FACULTY SENATE MEETING
Minutes
University Center, Concho Room
March 14, 2001
Attendance: Amster, H., Ardekani, S., Cantwell, D., Clark, J., del Carmen, A.,
Eakin, M., Hunter, S., Gintole, G., Jones, M.E., Kellner, H. (Secretary),
Kribs-Zaleta, C., Koyman, A., Maizlish, S., Maxwell, P., Millican, M., Morrow,
E., Nestell, M., North, K., Nussbaum, C., Patrick, D., Porter, L., Rasheed, A.,
Reinhartz, D., Reinhartz, J., Rycraft, J., Schelly, Z., Shoults, R., Silva, D.,
, Sol, T., Weed, F., Wilding, T., President R. Witt, Provost G. Wright, Vice
President D. Dunn, Assistant Vice President M. Moore, Sharon Smith (Student
Congress) and Chair T. Chrzanowski.
Call
to Order:
2:36 p.m.
Senate Chair Thomas Chrzanowski called the Senate to order.
Approval
of Minutes:
The Senate
approved the minutes of the February meeting with the following correction:
instead of "Kay Kettles in Boston" will be substituted "Kate
Kettles in Austin."
Remarks
by Guest of the Faculty Senate:
The first
guest of the Senate was Dan Stewart, Director of Employee Group Insurance, UT
System. He was introduced by Dan
Williams, Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration.
Mr. Stewart
noted that the problems with rising health budgets are not unique to us; it is
a nationwide problem. In the previous
fiscal year, the health insurance system ran a 20 million dollar deficit; this
year there will be a 23-24 million dollar loss. For the biennium, this creates a total loss of 43-44 million
dollars. The books must be
balanced. After exhausting a 29 million
dollar reserve, a 13 million dollar deficit is left to carry over into the next
biennium.
System has
asked the Legislature for 300 million dollars, an increase of 123 million. But others – such as Medicaid and Employee
Retirement System -- are ahead of us in line.
Preliminary indications are that the Legislature will approve 282
million. This is 18 million short of
the request. Added to the 13 million
dollar deficit, the total that must be carried over is 31 million dollars.
(see end of
document, Table One, attached as a .PDF file)
In terms of
cost, the U. T. system health plan is the best higher education health plan in
the state. We have a relatively good
deal, brought about by smart negotiation and good risk. Mr. Stewart does not favor combining the U.
T. system health plan with other groups because we would lose our risk
advantage and pay more.
Why have the
costs gone up? The Pharmacy Plan has
been a major problem. Mr. Stewart
described changes that had brought the Pharmacy Plan "somewhat under
control now." No further changes
are planned. There will be more teeth
in future contracts, including penalties for poor performance. Hospital costs have increased 67 percent;
physician costs, 10-12 percent. Mr.
Stewart also disappointment with CIGNA.
His office has put out an RFP to the market for new PPO partner. He's looking for companies that can deal
directly with individual campuses, not just with the system.
As of
September next year we will be offered Long Term Care coverage which can cover
family members, including parents and grandparents. This coverage will be better than that of the A&M
system. It is "a major coup."
There are 29
employees in the Group Insurance office, making it stronger than before. The toll-free telephone number may be obtained
from the Benefits Office.
There will
be changes next year. UT Select
coverage is too complex -- it will be simplified. TUHP, the HMO system in which UT is fully at risk with no outside
carrier, will be gone. An RFP is out
for good HMO, so that we will continue to have a choice between a PPO and an
HMO. But we must "balance the
checkbook."
(see end of
document, Table Two, attached as a .PDF file)
Senator
PATRICK asked how long the long-term rates stay in effect. Mr. Stewart replied that they are locked in
at the age the principal beneficiary enters. Rates for other family members may change.
Sen. JONES
asked without TUHP would we have access to the Medical Centers? Mr. Stewart replied that while he hopes they
can keep all providers, there is no guarantee that better providers will not
appear. RFPs test the market. Providers must remain competitive.
Sen. Eakins
asked whether any other systems have lower costs. Mr. Stewart replied no.
He has no information on private universities.
Sen. Porter
noted that the Long Term Care schedules for spouse and family members are
different from the main rates. Mr.
Stewart confirmed this.
Sen. D. Reinhartz said he was glad there would be
teeth in the contracts. He offered an
anecdote about improper treatment. Mr.
Stewart agreed this is not acceptable.
