MINUTES

Faculty Senate Meeting

September 14, 1999

3:00 - 5:00 p.m.

SC117

ATTENDANCE

Present: Grant Richards, President Romesburg, Lucille Stoddard, Ron Hammond, Janet Bennion, Nate Oldham, John Balden, Larry Holt, Cameron John, Karin Davidson, Christopher G. Jones, Damon Bahr, Kirk Rasmussen, Laurie Wood, Bryan Eldridge, Lori Richards, Doug Miller, Eberhard Lehnardt, K.D. Taylor, Jill Jasperson, Lynn Turnquist, David Brandt, Denza Bruss, Kathie Debenham, Keith Snedegar, Paul Bean, Eldon Greenhalgh, David Manning, Malcom Crawford, Renee Van Buren, Louis Arzola, Gary Noll

Absent: Joseph Buchman, Max Christofferson, Chester Heath, Eddy Cadet, Forrest Williams

Excused: Tom Perkins

Guest: Nancy Bartlett

CALL TO ORDER

Grant Richards called the meeting to order at 3:12 p.m.

PRIORITIES

Janet Bennion presented information on faculty priorities. A summary of the priorities showed that "salary", "benefits" and "workload" were the top concerns of faculty. Senators were asked to review the list with their departments and report the top three, which will then be presented to legislators Jeff Alexander, Marlin Snow, and John Valentine at the Sept 28^th Faculty Senate Meeting.

Janet mentioned a few tips for presenting information to legislators. 1) be brief and concise, 2) stress what we have done with our own strength to mend the problem and 3) how will they advise us on reaching our goals. Doug Miller feels we need to take advantage of having the legislators with us, and we should be as organized as possible when they come. Grant Richards asked everyone to e-mail the department priorities to Michaela Brinkerhoff. ( brinkemi@uvsc.edu )

President Romesburg asked if any of the Faculty Senators resided in the district of John Valentine, Marlin Snow, or Jeff Alexander. The numbers were fewer than President expected. He wanted the legislators to hear concerns from the people who belonged in their district and who voted for them. President wants the next Faculty Senate meeting to be very well prepared and organized. He also expressed the need to be positive with them.

Kirk Rassmussen asked if the meeting on the 28^th will be considered a regular Senate meeting or if other people were welcome to attend. Romesburg agreed others should feel welcome to attend. Reporters from three newspapers will also be attending the meeting. He wants to find a volunteer from the senate to tell the legislators how much their paycheck changed from last year to this year. He believes the giving of actual numbers would be a great way for the legislators to see reality.

FACULTY SENATE BINDERS

Janet asked all new senators to contact the former senator from their area for the Faculty Senate binder. New binders can be obtained by contacting Janet Bennion or Michaela Brinkerhoff.

Ron Hammond announced Cameron John as the Faculty Senate representative for the PACE Christmas party, and Brian Eldridge as the Years of service representative. The AD HOC Committee will include Debbie Baird, Steve Fullmer, Ernie Carey, Kirk Rasmussen (who is consulting on ranking), and Ron Hammond take Technical College Constitution and update it. Changes will be made by next spring.

REGENTS REPORT

President Romesburg reported positively on the Regents Meeting. He said the meeting was the best in eleven years. The meeting allowed the regents to see things on a level they had never seen before, and now seem to understand the magnitude of the benefits problem. Higher education has had worst year in twenty years in terms of funding. This year most of the money was awarded to Social Services, Corrections, and Transportation. Utah Valley State College plans on fighting for equity in benefits, as well as an increase in salaries.

At the next Board of Regents requests for an Aviation and Criminal Justice degrees will be made. Dr. Stoddard commented UVSC has not had a degree turned down yet, and expects these two degrees will be accepted as well.

Grant Richards reported on the Faculty Senate meeting which took place after the Regents meeting. He said we can not be viewed as whining for salary increases. Luis Arzola believes we are talking about neglecting our future [if funding is not put in the proper places].

Grant questioned how we could impact our legislators the most when trying to get an increase in wages. Higher Education needs to be more involved politically, as well at the community. The community is unaware of the problems facing Higher Education institutions. Janet Bennion thinks it would have great impact to have parents of our students express concerns. It would present a much different angle to the legislators. President Romesburg believes the angle that would not seem so self serving. Grant asked everyone to continue thinking of ways and methods to present our needs in a positive way.

Grant Richards passed out a copy of a letter which was sent to all SLCC Faculty Association members. It is a model of what could be written to our legislators.

SERVICE PROJECT

Renee Van Buren informed the senate of negotiations with a donor to develop the land south of the soccer field. She asked the senate not to get involved at this point, but recommended we consider other options for our service project. She suggested implement a recycling plan, or an arboretum.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Budget, Keith Snedegar

Keith Snedegar is hopeful for an opportunity to meet with the Budget Committee within the next two weeks.

