Academic Senate: Minutes 2/15/2011

I.     Call to order: 4:02pm.
II.    Roll call
Present:    Brian Adams, Robin Anderson, Jim Baillie, Ray Bard, Genevieve Brassard, Lauretta Frederking, Sally Hood, Aziz Inan, Larry Larsen, Shannon Mayer, Laura McLary, Kathleen McManus, Hillary Merk, Nick McRee, Stephanie Michel, Elise Moentmann, Hans Nordstrom, Stephen Rowan, Katie Scally, Br. Donald Stabrowski, CSC, Karen Ward, Joanne Warner, Kaye Wilson-Anderson, Teri Woo. Absent: Rev. E. William Beauchamp, CSC, Hillary Burrelle, Rich Gritta
III.  Invocation:  Fr. Stephen Rowan
IV.  Approval of minutes from meeting from 18 January 2011
V.   New Business:  Presentation by Denis Ransmeier, Vice President for Financial Affairs
   a.   Denis Ransmeier presented about the University’s budget for 2011-2012.
   b.   The Board of Regents approves the budget for Revenues in January; expenses budget is approved in May.
   c.   Due to change in the fiscal year this year’s budget includes 13 months, which makes comparison to other years more difficult.
   d.   Projected Revenues for 2011-2012:
      1.   Tuition increase of 7.7% - this is a combined total of a 4.5% tuition increase as well as $25 per credit hour increase on the tuition surcharge.
         a)   Enrollment should be slightly smaller next year, as current enrollment is maximizing the capacity of facilities.
      2.   Student fees will increase 21.6%.
      3.   Financial Aid (discount rate) will increase 7.1%.
      4.   Room revenue will increase 5.4%. 
      5.   Board revenue will increase 3.4%; menu prices will increase 1.8%; the additional increase is due to more students eating on campus.
      6.   Gifts and contributions will increase 5.9%; a higher percentage than this year.
      7.   Investment returns on endowment will decrease by 16.0%. Although the actual endowment is increasing slightly, investment returns are calculated based on a three-year rolling value, so the decrease reflects the economic situation of the past several years.
      8.   Athletic revenue is estimated to increase by 19.6%, partly due to television and post-season revenue. There is a goal to reduce the university’s subsidy for Athletics.
   e.   Projected Expenses for 2011-2012:
      1.   Faculty and Staff Wages will increase 3.8%. This increase includes promotions, as well as budgeting for new positions (for example: appointment of Fr. Mark Poorman as Executive Vice President; new positions in University Relations related to the Rise campaign). Deans will be able to allocate salary increases to continuing employees based on a 2% wage pool.
      2.   Employee benefits are estimated to increase 7.8%. Health care costs will increase, but the amount of the increase is not yet known. Tuition remission is also included in this increase.
      3.   Capital Plant Upgrades and Maintenance will increase by 34.7%. This reflects the first year of a multi-year plan to address deferred maintenance. UP commissioned a study to analyze deferred maintenance needs. In comparison to our peer institutions, UP is spending much less on deferred maintenance. 
      4.   Budget shows a net balance of $286,000; this amount reflects money allotted to repay the construction costs of the Commons over a ten-year period.
   f.    Questions about the budget:
      1.   Does the 2% wage pool increase include promotions? No – promotions are budgeted separately (as part of the 3.8% wage increase).
      2.   How does UP’s discount rate compare to that of our competition? Given the size of our endowment and the amount of annual giving, UP’s discount rate is pretty high.
      3.   In comparing our tuition, room, and board to peer institutions, is it misleading to compare UP to California schools rather than Pacific Northwest schools? The annual tuition reflected in the comparison does not reflect the discount rate; other Northwest schools do not discount to the same extent.
VI.  Standing Committee Reports:
   a.   Executive Committee, Dr. Larry Larsen
      1.   Met February 1.
      2.   Larry Larsen has notified people about 4-5 upcoming vacancies in Senate that will need to be filled. Elections will take place over the next few weeks.
      3.   Senate Executive Committee will discuss suitable candidates to replace outgoing Senate committee chairs.
      4.   Next Academic Senate meeting is Tuesday, March 22 (the week after spring break); since the usual Senate meeting date is during spring break.
      5.   Please contact Larry Larsen with any new business for the next Academic Senate meeting by March 1.
   b.   Committee on Committees, Dr. Elise Moentmann
      1.   No new business.
   c.   Committee on Rank & Tenure, Dr. James Baillie
      1.   Committee is proceeding with their work. This is the first year that promotions are being considered during spring semester, to be followed by post-tenure reviews. 
   d.   Committee on Teaching & Scholarship, Dr. Nick McRee
      1.   No new business. 
      2.   Committee will meet February 25 to discuss Butine applications. Chairs and deans should sent appraisal letters to the committee by February 22.
      3.   The endowment, which funds Butine awards, is significantly reduced; only about $13,000 will be available for Butine awards. The committee has received many more requests than can be covered under the available funding.
   e.   Committee on Faculty Welfare, Dr. Laura McLary
      1.   Met January 27 with Bryn Sopko.
      2.   Ms. Sopko continues to work on clarifying tuition remission policy. Last year UP spent $1.5 million on tuition remission; this year UP spent $2.6 million. A forum will be held for faculty input once the policy has been written.
      3.   Ms. Sopko sought the committee’s feedback about potential wellness programs on campus.
      4.   Open enrollment periods for health care and for Flexible Spending Account will take place at the same time (beginning of the year) rather than six months apart.
