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April 5, 2000 Minutes

Senators Present: M. Blanda, M. Conroy, M. Gillis, S. Gordon, J. Hays,

J. McGee, O. Renick, R. Sawey, E. Skerpan-Wheeler, A. McKinney,
and B. Stone

Absent:  B. Peeler, J. Bible, T. Stimmel

Guests: M. Moore, M. Vaverek

Topics Summary

I. Committee Appointment
II. Forthcoming Curriculum Committee Report
III. Resolution of Appreciation Honoring Dr. Ramona Ford
IV. PAAG Agenda Items
V. Current Draft of the Research Enhancement Grant PPS
VI. Development Leave Packet Distribution
VII. Faculty Senate/CAD Meeting Followup
VIII. New Business (Including Chair and Dean Evaluations)

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The meeting was called to order at 4:05 p.m.

I. Committee Appointment

Senator Rennick is currently on the Debit Card Team, but the meeting
times make it difficult to impossible for him to attend, hence the need
for a replacement on the team.

The Debit Card Team is charged with studying and advising on matters
relating to "P-Cards," debit cards for faculty reimbursement and
generally moving the university to an "electronic money system."

Senator Blanda was chosen to replace Senator Rennick on this team.

II. Forthcoming Curriculum Committee Report
 

Senator Gordon reported that the Curriculum Committee has recommended a
list of curriculum proposals, and that the proposers will be in
attendance when the senate considers the Curriculum Committee's
recommendations.

The proposals include the following:

    Minor in Philosophy

    Master of Arts with a major in International Studies

    Master of Education with a major in Elementary Education --
    Educational Technology

    Master of Education with a major in Secondary Education --
    Educational Technology

    Master of Science with a major in Geography

    Master of Arts in Teaching with a major in French and German
    (Delete)

    Master of Arts with a major in Literature (change in title)

III. Resolution of Appreciation Honoring Dr. Ramona Ford

The Faculty Senate unanimously passed the following resolution:

    WHEREAS, since her arrival in 1979, Dr. Mona Ford has been one of
    the outstanding faculty members on this campus;

    AND WHEREAS, her long list of accomplishments includes
    distinguished service as  Faculty Senate Secretary, putting in  many
    hours toward the goal of better communication between the  Senate
    and the campus community;

    AND WHEREAS, she also served as founding Chair of the Senate's
    Subcommittee on Librarian Pay and Status;

    AND WHEREAS, she was a tireless advocate of the library and the
    librarians, always working toward the goal of making the  library  a
    wonderful place in which to research and work;

    AND WHEREAS, she was one of the founders of the Women's Studies
    program here at Southwest Texas;

    AND WHEREAS, her teaching/research/and service to the Sociology
    Department has benefitted many students and colleagues over the
    years.

    THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Faculty Senate of Southwest
    Texas State University  expresses its gratitude to Dr. Mona Ford
    for her many services to the Senate, the Library, and the campus
    community.  And recognizes her  record as an outstanding teacher,
    scholar, and colleague. We will miss her and wish her the very  best
    in retirement.

IV. PAAG Agenda Items

The next meeting of the Faculty Senate includes PAAG.  The
following agenda items were listed:

    The status of the current merit/performance cycle

    The results of the recently completed tenure/promotion cycle

Please note: There is an attachment at the end of these minutes
containing e-mail from Chair Hays to ACTING President Gratz and ACTING
Vice President for Academic Affairs Cassidy concerning this meeting.

V. Current Draft of the Research Enhancement Grant PPS

Senator Conroy discussed the current draft of the Research Enhancment
Grant PPS.  A copy of this draft is available in the Faculty Senate
Office or from your faculty senator.

Changes include the following:

    Addition of an introduction/rationale section

    Additional administrative procedures including the gathering of
    efficacy/assessment information by the Office of Research and
    Sponsored Projects.

After discussion of the draft, a resolution to endorse the proposal was
made and passed 7-0-2.

VI. Development Leave Packet Distribution

The development leave packets were distributed.  Inverviews of
applicants will begin following the PAAG meeting at the next meeting of
the Faculty Senate.

VII. Faculty Senate/CAD Meeting Followup

The first issue figuring largely in this followup discussion of the
Faculty Senate/CAD meeting of the previous week was the fairly
widespread perception that there are some set of hidden, or at least
unstated criteria used by the "upper administration" in making their
tenure and promotion decisions.  This discussion will continue at the
upcoming PAAG meeting next week.

Related to this was the matter of whether or not teaching is really
important, given some pronouncements made in the meeting of last week.

Items on which the Faculty Senate will also be seeking clarification include:

    Perceived year-to year shifts in "upper administration" criteria

    Cross-discipline comparisons of candidates by the "upper
    administration."

The second issue receiving considerable discussion related to the
faculty workload policy. The matter of complete reporting of workload
credits, not simply being satisfied with reporting the minimum 12
credits and stopping, was discussed.  It was noted that ACTING VPAA
Cassidy has indicated that he wants the faculty workload report to be
more readily accessible to faculty.

VIII. New Business (Including Chair and Dean Evaluations)

The question was raised as to whether or not chair and dean evaluations
were going according to schedule.  The chair evaluation PPS is to be
found at:

http://www.txstate.edu/academicaffairs/pps/8-05.html .

Please note the following excerpt from the PPS:

    The school dean is responsible for initiating the evaluation process
    by January 15, obtaining faculty input by April 15, and reaching
    closure on the process no later than August 31 of each academic
    year.

The dean evaluation PPS is to be found at:

http://www.txstate.edu/academicaffairs/pps/8-03.html .

Please note the following excerpt from the PPS:

    The Vice President for Academic Affairs is responsible for
    initiating the evaluation process by January 15, obtaining faculty
    and chair input by April 15, and reaching closure on the process no
    later than August 31 of each academic year.
 

A brief discussion was held on ACTING VPAA Cassidy's comments on
College Day.

Dr. Carol Hazlewood's report on the ongoing discussion of whether or not
the university should migrate to using Oracle for its relational
database managment system needs is available on the web.  Links related
to this can be found at:

http://www.math.txstate.edu/~carol/service/acc/9900/9900.html

The meeting adjourned at 5:48 PM.