Faculty Senate Minutes 9-2-09
1.) The meeting was called to order by Dr. Clint Atchley, President, at 3:15.
Present: Lee Ann Alexander, Clint Atchley, Claudia Beach, Brandie Benton, Troy Bray, David Evans, Martin Halpern, Brett Serviss, Kevin Durand, Rhonda Harrington, Paul Huo, Catherine Leach, Patti Miley, Rochelle Moss, Ceyla Taylor, Allison Vetter, Dusty Schmid (Staff Senate Representative), and Dr. Lewis Shepherd, (visitor).
2.) Dr. Vernon Miles, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, attended the meeting and discussed several subjects as well as answered questions posed by senators.
a) The previously passed Faculty Senate resolution concerning a Fall Break has not been acted upon. The Student Government Association has a different proposal. These resolutions will be considered with action taken this year. b) The Cabinet requests that Grant applications to Foundations must come through Billy Tarpley’s office or the President’s office to prevent duplication. c) The Board of Trustees requests that employees with concerns go to the President’s office first. d) Dr. Miles is chair of Leadership Clark County 2009-2010; therefore, he will be out of the office the second Thursday of each month. e) The Higher Learning Commission Peer Review Training will take place in November which, as a peer reviewer, Dr. Miles will attend. f) Dr. Miles referred to the email sent previously discussing a possible H1N1 flu epidemic. Possibly, one third of the student body could be infected at any one time. Luckily, the duration is usually three to four days. g) A committee to consider advising issues consists of: Dr. Miles, the deans of each school, Don Wells, David Evans, Lea Ann Alexander, Vikita Hardwrick, Dana Holder, Chad Fielding, Pam Ligon, and Tom Gattin. Dr. Miles asked that concerns and/or suggestions about the advising system be sent to someone on this committee. h) Students will evaluate faculty during both the fall and spring semesters in order to meet standards of the Higher Learning Commission. On line evaluations are being considered. Discussion concerning the trial on line evaluations of some spring classes and summer classes included questions about requiring students to complete evaluations before access to Reddie Connect was granted. The suggestion was made that evaluations of chairs and administrators be yearly and open to all faculty members. i) There was a question about the Committee on Committees. Faculty members were not asked to state preferences for committees last year as is the usual practice. As a result, the committee assignments will remain the same for this year. j) The number of students transferring from in-state two year institutions has doubled in the last two to three years.
Dr. Lewis Shepherd requested that any transfer student needing advising be sent to him. He is forming a pre-transfer program as well as a post-transfer program.
3. The April 29, 2009, Faculty Senate minutes were approved.
4. Dr. Atchley’s President’s Report is below.
President’s Report
2 September 2009
Meeting with President Chuck Welch—
I met with Dr. Welch on 27 August 2009 to discuss the issues. As of last Monday, enrollment is up by eleven students over this time last year. We are down in freshman enrollment, but we are up by 33% in transfer students, mostly in the junior class.
The budget looks good at this point as long as we don’t lose any students. There shouldn’t be any major cuts next spring. If a problem arises, departments and programs will be asked early to reduce their budgets by 3% (or whatever) across the board. We don’t have the 2.9 million in stimulus money yet or know when we will get it. Figures fluctuate weekly, but Dr. Welch feels like this figure will be fairly close to what we actually will get. He also indicated that there may be some money available for operating expenses.
Dr. Welch hopes to have a strategic plan by the end of the semester. Only major policy change is that our ability to extend the waiver so that out-of-state students may receive in-state rates will probably be taken away.
Plans for the new dining hall are completed, but we are still negotiating with Aramark over money and the extension of Aramark’s contract with HSU. We are pretty close to an agreement and might be able to start in the spring.
We have opened bids on the contract for the new webpage. So far we have two bids. The committee will make the recommendation. The firm should be on campus in late September or early October to meet with faculty, staff, and students about the webpage.
The new no-smoking-on-campus policy will go into effect in 2010. Dr. Welch wants to appoint a committee to decide how to implement and enforce this policy. If you are interested in serving on this committee, let me know and I’ll pass along your name to Dr. Welch.
Swine flu. We will not close in the event of swine flu on our campus. We will follow the CDC guidelines, and our nurses are working with state health care people. If students with swine flu live within a reasonable distance from campus, they will be asked to go home. Others will be isolated here on campus on a floor of one of the halls set aside for this purpose until they have been fever free for 24 hours. The University will provide hand sanitizers in convenient places in every building. Dr. Welch asks us to be lenient with students missing class.
5.) Reports of Committees
A. Executive Committee—met Friday, August 28—no report
B. Academics—no report
C. Buildings and Grounds—no report
D. Finance—no report
E. Procedures—no report
6. Old Business—none
7. New Business
A. Dr. Atchley will appoint a Faculty Senate member, who is also a member of the Graduate Faculty, to serve as Faculty Senate representative to the Graduate Council.
B. During discussion concerning selection of a Staff Senate representative to the Faculty Senate Buildings and Grounds Committee, Dusty Schmid, Staff Senate Representative, suggested that the President of the Staff Senate, who currently serves as Staff Senate representative to the Faculty Senate also be the Staff representative on the Buildings and Grounds Committee. The Faculty Senate concurred with this suggestion. Ms. Schmid thanked Brett Serviss, Chair of the Buildings and Grounds Committee, for his quick actions on concerns raised by the Staff Senate.
C. Dr. Atchley will invite David Epperhart to the next Faculty Senate meeting to discuss possible on line student evaluations of faculty.
D. Dr. Atchley will invite members of the General Education Committee to come to the next Faculty Senate meeting to discuss the Liberal Arts Core proposal. Several open forums for discussion of the proposal will be held soon.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:50.
Minutes taken by Lea Ann Alexander.
Respectfully submitted,
Mitzi Bass, Secretary