Minutes of the University Committee
for September 15, 1999

The Committee met at 8:40 in 262 CART. Members present were Walter Feldt, Laura Gellott, Fran Kavenik, James Kinchen, Carol Saffioti-Hughes, and Lee Van Dyke. Also present were Larry Duetsch and Jack Keating.

Chancellor Keating addressed the Committee about matters he would like to have considered in the near future. He expects to appoint the University Diversity Committee later this month and will give the work of that Committee high priority, calling for broad support for their efforts to implement our Plan 2008. He is asking all campus governance groups to carefully review Administrative Policy 54: Policies and Procedures Regarding Discrimination and Discriminatory Harrassment. He and his Cabinet will consider all suggestions for revision of that Policy before reaffirming it in some form later this year.

Chancellor Keating told the Committee that he will soon form and co-chair (with the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Services) a 12-member committee that will thoroughly examine the campus infrastructure supporting students, to ensure that we are doing everything we can to help students succeed. He said he would like one member of the University Committee and one member of the Committee on Academic Planning to serve on that committee.

The Chancellor said he would like to do more to recognize and celebrate outstanding work that people do. He asked the Committee to suggest ways in which he could publicly recognize exceptional continued work on behalf of the campus by emeritus faculty members or continuing exceptional performance by people holding the rank of professor. He suggested the possibility of creating special titles that could be awarded in exceptional cases. He indicated that, although the campus is now getting well-deserved recognition for contributions faculty/staff members make to the community, he would like to do more to celebrate this as well.

Don Cress joined the meeting.

Turning to the Committee's near-term agenda, Professor Gellott told the Chancellor that there was great interest in holding discussions with him and other members of his administration about creating a process through which a department could seek a faculty appointment for a teaching member of the academic staff. She also indicated that members of the Committee were very interested in working to ensure that faculty merit evaluations and decisions regarding promotion/tenure are consistent with the recently revised criteria for personnel decisions. Finally, she told the Chancellor that the Committee has been developing a questionnaire for the purpose of surveying faculty perceptions of four administrative offices - those of the Chancellor, the Provost, and the Deans. The Chancellor said that he welcomed such a survey if the data gathered was qualitative in nature, but added that he did not find quantitative measures to be useful in this regard.

Professor Kavenik told the Chancellor that she was concerned about the planned conversion of MOLN 111 for another use, pointing out that it would be difficult to find a similarly equipped "friendly" space that would be readily accessible to people who are not familiar with the campus.

Professor Kinchen asked the Chancellor about his timetable for reconsideration of the policy authorizing University police officers to carry guns and was told that the matter was under review.

Because of another commitment, Chancellor Keating left the meeting.

Dean Cress asked the Committee for advice/counsel on a number of matters. First, he asked what process should be followed for the promotion of a Senior Lecturer to Distinguished Lecturer. It was suggested that the process should be the same as that followed in the case of a promotion from Lecturer to Senior Lecturer. Second, he asked how he should go about seeking College-wide input in evaluating and ranking sabbatical proposals. Members of the Committee suggested that he form a review panel composed of selected department chairs. Third, he asked whether a proposed special course fee policy would require faculty governance review/approval and was told that the policy proposal should simply be forwarded for comment prior to undergoing administrative review/approval. Once approved, it is important that the policy be communicated clearly to all faculty and teaching academic staff. Fourth, he noted recent criticism of the current system of faculty sick leave reporting and asked that the Committee be alert for new proposals that would limit current perogatives. Finally, he urged the Committee to consider the development of norms or guidelines regarding the correspondence between a faculty member's overall performance and her/his teaching load, asking for guidance in justifying departures from the nominal 21-hour teaching load. Members of the Committee felt that extraordinary workload assignments were seldom required, but agreed to take the matter under advisement.

Dean Cress left the meeting.

The Committee identified appointees to fill vacancies on the Academic Actions Committee, the Admissions, Records, and Student Information Committee, and the Human Subjects Committee.

The Committee briefly discussed the agenda for the October 5 meeting of the Faculty Senate before adjourning at 10:50.