Minutes for April 7, 2003

The Faculty Senate of Eastern Kentucky University met on Monday, April 7, 2003 in the South Room of the Keen Johnson Building. Senator Johnson called the eighth 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: Onda Bennett, Occupational Therapy; Sue Cain, Developmental Education; Jim Clark, Government Relations; Jim Conneely, Student Affairs; Mary J. Hall, Student Government Association; Ken Johnston, Finance; Cassandra Kirby, The Eastern Progress; Diana McGregor, Academic Advising; Aaron Thompson, Enrollment Management; and Elizabeth Wachtel, Academic Affairs

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

The March 3, 2003 minutes were approved as revised with the meeting date changed on pages 2-6.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORT: Senator Johnson

Senator Johnson reported that the Executive Committee met on March 24, 2003 and discussed tabled issues from March's Senate meeting.

Senator Johnson announced that a new bookstore committee is being formed, and one or two faculty members are needed to serve on the committee. Anyone interested in serving on this committee should contact Senator Johnson.

FACULTY REGENT’S REPORT: Senator Schlomann

Senator Schlomann Senator Schlomann announced that the next Board meeting will be on April 25, 2003.

Senator Schlomann discussed concerns surrounding the issue of the Senate Bill 152 motion which will be presented later in the meeting.

REPORT FROM COSFL: Senator Siegel

Senator Siegel reported that COSFL will meet later this month. One of the items on the agenda will be Senate Bill 152.

PROVOST’S REPORT: Senator Wasicsko

Senator Wasicsko reported that a recommendation has been made to the President to ask the Board to reverse their decision on the change in tuition policy for this fall. This does not include the original 9.3% tuition change which was approved over a year ago, but rather the modifications considered for this year only. The issue may be re-addressed in the fall after further review.

Senator Wasicsko encouraged the senators, as well as all faculty, to attend the campus forums with the Provost candidates. There are still two candidates left to interview.

Senator Wasicsko stated that the President has been working diligently with the budget council to establish general guidelines to use for next year's budget. Those guidelines should be available soon. Senator Wasicsko further stated that Kentucky seems to have faired slightly better in the legislative process than some of the surrounding states.

REPORT FROM STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION: Mary J. Hall

Ms. Hall expressed her appreciation to the senators for their continued support throughout the year.

Spring Fling is scheduled for Tuesday, April 8 from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. in the Powell Center. There are roughly 45 booths scheduled to participate.

Ms. Hall reported that there will be a presidential/vice presidential debate on Tuesday, April 8 at 6:30 p.m. in the Student Services Building auditorium. Everyone is invited to attend.

SGA Elections are scheduled for April 15, 2003 from 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Students may either vote in the Powell Building or online.

SGA's annual banquet will be on Tuesday, April 22, 2003 at 6:00 p.m. in the Stratton Cafe. The Senate members are invited to attend as guests of SGA. If you plan to attend, please R.S.V.P. to Ms. Hall.

SGA's constitution revisions are finished and will be presented to the Board of Regents on April 25, 2003. The bylaw revisions for all three areas have been approved already.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Budget Committee. Senator Wade gave a brief background on the advising fee motion which will be presented later in the meeting.

Senator Wade reported that he has drafted a motion regarding the Athletic Committee report for the committee to review and hopefully bring forward to the Senate in the near future.

Rights and Responsibilities Committee. Senator Callahan distributed a handout to the senators for their review. The two questions addressed in the handout are 1) Does EKU need a university ombudsman and, if so, what duties should they be assigned and 2) With the growing crime of identity theft, should a policy be instituted at the university to limit the use of faculty social security numbers? Any comments regarding the handout should be e-mailed to either Senator Callahan or one of the other committee members.

Elections Committee. Senator Johnson reported for Senator Everett. Departments should notify the elections committee of senate replacements as soon as possible.

Senator Everett has asked department chairs to distribute a letter from the Elections Committee to part-time faculty regarding nominees for a new part-time faculty representative replacement for the Senate. Once nominees are received from departments, an election will be held sometime during mid-April. Election results should be available by the May meeting.

Committee on Committees. Senator Wolf reported that faculty recently received an e-mail notice for online self-nominations to University Committees for the 2003-2004 academic year. The committee will meet on Monday, April 14 to review the responses. Individuals may still access the form and make submissions through April 14. The online form is available at the following web address: http://www.eku.edu/academics/facultysenate/2003nominations/.