Curriculum, Chris Jones

The first Curriculum Committee meeting would be held this week. They will discuss the proposal of replacing the Weber English program with one of our own.

Faculty Merit, Doug Miller

Doug Miller said the old merit system has come to an end. We now do merit through individual school. Kirk Rasmussen asked how they would be paid for points that are left over. Points will be pro-rated and paid out of next years budget.

Personnel and Elections

Laurie Wood asked everyone to look over the most recent copy of the Senate Committee list to make sure everything is correct. It is to replace any other older copies the Senate may have received.

Grant Richards informed everyone of the effort to create a list of which faculty are serving on campus committees. This list will be available on the web soon.

INFORMATION ITEMS

Policies under consideration

Academic Standards; E-8.1

Dave Manning announced for the Academic Standards Policy be tabled until next time. He asked that any ideas or concerns about the procedure be sent to him.

Employment of Relatives (Nepotism); C-2.5

Nancy Bartlett explained the purpose in making the changes in the current nepotism policy. The changes will still follow Utah code, but will be much more flexible before. Lynn Turnquist confirmed problems arise when chairs need to be appointed; this policy change would be easier for everyone. Karin Davidson mentioned it would be wise to state what the actual policy is rather than what it is compliant with. (As it is now posted on the web) Chris Jones added it should be "written in English" so people can understand what the policy is saying.

Larry Holt made the motion to approve the nepotism policy, and it was seconded by Denza Bruss.

President Romesburg suggested having the UVSC attorney write up a brief summary of the policy and attaching it near the official policy on the web. Chris Jones moved to follow Presidents idea, and it was seconded by Dave Manning. The motion was accepted and the voting was unanimous.

Graphic Standards and Signage; D-8.1

Nancy explained where the policy originated, and mentioned how exceptions can be made to it if people go through the proper lines of approval. Chris Jones disliked not being able to include titles, degrees, office numbers, and web addresses on business cards. In addition, there are no restrictions of what can be published on the web. Grant Richards asked if this policy could be cleaned up. Larry Holt suggested the original committee be asked to revise and update this policy. Paul Bean motioned to table the issue until the appropriate changes are made. Eldon Greenhalgh seconded the motion.

Classroom Management; F-5.1

Nancy explained the change of printing three class rolls per semester rather than four. Kirk Rasmussen stated there was no need for printing rolls at all because they are available on the VAX. Ron Hammond said class rolls were obsolete by the time they reached the faculty. President Romesburg suggested the rolls insure student registration is done properly and possibly are printed for legal reasons. Bryan Eldridge said students should take responsibility for their registration somewhere down the line. Laurie Wood feels there is a need to know who has dropped class. Chris Jones added "we can't rely on computers!" Janet Bennion suggested we compromise and only print one roll each semester. KD Taylor asked for the roll to be printed on one page rather than sixteen! President reminded the senate of the large percentage of adjunct who are in need of these class rolls, and for the need to keep them in mind as we make policy changes. Adjunct do not have access to the VAX.

Renee Van Buren motioned to print rolls after the seventh week, as well as a final grade sheet. Laurie Wood seconded the motion. Karin Davidson and Paul Bean questioned what this would do for block classes etc.

President Romesburg motioned to table the issue and invite someone from records and registration to work on it. Eldon Greenhalgh seconded the motion.

Sabbatical Leave; C-3.6, VIII

In the past, sabbatical leave has been limited to education. The Vice President of Academic Affairs will have authority to approve these requests with the acceptance of the UVSC President and the Board of Regents.

Dr Stoddard felt it was time we brought our policy up to speed of what we have been practicing. Our newly written policy is less restrictive and more lenient than other colleges and universities. Kirk Rasmussen asked how it would be possible for a person to survive on 60% of their salary if they chose to take sabbatical leave. President insured everyone the UVSC policy was better than most institutions because it gave the possibility of up to 100% sabbatical leave salary.

Doug Miller questioned the chances of getting more than the 60% salary on a sabbatical leave. Dr. Stoddard said individual departments would be responsible to handle the additional increase. Some departments may really have a need for sending people out to do research etc, and others don't. It is difficult for certain departments to send people out with such a restrictive policy. Keith Snedegar moved for the senate to accept the policy as long as it is compliant with the proper wording change. Lynn Turnquist seconded the motion. Chris Jones asked if there was an exception to having the VP of Academics make the final decision on whether a person receives more than 60% salary. Kirk Rasmussen and Chris Jones were unsatisfied with the wording in the new policy.

Dr. Lucille Stoddard emphasized the increased flexibility with the changes of this policy. Chris Jones motioned to wait for further discussion on this issue. He is fearful faculty will never be able to reach the 100% sabbatical leave. Chris Jones motioned to table the issue and it was seconded by Kirk Rasmussen. The vote was unanimous.

Lynn Turnquist motioned to adjourn the meeting. John Balden seconded the motion.