UNL ACADEMIC SENATE MEETING MINUTES
Clifford Hardin Nebraska Center, East Campus
March 4, 1997
President Peter Bleed Presiding
1.0 Call to Order
*President Bleed called the meeting to order at 2:38 pm.
2.0 Announcements
2.1 Bleed announced that senate elections for district
representatives are being conducted. A nomination
committee is selecting nominations for president-elect and
secretary; nominations are open until April 8. Nominations
for Committee on Committee membership should be made to
the Executive Committee.
2.2 Bleed asked if there is interest in a Listserv for senators
to communicate.
2.3 Bleed announced that Knight, Law College, and chair of
the Campus Police Committee will not be present for this
committee's report. However, she will submit a
supplemental report in September 1997, as a follow-up to
planned open forums they have scheduled.
3.0 Chancellor Moeser
3.1 Chancellor Moeser reported that the College of Business
Administration dean search is underway.
3.2 The budget reallocation process is on schedule. A
preliminary report will be sent to the Academic Planning
Committee.
3.3 Periodic review of tenured faculty - President Smith
asked for an update by the end of this academic year.
3.4 NCAA Review - The team will be on campus April 14-14.
Faculty are encouraged to be involved.
3.5 Chancellor Moeser report that, in accordance with the
NCAA certification recommendations, the NU Booster Club
will come under the control of the University system.
3.6 Chancellor Moeser announced that Dr. Ledbetter will
return to the UNL campus on April 3 and 4, 1997, to present
the final report of the external review of the Athletic
Department.
4.0 Committee Reports
4.1 Campus Police. Written report distributed. No report
presented by Chair Knight.
4.2 Parking Advisory. Chair Swenseth, Management,
presented the highlights of the Parking Advisory Committee's
written report distributed earlier. Important issues include
planning for the future needs of the downtown campus as
well as the Antelope Creek project.
Discussion: Chouinard, Mathematics and Statistics, inquired
about additional costs for an underground parking structure.
Swenseth answered that he was unaware of any additional costs.
Pederson, Conservation and Survey Division, asked about the
Block 35 development. Swenseth stated that the university
has not been involved with any developer's proposal at this
time.
5.0 Motions - Committee on Committees
* Chair Leonard, Southeast Research and Extension Center,
introduced four motions as follows:
1. The Committee on Committees shall make the necessary
changes in the Syllabus of Senate Committees to reflect: 1)
the name change of the College of Home Economics to the
College of Human Resources and Family Sciences, and 2) the
number of colleges from "eight" to "nine" to include the
College of Fine and Performing Arts.
2. To permit a member of the Employee Benefits Committee
to be reappointed for a second consecutive term.
3. To increase the number of alternate members serving on
the Dismissal Appeals Committee Membership from three to
six.
4. The Faculty Salary Advisory Committee shall be renamed
the Faculty Compensation Advisory Committee.
Discussion: Whitt, Sociology, questioned how this change
might affect the relationship between the Faculty Salary
Advisory (FSA) Committee and the Employee Benefits (EB)
Committee. President-Elect Ford answered that the FSA
Committee is a policy-setting body and the actual work of
arranging and presenting ideas was the responsibility of the
EB Committee. Mayo, Entomology, spoke in favor of the
motion as a member of the EB Committee, with the
stipulation that an EB member also serve as an ex-officio
member on the FSA Committee for better coordination
between the two groups. Chouinard is concerned with taking
the word "salary" out of the title as it may diminish the role
of the FSA. He may introduce a substitute motion during the
next Senate meeting which would change the title to "The
Faculty Salary and Compensation Committee."
6.0 Approval of 2/4/97 Minutes
* Sartori, Physics and Astronomy, moved for approval of the
minutes as amended. Seconded by Kennedy, Marketing.
Minutes of 2/4/97 approved as amended.
