The University of Oklahoma (Norman campus)

Regular session – September 14, 1998 - 3:30 p.m. - Jacobson Faculty Hall 102

office: Jacobson Faculty Hall 206 phone: 325-6789 FAX: 325-6782

e-mail: facsen@ou.edu web site: http://www.ou.edu/admin/facsen/

The Faculty Senate was called to order by Professor Alexander Holmes, Chair.

PRESENT: Abraham, Agrawal, Badhwar, Beasley, Benson, Bert, Blank, Brown, Cline, Deming, Durica, Edwards, Eliason, Emery, Engel, Fleener, Gilliland, Greene, Gross, Hobbs, Holmes, Houser, Joyce, Karriker, Knapp, Kudrna, Kunesh, Kutner, Lancaster, Mau, Murphy, Norwood, Okediji, Osisanya, Pailes, Patten, Patterson, Ratliff, Russell, St. John, Sutton, Van Gundy, Wahl, Weston, White

Provost's office representative: Mergler

ABSENT: Butler, Newman, Rosenthal, Scherman, Schwarzkopf, Watts

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Senate Chair's Report:

Orientation 2

Post-tenure review 2

Academic Misconduct Code 2

Senate vacancies in the College of Arts & Sciences 2

Issues and concerns 2

Research professor title 2

Announcements:

Senate members for 1998-99 and schedule of meetings 2

Faculty Senate and General Faculty parliamentarian 2

1997-98 annual council reports 3

Appointments to councils, committees, boards 3

Disposition by administration of Senate actions for 1997-98 3

Resources in Faculty Senate office 3

Report of Faculty Advisory Committee to the State Regents 3

Election, councils/committees/boards 3

Resolution, academic calendar (class start date) 4

Departmental tenure vote, faculty appeals procedures 6

Salaries 6

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Orientation (Copies of the handouts are available from the Senate office.):

Prof. Holmes introduced the members of the Small Executive Committee. The Chair-elect chairs the Committee on Committees. The Faculty Senate appoints faculty to 37 councils, committees, and boards. He noted that a regent once said faculty governance is like letting the inmates run the asylum. Faculty governance is central to the educational policies. The issues of academic integrity, tenure, promotion, programs, and curriculum are the types of responsibilities that are fundamentally faculty. The Small Executive Committee meets with the President and Provost once a month. The President has chosen to use the Small Executive Committee as his advisory group. Faculty senates are important for what they protect as for what they promote: academic freedom, tenure, professional standards, academic status, and quality. One of the issues this year will be intellectual property. Senators have a responsibility to provide faculty in their units with the information that is important. The Large Executive Committee includes the chairs of councils. Both the small and large executive committees meet once a month.

Chair’s Report:

The Faculty Senate put forward a policy on Post-Tenure Review. That policy has not yet been brought to the regents for action. The President is planning a fortuitous time to present it to the regents. The Academic Misconduct Code was amended by the Faculty Senate last year, and the regents amended the Faculty Senate's recommendations. The amendments are in the spirit of the changes deliberated by the Faculty Senate and retain the original intentions of the Faculty Senate.

Nominations of faculty to fill three vacancies on the Faculty Senate in social sciences should be forwarded to Associate Dean Petry in the College of Arts & Sciences.

Issues and concerns identified by senators should be sent to the Faculty Senate office.

The International Relations Office has a new brochure that is available from the Senate office.

The Graduate College dean requested a review of the title of research professor, a non-tenured position for individuals who work on soft dollar research projects. This is of particular concern to those who have large multiple year research grants and contracts. A task force will be formed to consider this issue.

The Senate Journal for the regular session of May 4,1998, was approved.

A list of the Faculty Senate members is attached (Appendix I). The new members were introduced at the meeting.

The regular meetings of the Faculty Senate for 1998-99 will be held at 3:30 p.m. on the following Mondays in Jacobson Faculty Hall 102: September 14, October 12, November 9, December 7, January 11, February 8, March 8, April 12, and May 3.

The Senate Executive Committee elected Prof. Ruth Gana Okediji (Law) as parliamentarian of the Faculty Senate and General Faculty.

The compilation of the 1997-98 annual reports of University councils was mailed July 24 to the Faculty Senate members and to chairs/directors and deans to make available to the general faculty. Copies are available from the Senate office.

The 1998-99 listing of faculty appointments to committees was mailed to the general faculty August 11.

The summary record of the disposition by the administration of Faculty Senate actions for September 1997 to August 1998 is attached (Appendix II).

The Chronicle of Higher Education, Academe, and the University Budget are available in the Senate office.

