UNL ACADEMIC SENATE MEETING MINUTES
127 Architecture Hall
October 8, 1996
President Peter Bleed Presiding
1.0 Call to Order
* President Bleed called the meeting to order at 2:37 pm.
2.0 Announcements
2.1 Committee Election Results. Bleed announced the
results of the recent assembly-wide election to fill two
faculty vacancies. Nancy Betts, Nutritional Science and
Dietetics, was elected to the Academic Planning Committee.
Jerry Petr, Economics, was elected to the Academic Rights
and Responsibilities Committee.
2.2 UNL By-laws change. Bleed reported on the status of
last spring's assembly approval to move forward with the
UNL By-laws change regarding the election of senators.
This change is designed to insure that all members of an
academic department are apprised of situations in which only
one candidate is on the ballot for a vacancy on the Senate.
The proposed language eliminates the possibility of an
individual winning a seat by "default." On September 24,
Chancellor Moeser forwarded the request to President Smith
for the Board of Regents agenda.
2.3 NCAA Self Study Draft. Bleed announced that four
copies of the North Central Association Accreditation Self
Study draft are available for review in the Academic Senate
Office, 1227 R St., City Campus. Comments are due by
October 18. Interested faculty may review the document on
an over-night basis.
2.4 Initiatives 411, 412. Bleed stated that the November 5
election is upcoming and the property tax initiatives 411 and
412 are very important. A. L. (Roy) Frederick, Agricultural
Economics, has produced a series of position statements
regarding these two initiatives. Copies are available through
his department and he may be contacted at 472-6225.
2.5 Board of Regents Candidates. Albrecht, UNL Senate
Secretary, has compiled a list of questions for the three
Board of Regents candidates. A letter was mailed to
Andrew Sigerson, Nancy O'Brien, and Charles Wilson
requesting a response no later than October 15. Questions
addressed the following concerns: role and mission of
higher education; the tenure system at UNL; academic
standards; addition of a non-voting faculty regent to the
Board of Regents; and UNL priorities.
2.6 Schwartzkopf fund and Friends of Faculty Senate. Bleed
reported that the Senate Office has received contributions of
$482 for the Schwartzkopf fund and $587 for the Friends of
the Faculty Senate to date. Bleed thanked those faculty
members who had contributed and requested senators to
encourage their colleagues to contribute. The Schwartzkopf
fund is a tax-deductible contribution.
3.0 Chancellor Moeser
3.1 UNL Alma Mater. Chancellor Moeser announced that
the new Alma Mater, composed by Chip Davis, of
Mannheim Steamroller, will be played during half-time of
the Homecoming game. Research has revealed various
compositions throughout the history of the university such as
"The Cornhusker" composed in the 1920s, but none have
been for the specific use as an Alma mater.
3.2 Search Committees. Chancellor Moeser stated that the
search committee for the Senior Vice Chancellor of
Academic Affairs will review approximately 80 applications
during the next two weeks and narrow the list to about 15.
Additionally, the chancellor announced that Charles Bethea,
from Arizona State University, has been selected as the Lied
Center Director.
3.3 UNL Budget Process. Chancellor Moeser stated that a
letter will be mailed to all faculty explaining the budget
process during this academic year. Selecting academic areas
of excellence is one goal for the process and he has
requested that deans prepare three budget scenarios: -4%,
0% change, and +4%. Moeser said this process would not
be a radical departure from the past, but that he would look
at budgets across-the-board for reallocation possibilities.
3.4 Leadership of Higher Education of Nebraska. President
Smith has assigned a task force from the Leadership of
Higher Education of Nebraska which includes Chancellor
Moeser. The task force objective is to prepare a document
concerning the impact of a possible passage of ballot
initiatives 411 and 412. Moeser stated the university could
be faced with a $50-$60 million shortfall if 412 passed.
3.5 Chancellors Commission on the Status of Women. The
Commission held four public forums on October 1 and 2;
two of which Chancellor Moeser attended, regarding the
climate for women on campus. Chancellor Moeser stated
that the faculty associates program for minorities and women
will be reinstated. Moeser also requested that President
Bleed to add maternity leave to their employee benefits
package issue.
