The
Regular session – January 14, 2008 – 3:30 p.m. – Jacobson Faculty Hall 102
office: Jacobson Faculty Hall 206
phone: 325-6789
e-mail: facsen@ou.edu web site:
http://www.ou.edu/admin/facsen/
The Faculty Senate was called
to order by Professor Steve Bradford, Chair.
PRESENT: Albert, Bass, Benson, Bradford, Brown,
Brule, Callard, Clark, Conlon, Croft, Edy, Eodice, Forman, Franklin, Ge,
Grasse, Greene, Halterman, Horn, Kent, Knapp, Livesey, Magnusson,
Marcus-Mendoza, Miranda, Morrissey, Moses, Radhakrishnan, Reeder, Riggs,
Rogers, Russell, Sadler, Schmidt, Tan, Trafalis, Trytten, Verma, Vitt, Warnken,
Weaver
Provost's office representative: Mergler
ABSENT: Apanasov (excused), Basic, D. Bemben,
M. Bemben (excused), Kershen, McDonald, Rambo, Roche, Skeeters, Striz (excused)
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Announcements:
Schedule of spring 2008 Faculty Senate meetings
Climate commitment
Recycling containers
Faculty development award recipients
Senate Chair's Report:
Student information system
Faculty interest groups
Recreational Services programs
Parking issues
Building maintenance
Retirement policies
Faculty Handbook section 3.5.6 – faculty resignation
Recreational Services Advisory Committee charge
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The Faculty Senate Journal
for the regular session of November 12, 2007 was approved, with an amendment to
the eighth paragraph of the Focus the Nation section, beginning with “Prof.
Moses.” The paragraph should read:
Prof.
Moses pointed out that as many
as 5 of the 7 long-term goals and 2 of the 4 short-term goals will have cost
implications, which could be significant amounts. There is no consideration given to what the
extra costs might be or a plan for how to pay for them. Are students willing to endorse tuition hikes
to fund these changes? Mr. Pollard commented that most of the initiatives
would save us money in time. He
acknowledged that a cost-benefit analysis would help. Prof. Moses said we should have a plan for
how to pay for becoming carbon neutral. A comment was made that we should not miss the opportunity with new
buildings to incorporate green features.
Prof. Dalton said some funding initiatives exist, such as the Clinton
Climate Initiative. Ms. Pearson added that
another possibility was a fee on parking permits. Prof.
Moses noted that three of the four short-term goals are what others should do.
He thinks the UOSA should focus mainly on what students should do. He gave two examples. First, he noted that the elevator in his
five-story building operated all day long, and able-bodied students could take
the stairs rather than the elevator.
Second, he noted that in previous years, a much greater percentage of
students lived near campus and walked/biked.
Now, many of them drive. He
thought the UOSA could develop policies that encourage reduction in student
commuting. He noted they mention this as
a long-term goal, but students move often and it could be more short term if
they are really serious. Mr. Pollard said the green week would focus on those
areas.
The regular meetings of the
Faculty Senate for the spring 2008 semester will be held at 3:30 p.m. in
Jacobson Faculty Hall 102 on the following Mondays: January 14, February 11, March 10, April 14,
and May 5.
President Boren approved the
Faculty Senate’s endorsement of the UOSA resolution on climate commitment,
which was voted on at the November 12 meeting (see 11/07 Senate Journal).
With regard to the discussion
at the November meeting about recycling, desk-side paper recycling containers
may be ordered at http://www.physicalplant.ou.edu/mod.php?mod=userpage&menu=1701&page_id=25;
they will be delivered at no charge. A sample was displayed at the meeting. Prof. Moses asked who was responsible for
emptying the containers. Prof. Bradford
reported that Mr. Burr Millsap, associate vice president for Administrative
Affairs, said the Physical Plant is having a difficult time filling entry level
custodial positions because of the tight labor market. Perhaps that is why recycling containers are
not getting emptied. Prof. Albert noted
that the web site indicated that desk-side containers had to be emptied by
individuals into a larger recycling container within the unit.
The Faculty Senate is pleased
to present the faculty development awards for the fall 2007 semester to
Danielle Brittain (Health & Exercise Science), Paul Goode (Political
Science), Emily Johnson (Modern Languages, Literatures and Linguistics), Robert
Nairn (Civil Engineering & Environmental Science), Kathleen Rager
(Educational Leadership & Policy Studies), Zev Trachtenberg (Philosophy),
and Hans Peter Wachter (Interior Design).
The call for the spring awards will go out soon.
The December 10 meeting,
which was cancelled due to the University closing because of the ice storm, was
the first time in recent years that the Senate had not met as scheduled. Prof. Bradford mentioned that the
administration and faculty worked well together to get through that
period.
