Faculty Senate Minutes
(to be considered for approval at October 16, 2001, Faculty Senate meeting)FACULTY SENATE
UM-ST. LOUIS
Tuesday, September 18, 2001
(immediately following University Assembly meeting)
Student Government Chamber
Millennium Student Center
The meeting was called to order at 3:45 p.m. by the Chairperson of the Faculty Senate, Dr. Lawrence Barton. A moment of silence was observed for the victims of the September 11 terrorist attack on America.
Minutes
Minutes of two previous meetings – both held on April 24, 2001 – were approved as submitted.
Report from the Chairperson – Dr. Lawrence Barton
The Chair noted that we are in the second year of the new governance regulations, which, he said, worked reasonably well last year. There is, however, room for improvement, and the Committee on Bylaws and Rules will be busy this year, he predicted. Chair Barton invited senators to share their ideas/concerns with him or with any member of the Faculty Senate Steering Committee.
Attention was called to the fact that the order of the Senate and University Assembly meetings has been switched. The Chair explained that Assembly meetings, which are generally shorter than Senate meetings, have in the past been poorly attended by the faculty contingent.
The Chair reported that all Senate and Assembly committees are set, except for a few vacancies to be dealt with by the Committee on Committees later in the meeting. All but two committee chair positions have been filled. Dean Mark Burkholder, who has resigned his elected position on the Senate, is being replaced by Dr. Charles Korr.
Chair Barton urged that we continue to work to try to improve the state-funding situation. In the just-completed University Assembly meeting, the Chair asked for suggestions on how best to effect change. The hearing at which members of the House Appropriations Committee will hear testimony from campus officials
-2-
and others is to be held in October. The Chair expressed hope that the Faculty will be able to play a role in that activity.
We will have some important business to conduct in the months ahead. We need a final version of the ATP Guidelines, and the Chair said he intends to try to settle the issues after consultation, by making some fairly minor but important suggestions for change at next week’s Faculty meeting. He anticipates that the changes will be approved by a mail ballot. Also to come is course renumbering and a proposal to change the way we schedule courses so that we use fewer days in the week. Concerning the latter, the Chair said he is not in favor of the proposal because he believes the impetus comes from a need to satisfy personal schedules, especially faculty schedules, and is not driven by pedagogy.
Chair Barton expressed concern about the holes in administration that have developed in the past two years. Those which have been filled were filled rather quickly, the Chair said, but he hopes we will all work with the appointees to make sure the enterprise runs smoothly and effectively. Some permanent positions remain unfilled, and he urged the Chancellor to fill them with experienced, well-qualified individuals as soon as possible. There have been problems in some offices due to a lack of continuity. This is particularly true of Academic Affairs. The Chair said he urged Vice Chancellor Durham to consult with those who have spent time in that office in the past. The Vice Chancellor was amenable.
The Chair noted several recent e-mail messages that related to an article in the Columbia newspaper boasting of research success at UMC. We also have data. As the state moves to fund various initiatives such as the tobacco research fund, we need to toot our horn, too. Our data suggest that we have seen the greatest percentage growth in funding of all the campuses. That may be so, the Chair said, but he pointed out that when the numbers are small, the percentages clearly will be larger. If we are to claim equivalent and equitable treatment with respect to state funding, then we need to be sure that those who make the decisions understand that we are a comprehensive research university. Thus, the Chair continued, it is incumbent on all of us to perform well in areas in addition to our teaching. We need to develop further the research culture on this campus. Greater rewards should be given to those who apply for funding in addition to those who actually bring in funding.
Senators were reminded that last year, the Chair said that we need leadership by the deans and vice chancellors. Chairs need back-up for their words when they exhort their colleagues to be more research active. More recognition for research should be developed, a bigger share of the reward system should be for research accomplishments, and also we need more support for research.
-3-
The Chair commented in closing that we seemed to work together well last year and that he hopes such cooperation and mutual support between faculty and administration will continue.
Report from the Chancellor – Chancellor Blanche Touhill
Chancellor Touhill reported that initial figures reflect a 1.5 percent increase in headcount and a 4 percent increase in student credit hours from last fall. The final report will be available on October 1. At the next meeting of the Faculty Senate, the Chancellor will ask Vice Chancellor Durham to provide an analysis on enrollment trends and activities associated with recruitment and retention.
Last week, more than 450 people attended the Founder’s Dinner. We honored faculty and staff with 25 years of service and several distinguished alums. The Chancellor encouraged everyone to attend next year’s Founder’s Dinner. She also encouraged attendance at that evening’s lecture by the former President of South Africa, F. W. de Klerk, and at the State of the University Address, which is scheduled for 3 p.m. on September 19 in the J. C. Penney Auditorium.
