EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MINUTES

 

Present:          Alexander, Beck, Bolin, Fech, Flowers, Hoffman, Moeller, Peterson, Rapkin, Scholz, Shea, Stock

 

Absent:          

           

Date:               August 31, 2005

 

Location:        201 Canfield Administration Building

 

Note:   These are not verbatim minutes.  They are a summary of the discussions at the Executive Committee meeting as corrected by those participating.

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1.0       Call to Order

            Beck called the meeting to order at 3:03 p.m.

           

2.0       Chancellor Perlman/SVCAA Couture

            2.1       Revising the General Education Program

SVCAA Couture noted that she has been speaking generally about revising the general education program for the past year and now action is being taken to begin the revision process.  She pointed out that Past President Peterson has been part of an extended effort to look at other general education programs across the country and he attended a conference in May on general education.  She stated that one of the purposes of this conference was to gather ideas about how to go about a review of general education. 

 

SVCAA Couture stated that the committee that we will engage in a review of general education and have appointed committees and a chair; the committees have been asked to propose revisions in a timely manner.   The review process will be one where everyone who has a stake in it is involved and has input into the process.  She noted that the overall goal is to have a general education program that functions more successfully than the current one.

 

SVCAA Couture stated that the Chancellor will be discussing the revision of the general education program in his State of the University address.  She stated that a faculty member will chair the effort to revise the program and the Deans are all comfortable with the representation that they have on the committee.  She noted that the effort to revise the program will involve all appropriate constituencies including the Academic Senate. 

 

2.2              Committee To Review Academic Titles

Beck noted that the Chancellor had mentioned briefly this past spring that he has been thinking about reviewing the different faculty positions at the University.  She stated that Secretary Shea has been invited to serve on a committee that will be reviewing academic titles. 

 

SVCAA Couture stated that the committee is an outgrowth of the situations discussed last year concerning non-tenure track faculty members.  She stated that a question the committee needs to address is how the university honors and makes appropriate participants of full-time faculty members who are not tenure track.  She pointed out that for a variety of reasons there might be more people in these positions in the future. 

 

SVCAA Couture stated that she spoke with the Deans and others about creating a task force to look at academic titles, particularly Lecturer titles.  She noted that positions where sole responsibility is teaching need to be considered.  She stated that Associate Vice Chancellor Jacobson, Professor Joy Ritchie, Associate Dean Schmidt, Associate Dean Karels, Professor Kathryn Phillips, Professor Shea, and Associate Dean Shipley will be members of this committee.  She stated that the committee will be looking at a number of documents including the Regents Bylaws and other University policies over the Labor Day weekend as well as documents from other Universities, as the first step in addressing this issue. 

 

SVCAA Couture noted that the committee will possibly look at a position title related to what is in other universities is called Professor of Practice.  She stated that Duke University currently uses this position title and the committee might, as one of its many tasks, review how will it functions at Duke.  She noted that this is a rank created for temporary faculty members that would provide them with the opportunity to move through promotional ranks.  She stated that many possible revisions to academic titles will need to be discussed and reviewed. 

 

Beck asked if other titles other than the Lecturer positions will be reviewed.  SVCAA Couture stated that they will.  She stated that the University wants to do a better job at recognizing people’s contributions to the University through their titles. 

 

Chancellor Perlman stated that he might ask the committee to review a position of an active service modified duties faculty member.  He noted that this is used at the University of California-Berkeley and is often associated with faculty members who are on maternity leave. 

 

Alexander stated that as a full professor actively engaged in research he is often responsible for hiring assistant and associate research faculty members.  He noted that currently people in these positions receive two days a month for vacation yet he as a full-time faculty member does not receive two days a month for vacation.  He pointed out that it seems strange in comparison that full professors do not receive this benefit but assistant or associate research faculty members do.

 

Chancellor Perlman asked if these positions are 12 month appointments.  Peterson noted that he is on a 12 month appointment and gets two vacation days a year and he is a full professor.  SVCAA Couture pointed out that there is no expectation for professors on nine month appointments during the summer months. 

 

Hoffman stated that sometimes a person is hired for an assistant or associate research position and later moves up through the ranks and becomes a tenure-track faculty member.  He pointed out that these people are able to fill these tenure-track positions without a formal search process.  He pointed out that there is a huge gamut of rights that are violated when this occurs.  SVCAA Couture stated that this might be an issue that needs to be wrestled with. 

 

Peterson pointed out that another branch of titles that might need to be considered are the extension titles.  SVCAA stated that she believes the committee will look at all academic titles.

