Present: Bourgeois, Caverly, Deduck-Evans, Ford, Hays, Horne, McGee,
Pascoe, Simpson, Sawey, Stimmel, Weller and Winek.
Absent: Bible and Hunter
Guests: Dr. Suji Singh, Margaret Vaverek (Library), Mike Moore and
Shirley Pilus
CONTENTS:
RETIREMENT PROGRAM (ORP)
SACS STUDY
SENATE COMMITTEE STRUCTURE
POLICY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE
ACADEMIC PROCESS SURVEY
FACULTY GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE
PPS DRAFTS
8.03 EVALUATION OF DEANS
8.05 EVALUATION OF CHAIRS
4.xx STUDENT APPEAL OF CHANGE OF FINAL GRADE
1.xx CENTERS, INSTITUTES AND ACADEMIES
SWT FACULTY AWARDS PROGRAM
CAD REPORT (Faculty Award Program)
NEW BUSINESS
ELECTIONS
DEVELOPMENTAL LEAVES
RESEARCH COMMITTEE
PAAG SOCIAL
OPTIONAL RETIREMENT PROGRAM (ORP)
Prof. Singh reported on his committee's discussions regarding proposed
changes to Chapter 25 of ORP. The change does not affect SWT faculty
but could affect some in the future if they choose VME here and then
were hired at another state school. The change would, in effect, be a
loss of the matching funds (8.65%). The senate approved a motion to
suspend its rule about action and to move to accept Dr. Singh's report
and to have it sent on to Bill Nance.
SACS STUDY
Prof. Pascoe discussed the upcoming SACS Self Study which will begin
this summer and continue for the next two years. The 800 institutions
affiliated with SACS do this self study every ten years and then are
visited by the SACS evaluation team. Dr. Pascoe has been appointed as
the Co-Director of the SACS Self Study and the Co-Chair of the Steering
Committee. He pointed out that the SACS Study could be a very positive
tool to evaluate SWT and to effect change.
SENATE COMMITTEE STRUCTURE
The Senate has been discussing whether to eliminate some (inactive)
Senate Committees and to elevate some of its ad hoc committees to full
committee status. It was decided that more information is needed and
that the survey which Senator Hunter is working on will provide more
data. The survey will be sent to all the committee chairs in the next
week.
The Senate has also been considering whether to create a new committee,
tentatively titled "Policy Oversight Committee," to monitor the extent
to which administrators adhere to the provisions of existing policies.
It was suggested that the committee should focus primarily on faculty
issues. A possible name for the committee might be Academic Policy
Oversight Committee. RTA'd to 4-9-97
ACADEMIC PROCESSES SURVEY
RTA'd to 4-9-97
FACULTY GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE
There was a discussion of nominees for the upcoming election to the
Faculty Grievance Committee. The following faculty have been nominated
and a motiion was passed to accept the ballot.
Judy Allen Fam/Cons Sci
Lou Caruana Clinical Lab
Susan Day Sociology
John Fitch Chemistry
Jim Irvin Chemistry
Bill Liddle History
Elizabeth Skerpan English
Sue Thompson Fam/Cons Sci
PPS DRAFTS
8.03 Evaluation of Deans and 8.05 Evaluation of Chairs
The Senate appointed an ad hoc committee to study the proposed changes
to these PPSs. Senators Grant Simpson, Gene Bourgeois and Ron Sawey
(chair) will serve on this committee. The Senate moved to have Chair
Bible request that CAD make no definite decision on these PPSs until
June, allowing the Senate reasonable time to assess the changes.
4.xx Student Appeal of Change of Final Grade
The changes in the PPS would standardize procedures for an override.
The new procedure would create a school committee and a new form
(with carbons) to be used system wide. The Senate moved to make the
following changes in the proposed PPS.
In paragraph #3: Omit the 2nd sentence.
In paragraph #6: Change the last sentence to read: The committee
shall appoint its own chair.
In paragraph #9: Omit the first word, Normally. At the end of the
sentence add the words "except under extenuating
circumstances".
1.xx Centers, Institutes and Academies
Some senators have misgivings about some of the wordage. There is
apparently no place to talk about how centers affect the rest of the
university. Another question came up about who actually decides about
the need for these centers. RTA'd 4-9-97
CAD REPORT
Chair Bible sent a report that the Faculty Awards Program (bonus) would
be implemented and would be retroactive to cover this past year. Awards
will apparently be given in the categories of Teaching and Scholarly
Activity as well as to faculty who have made significant contributions
toward advancement of the goals and objectives of the Strategic Plan.
NEW BUSINESS
Elections
Election materials will be distributed on Thursday, April 3. Senators
and liaisons are asked to conduct their elections quickly and to return
the ballot counts to the senate office no later than 10:00 on Thursday,
April 10 (the voting deadline is 2:00 pm on Wednesday, April 9) so run
off ballots can be prepared. Five schools will hold senator elections;
Liberal Arts and Health Professions will not elect a senator. All
schools will vote for the Faculty Grievance Committee. Senators and
liaisons were also reminded to hand out the library surveys to each
eligible faculty voter.
Developmental Leaves
Thirteen developmental leave applications were submitted. Senators were
given copies of the applications for review. The Senate has scheduled
the applicant interviews for Wednesday, April 16, from 4-6.
Research Committee Recommendations
Kim Folse, on behalf of her committee, will attend the April 23rd
meeting of the Senate to discuss their proposed changes to the
guidelines and to make their recommendations to the Senate for the last
round of Faculty Enhancement Grant proposals.
38th and 39th Senates
The last meeting of the 38th Senate will be held on April 23rd, from 4-5
pm. The 39th Senate will have its first meeting the same day, from 5-6
pm. The election will be certified and new officers will be elected.
PAAG Social
April 30th is the last scheduled PAAG Meeting. It will also be a social
for both the old and new senators.
Minutes of 3-26-97
The Minutes of the 3-26-97 Senate meeting were approved as read.
The meeting adjourned at 6:08
Shirley Pilus
Administrative Assistant
