Minutes for October 2, 2006

The Faculty Senate of Eastern Kentucky University met on Monday, October 2, 2006 in the South Room of the Keen Johnson Building. Senator Eakin called the second meeting of the academic year to order at approximately 3:30 p.m.

The following members of the Senate were absent:

^*denotes prior notification of absence to the Faculty Senate Secretary
^Renee Everett attended in place of M. Hesse

Visitors to the Senate were: Jim Conneely, Student Affairs; and Marc Whitt, Public Relations & Marketing.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
The September 11 minutes were approved as written.

REPORT FROM THE PRESIDENT: Senator Glasser

The Faculty Senate dinner on September 11 was well attended. Please indicate to Senators Glasser or Eakin if the Faculty Senate dinner should become an annual fall tradition.

Senator Glasser shared the following updates in her written report for October.

EKU's Quality Enhancement Plan will be submitted on February 27, 2007. Senator Glasser shared a handout of frequently asked questions about EKU's QEP.

The estimated final fall 2006 enrollment is 15,775--a slight decline from last year. This decline is primarily attributable to a decrease in returning undergraduates and new graduate student enrollment. Enrollment of new freshmen remains even with last year. As of September 19, Enrollment Management reports that credit hours have increased over last year (1%), with credit hour enrollment strong at the Corbin (+8%) and Manchester (+13%) campuses. Danville is also showing an increase (+2%) in credit hour enrollment, and Richmond is even with last year. Also, enrollment in online courses is up (+18%) over last year.

The Provost Search Committee began reviewing applications on September 25, with the goal of selecting a number of candidates for initial off-site interviews. From there, the committee hopes to bring finalists to campus before the end of the fall semester.

The following update was given on University Advancement and the Capital campaign:

• EKU's phonathon and annual fund efforts for this year are well underway. Student callers have started the semester focusing on encouraging support from our recent alumni as a part of a state-wide young alumni challenge.
• The recent Model Reunion Weekend was a tremendous success.
• Homecoming 2006 will be on October 13th and 14th.
• Plans are being finalized for a significant number of regional alumni and friends events for this fall.

The Budget Advisory Council has begun work on recommendations for the FY 07-08 overall budget. The Budget Advisory Council's recommendations are to be submitted to the President's office by the end of the fall semester, with the goal of submitting final budget guideline recommendations to the Board of Regents in January 2007.

For the FY 2007-08 budget, plans are now in place to implement a formalized budget process which will allow departments to submit these requests for purposes of both short-term and long term financial planning. The implementation of this new budget process will facilitate budget analyses and planning.

Senator Glasser has appointed the following task forces which are comprised of faculty, staff and students:

• Pandemic Flu Task Force. Dr. Michael Ballard, Chair, has convened this group to begin developing a comprehensive emergency and business continuity plan in the event of pandemic flu or meningitis.
• Recruitment and Graduation Task Force. Dr. Janna Vice, Chair, will convene the first meeting of this group on Friday, September 29. The task force has been charged with developing a strategic plan that can be used broadly throughout the University as a guide to enhance retention and graduation.
• Extended Campus Task Force. EKU's presence in our service region through the Corbin, Danville, and Manchester centers help to make us a part of the fiber of those communities. Our extended campuses in Corbin, Danville and Manchester, as well as the new Higher Education Center in Lancaster, help the University fulfill its mission as a School of Opportunity and achieve its educational attainment goals by reaching thousands of students who might not otherwise pursue a college degree.

EKU will be participating in the CPE's Regional Stewardship Program, the goal of which is to promote regional or statewide economic development, livable communities, social inclusion, improved K-12 schools, creative governance and civic participation. The Regional Stewardship Workgroup, chaired by Dr. Jerry Pogatshnik and comprised of faculty and staff, has been charged with developing an infrastructure proposal that will best serve faculty engagement in Regional Stewardship and will effectively coordinate and expand our current stewardship activities.

Following is list of upcoming campus activities and events:

• Giles Art Gallery features internationally renowned artist, art educator and curator, Bing Davis, September 27 ­ October 20, with a two-day artist residency and a public lecture, timed to coincide with an on-campus exhibition of his work. The opening reception is Sept. 27 from 5 to 7 p.m., followed by the lecture, "Origin and Development of African American Art and Culture," at 7:15 p.m. in Campbell 239.
• The Chautauqua Series featuring on September 28, Community Activist, Dorothy Jackson, the first African American woman to serve in the Akron, Ohio mayor's cabinet.
• EKU Theatre Presents: "The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds," Wednesday, September 27 through Saturday, September 30 at 8;00 p.m., Gifford Theatre, Campbell Building
• The College of Business and Technology Distinguished Speaker series will feature Bill White, EKU alum and president and CEP of 1st Independence Financial Group and 1st Independence Bank in Louisville, on Wednesday, October 4, at 10:10 a.m. in the auditorium of the new Business and Technology Center.
• Family Weekend is September 29-October 1.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

3 Motions regarding Promotion & Tenure Recommendations. The motions were moved for approval and seconded at the September meeting. The majority were in favor and each motion was individually approved.