Faculty Welfare Committee. Senator Rahimzadeh reported that the committee has met twice within the last month. The committee is currently in the process of gathering data to work out an equity adjustment process.

REPORTS FROM AD HOC COMMITTEES

Plus/Minus Grading. Senator Fisher reported that the committee has met once since the last Senate meeting. The next meeting is scheduled for April 21. Data was collected through April 1.

All of the benchmark universities', as well as all of the other state universities', phone interviews have been completed. In addition, all of the faculty survey data has been entered into the database. The open-ended responses are now being included and should be completed within the next couple of days.

Student surveys are being scanned and the open-ended responses are being entered. The timeline for completion of this stage is by April 11. Three committee members have volunteered to begin analyzing that data next week with the preliminary findings to be reported at the April 21 committee meeting. An interim report should be available to the Senate at the May meeting. The final committee report isn't due until October, 2003.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

EKU Medical Leave Policy. Senator Wasicsko moved, seconded by Senator Siegel, at the last Senate meeting to approve the proposed EKU Medical Leave policy. As the issue was substantive, Senator Johnson deferred the motion to today's meeting. The motion to accept the Medical Leave Policy was approved by the Senate.

Budget Committee Motion on the Advising Fee. Senator Wade moved approval of the motion, seconded by Senator Miranda, at the last Senate meeting. Senator Johnson ruled the motion substantive and deferred discussion to today's meeting. The majority of the Senate were not in favor of the motion, and the motion failed for lack of support.

Lecturer/Part-Time Lecturer. Senator Wasicsko moved, seconded by Senator Callahan, to recommend the following motion to the President:

That effective with the fall of 2003 and for a period of two years, we try pilot programs to create and test the concept of "Lectureship" in its broad definition, will be permitted under the following guidelines:

Departments, working in concert with their dean, may develop procedures and guidelines for the use of Lectureships for specific purposes that are unavailable under current faculty regulations. Any such plan will have the approval of the department faculty, chair and dean prior to submitting it for approval to the provost. The policy and guidelines will specify all conditions under which Lecturers will be employed and will clearly delineate their duties and responsibilities.

Evaluation of the use of Lectureships will be conducted annually and a report will be submitted to the Provost and Senate by the April meeting of each year. By the May meeting of the second year, the Senate will make a recommendation to the President and Provost regarding the continuation of the use of Lectureships.

Senator Johnson ruled the motion substantive and deferred discussion to the May meeting. Senator Johnson announced that the motion would be e-mailed to the Senators as soon as possible so that there would be ample opportunity to discuss with colleagues prior to the May meeting.

NEW BUSINESS:

Council on Academic Affairs. Senator Wasicsko reported that item 1 on the agenda (Act Concerning Policy of Replacing Grades) was listed as an informational item only and will probably come back to the Senate in the near future for a vote.

Senator Wasicsko moved, seconded by Senator Smith, to approve items 2-9.

1. Act Concerning Policy of Replacing Grades (informational only)
2. African/African-American Studies Minor
3. African/African-American Studies Certificate
4. Computer Science/Mathematics Teaching
5. Mathematics/Teaching (B.S.)
6. Master of Arts in Teaching: Elementary Education Option
7. Master of Science in Nursing
8. Master of Public Health: Public Administration Option
9. Occupational Therapy (M.S.)

The motion to approve items 2-9 was approved by the Senate.

Senate Bill 152 Motion. Senator Siegel moved to approve the following motion, seconded by Senator Dunston:

Senator Wasicsko moved to postpone the motion to the May meeting, seconded by Senator C. Jackson. The majority of the Senate approved the motion to postpone the Senate Bill 152 Motion to the May meeting. Senator Siegel requested that anyone with suggestions or changes for the motion should e-mail her prior to the May meeting.

Senate Chair Nominees. Senator Hubbard nominated Keith Johnson for Senate chair for 2003 2004. Senator Fisher moved to close nominations, seconded by Senator Siegel. The Senate approved the motion to nominate Senator Johnson for chair.

ADJOURNMENT:

Senator Wasicsko moved to adjourn at approximately 5:12 p.m.

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