Minutes for January 13, 2003

The Faculty Senate of Eastern Kentucky University met on Monday, January 13, 2003 in the South Room of the Keen Johnson Building. Senator Johnson called the fifth meeting of the academic year to order at 3:30 p.m.

The following members of the Senate were absent:

^*denotes prior notification of absence to the Faculty Senate Secretary

Visitors to the Senate were: Ken Johnston, Finance; Cassondra Kirby, The Eastern Progress; Aaron Thompson, Enrollment Management; and Doug Whitlock, Administrative Affairs

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

The December 2, 2002 minutes were approved as written.

REPORT FROM THE PRESIDENT: Senator Glasser

Senator Glasser reported that Mr. Tom Layzell has been selected as the new President for The Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE). Mr. Layzell comes with vast experience in higher education, recently serving as the Commissioner for Higher Education in Mississippi and prior to that he served on the higher education commission in Illinois. Mr. Layzell has been invited to visit EKU to meet with the faculty and hopefully will be able to visit on a day when the Faculty Senate meets.

Senator Glasser was one of three Presidents that attended the Governor's State of the Commonwealth's Final Address to the General Assembly in Frankfort on Thursday, January 9, 2003. She was pleased with his unwavering support for education at all levels, especially higher education. Governor Patton noted with great pride the strides we've made since the passage of House Bill 1 in terms of graduation rate, accessibility, and enrollment. He went on to say that he realizes we are looking at a minimum 500 million dollar state deficit but he hopes the legislature will not look to cut education at any level in trying to balance this budget. We need to stay the course and continue our preparation for our own budget reductions and budget reallocations. The best case scenario will be a 5% cut, which we are prepared to do. Senator Glasser will continue to monitor the cuts closely.

Senator Glasser distributed an article about how other universities are dealing with budget cuts.

Update on position searches on campus

• Provost/Vice President of Academic Affairs - Dr. Gary Cordner and Dr. Jaleh Rezaie are serving as co-Chairs for the search committee for a permanent Provost/Vice President of Academic Affairs. The committee is to make a recommendation of 3-5 candidates to bring to campus by early spring and have the position filled by July 1, 2003.
• Vice President for Advancement - A most important position as we have to look at alternative sources of resource development on our campus as the state funding will continue to diminish. We need to look at a capital campaign, ways to increase private support, grants & contracts, and alumni support. Kerrie Moberly will chair the search committee which includes faculty foundation alumni and staff support for a permanent Vice President for Advancement. The committee is to make a recommendation of 3-5 candidates to bring to campus with plans to fill the position immediately.
• Athletic Director - The committee is to make a recommendation of 3-5 candidates to bring to campus with plans to fill the position immediately. Jack Lengyel, our Interim Athletic Director, has agreed to stay through basketball season.
• Our new Vice President for Student Affairs, Jim Conneely, will be starting his new position February 18. Dr. Conneely comes from the University of Arkansas with tremendous student affairs experience.

Board of Regents: The next Board of Regents meeting has been changed from February 1 to February 8 to coincide with the upcoming Foundation Board meeting that afternoon and later that evening the tribute to Roy Kidd with a retirement and scholarship dinner. It is open for the public for anyone wishing to attend. The dinner will be at 6:00 p.m. in the Keen Johnson Building. The benefits received will go to an EKU scholarship in Roy Kidd's name.

Health Care Benefits: It is her continued priority to keep health insurance at an affordable cost to faculty and staff. It is still rather tenuous as to whether we will be able to retain our self-insurance status. The state is still looking at putting us with the state pool which we are vehemently resisting. Senator Glasser thanked the Compensation and Benefits Committee for their hard work in looking at the whole healthcare issue as it pertains to EKU. She will continue to view the recommendations from the committee.

Institutional Plan: The Governor has issued an executive order and has asked all public institutions for our contended compliance. In trying to maintain and reduce budget costs throughout the state, we have been asked to submit our institutional plan in nine areas:

• How is the institution dealing with the reduction in the state workforce? All vacant positions are being reviewed due to retirement or resignation of faculty and staff support. In addition, the University has provided a one-year option for the Retirement Transition Program to encourage faculty to consider earlier retirement, as well as other ways to reduce and keep our workforce costs in line.
• How will the institution handle the moratorium on personal service contracts? Only personal service contracts that are funded by Grants & Contracts which have the effect of saving institutional funds through documented economies and contracts which are essential to the operation of the institution for which the institution has no suitable personnel resources will be submitted.€ How will the institution reduce the cost of its motor pool? The institution is already in the process of reducing our motor pool costs.
• How will the institution reduce its utility costs? Encourage faculty, staff, and students to turn off computers and lights when they are not in use. Also, the institution is monitoring the thermostat settings by using our energy conservation-based system.
• How will the institution reduce state travel expenses? The cabinet has been instructed to scrutinize all out of state travel expenses that are beneficial to the institution-attend the closer conference and drive when possible.
• How will the institution reduce its printing costs?
• How will the institution reduce the cost of equipment & furniture? All vice presidents and directors have been asked to hold off purchasing any new equipment and furniture unless it is essential to the operation of the area. Also, the sale of surplus property.

