Minutes for May 3, 2004

The Faculty Senate of Eastern Kentucky University met on Monday, May 3, 2004 in the South Room of the Keen Johnson Building. Senator Johnson called the ninth 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: Allen Ault, Justice & Safety; Sue Cain, Developmental Education; Jim Conneely, Student Affairs; Melissa Dieckmann, Earth Sciences; Dave Eakin, Biology; Ken Johnston, Finances; Lance Melching, SGA; Minh Nguyen, Philosophy & Religion; Theodore Randles, AFIS; Marcel Robles, Management, Marketing & Admin. Com.; Matt Schumacher, SGA; John Shafer, Athletics; Aaron Thompson, Enrollment Management; Elizabeth Wachtel, Academic Affairs; John Wade, Arts & Sciences; Staci Wilson, Model; and Marc Whitt, Public Relations and Marketing

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

The April 5, 2004 minutes were approved as written.

REPORT FROM THE PRESIDENT: Senator Glasser

Senator Glasser expressed her appreciation to the senators for their efforts and hard work to make the Senate an effective body throughout the past year.

Senator Glasser reported that the Board approved the recommended budget guidelines for the coming fiscal year. The recommended budget includes a modest cost of living adjustment of 1.5% for faculty and staff. In addition, $200,000 has been earmarked for faculty salary equity adjustments for the coming year.

President Glasser expressed her thanks to Senator G. Yoder for his contributions on the Faculty Welfare Committee during the past year.

The proposed start date for the next major systemic campus-wide electrical upgrade is mid-June to the first of July. Notices will be sent out and posted on the web well in advance for those areas that will be adversely affected by power disruptions.

The College of Arts & Sciences recently hosted the second annual Kentucky Science and Engineering Fair on campus which involved 155 middle and high school regional science fair winners from across the Commonwealth.

The College of Business and Technology has exceeded its initial goal of $10,000 for its first Student Professional Enhancement Scholarship. The scholarship endowment fund has received contributions in excess of $16,000 which will be matched through the "Bucks for Brains" program bringing the total to over $32,000.

On April 7 the College of Justice and Safety hosted a distinguished professionals reception to recognize its outstanding faculty, alumni and students.

Two administrative internships which were arranged through the Women and Minority Opportunities Program were recently appointed. Dr. Jessica Bryant will be working with Dr. Aaron Thompson in Enrollment Management and Dr. Sharon Robinson will be working with Dr. Lee Van Orsdel in the Library.

Commencement ceremonies will be held on Saturday. The first will be at 10:00 a.m. with Dr. Story Musgrave, former NASA astronaut, as the guest speaker, and the second ceremony will be at 3:00 p.m. with Kentucky's Lieutenant Governor Stephen Pence as the afternoon speaker.

Senator Glasser expressed her appreciation to Keith Johnson for his service as Senate chair for the past two years.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

In the absence of the Parliamentarian, Senator Glasser presented Senator Johnson with a gavel on behalf of the Senate as a token of appreciation for outstanding leadership for the past two years.

Senator Johnson stated that over the past two years he feels Senator Glasser should be commended for encouraging shared governance and providing faculty with an important voice on the Budget Advisory Council, Strategic Planning Committee and other University committees.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORT: Senator Johnson

Senator Johnson reported that the Executive Committee met on April 19, 2004. Senator Dunston was in attendance to present the updated shared governance survey. The Executive Committee were in agreement to list the survey as an informational item only on the agenda in order to solicit feedback.

Senator Siegel was in attendance and reported on the success of the second annual budget forum.

Senator Siegel announced that the Senate chair and the AAUP President are automatically members of COSFL so the Senate will only need to elect one representative and two alternates to COSFL at the organization meeting..

Senator Johnson charged the Rights and Responsibilities Committee with the task of developing policy recommendations based on the Promotion and Tenure Ad Hoc Committee report. The proposal should be brought to the Executive Committee in November, and to the Senate in December 2004. The full report and a condensed version is available for download on the Senate website.

Senator Johnson reported that the part-time Senator will be unable to fulfill his two year term and the runner up, Jill Carnahan-Jarvis, has agreed to fulfill the remainder of the term.

REPORT FROM THE REGENT: Senator Schlomann

The Board met on April 22, with the majority of the meeting focused on the budget recommendations for the next fiscal year.

