The
Regular session –
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 Aimee Franklin, Chair.
PRESENT: Ahmed
(1), Apanasov (0), Asojo
(0), Atiquzzaman (2), Baer (0), Bass (2), Blank (0), Bradshaw (0), Conlon (1), Deacon (2), Dial (3),
Franklin (0), Gan (2), Hahn (0), Jean‑Marie (1),
Kimball (2), Lauer-Flores (0), Lifschitz (0),
McDonald (3), Milton (1), Moses (1), Muraleetharan (0), O’Neill (1),
Palmer (0), Reeder (2), Rogers (2), Russell (1), Sadler (2), R. Schmidt
(2), Stock (0), Tabb (1), Taylor (2), Vehik (0), Verma (1),
Weaver (3), Wyckoff (3), Yi (3)
Provost's office representative: Mergler
ISA representatives: Cook, Hough
ABSENT: Cox-Fuenzalida
(3), Eodice (2),
[Note: During the period from June 2009 to May 2010,
the Senate held 8 regular sessions and no special sessions. The figures in parentheses above indicate the
number of absences.]
________________________________________________________________________________
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Announcements:
Schedule of Senate meetings for fall 2010
Faculty Senate charter revisions and reapportionment
for 2010-13
Summary of Speakers Service program
Faculty retirees
Remarks by Athletics Director Joe Castiglione
Senate Chair's Report:
Technology updates
Meeting with President Boren—budget
Vice President for Research initiatives
Guiding principles for budgetary actions
Recreational facilities
Guiding principles for budgetary actions
Certificates of appreciation
Election, councils/committees, boards and Senate standing committees
Election, Senate
Resolution of appreciation to Prof. Aimee Franklin
________________________________________________________________________________
The Faculty Senate Journal
for the regular session of
The regular meetings of the
Faculty Senate for fall 2010 will be held at 3:30 p.m. in Jacobson Faculty Hall
102 on the following Mondays: September
13, October 11, November 8, and December 13.
The regular faculty voted by
electronic ballot to approve the revisions in the Faculty Senate charter and
the proposed apportionment for 2010-13 by a vote of 206 to 21 (see 3/10
Journal).
Summary of the activities of
the Faculty Senate Speakers Service for the past year: From May 2009 to April 2010, 42 faculty and
staff gave 112 presentations to 70 organizations in 26 communities throughout
the state. The Faculty Senate and the
University sincerely appreciate the members of the Speakers Service who share
their expertise and knowledge with the people of
The Faculty Senate thanks these
faculty members who retired during the past academic year for their dedication
and contribution to our community.
|
NAME |
DEPARTMENT |
RETIREMENT DATE |
CAME TO OU |
|
Badhwar, Neera K. |
Philosophy |
|
1987 |
|
Branch, David R. |
Physics & Astronomy |
|
1973 |
|
Buchwald, Michael C. |
Drama |
|
1970 |
|
Byre, Calvin S. |
Univ. Libraries |
|
1990 |
|
Crawford, Kenneth C. |
Meteorology |
|
1989 |
|
Edwards, Donn |
Dance |
|
1993 |
|
Forgotson, James M. |
Geology & Geophysics |
|
1986 |
|
|
Chemistry & Biochemistry |
|
1970 |
|
Gates, Robert E. |
Music |
|
1972 |
|
Huseman, William H. |
Modern Lang., Lit. & Ling. |
|
1979 |
|
Karriker, A. Heidi |
Modern Lang., Lit. & Ling. |
|
1975 |
|
Lester, June |
Library & Info. Studies |
|
1993 |
|
Marshment, Richard S. |
Regional & City Planning |
|
1988 |
|
Ortiz-Leduc, William |
Botany & Microbiology |
|
1985 |
|
Patterson, Terry L. |
Architecture |
|
1980 |
|
Pisani, Donald J. |
History |
|
1990 |
|
Rossow, Lawrence F. |
Educ. Lead. & |
|
1989 |
|
Skvarla, John J. |
Botany
& Microbiology/OBS |
|
1965 |
|
Wallace, Linda L. |
Botany & Microbiology |
|
1981 |
|
Waterbury, Moira C. |
Human Relations |
1997 |
|
|
Weinel, Eleanor F. |
Architecture |
|
1990 |
|
Willinger, G. Lee |
Accounting |
|
1/1983 |
Prof. Franklin explained that
Mr. Castiglione gives a presentation each year to the Faculty Senate. Mr. Castiglione pointed out that the
Athletics Council is made up primarily of members of the faculty. He introduced Dr. Connie Dillon, our NCAA and
Big 12 faculty athletics representative, who is a member of the Athletics
Council, too. He also introduced Dr.
