Minutes for December 5, 2016

The Faculty Senate of Eastern Kentucky University met on Monday, December 5, 2016 in the South Ballroom in the Keen Johnson Building. Senator O'Brien called the fourth meeting of the academic year to order at approximately 3:30 p.m.

The following members were absent:

P. Bryden*^	R. Carpenter*	J. Fitch*^
S. Hoose*^	G. Hunter	J. Neugebauer
J. Palmer	B. Polin*^	S. Szabo
S. Zeigler*^	C. Zhang*^

^* Indicates prior notification of absence to the Faculty Senate Secretary
^ ALT Molly McKinney attended for P. Bryden
^ ALT Michael Randolph attended for J. Fitch
^ ALT Joseph VanFleet attended for S. Hoose
^ ALT Karen Hood-Hopkins attended for B. Polin
^ ALT Jerry Pogatshnik attended for S. Zeigler
^ ALT Anne Gossage attended for C. Zhang

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Senator O’Brien reminded the senators of the following:

• Voting and meeting procedures of the faculty senate will follow Roberts Rules of Order newly revised 11th edition which states that the basic requirement for approval on an action or motion is a majority vote.
• Faculty Senate complies with open meeting and open records laws through use of an electronic voting system. Senators may vote through smart phones or clickers.
• Individual votes on motions will be recorded in the minutes by senator name.
• Meetings of the Faculty Senate are open to the public.
• Only members are eligible to speak before the Senate unless called upon by the chair. Persons other than senators wanting to address the Faculty Senate must make a request to the chair prior to the meeting.
• All direction of discussion will be directed to the podium to the chair. 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

Senator O’Brien clarified that votes cast as abstentions in the online voting system will not be counted in the vote tally on motions.

Therefore, Senator Kopacz requested an editorial change in the October 3 and November 7 minutes to remove the percentages in the narrative of the minutes and in the voting charts in order to avoid misinterpretation of voting outcomes as the percentages listed include abstention votes.

Senator Powell moved approval of the October 3, 2016 minutes (as amended), seconded by Senator Mason. Motion carried. (YES = 57 votes NO = 0 votes ABSTAIN = 0 votes) (See Also: Individual Votes)

Senator Randolph moved approval of the November 7, 2016 minutes (as amended), seconded by Senator Ciocca. Motion carried. (YES = 58 votes NO = 0 votes ABSTAIN = 0 votes) (See Also: Individual Votes)

REPORT FROM THE PRESIDENT:  Senator Benson

Senator Benson shared the following information from his remarks to the Board earlier today.

• The political and financial reality dramatically changed for us nearly one year ago. The new normal in Kentucky is further complicated by the pension liability which has grown to $32.6B, a debt which threatens to undermine every other service the state provides.
• This unpaid liability is now coupled with an untested allocation mechanism—performance-based funding for higher education which is comprised of three components.
  • Student Success
  • Course Completion
  • Operational Support

• The student success component awards credit for both the production of the bachelor’s degrees (a volume metric) and the number of degrees awarded per 100 full time equivalent or FTE students (an efficiency metric). In addition, premiums are provided for students who’ve earned STEM or healthcare-related degrees and for degrees earned by low income and underrepresented minority students. Comprehensive institutions will receive 1 point per degree in each of these areas. The R1 institutions (UK and U of L) will earn 1.65 points for general bachelor’s degrees, 1.56 for STEM+H, 1.23 for underrepresented minority students, and 2.38 for low income as defined by Pell eligibility.
• The report on Governor Bevin’s desk recommends a phased- in process that includes the distribution of the 5% of base funding identified in House Bill 303 that was passed last session. The pace of the phase-in can be managed through several different mechanisms. The model is now designed in such a way that it can be applied to any proportion of the base funding.
• Three weeks ago Chair Turner charged us with producing another $2M in reductions on top of the nearly $11M already realized for strategic reinvestments and he outlined where some of these investments could be made. (faculty/staff salaries, deferred maintenance, Development Office expanse for additional fundraising, further investment in successful programs, additional scholarships, expansion of student success initiatives, programs that bring regional and national attention, entrepreneurial and innovative ideas and programs that will attract donors and resources of revenue, increasing student enrollment efforts, new student orientation events.)

Below are campus highlights Senator Benson shared in his written report.

