Senators Stone, Feakes, Hazlewood, Hindson, McGee, McKinney, Meek, Melzer, Ogletree, Shah, Wilson, Winek, Wiley

Guests: Scott Thomas, University Star

Meeting called to order at 4:00.

Informational Items:  

·         Monthly Income Report from University Advancement: The Chair circulated the monthly income report that was provided by Vice Pres for Univ Advancement Rebecca Prince.

• Start-up Statement: The Chair announced that the Provost will change the start-up clause in recent faculty contracts to reflect the expectation of obtaining external grants in excess of start-up allowances rather than indirect from grants in excess of start-up allowances.
• SACS Compliance Certification Team:  The Chair reported the formation of a group to review core requirements, certify compliance and prepare a SACS report.  It was the general sense of the Senate that the General Education Council could be represent the faculty’s interest on the team.
• Development Leave Process:  Currently there are fourteen applicants for Development Leave, four of whom are applying for the $20,000 Presidential Award.  There are probably some others in the works.
• Academic Computing Committee:  Senator Meek was reappointed to serve on the Academic Computing Committee.

Vacancy for Education on the Senate:  Dr. Steven Furney, HPER, was named as a temporary replacement for Senator Wiley, representing the College of Education, who is resigning from the Senate in order to be eligible to apply for Faculty Development Leave.  An official election for a permanent replacement will be held in a couple of weeks.

Issues for the Texas Council of Faculty Senates Meeting: Senators Wiley and Wilson will attend the TCFS meeting and will meet with Chancellor Matthews and Vice Chancellor Craycraft of the Texas State University System.  Some questions to be considered for the Chancellor were:

• How does the loss of Angelo State University affect the system?
• Is there a replacement in mind?
• ERS benefits:  Is there anything the Chancellor can do?
• What is the progress of our system to the Closing-the-Gaps initiative?

University Research Committee: Senator Ogletree will serve as the Senate representative on the University Research Committee.

Presidential Awards Committee: The Teaching group needs faculty members.  Senators should look for possible representatives from three colleges.

Planning for the Avent Room Dedication: A small committee conscious of ceremony, consisting of Senators Davidson, Bond and Wiley, will consult with Dr. E. Swinney to make arrangements for the dedication of the Senate meeting room as the Henrietta Avent Room.  They will aim for a dedication early in the spring semester.

New Business: 

• Equity and Access:  Discussion continued regarding the spousal relationship between the Dean of Education and the newly appointed Director of Equity and Access.  The Chair will inquire if there is a contingency plan to resolve any possible conflicts of interest.