3.6 External Review of Athletic Department. Chancellor
Moeser stated that a consultant will be selected by him to
conduct a review of the Athletic Department concerning the
treatment of female athletes. Additionally, an NCAA self-study review is being organized. Joan Laughlin, College of
Human Resources and Family Sciences, is chair of the
steering committee which will oversee four subcommittees
for the review.
3.7 Periodic Review of Tenured Faculty. Chancellor
Moeser is expecting a position paper from the Senate
Executive Committee and looks forward to conversations
about this issue.
Discussion. Sartori, Physics and Astronomy and Senate
Executive Committee member, stated that he had served on
the Conduct and Behavioral Standards Task Force. During
that time, he had heard complaints from female athletes
about their poor treatment at the training table. Sartori
questioned the Chancellor about measures he had taken to
remedy this situation. Moeser stated that he will appoint the
outside consultant rather than someone from within the
Athletic Department and give this person access to previous
reports to aid in the review. He is confident that a non-threatening environment can be established to conduct the
review. Ford, English and President Elect of the Academic
Senate, is concerned about the way Chancellor Moeser
presented the report to the media about the upcoming
Athletic Department review. Moeser said the report will be
made available to the public and that he is confident that
UNL has one of the premier athletic programs in the
country. He stated that the Athletic Department conducts an
outstanding sensitivity training program for all athletes,
faculty and staff.
4.0 Committee Reports
4.1 Academic Rights and Responsibilities. Judy Johnson,
Libraries, Chair of the ARRC, reported on that committee's
activities and a written report was distributed to Senators
prior to the meeting. Johnson thanked past committee
members. Highlights of the ARRC included the input for
the Discrimination and Harassment document and input on
the selection of Mary Kay Hansen as the new university
legal counsel with the departure of Karen Flowers. The
ARRC is also exploring the issue of re-instating the
ombudsman position. Chouinard, Mathematics and
Statistics, questioned Johnson about the ARRC panel of 36
members and whether we were overloading faculty.
Parsons, AgLEC, questioned Johnson about the selection
process for panel members. Johnson stated that the ARRC
desires members that have past experience with panel service
and that they also have a lack of minority representation.
Ragsdale, Biochemistry, questioned Johnson about the post-tenure review document. Johnson explained that the Senate
Executive Committee has forwarded a draft to the ARRC for
review and input.
4.2 Dismissal Appeals. Don Lee, Agronomy, Chair of the
Dismissal Appeals Committee, stated that Don Gregory is
the on-going consultant to this committee and prepared the
report which was distributed to senators. Parsons, AgLEC,
stated that processing 250 cases between three members
seemed to be an overload. Lee agreed that this committee
does demand a lot of faculty time, clustered around the
beginning of each semester. Narayanan, Engineering,
questioned whether standards were being lowered to
accommodate these students. Lee responded that the work
of this committee is to make decisions regarding future
academic success for students and depended on their past
efforts and reasons for the initial dismissal. van Roojen,
Philosophy, questioned whether establishing a set of rules
might help faculty to determine the potential for success.
Lee stated that each case needed to be reviewed on a case-by-case
basis and no generalities could be made.
4.3 Grading and Examinations. Lee is also the Chair of the
Grading and Examinations Committee. Their two main
functions are to review late withdrawals and grade option
changes. Dewey questioned the number of approvals. Lee
stated a change in major from one college to another was
often the cause. An example is the College of Business
Administration which requires grades for majors rather than
pass-no pass for non-majors. Chouinard raised a question
from a past senate meeting concerning changing the grade
submission timetable for faculty, such as the possible
elimination of Friday afternoon examinations. Lee stated
their committee had decided not to make a change in policy
at this time due to a lack of information. Humes, Political
Science, stated that he had conducted an informal poll of his
department's faculty. Fifteen of the faculty responded they
would like to see a change in grade submission made.