Gerald Gurney, who oversees all of the department’s academic affairs. Mr. Castiglione said, “We value the partnership,
not just the relationship, that we have with this campus.” He sees intercollegiate athletics as an
integral part of the mission of the university.
It is important for faculty to know that athletics operates with
complete transparency and openness, and faculty can feel comfortable asking
questions. Last year a question came up
about the lyrics to “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” on a video screen. Everything has been corrected now.
On the academic side, six
student-athletes were Academic All-Americans this year, 22 others received
national academic honors, and several teams were recognized as Academic
All-Americans. Forty-four
student-athletes had a 4.0 GPA last semester, and more than two-thirds earned a
cumulative GPA of 3.0 the previous fall and spring. Athletics reached the goal last fall of
having a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better for all student athletes. The football team has the highest APR (Academic Progress Rate) score
in the conference. The NCAA recognized
men’s gymnastics, women’s basketball, and men’s wrestling for being among the
nation’s best in APR scores. The
Athletics Department has great partnerships with the colleges of Engineering,
Business, and Education and has expanded the opportunities for students in the
In the area of finance, the
Athletics Department has balanced its budget for the eleventh consecutive
year. OU is one of 4-6 schools whose
program is totally self sustaining, meaning it does
not depend on any state appropriations, institutional support, or student fees
to operate. That is important to being
an integral part of the mission of the university and doing its part to support
the rest of the campus. Revenue
projections are very conservative. The
staff starts from scratch each year to determine what it will take to fund the
program at the expected level and looks at every expense to decide whether it
is essential or not. About 10 years ago,
the Athletics Department received a working capital loan to deal with the
accrued operating debt. It was to be
paid off in 21 years. The department
will pay off the loan in its entirety in FY 2011, 10 years in advance. President Boren and the regents have provided
great support and have accepted the department’s approach to
accountability. The Athletics Department
is participating in the hiring freeze like the rest of the campus. It incorporates best practices, compares
institutions, and tries to find ways to deal with revenue and expense
challenges.
One of the things Mr.
Castiglione is most proud of is the increased support of the academic
mission. During this academic year, the
Athletics Department increased its contribution to nearly $7 million, which
brings its direct or indirect financial support of the campus to over $12
million. That is in addition to the $1
million endowment for the library and assistance to various academic
departments. Coach Bob Stoops and his
wife have created a faculty fellows program in the
Compliance is taken seriously
and is an enormous undertaking. The
department spends nearly a million dollars a year to educate, monitor and
oversee the rules and regulations that guide and govern its business. A lot of systems have been automated, and
other schools around the country are interested in duplicating those practices.
Television broadcasts of athletic
events generated $20,000 in scholarships for students this year. Those dollars actually come to the campus,
not to the Athletics Department. Through
the green team initiative, the department is trying to make sporting events
friendlier to the environment. It also
has ramped up its commitment to celebrating the diversity in the program.
Athletic performance is one
of the program’s important goals, and Mr. Castiglione is proud of the
success. We are the first school in
conference history to have the national player of the year in football and in
basketball and the number one draft choice in both the NBA and NFL. This was the second consecutive Final Four
appearance for our women’s basketball team.