COSFL Report: Senator Siegel

Senator Siegel reported that COSFL met on Saturday, April 17, 2004.

The first part of the meeting was spent discussing how the universities were handling the budget cuts. CPE President Tom Layzell was present for the second half of the meeting.

PROVOST REPORT: Senator Cook

Senator Cook reported that there were 18 lecture positions created in 9 different departments this past year. Overall, departments seem very satisfied with lecture positions. As this is a two-year experimental project, Senator Cook encouraged the senate to continue the process and to review the criteria more closely next year.

The University is in the process of negotiating a contract for plagiarism software called "Turn It In." The software should be in operation in time for the summer session and should do a lot towards increasing the integrity of our students in the classroom.

REPORT FROM STUDENT GOVERNMENT: Lance Melching

Mr. Melching announced the names of the new officers for 2004: Colmon Elridge, Executive Vice President; Jeff Conner, Life Council's President; Lindsay Baker, Student Activities Council Vice President; Matt Schumacher, Chief of Staff; Jeff Jackson, Treasurer; and Lindsay Blank, Secretary.

Mr. Melching announced that the Board of Student Body Presidents' transition meeting will be held at EKU on June 4-6.

STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS

Budget Committee. Senator Siegel reported that the committee met on April 22, 2004 with Mr. James Keith, Director of Information Technology and Delivery Systems and Ms. Jean Marlow, ITDS Technology Specialist, in attendance to discuss ITDS' budget. Since 2001-2002 ITDS' budget has been cut almost $500,000 with an additional $300,000 lost in 2001-2002 from the General Fund. Overall, the ITDS unit is funded at about $9 million less than the average for EKU's benchmark institutions.

Despite the budget cuts, ITDS continues to upgrade and expand IT services to students, faculty, and staff on the main EKU campus and at branches. Mr. Keith emphasized the importance of the Action Agenda funds that are helping establish "smart" classrooms and upgrade email servers.

Mr. Keith's goal is to continue to offer reasonably priced voice-data-video access to students in residence halls. The fee charged to students is calculated to cover costs--not to make a profit. The current fee charged is less than $150 per student per academic year.

Rights and Responsibilities Committee. Senator Dunston distributed a copy of the committee's year-end report in addition to the shared governance survey. Senator Dunston requested the senators to review the shared governance survey and provide feedback to the committee by June 1, 2004. The committee will update the survey based on feedback received and will bring an updated version to the Executive Committee in the fall.

Elections Committee. Senator DeBolt reported that all senate appointments have been made.

Senator DeBolt asked the senators to check their e-mail address listed on the senate website. If corrections are needed, please notify the secretary.

Committee on Committees. Senator Wolf reported that Institutional Research recently e-mailed the self-nomination forms. The Committee will be meeting soon to correlate the results and forward those on.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

Faculty Welfare Committee Motion. Senator G. Yoder presented an updated motion based on a friendly amendment at the April meeting. As there were no objections to the change, the amended motion was approved with a vote of 26 to 17.

NEW BUSINESS:

Council on Academic Affairs. Senator Cook presented the following items:

1. General Psychology (MS) - new program
2. Insurance & Risk Management (BS) - Reactivate previously suspended program; change the title to BS in Insurance; & change the CIP
3. PCC Guidelines for Fall 2004 (Informational Item Only)

Senator Cook moved approval of item number one, seconded by Senator Flanagan. The motion was approved by the Senate.

Senator Cook moved approval of item number two, seconded by Senator Smith. The motion was approved by the Senate.

Parking Consultant Update. Dr. Conneely was present to update the senators on the parking consultant plan. A firm has been chosen to do the consulting, pending approval from the Legislative Review Council in Frankfort sometime in June. If the Council approves, the actual study should begin Fall 2004.

Awarding of Posthumous Degrees. Senator Collins moved approval, seconded by Senator Konkel, to award a posthumous degree for Don Hoskins at the December, 2004 graduation ceremony. The motion was approved by the senate.

Senator Cook moved approval, seconded by Senator Sexton, to award a posthumous degree for Travis Simpson at the August or December, 2004 graduation. The motion was approved by the senate.

ADJOURNMENT:

Senator Cook moved to adjourn at approximately 5:05 p.m.

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