 

2.3              Having Permission to Email All Faculty to Conduct Surveys

Beck stated that upon the suggestion of the Chancellor the Executive Committee has been working on developing a mechanism to survey all of the faculty members on particular issues.  She noted that the Committee was given a presentation on technology that would allow the Senate to get information from the faculty in a practical way.  She pointed out that currently whenever the Senate wants to send an email message out they must get permission from Associate to the Chancellor Howe but there are times when he might not be available to make that decision.  She stated that the Committee would like to be able to send out a request for information without having to get permission each time.  She pointed out that the Senate has no intention of abusing this privilege. 

 

Chancellor Perlman stated that he wants to invite the Committee to think about developing a policy regarding surveying faculty members.  He noted that he gets many requests from faculty members with interesting ideas that would require input from the faculty but the email system needs to be preserved so the number of surveys a faculty member receives does not get out of hand.  He stated that he does not want to prohibit the Senate to get information but he urges the Committee to think about a policy for this issue.

 

Hoffman asked if there is a policy on general email messages.  Chancellor Perlman stated that there is no policy, that it is decided on a case to case basis.  He noted that sometimes this can create awkward circumstances. 

 

Beck stated that the Committee will work on creating a policy. 

 

2.4              Update on Search for Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs

Chancellor Perlman stated that the members of the search committee have been approved.  He noted that the advertisement is being worked on and should be out soon.  He stated that he hopes to have a deadline date of October 1 for submitting applications.  He noted that the search committee has been networking people to get access to those who might be interested in the position. 

 

Chancellor Perlman stated that a pool of candidates in student affairs should be one rich in diversity and we should make strong efforts in that regard. 

 

 

2.5              Enrollment Figures for Fall

Chancellor Perlman stated that Central Administration will soon be making an announcement regarding admissions this year.  He noted that things do look positive.  He stated that the Office of Admissions felt a lot of pressure to improve the admissions rate and have worked hard this past year to do so. 

 

Rapkin asked if the number of international students has increased.  Chancellor Perlman stated that he did not know for sure but he believes these figures are about the same.  He stated that he wants to look at efforts to recruit international students.  He stated that the institution needs to be strategic in order to recruit more international students. 

 

2.6              Changes to Faculty Development Leave Policy

Beck stated that she has heard that there are to be changes to the faculty development leave policy.  The changes would reflect increased scrutiny for traveling elsewhere rather than staying in Lincoln.  The leaves which would require travel outside of Lincoln would have greater chances of being approved.  SVCAA Couture stated that the administration has no plans to make any changes to the faculty development leave policy and that this is the first she has heard of this rumor.  Furthermore there has not been any discussion about what it and is not permissible for a leave.  She stated that there could be some individual that may relate to the rumor, but there are no plans for changes in the rules. 

 

Chancellor Perlman stated that he can recall something about not favoring development leaves that did not require travel outside of Lincoln but he noted that this may go back to former SVCAA Edwards. 

 

Beck stated that there seems to be the attitude now that faculty development leaves are not a right.  Chancellor Perlman and Peterson both stated that this has always been the case.  Peterson stated that the Regents Bylaws address the faculty development leave.  He noted that the Bylaws indicate that these leaves must be approved, ultimately by the Board of Regents.  He stated that he did not believe that individual campuses have the leeway to make changes to the policy.  Chancellor Perlman stated that the campuses have some leeway but there are no plans to change any of the requirements for obtaining a faculty development leave. 

 

Peterson stated the Regents’ policies indicate that faculty development fellowships are to be awarded “on a competitive basis, under rules promulgated by the Chancellor, in consultation with the faculty.”  He noted that the could not find any such rules on the Academic Affairs home page and asked if any rules had been promulgated.  SVCAA Couture stated that there are no processes for reviewing applications for leaves in Academic Affairs, other than reviews for conformance with university of system by laws.  She stated that the process is that the leaves come from the departments through the Deans to Academic Affairs.  She stated that there is not a committee at the Academic Affairs level that reviews the applications.  She noted that some universities do have a committee that ranks and selects proposals.  She pointed out that the University does require a report on the development leave once it has been completed.  Stock noted that the English department has a committee that reviews proposals.  Hoffman stated that his department has specific rules regarding faculty development leaves. 

 

Beck asked what the policy is for evaluating faculty members who have been on leave.  SVCAA Couture stated that Academic Affairs receives a report after the leave.  If a report is not filed, the Office of Academic Affairs will contact the professor to remind him or her that a report must be submitted.  She does not think any reports received have indicated that the intent of the leave was not fulfilled. 

 

Beck stated that she was thinking more about annual faculty evaluations and how they are conducted when a person has been on leave.  She asked whether this would be done individually by departments.  SVCAA Couture stated that it is probably done at the department level because it is not done at the Academic Affairs level. 

