Faculty Senate Minutes

Meeting:                Faculty Senate Meeting, December 10, 2003 Wooten Hall, Room 322

Absent:                  Allen, Benjamin, Bond, Bustinza, Doherty, Getty, Hill, Jordan, King, Koch, Levin, Osadchy, Parks, Smith

Guests:                  Oscar N. Garcia, Dean, College of Engineering; Rufus Coleman, InHouse; Kay Selby, Director, Academic Publications; Howard Johnson, Provost; Suzanne LaBrecque, Vice Provost; Marcus Lopopolo, SGA Director of Internal Affairs; Pam Hight, Librarian

Opening:               Lou Pelton, Chair of the Faculty Senate, called the meeting to order at 2:07pm

Approval of  November 12, 2003 Senate Minutes:  Upon motion by Senator Cole, second by Senator Taylor, the minutes of the November 12, 2003 meeting were approved as presented.

Old Business:  

Bicycle Policy:  Chair Pelton reported that Vice President Richard Rafes is continuing to study the issues related to bike riding on campus.

Plus/Minus Grading System:  Chair Pelton reported that the grading system will be implemented at the undergraduate level only.  Implementation will take place with the new EIS.

New Business:

Tracking System:  Chair Pelton reported that the Senate was implementing a tracking system to follow actions taken on Senate recommendations.  He thanks Sue Young for her hard work in locating all pending recommendations, etc.

“Non Smoking Campus”:  No final action has been taken at this time on the proposal to make the UNT a non-smoking campus. 

Data Collection:  Chair Pelton asked Senators to think about the three most compelling issues to their constituents.  He noted that three note cards had been provided to each Senator, and asked each senator to write one issue on each card and return the cards to Sue Young at the Faculty Senate meeting in February.

Committee Reports:

Oversight Committee of the University Core Curriculum:  Upon motion by Senator Harris, second by Senator Roberts, the written report was approved as presented.

University Committee on the Evaluation of Administrators:  Upon motion by Senator van Tassell, second by Senator Holt, the written report was approved as presented.

Committee on the Status of Women:  Pam Hight, Chair of the committee, presented a resolution “that the UNT Faculty Senate recommends that there be a motion to disband the Committee on the Status of Women.”  Acceptance was seconded by Senator Plummer.  Senator Harris proposed an amendment to change the language as follows:  “that the UNT Faculty Senate Committee on the Status of Women be disbanded.”  Taylor seconded the amendment.  Amendment of the resolution passed on voice vote.  Discussion ensued on the amended resolution.  Hight related to the senators the reasons for the resolution.  She stated that the committee members were frustrated by their inability to get the data needed to complete their charge.     She said that the University needs to commit resources to data collection and a real, longitudinal study of the status of women on campus.  Upon motion by Mueller, second by Hastings, action on the resolution was tabled, with the request that the committee bring forth a resolution with recommendations for action by Administration on this important issue.

Committee on Committees:  Senator Tarlton presented the report and read additional nominations.  Acceptance was seconded by Senator White.  The report was accepted unanimously on voice vote.

Report of the Provost & VPAA: 

 

Provost Johnson has appointed a committee of faculty members and associate deans to work out the details on the plus minus grading system; is working toward an academic plan; and has appointed Dean Scott to chair the search committee for the new Dean of the School of Visual Arts. The school will be reviewed and assessed as part of the search process. All schools and colleges will be assessed and benchmarked against national norms.  UNT must have more resources to move the academic programs forward.

Vice Chair’s Update: 

Vice Chair van Tassell reported on the questions and dialogue presented to Administrators at the December 3rd Executive Committee meeting.   Questions and responses were as follows: 

(1)  Will an administrator’s record of past fiscal management performance impact your willingness to entrust future budgeting and resource allocation decisions to these same individuals?  Response:  Provost Johnson stated he is developing a review process based on levels of criteria;
(2) What proactive plans are in place to address declining faculty morale?  Response:  Provost Johnson asked that we look at how we are doing and what needs to be changed.  Johnson is working on an academic plan. UNT has been in an additive mode.  Centers are being reviewed, to look for synergy potential.  We need “centers of excellence” and “excellent centers.”  President Pohl suggested that morale problems are a national issue, not just local.  He provided a copy of a related article from the Chronicle; (3) What is the progress on implementation of the plus/minus grading system at the undergraduate level?  Response:  Plus/minus grading is possible with the new data system.  Plans are in place to implement the grading system.  Originally implementation was scheduled for 2005; (4) What steps are in place to hire 16 new faculty as Dean Garcia stated?  Response:  Johnson said “If resources permit.”  How will these hires impact faculty morale?  Response:  Johnson seeks balance across programs. The ratio of tenured to part-time is being studied.  UNT aspirations must merge with resources. Cluster hires (cross departmental) may be considered; (5) How many new faculty lines are likely to be available for meeting the projections for increased UNT enrollment?  Response:  Johnson:  There is no “magic number.” Physical facilities may dictate growth to some extent.  Physical facilities will dictate class sizes; (6) We have witnessed unprecedented construction of many non‑academic buildings across campus.  How do you anticipate accommodating increased enrollment and larger classes that have been called for with the current available teaching space?  Response:  UNT faces many needs, for example the Student Union.  Pohl provided a Coordinating Board handout listing space utilization.  UNT ranks 11th of 34 institutions.  State standard is 28 weekly hours of use; UNT achieves 37 h/w.  The handout will be posted on the Faculty Senate website.

Pohl also reported that no decision had been made at this time on the two percent raise for faculty.

Chair’s Update: 

Chair Pelton reported that a plaque recognizing past Senate Chairs is now hanging in the Administration Building Board Room.  He also commended Senators on attendance at the meeting. 

Pelton reported that two members to the Senate Executive Committee would be working with representatives of the administration to obtain budget information.  The representatives are Senators White and Staff.

Pelton asked for input on the Faculty Senate newsletter.  Senator Tam suggested that future issues reflect a collective effort.

Committee of the Whole:

Upon motion by Hastings, second by Van Tassell, the Senate voted unanimously to commend Chair Pelton on his efforts on installing the plaque recognizing former Senate Chairs.

The Student Government Representative asked for input on a campus-wide smoking ban and matters that should be included in responsibility centered management.

Senator Woods asked that the Senate express her dismay at the lack of administrative action on 2% raises for faculty which were previously announced as being effective in January.

Upon motion by Plummer, second by van Tassell, the Senate voted to cancel the January 2004 meeting.

Chair Pelton adjourned the Senate at 3:45pm.

Respectfully submitted by Marcia Staff, Senate Secretary

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Send comments or questions to Sue Young, syoung@unt.edu, at the Faculty Senate Office, Telephone (940) 565-2053.