Faculty Senate Meeting

Approved Minutes

November 17, 2003

Present: John Whitesitt, Wayne Schumacher, Cody Bustamante, Curt Whittaker, Sib Farrell, Dan Rubenson, Marny Rivera, Wilkins-O'Riley Zinn, Kemble Yates, A.S. Galvan, Kevin Talbert, Peter Wu, Jean Maxwell, Terry Longshore, Jon Harbaugh, John Richards, Lee Ayers, Mark Siders, Etsuko Fujimoto, Laura O’Bryon, Earl Potter.

Guests: Barbara Scott, Ken Kempner, Diane Brimmer, Carl Moody, Laura Jones, Sarah Ann Hones, Mara Affre, Greg Pleva, Parvaneh Scoggin, John Engelhardt, Sue Burkholder, Cynthia Beckwith, Christina Dunlap, Ron Bolstad, Elisabeth Zinser.

I.          Approved Minutes of November 3, 2003

            Motion by John Whitesitt, Second by John Richards with no changes.

II.         Announcements

A.     Sib Farrell announced the labyrinth walk scheduled on campus Thursday, November 20, 2003, 11 am-2 pm.  Development of a permanent site for a campus labyrinth outside of the Music Building is underway.

B.     Etsuko Fujimoto announced the speaker on campus that night discussing the US/Afghanistan connection and victim issues. Also, Gypsy Soul, a Celtic-Americana musical group, will be performing.

C.     Laura O'Bryon announced the re-opening of the Non-traditional and Commuter Student Center located in the basement of the SU and recommended that those who have not been there to visit might want to become aware of the services offered through that office to our student population.

D.     Wayne Schumacher announced the deadline of November 19, 2003 for Omicron Delta Kappa student nominations.

E.      Kemble Yates, the SOU representative of the Association of Oregon Faculty, reviewed items of discussion at the meeting held ten days earlier and other news: 1) PERS Litigation is underway and the AOF has designated 10% of its budget toward this litigation and has set up a fund for additional donations; 2) The Attorney for the PERS Coalition, Greg Hartman, is expecting resolution by the end of the year 2004; 3) the tax referendum will most likely be moved on to a statewide vote; 4) there will be no raises for faculty members, but there is consideration for a one-time $350 allocation and health benefits will remain for the coming year; 5) the OUS State Board was re-vamped by the Governor, replacing the Board members and putting Neil Goldschmidt on the Board; and 6) the OUS will be cutting the contribution rate for those under ORP options.

III.       Remarks from the Provost

1. Charitable Giving Campaign.  The campaign continues with an increase in those participating in the giving.
2. The Provost has asked the Deans for a broad evaluation of faculty scholarship and service that has recently occurred both inside and outside the University.

IV.       Advisory Council Report from the Faculty Senate Vice Chair: Jon Harbaugh

            A.  Areas discussed at the Advisory Council Meeting on October 27th included:

1.      Both the Curriculum Committee and CREAC made a presentation, and discussion was held over the concerns that the workload requirements for these committees might potentially be increased. The Council assured the committees that a dramatic increase in the workload was not anticipated.

2.      Discussion was held on the change of the Constitution language submitted by the HR Advisory Committee.

3.      A timeline plan will be developed regarding the collection of information from the campus departments to address scholarship and promotion, which is tied into the second and third goals identified by the Faculty Senate this year.  Any change will not reflect on this year's promotion process.

4.      The practice of a faculty recognition process upon promotion, such as an opportunity for the faculty member to present, was discussed.

B.     Lee Ayers announced that the IFS requested that a candidate's name be put forward from SOU to be considered to sit on the OUS Board, and Kemble Yates was selected.

V.        Remarks from the Student Senate Representative: Angela Galvan

A.  ASSOU is working on registering students to vote.

B.  The Student Senate will be evaluating the restructuring of the Senate and making revisions to their bylaws.

C.  The identification of student representatives for SOU Committee assignments is moving forward.

D.  The Student Senate is undergoing an investigation into providing convenient vending machines in appropriate location on campus.

E.  There is a discussion underway on the prevention and awareness of hate crimes on campus.

F.  A reference was made to some inaccuracies that have been in print in the Siskiyou newspaper about the ASSOU, and a request was put forward to address any questions about the ASSOU to the Student Senate leaders.

VI.       Action Items

A.     Carpenter Grant Awards:

1.       The two-week time rule to vote was moved to suspension by Kemble Yates and seconded by John Whitesitt. The vote to suspend was unanimous.

2.      Motion to approve grants made by Dan Rubenson, Second by Terry Longshore. Motion approved: For-20, Against-0, Abstention-0.

B.      The Human Resource Advisory Committee proposal:

1.      Discussion was held on the revised non-renewal language for Section 6, Administrative Faculty of the Faculty Bylaws (see attached).

2.      Motion to approve made by John Whitesitt, Second by Mark Siders. Motion approved: For-18, Against-0, Abstention-2.

VII.  Discussion with President Zinser

1. The President offered thanks to Ken Kempner for the service he has provided as Dean of the School of Social Sciences, Education, Health and Physical Education, and acknowledged his leadership.
2. The national search for the Vice-President for Institutional Advancement position is moving forward with a projected two- to three-month time frame. Internal, regional, and national candidates are welcome.
3. There is discussion currently underway to negotiate participation in the Frontier Conference for our football program. It is the only SOU sport not in a conference, as the Cascade Conference does not include football. The Frontier Conference is an NAIA conference, as is the Cascade Conference.
4. Should the temporary tax increase not succeed when it goes to a statewide vote on a referendum, SOU could lose an estimated $634,000. While the administration hopes that such a loss will not occur, it has discussed tentative possibilities for addressing a potential shortfall. Such a loss may be taken by a combination of the following: draw down the SOU Reserves by $100,000 (which would put the Reserves down as low as 2.6-3%), increase the assessment on auxiliaries and self-support budgets by an additional 1% for 2004-05, and increase tuition by $60 in each of four terms -- spring and fall of 2004, and winter and spring of 2005.
5. Governor Kulongosky asserted his intention to place higher education as a higher priority, appointed former Governor Neil Goldschmidt to the State Board of Higher Education, and accepted the resignations of most other lay members of the Board.
6. There is Board discussion on the development of a trust program that would take the interest the state gains on the tuition and fee dollars in the general fund and put it into a designated fund for scholarships to aid access to Oregon Higher education. If private institutions are willing to invest in this trust fund, they would be able to receive students granted such scholarships from the General Fund Trust (called “ASET”).
7. The Governor may attend the State Board meeting being held this week.
8. The President noted, "SOU is well positioned to become a national model of practical liberal learning and ways of teaching for contemporary careers in the global society."  SOU is linked in productive and creative ways to the national momentum in liberal education as defined in the Executive Overview publication Greater Expectations, A New Vision for Learning as a Nation Goes to College, published by the Association of American Colleges and Universities.  The President continued, "We have the potential to come out in the next five to seven years as an institution of distinction in practical liberal learning.” This development positions SOU well in regional service, national recognition, and international engagement. It is about a knowledge-based economy and a just global society.
9.  SOU might host the OUS Board in Ashland for its May meeting (May 19 and 20).
10. The President expressed appreciation for the performance and good spirit of the faculty, administration and staff under the current budgetary constraints.

VIII. Reports- No reports

IX.  Adjourned approximately 5:30 pm.                                               Minutes submitted by Laura O’Bryon