EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MINUTES

 

Present:          Alexander, Alloway, Beck, Bradford, Bolin, Flowers, Hachtmann, Ledder, Scholz, Stock

 

Absent:           Moeller, Rapkin, Zimmers

           

Date:               Wednesday, October 18, 2006

 

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

            Bradford called the meeting to order at 3:06 p.m.

 

2.0       Chancellor Perlman, SVCAA Couture, and VC Owens

2.1       Draft Diversity Plan

Bradford reported that the Committee has a lot of concerns about the draft plan.  Chancellor Perlman stated that the draft plan was put out for the university community to discuss and provide feedback.  He encouraged the Committee to get responses back soon on the plan.  He noted that he wants to have a plan that the campus could adhere to. 

 

Bradford asked if there will be a second draft after comments have been received.  Chancellor Perlman reported that he is more interested in having conversations about what needs to be done because there is a plan in place already.  He stated that there needs to be healthy conversations about where we are going with diversity.  He pointed out that the campus cannot afford to do everything that needs to be done but we need to determine what steps need to made in order to move the campus forward.  He noted that there are good results with the increase in the number of assistant female faculty professor and the increase in diversity in the freshmen class.  He stated that he hopes there will be a realistic plan about what else the campus needs to do.

 

2.2       Senate Voting on General Education Program

Bradford stated that the Regents Bylaws clearly states that the faculty governing agency of each major administrative unit shall “act on academic matters that affect more than one college.”  He noted that the Executive Committee understands this to mean that the Senate will need to vote on the revised general education program since it is an academic matter that affects more than one college. 

 

SVCAA Couture stated that there are a number of issues that need to be discussed on this issue.  She noted that her understanding of the Regents Bylaws is that the Senate works as an advisory committee.  She pointed out that by law the colleges have to weigh in on the curriculum of their college.  She stated that whatever action the Senate wishes to act on should not preempt the voting by the colleges. 

 

Ledder pointed out that the Bylaws do not read that the Senate is an advisory committee on academic matters.  The Bylaws read that the Senate acts on academic matters.  SVCAA Couture stated that the Bylaws will be followed but the colleges should have the opportunity to exercise their vote first.  Ledder stated that the Senate vote would be an additional requirement, not a replacement for the colleges voting.  He stated that the Committee thought it might be best for the Senate to vote first to hopefully give some momentum to the proposed program. 

 

Chancellor Perlman stated that the way things have worked is that the colleges have control of their curriculum.  He stated that for purposes of the college curriculums if they vote yes on the new general education program then it will be approved.  He noted that the effort is to try and get all of the colleges to agree to a university-wide program.  Ledder asked if it is possible for all but one of the colleges to approve the program and if this happens, will the program go into effect for all but the one college.  Chancellor Perlman stated that this is correct.  He stated that he hopes that all of the colleges will approve the program because it would be much better for students who transfer from one college to another.  He noted that this is one of the problems with the current program. 

 

Ledder asked if the colleges will be able to amend the proposal.  SVCAA Couture stated that technically all things are allowed but the GEAC and GEPT are trying to make everyone aware of the proposals and will get all of the differences worked out so that we can all come to an agreement on it.  She stated that she thinks the Deans are committed to getting the word out on the programs.

 

Ledder stated that this is what the Senate is trying to do as well.  He noted that the first step may be to get the Senate to either endorse or approve the program.  He stated that the plan is to have the Senate vote on something in December such as what was done with the institutional objectives this month. 

 

Chancellor Perlman stated that the general education program is actually not an area that crosses academic boundaries because it is an independent decision that will hopefully be done in a way that is coordinated.  He stated that if the Senate believes that what the committees have done is right then it should endorse the program or recommend that the colleges should approve the programs. 

 

Ledder stated that he does not think the program is going to work out if Arts & Sciences votes no on the program and the other colleges vote for it.  He pointed out that many of the outcomes of the program will be met by many courses in Arts & Sciences.  Chancellor Perlman agreed that Arts & Sciences have had a traditional roll of providing courses for the general education program. 

 

 

 

2.3       Gallup Survey Results

Chancellor Perlman stated that there will be a powerpoint presentation available on the web soon that shows the general results of the Gallup survey for the past three years.  He noted that the presentation is for the campus as a whole and does not show results below the campus level.  He stated that the presentation includes results based on race, gender, and sexual orientation.  He noted that in large measures the results are pretty positive and there is a continued high response rate.  He stated that overall the results have been pretty good. 

 

Chancellor Perlman reported that facilitators will soon be going out to the colleges and departments to speak to them about their results.  He stated that he hopes people will take the results seriously. 

 

2.4       Issues on the Horizon

Initiative 423

Chancellor Perlman stated that he wanted to talk carefully about Initiative 423.  He noted that if the Initiative passes the consequences to the university would be extraordinarily negative.  He reported that the polling data is mixed right now with some indications showing that there are more people in favor of the Initiative.  He noted that this is particularly true for western Nebraska.  He stated that he wanted to encourage faculty and staff members to vote in the election.  He noted that people should take seriously the information about Initiative 423.  He stated that the Initiative has definite implications for the university. 

 

Bradford pointed out that the Senate took a position against the Initiative at the October 3rd Senate meeting but the press was not there to take note of this.  Beck noted that reporters could contact us about it.  Chancellor Perlman stated that there has not been much press coverage of the issue because the focus has been on a lot of the other races. 

 

Family Friendly Policies

SVCAA Couture stated that an ad hoc committee, comprised of deans and faculty members, has been reviewing the existing campus family friendly policies and have developed a draft as requested by Chancellor Perlman.  She stated that the policies seek to help faculty members who are dealing with family issues.  She distributed copies of the draft policy.