• In the past month, EKU mock trial teams have finished first in the Illinois State Invitational, second in the Great Lakes Invitational and sixth in the Cornshucker Challenge. Thanks to Thomas Parker, Lynnette Noblitt, Brandon Williams, Kristeena Johnson and Dean Sara Zeigler for their continued leadership of this program.
• Our aviation program learned recently it is one of five collegiate partners selected by Cessna Aircraft to participate in the company’s 2017 Top Hawk program. As a result, we will receive a new custom-branded Cessna Skyhawk 171 aircraft early next year to support flight training, recruiting efforts and promotional activities over an eight-month period.
• Dr. Sherry Powers, in her first year as dean of our College of Education, was recently among four new members appointed to serve on the Education Commission of the States, an interstate compact created to improve public education by facilitating the exchange of information, ideas and experiences among state policymakers and education leaders. Earlier this year, Dr. Powers was appointed to serve a four-year term on the Commonwealth’s Education Professional Standards Board.
• A new academic journal, The Chautauqua Journal, established here at EKU will serve as an interdisciplinary literary companion to our annual lecture series, featuring essays, articles and creative works from internationally known scholars, writers and artists that explore the themes presented in the lectures. Congratulations to Dr. Erik Liddell and Dr. Minh Nguyen for their vision and for their work as editors-in-chief of this online publication, and to all the EKU contributors to this first issue.

GUEST SPEAKERS:

Pedagogicon Announcement. Senator Winslow announced that the Pedagogicon conference will be on campus May 19. This year’s theme is “Innovations in Teaching and Learning.” February 1st is the deadline to submit proposals.

Campus Revitalization. Paul Gannoe gave a brief update and shared a powerpoint presentation on campus construction projects.

Compliance at EKU. Mark Maier gave an informational report on compliance at EKU. Visit colonelscomply.eku.edu or contact the EthicsPoint Hotline (or call: 844-282-9639) for additional information and/or to file a report. Reports can be made anonymously or the individual can choose to identify themselves. Check out the Whom Do I Call If? list for contact information on various areas on campus.

NEW BUSINESS:

Policy 8.1.4 – Recruitment, Appointment & Hiring of Staff. The policy was presented for a first-read only today and will be on the February agenda for action.

Report from Council on Academic Affairs. Dr. Sherry Robinson presented the following for approval.

Policy Proposal

1. Proposal to Remove University Wellness Requirement (first read)

Program Revisions

College of Business and Technology
Department of Accounting, Finance, and Information Systems

2. Minor in Financial Services – add Banking to title “Minor in Banking and Financial Services.
3. Accounting B.B.A. - Delete ACC 322 or 322S from Major Core courses and add to Pubic Accounting Concentration. Replace ACC 322 and 322S in the Management Accounting Concentration with ACC 523.

College of Education
Department of Special Education

4. Communication Disorders B.S. – add a requirement for students to earn at least a “C” in CDS courses.

College of Health Sciences
Baccalaureate and Graduate Nursing

5. Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) – Suspend the Neuroscience for APNs Concentration and update admission criteria.

Department of Exercise and Sport Science

6. Physical Education M.S. - 1. PHE 850 replaced PHE 851 and was not updated in catalog. 2. PHE 896 is a 3 credit hour course.
7. Occupational Science B.S. - Add PSY 200W to Support courses and indicate STA 215 will satisfy Gen Ed E2. Update Support hours and free Electives.

College of Justice and Safety
School of Justice Studies

8. Corrections and Juvenile Justice Studies B.S. - Change language about admission requirements to comply with University requirements for online programs; adjust supporting and free elective hours.
9. Professional Certificate in Correctional Intervention Strategies – allow students more flexibility in course selection.
10. Professional Certificate in Youth Services – Move COR 340 from major requirements to electives; reduce the number of major requirements from 15 to 12 hours; and increase the number of electives from 9 to 12 hours.

School of Safety, Security and Emergency Medicine

11. Associate of Science in Paramedicine – Make as many courses as possible 3 credit hours.
12. Emergency Medical Care B.S. - Insert new courses, remove replaced courses, in Major Core Requirements. Remove appropriate supporting courses from supporting courses. Increase free electives.

Information Items

College of Business and Technology

13. School of Applied Arts and Technology – requests the name of the school be changed to School of Applied Sciences and Technology

College of Education
Department of Curriculum and Instruction

14. Elementary Education P-5 Teaching B.S. – EPSB mandated the following changes after the 2016-17 Undergraduate Catalog was published: Revision to elementary education professional core and supporting courses. Updates have been made in the 2016-17 online catalog in compliance with EPSB, effective Fall 2016.

Item one was presented for first-read only and will return as an actionable item at the next Senate meeting.