We had three conference champions in men’s and women’s gymnastics and
indoor track. Our cross county team competed in the national championship for the
first time. Women’s gymnastics, men’s
gymnastics, and wresting finished second, third, and fifth in this past
championship season. He is proud of the
student-athletes’ involvement in their studies as well as the community. Mr. Castiglione handed out copies of the
annual report and the program from the scholar-athlete breakfast.
Prof. Moses asked about the
plans for revenues when the loan is paid off.
Mr. Castiglione said that was to be determined. The department will still pay overhead to the
campus. Its “subsidy” to the academic
budget has continued to grow. Like other
campus units, athletics will have to address increases in tuition and fees,
room and board, and books. The
assumption is the revenue stream will remain the same.
Prof. Franklin asked Mr.
Castiglione to talk about the way the submission of student papers to
turnitin.com had been resolved. Mr.
Castiglione referred the question to Dr. Gurney. Dr. Gurney said his area had noticed that
some student-athletes needed assistance on citations and plagiarism
issues. In 2005, the department
purchased the Turnitin software for its
Prof. Franklin said she was
informed that Mr. Castiglione was not at liberty to discuss any changes in
coaches’ salaries. Certainly, the
academic side will benefit if there is a successful year in athletics. Mr. Castiglione closed by saying this is a
real partnership. He understands that
athletics operates in a little different environment sometimes, but there is a
clear understanding of the mission it should fulfill. If one part of the campus wins, we all
win. He strives to operate the program
with class, dignity, and integrity. He
said he was very fortunate to have the opportunity to be with the Faculty
Senate and to have this exchange of thoughts and ideas. Prof. Franklin said the Athletics Department
and Faculty Senate held a reception on March 2 to celebrate the
partnership. The comments by various
speakers were well received, and it was a successful event.
Prof. Franklin thanked the
Informational Staff Association representatives, Dan Hough and Chris Cook, for
attending the meetings and providing input from the staff. She also thanked Provost Mergler for
accommodating the Senate on several issues.
She pointed out that the Information Technology office had made it
possible to have the
In the Senate
Prof. Franklin met with Vice
President for Research Kelvin Droegemeier to talk about his Aspire 2020
initiative (a planning process for research and creative activity). She cautioned him about finalizing the
reports in the summer when many faculty members are away from campus. She encouraged him to make sure there were sufficient
opportunities for people to learn about what is being proposed and to provide
input. For further information and to
provide comments, see Aspire2020.ou.edu.
Dr. Droegemeier said he had had a good response from the action teams. He is committed to getting input, and any
recommendation will have full consideration in the fall. However, he plans to put a couple of things
in place during the summer, such as a proposal development services
office. Professors
Prof. Franklin received a lot
of feedback on the budget guiding principles, generally supportive. People have been positive on the need for
transparency in the budget process and the enhanced role of the Budget
Council. It has really brought the
discussion into a lot of departments and even into the colleges. Not just the university budget is being
discussed, but the impact on colleges as well as departments. It seems fairly certain the University will
have a cut in the state appropriation; we just do not know the amount. The governor and legislative leaders have
indicated that they will try to make it less painful to education, including
higher education, but nothing is certain at this stage.
Last month, a resolution was
introduced concerning the free use of recreational facilities for faculty and
staff (attached). Prof. Stock
reported that the faculty members in his college were in favor of the
resolution. With no further discussion,
the resolution was approved by the Faculty Senate on a voice vote.
Guiding Principles FOR budgetary ACTIONS
At the April meeting, a
resolution was introduced by the Modern Languages, Literatures &
Linguistics (MLL&L) departmental faculty, with the understanding that they
would be willing to work with an ad hoc committee to have a replacement
resolution that would incorporate the “Guiding Principles for Budgetary
Action,” which was also presented at the meeting. The ad hoc committee made a few changes, and
the modified version (attached)
was sent electronically on April 20 to
the senators to share with their constituents.