 

SVCAA Couture stated that the Chancellor is working with Central Administration to review current University-wide policies.  She noted that Central Administration’s plan is to create brochures about the family friendly policies so faculty members can easily find information on them. 

 

SVCAA Couture stated that she would like to get the Senate’s input on the suggested draft.  She asked if the Committee could get a response back in a couple of weeks. 

 

SVCAA Couture stated that the first proposal is to extend the right for faculty members to apply for modified duties.  She noted that the half-time tenure track policy is “permission to be on a reduced FTE tenure clock, at .5 FTE, may be granted only when the faculty member has significant familial demands, or for personal circumstances related to the health of the faculty member.  In any request under this policy, the faculty member must represent that the requested reduced FTE tenure clock is necessary for reason of significant familial demands or personal health.”  She pointed out that there is already a similar policy in place but this would be an effort to capture the policy in a way that would help those with family issues that might interfere with their job. 

 

SVCAA Couture stated that what is new with the proposed policy is that people can apply for a half-time, tenure track appointment.  She noted that there are some restrictions on when this can be done.  She stated that a faculty member who applies through the appropriate channel would be put on a .5 FTE.  She pointed out that the proposal also describes other requirements that address how the tenure clock will be dealt with. 

 

SVCAA Couture stated that this first recommendation for family friendly policy is an extension of the existing policy.  She pointed out that the half-time tenure track option is currently not available. 

 

Bradford asked if the AAUP tenure clock is based on six years of full-time equivalency in academic years or is it based on calendar years.  He wondered whether this could create a problem with the policy.  SVCAA Couture stated that she will ask the committee to look into this matter. 

 

Beck noted that pre-tenure faculty members have been put on half-time duties before.  Vice Chancellor Owens pointed out that this has been done on an ad hoc basis.  SVCAA Couture stated that it has not been an available standard opportunity before and if the proposal is approved, it would be standard. 

 

Scholz asked if faculty members would have to make the request annually.  He also asked if the faculty member can go back to full-time status if the family situation changes.  SVCAA Couture stated that applying for the modified duties would not have to be done on any given year.  She noted that the issue of whether the faculty member can return to full-time would need to be negotiated. 

 

Bradford stated that the Executive Committee will discuss the proposed at its next meeting.

 

Accreditation of Veterinary Program

Vice Chancellor Owens reported that the Veterinary Association will arrive on campus for the accreditation of the new veterinary program with Iowa State.  He noted that the accreditation team will then go to Iowa State to complete the accreditation review.  He stated that the accreditation process is moving faster than he thought.  He stated that the program is busy filling appointments for the program.  He noted that the program has attracted national attention.  Beck reported that students are very excited about the new program. 

 

Vice Chancellor Owens reported that there is a new faculty member in Agricultural Economics, Professor Lubben, who has written a background paper about Initiative 423.  Vice Chancellor Owens noted that the paper is just an analysis of the Initiative and it can be found on the web at http://agecon.unl.edu/pub/initiative%20423.pdf.

 

Chemistry Professor

Bradford asked what the status is with the chemistry professor who was suspended this semester.  Chancellor Perlman stated that he is dealing with the matter.  He noted that there has been some delay in the decision making process but this has been for legitimate reasons.  He stated that some decisions will be made soon.  He reported that the professor is still suspended from the university. 

 

Professor Ari

Alloway asked if the university has heard anything about Professor Ari’s request for a visa.  Chancellor Perlman stated that the university has heard nothing further on the case.  He noted that a considerable period of time has elapsed and inquiries have been made on our behalf but the university has still had no response. 

 

State Fair Property

Chancellor Perlman stated that he has seen some debate with the State Fair Board and the university’s interest in the state fair grounds property.  He noted that the university would be very interested in the property only if there was a way to move the state fair grounds to North 84th street in a way that would be advantageous to the State Fair Board.  He pointed out that university planning would be very long term and currently the university needs to deal with the Antelope Valley Project.  He pointed out that in the future the university will need to look for land.

 

Bradford asked if the City of Lincoln has looked at the state fair grounds to build an arena.  Chancellor Perlman pointed that there is not much room out there and it is in the flood plains.  He stated that only about 60% of the land could be captured. 

 

Alloway asked if there is enough room on 84th street to relocate the state fair grounds by the Lancaster Events Center.  Chancellor Perlman noted that most of the land around the Events Center is owned by the university and used for agricultural research.  He stated that he has seen three drawings of how the fair grounds would fit out there.  He noted that there are flood plain issues that would need to be addressed. 

 

3.0       Announcements

            3.1       Beck Departure

Beck announced that she has accepted a position at Clemson University as department chair of the Animal and Veterinary Sciences program and will be leaving UNL in January. 

 

4.0       Approval of 10/11/06 Minutes

Alloway moved and Hachtmann seconded approval of the minutes as amended.   Motion approved.

 

5.0       Unfinished Business

            5.1       Communicating with the Public About the Work of the Faculty

Alloway noted that the Committee discussed what the university can do across the state to communicate better about the work of the faculty.  He suggested that the Committee needs to discuss this further.  Beck agreed.  Bradford questioned whether this is the kind of thing that needs coordination by the administration to help do.  The Committee discussed what could be done.  It was suggested that the Committee might want to meet with reporters from the Lincoln Journal Star and the Omaha World Herald to discuss the issue. 

 

Beck noted that last year there was discussion about inviting the Museum faculty to meet with the Committee to discuss how the collections are faring since the elimination of the Museum Studies program.  The Committee agreed to discuss the issue further. 

           

5.0       New Business

No new business was discussed. 

 

The meeting was adjourned at 4:25 p.m.  The next meeting of the Executive Committee will be on Wednesday, October 25 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 Rick Alloway, Secretary.