Senators Present: Anderson, Bible, Conroy, Gillis, Gordon, Hays, Irvin,
McGee, Pascoe, Renick, Sawey, Skerpan, Stimmel and Winek.
Senators Absent: none
Guests: Pres Supple, VPAA Gratz, and VPAA Cassidy, John McLaren (CJ), Laurie
Celli (Socio Intern), and Mike Moore.
CONTENTS
PAAG
BONUS CRITERIA
BUDGETING
REGENT'S MEETING
ADVISOR'S LIABILITY
PLUS AND MINUS GRADING
FIELD OF STUDY
PARKING
DEVELOPMENTAL LEAVE PRESENTATIONS
Mosello
Lippmann
Bourgeois
Whalen
OLD BUSINESS
NEUTRALITY IN GRIEVANCE PROCEEDINGS
NEW BUSINESS
MINUTES OF 11-11-98
Chair Bible called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m.
BONUS CRITERIA
Pres. Supple stated that four (4) criteria for bonuses were established at the
August meeting of CAD. They were:
- improving student engagement.
- service to metropolitan students.
- enhancing teaching with technology.
- attracting external resources.
Schools can establish other criteria if they desire. It was also emphasized
that the awarding of a bonus is not to be done through an application process.
At the end of three (3) years the Bonus System will be reviewed by the
administration to see if it is achieving the desired results.
BUDGETING
Dr. Gratz distributed a copy of the new "Academic Budget Development Calendar"
for Fiscal Year 2000. According to this calendar, Deans will enter into budget
discussion with Chairs early in the budget cycle instead of at the end of this
cycle. According to Dr. Gratz, Deans felt they needed this change to become
more proactive in the budgeting process. It was also hoped this new approach
would stimulate more discussion within schools on budgeting matters.
REGENT'S MEETING
Pres. Supple reported that it was a good Regents meeting and that all SWT items
brought before the board were approved. The Masters Degree in "Child Studies"
submitted by the Family and Consumer Science (FCS) Department was among the
approved items.
Discussion also centered on Pres. Supple's opinion of a system wide "Faculty
Senate Council" where an elected or appointed member of this council would
voice concerns common to all Faculty Senates at the Regents Meeting. Dr.
Supple had no opposition to this idea. He also noted that there is a student
representative who is invited by the Regents to speak on concerns common to all
Associated Student Government Organizations and could see no reason why Faculty
Senates couldn't do the same. Dr. Supple stated that the only negative he
could see is that the Board might take the position that the university
presidents are supposed to represent faculty. Additional discussion centered
on the best way to accomplish this goal.
ADVISOR'S LIABILITY
Several Senators were concerned about personal liability if they misadvise
students because of state legislation which provides students with a $1,000
rebate if they finish their degree with minimal extra coursework but charges
the student out-of-state tuition if they take more than 170 credit hours before
receiving their degree. Dr. Gratz didn't think it would make faculty more
vulnerable to litigation than in the past, if advising was done in good faith;
it was also noted that the doctrine of "sovereign immunity" would likely
insulate the university and individual faculty advisors from liability if a
suit were filed.
PLUS AND MINUS GRADING
Dr. Gratz gave several documents on plus and minus grading to the Senate for
its review. Dr. Supple said from his experience, students often claim that the
traditional A-F grading system doesn't discriminate enough. One Senator
thought that if SWT went to plus/minus grading, there would be more grade
challenges. Another Senator stated that plus/minus grading can adjust for grade
inflation, since most faculty in an A-F grading system will give students the
benefit of the doubt.
FIELD OF STUDY
The legislature has mandated that Junior Colleges develop "Field of Study"
agreements with four-year institutions. Criminal Justice (CJ) was one of the
first departments at SWT to negociate this type of agreement. John McLaren
(acting chair for CJ) spoke to this issue. He explained how they negotiated
the core curriculum requirements with the Junior Colleges, leaving the major
specific courses to be taken at SWT. It was stated that some fields of study
such as English and CJ are more suitable for this type of agreement then
perhaps English Lit. Dr. Supple stated that this is an attempt by the
legislature to solve a problem instead of letting the Junior Colleges and
four-year schools develop a solution. He also stated that universities need to
control the process if they are to certify a four-year degree granted at their
institution. There can be big differences between courses offered at Junior
Colleges versus four-year schools. Therefore, it will be necessary to
establish a dialog between Junior Colleges and universities if this program is
to be successful.
