Faculty Senate Minutes 10-7-09
1.) The meeting was called to order by Dr. Clint Atchley, President, at 3:15.
Present: Clint Atchley, Mitzi Bass, Claudia Beach, Aaron Calvert, James Duke, Stephen Eaves, Martin Halpern, Barbara Landrum, Brett Serviss, Mike Taylor, Jane Dunn , Kevin Durand, Vickie Faust, Rhonda Harrington, Catherine Leach, Patti Miley, Rochelle Moss, Don Peterson, Ceyla Taylor, Allison Vetter, Dusty Schmid (Staff Senate Representative,) Others attending: Chad Fielding, David Bateman, Heidi Vix, Fred Worth, Maralyn Sommer, Julia Hall, Angela Boswell, and Greg Gibson
2.) Chad Fielding, Dean of Students, announced the formation of a University Threat Assessment Team consisting of: Chad J. Fielding, Dean of Students, Chair, Dan Mayberry, Director of Residence Life, Debra Collins, Directory of University Counseling, Kerry Stark, Director of Health Services, Johnny Campbell, Director of University Police and a faculty member to be elected by the Faculty Senate. The committee will meet monthly unless circumstances require more frequent meetings. Any concerns about unusual behavior or threatening behavior can be emailed to personofconcern@hsu.edu . The email will be acknowledged by the Director of University Police within twenty four hours.
3.) David Epperhart, Director of Computer and Communication Services, discussed on line evaluations which were first offered during Spring and Summer 09 sessions at the request of two deans. Mr. Epperhart noted several positives concerning on line evaluations: accommodates on line classes, no minimum number of students required in a class, students dropped from classes will not be sent evaluations, a one page report of results is generated, complete anonymity for students, accelerated reporting one day after evaluations are closed. The results will be forwarded to the deans who will disseminate the results to the chairs who will distribute the information to the faculty as was the procedure for paper evaluations. Questions asked included how to encourage students to participate in on line evaluations. Mr. Epperhart responded that pop ups could remind students about the evaluations and that emails could be sent to those who have not evaluated. Faculty could reserve computer labs for in class evaluations. When asked if extra questions can be added to an on line evaluation, Mr. Epperhart noted that a website link from the evaluation can be coordinated for extra questions. In answer to questions concerning whether lab courses would be evaluated separately from lectures classes or combined, Mr. Epperhart asked for instructions concerning individual faculty preference. It was noted that a Faculty Handbook change will be necessitated with fall and spring evaluations offered.
4.) Claudia Beach, a member of the General Education Committee, moderated a discussion concerning the proposed changes to the Liberal Arts Core. Mitzi Bass and Fred Worth, also members of the General Education Committee were in attendance. Dr. Beach noted that three open forums have been held for faculty questions and suggestions. It was suggested that a statement of explanation of the purpose of the Liberal Arts Core be included in the final proposal. Clarification was made concerning surveys distributed by the General Education Committee. The General Education Committee will reconvene and consider comments and suggestions. The final proposal will be sent to the University Academic Committee for consideration. The current proposal would reduce the Liberal Arts Core to forty two hours.
5.) Dr. Vernon Miles, Provost and Vice-President of Academic Affairs announced that the Aviation Department has requested a grant for two full flight simulators. One simulator would be on our campus, and one simulator which can be taken to high schools for instruction would be housed at the Dawson Cooperative. The Aviation Department requested approval from the F.F.A. to begin an Air Traffic Controller program on our campus. He also mentioned that the committee formed to discuss advising is meeting and that the committee formed to discuss the Transition Program is also meeting. He encouraged all to attend a Planetarium presentation and to see the art exhibit in Russell Fine Arts Gallery.
6.) The minutes of the September 2, 2009, Faculty Senate meeting were approved.
7.) The President’s Report is as follows:
President’s Report
7 October 2009
Meeting with President Chuck Welch—
I met with Dr. Welch on 5 October 2009 to discuss the issues. I asked Dr. Welch about the status of the Senate recommendation to appoint a University-wide salary study committee. He indicated that there has been some preliminary talk about forming such a committee, and he made a note to himself to resurrect the plan.
I also asked about the newspaper article detailing the $50M deficit in the state budget and the statement in the article that higher education will be one of the first places that funding will be cut to make up the deficit. Dr. Welch expects to be informed that all category B-1 funds will be cut which, for us, amounts to only around $7000, which will minimally affect us. If the revenue does not turn around in the next couple of months, however, the state will have to cut 4% of category A funds. Our cut will be over $800K if this happens. Bobby Jones has been charged with looking at our existing budget and figuring out where to save this money if it is needed. Dr. Welch expects the governor will wait until January to make these cuts which will put us in a bind because we will have spent more by then, and there will be less money available for us to pull from. We will still get the one-time stimulus money (about $454K) and Dr. Welch is hoping that there will be some leniency in how that money can be spent. One problem associated with the stimulus money is that it is reimbursable; we have to spend it before we get it.
