Minutes for April 4, 2011

The Faculty Senate of Eastern Kentucky University met on Monday, April 4, 2011, in the South Ballroom of the Keen Johnson Building. Senator Taylor called the seventh meeting of the academic year to order at approximately 3:30 p.m.

The following members of the Senate were absent:

^*Indicates prior notification of absence to the Faculty Senate Secretary
^{^} ALT L. Larkin attended for M. Bhandari
^{^} ALT L. Sizemore attended for N. McKenney

Visitors to the Senate: Sandra Moore, Diversity; Brett Morris, Veterans Affairs; Jerry Pogatshnik, Graduate Education & Research; Sherry Robinson, Provost Office

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

The March 14 minutes were approved as written.

REPORT FROM THE PRESIDENT: Senator Whitlock

Senators Frisbie and Whitlock were unable to attend today as they're at the Association of Governing Boards meeting in Los Angeles. Senator Whitlock shared the following in his written report to the Senate.

Last week was exciting for Eastern Kentucky University. On Wednesday Miles Owen, an emergency medical care major, became EKU's first Truman Scholarship winner. More good news came on Thursday when Ethan Kilgore, a physics major, was named a Goldwater Scholar and Avery Scherer, biology, earned honorable mention in that prestigious competition. As more EKU students choose to compete on this very high level, there will be many more such successes to celebrate. Faculty should take great pride in these remarkable evidences of student learning outcomes.

Thursday, EKU was one of 12 institutions submitting proposals to the Commission on Presidential Debates, asking to be considered as a site for one of four debates to be held in next year's presidential election process. Senator Whitlock has already begun the process to generate private support to help accomplish such an undertaking so there will not be a drain on finances.

As reported to the Senate in prior discussions on state budget actions, funds were moved from the second year of the biennium to the first to satisfy maintenance of efforts requirements for the state to receive federal money for elementary-secondary education. The institutions will remind the public policy makers in the executive and legislative branches of their commitment to higher education so this will not impact the funding base for the 2012-2014 biennium.

NEW BUSINESS:

EKU Diversity Plan. Ms. Sandra Moore was in attendance to introduce a draft copy of EKU's Diversity Plan which ties into the statewide diversity plan. The draft plan has been vetted throughout the campus community. Anyone with additional questions or concerns should contact her. Ms. Moore indicated that the campus community will be given another opportunity to review the plan before it's finalized.

Change to Incomplete Grade Contract Form. Senator Taylor announced that the Change to Incomplete Grade Contract Form has been revised to include the chair's signature. As it is a minor change, it isn't necessary to bring before the Senate for a vote.

Posthumous Degree for Hillary Hadley. Senator Schmelzer moved to approve a posthumous degree for Hillary Hadley, seconded by Senator Roush. Motion carried.

Senate Chair Nominations. Senator Johnson nominated Senator Taylor. Senator Biggin moved to close nominations, seconded by Senator Schmelzer. Motion carried. Election will occur at the organizational meeting in May.

Senate Vice Chair Nominations. Senator Johnson nominated Senator Noblitt. Senator Wray moved to close nominations, seconded by Senator Schmelzer. Motion carried. Election will occur at the organizational meeting in May.

Rules Committee Motion on Regent Election. Senator Rainey moved to approve the following, seconded by Senator May. Motion carried.

In the Faculty Handbook, Part II (Organization and Administration of the University): Board of Regents, we request that the following changes (in bold type) be made in paragraph 3 concerning the Faculty Regent:

The faculty regent shall be a teaching or research member of the faculty of the rank of assistant professor or above and shall be elected by secret ballot. All faculty members of the rank of instructor or above, or librarians holding comparable ranks, are eligible to vote. However, faculty with administrative assignments at or above the level of department chair are not eligible to vote in the faculty regent election. The faculty regent shall serve for a term of three years and until a successor is elected and qualified. The faculty regent shall be eligible for reelection but shall not be eligible to continue to serve as a member of the Board if no longer a member of the teaching staff of the University. Elections to fill vacancies shall be for the unexpired term and shall be held in the same manner as the original election.

R&R Committee Motion on P&T Principles. Senator J. Palmer moved approval of the proposed Promotion & Tenure principles, seconded by Senator Foote. (att: Comparison between current & proposed policy)

Senator Biggin moved, seconded by Senator Thieme, to amend principle number three, line five from: "departmental evaluations shall be given weight that reflects this primary responsibility" to "the criteria is the primary responsibility of the department and the application of criteria can be reviewed by the college and the university committees." The amendment carried.