The Strategic Planning Process is moving forward under the outstanding leadership of Dr. Laura Koppes. At this time, the Strategic Plan is Senator Glasser's number one priority. EKU must have a strategic plan in place to link with budgeting and that will provide a roadmap for the future of the University in terms of priorities for the next three-five years.

Foundation Professor: Dr. Jerry Cook, Professor of Physics with the Department of Physics and Astronomy, has been named the Foundation Professor for 2003-2005.

2003 Degree Program Eligibility: The 2003 Degree Program Eligibility comes under the authority of the Kentucky Desegregation Plan of which EKU is in voluntary compliance. The Kentucky State Legislature has created a law which gives the Committee on Equal Opportunities, which is a part of the CPE and serves in an advisory capacity to the CPE, the ability to recommend approval of new programs for those institutions who are in compliance. CPE may withhold approval of new academic programs if an institution fails to make continuous improvement in the implementation of its equal opportunity objectives. The Commonwealth of Kentucky and the Office of Civil Rights have entered into a partnership agreement. EKU and the other universities in the state are covered by the partnership agreement.

According to the data collected from 2000-2001, EKU did not meet a few of the goals and is not permitted to start any new degree programs. However, we can apply for a waiver from the EEO Committee of the CPE if we can show extraordinary circumstances for any new program and the number of minority students that would be enrolled in the program.

Three areas that EKU is not in compliance with are minority retention, graduation rate of minorities (defined as Kentucky resident African-American students), and minority faculty hires (defined as African-Americans).

Senator Glasser will be working closely with the Deans and Chairs to aggressively seek minority faculty and will continue to work with Dr. Aaron Thompson in his efforts in student affairs in retention of minority students for the future.

President's Ball: The second President's Ball has been scheduled for Friday, February 21, 8-12 pm in the Keen Johnson Ballroom hosted by the Student Senate.

Arson on Campus: On January 9th and 12th, small fires were set at Commonwealth Hall. This is a serious felony charge and the University has authorized a $1500 reward for the arrest and indictment of individual(s) involved in the arson. Senator Glasser will meet with the residents of Commonwealth Hall, along with the State Fire Marshal, State Police, and members of the Richmond Fire and Police Departments to explain the seriousness of these events and also to explain to our students what they should do in the event of a fire.

Effective immediately Senator Glasser has instituted a photo identification security system in all residence halls on campus. A photo ID must be presented upon entering a residence hall and picked up when leaving. A campus-wide e-mail was sent notifying the campus community of the new security system.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORT: Senator Johnson

Senator Johnson reported that the Executive Committee met on December 9, 2002. The Committee accepted reports from liaisons of the standing committees. It was also decided the Executive Committee will meet Monday, January 27 and February 24, 2003.

Senator Johnson reported that most Universities have a Vice Chair for the Faculty Senate. It was decided that the Rules Committee be given the charge to check with our benchmark universities to see who had Vice Chairs and what process they used in selecting a Vice Chair.
He announced that the search committee for the new provost has begun.

As a reminder, please bring a hard copy of any Senate reports to Sheila Adkins at the time of the report.

REPORT FROM COSFL: Senator Smith reported for Senator Siegel

Senator Smith reported that COSFL met November 18, 2002, at the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education in Frankfort to interview the two finalists for CPE President. Senators Smith and Siegel attended the meeting along with Senator Freed who participated as CPE's faculty member representative.

All Kentucky public universities were represented at the meeting. COSFL's recommendations were reported to and were considered by the CPE in the selection of Mr. Tom Layzell as the new CPE President.

COSFL is now online at http://www.cosfl.eku.edu with the assistance of ITDS Director James Keith and computer engineer Bobby Clark. Information housed on the site includes links to member universities, COSFL policy papers, and membership. Comments or suggestions about the site can be directed to Carolyn.Siegel@eku.edu.

The next regularly scheduled meeting of COSFL is February 8 at Young Library, UK.

REPORT FROM STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION: Mary J. Hall

Ms. Hall reported that SGA is currently working with an action agenda for the Spring Semester and a report will be given to the Senate in the near future on any legislation items that are approved.

A Constitution and Bylaw Review Committee has been formed to review any concerns and to better the situation for shared governments.

SGA is planning a major community service event in the near future in which the campus community will be invited to participate. Ms. Hall thanked the Senate for their support during the fall community service.

The second Annual President's Ball is scheduled for Friday, February 21. Additional information will be forthcoming. Tuxedo rentals will be provided at a discount on campus for faculty, staff, and students.

The Residents Life Council (RLC) provided breakfast to all students in the resident halls two days during finals week.