Report from the Intercampus Faculty Council – Dr. Lawrence Barton
The IFC held a retreat on August 2. The Chair reported that he was the only representative from UM-St. Louis able to go. It was an interesting meeting. In the evening there was a general conversation among the campus representatives about such things as the budget cut from the Faculty Research Board to meet the shortfall, proposals for centralization and how faculty members plug into the planning process, performance standards relative to post-tenure review, administrative review (The Chair commented that Dr. Martinich came up with a good proposal last year, and UMC has a very nice instrument, which, the Chair said, he will share with our local committee.) PeopleSoft is causing concern on the campuses. The Chair suggested that it important that our representative, Jim Kreuger, keep the faculty informed on the progress of implementation.
The IFC spent some time talking with Vice President Hutchinson about fee waivers for family members of faculty members, which would be expensive for UMC but less so for the other campuses, the calendar start-time, the Hancock Amendment, and faculty shares.
A report by Steve Graham concerning the Leadership Development Institute was very good.
There is much activity on copyright issues by a four-campus committee and UM, which is working to revise the rules. It seems that the Administration is
-4-
absolutely not trying to make any changes that would involve more money falling to the University and not to the individual.
The IFC had a conference call with Tom Sharpe, who is the Director of Technology Services. He needs more money in order to be able to process more patents, and the plan he has seems to be a very good one. That office has been underfunded and continues to be underfunded
Jim Snider, the University lobbyist, reported that the revenue picture is not good, but he felt that this past session was a success for the University, and he mentioned the status of capital projects that have been put on hold. He also mentioned such issues as teaching loads, testing, accountability, English competency of faculty members (This is not a problem for UM-St. Louis. Rolla has the problem.). Any of these issues come become important in the near future if there are complaints to legislators. Snider also spoke of the increasing importance of transportation, which will affect the education budget, the conflict of interest policy (which is a mess), the fact that we received a salary increase while most state agencies were cut, community colleges, and the tobacco settlement.
Vice President Lehmkuhle reported on the cut in the state budget and efforts to streamline and a proposal he is developing on the tenure regulations. He wants to strike all reference to “instructors.” Instructors have not been given tenure for many years. He mentioned the conflict of interest issue also.
The President has been reasonably receptive to sitting there and being criticized and questioned, the Chair said. While he doesn’t always give the “right” answers, he doesn’t shy away from in-your-face criticism. The Chair applauds the President for this although President Pacheco appears to be intransigent on the division of the University budget to the campuses.
Report from the Committee on Committees – Dr. E. Terrence Jones
Elections were held to fill vacancies on several committees. Ballots were collected for later tally. (Note: Drs. Gary Burger and Gail Ratcliff have been elected to replace Drs. Mark Burkholder and Nasser Arshadi on the Steering Committee. Dr. Jean Nelson has been elected to serve as an alternate member of the Student Grievance Panel. Dr. Kenneth Thomas has been elected to replace Dr. Charles Korr on the Fall Panel of the Committee on Research, and Dr. Louis Gerteis has been elected to replace Dean Burkholder on the Academic Advisory Committee.)
-5-
Report from the Committee on Curriculum and Instruction – Dean David Ganz
(see attached)
A motion by Dr. William Long (seconded by Dr. Herman Smith) to refer a proposal for a change in degree requirements for the B.A. in Physics was defeated. Dr. Long took exception to the statement: “At least 31 hours of physics courses, but not more than 45 hours, are required.” The proposal was approved as submitted.
Dr. Jeanne Morgan Zarucchi offered a friendly comment that the language under “proposed Bulletin listing” (i.e., “Add the following course…”) in the proposal for the Trauma Studies Certificate was an instruction rather than the exact wording for insertion into the Bulletin. Dean Ganz agreed, but he said that few departments follow the letter of the law when it comes to preparing curricular forms, and the Committee felt it was clear enough. The proposal was approved as submitted.
The Senate’s attention was called to a prerequisite change approved by the Committee for Biology 11.
In response to a question from Dr. Raymond Balbes, Dean Ganz reported that course renumbering will involve a 2-tiered approach: first we will renumber the courses, then we will work on prerequisite changes necessitated by the course numbering changes.
Report from the Committee on Research – Dr. Patricia Jamerson
Dr. Jamerson reported on deadlines for the following:
Fall Winter Spring
Research Board Oct. 1 Feb. 18
Research Award Oct. 19 Feb. 8
Small Grants Oct. 5 Jan. 25 Apr. 12
There is a total of $210,000 available for the UM-St. Louis Research Awards, and $60,000 available for Small Grants. The Committee wishes to urge that faculty try first for the Research Board Awards. There was discussion about this topic and the Chair indicated that our record in submitting proposals was quite good and our success rate was quite good. Interim Graduate Dean Nasser Arshadi disagreed but Dr. Thiel, a member of the Research Board, pointed out
-6-
that the Chair's assessment was correct. The Chair indicated that he would circulate the data provided by Vice President Lehmkuhle to senators.
More information is available on the Office of Research Administration (ORA) website.
Following a brief further discussion, the Faculty Senate adjourned at 4:35 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Lois Pierce
Faculty Senate Secretary
(minutes written by Ms. Joan M. Arban, Assistant to the Faculty Senate Chair)