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

Guests: Dir of HR, John McBride; Asst Dir of HR, Floyd Quinn; Dr. Alberto Giordano, Geography; Scott Thomas, University Star

Meeting called to order at 4:00.

Info Items: Chair Stone announced several informational items:

• Texas Council of Faculty Senates:  Senators Wilson and Wiley will have the opportunity to talk with Chancellor Charles Matthews and Vice Chancellor Ken Craycraft at the meeting.
• e-grades:  A list was circulated indicating how many faculty were posting their grades electronically.  It looks like all grades may be entered on-line in the future.
• Friday Activity:  The Provost encouraged the Deans at CAD to have department chairs use Fridays effectively.

Senate/Liaison Meeting Agenda:  The Senate considered agenda items for the joint meeting of the Senate and the Senate Liaisons for October 3^rd in the Reed Parr Room.  Agenda items are:

·         Chair Evaluations:  PPS 1.10 requires that the dean distribute the chair’s evaluation results to the faculty (see attached section of PPS 1.10). The Senate is trying to determine how reliably this is being done. Please be prepared to report if you have or not have received the required report.

• Service for Tenure-Track Faculty: Given the current research environment and the low emphasis on service, particularly during the tenure and promotion process, the senate is concerned about the number of tenure-track faculty on the roster of committees and would like to know if there are any concerns at the departmental level.  How do we encourage more tenured faculty to get involved in these, and other, committees?

·         Start-Up Clause: The senate is concerned about the start-up clause that is being included in new faculty contracts if they receive start-up funds (see attached document).  Currently, four colleges are affected by the start-up clause and it is anticipated that additional colleges will be affected in the future.  The senate would like input from the liaisons regarding the issue and would also like to request assistance from the liaisons in gathering data (faculty that obtained start-up funds, who has the contractual clause, if the clause is hindering faculty recruitment and hiring, most common grant sources and the indirect cost rates, and the like).

• Printing/Paper: As a follow-up to our meeting with Milt Nielsen, the senate would like to know if there are any additional concerns at the departmental level regarding the printing and paper issues and would also like to know the opinions of the liaisons on including printers in the refresh cycle even if it means a four year computer refresh cycle.
• Departmental Governance: The senate has had several discussions regarding departmental governance including the selection of interim chairs, required policies for each department, and budget transparency. Do the liaisons have any comments or concerns regarding these or other issues on departmental governance?
• Draft UPPS 04.04.xx: The Senate has very significant concerns about the new proposed drug and alcohol policy (see attached). We are seeking input from the liaisons on this proposed policy.

Drug & Alcohol UPPS Draft 04.04.xx:  There are still serious concerns with regard to the current revision of the draft UPPS 04.04.xx, but the discussion turned to the consideration of whether there should be a single policy statement for all University employees or separate documents for different groups such as faculty and staff.  A motion was made to have the Drug & Alcohol UPPS be applicable to all employees of the University and that the policy should be acceptable to both faculty and staff at the institution.  Discussion indicated that a very generic policy statement that meets the rule of law with added provisions for groups that require more specific treatment would satisfy most Senators. The motion was passed by a vote of 6 to 5.

John McBride, Directory of HR, and Floyd Quinn, Asst. Director of HR, again came to the Senate to discuss the UPPS draft.  Senator Stone indicated that the Senate would only support a policy statement that meets the University’s needs and was also a policy that the faculty could endorse.  In the discussion, Dir McBride indicated that the only portions of the draft that contained policy that was different from already existing University policy was in Sections 2.05, 2.06, 3.03, and 4.01 through 4.07.  These sections also seemed to be exactly the sections the Senate found to contain policy that the Senate found objectionable.

The discussion will continue with the Senate Liaisons at the next meeting.

Minutes:  Minutes for 09/19/07 were approved as amended.