Promotion & Tenure Recommendations in Handbook Language. Senator May moved, seconded by Senator Johnson, to approve the Promotion and Tenure recommendations in Handbook language. Motion carried.

Senator Johnson moved, seconded by Senator Sambrook, to approve the 2003 report written by the Ad Hoc Committee on Promotion and Tenure with the revisions recommended by the Senate incorporated into the original document. Motion carried.

Senator Johnson asked Senator Eakin to draft a letter on behalf of the Senate to the original Ad Hoc Committee commending them for their work on the Promotion & Tenure document.

NEW BUSINESS:

Council on Academic Affairs. Senator Chapman introduced two informational items: an updated withdrawal policy and an updated credit by examination policy.

Senator Chapman moved approval of items 1-6, seconded by Senator Collins. Senator Milde moved to ungroup the items, seconded by Senator Kristofik. The motion to ungroup the items carried.

Senator Noblitt moved, seconded by Senator Johnson, to postpone discussion on items 5 & 6 (new major/minor: Homeland Security) until the November meeting to allow time for input from other departments. Motion carried.

The motion to approve items 3 & 4 carried.

1. Withdrawal Policy (Information only - CAA approved 08-17-06)
2. Credit by Examination Policy (Information only - CAA approved 09-21-06)
3. Technical Agriculture (A.S.) - Program revision: changing to Technical Agriculture (A.A.S.)
4. General Business (B.B.A.) - Program revision: adding option: Global Supply Chain Management
5. Homeland Security (B.S.) - New Program
6. Homeland Security Minor - New Minor

Report on Arlington Board. Senator Flanagan announced that the Arlington Board will meet on October 17 at 6 p.m. at the Mulebarn. One of the items for discussion will be a possible increase in membership dues. Please encourage faculty who are Arlington members to attend the meeting.

GENERAL & STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS

REPORT FROM THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: Senator Eakin

Senator Eakin reminded standing committee chairs that written reports on the committees' progress are due to the Senate secretary by noon on the Wednesday preceding the Monday Senate meetings.

The Executive Committee discussed the continuation of the "Meet and Greet" sessions held one hour prior to the Senate meetings and the "Eat and Greet" luncheons. It was the consensus of the committee that it was sufficient to hold one "Meet and Greet" session each semester and one "Eat and Greet" luncheon each semester. Please send any recommendations on dates for these events to Senator Eakin. The Executive Committee will make the final determination.

REPORT FROM FACULTY REGENT: Senator Schlomann

Board Members attended the Council for Post Secondary Education (CPE) and 2006 Governor's Conference on Postsecondary Education Trusteeship in Northern Kentucky on September 17-18. The Theme was "Governance from the Ground Up".

The annual "Measuring Up" report was presented. This report is a state (not specific to any one institution) "report card" for higher education. Kentucky received the same or higher grades in all areas as last year. The two areas in which little or no improvement has been made are affordability and completion.

The CPE approved preliminary 2020 bachelor's degree targets. In 2004-05, EKU had 1787 bachelor's degrees. The target for 2020 is 3,397. Our fall, 2005 enrollment was 13,942. The target for 2020 is 23,786. These numbers are based on predictions of what would be necessary for Kentucky to reach at least the national average by 2020.

The day concluded with a dinner meeting during which the Acorn and Oak Awards were presented. Senate President David Williams and House Speaker Jody Richardson were the speakers.

The next Board meeting will be held in January, 2007.

REPORT FROM COSFL: Senator Ware

COSFL will meet on October 21.

Senator Ware reported that the CPE President, Tom Layzell, is retiring and the search for a replacement will begin soon.

REPORT FROM THE PROVOST: Senator J. Chapman

Senator J. Chapman provided the following updates in his written report for October.

The new Science Building is beginning to emerge from concept to reality. The committee and the professionals involved are developing the building in an inclusive and cooperative manner, and they all are to be commended on their good work.

Senator J. Chapman shared with the Senate a 2001 report created by a senate Ad Hoc Committee on Faculty Workload. This report will be used as a starting point for discussions on Faculty Workload. Discussions have already begun with the deans, and a conversation with the campus community will be scheduled at a later date.