7.0 Pending Motion: Endorsement in Principal for the
Chancellor's Periodic Review of Fully Promoted Faculty
Policy and Procedures Document
7.1 Sartori moved for a seconded substitute motion to Jose's
original motion as follows: The Senate endorses the concept
of a professional review of fully promoted faculty, to be
carried out if either of the following conditions is met:
i) review is requested by the faculty member in question, or
ii) serious deficiencies in the faculty member's performance
have been identified in a number of consecutive annual
reviews.
The Senate requests that the Chancellor appoint a broadly
representative committee, including nontenured faculty, to
draft a specific plan based on this concept. If possible, the
committee should present the plan for the Senate's approval
at the April meeting.
7.2 Ford introduced a friendly amendment to Sartori's
substitute motion as follows:
The Senate calls upon the Administration to ensure that
annual reviews are conducted in all departments in a
uniformly rigorous manner. Sartori accepted the friendly
amendment.
7.3 Jensen, Psychology, suggested taking out the word
"professional" from Sartori's motion. Sartori agreed to the
suggestion.
After some discussion, Harbison, Chemistry, suggested the
vote be taken for the substitute motion. Zorn, Finance,
called for the question. Motion passed. The substitute
motion of Sartori will replace the pending motion introduced
during the February 4 Senate meeting by Jose.
7.4 Latta, Libraries, called for a motion to append the
second-to-the-last sentence of Sartori's motion as follows:
...taking into consideration the Academic Rights and
Responsibilities Committee's response to the post-tenure
review policy. Motion passed.
7.5 Robertson, Mechanical Engineering, suggested that the
words "existing required" qualify the term "annual review" in
Ford's friendly amendment. Seconded by Winter, Classics.
Motion passed.
7.6 Revised substitute motion passed by Senate:
1. The Senate endorses the concept of a review of fully
promoted faculty, to be carried out if either of the
following conditions is met:
i) review is requested by the faculty member
in question, or
ii) serious deficiencies in the faculty member's
performance have been identified in a number
of consecutive annual reviews.
2. The Senate calls upon the Administration to ensure
that existing annual reviews are conducted in all
departments in a uniformly rigorous manner.
3. The Senate requests that the Chancellor appoint a
broadly representative committee, including
nontenured faculty, to draft a specific plan based on
this concept, taking into consideration the Academic
Rights and Responsibilities Committee response to the
post-tenure review policy. If possible, the committee
should present the plan for the Senate's approval at
the April meeting.
8.0 Unfinished Business
* No unfinished business.
9.0 New Business
9.1 Kennedy, Marketing, moved for a resolution for Senate
endorsement as follows:
The Academic Senate of the University strongly supports the
Chancellor's "Statement to the Lincoln and University
Community" of January 28, 1997, calling for a "real
celebration" of diversity, and "condemn[ing] racism in all its
forms." The Academic Senate calls on all members of the
Lincoln and University communities to take care not to
perpetuate the degrading and humiliating effects of the
history of racism intentionally or unintentionally through
racist symbols or prejudiced behavior. Seconded by Weiss,
Agricultural Meteorology. Bleed declared the motion an
emergency in order to act upon it during this meeting. After
some debate over the inclusion of the term "intentionally or
unintentionally" the motion passed.
9.2 Chouinard voiced his concern about the apparent lack of
faculty input with the new Lotus Notes E-mail system. At
the February Board of Regents meeting, two faculty members
spoke against the proposal and the issue was tabled. Then,
after these faculty members left, the issue was again brought
to the floor for a vote and passed. Bleed explained that it
was his understanding that the Computational Services and
Facilities Committee had reviewed the proposal. Chouinard
stated he hoped that the Senate would take some action to
ensure faculty input in future decision which have the
potential to greatly impact the university's three areas of
emphasis; teaching, research and service.
The meeting adjourned at 4:10 p.m. The next Senate meeting will
be April 8, 1997 in Room 127, Architecture Hall, City Campus.
Respectfully submitted, Julie Albrecht, Secretary.