Academic Senate: MINUTES 2/20/2007

Present: Dr. Brian Adams, Dr. Susan Baillet, Dr. Carol Dempsey, Dr. Jeff Gauthier, Dr. Chris Hallstrom, Mr. Justin Heser (proxy for Ms. Tara O’Boyle), Dr. Angela Hoffman, Dr. Joanna Kaakinen, Dr. Ken Kleszynski, Dr. Lora Looney, Ms. Caroline Mann, Dr. Terry Misener, Dr. Elise Moentmann, Dr. Marlene Moore, Ms. Megan Olmstead, Dr. Katie O’Reilly, Dr. John Orr, Dr. Peter Osterberg, Dr. Dan Pierce, Dr. John Schouten, Dr. Jackie Waggoner, Dr. Zia Yamayee

Absent: Fr. William Beauchamp, Dr. Karen Eifler, Dr. Bart Rylander, Br. Donald Stabrowski, Dr. Louis Masson

Invocation: The invocation was given by Dr. Elise Moentmann.

Minutes of the November 21 Senate meeting were accepted.

Standing Committee Reports

Executive Committee: Dr. Jeff Gauthier gave the report. He listed new business including the vote to create an Ad Hoc Committee on Computers and Telecommunications, and the report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Senate Membership.

Committee on Committees: Dr. John Orr gave the report. The committee has met twice. Dr. Orr and Dr. Gauthier met with Fr. Beauchamp to clarify language about duties of the Committee on Committees, especially the veto power of the president regarding committee appointments.

Committee on Rank & Tenure: Dr. Marlene Moore gave the report in his absence; the committee is compiling a list of names of faculty for post-tenure review next year.

Committee on Teaching & Scholarship: Dr. Carol Dempsey gave the report. With regard to the recent award of Butine funds, Dr. Dempsey explained that a couple of applications for $6000 each, which were applications that had been resubmitted, were funded for half the amount requested, or $3000. The committee meets Feb 26 to award Spring Butine funds. The committee is in conversation with Br. Donald on changes to Butine management and distribution. Br. Donald has also asked the committee to prepare a financial analysis and profile of past Butine funds and awards. Carol reported on the Spring colloquia, announcing the April 13 colloquium with Dr. Kaakinen as speaker, and the developing plans for the May 8 Faculty Development Day. Decisions are underway for this year’s Teaching and Scholarship award, the recipients for which will be announced at the Faculty Gala.

Committee on Faculty Welfare: Dr. Susan Baillet gave the report. New CUPA numbers show that CAS faculty salaries are 10% below CUPA standards.   The committee has determined that the amount of $500, 000 would raise us to CUPA standards. Fr. Beauchamp has told the committee that he is amenable to a stepped plan to raise faculty salaries. Dr. Baillet also stated that Fr. Beauchamp is attentive to the issue that faculty travel funds are not equal across the schools. In its last meeting the committee wrote an inclusion to the faculty handbook regarding parental/family leave. Dr. Baillet summarized the university’s decision to stay open on the recent “snow day” explaining that the decision time to stay open or close was (and is customarily) made at 5:30 a.m., before snow started falling. Discussion from the floor included concerns for university staff who are not paid if they do not work on a “snow day;” that not all faculty members have email access at home in order to cancel their classes; that faculty and staff with children are faced with the challenge of childcare during K-12 school closures due to snow. Two questions from the floor included how many classes were actually canceled on the “snow day” and if contingent plans were being discussed for future snow events in Portland? Dr. Baillet clarified that at 8:30 a.m. on the “snow day” another decision was made to stay open as many people were already on campus and that it was better not to send them home. Two concluding remarks from the floor included that in the history of the university there have been few closures suggesting that reexamination of the policy is not necessary, and in response, that the senate cannot make policy but rather advocate recommendations regarding snow closures. Dr. Baillet reported that the Faculty handbook is not clear on the award and use of travel money during sabbatical leave.   Finally, she reminded us to take the online sexual harassment education test required by the university.

Committee on Curriculum & Academic Regulations: Dr. Jeff Gauthier gave the report for Dr. Karen Eifler. The committee has not met but will meet February 27 to vote on two proposals which, pending approval by CAR, will be submitted to the Senate for a vote at the March 20 meeting.

Presidential Advisory Committee Reports

Committee on Student Media: Dr. Jeff Gauthier gave the report. The committee has not met.

Committee on Athletics: Dr. John Schouten gave the report. The subcommittees are meeting, but no report has been given.

Committee on Health & Safety: No report was given. 

Committee on Information Technology: Dr. Chris Hallstrom gave the report. The committee has met to examine solutions to spam problems concluding that the best economical solution is a third party company to filter email for spam, and to produce a list of what was filtered to each user. Four or five company names have been passed on to Mr. Fessler’s office to narrow down to a total of two or three names from which he will choose. Dr. Hallstrom reported that a website has been established for presidential advisory committee minutes.

Other Reports

Fr. William Beauchamp: No report was given.

Dean’s Report: No report was given.

ASUP: Ms. Megan Olmstead gave the report. With regard to paper reduction, she encouraged faculty to reserve their course packets well in advance. Flat screen televisions have been installed in Howard Hall. ASUP elections will be held February 22. The “snow day” was a concern for ASUP as well, and a letter has been written to the university’s administration.

New Business

1.      Establishment of Ad Hoc Committee on Computers and Telecommunications Policy. Dr. Gauthier handed out a document of duties proposed for the ad hoc committee in response to complaints he has received, and he stated that the issue should be taken seriously as academics are affected by computers and telecommunications, and the senate’s role is to decide academic policy. Dr. Gauthier proposed that one outcome of the adhoc committee’s work might be the recommendation to make the presidential advisory committee a senate committee. Discussion from the floor included a listing of problems which affect curriculum including the paper initiative, print quotas, spam, Moodle, Sherpa, Pilots portlet as a new locale for campus announcements. Questions from the floor included the reason for open-ended duties proposed for adhoc committee if the real purpose is to make the advisory committee a senate committee; potential contradictions which could arise between advisory and senate committees; would a more substantive dialogue be fomented with OCIO; and, as the committee is made up of 21 faculty and students, how is it that the faculty have no input? Different statements in response included the philosophical issue that everything related to teaching is now related to computers; the history of this proposal arose from a meeting between the Executive Committee and Fr. Beauchamp in which no specific agenda was set for the ad hoc committee, and that a feasible outcome could be that the advisory committee stays as is. The proposal was moved and seconded.

2.      Report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Senate Membership (click here for proposal document). Dr. Gauthier stated that the necessary change to By-Laws cannot be voted on until March 20, and the report of Dr. Moentmann, who chaired the ad hoc committee made up of three professional school faculty and four CAS faculty, was purely informational. The ad hoc committee, acting on the issue of maintaining the current number of members in the Senate in the aftermath of CAS department splits, reported that in CAS there is no way to keep one senator per department, instead a proportionality of senator members to the number of faculty in each unit of the university was proposed. Questions from floor included the rationale for CAS occupying the most seats in that no single unit should be able to put together a majority on the senate? Dr. Moentmann explained CAS could never constitute a majority because of ex-officio who are voting members. She stated that the proposal gives each professional school 2 permanent members, and explained that it is up to each school to determine Senate members. It was confirmed that if voted for on March 20, it would take immediate effect thus impacting the April meeting in which Senate elections are held.

Adjournment: Meeting adjourned at 5:07 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,Lora L. Looney, Secretary to the Senate