The Libraries provided a forum for the discussion of scholarship on campus by the sponsoring of Dr. Edwin Delattre as a distinguished speaker in conjunction with our Centennial Celebration. This presentation has provoked a small group of faculty and academic administrators to begin an informal, further discussion of EKU's Definition of Scholarship. The bringing of such speakers and the spin-off conversations such lectures create are at the heart of what EKU is as a university. The leadership of African/African-American Studies, Women Studies, the Department of Art and Design, and the Chautauqua Series also has brought outstanding speakers and visitors to campus during the last month, engaging faculty, staff, and students in thought-provoking encounters. The directors and chairs are all to be commended for their good work.

REPORT FROM STUDENT GOVERNMENT: David Fifer
The Student Senate will be meeting on Tuesday, October 3rd , to appropriate approximately $14,000 in allocatable monies to student groups. The next funding session will be in January.

Several SGA members have been appointed to University committees. If you serve on or chair a committee and believe that the student representative is not meeting their obligations, please inform the SGA President.

Two new councils have been added to SGA: the Graduate Student Council, and the Non Traditional Student Council. These bodies, which will exist as standing entities reporting to the Executive Vice President, will exist to advise SGA on the unique issues facing graduate and non traditional students.

STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Budget Committee. In her written report, Senator Taylor shared the following information.

The Finance Committee met last week and drafted a short questionnaire to see if faculty are satisfied with the current scheduling scheme. If faculty are generally unwilling to consider alternative scheduling, further surveys would make no sense. It is the committee's intent that the final version of the questionnaire be distributed online to all tenure-track and tenured faculty on November 1 with a faculty completion deadline of November 17, and a report submission deadline of January 1.

Rules Committee. Senator McKenney announced that the committee met last Monday to review the committee charges for the year.

Rights & Responsibilities Committee. Senator Robles indicated that the committee met last week to begin discussions on the Faculty Workload issue.

Election Committee. Senator Randles indicated that the committee met briefly last month, and he was elected chair.

Welfare Committee. Senator Collins reported that the committee met on September 22, and he was re-elected chair. The committee is reviewing the number of new faculty and staff positions created for the year.

Ad Hoc Committee on New Senator Orientation. Senator Robles reported that the New Senator Orientation session held on Monday, September 18 at 3:30 p.m. was a success. Anyone unable to attend the session may still get a Senate notebook from Senator Robles.

FOR THE GOOD OF THE ORDER:

The topic of discussion was "Should faculty have input in determining deadlines, schedules, fees, etc."

Senator May stated that over the last year or so there have been a number of administrative decisions made that greatly affect faculty with seemingly little or no faculty input.

Senator Reed stated that for years he has advocated that the University be sensitive to what is called a "doctrine of no surprises".

Senator Carter stated that her faculty are complaining about more and more college meetings, university meetings, etc., in the middle of the heaviest time for teaching classes. It is almost as if teaching is being pushed down to second base behind committees and other activities.

Senator Taylor shared two concerns she has heard from different faculty recently: 1) the fact that textbook orders are required by the bookstore before CRN numbers become available, and 2) that Banner training classes are most generally offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which often conflicts with teaching schedules.

Senator Ware mentioned that as most faculty work seven days a week, it is really inconvenient for Banner to be down all weekend long. Senator Eakin voiced similar concerns because his students were unable to access an online quiz until Blackboard was up and running again late Sunday night.

Senator Styer indicated that he serves on a Blackboard Committee that does look at some of the issues raised concerning Blackboard.

Senator Reed commended President Glasser for emphasizing shared governance and encouraging everyone to get on board with the idea.

Senator Johnson stated that the main issue seems to be communications, and that a committee could be formed to address this issue. Senator Dieckmann felt there are two issues of discussion: 1) effective communication and 2) effective shared governance.

Senator Redmond shared that there are faculty concerns about whether the University is paying adequately for retirement plans.

Senator Eakin mentioned one concern reported to him was that retirement is no longer taken out on faculty who are on sabbatical. However, this is not a University mandate; it is passed down from another body. Another issue voiced to him by other faculty concerns the University benefits package.

Senator Kristofik mentioned another issue that faculty should be aware of. She taught an extended campus class three years ago and had county taxes withheld from that county. She just found out that taxes have continued to be without even though she hasn't taught in that county for three years.

Senator Ware mentioned problems with going to a total online catalog. Faculty need to have printed copies of the catalog available. Did faculty have input in this decision?

ADJOURNMENT:

Senator Chapman moved to adjourn at approximately 4:45 p.m.

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