Senator Matthews recommended that it clearly state somewhere in the principles that promotion and tenure can be applied for separately. Senator May suggested that information could be added to principle two. Senator Wray moved, seconded by Senator Johnson, to postpone discussion to the May meeting to allow senators time to share the information with their colleagues and gather feedback. The motion to postpone carried.

Report from Council on Academic Affairs - Senator Vice

New Program

1. Minor in Veterans Studies

New Certificates

2. Departmental Certificate in Veteran Studies
3. Departmental Certificate in Land Surveying

Program Revisions to Required Hours to Graduate

4. Chemistry
   Revise program to reflect current course changes; reduce overall program requirements to 120 hours.
5. Forensic Science B.S.
   Revise program to reflect recent course changes; reduce overall degree requirements to 120 hours.
6. Physics B.S.
   Replace EET 355 with EET 399 under the Engineering Physics option and reduce the number of total required hours to 120 by reducing the number of free electives.
7. Associate of General Studies Concentration in Veterans Studies
   Add a new concentration in Veterans Studies to the Associate of General Studies degree program.
8. Elementary Education (P-5) Teaching B.S.
   Add ELE 446W to the program.
9. Special Education Teaching - Learning & Behavior Disorders B.S.
   Add ELE 446W to the program
10. Deaf & Hard of Hearing (P-12) with Elementary Education (P-5) Teaching, B.S.
    Add ELE 446W to the program.
11. Accounting B.B.A.
    Revise math requirements; eliminate "Professional Skills Seminar" in the College requirements.
12. Computer Information Systems B.B.A.
    Revise math requirements; change supporting course requirements to 18 hours and free electives to 5 hours. Eliminate "Professional Skills Seminar" in the College requirements.
13. Finance B.B.A.
    Revise math requirements; change Supporting Course Requirements to 15 hours and free electives to 5 hours. Eliminate "Professional Skills Seminar" in the College requirements.
14. Insurance, B.B.A.
    Revise math requirements. Change Supporting Course Requirements to 15 hours and free electives to 8 hours. Eliminate "Professional Skills Seminar" in the College requirements.
15. Insurance B.S.
    Revise math requirements. Eliminate "Professional Skills Seminar" in the College Requirements.
16. Pre-Professional Pre-Veterinary Medicine
    Condense and clarify Catalog narrative. Present curriculum requirements in a standard format.
17. Fire, Protection, and Safety Engineering Technology, B.S.
    Add 4 elective credit hours to total 124 for ABET accreditation
18. Geology, B.S.
    Revise major requirements by: 1) requiring two introductory Geology courses
19. Science for Engineering, A.A.S.
    Correct the number of hours in the supporting courses and adjust the number of hours in free electives.
20. Associate of General Studies Concentration in Physics and Engineering
    Add a new concentration in Physics and Engineering to the Associate of General Studies degree program.

Action Items:

21. Commencement Participation, Graduation Fee, Degree Conferral Date, University Certificate Production (Office of the Registrar)
22. Proposal 3 + 2 (Graduate School)
23. Clarification for Tuition Waiver for Graduate Assistants (Graduate School)

Senator Vice moved approval of item 1, seconded by Senator Shordike. Motion carried.

Senator Vice moved approval of items 2 & 3, seconded by Senator Richardson. Motion carried.

Senator Vice moved approval of items 4-20, seconded by Senator DeBolt. Motion carried.

Senator Vice moved approval of item 21, seconded by Senator Pianalto. Motion carried.

Senator Vice moved approval of item 22, seconded by Senator Wade. Motion carried.

Senator Vice moved approval of item 23, seconded by Senator Walz. Motion carried.

GENERAL & STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORT: Senator Taylor

Staff Council is reviewing the possibility of contracting with an outside Vendor known as Perk Spot to provide a discount card to employees. The advantage to the card is that it can be used anywhere businesses have agreed to provide the discount. There is no cost to the University, and the cards could show both the Faculty Senate and the Staff Council as sponsors. For further information review the website at www.perkspot.com.

Per Dr. Sherry Robinson, there are two additional policies in the pipeline for review. One is teaching by staff and the other is university attendance policy. The review process for these two policies will not begin until the fall semester.