The University is putting in
a new computer system for student information.
Prof. Bradford asked for suggestions concerning the features that the
faculty would like to have in the new system.
Some of the suggestions up to this point are exporting course grades
from Desire2Learn directly to academic records, course scheduling, early
progress reports, integration of Degree Navigator and online enrollment, and
textbook adoption forms. He said he
welcomed suggestions, but cautioned that some requests might not be possible,
given the constraints of time and money.
The Executive Committee will discuss the ideas with the provost.
The Executive Committee
continues to address the issues submitted by the senators last fall. One of the issues was to consider the
formation of faculty interest groups – travel, book, etc. There used to be a faculty singles group and
a yoga group. Prof. Bradford said that
while he did not see the creation of interest groups as a function of the
Senate, senators were welcome to announce in any Senate meeting that they were
starting a group.
Recreational Services has
some new fitness and nutrition programs (see http://recservices.ou.edu/).
Prof. Bradford plans to meet
with the Parking director to discuss parking issues, for example, the lack of
designated faculty parking, the cost of parking, the availability of shuttle
service for evening students, and security for students and faculty after dark,
in particular in the parking garages. He
asked the senators to send in any other issues or problems that should be
addressed.
The Senate Executive
Committee met with associate vice president Burr Millsap concerning building
maintenance. Mr. Millsap said he depends
upon faculty to report any problems. His
office does surveys, but it is necessary for faculty to alert him and not leave
it to custodians. He mentioned that
Mechelle Gibson is the liaison from the provost’s office on building
issues. Mr. Millsap plans to provide
better feedback so that faculty members will be able to see where their request
is in the list of priorities.
Prof. Bradford introduced a
resolution he wrote to express appreciation for the hard work of the health
care task force and to make a request to them that they study the retirement
issue thoroughly.
The
Faculty Senate expresses its appreciation for the hard work and diligence of
the Healthcare Task Force. We request,
as the Task Force continues its work on retirement policies, that it examine
all retirement policies, compare what other universities do, and consider the
implications a change in the University’s retirement policies might have on
hiring, both at the junior and senior level.
Prof. Bradford remarked that
since it was a resolution, the Senate could vote on it today. Prof. Benson suggested that the last line
read “on hiring and retention.” Prof. Bradford accepted the language as a
friendly amendment. He said he thought
it was important to advise the task force soon on the faculty’s concerns about
retirement. The resolution as amended
was approved on a voice vote.
Prof. Bradford explained that
the Senate had discussed the recommended Faculty
Handbook revision in November (see 11/07 Senate Journal) and that the
change had to do with when faculty should send in a letter of resignation
(additions are in bold, deletions are struck through; revisions from the 11/12/07 Senate meeting are highlighted).
Section 3.5.6 of the Faculty Handbook
RESIGNATION
A regular faculty member who elects to
resign his or her appointment is obligated to give notice in writing at the
earliest possible opportunity, but not later than May 15 or thirty days after
receiving notification of the terms of his or her appointment for the coming
year, whichever date is later. It is
a professional expectation that a regular faculty member who elects to resign
his or her appointment give written notice at the earliest possible opportunity
to the chair or director of the academic
unit. Timely notice of resignation is
needed to allow sufficient time for the academic unit to seek appropriate
personnel to cover the teaching assignments of the resigning faculty person and
provide a smooth transition for students.
Written
resignations for the subsequent academic year should be submitted early in the
spring semester, but not later than May 15. A regular
faculty member who elects to resign his or her appointment is obligated to give
notice in writing at the earliest possible opportunity, but not later than May
15. A faculty member may
request a waiver of this requirement.
For faculty and staff with
12-month appointments, resignations shall be effective on the last day of
service of the employee, and an employee shall not be paid for a holiday if the
last day of service was prior to the holiday period.
Rationale: Tying the notice requirement to the
appointment letter is no longer relevant, given that the appointment letters
are now issued only after regent approval (usually in September) of the salary
increases. The primary purpose of this
policy is to encourage early notice of resignation to aid planning.
With no further discussion,
the revised language was approved on a voice vote.
The University Recreational
Services Advisory Committee proposed a revision in its charge (attached). Prof. Bradford explained that the current
language is obsolete, and some of the duties no longer exist. The membership is not being changed. The Senate will vote on the proposal at the
next meeting.
The meeting adjourned at 3:50
p.m. The next regular session of the
Faculty Senate will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, February 11, 2008, in
Jacobson Faculty Hall 102.
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Sonya Fallgatter, Administrative Coordinator
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Roberta Magnusson, Secretary