 

2.7              Update on Day Care Facility

Chancellor Perlman stated that he will be reporting on the day care facility at his State of the University address. 

 

2.8              Contract with Iowa State University’s Vet Program

Beck noted that an announcement was made yesterday about the contract with Iowa State being put on hold.  Chancellor Perlman stated that there has been some concern whether everything could be put in place in time.  He noted that Iowa State wants to make sure everything is ready before the contract is signed. 

 

2.9              Hurricane Katrina

Chancellor Perlman reported that President Milliken will be making an announcement stating that university students caught in the difficulty of Hurricane Katrina can come to the University at in-state tuition rates.  Chancellor Perlman stated that UNL will work diligently to get them into the courses they need so their college careers will not be interrupted. 

 

Moeller stated that most of Tulane University buildings were spared but there is damage to some of them.  Chancellor Perlman noted that Tulane has cancelled classes. 

 

2.10          Semester at Sea

Chancellor Perlman stated that the Semester at Sea program is run by a not for profit corporation and it teaches liberal arts courses as the students sail around the world.  He noted that the University of Pittsburgh has sponsored the program in the past but will no longer be sponsoring it. 

 

Chancellor Perlman stated that UNL is in competition with a few other schools to sponsor the program.  He stated that he believes it will be good for UNL to participate in the program.  As the sponsoring institution UNL would approve the credit for courses that are taught and UNL faculty members would be eligible to participate in teaching the courses.  He stated that students would be admitted to UNL as visiting students.  He noted that an academic dean would need to be found to oversee the program.  He stated that the dean would secure the faculty members for teaching and would sail on the boat.  He stated that the boat sails three times each year.  He noted that this program would make international studies more visible. 

 

Chancellor Perlman stated that he tried to visit the Semester at Sea boat last week but Hurricane Katrina prevented him from reaching the destination where the boat was docked.  He stated that representatives from Semester at Sea will be on campus next week for further discussions. 

 

Chancellor Perlman noted that the Semester at Sea program was founded by a group of individuals who have a passion for doing this kind of program. 

 

Fech asked why the University of Pittsburgh no longer wants to sponsor the program.  Chancellor Perlman stated that he believes that the reason has something to do with the change in the management company. 

 

Scholz asked what the financial implications are for UNL.  Chancellor Perlman stated that it would be positive for UNL.  He noted that there would need to be further discussions about the actual arrangements. 

 

Moeller noted that the program will provide UNL students with more international experience and could benefit international research as well.  Chancellor Perlman stated that the program could give faculty and students a leg up on international studies. 

 

2.11          Reality TV Show

Peterson asked if the Chancellor has been watching the Tommy Lee television show.  Chancellor Perlman stated that he has.  He noted that most of the comments he has received have been positive but one of the faculty members is upset after the August 30th show.  He stated that the faculty member feels that the editing of the show was done in such a way as to not accurately reflect what the course is about or how Tommy Lee’s book tied into the course.  Chancellor Perlman stated that the professor is concerned with how her colleagues will view the program.  He noted that the professor is being very responsible about her response. 

 

Fech asked if the Chancellor has heard from any of the colleagues from faculty members that are in the show.  Chancellor Perlman stated that he has talked with people from around the country, particularly alumni.  He noted that the people he has spoken with feel that the show has been very positive for UNL.  He stated that three things have been pointed out to him:  1) that the campus looks extraordinary, 2) that the students are engaged and serious, 3) that the professors are coming across well.  SVCAA Couture noted that the students sound intelligent, serious, and engaged. 

 

Peterson pointed out that VH-1 is also running the program and it is shown several times on that station.  He noted that this will provide the campus with a lot of publicity. 

 

Chancellor Perlman stated that Dean Cerveny, Admissions, has been tracking inquiries from out of state students who join a mailing list from admissions.  Chancellor Perlman reported that there was an increase of 200 students on this list immediately after the airing of the first show.

 

Moeller stated that she was glad to see that Tommy Lee is the joke of the program, not the students or the university.  She pointed out that the students look really good in the program.

 

3.0                Announcements

3.1                Contacted Meg Lauerman, Director, Office of University Communications

Beck stated that she emailed Lauerman to inform her that the Senate is willing to co-sponsor the reception before the free concert series at the Lied Center.  Beck stated that she will speak with Lauerman to discuss further the “Power of Big Red” communications program that Lauerman wants to get started on campus. 

 

3.2                Interview with Candidates for Dean of Agricultural Research Division

Beck noted that the interview of the first candidate for this position will be held on September 1st.  She encouraged Executive Committee members to attend the interview. 