Prof. Weaver-Meyers, University Libraries, explained that the Faculty Advisory Committee to the State Regents (FACSR) reports directly to the chancellor and is made up of ex-Faculty Senate chairs from universities across the state. Last spring, when some faculty at other institutions were being terminated without knowing the reason, the AAUP lobbied the legislature to enact legislation regarding personnel issues. A number of faculty thought the legislature should not be involved in personnel issues. The state regents now are attempting to have institutions come up with their own improved policies rather than have them imposed by the legislature. The FACSR drafted a set of guidelines/best practices that the regents would like the institutions to consider adopting. The draft guidelines cover terminations, sabbatical leaves, and faculty evaluation. Prof. Van Gundy asked whether this would supplement the personnel policies in the Faculty Handbook. Prof. Weaver-Meyers said the complaints AAUP received came mainly from the smaller institutions whose personnel policies are not as well established as ours. There are some things that we should pay attention to, though. Some adjunct faculty do not have much say in what is going on. Prof. Van Gundy suggested that the law faculty have some input. Prof. Eliason asked whether, constitutionally, the legislature had the power to enact legislation concerning personnel issues. Professors Weaver-Meyers and Holmes noted that the legislation was on its way to being passed and that there is no constitutional protection in that situation. Prof. Hobbs pointed out that the English department has almost as many adjuncts as regular faculty (25), so that is not just an issue at smaller institutions. Prof. Weaver-Meyers noted that the FACSR has ranked that issue as one of the top 10 priority items for the last two years. The guidelines will be given to the Senate Executive Committee to review.

Prof. Hugh Benson, Chair of the Committee on Committees, explained that many vacancies occurred over the summer due to sabbaticals, resignations, etc. The other members of the Committee on Committees are Richard Gipson (Music), Barbara Hillyer (Human Relations), Roy Knapp (PGE), Victor Hutchison (Zoology), and Cal Stoltenberg (Educational Psychology). The primary consideration in filling vacancies is diversity in a number of respects. The Senate approved the following Senate Committee on Committees’ nominations to fill vacancies on University and Campus Councils, Committees and Boards.

Faculty Senate Executive Committee: Barbara Greene (Educ. Psych.)

To replace Gus Friedrich, 1998-99 term

Athletics Council: Jayne Fleener (Instr. Lead. & Acad. Curr.)

To replace Gus Friedrich, 1996-99 term

Campus Tenure Committee: Michael Scaperlanda (Law)

To replace Robert Spector, 1996-99 term

Faculty Appeals Board: Grayson Noley (Educ. Lead. & Pol. St.)

To replace Gus Friedrich, 1997-01 term

Honorary Degrees Screening Committee: John Castagna (Geology & Geophysics)

To replace Ray Paolino, 1996-99 term

Legal Panel: Owen Anderson (Law)

To replace Jerry Parkinson, 1997-00 term

Research Council: John Skvarla (Botany & Microbiology)

To replace John Fletcher, 1997-00 term--biological sciences

Research Council: Kathryn Haring (Educ. Psych.)

To replace Jon Nussbaum, 1998-01 term--social sciences and education

Scholars Selection Committee, University: Loraine Dunn (Instr. Lead. & Acad. Curr.)

For background information, please see 5/98 Senate Journal, pages 4-5. Prof. Holmes introduced the following resolution.

WHEREAS, 9-month faculty and graduate teaching assistant contracts are effective August 16;

WHEREAS, faculty and teaching assistants must prepare for class, many faculty have advising duties the week before classes begin, and new graduate teaching assistants are required to participate in training before the beginning of school;

WHEREAS, students may have summer internships and summer employment that could be impacted by an early start date;

WHEREAS, final exams start only one week after the Thanksgiving holiday for Fall 1998;

WHEREAS, costs for physical plant of starting early are higher than ending later;

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that the Faculty Senate asks the Academic Regulations Committee to schedule the start of school Fall 1999 no earlier than August 23, 1999.

Prof. Holmes explained that classes started much earlier this Fall than in the past and impacted the contracting period, advising, class preparation, and graduate student summer work. The Small Executive Committee met with President Boren in August. In a discussion of the early start date, the President said, "This is crazy." The intent of the resolution is to suggest the views of the faculty to the Academic Regulations Committee. Prof. Van Gundy said he could not recall the rationale discussed at last spring’s meeting. Prof. Joyce said all of the other schools teaching in Tulsa are on the same academic calendar. Prof. Holmes noted that we are not all on the same calendar. Provost Mergler pointed out that when the calendar was set up, the institutions involved in Tulsa were trying to get on the same schedule so that the breaks would come at the same time. OSU, OU, Langston and Northeastern are on the same calendar. Prof. Kunesh asked whether the Academic Regulations Committee set the schedule and whether it was an OU committee. After Prof. Holmes answered yes to both questions, Prof. Kunesh suggested that "schedule" be changed to "recommend" in the last paragraph.