5.0 James Van Horn, Vice President for Business and
Finance
5.1 Change in Insurance Carriers. Vice President for
Business and Finance Van Horn gave a presentation which
had been earlier presented to the Board of Regents
concerning the university's decision to change indemnity
insurance carriers from Mutual of Omaha to Blue Cross/Blue
Shield. Van Horn explained that, unlike other benefits plan
components such as disability or life insurance, the health
insurance carrier is re-negotiated every five years. The last
time it was done was in 1991. One major reason for
changing carriers was the increased participation of preferred
providers, especially at out-state locations such as the UNK
campus. The St. Elizabeth Health Center is now included in
the Lincoln provider network, along with Lincoln General
and Bryan hospitals. Also, the level of quality for claims
processing with Mutual of Omaha has decreased and Mutual
of Omaha required a higher cap for their level of risk in
their submitted bid. The goals of the university are to
improve financial and quality aspects for its employees. The
Blue Cross/Blue Shield bid implied a greater level of
confidence in these areas. Van Horn also stated that Blue
Cross/Blue Shield is receptive to the idea of an open
enrollment period offered to university employees, regardless
of pre-existing conditions. This is only in the discussion
phase at present.
Discussion. Roysircar-Sodowsky, Educational Psychology
and Senate Executive Committee member, questioned why
the faculty were not more involved in the decision to change
insurance providers, especially as the decision was made
over the summer months when many faculty are not on
campus. Van Horn stated that, although the process begins
much earlier, it necessitates a decision be made during the
summer. However, in the future, greater efforts would be
made to involve the faculty. Pederson, Conservation and
Survey and Senate Executive Committee member, inquired if
anything could be done by university administration to
improve the claims process by Mutual of Omaha. Van Horn
will work closely with them to improve the situation. He
stated that Mutual of Omaha is interested in submitting a bid
in the next five year cycle and is being cooperative in
making improvements. Luther, Architecture, inquired about
the effect of the new carrier on those employees enrolled in
Mutual of Omaha's HMO. Van Horn stated they will not be
affected in any way. Dewey asked who will conduct the
quality assessment. Van Horn stated that the university will
conduct them. Agnes Adams, Chair of the Employee
Benefits Committee and member of the University-wide
Fringe Benefits Committee, stated that their committee did
report on the possibility of changing health insurance carriers
in last year's report to the senate. She took responsibility
for not reiterating this process more strongly to her
constituents. Adams stated that the U-wide Fringe Benefits
Committee is scheduled to meet on October 17 and offered
to present any questions senators might have during this
meeting.
6.0 Approval of 9/10/96 minutes
* Jose, Agricultural Economics and Past President, UNL
Academic Senate, moved for approval of the 9/10/96
minutes. Seconded by Dewey, Geography. Minutes were
approved.
7.0 Unfinished Business
* No unfinished business was discussed.
8.0 New Business
8.1 UNL Campus Recycling Program. Bleed noted that
Dale Ekart will speak during the November senate meeting
to explain UNL recycling activities which were outlined in a
flyer distributed in the October senate packets.
8.2 Maternity Leave. Bleed stated the faculty senate
presidents are scheduled to meet with President Smith and
Bleed will use this opportunity to present the benefit option
of paid maternity leave.
8.3 Periodic Review of Tenured Faculty. The Executive
Committee has drafted a document about the faculty position
on periodic review of tenured faculty. The draft has been
given to the Academic Rights and Responsibilities
Committee for review and input. A final draft of this
document will be distributed at the November 5 Senate
meeting. Narayanan stated that he received information on
tenure at the University of Minnesota. He questioned how
we can prevent these problems from happening at UNL.
Bleed responded that the Executive Committee document is
one method, but also he stated that the two universities have
very different faculty climates. Humes, Political Science,
stated that post-tenure review is a priority issue and
encouraged Bleed to have the document emailed to faculty as
soon as possible.
8.4 Email privacy. Chouinard stated he read in the
Executive Committee meeting minutes that the university
holds employee email messages for two years. Roysircar-Sodowsky stated that McShane, English, has informed the
Executive Committee of this fact during a past meeting.
Dewey stated that, in the case of computer failure, accounts
can be rebuilt and restored. This necessitates that the system
keep documents for a period of time, but it was unclear to
him why the period should be two years.
8.5 Luther welcomed the senate to Architecture Hall and
encouraged members to view student and faculty work
throughout the building.
9.0 For the Good of the Order
The meeting adjourned at 4:12 p.m. The next Senate meeting will
be November 5 at the Clifford Hardin Nebraska Center, East
Campus. Respectfully submitted, Julie Albrecht, secretary.