Sept 29, 2010 Minutes
Members present: Senators Huling, Stone, Feakes, Melzer, Hazlewood, Caldwell, Wilson, Morey, Payne, Warms, Martin, Furney
Guests: Coolidge (Star), Stewart
Meeting called to order at 4:00.
Announcements:
1. The Chair distributed the Provost’s recent memo on the types of books eligible for recognition at the President’s Reception honoring those who have written books in the previous year. Among the types of books and publications that are not considered worthy of recognition are lab manuals and study guides, for instance.
Mace Bearers: A Mace Bearer for the fall Health Professions / Education commencement ceremony was selected, but a Mace Bearer is still needed for the Liberal Arts ceremony.
Workload Charge: Senators finalized the Chair’s memo outlining the workload charge that soon will be distributed to all faculty liaisons.
Faculty Definitions: The Senate’s subcommittee on faculty definitions distributed their recommendations for changes to the definition of “faculty voters” in the Constitution and to the requirements for membership in personnel committees as stated in the Faculty Handbook. Senators supported the recommended change to the Constitution, but there was considerable discussion about the new requirements for membership on personnel committees. Of particular concern was the vagueness of the term “full-time,” since there are different guidelines across the University for what constitutes full-time teaching. To clarify the expectation but maintain the Senate’s desire that all voting members of personnel committees have the requisite teaching experience to make informed judgments on tenure and promotion votes, the Senate revised the recommendations to require that all members of personnel committees have taught at least twelve sections of academic courses at a university. The Senate’s recommendations will now be shared with Senate liaisons so faculty attitudes can be gauged.
BREAK
Agenda Items for Joint Faculty Senate / CAD / Council of Chairs Meeting: The joint meeting takes place on October 12, from 1:30 to 3:30, in the Reed Parr Room of JCK. Senators asked that the agenda include discussion of the ongoing examination of workload policy at the University.
New Business:
1. A faculty member has asked for clarification on the amount of time required between developmental leaves. Although there is no set rule for whether the time between leave and the next application is counted from the start of the previous leave or the end of that leave, the Senate has in the past counted from the start of leave; thus this faculty member would be eligible. A number of Senators asked that the Senate revise its rules governing Developmental Leave to reflect this practice.
2. Faculty members have noted several times that there are few parking spaces available after 9:00 AM. One suggestion offered by the Senate was to check the Matthew Street Parking Garage. Although there is construction in that area, the Garage is open and there are often spaces available.
3. A faculty member inquired about the Texas State University Research Foundation, referenced in a recent memo from the administration. Questions should be addressed to the appropriate administrators.
4. Senator Furney reported on his recent attendance at the University Research Committee. The Committee made two requests of the Senate:
1. How long should faculty proposals and records be kept on file? The Committee suggested records be maintained for one year, and the Senate agreed.
2. The Committee again expressed its concern regarding the five bonus points awarded to first-time applicants at the Assistant Professor rank. The Senate will examine data after the Developmental Leave cycle is completed, but does not wish the policies changed in the middle of the application period.
Minutes of 9/22/10 were approved.
Adjournment.