Endorsement of Proposed Change to UPPS 04.04.46 (Prohibition of Discrimination UPPS):  To further the University's mission of promoting principles of academic freedom, equality of opportunity, and human dignity, the Faculty Senate endorsed a change to the UPPS that would strengthen prohibition against discrimination, including harassment, by adding the phrase "gender identity and expression" to the list of protections that currently includes race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, sex, disability, age, and sexual orientation.

Annual Survey of Faculty Perceptions of Deans and Chairs:  Dedicated to providing a forum for faculty to evaluate Chairs and Deans, the Senate maintained its view that the annual survey should include uncensored, anonymous written comments in addition to numerical rankings, and that faculty should be able to read such comments when the survey was posted on the University website.  Facing challenges to this position, the Senate created a subcommittee that negotiated with Provost Moore, the result being that the 2007-08 survey allowed for written comments.  These comments will be posted on the University website for ninety days, accessible by all faculty, and then a copy will be filed in the Senate Office for future reference.

Applications for Developmental Leave:  The Senate reviewed and approved fifteen applications for Developmental Leave in the fall and twelve in the spring.  In addition, the Senate worked to refine the leave application forms to reflect the Provost's proposed changes to the application cycle, in which applications will be accepted only in fall semesters.

Henrietta Avent Room Dedication:  In April, the Senate and President Trauth hosted all past Senators, current Senators and Senate Liaisons at a dedication of  the Senate Offices as the Avent Room, which honors Dr. Henrietta Avent for her efforts to promote faculty governance as well as for her many significant contributions to Texas State. The program featured the SouthWest Brass Works: Jack C. Laumer, Trumpet; Stephen Hager, Horn; Charles R. Hurt, Trombone; Raúl I. Rodríguez, Tuba -- all from the School of Music.  The Senate also created and had installed a plaque identifying JCK 880 as the Avent Room.

Faculty Senate webpage:  Senator John McGee coordinated the redesign of the Faculty Senate webpage for the GATO system to make the site more useful for faculty.

Academic Governance Policies:  The Senate, through discussions with Deans and the Provost's Office, continued its efforts to insure that all departments maintain and publish up-to-date policies on promotion/tenure, annual review of faculty performance and merit.  Assurances from the Provost and Deans suggest that these efforts are leading to renewed focus by departments on revising and refining their policies.

Revision to Start-Up Clause:  The Senate successfully encouraged Provost Moore to revise the start-up clause in new faculty contracts to request that faculty who accept start-up funds obtain grants in the same amount during their probationary period; rather than, as previously written, that faculty obtain such amounts in indirect cost funding.  This change reduces the concerns of new faculty that the previous clause was unrealistic, and the concern of several Senators that the clause was causing Texas State to lose many desirable candidates.

Dean's Evaluations of Chairs:  PPS 1.10, Section 5 d. indicates the Dean’s annual evaluation process for chairs includes “providing evaluation results along with recommendations for improvement of job performance to the department’s chair/director, faculty and staff.”  Finding that only half of all departments were receiving this information, the Senate renewed its efforts to insure that Deans complied with this requirement, obtaining from the Deans and Provost Moore assurances that they would provide results to faculty once a system for dissemination can be devised.

Drug & Alcohol UPPS Draft 04.04.xx:  With serious concerns about proposed elements of the draft UPPS 04.04.xx concerning drug testing, the Senate worked to point out the problems with the draft as well as to insure that faculty as well as staff should be protected from unfair and unnecessary invasions of privacy.  Further discussions led the Senate to endorse a very generic policy statement that meets the rule of federal law, with added provisions for groups that require more careful oversight due to their particular jobs.  These discussions effectively ended efforts by the University to create what many saw as a very dangerous and unneeded drug and alcohol policy.

Increased Remuneration for Mini-Session Teaching:  The Senate relayed to the Provost's Office that remuneration for those who teach mini-session courses has not increased since mini-session was created over ten years ago, remaining at $2,000.  Associate Provost Bourgeois agreed to raise the stipend to $3,250, effective summer 2008.