Minutes for January 10, 2005

The Faculty Senate of Eastern Kentucky University met on Monday, January 10, 2005 in the South Room of the Keen Johnson Building. Senator Siegel 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: Robert J. Bell, Athletics; Jim Conneely, Student Affairs; Lance Melching, SGA; Bart Meyer, University Advancement; Matt Schumacher, SGA; Aaron Thompson, Enrollment Management; Elizabeth Wachtel, Academic Affairs; and Marc Whitt, Public Relations and Marketing

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Senator Siegel requested that the Senate stand for a moment in silence in memory of the victims of the recent Southeast Asian tsunami.

Senator Siegel expressed her thanks and appreciation to Senator Glasser for the cookies for today's meeting.

Senator Siegel announced that Senator Marchant will fill in today as parliamentarian.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

The December 6, 2004 minutes were approved as written.

REPORT FROM THE PRESIDENT: Bart Meyer reported for Senator Glasser

Senator Glasser is attending an NCAA certification meeting and sent her regrets for not being able to attend the Senate.

Mr. Meyer reminded faculty of the following upcoming events:

• On January 13 from 8:00 ­ 9:00 a.m., there will be a University convocation to discuss SACS in Brock Auditorium.
• On January 19 from 3:00 ­ 5:00 p.m., there will be a campus-wide discussion on free speech in Walnut Hall.
• On January 20 the University Faculty Club will re-open in Keen Johnson. Each morning from 7:30 - 10:00 a.m. coffee, hot tea and pastries, along with newspapers and magazines will be available for members of Eastern Kentucky University's current and retired faculty.
• The first in a series of coffee chats will be held from 8:00 a.m. ­ 9:00 a.m. in Walnut Hall on January 20th. These chats will present opportunities for faculty to meet and discuss various faculty achievements, departmental news, campus issues and concerns. The coffee chats will continue on the third Thursday of each month.

On behalf of Senator Glasser, Mr. Meyer shared an update on the capital campaign. As of December 31, gifts and pledges have surpassed the $10 million mark. More than $5.6 million has been given and pledged for scholarships and enrichment programs for students. Included in the $1.3 million total designated for faculty is a new $1 million endowment for faculty professional development. The remaining $3.1 million in gifts and pledges have been designated by donors to support programs, campus improvements, and new initiatives. Additionally, all appropriate paperwork was submitted to the Council on Postsecondary Education on December 31, 2004 completing the "Bucks for Brains" match.

Senator Glasser wished to share with the Senate several recent faculty accomplishments:

1. Larry Collins and Tom Sneid gave a presentation on fires and emergency situations at a conference late last fall in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Also while there they completed an agreement between EKU and a fire institute college in Saint Petersburg for cooperation and exchange of information.
2. Larry Collins is the recipient of the 2004 Outstanding Faculty Coordinator Award for KACECE, the state organization for cooperative education and career employment.
3. Congratulations to Silas House, whose latest novel, "The Coal Tattoo" has been nominated for Kentucky Novel of the Year and Appalachian Book of the Year. He has also experienced great success with the publication of a number of new short stories.
4. WEKU is scheduled to begin digital FM broadcasting on Tuesday, January 11 on WEKF Corbin. This will mark the beginning of the first digital public radio station in Kentucky.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORT: Senator Siegel

The Executive Committee met on December 13 and will next meet on January 24, 2005. In Senator Siegel's absence, Senator Chapman chaired the meeting.

Senator Chapman reported on the SACS conference and will give an update at today's meeting.

The Executive Committee discussed the 10-week versus the 12-week sessions for summer school, and it was noted that a 10-week session has been scheduled for summer 2005. That format is expected to continue in the future.

The two librarian motions passed by the Senate in January, 2004 have been cleared by the University attorney and forwarded to the President. The two motions are on the Board of Regents agenda for the January 21st.

The President was extremely receptive to suggestions that were made for communication strategies during the "For the Good of the Order" at the last Senate meeting. One of the results of that discussion is that the coffee chats will begin on Thursday, January 20. Please take this message back to the departments and encourage faculty to attend.

Beginning in February there will be a "meet and greet" in Walnut Hall one hour prior to the scheduled Senate meeting. The "meet and greets" will continue through the spring semester, and if well attended, may continue. Faculty are encouraged to come and discuss different issues of concern. Please share that information with the departments.

W3C Compliance meetings will be held on January 26 and February 10 at 3:30 p.m. in the Jaggers Room in the Powell building. Senator Siegel encouraged faculty to attend one of the scheduled sessions to learn what W3C Compliance will mean for their classes.

Flora Jackson will be finishing out the spring semester as the part-time representative.

Report on the Bookstore. Jim Conneely announced that effective in two weeks Lisa Crowe will be the new bookstore manager.

During the first day of classes, the average wait time at the cashiers in the bookstore was 10 minutes. There were no lines in the textbook pick-up area in the Powell Building, and 95% of all books ordered were on the shelves in time for the beginning of the semester.