Dr. Welch will hold a Presidential forum in the next couple of weeks to discuss enrollment. We are down 75 students this semester, but we did not really lose any revenue because of the drop. This is due to the cuts in scholarships offsetting the drop as well as the dissolution of the Bosnian program. Barring state cuts or a drastic drop in enrollment in the spring, we are in pretty good financial shape.
Dr. Welch hopes to have a strategic plan by 1 February. A rough draft has been completed, and committee chairs will meet soon to discuss it.
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. Aramark has extended another offer and is getting closer to what we want from them.
Stamats, the company hired to revamp our webpage, will be here on 13 October to meet with faculty, staff, and students to discuss the webpage. The meeting will be in the lecture hall in Garrison.
All the things on the Building and Grounds wish list have already been or will be addressed. The sidewalks on Henderson Street are fixed, and the Wells Center parking lot is done. We will replace all light poles and globes on campus (96 total) with private money.
8.) Reports of Committees
A. Executive the agenda as distributed
B. Academics The Academics Committee met on Tuesday September 29 with four members present (Martin Halpern, Jane Dunn, Rafael Bejarno, and Allison Vetter). The committee makes the following recommendations:
1. On the issue of academic standards/Reddie for Henderson Day/Recruitment/retention, the committee recommends the adopting of the following resolution:
The Faculty Senate recommends the administration undertake a university-wide effort to emphasize the importance of academic readiness, high academic standards and expectations, and dignified and civil behavior in all areas of campus life to visiting high school students, enrolling first year Henderson students, transfer students, and students returning to Henderson to continue their academic studies.
(This was approved by general consensus.)
2. Support for the development of new courses
a. On the proposed resolution on teaching online classes referred to it, the committee recommends the following resolution:
Whereas course development for any delivery format, whether traditional or online, can be a difficult and time consuming process, and,
Whereas the overall place of online course delivery in Henderson’s mission has not been adequately examined,
The Faculty Senate believes that preferentially providing load reduction for development of online courses while not extending the same to development of traditional courses is not warranted at this time.
(a. did not pass)
b. The Academics Committee proposes the following resolution on providing assistance to faculty members undertaking the development of new courses.
Whereas the process of keeping Henderson's curriculum up-to-date with the creation of new courses involves the expenditure of considerable time and effort on the part of faculty members undertaking such development;
Whereas current teaching loads for tenure-track and tenured faculty members of four classes per semester and typically two or three preparations a semester leaves little time in the regular semester for the development of new courses;
Therefore be it resolved that the Faculty Senate recommends that a course load reduction or compensation be provided to faculty members undertaking the development of new courses, whether traditional or on line or adapting a current course for on line delivery, approved by the department, college, and University Academics Council.
(b. passed)
3. On the problem of ensuring equity across the university in faculty workloads and assignments, the Academics Committee recommends that a university standing committee be created, the Faculty Committee on Equity. The Committee would be empowered to review complaints of inequitable workloads and assignments and to make recommendations to the Vice President for Academic Affairs for appropriate steps for correcting inequities when they find for the faculty member(s) or department bringing the complaint. Members of the Faculty Committee on Equity would consist of three members from the Ellis College and one each from Teachers College and the School of Business.
(The motion was made and seconded to table issue 3. The motion passed.)
(The motion was made and seconded for the Faculty Senate president to appoint an Ad Hoc Committee to discuss faculty workload and equity. The motion passed.)
4. The committee recommends revising the Faculty Handbook to provide for regular student evaluations in the spring semester of those courses that are taught only in the spring. The wording in the handbook is to be changed as follows (the addition is in caps):
d. Student Rating of Faculty
(2) The faculty member is requested to have the form administered to each class near the end of the fall semester AND NEAR THE END OF SPRING SEMESTER FOR CLASSES TAUGHT ONLY IN THE SPRING but before the final exam is given. For purposes of annual evaluation, each faculty member should have the most recent summary of student ratings on file.
(The motion was made and seconded to table issue d. 2. The motion passed.)
Submitted by: Martin Halpern
C. Buildings and Grounds
Buildings and Grounds Committee Report to the Faculty Senate for October 7, 2009
Committee members: Mitzi Bass, Linda Evans, Vickie Faust, Michael Miller, Rochelle Moss, Dusty Schmid (Staff Senate Representative to the Buildings and Grounds Committee), and Brett Serviss, Chair.
The Buildings and Grounds Committee recently met on September 17, 2009 in order to discuss various items that were brought before the committee regarding campus facilities, grounds, and security. A list of these items is as follows:
1. Lack of uniformity for all emergency plans and emergency notification in all campus buildings.
2. There is a need for floor plans to be present in all buildings in conjunction with the emergency plans and instructions, though not all of the buildings have them.
3. Door locks: many doors in campus buildings can only be locked from the outside. This is a potential problem for securing a classroom in an emergency situation.