Sen. Del
Carmen asked Mr. Stewart to guess at the amounts of premium increases. Mr. Stewart replied that while the
Legislature is in session, anything can happen, his best guess would be:
·
Those who
use the HMOs face a 15-20 percent increase next year
·
Those who
use UT Select (with its 31 million dollar "baggage" described
above" and a 15 percent up trend in costs) face in increase of 30-35 more
dollars per month for employee and spouse, or fifty dollars more per month for
employee and family. Employees without
insured family members face no increase.
Mr. Stewart
pointed out that we might not know the correct numbers until summer. His office will make the information known
as soon as possible.
Sen.
Cantwell told a personal anecdote about denial of service because of age, and
stressed the issues of retirees and those with higher risks. Mr. Stewart expressed concern for the needs
of older employees.
Sen. Amster
asked whether there is a health ombudsman?
Mr. Stewart said no, but repeated that our Benefits Office has the
toll-free number to contact Laura Chambers.
Sen. Weed
asked about out of area coverage. Mr.
Stewart noted that UT Select has provisions for this.
Sen. J. Reinhartz asked where prescriptions can be
filled, noting that Walgreens is excluded.
Mr. Stewart said that all other pharmacies are included, but that
Walgreens would not agree to the systems conditions.
The chair
thanked Mr. Stewart for visiting the UTA Faculty Senate.
************************************
The second
guest was Mark Lanier, Director of Physical Plant. Mr. Lanier has held his position for eight months during which
time there has been a reorganization emphasizing customer service.
He presented
two telephone numbers: 3581 is the number to call if anything is broken. 690-3457 is his own number, which may be
called it there is no satisfaction to an earlier request.
Mr. Lanier's
repeated message regarding problems with buildings and lighting was CALL IT IN.
Sen. Morrow
asked about turnaround time, particularly in campus lighting. Mr. Lanier said his office was spending $60,000 dollars more in support for the 2400
exterior lights on campus. He also
noted that some problems had existed for so long that people had stopped
calling them in -- a ten-year leak, for example.
Sen. Rasheed
expressed appreciation for quick responses.
Sen. J. Reinhartz asked whether Physical Plant can
get into rooms with alarms. Mr. Lanier
replied that it depends.
Student
Congress President Smith noted that parking lots have been closed because of
darkness when their lights were out.
Mr. Lanier replied that we are contracting in order to better light the
parking lots. There is a complete walk
through twice a year, and he personally observes the campus by bicycle.
Sen. Amster
asked whether physical plant monitors work done by outside contractors, noting
cracked parking lots and falling bricks.
Mr. Lanier replied that he does not have the manpower to observe all
problems. They rely on us. The campus has had bad paving, and there is
an RFP for an engineering firm to improve the situation.
CALL IT IN.
Mr. Lanier
can be reached by e-mail: mlanier@uta.edu.
The chair
thanked Mr. Lanier for visiting the UTA Faculty Senate.
Remarks
by the Faculty Senate Chair:
The chair
noted the need for a transcriber of the Faculty Senate meetings. The post is paid, and the need is
great. He commented that on-line voting
is generally working well, although there have been isolated problems. He reviewed the events at the last meeting
of the UT System Faculty Advisory Council in Austin. Sen. Kellner noted that the minutes of UTFAC are posted on the
Web, and encouraged interested senators to consult them.
URL for the
UT System Faculty Advisory Council:
http://www.utsystem.edu/utfac/
The chair
noted that Fred Fair, from Sam Houston State, had spoken to UTFAC about the
Post Tenure Review survey he had produced.
Sen. Gintole
asked if there is a form for PTR follow-up.
The chair said no, but there must be a response from a number of
administrators.
Sen. North inquired
about the PTR survey. The chair said
that it was designed for the state college system, but was given to other
campuses.
Remarks
by President Witt:
President
Witt answered the proposal in this morning’s Star Telegram that a number of
universities in North Texas, including UTA, should be united under the UNT
system with a counter proposal to merge the universities with the flagship
centered at Arlington. He addressed
financial questions and flagship issues.
He noted that Sen. Chris Harris has proposed another excellence fund to
replace the Capital Excellence and Equity monies. He has no word on the status of indirect cost recovery policy.
Remarks
by Provost Wright:
Post Tenure
Review this year saw 60 eligible faculty.
Four retired, three left the University, one is on leave, three disputed
their PTR status successfully. 49 came
up for review. The provost will report
on the results at a later date.