Senator Vice moved approval of items 2-12, seconded by Senator Dyer. Motion carried. (YES = 47 votes NO = 3 votes ABSTAIN = 8 votes) (See Also: Individual Votes)

Items 13 and 14 were presented as information only.

Senator Vice shared the following information from the Board meeting earlier today:

The following programs were approved for suspension. However, the courses will still be offered in each of the areas but no new students will be enrolled in the programs.

• B.A. and minor in Comparative Humanities
• B.A. in English/Theatre Concentration (However, the theatre minor will be retained, and two theatre certificates established)
• B.A. in English, Theatre Teaching
• B.A. and minor in French
• B.A. in French Teaching
• MBA Concentration in Accounting
• MBA Concentration in Integrated Communication
• Associate of Applied Science, Science for Engineering

The following programs were approved for a redesign in order to make them more marketable:

• B.S. and minor in Horticulture (degree to become a Concentration in Agriculture)
• B.A. and minor in Journalism (degree to become a Concentration in Broadcast and Electronic Media)
• B.A. and minor in Geography (degree to be converted to a degree in Geographic Information Systems)

The following programs will be retained, but with a cost reduction by Spring 2017:

• Minor in Religion
• Minor in Social Intelligence and Leadership Studies
• B.A., Technical Writing Concentration in English
• Also, a minor in Applied Ethics will be retained and re-evaluated in 2018.

GENERAL & STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS

REPORT FROM SENATE CHAIR: Senator O'Brien

Senator O’Brien announced that the transcript for Chair Turner’s speech at the end of the Board meeting will be available later this evening.

Senator O’Brien shared the following in her written report.

The minutes of the October meeting have been corrected, reflecting the vote of no confidence with the vote recorded. The point of order raised in the November meeting was appropriate by parliamentary procedure. As we move through difficult times, I urge all senators to be aware of the Faculty Senate rules, particularly with substantive issues. As noted in the Senate’s Special Rules of Order, #4 “Items submitted for inclusion on the Senate agenda shall reach the Chair or a member of the Executive Committee of the Senate at least two weeks before a scheduled meeting of the Senate.” Substantive issues should be presented for first read, and then voted upon the next month.

In response to the ad hoc committee on Academics and Athletics, we have received a response to the four resolutions in the report. The committee has not had an opportunity to provide input at this time, but will at our next meeting.

At the November meeting of the Executive Committee, we discussed a need for consistency in the implementation of Open Meetings Laws. I will be initiating conversations with our Leaders Group (Faculty/Staff Regents, Faculty Senate/Staff Council, and Chair’s Association), Student Government Association, legal counsel and our media relations area to share our work for transparency and consider how we as EKU entities can better move forward.

Thank you to Jonathan Sikora and Jean Marlow for assisting us with finding additional clickers for use in voting. Several senators have raised concerns about variations in device use (clickers versus phone/tablets). This is an area we will continue to address and explore as we transition to electronic voting.

The updated University Committee list is available at http://president.eku.edu/sites/president.eku.edu/files/files/2016-2017%20University%20Standing%20Committees%2011_7_16.pdf. Thank you to the Elections and University Nominations Committee working with the President’s Office to formalize the committee assignments.

REPORT FROM FACULTY REGENT: Senator Day

Senator Day noted that the staff, faculty and student regents had to abstain from voting today in order to avoid a conflict of interest. However, they knew that well in advance of the meeting.

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

The time has come for the university to deal with the difficult realities of our 2017-2018 budget. As you know, state imposed budget reductions combined with mandated increases in university contributions to KERS, and other fixed costs, has left the university in an ~$11M+ hole. The President has shared with the campus a number of actions already taken to reduce the budget but ~$7M in cuts and/or revenue enhancements remain to be determined. Chairman Turner has asked the Board of Regents to consider building in a buffer by seeking an additional $2M. Some have even wondered if that is enough to leave us in a strong position leading into the performance-based budget cuts yet to come – particularly if the legislature puts the funding formula into statute (as the General Assembly’s leadership seems wont to do) and if 100% of all allocable funds are in play. Both appear to be all but certain. In a brief meet and greet with Governor Bevin Wednesday, new Kentucky university regents and trustees (most of whom were appointed by the governor) were assured that the administration is moving ahead with its plans.

Over recent months, the President and the Board have received many messages establishing that “the faculty” (as represented by the Faculty Senate):

• is opposed to any cuts to academics until there is a clearer picture of proposed cuts on the administrative side,
• called for the protection of EKU’s academic mission from excessive budget cuts,
• reminded the Board of their legal duty to plan the budget in accordance with the university’s strategic agenda, and
• urged the protection of EKU’s most financially vulnerable employees. 