In the MLL&L resolution, teaching was more prominent. The modified version is more inclusive of the
other important components of research and service and how they contribute to
the University’s mission (see principle 3).
The modified resolution was introduced as a friendly amendment to the
MLL&L resolution. Prof. Baer said
she was willing to substitute the friendly amendment. Prof. Jean-Marie asked whether the policy
would apply at the departmental and college levels as well. Prof. Franklin said she thought it was a good
idea, and the notion had been raised by other faculty members. Perhaps this fall it could be introduced to the
deans. Faculty Senate recommendations
are made to the president, not directly to the deans. The resolution as amended was approved by the
Faculty Senate on a voice vote.
Prof. Franklin thanked the Senate
The Senate approved the
Senate Committee on Committees’ nominations for end-of-the-year vacancies on
university and campus councils/committees/boards and Faculty Senate standing
committees (attached). The names of the remaining volunteers will be
forwarded to the administration to consider for the vacancies they fill.
The Senate elected the
following faculty to the Faculty Senate Executive Committee for 2010-11:
AT-LARGE MEMBERS (3):
Fran Ayres (Professor of Accounting, Ph.D. Iowa, at OU
since 1982)
Susan Hahn (Associate Professor of University
Libraries, MLS Indiana, at OU since 1995)
Craig Hofford (Associate Professor of Health &
Exercise Science, Ph.D. Maryland, at OU since 1990)
SECRETARY:
Amy Bradshaw (Associate Professor of Educ. Psychology,
Ph.D. Arizona State, at OU since 1998)
CHAIR-ELECT:
Georgia Kosmopoulou (Professor of Economics, Ph.D.
Illinois, at OU since 1997)
Prof.
Franklin gave a sincere thank you to all the senators. She said she appreciated their patience,
attention, and consultation with their colleagues. She could feel confident, when speaking as
the faculty voice, that there was a variety of perspectives being
represented. For this year, the Senate
took 13 official actions and many informal actions. She thanked Prof. Blank and passed the gavel
to him to signify the transition in leadership of the Faculty Senate. She wished him the best in fulfilling his
duties in the year ahead and said she was confident he would do an excellent
job. Prof. Blank presented the following
resolution of appreciation to Prof. Franklin.
Whereas Aimee has demonstrated
thorough understanding of multiple complex issues, concerns, and challenges,
and
Whereas Aimee has worked and
communicated effectively to engage diverse stakeholders in understanding and
reconciling conflicting needs, and
Whereas Aimee has consistently
recognized and utilized others’ strengths in identifying, understanding, and
addressing important issues, and
Whereas Aimee has worked to
increase transparency and to reiterate the need for transparency and genuine
faculty input and engagement in decisions that affect multiple and diverse
constituencies, and
Whereas Aimee has worked to
establish Guiding Principles for use by the Administration in addressing the
complex Budget Issues, particularly regarding the Retirement Medical Care and Defined
Contribution Plans, and
Whereas Aimee has worked to
increase the health and wellness of the members of the university community,
and
Whereas Aimee has maintained graciousness, composure, and a sense of humor under
difficult circumstances, and
Whereas Aimee has kept her
focus on positive problem solving and beneficial outcomes, regardless of who
gets the accolades, and
Whereas Aimee is, to put it
simply, the walking embodiment of omniscient brilliance,
Be
it resolved that the Faculty Senate expresses sincere admiration and
appreciation to Professor Aimee Franklin for her outstanding leadership and
remarkable service for the academic year 2009-2010.
The resolution was
unanimously approved. Prof. Blank
presented Prof. Franklin with a certificate of appreciation and an engraved
clock. Prof. Blank then assumed the
office of 2010-11 Senate Chair.
The meeting adjourned at 4:23
p.m. The next regular session of the
Faculty Senate will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Monday,
____________________________________
Sonya Fallgatter, Administrative Coordinator
____________________________________
Amy Bradshaw, Faculty Secretary