(to be considered for approval at March 19, 2002, meeting of the Faculty Senate)
UM-ST.
LOUIS
February
19, 2002
Immediately
following meeting of the University Assembly
Century
Room A
Millennium
Student Center
Faculty Senate Chairperson Dr. Lawrence Barton called the meeting to order at 3:37 p.m.
Minutes from the previous meeting (held January 22, 2002) were approved as submitted.
Senate members were encouraged to sign the attendance sheet which was circulating. The Chair commented that attendance at Senate meetings is less than he would have hoped but about the same as a year ago.
It was announced that the Senate Office is preparing now for elections. For this purpose, we are compiling a complete list of full-time regular faculty and non-regular faculty who meet the criteria for membership. We have defined “faculty” as those who are connected to a department or unit. Chair Barton announced that we will not replace anyone who resigns from the Senate for this brief spell between their departure and regular spring elections. He also advised Senators that Ms. Arban is about to send out the Committee Service Preference Poll, and he encouraged everyone to return it to Joan promptly.
The Chair noted with sadness the passing of former Senate Chair Arthur Shaffer. Dr. Shaffer was also a past presiding officer of the Faculty Council and chairperson of the History Department.
Activity on the resource allocation issue continues, the Chair said. A draft has been written by the House Subcommittee on Funding Equity and will be finalized on February 20. Chair Barton reported that he has written to President Pacheco about funding and about his and the Chair’s interaction at meetings of the Intercampus Faculty Council. The Chair is seeking admission by the System that there is a problem and that the President is prepared to seek solutions, even if it takes several years. He mentioned that he is working in collaboration with Dr. Timothy McBride, of the Economics Department.
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The Chair reported that he attended the spring meeting of the Missouri Association of Faculty Senates (MAFS) earlier this month. Last year, the major issue was faculty representation on Boards of Trustees. This year, the major issue is funding. Representative Barbara Fraser, who serves as chairperson of the Subcommittee on Funding Equity among four-year institutions, made a presentation. In addition to this, the major activity was a day of lobbying at the Capitol. The Chair regretted that his teaching schedule did not permit him to participate. He informed Assembly members that the Steering Committee concurred with the Chair, who believes we need to be better represented at the meetings. At the part of the meeting Chair Barton had to miss, a resolution was adopted which MAFS hoped would be passed by all the Senates. The UM-St. Louis Faculty Senate approved the Resolution (see attached) unanimously.
Although the Chair was unable to participate in the lobbying effort on February 5, there is another opportunity coming soon. On Wednesday, February 27, it is University of Missouri Alumni Alliance Legislative Day at the Missouri Capitol. The group will travel by Amtrak from the Kirkwood station at 7:15 a.m. and will return to Kirkwood by 8:30 p.m. Lunch will be provided. The Alumni Association will pay expenses (although it would be appropriate for attendees to contribute toward the cost). Those who are interested were invited to contact Ms. Donna Carothers in the Alumni Relations Office. Chair Barton noted, however, that faculty must meet their classes, and students should not be encouraged to miss class.
Concerning ATP procedures, the Chair noted that a hearing was held, and the Steering Committee received several proposals for change from faculty members. The Steering Committee met on February 12 and went over the material in detail. Chair Barton has incorporated the proposed changes into the draft and, once the Committee agrees that his version conforms to their recollection of the meeting, he will distribute the materials to all faculty members. In fall, it was agreed that a special faculty meeting would be called for the purpose of discussing and approving the amended materials (probably with some minor revisions). Substantive amendments will not be allowed from the floor. (The meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday, April 2). The Chair emphasized that an enormous amount of work has gone into the project by many colleagues over the past several years.
The Board of Curators March meeting will be at UM-St. Louis on March 21 and 22. It will be a very busy meeting with the budget issue at the forefront. The campus will present its Strategic Plan, the Master Plan, the Academic Plan, and a space report. The Faculty Senate will host a breakfast. All Senate members will be invited. The program will be similar to what we did last year, i.e., highlighting faculty members with major research grants or recent accomplishments in
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research. Last time, we focused on senior faculty, but this time, we will highlight some junior faculty, too.
Returning to the attendance issue, the Chair reported that the Senate Office will be communicating with the units to inform the chairs/coordinators about the attendance record of Senate representatives.
In closing, the Chair invited comments and concerns.
The Committee has met twice since the January Faculty Senate meeting. At the January 28th meeting, the Chancellor outlined a possible administrative change that would separate the positions of Dean of the Graduate School and Director of Research. Chancellor Touhill said she is still talking to various people about this change.
At the February 3rd meeting, the Chancellor presented higher education’s response to the Governor’s State of the State message. In his message, higher education institutions would be cut 10 percent in FY 2003. This cut is actually 13 percent, since there has traditionally been an automatic 3 percent cut to higher education. The Governor’s Office and the Council on Public Higher Education (COPHE) are attempting to reach an agreement on this issue. Although the Governor is optimistic that he can discover funds in order to prevent any additional rate cut above the 10 percent, this optimism is not shared by everyone. The System’s response to the FY 2003 rate cut will probably be a combination of an 8 percent increase in educational fees, coupled with a rate reallocation by the campuses, plus the probability of no salary increase for faculty and staff. Educational fees should be voted upon at the March Board of Curators meeting, although this vote could be delayed.
As she mentioned in the Chancellor’s Report presented at the University Assembly meeting, the Chancellor believes that the March Board of Curators meeting will be crucial to the future of this campus.
Report from the Intercampus Faculty Council – Dr. Lawrence Barton
(see attached)
At the close of his report, Chair Barton was asked by Dr. R. Rocco Cottone about a request from Southwest Missouri State (Springfield) to become Missouri State University. The Chair said the University took no position on the matter. Dean
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David Ganz inquired about a possible conflict of interest for UM faculty who teach at other institutions. The Chair said he would look into this.
Report from the Committee on Curriculum and Instruction – Dean David Ganz
Dean Ganz presented the proposed academic calendar for 2003-04. After he pointed out the notable features, the academic calendar was approved without dissent.
All proposals detailed in the agenda were approved. Dr. Jeanne Morgan Zarucchi called attention to an error in the rationale on page 6 of the B.A. in Art History. Art 265 should be corrected to read 263.
Dean Ganz reminded Senate members that when a proposal leaves the unit, it goes to Academic Affairs. Graduate-level proposals go from Academic Affairs to the Graduate School before coming to C&I. A few items need clarification or have crosslisting problems. Otherwise, the Committee is current.
Senators were informed of the March 1st deadline for accepting new proposals this year.
A written report (see attached) was appended to the agenda.
Completing the business at hand, the meeting adjourned at 4:25 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Lois Pierce
Faculty Senate Secretary
(minutes written by Ms. Joan M. Arban, Assistant to the Senate Chair)