 

3.3                Phone Call from Regent Hergert

Beck reported that she received a phone call from Regent Hergert.  She stated that he expressed a strong interest in the desire to work hard for agriculture.  She noted that they spoke briefly about the violations of his campaign and whether the Senate will issue a statement regarding his position on the Board of Regents. 

 

3.4                Meeting on Academic Dishonesty

Beck stated that she met with Dr. Hecker, Director of Student Judicial Affairs, and others to discuss academic dishonesty on campus.  She noted that Hecker has gathered a lot of information from other universities on how they address the issue and how they engaged the campus in order to resolve the problem.  She stated that she is going to ask the Teaching Council to look at this issue.  She noted that suggestions have been made to put a workshop together on how to deal with plagiarism. 

 

Flowers noted that the Lincoln Journal Star should be publishing an article soon about academic dishonesty.  He stated that a number of faculty members will be implementing the tool on Blackboard to help detect plagiarism. 

 

4.0       Approval of 8/24/05 Minutes

Peterson moved and Flowers seconded approval of the minutes as amended.  Motion approved.

 

5.0       Unfinished Business

            5.1       Executive Committee Election

Griffin reported that she contacted the Senator identified as a possible candidate for the Executive Committee during the last meeting.  Although the Senator was interested she had to decline due to a class conflict with the Committee meeting time.  The Executive Committee noted that there is a candidate to run for the open position.

 

5.2       Changes to Senate Rules and Bylaws

Griffin distributed the motions to change the Senate Bylaws document and the Senate Rules as approved by the Committee during the summer.  She noted that the changes refer to the inclusion of allowing voting by e-mail and slight changes to the distribution of the Senate. 

 

Shea stated that the Senate needs to be brought up to speed with the changes that have been made in departments and colleges on campus.

 

5.3       Changes to 15th Week Policy

Griffin stated that some faculty members have been calling wanting clarification on paragraph three of the 15th week policy.  The Committee agreed that the wording of the third paragraph needed to be restructured to make it a little clearer.  Griffin stated that faculty members have also been unclear about what week is considered the 15th week.  The Committee agreed to include language indicating that the last week of class is considered the 15th week.  The Committee stated that they will present the changes to the Senate at the September meeting.

 

Peterson stated that he had a question from a faculty member regarding oral presentations for a Monday, Wednesday, Friday class.  The faculty member stated that they currently have oral presentations given every class period of the last week of class.  Peterson stated that he pointed out to the instructor that he would not be in compliance with the policy if oral presentations were given on Friday of the last week of classes.  Peterson noted that it was the intent of the students that all requirements must be completed by Wednesday to allow time for them to prepare for finals.

 

Alexander stated that he still thinks that assignments replacing a final should be due by Wednesday of the 15th week and not due at any time during finals week.  Flowers asked about take home finals.  Alexander stated that take home finals are self-paced.  He pointed out that assignments replacing finals can still interfere with the students preparing for their final exams.  Peterson noted that an instructor could state that the assignment replacing the final could be due by Friday of the 15th week.

 

Moeller pointed out that students are still being given two days to prepare for finals.  She noted this is the intent of the policy.  Peterson noted that the original intent of the students was to have two drop days but he stated that this was dropped because of the objections by faculty members. 

 

5.3       Addressing Concerns Raised by Faculty Members of the Economics Department

Rapkin stated that the Committee needs to address the concerns raised by some of the faculty members of the Economics Department.  The Committee agreed to invite Dean Milligan to speak with them to see if she is addressing the issue.  Beck stated that she will contact Dean Milligan to try to schedule her to meet with the Executive Committee.

 

6.0              New Business

6.1              Appointment to Pepsi Event Fund

Beck stated that the Committee needs to appoint someone to serve on this committee.  She noted that the committee’s responsibility is to review proposals submitted from student organizations to obtain funding for various events.  She stated that the committee does not meet often and mostly communicates by email.  Moeller volunteered to serve on the committee.

 

6.2              Committee to Review Academic Titles

Shea wanted to point out that to his understanding he was appointed to this committee as a faculty member of IANR and CASNR selected by the Dean and Vice Chancellor and not as the Senate representative as SVCAA Couture had indicated earlier.  He stated that he will still keep the Executive Committee informed of the committee’s work.  He understands that the Chancellor wants recommendations made by the end of the semester.

           

The meeting was adjourned at 4:50 p.m.  The next meeting of the Executive Committee will be on Wednesday, September 7 at 3:00 pm.  The meeting will be held in the Academic Senate Office, 420 University Terrace.  The minutes are respectfully submitted by Karen Griffin, Coordinator and Pat Shea, Secretary.