The
administration is surveying other system schools to learn which ones do not use
Social Security numbers for identification -- the medical center at Galveston
is one. It is looking for a replacement
for the Social Security number.
Since
January there been problems with the campus Internet service. Some problems come from outside because our
services are currently routed through UTD, but some problems are
campus-based. The following steps of
been taken to improve the situation.
The Alliance for Hire Education checks us regularly. In April we will have a direct connection to
the Internet. The staff at Information
Technology, including Chauncey Jackson, are all on call around the clock.
Questions
for the Provost:
Sen. Del
Carmen asked whether there it is a campus wide shield against viruses. The provost answered that Chauncey Jackson
will respond. The Chair noted that
Norton Anti-Virus is available from the UTA WebSite.
Sen.
Cantwell asked who must respond to the faculty member regarding PTR. The Chair replied that too many people are
supposed to respond, and that this policy is in need of revision.
Texas
Council of Faculty Senates Report:
Sen. Porter
reported on TCOFS. She noted that other
faculty senates have space and staff devoted to their use. Most schools in the state do not use Social
Security numbers for identification. On
matters of Family Leave, we're doing well.
On matters of Faculty Development Leaves, we're doing poorly.
On the
matter of withdrawals from class, Sen. Porter suggested that UTA is too
easy. Across the state, the better the
school, a harder it is to drop of course.
The chair noted that the problems of highly selective schools, where
students may enroll for many courses in hopes of getting some that they need,
are different from hours. This is a
complex issue.
Committee
Reports:
Sen.
Maizlish reported that The Equity Committee had discussed the question of
assessment. Since there were no
concrete proposals, they found it premature to respond. He noted that there would be enormous
problems on our campus, including student resistance, to any testing.
Sen. Silva
reported that the Operating Procedures Committee had received no responses to
their proposal, presented at the last Senate meeting, for solving the problems
of succession to faculty Senate offices.
The proposal, as presented, was put to vote, and PASSED (see end of
document and Figure One attached as a .PDF file).
Sen. Nestell
reported that the Special Projects Committee had approved seven professors for
emeritus status.
Old
Business:
There was no
Old Business
New
Business:
A model
document on policy regarding Academic Receivership, drafted by the Governance
Committee of UTFAC, was sent to the committee on Operating Procedures.
A Nominating
Committee for next year was appointed to name candidates for the offices of
Secretary, Parliamentarian, Chair-Elect, and representative to TCOFS. Sen. Del Carmen will chair; Sen. Porter and
Sen. Rycraft are members.
Announcements:
The Liberal
Arts Constituency Council will hold a silent auction on 17 April at 7 p.m. in
the Carlisle Suite. Those who wish to
contribute items should contact Theresa Behrend at 2566.
Sen.
Cantwell complained that there was no motion on the issue of Social Security
numbers. The Chair responded that the
Senate has expressed its opinion, and that the administration is moving
forward.
Adjournment:
At 4:30 p.m.
the Senate was adjourned.
Attachments
as PDF files:
Revisions
to the By-Laws:
Suggested
Revisions to the
Faculty
Senate Bylaws - revised February 2, 2000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
I. NATURE AND PURPOSE
…
II. FUNCTIONS
…
III. MEMBERSHIP
…
E. Upon election to the position of Chair-Elect of the Faculty
Senate, a senator becomes an ex-officio member of the Senate with a four-year
non-voting term of office consisting of one year as Vice-Chair (Chair-Elect),
two years as Chair, and one year as Vice Chair (Past Chair). The
departments that the Chair and Chair-Elect/Vice Chair represent shall elect
other senators to represent them as voting members.
…
IV. SENATE OFFICERS.
A. The Faculty Senate Officers shall be:
Chair
Vice Chair (as
either Chair-Elect or Past Chair)
Chair-Elect
Secretary
Parliamentarian
Texas Council of Faculty Senates
Representative
Note: As an elected officer of the Faculty Senate, the Texas
Council of Faculty Senates (TCFS) Representative will have the following
responsibilities:
Attend TCFS Texas Council of Faculty Senates
meetings
Serve on the Faculty Senate Presidential Advisory Committee
Give a verbal report of TCFS Texas Council of Faculty
Senates meetings at Faculty Senate Meetings
Provide a written report of TCFS Texas Council of
Faculty Senates meetings to the Faculty Senate Chair.