Additionally, some faculty members have advocated that wholesale cuts should be made to EKU’s athletic programs. See Dr. Matt Winslow’s op ed in Friday’s Herald-Leader http://www.kentucky.com/opinion/op-ed/article118322983.html. 

In a performance-based funding environment that rewards enrollment and degree production, we must ask: Why aren’t the students calling for an end to athletics at EKU? And what might happen to our student population (and our ability to support any of our programs) if the students were not on board with such a change?

The Council on Postsecondary Education submitted their funding proposal to the legislature yesterday. We learned a little more information about the metrics for bachelor’s degrees. Low income students = 2.38; STEM-H = 1.56; and Underrepresented Minorities = 1.23.

Surely the worst news of the week was the further erosion of Kentucky’s pension system with debt growing to $32.6B. That deficit is at the root of the state’s financial problems and threatens every other state function. This from the Herald-Leader: http://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article117549488.html.

The Board will be focused on keeping the university on a fiscally sustainable foundation coming out of this first round of cuts. But moving forward into this new reality, that foundation will be further tested and more pressure will be placed on revenue generation and reductions in other areas.

REPORT FROM COSFL: Senator Kopacz

COSFL is the Coalition of Senate and Faculty Leaders. It was created in 1979. Member institutions include the six regional comprehensives, UK, U of L and KCTCS.

The organization is in the process of being revived. COSFL’s web presence has been transferred to Western. Check the website for updates and to learn more about COSFL.

Official institutional representatives include four voting members, the chief presiding officer from the faculty body—that is usually the senate chair, the faculty regent, the president of the local chapter of the AAUP and one other representative from the faculty. Other faculty who hold or have held leadership positions also attend but cannot vote.

The COSFL listserv is being updated at the University of Louisville. Anyone who would like to be included in the listserv should send their information to Senator Kopacz.

According to the constitution, COSFL’s primary duty is “to function as a collective advocacy body of public higher education faculties in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.” In carrying out this mission COSFL may “furnish advice, recommendations, and information on public higher education policies and procedures to [among other bodies] the public and the Council on Postsecondary Education.”

The potential consequences – intended and unintended – of changing state allocation formulas should be addressed by COSFL, as well as other issues in higher education today. As we look to COSFL’s immediate future, a few of us are hoping to write some position papers on these issues so that COSFL can in fact engage the voice it was created to speak. Some of these issues may include performance funding, but also the need to prioritize the university mission, the status of athletics on campus, shared governance, mushrooming administration and professional staff positions, salary equity among various units, gender and racial inequality, campus construction and so on. If anyone is interested in drafting a position paper on any one of these topics or other concerns, please send to Senator Kopacz and she will present your draft to COSFL membership for revision, adoption, and dissemination.

PROVOST REPORT: Senator Vice

Senator Skubik-Peplaski moved, seconded by Senator Corley to extend the meeting time beyond 5:30pm. Motion carried. (YES = 41 votes NO = 11 votes ABSTAIN = 5 votes) (See Also: Individual Votes) 

REPORT FROM STUDENT GOVERNMENT: Sebastian Torres reported for Collin Potter

Student Government Association

• The SGA elections committee has begun meeting to plan the SGA elections process that will take place in March to elect a new Student Body President, Executive Vice President, Vice President for Student Activities, and Student Senators.
• SGA hosted an Ethics workshop in November. Thank you to the EKU Office of Equity and Inclusion for assisting with this event.

Student Senate

• Student Senate appropriated $65,000 to Registered Student Organizations (RSOs) and departments during the annual Information Technology Funding Process.
• Student Senate is seeking EKU students to fill open positions.

Student Court

• Student Court is currently seeking students to fill open positions.

Student Activities Council

• Megan Martin, EKU Admissions Counselor, has been selected to serve as the advisor for Student Activities Council.
• Midnight Breakfast, an event that occurs every semester that is open to all EKU students, is set for December 8 and 9.
• SAC co-hosted Eastern Open Mic Night in November with over 100 students in attendance.
• SAC leaders are currently working with student programming boards around the state of Kentucky to share event plans.
• Currently SAC is seeking student input for potential genres and artists for the spring concert that will be during EKU Spring Thing.

STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Academic Quality Committee. Senator Howell reported that the committee met with SGA President at the November meeting and had a very wide-ranging discussion regarding issues of student interests.

At the December meeting committee discussed issues to consider in the spring. Two areas discussed were evaluating winter term after two years to determine how successful it is and scheduling and advising of student athletes in particular regarding missed classes and whether or not students are being properly advised to make sure they successfully reach their graduation date.