Arlington Report. Senator Flanagan reported that Arlington is in a big discussion now about the ability to carry out a master plan they have received from a planning group. The master plan calls for a high end of about $4 million, which includes about 10 to 12 different kinds of projects on the property. If this $4 million bond issue passes, it will mean a significant increase in dues.

There will be an open meeting of the Arlington Board on Wednesday, January 19 in the Mulebarn. All association members are encouraged to attend. Please share this information with the departments and encourage faculty to give feedback to Senator Flanagan either by phone or e-mail prior to that meeting.

REPORT FROM THE FACULTY REGENT: Senator Schlomann

The Board of Regents held a retreat during the week of finals. The next regular meeting will be on January 21. The primary action agendas will include personnel issues (eg. sabbatical, summer and part time pay, RTP's, and other issues) and academic affairs items( eg. changes in programs, including General Education, and policies which have come through the Senate). The Senate Bylaws change which would permit librarians to participate in the Faculty Regent election will also be acted upon.

REPORT FROM THE PROVOST: Senator Chapman

Senator Chapman thanked everyone for their help in preparing for the upcoming SACS visit.

Senator Chapman noted that in compiling data for SACS, there seems to be several deficiencies in basic faculty information. He asked for everyone's cooperation in updating the required information. All collected information will be entered into the new faculty information database for future use.

Libby Wachtel has compiled an online document of EKU's current policies and procedures. Senator Chapman requested that any discrepancies found in the policies should be reported to Dr. Wachtel for correction.

In preparation for SACS, all faculty transcripts and curriculum vitae will need to be on file by March 31. Once received, all vitae and transcripts will be scanned and kept on file as a backup. All information will be entered into Banner which will provide a better check and balance system for the future.

Three semesters of faculty and departmental data need to be on file for the SACS review: spring 2005, fall 2005 and spring 2006.

The salary equity database is still in the development stage. Once all data is received and entered, the process should move along smoothly.

Senator Chapman stressed the importance of shared governance and encouraged the senators to review closely the promotion and tenure committee's report and proposals which are currently under review. He encouraged the senators to provide feedback on the report and proposals to the Rights & Responsibilities Committee.

Senator Chapman reminded the senators that the lectureship positions are up for review again this year. He requested input on how to proceed with the review.

Senator Chapman announced that he has temporarily assigned the following duties to Dr. Aaron Thompson, Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management, until June 30, 2005: Teaching and Learning Center, General Education and the American Democracy Project. Those duties will be re-assigned beginning July 1, 2005 to the Associate Vice President for University Programs.

REPORT FROM STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION: Lance Melching

The President's Ball will be on Friday, February 25 in Keen Johnson.

The spring Colonel Spirit Challenge begins on Thursday, January 20. Any registered student organization is eligible to compete to win money for their organization. Visit the SGA website for further details.

STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS

Faculty Welfare Committee. Senator Hubbard reported that the academic coordinators survey has been completed and sent via e-mail to all benchmark institutions.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

Rules Committee Motions. The majority of the Senate approved the Internal procedures motion, and the motion carried.

The majority of the Senate was in agreement on the second motion, Convening the Senate, and the motion carried. This motion will need to go before the Faculty-At-Large in August 2005.

The majority of the Senate was in agreement on the third motion, Senate Representation, and the motion carried. This motion will need to go before the Faculty-At-Large in August 2005.

NEW BUSINESS:

Council on Academic Affairs. Senator Chapman requested that item 2 be pulled from the agenda for further review. It may come before the Senate in the future.

1. Archaeology Minor - New
2. Specialist in Education Educational Administration and Supervision - reactivate/new program

Senator Smith moved, seconded by Senator Flanagan, to approve the new Archaeology minor. The majority of the Senate were in agreement and the motion carried.

FOR THE GOOD OF THE ORDER:

The topic of discussion this week was "Strategies for Effectively and Meaningfully Recognizing Merit in an Environment Without Merit Pay".

Some of the suggestions for awarding merit in an environment without merit pay included:

1. Exempting meritorious faculty from teaching night classes
2. Lowering teaching loads
3. Giving one-time pay bonuses
4. Gifting something which could increase in value such as faculty artwork
5. Marked, reserved parking space
6. Free money added to colonel card accounts to eat free several times during the year on campus
7. Exempting meritorious faculty from having to serve on departmental committees
8. Allowing classes taught for the first time to proceed with lower enrollments
9. Restore faculty garden plots
10. Have faculty buy credit hours of release time and money for travel or professional development money with merit points accrued within departments. Whenever enough points accrued to buy three credit hours, the faculty member would be eligible to buy release time.

In addition, it was also suggested that the merit cycle be realigned to the academic year rather than the calendar year as is current policy.

ADJOURNMENT:

Senator Chapman moved to adjourn at approximately 5:00 p.m.

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