1. Welcome and Introductions. Senator McPherson welcomed attendees and noted that the music was provided by Panama Steel featuring Mark Ford from the album Pan Man.
2. Second reading for bylaws change to create a Committee on the Status of People of Color. Senator McPherson read the proposed text and noted that bylaws changes come into effect after a positive vote. There was a question clarifying that the positions were at-large positions and that there would be staggered terms. Senator McPherson and Senator Nagaoka, a member of the Charter and Bylaws Committee, agreed that this was the intent. The motion to accept the bylaws change and have a Committee on the Status of People of Color populated and active by September passed unanimously.
3. Minutes of May 14. Motion to accept by Senators Swan and Sahliyeh. There was a correction to reflect that it was a Committee on the Status of People of Color being proposed. With that change, the minutes passed unanimously.
1. Committee Reports
1. Committee on Committees. There was a question about “electing” Executive Committee representatives through the Committee on Committees or through a caucus of Senators belonging to the respective group. Senator Mary Harris, Senate Parliamentarian, read the bylaws and it appears that the written process is to use the Committee on Committees for this purpose. This has not been the working process. The report was approved unanimously.
2. Academic Affairs. Sarah Collins had been delayed but was expected.
3. Faculty Senate Budget Committee. The chair of the committee was not in attendance
4. Faculty Participation in Governance. Senator Sam Atkinson, chair, presented the report. Senator Atkinson noted that the charge to the committee was to investigate the process by which the College of Engineering Charter was developed and to insure that there was adequate participation by the faculty. The committee agreed that this was the case. Senator Turner had been serving as the parliamentarian for the process and had expressed his agreement with the findings of the committee. The report was accepted unanimously.
5. Ad Hoc Committee on Research Misconduct. Senator Rick Reidy, member, presented the report. The committee had been formed to work on concerns expressed over the draft of the Research Misconduct Policy drafted last year. The primary concern was having the VP Research serve as the arbitrator in case of issues as this is a nonacademic position. The committee recommended that the Provost serve as final arbitrator and that the VP Research serve as the chair of the investigation committees. The Provost had agreed to the proposed changes. The report was accepted unanimously.
6. Ad Hoc Committee for University-Wide Teaching Evaluation. The presenter was not available.
7. University Writing Committee. Report presented in written form. Report accepted unanimously.
8. Academic Affairs. Sarah Collins, Associate Director, Office of Enrollment Management, presented the report on Evaluation of Undergraduate Admissions. Please see the report for details. Senators had a number of questions relating to additional data and/or ways of analyzing current data. Ms. Collins answered the questions when she had the information or recorded the question to include in next year’s analysis. Overall UNT’s undergraduates are doing well. Of special interest may be that the Emerald Eagles who are taking more hours tended to perform better than those taking the minimum number of hours. Since 2000, UNT has been graduating more undergraduate students than the other top 9 universities in Texas, and is above average in the Emerging Researching Institutions in Texas. Female and non-Caucasian students are graduating faster than white male students. Ms. Collins emphasized that this is the opportunity for faculty to be involved in undergraduate admissions and welcomed their feedback and further questions.
9. Committee for University-Wide Teaching Evaluation. Ron Carriveau, chair. The charge to the committee is to develop an assessment instrument that will be used university-wide in order to provide evaluations that are consistent across departments. Departments can add a few additional questions to ensure that the evaluations capture the uniqueness of the disciplines. The committee looked at evaluations currently being administered, captured the concepts, and are creating psychometrically sound questions. The instrument will be tested during the summer, including focus groups with students and faculty, and be available for use by the end of October. The instrument will be used for both undergraduate and graduate classes but have a method to account for the variability in class size and teaching needs. The committee had looked at national standardized tests but these did not fit our needs. There was some concern that departments already have a good history and understanding of how their current instruments work. Dr. Carriveau noted that the goal of the unified instrument is to have standardization across departments. When asked why comparison across departments was important, the Provost responded that data supporting excellence in teaching is needed and must be comparable across campus. She added that evaluation of teaching will be supported by multiple measures, not just this instrument.

5. Report of the Provost/VPAA

a. The Provost expressed her delight that UNT now had every Dean position filled with the recent announcement of the new Dean of the College of Engineering. She asked if there were any questions on the written answers she’d provided in the Vice Chair’s report. When none were forthcoming, she elaborated on the question of graduate student report. The goal of the new package was to encourage top students to apply by providing competitive support. The first and last years would be paid by the Graduate School and the intermediate years provided by the department. The Provost had not expected departments to put the onus on the individual faculty member but had assumed a shared responsibility. She encouraged awareness of scholarships and hoped that faculty would spread the word about new initiatives.

b. Merit Raise process. The Provost explained that there is a 4% merit pool and a 1 million market pool. The dollars given to the department represent 4% of faculty salaries in the department. One percent can be held back by the departments. The market pool went to those departments who were most in need of market adjustments. Money from empty lines is being held for rewards for faculty who have shown excellence over the last three years. Dr. Wilkins noticed that the results she was seeing from the department did not reflect her thought that those faculty who were highly meritorious would receive the larger raises. Some departments were assigning across the board increases which flattens the salary structure. The Provost has returned the spreadsheets to the Deans and wants them to come back with results showing that the most meritorious faculty are receiving the higher raises.

1. Report of the Vice Chair. Presented in writing. Senator McPherson encouraged Senators to ask any questions.
2. Report of the Chair. Senator McPherson presented his report. Deans will now be undergoing 5 year re-appointment reviews. Modified service option will be 3 years beginning in 2009. Volunteers are needed for the One Book/One Community. The amounts for each lecturer “step” are under discussion. The new Director of Government and External Relations has been hired and will report directly to President Bataille.
3. Unfinished Business
1. New Business
1. SGA Proposal. The SGA is concerned that the UNT Latin honors are higher than most other universities, including many in Texas. They are recommending that UNT lowers the requirements to meet the norm for universities in Texas. The Senate unanimously voted to support the proposal. There were questions about how to notify former students about the change and how to provide them with acknowledgement, either through new degrees or sending the seal itself. The Provost will investigate this and determine how best to proceed.
2. Faculty Inventory. Dr. Allen Clark demonstrated the faculty inventory system that will be in place for the fall. A benefit of the system is that it allows for searching and reporting on centers, technologies, facilities, equipment, labs, and groups to provide for improved cross-collaboration both internally and beyond UNT. The system was developed at UT Arlington and is being used at eight other Texas organizations. The system is being tested and Dr. Clark encouraged faculty to try it out and help determine which features and categories should be included for UNT faculty. The URL for the UT Arlington system is http://www.uta.edu/expertise click on the faculty profiles link on the left hand side to see what options are available.
4. Committee of the Whole. Senator McPherson thanked Senators rotating off Senate and handed out certificates of service. He thanked the current officers and welcomed the new officers. There will be a “end of the year” social time at Rip Rocks immediately following the meeting. Senator Thomsett-Scott presented him with several books signed by the Senators and thanked him for his excellent work over the past year on behalf of Vice Chair Wells and the Senate.
5. Adjournment. Meeting adjourned at 5:00 pm

Respectfully submitted by Beth Thomsett-Scott, Faculty Senate Secretary