Present: Anderson, Bible, Conroy, Gillis, Gordon, Hays, Irwin, McGee, Pascoe,
Renick, Sawey, Skerpan, Stimmel, and Winek.
Absent: None
Guests: Laurie Celli (Sociology Intern)
CONTENTS
FACULTY ELECTIONS
INSURANCE COMMITTEE REPORT
FACULTY RESEARCH COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS
FACULTY DEVELOPMENTAL LEAVE
FACULTY AWARDS (Bonus) PROGRAM
GEOGRAPHY PHD
COMPUTING FEES AND SERVICES SENATE AD HOC COMMITTEE
Chair Bible called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m.
FACULTY ELECTIONS
The Senate discussed the upcoming elections which will begin next Tuesday, Sept
1. There will be four elections: for a liaison in departments not represented
by a Senator, for Piper Professor ((2) nominees), for two tenure-track
representatives to the University Council and for a replacement for Susan Day
on the Grievance Committee. The elections for the Piper nominees and
tenure-track UC representatives will continue for several weeks as the process
starts with a department winner and goes to a school election and then a campus
election. Senators and liaisons are reminded to distribute ballots immediately,
report their results promptly and to email those results to the Senate office
(sp05).
INSURANCE COMMITTEE REPORT
Sen. Renick discussed an Insurance Committee investigation into a new benefit
being considered for state employees: permanent life insurance (whole life).
The Committee had been asked to assess this product offered by MetLife, which
was selected as the carrier via the bidding process. After a through analysis
the Committee determined that this product is of questionable value and that
faculty and staff should proceed with caution if they are interested. The
Committee concluded that it is not a good insurance investment and that a
person needing insurance should consider term insurance. Someone looking for
savings should consider retirement plans. The Senate endorsed the Committee's
report which does not support this plan and will notify the President's Cabinet
that based on the analysis and report of the Committee and the discussion at
Senate, it unanimously recommends that the University not offer this option.
FACULTY RESEARCH COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS
To replace Prof. Ed Seifert as chair of the Faculty Research Committee (Prof.
Seifert recently left SWT) the Senate chose Prof. Beverly Penn (Art and
Design); Prof. Penn will serve through December, which marks the end of her
term on the committee. Members of this committee serve for a calendar year.
New members for 1999 from the schools of Education, Health Prof, Applied Arts &
Tech and Fine Arts will appointed next week.
FACULTY DEVELOPMENTAL LEAVE
Revisions to PPS 8.02 governing the developmental leave program were reviewed
by the Senate. Important changes include:
1. Verifying eligibility will be the responsibility of the chair.
2. Written activity reports must have been filed for previous leaves.
3. Activity reports must disclose possible patentable or copyrightable
intellectual property which were created during the leave.
The Senate will recommend that additional information be included which more
clearly spells out what is considered intellectual property, details how to
obtain a waiver and a list of materials of which SWT will not claim ownership.
FACULTY AWARDS PROGRAM
The Senators spoke of recent bonus awards in their schools and the processes
which govern them. Some points of discussion were: some schools require
faculty to apply for an award while others don't; bonus criteria remain vague
in some departments; some faculty who received awards did not understand why,
while other faculty thought deserving of an award received none; criteria for
awards were not published in a timely manner; and the funds allotted to some
schools were insufficient. There was the usual discussion about how bonuses
differ from merit which continues to be a mystery. Chair Bible reported that
VPAA Gratz feels the program will eventually mature to the point that activity
reports by evaluations of faculty which will automatically identify those
worthy of bonus awards. Chair Bible will take the Senators' concerns to CAD.
GEOGRAPHY PHD
The Senate discussed the Geography Ph.D. program, specifically the accuracy of
the cost, enrollment, staffing, etc. projections made at its inception; in
particular the Senate is interested in knowing how closely the "1998-99"
projections made in 1995 have been met. The Senate's interest stems, among
other things, from the fact that this is the first such program at SWT and that
any new graduate program, and especially a Ph.D. program, diverts funds that
otherwise could go to undergraduate programs. This information will be
requested of VPAA Gratz, and the item will appear on the PAAG meeting with Drs.
Supple and Gratz which is scheduled for September 23.
COMPUTING FEES AND SERVICES SENATE AD HOC COMMITTEE
RTA'd until next week.
NEW BUSINESS
The agenda for next week will include the Academic Program Review, appointment
of new Research Committee members, and a discussion of Senate Goals and
Objectives. The new Athletic Direction, Jim Wacker will also speak to the
Senate.
The Senate adjourned at 6:00 p.m.