Prof. Patterson commented that faculty who teach in Tulsa want to be on the same schedule. It is unclear what will happen now that OSU has taken over. Provost Mergler responded that the dilemma for faculty also holds true for students. She asked the faculty to think about what a longer winter break would mean and to think about the positives and negatives. Prof. Wahl said the semester used to be shorter. Prof. Patten said many faculty have had to provide instruction without preparation. If classes start in mid August, then the contract should start earlier to give some buffer time. Prof. Murphy asked why Tulsa classes started so early. Prof. Holmes said it is the tail wagging the dog. Prof. Patterson pointed out that when the Tulsa campus is on vacation, the library is closed and she cannot teach except by compressed video. The calendar needs to be worked out with those four institutions. Provost Mergler said the semesters are longer because of state regents' regulations concerning the number of instruction hours. It is convenient to have the fall semester over before winter break. This also affects intersession and summer terms. We are trying to be responsive to Tulsa, which is an important political issue for higher education. She noted that Spring Break is a week later this year. The Norman public schools align to our calendar. The schedule cannot be changed quickly in short order. She asked the Faculty Senate to reflect on it for a year. Prof. Patten asked about the schedule for next year. Provost Mergler said classes are scheduled to start early next year. She remarked that the Academic Regulations Committee has information about future calendars.

Prof. Holmes said one of his concerns was there was only one week of class between the Thanksgiving holiday and finals. Prof. Badhwar asked whether it was a problem for Tulsa to change its date. Provost Mergler said the Tulsa courses are offered by four institutions. When they are on different schedules, faculty who teach in Norman and Tulsa get no Spring Break. Prof. Sutton asked how many faculty were affected by this. Provost Mergler said the number varies, and enrollment continues to grow. Prof. Badhwar asked whether OU was the only school on a different calendar before we changed our schedule to accommodate Tulsa. Provost Mergler said they all were different. OSU will probably insist on a common calendar. Prof. Badhwar suggested that the others align to our schedule. Provost Mergler said all four institutions did quite a bit of adjusting. Prof. Wahl said we should communicate what the wishes of the faculty are. Prof. Sutton said that was what the resolution was all about. Prof. Patterson questioned whether the resolution was pointed at the wrong place. One-third of the Library and Information Studies students are in Tulsa, so they are adversely affected if we are not on the same schedule. Prof. Durica commented that researchers who have a field season do not have enough time for research before school starts. Prof. Benson said it would be desirable for the Tulsa institutions to have the same schedule. One point of the resolution is to make clear how the early start date negatively affects this institution. Prof. Cline asked about the opinion of faculty at the other institutions. Prof. Holmes said he did not know. The resolution as amended was approved on a voice vote.

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that the Faculty Senate asks the Academic Regulations Committee to recommend that the start of school Fall 1999 be no earlier than August 23, 1999.

Prof. Holmes explained that the Small Executive Committee was considering memos from the Provost concerning the departmental tenure vote and faculty appeals procedures and will suggest language to accommodate her suggestions.

Prof. Sutton reported that subparagraph f of section 3.7.5 in the Faculty Handbook addresses how the tenure vote is dealt with by departments. The question is whether the numerical vote should be presented to the candidate. There are some obvious problems. No reporting should occur that would violate the intent of a secret ballot. Another consideration is whether the Campus Tenure Committee raw vote should be given to the candidate (subparagraph l). The tenure committee actually is advisory and its vote is not binding. The role is analogous to dean advisory committees.

Prof. Holmes noted that the faculty appeals procedure has certain inconsistencies. Action will be taken at a future meeting.

Prof. Norwood said a reporter from the Dallas Morning News asked him about the salary increase for our basketball coach. The regents raised Kelvin Sampson's base salary from $115,160 to $150,000 per year plus $55,000 in perks and incentives. His current package is worth about $600,000. In a year when faculty received a 4% raise, almost no consideration was given to merit or compression, and our library ranking went below OSU's, a basketball coach gets a 30% increase. He asked what kind of priority the regents are giving to academics. Prof. Russell said our University has gathered a lot of good will in the state, like it or not, because of the success of our athletic program. He said he did not want to argue about whether Coach Sampson makes too much money and faculty make too little. He said he was more concerned about the figure reported in The Oklahoma Daily for the average faculty salary: $70,000 (including benefits). Prof. Sutton said he had been told that the athletic budget is soft money and therefore does not come from the state budget. Prof. Holmes answered that once upon a time, they did not get any state money. In recent years, they have been running a deficit. The new athletic director promises that they will not overrun their budget.

The meeting adjourned at 4:45 p.m. The next regular session of the Senate will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, October 12, 1998, in Jacobson Faculty Hall 102.

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Ruth Okediji, Secretary

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Sonya Fallgatter, Administrative Coordinator

Appendix I

Appendix II

9/98

*Full text of recommendation can be found in Faculty Senate Journal for date indicated at left