PARKING
Brief discussion focused on parking for community people who use services
provided on campus and may not be able to afford a parking permit. Dr. Supple
said he thought that problem had been resolved, but he would check.
DEVELOPMENTAL LEAVE PRESENTATIONS
Adah Mosello, Music
At primary, secondary, and collegiate levels, British music
education differs considerably from that of the U.S. By contrasting and
comparing the experiences of U.S. and British flutists at all age levels, it
should be possible to ascertain which elements of their general musical
education can be viewed as contributing positively to their skill as a
performer or their aptitude to pursue a teaching career in music. Specifically,
this study would embrace music education in two very different locations -
namely Texas and Scotland. Through SWT's close ties with Northern College in
Aberdeen, resources would be available to gather detailed information about the
educational system that would be necessary for this study.As my main area of
expertise is flute performance and pedagogy, the focus of this study will
generate a series of articles to contrast and compare pedagogical tenets
practiced by these two systems as they more specifically relate to the
development of flutists and flute teachers. To familiarize myself with new
and/or different performance repertoire, I will collaborate with artist
teachers in Scotland to investigate and study flute music by Scottish and
English composers. These pieces would then be performed on solo and joint
recitals both in Scotland and here in the U.S. Through my established
reputaion as a performer and pedagogue, guest appearances at state conventions
and for flute associations are planned.
David Lippmann, Chemistry
I plan to study quantum mechanics at the University
of Texas at Austin. Quantum mechanics is one of the most widely applied
theories in physics and chemistry. Increasing my knowledge of quantum
mechanics will enable me to improve my teaching of several topics in chemistry
that involve concepts and techniques of quantum mechanics and will also
increase my ability to do research in theoretical chemistry.
Gene Bourgeois, History
During my developmental leave for the fall 1999
semester, I intend to complete a manuscript of a book-length study, _A ruling
elite: the government of sixteenth-century Cambridgeshire_, which represents
the revision of my University of Cambridge doctoral dissertation (1988). I will
make a trip to England during October 1999, when I will research the North
papers at the University of Oxford and other primary sources related to the
subject at the British Library and the Public Record Office in London. Before
and after this trip, I will be finishing the first draft of the manuscript.
Norman Whalen, Anthropology
This request for a Faculty Development Leave is to
enable me to conduct an archaeological survey in eastern Jordan on terraces and
escarpments overlooking the Wadi as Sirhan, the major wadi system in northern
Arabia. Evidence recently discovered in China and Java revealed that humans
had arrived there from Africa 1,800,000 years ago. To reach eastern Asia, one
must first cross Arabia. To date, no sites have been found in Arabia to
correlate with an arrival in eastern Asia nearly two million years ago. This
survey will seek to find Pliocene sites on terraces of Pliocene or earlier age
that are best suited to harbor the earliest sites in Arabia. Two SWT students
will accompany me on the survey.
OTHER BUSINESS
The issue of whether the Senate should make a public statement of its intent to
remain neutral in grievance proceedings was brought up for discussion but
because of the lateness of the hour a motion to table passed, 4 Senators for, 3
against and 2 abstaining.
Other discussion centered on a comment in the draft minutes of the previous
week about a proposed grievance resolution. Sen. Stimmel noted that this
discussion was informal and occurred after the meeting had been adjourned, and
submitted that accordingly no mention of it should be made in the minutes. By a
5 for, 2 against and 1 abstaining vote, these comments will be omitted from the
official copy of the minutes.
The Minutes of the 11-11-98 meeting were approved as corrected.
Senate Meeting Concluded at 6:19 p.m.