Everyone is invited to attend the following meetings in the Jaggers Room of the Powell Building:

• Residents Life Council - Mondays, 4:15 p.m.
• Student Activities Council, Mondays, 5:15 p.m.
• Student Senate, Tuesdays, 5:00 p.m.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Budget Committee. Senator Wade reported that the Budget Committee met in December but did not have a chance to look at the Athletic budget that was passed to them for review. Dr. Aaron Thompson met with the committee to discuss enrollment management and budget issues. The committee found approximately $60,000 that could be applied toward faculty salaries. However that money would come from the $5 advisee fee paid to advisors. They will discuss this further and perhaps draft a resolution to bring to the Faculty Senate. Any comments or suggestions, please respond to him or one of the other Senate Budget Committee members.

Rules Committee. Senator M. Yoder reported that they received the request to investigate the possibility of having a vice chair for the Faculty Senate. They will be looking at what the benchmark universities do before bringing any recommendation to the Senate.

Rights and Responsibilities Committee. Senator Gillaspie reported that the committee has been requested to look at other universities to see how they are handling the rights of faculty members in these times. They are making a plan to decide which institutions to contact, what information is needed, and then plan to meet in the near future in order to put a plan in action.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

Faculty Senate Welfare Committee. Senator Johnson reminded the Senate the five members needed to be elected from the Senate to serve on this committee. This committee will take over from the Senate Ad Hoc Compensation and Benefits Committee. Senator Rahimzadeh replaced Senator Johnson as chair this fall. The committee will be looking at faculty compensation, benefits, salaries, and salary inequity issues.

The following members were nominated:
Senator Schlomann
Senator Hubbard
Senator Rahimzadeh
Senator G. Yoder
Senator Kristofik

Senator Smith moved that the nominations be closed.

Senator Collins moved to accept these as the five members of the committee, the motion was seconded by Senator Fisher and was approved by the Senate.

Senator Johnson thanked the Ad Hoc Compensation and Benefits Committee for all their hard work and congratulated the new members.

NEW BUSINESS:

Council on Academic Affairs Report: Senator Wasicsko reported the following:

• RTP - 48 (+ or - 1) faculty members applied for RTP.
• Senator Wasicsko requested each university standing committee send him their charge by January 29, 2003, so that the information can be collected to check for any committee overlaps. A committee will be assigned to look at the charges.
• Senator Wasicsko presented a motion from the CAA to eliminate restricted electives at EKU, seconded by Senator Dunston. The motion was approved by the Senate. It will be forwarded to the President as a recommendation.
• The CAA sent forward a motion regarding the protocol for dual degree agreements between EKU and foreign exchange institutions. Senator Wasicsko made the motion to forward a recommendation to the President to adopt this protocol, seconded by Senator Wade. The motion was approved by the Senate.
• Senator Wasicsko made the motion to adopt the curriculum changes, seconded by Senator Polmanteer. The motion was approved by the Senate.
  * Environmental Studies (B.S.)
  * Administrative Communication & Services (B.B.A.)
  * Allied Health (Non-Teaching) Option for M.A. Ed.
  * Apparel Design & Merchandising (BS)
  * Correctional & Juvenile Justice Studies (BS)
  * Correctional & Juvenile Justice Studies (A.A.)

University Benefits Committee Report on Health Insurance: (Information Item Only) Senator Johnson presented the proposed changes to the university's health insurance plan. The proposal reflects changes only from last year's health insurance plan. One major goal was to make our health insurance affordable for families and let the costs of health insurance rise slowly, rather than all at once as some institutions have done. Anthem will remain the provider for EKU. The cost to employees is determined by their payroll cycle and type of coverage (individual, dual, family-1 EKU employee, and family-2 EKU employees). If an employee prefers the PPO High (Blue Access High) or HMO (Blue Preferred High) insurance, they will be expected to pay a little more.

EKU is also trying to remain self-insured rather than be insured through the state. If we should be required to go to the state coverage, the costs would be higher with fewer benefits.

Vice President of Financial Affairs Ken Johnston passed a handout for an explanation of the changes.

Strategic Planning Committee's Report: (Information Item Only) Senator Koppes distributed a copy of the 2002-2003 Strategic Planning Committee's proposed strategic plan for the University. She also stressed the importance of having a strategic plan in place. It is the goal of the committee to successfully complete the charge given by President Glasser no later than May 13, 2003.

A list of the 31 committee members is on the Strategic Planning Website for those who would like to see who is serving on this committee and represent several areas of the University including students, faculty, administrators, and staff. More than 85% of the committee members have experience with strategic planning.

Senator Koppes explained the Mission, Goals, and SPC Structure. Items 1-11 of the Strategic Planning Process have been completed and items 12 and 14 are in process. Senator Koppes distributed color coded index cards and asked the Senate to list names of possible collaborators and competitors.

Please forward any further comments to Senator Koppes or any of the other committee members.

ADJOURNMENT:

Senator Wasicsko moved to adjourn, seconded by Senator Wade.  The meeting adjourned at 5:12 p.m.

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