Intellectual
Property Committee
(Revision of SD3402S; Faculty Handbook 9.4)
FWDC 3: Proposal to Establish Asheville Institute Advisory Committee (AIAC)
IX. Old Business
Transportation for Class Use
Last
November, the Senate discussed transportation for class use and the mini buses
used to transport students to apartments.
Dr. Whatley agreed to ask Dr. Padilla what the status of the mini buses
would be next year.
Dr.
Padilla hoped that the mini buses will be available for field trips. The new parking administrator is developing a
plan to use them to create a drop/pick up for students in a three to five mile
radius route to supplement the transit service.
This would alleviate some of the parking problems.
Dr.
Rossell noted that the university has one van for class use by all of the
groups that need field trips. Renting
off-campus vans has become a nightmare.
It could cost nearly $200 to rent a van to go to Bent Creek for a Friday
afternoon. Dr. Padilla agreed that
departments should be able to use the mini buses in the future. He suggested using one mini bus for field
trips and routes, and another van to be used exclusively for routes. It is an important issue and should be taken
to the next department chairs/program directors meeting. If necessary, we may have to purchase a van
out of department budgets.
X. New Business
Status of
Dr.
Nickless reported that several faculty had called her
about the demise of the
XI. Adjourn
Dr.
Nickless adjourned the meeting at
Respectfully
submitted by:
Don Lisnerski