B. Election of Officers
Nominations
A nominating committee shall be appointed by the Chair at the
second regularly scheduled meeting of the Senate in the Spring Semester. The
committee shall consist of one senator from each undergraduate college and one
senator representing the School of Social Work, the School of Urban and Public
Affairs, the School of Architecture, the School of Nursing, and the School of
Education. The committee will select its own chair and prepare a slate of
nominees for Secretary, Parliamentarian, TCFS Representative, and, in the
first year of the current Chair’s term, a Chair-Elect. The slate will be
presented to the Senate at the next regularly scheduled meeting. Those senators
whose terms expire before the first Senate meeting the following Fall are
ineligible to take office as Secretary, Parliamentarian, or TCFS Texas
Council of Faculty Senates Representative unless they have been legally
elected by their department or unit for the next year. Eligibility to
serve as Chair-Elect of the Faculty Senate shall require either current
membership on the Faculty Senate or past membership.
Election
The election of officers shall be held at the third regularly
scheduled meeting of the Spring semester. The chair of the Nominating Committee
shall preside over the election. Nominations may be taken from the floor and
added to the ballot. Each office will be voted on separately, beginning with
that of Chair-Elect. Election shall be by secret ballot if there is more
than one candidate.
Sequencing of Election of Chair-Elect, Chair, and Vice Chair
In the first year of the current Chair's term, the
position of Vice Chair will be filled by the immediate past Chair. At the end
of the first year of the Chair's term, a Chair-Elect will be chosen. The
Chair-Elect will serve the Faculty Senate for four years:
Year 1: Vice-Chair (as Chair-Elect)
Years 2 & 3: Chair
Year 4: Vice-Chair (as Past Chair)
as Vice Chair for one year, then The Chair-Elect will
assume the office of Chair at the end of the final regularly scheduled meeting
of the Spring semester in which he/she was elected. A quorum of the
Faculty Senate must be present and a simple majority of the voters will be
sufficient to elect each officer.
C. The newly elected officers shall succeed the present officers
at the conclusion of the final regularly scheduled meeting of the Spring
semester in which they were elected.
D. The officers of the Senate shall be eligible for service on
the statutory and standing committees of the Senate.
E. If the Chair is not able to serve the second year of the term
of office, the Chair-Elect shall assume the office of Chair. A special election
will be held for a Vice Chair.
E. If the Chair can not complete his/her first year of office,
then the Vice-Chair (who is Past Chair) assumes the position of Interim Chair
for the remainder of the year. As soon as possible, a special election is held
for a new Chair-Elect, who immediately assumes the role of Vice-Chair. At the
end of the academic year, the Chair-Elect assumes the position of Chair and the
Interim Chair (Past Chair) assumes the role of Vice-Chair for the following
academic year. At the end of the new Chair’s first year of office, elections for
a new Chair-Elect are held (in accordance with §IV.B).
{NOTE:
Should a Chair vacate his/her term during the first year of office, the “Past
Chair” would actually wind up serving for 5 years in Senate leadership; The
alternative would be to have the new Chair-Elect serve only 1 year as Chair.
Doing so provides the sort of continuity that we believe was desired by the
original framers of this complex system.}
If the Chair vacates the position during the months between
his/her first and second years of office, then the Vice-Chair (who is
Chair-Elect) assumes the position of Chair for a two-year period, followed by a
one-year term as Vice-Chair (as Past Chair).
The role of Vice-Chair is offered to the most recent Past Chair of the
Senate, who serves as Vice-Chair for one year; should the most recent Past
Chair decline to serve an additional year of service, a special Election is
held to select an Interim Vice-Chair, who serves for one year. In either case,
election for a new Chair-Elect is held at the end of the academic year (in
accordance with §IV.B).
If the Chair vacates the position during his/her second year of
service, then the Vice-Chair (who is Chair-Elect) assumes the position of
Interim Chair, completes the departing Chair’s term of office, and subsequently
begins his/her own two-year term as Chair. A special Election is held for an
Interim Vice-Chair, who serves until the end of the departing Chair’s term of
office plus one (1) additional year.
{NOTE:
The term “Interim Chair” has been added to the text so as to distinguish
between an individual’s service in place of another (as “interim”) vs. his/her “own” duly elected term of office.}
F. If an officer changes departments during a term of office,
the former department can elect a new representative, and the officer can
finish serving the elected term.