EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MINUTES
Present: Beck, Buck, Fech, Fuller, Logan-Peters, Miller, Peterson, Shea, Whitt, Wunder
Absent: Alexander, Spann
Date: Wednesday, September 3, 2003
Location: Academic Senate Office, 420 University Terrace
1.0 Call to Order
Wunder called the meeting to order at 3:10 pm.
2.0 Announcements
2.1 Meeting of the Parking Advisory Committee
Wunder announced that the Parking Advisory Committee will be meeting on Friday, September 12th at 3:00 pm.
2.2 Meeting of the Alliance for Intercollegiate Athletics Reform
Wunder reported that members of the Alliance for Intercollegiate Athletics Reform will be actively participating at the annual American Association of University Presidents Governance Conference, October 9-11. It was suggested that the letter should be sent to the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee to see if one of their members wanted to attend the conference.
2.3 Deans and Directors Meeting
Wunder reported that he attended the meeting held on September 3rd. He noted that the Department of Academic Conferences gave a report stating that they are available to assist faculty members and departments arrange conferences on campus.
Wunder stated that Linda Crump, Assistant to the Chancellor for Equity, Access & Diversity Programs gave a report on the revisions that need to be made to the various scholarships on campus due to the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding race. Wunder reported that the revisions must be made to both public and private scholarships.
Wunder announced that the Quality Indicators report will soon be out. He stated that SVCAA Edwards reported that $1 million this year went to Programs of Excellence and $2 million will go towards the programs next year. Wunder pointed out that UNL will receive approximately half of these funds.
Wunder stated that William Nunez, the new Director of Institutional Research and Planning, will start working at UNL on September 8th. The Executive Committee agreed that they would like to meet with him sometime this fall.
Wunder stated that VC Griesen gave a report on enrollment figures. Enrollment for graduate students decreased by 3.9%, undergraduate student enrollment decreased by 1.3%, but students enrolled in professional schools increased by 6. The total enrollment is down by 1.8%. The freshmen class was down by only 20 students which is an indication that retention of students continues to be a problem. Miller noted that a lot of money has gone into recruiting new students. He suggested that the committee should meet with Dean Cerveny to discuss the issue.
Wunder stated that the largest percent of decrease was in undergraduate transfer students. He pointed out that the increase in UNL standards was believed to be a major factor in the decline. He noted that the enrollment for part-time students has decreased.
Wunder reported that the course load for students increased by 21%. He noted that the average course load is now 13.65 credit hours per student.
Wunder stated that the Antelope Valley Project is moving forward. He reported that the northeast community park, part of the project, is nearly completed. He pointed out that this is a $6 million project which includes four softball fields, a track, rest rooms and picnic areas. Wunder stated that the Antelope Valley Project will create a severe shortage of parking on campus next year. The committee agreed to meet with Tad McDowell, Director of Parking and Transportation Services, to discuss the upcoming problem.
Wunder stated that VC Jackson reported that her office is looking at the campus credit card. He noted that faculty and staff members can use the campus credit card. He stated that the Business and Finance Office is concerned with problems associated with the purchasing card.
2.4 Tenure Home Discussion
Wunder stated that he received an email message from SVCAA Edwards stating that he did not understand the concerns the Executive Committee has regarding the issue of where tenure resides. Wunder stated that he will be meeting with Edwards to discuss the issue further.
Wunder reported that he will be meeting with the Chancellor to discuss search committee members for the SVCAA search.
3.0 Approval of 8/27/03 Minutes
Peterson moved and Miller seconded approval of the minutes as amended. Motion approved.
4.0 Baylor University Email
Wunder asked for comments on the email message from Baylor University asking the Academic Senate to make a public statement acknowledging the importance of a democratically elected Faculty Senate, and affirming the Senate to speak as the representative voice of the faculty. Fech stated that while he supported the general notion, he was hesitant to have any public statement made until the Committee was aware of all of the facts concerning the situation at Baylor. Fuller suggested that a statement supporting faculty governance could be made that coincides with AAUP guidelines.
Beck questioned whether it was the administration of Baylor who is claiming that the Faculty Senate does not represent the faculty or whether it was faculty making this statement. Wunder pointed out that Baylor holds elections and that 50% of the faculty voted in their Senate elections.
Peterson moved that President Wunder draft a statement supporting faculty governance and that it be distributed to the Executive Committee for review. Miller seconded the motion. Fech asked Wunder to get clarification of who is making the statement at Baylor. Motion was approved.
5.0 Charge for Child Care Committee
5.1 Faculty Nominations for Committee
Buck reported that she has a list of faculty members who are interested in serving on the committee. Beck asked what the goal is for the committee. Buck stated that she is unsure at this time. She stated that there are consulting groups who deal specifically with universities trying to address child care concerns. She suggested that one of these firms could be brought in to review the situation here.
Logan-Peters asked if the University would have to contribute to child care or whether it would be self-supporting. Buck stated that the University would have to contribute, particularly in providing a facility. Whitt asked if there has been any assessment of the need for child care on campus. Buck stated that she does not know the actual figures at this time. She pointed out that if staff and students are able to use the child care as well as faculty, then the demand would probably be high. Logan-Peters asked why the University would subsidize child care for students. Fuller noted that it could be used as a recruiting tool.
Wunder stated that the Child Care Committee needs to get information regarding the need, what has been done in the past, what other Lincoln companies are doing, and what facilities could be used. Fuller pointed out that the administration needs to make a commitment to resolve this issue.
6.0 Social Security Numbers for International Students
Peterson reported that international graduate students are experiencing some difficulties in receiving their stipends because they now have to obtain a social security number. He stated that the Homeland Security Act is requiring all international students to obtain a social security number, and as a result there is a backlog of applications. Peterson stated that his concern is that these graduate students will receive tuition statements but will be unable to pay them because they have not received their graduate stipend. Peterson noted that he sent an email to Executive Associate Dean Weissinger about this issue. Weissinger sent an email back stating that the university is aware of the problem and they are addressing the concern. The Committee suggested that they should have Weissinger speak to them regarding the Homeland Security Act and the implications it has on students.
7.0 Unfinished Business
7.1 ES/IS Committee
Peterson stated that the size of the committee is creating difficulty in scheduling a meeting time. He noted that the number of committee members might need to be reduced in order for it to meet on a regular basis. He reported that he has checked some other universities to see how they handle these courses. He stated that there are a variety of ways in which these courses are dealt with. Some deal with it at the college level, others university-wide. He stated that the committee will be meeting very soon and that they hope to begin work on reviewing and addressing the problem of these courses.
7.2 Programs of Excellence Funding
Fech asked if the Committee has received any further information regarding the funding of the priority programs. Wunder stated that he will be contacting SVCAA Edwards to ask for a more specific accounting other than the report found on the web.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:35 p.m. The next meeting of the Executive Committee will be on Wednesday, September 10 at 3:00 pm. The meeting will be held in 201 Canfield Administration Building. The minutes are respectfully submitted by Karen Griffin, Coordinator and Shelley Fuller, Secretary.