Budget Committee. In his written report Senator Fitch shared that the budget committee has been looking at the Athletics budgets and expenditures and will have a full report with recommendations sometime next semester. In the meantime, please review the Budget Charts and Numbers PDF and the Powerpoint from Dr. Bunsis' presentation on EKU Sports.

The first document was prepared by members of the budget committee and contains a summary of budgeted athletics funds and expenditures, along with a look at some of the overall trends since 2012. As you'll see, the differences between 2012-2017 include increased salaries for coaching staff (sometimes due to the addition of coaching staff members, and other times due to raises), increases in scholarship costs (some of this is due to inflation in tuition and housing costs, but it's also due to more scholarships being funded at out-of-state tuition levels, rather than a mix of in- and out-of-state), and improvements to sports facilities or new construction (located in the operating budgets for each team). The second document (from Dr. Bunsis) provides some additional, contextual information.

Elections & University Nominations Committee. Senator Mason presented the following motion for approval.

The Elections and University Nominations Committee would like to modify the Procedure for faculty placement on University Standing Committees, effective Spring 2017, to the following:

1. Faculty self-nominate for faculty member vacancies on committees through a survey disseminated via email by the Office of Institutional Research. Self-nominations will require a brief statement of the faculty member’s interest and qualifications.
2. Elections and University Nominations Committee verify eligibility of nominees
3. A ballot that includes all eligible nominees and their brief statement of interest and qualifications is disseminated via email to all eligible voters* by the Office of Institutional Research. Each eligible voter may vote for one nominee to fill each of the faculty member vacancies on the committee. Voting across colleges is permitted. i.e. if there are two faculty member vacancies within a college, two nominees may be elected from that college.
4. The name of a single nominee with the highest number of votes for each committee vacancy is recommended to the Chief of Staff by the Elections and University Nominations Committee for consideration of appointment by the President.

Motion carried. (YES = 55 votes NO = 3 votes ABSTAIN = 0 votes) (See Also: Individual Votes)

Information Technology Committee. Senator Baggett reported that the committee met with Jonathan Sikora from IT earlier this afternoon to learn more about the online voting software.

Rights and Responsibilities Committee.  Senator Mason stated that the committee met twice this past month predominantly over the ambiguity of the abstention vote which has since been clarified. 

The committee is working with Chief Diversity Officer Tim Forde on the inclusion of an all-faiths calendar in the academic calendar as a resource for faculty, students, and staff.

Rules Committee. Senator Skubik-Peplaski shared the current membership section from section 7 in the Faculty Handbook. The committee is currently reviewing the issue of whether to add lecturers/clinical lecturers to those eligible to serve on Senate. Please discuss with your colleagues and provide feedback to the committee prior to January 18.

Faculty Welfare Committee.  Senator Mullaney presented a resolution (listed below) opposing the closure of the Burke Wellness Center and asked for Senate support. Motion carried. (YES = 50 votes NO = 4 votes ABSTAIN = 3 votes) (See Also: Individual Votes)

AD HOC COMMITTEES:

Athletics and Academics. Senator Howell stated that the committee has met via email throughout the semester and met face-to-face on November 21^st to discuss the report provided by the Athletics Department and the Bunsis presentation received from the Budget Committee.

The committee will schedule a meeting soon with the Athletic Director to continue discussions.

Senate Transparency. Senator Givens stated the committee met to discuss the issue of abstentions which has now been clarified.

Our committee would like to thank the IT Committee for doing an outstanding job implementing the Senate’s new online voting system.

We have also identified some wording concerns on some of the Senate rules and will be contacting the Rules Committee about those.

Provost Search Committee. Senator Corley shared the names of the Search Committee.

Laurie Carter, Co-Chair	Julie George - Librarians
Donna Corley, Co-Chair	Chuck Fields - College of Justice & Safety
Kirk Jones - College of Science	Jerry Pogatshnik - Deans Council
Kevin Rahimzadeh - College of Health Sciences	Shirley O'Brien - Faculty Senate
Jon McChesney - College of Health Sciences	Lynnette Noblitt - Chairs Association
Dennis Field - College of Business & Technology	Tim Forde - Diversity
Tamara Cranfill - College of Education	Melinda Compton - Provost Office

The job description is still being drafted. Once that is finalized and shared with the search firm, the search can begin and a timeline will be shared. The position will be filled by July 1.

ADJOURNMENT:

Senator Vice moved to adjourn at approximately 6pm.

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