At the February 7th meeting, the Senate approved the Academic Integrity policy. The policy was then reviewed by the Provost Council where some procedural concerns were voiced. Therefore Dr. Robinson has re-convened the drafting team to address those concerns. If changes are made, the Senate will be given the opportunity to review the policy again.

REPORT FROM FACULTY REGENT:  Senator Frisbie

Senator Frisbie shared the following in his written report to the Senate.

The EKU Board will next convene for a regular quarterly meeting on April 18, 2011 to review recommendations for tuition, housing, and dining levels for the 2011-12 academic year. It is anticipated that the Board will authorize its Executive Committee to act on its behalf within parameters that the Board sets once the CPE determines the tuition guidelines for the state institutions.

REPORT FROM COSFL:  Senator Rainey reported for Senator McKenney

The next COSFL meeting will be on April 11th.

PROVOST REPORT: Senator Vice

Academic Affairs strategic initiatives and budget implications will:

• support the Mission of the University in effective and efficient means.
• address academic needs internally thru reallocation and reorganization.
• grow the enrollment.
• seek entrepreneurial opportunities.
• remind the Campus that while opportunities are great, needs are also great.

The following strategic initiatives have been accomplished through internal re-organization and reallocation.

1. Creation of a University Office of E-Campus Learning
   
   Transfer of the Justice and Safety Office of E-Campus Learning to the University
   
   Transfer of the Instructional Development Center (IDC) from Continuing Education and Outreach to the University.
2. Re-allocation of one-time funds from CJS Foundation to the Provost's Office for support of new start-up online programs and three new student-support positions for online students (Financial Aid, Admissions, and Transfer Office)
3. Creation of a position for an Associate Director for Veterans' Affairs (In partnership with Student Affairs)
4. Addition of a lecturer assigned to each of the Corbin, Danville, and Manchester campuses
5. Partnership with Madison County for a Middle College
6. Suspension of the Medical Assisting Program (A.S. Degree) in Health Sciences to support the Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP)
7. Establishment of an Office of Undergraduate Research

Future/potential initiatives include the following (not prioritized):

1. STEM –H Institute housed in University Programs (will co-ordinate increased opportunities for math and literacy initially; could eventually expand to include other STEM-H regional stewardship initiatives.)
2. Additional doctoral and masters programs
3. NSF Grant for Biological Field Station
4. New scholarly journals underway

Current budget requests include:

1. Across-the-board salary increase for all faculty and staff
2. Increase in faculty promotion rates at each promotion level, consistent with past increases. (Estimated cost $16,900 based on promotions for 2011-2012).
   1. Faculty promotion rate has remained flat for the past several years.
   2. proposed raise is included in the current Strategic Plan
3. International Education Proposal (3-yr. phase in plan proposed jointly with Student Affairs)

There are three position searches underway:

1. Dean of University Programs
2. Dean of Libraries – Dean Carrie Cooper has accepted the Dean’s position at William and Mary. Dean Cooper will continue serving EKU through June.
3. Coordinator for Undergraduate Research - This is a new position for a tenured faculty member who would teach two courses a semester and have a reassigned load to coordinate undergraduate research.

Senator Vice encouraged faculty to attend the upcoming presentation on "Assurance of Learning: Implementing Critical and Creative Thinking and Communication at Program Level," on April 14 from 9-10am in the Faculty Lounge in Keen Johnson.

Join the Provost for lunch on Wednesday at noon in the Powell Cafeteria, outside the Faculty Dining Room.

FINANCIAL PLANNING COUNCIL: Senator Taylor

A graduate tuition rate and a housing rate were approved at the last FPC meeting.

STRATEGIC PLANNING COUNCIL:  Senator Noblitt

Strategic Planning continues to gather comments from the community on the Strategic Plan. The comment period will be over by the end of April; comments received will be fully developed into the plan; and the plan will be submitted to the Board in June.

The SPC and the FPC will be meeting jointly on Wednesday and Friday this week.

STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Academic Quality Committee. Senator Shordike reported that the committee continues to work on the mid-term reporting issue. Dr. Sherry Robinson is working with the committee to review existing policies and regulations which deal with this issue.

Budget Committee. Senator Johnson announced that the committee will meet with President Whitlock on April 15 to discuss budget issues.

Committee on Committees. Senator Butler announced that the survey for self nominations to University committees has closed, and there were 62 responses received.

ADJOURNMENT:

Senator Vice moved to adjourn at approximately 5:10 p.m.

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