      5.   Discussed policy on emeritus status; committee has received revised policy but has not yet examined the policy.
   f.    Committee on Curriculum & Academic Regulations, Dr. Brian Adams
      1.   No new business.
VII. Presidential Advisory Committees: 
   a.   Committee on Student Media, Dr. Kaye Wilson-Anderson
      1.   Committee is interviewing students for positions for the radio, The Log, and the Beacon. Committee plans to complete interviews and make decisions before spring break.
   b.   Committee on Athletics, Dr. Aziz Inan
      1.   Met February 9.
      2.   Fr. Bill Beauchamp attended the meeting to update the committee on his work with the NCAA.
      3.   Women’s Crew will be added to the West Coast Conference.
      4.   Fr. Beauchamp discussed the implications of adding Brigham Young University to the West Coast Conference.
   c.   Committee on Health and Safety, Dr. Hans Nordstrom
      1.   Met February 9. 
      2.   Committee discussed ongoing business: audible/visual alerts at the Willamette Blvd crosswalk; replacement of light fixtures in Buckley Center.
      3.   Public Safety is creating a vendor policy requiring all vendors to pick up a badge at Public Safety.
      4.   Committee discussed deferred maintenance, such as air quality issues in the print shop and other buildings; over the next ten years, all campus buildings will receive air duct cleaning.
      5.   Chemical safety protocol has been revised. Chemistry has revised its training for adjuncts about reporting incidents; in the previous year several incidents had not been reported. This year there has been a great reduction in reported incidents.
      6.   Approximately 25 trees will be removed from around Merlo Field. Most trees were planted less than 10 years ago and are fairly small; the tree root systems are interfering with the field and trees are hindering the growth of grass.
   d.   Committee on Information Technology, Dr. Teri Woo
      1.   Met last week.
      2.   Jenny Walsh reported about the PilotsUP Improvement project currently underway. PilotsUP began five years ago but hasn’t had much opportunity to improve.
      3.   Information Services is gathering feedback on PilotsUP during spring semester via blog comments and town hall meetings. Four more Town Hall meetings are scheduled; each meeting focuses on a topic. Town Hall meeting times are posted on PilotsUP.
      4.   Jenny will also meet with departments to gather feedback, or can conduct a small workshop to focus input.
      5.   Information Services will also work with a third-party independent group to evaluate the usability and efficiency of the portal; this may include a campus-wide survey. 
      6.   Based on the feedback, Information Services plans to create a better PilotsUP by fall semester.
   e.   Committee on Sustainability, Dr. Hillary Merk
      1.   Met January 21.
      2.   SightLines company presented data about the university’s carbon footprint.
      3.   Committee will meet again February 21.  
VIII.       Other Reports:
   a.   Dean’s Meeting (Br. Donald Stabrowski)
      1.   Deans have met twice.
      2.   Meetings have focused on strategic planning. Departments and professional schools are discussing strategic planning; results are due by March 11.
      3.   Dr. Anderson presented about expanding the Center for Entrepreneurship to include Innovation and Leadership. This could be a good case for the capital campaign.
      4.   University is in discussions with Saturday Academy about hosting their facilities on campus. Saturday Academy provides experiences for gifted K-12 students. They currently are housed with the Oregon Graduate Institute, and due to OGI’s merger with OHSU Saturday Academy moved into downtown office space, which has become cost prohibitive. This could be a great opportunity for UP; several professors already teach in the program, and it could attract incoming students. Although we can’t offer Saturday Academy office space, we have offered to rent them a house. Our attorneys are doing due diligence with the Saturday Academy attorneys.
      5.   Jason McDonald gave directions for the Catholic School Counselors meeting which happened last week. Br. Donald Stabrowski expresses appreciation for everyone who participated.
      6.   John Watzke noted that the emeritus policy was not clear or easy to find; so he drafted a policy pulling together information from multiple documents. The revision reduces the number of years at senior professor rank required to become emeritus, and provides more detail about the process of becoming emeritus faculty and the privileges of this rank. 
      7.   Deans will discuss class valedictorian for 2011 at the upcoming meeting.
      8.   Deans will meet with Fr. Mark Poorman, incoming Executive Vice President.
      9.   Br. Donald Stabrowski thanks everyone who has participated in faculty searches. He requests that evaluations for Dean of School of Engineering candidates be submitted as soon as possible so committee can make their decision. 72 applications were received for this position; in the past the record number of applications for a dean position was 19 (for the Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences search in 1999/2000).
   b.   ASUP
      1.   ASUP is debating how to spend the capital improvement fund of $20,000. Past projects have included: furniture in Pilot House, furniture in St. Mary’s, and the crosswalk on Willamette. ASUP has not always received serious or substantial suggestions for spending money. ASUP is pursuing donating the capital improvement fund money towards the campaign for Howard Hall in order demonstrate student interest in this project to potential donors. ASUP is working to build consensus among its constituents for this plan; this issue will come up for a vote next Monday. ASUP has spoken with the Office of Development about this idea, and brought Nancy Bryant, a Regent and co-chair of the Rise campaign, to talk with ASUP about the proposal.
      2.   February 15 at 8pm will be speech and debate night for candidates for Executive Board positions, in the Mago Hunt recital hall. Journalistic writing students will do live blogging/tweeting of the event. 
      3.   Fr. Rowan complements ASUP on their handling of the Molly Hightower campaign.
IX.  New Business:
   a.   No new business.
X.   Announcements: none.
XI.  Adjournment: 4:50pm.