MUW Faculty Senate
February 25, 2005
Minutes Approved: April 1, 2005
Members present: Lea Helen Evans, Pres. (ED/HS); Jimena Aracena, VP (S/M); Brian Anderson, Sec. (HU); Peppy Biddy (FPA–proxy for Richard Bailey and Shawn Dickey); Linda FortJ (NU); Bobby Fugitt (LIB–proxy for Cathy Young); Richard Holden (ED/HS); Ellen Jackson (H&K); Scott McKenzie (IS); Bonnie Oppenheimer (S/M); Glenn Rhyne (B&C); Van Roberts (B&C); Theresa Sparks (NU); Tom Velek (HU)
Guest present: Sam Gingerich (Provost/VPAA)
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1. The meeting was called to order at 12:15pm.
2. No new agenda items were added.
3. The meeting agenda was adopted by unanimous vote.
4. The Jan. 28 minutes were approved unanimously.
5. Updates
a. Administrative Council: Pres. Limbert, Perry Sansing (Asst. To Pres.), and Mary Margaret Roberts (Exec. Dir. of Development) met with the MS congressional delegation in Washington; the new Hearin Leadership program video is out; MUW enrollment is up 6 percent this spring; the May 14 commencement ceremonies will be at 11am and 3pm–Sen. Thad Cochran will speak at both ceremonies; Mag Chain will be May 14 at 9am; in response to the nurse shortage in MS Scott Ross (IHL) considered converting the Mary Holmes College campus (West Point) into a nursing school, but MUW nursing faculty (among others) told him that would only add to the problem, since there are at present up to 45 faculty vacancies in nursing programs statewide; Nora Miller (VPFA) was recently in Jackson to make budget requests; the 5-year academic calendar plan was approved; Pres. Limbert gave official approval to the reorganization plan–it is now under IHL consideration.
b. Academic Council: Fant Library’s budget is used up due to inflation costs on orders and shipping and handling fees; the Advising Corps has an opening; The Bookend needs summer session book orders by March 15, fall semester orders by April 15, and they want students to know that books that come shrink-wrapped are considered used once the wrapping is removed; MUW should push bypass exams for bright incoming students; reorganization will require a hefty catalog rewrite for 2006; division head evaluations will be sent out March 1; there will now be a CAAP lab that students must take for one day–sign-up will be at registration, and students will not be able to dodge it.
c. Meeting with Pres. Limbert: A brief meeting focused on Faculty Senate roles in the AMP and reorganization.
d. PIE Council: Review of the PC replacement plan (PS 3301: Allocation and Use of Information Technology Resources).
e. UCC: Several divisions brought forward changes to courses and curricula (including eight changes in FPA alone); more curricula adjustments are coming as program heads cut hours to 124.
6. Business
a. Dr. Gingerich: The IHL will receive the MUW reorganization plan at its March meeting and will act on it at the April meeting. Kendall Dunkelberg and the reorganization implementation committee are working on policies on committees and making recommendations re: membership composition. Division heads had a mini-retreat to discuss responsibilities of the new department chairs and deans. There will be a retreat with select faculty members to cover the same ground.
b. Policy Reviews: Reorganization requires changes to several policies, including PS 1303 Promotion of Faculty, PS 1304 Tenure of Faculty, and PS 1312 Post-Tenure Review. Many changes are nominal (replace “division” with “college”), but the P&T structure and process will change as well. The existing system (division P&T committee recommends to university P&T committee) is proposed to change to accommodate roles of department chairs and deans. Discussion: Velek–The collegiality of small departments may suffer if the chair evaluates colleagues for P&T. Or it may go the other way: chairs may go soft on their colleagues. Maybe the dean should play a stronger role. Regardless, let’s be sure there is adequate rotation of department chairs, so a single person cannot pass out rewards and penalties over a long period of time. Gingerich–Deans may not be familiar with the specifics of each discipline. I believe evaluations are best done by department chairs, as they are the first line of administration among the faculty. There is rotation built into the new system (chairs will serve 3-5 year terms), but rotation cannot be forced. Evans–At this stage, Faculty Senate needs to collect comments and suggestions from colleagues back in the divisions. Especially important are sections concerning the number of committee members and where they come from (see PS 1303, Sec. 15; PS 1304, Sec. 8). We want to match the previous governing structure as best we can to the new system. At the next meeting we will debate, discuss and decide the policy revisions.
c. Fund A: The Senate approved $500 reimbursement to Jimena Aracena for taking two students to present a poster at the annual meeting of the Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology in San Diego in early January. Fund A has $3,550 remaining.
7. Announcements: Someone recently broke or sprained their ankle on the pavement outside the Hogarth Dining Center. Could Faculty Senate request that attention be paid to the quality of paths and streets between McDevitt and Hogarth? It was also reported that all MUW gates were locked on McDevitt Day, which did not make a good impression on the prospective W students who were on campus for their interviews.
8. Adjournment at 1:00pm.