4. Plenty of motorcycle parking is currently present on campus, but it is not used regularly, or even often, in some places.
5. Marking of motorcycle parking as such (as of right now, some of the spaces are not expressly marked for motorcycle use only).
6. Poorly operating lift in Evans Hall, and the need for an elevator in the same building.
General Report.
Items one and two from the above list are currently being discussed by appropriate university personnel, however, no specific action has been taken at this time to correct or revise the current setup for each campus building. The Buildings and Grounds Committee recommends an inspection of each campus building, and those that lack floor plans or have inaccurate plans should have accurate ones placed adjacent to the directions for emergency procedures. All buildings should also be checked to make sure that accurate and detailed emergency procedures are posted regularly and strategically throughout the building (apparently, some campus buildings do not have adequate posting of emergency procedures). Uniformity of emergency procedures in all campus buildings would aid people who are in an unfamiliar building during an emergency situation, and would also allow people who are regularly present in the building to become comfortable and familiar with the procedures and the best ways to exit the building based on their location at the time of an emergency situation. Additionally, it would seem to be helpful if in an emergency situation, when people may not be able to remain calm and/or think clearly, to have the room number and floor number, possibly along with the number for Campus Police posted next to the door on the inside of each classroom. It might also be useful to place this information in each elevator and on every floor of the stairwells. Our committee feels that these issues are extremely important and should be addressed as quickly as is possible.
It was determined by the committee that item number three (door locks) would best be handled by the individual instructor in the classroom at the time.
Items four and five have been addressed, where conversion of some of the minimally used motorcycle parking spaces back into traditionally parking for four‒wheeled vehicles (those that were requested for such conversion), and signage designating motorcycle parking spaces as such has occurred (there are apparently still a few motorcycle spaces that are unmarked, but will be labeled in the near future).
In regard to item six, no elevator is going to be installed in Evans in the immediate future. However, two of the bathrooms on the lower floor will be made handicap accessible.
Additionally, there are several items presented below, and their respective resolutions, that were addressed by the committee from the spring 2009 semester. Items include:
1. repair of uneven sidewalk in front of Proctor Hall;
2. repainting of parallel parking along Henderson Street and 11th Street;
3. handicap parking near Foster Hall;
4. repainting the faculty parking lot adjacent to 12th Street and Evans Hall;
5. drainage problem in the above mention parking lot;
6. parking lot in front of the Wells Center;
7. wheelchair access ramp in front of the Wells Center;
8. additional automatic doors for Foster Hall;
9. malfunctioning automatic doors;
10. large hole under stairs near the Reynolds Building; and
11. traffic flow problem in parking lots adjacent to Captain Henderson House.
The south sidewalk (south of proctor hall) has been repaired, but not the opposite sidewalk on the north side of Henderson Street.
The parallel parking spaces along Henderson Street and 11th Street will be repainted in December of this year.
The faculty parking lot adjacent to Evans Hall along 12th Street has been repainted and the drainage problem has been remedied.
Three additional handicap parking spaces have been added in the immediate vicinity of Foster Hall.
The parking lot in front of the Wells Center has been repaved, and a handicap access ramp has been erected for the Wells center.
The large hole adjacent to Reynolds has been filled in and is no longer present.
The traffic flow problem between the two parking lots west of Captain Henderson House has been corrected.
There are a few items, including: 1. installation of additional automatic doors for Foster Hall; 2. roof leakage problems in the Library and Mooney Hall; and 3. uniformity and placement of emergency procedures and floor plans for campus buildings that are still pending resolution. The committee is currently working to resolve these issues, and will have a follow up report in November to discuss their status at that time.
Finally, on behalf of the Buildings and Grounds Committee, I would like to very sincerely thank Mr. Bobby Jones and Mr. John Corley for all of the time and effort they have dedicated to working with our committee in order to accomplish many of its objectives. Much of what the Buildings and Grounds Committee has accomplished over the past year would not have been possible without their assistance.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the Buildings and Grounds Committee,
Brett Serviss
Buildings and Grounds Committee Chair
D. Finance Committee-No report
E. Procedures Committee-The Hearing Committee Representatives and Alternates are elected as follows:
Math and Science: David Gardner, Rep, Jamie Engman, Alternate
Fine Arts: Eula Thomas, Rep. David Stoddard, Alternate
Liberal Arts: Henry Perez, Rep. Peggy Bailey, Alternate
Teachers College: Dana Horn, Rep. Carrie Barber, Alternate
School of Business: Dennis DiMarzio, Rep. Margaret Hoskins, Alternate
9.) Old Business
A. On line Student Evaluations of Faculty –No discussion was held
10.) New Business
A. Royalty Policy for Use of Personal Works—No discussion was held
B. David Evans has been appointed as the Faculty Senate representative to the Graduate
Council.
11.) The meeting was adjourned at 5:30.
Respectfully submitted,
Mitzi Bass, Secretary