FACULTY SENATE MEETING
Minutes
University Center, Concho Room
November 14, 2001
Attendance:
Rasheed, A., Nussbaum, C., Kribs-Zaleta, C.,
Depken, C., Formanowicz, D., Tuckness, D., Silva, D., Maher, D., Reinhartz, D.,
Cantwell, D., Estes, E., Gintole, G., Liu, H., Amster, H., Priest, J., Porter, L., Rouse, L., Fincher,
L., Rosado, L., Eakin, M., Spindler, M.,
Clements, P., Shoults, R., Burke, S. (Student Congress), Hunter, S.,
Maizlish, S. (Secretary), Kleiser, S., Wilding, T., Ingram, T., Sol, A., Schelly, Z., President R.
Witt, Provost G. Wright, Vice President
D. Dunn, Assistant Vice President M. Moore, M.L.Hodge, and Chair T.
Chrzanowski.
Call to Order:
2:35 p.m. Senate Chair Thomas Chrzanowski called
the Senate to order.
Approval of Minutes:
The minutes of the October 10, 2001 meeting were
approved unanimously.
Remarks by the Chair:
The Chair reported that he has been very busy
handling Senate business, but that things are running smoothly. He will attend a Faculty Advisory Committee
meeting in Austin the week of December 1, and will report on their activities
at the next Senate meeting.
Remarks by the President:
President Witt reported that the Board of
Regents has just approved PUF funds totaling $13 million. Tuition Revenue Bond funding in the amount
of $16.6 million is pending. These
funds will be used to construct a new science building and fine arts
annex. A proposed new physical plant
facility will have to be deferred.
Additional funding of several million dollars will be required for the
construction and renovation of the science and fine arts buildings, which the
university will finance. In response to
a question from Sen. Porter, President Witt advised that the new fine arts
annex will contain no new theatre space, but instead will house studio space
for painting, sculpting, glass, papermaking, and other activities of this
nature. In response to a question by
Sen. Rasheed, President Witt confirmed that construction of the new Continuing
Education building is scheduled to begin in March, 2002. Funds will be provided by UT System through
bonds.
Remarks by the Provost:
Provost Wright made no formal remarks, but
responded to an inquiry from Sen. Amster regarding new graduate admission
standards required by HB 1641. The Provost
was aware of the new requirements and stated that the university will comply
with them. Vice President Dunn chairs
the Graduate School Task Force charged with addressing these issues, and
reported that they are working with all units to develop alternative admissions
criteria in a timely manner. A draft
plan will be completed in the very near future.
Committee Reports:
The
Council of Faculty Senates report was made by Sen. Amster, who
expressed concern because all other Faculty Senates have two representatives. Currently UTA's representative is Sen.
Porter, and Sen. Amster serves as an alternate. It was suggested that a resolution electing one representative
for a three year term and calling for a total of two representatives be
considered. Dr. Amster provided a
handout summarizing the October 26-27 Council of Faculty Senates agenda
items. The student visa issue has not
been a problem on our campus. Issues
evolving from HB 1641 are already being addressed, as described by Dr. Dunn
previously. Sen. Amster shared data
from the recent Post-Tenure Review Survey, and suggested the following
improvements to UTA's Post-Tenure Review process: A deadline should be established so that candidates will be
advised by a certain date if they did or did not pass. Additional financial resources are needed to
provide salary increases for faculty receiving satisfactory reviews. Peer input
is a critical part of the process. In
response to a question from Sen. Liu, Sen. Amster advised that reviews take
place every six years.
Equity
had no report.
Academic
Freedom and Tenure has taken a unanimous vote to resubmit
the proposed revisions of Periodic Review of Tenured Faculty to the Office of
General Counsel to have the missing paragraph restored, as reported by Sen.
Priest.
Operating
Procedures had no report.
Research
& Development had no report.
Budget
Liaison had no report.
Academic
Liaison had no report.
Members were asked to meet immediately following the Senate
adjournment.
Student
Services Liaison has been charged to work with Academic
Liaison, and members were asked to remain after the Senate adjournment for a
joint meeting.
Ethics
had no report.
Special
Projects had no report.
Old Business:
The Chair reported that the Periodic Reviews of
Academic Administrators are continuing. The review of Provost Wright is on
schedule, and the interviews are nearing completion. Problems with the on-line survey have been resolved, and it
should be accessible by late November. The final report is scheduled for
completion by the end of January.
Sen. Wilding reported that the review of Vice
President Williams is moving into the interview stage.
New Business:
The Chair reported on a recent meeting of the
President's Advisory Council with State Representative Kent Grusendorf, which
was an informal discussion of campus issues and interests. This seemed to be a fact-finding mission and
Rep. Grusendorf indicated he would return.
A Senate Representative is needed to serve on
the University Campus Recreational Advisory Committee. Sen. Spindler volunteered, and was asked to
meet with the Chair after adjournment.
The Faculty Development Leave Committee has been
restructured and needs representation from the Senate. A lengthy discussion was held regarding the
eligibility of faculty to serve on the committee if they are submitting
proposals for consideration. Sen. Sol
and Sen. Liu were asked to serve, but plan to submit proposals, so they were
eliminated from consideration. The
Chair polled the Senate to determine other faculty planning Faculty Development
Leave submissions. Sen. Kribs-Zaleta
and Sen. Gintole plan to submit proposals for 2002. The Chair will review the Senate membership list and contact
prospective representatives by e-mail.
Asst. Vice President Moore encouraged all faculty to apply for the
development leaves, as there is currently a 50/50 chance of receiving
funding. The deadline has been moved up
so that recipients can be recognized at
the spring faculty meeting. Proposals
are due to departments by January 7, 2002.
A target of 20 Faculty
Development Leaves for the 2003-2004 academic year has been established.
Assignments were made by the Chair as follows:
Sen. Porter was asked to add disruptive student
conduct to the Faculty Guide.
Sen. Fincher was asked to pick up professor
emeritus information from the Chair after adjournment.
Sen. Priest was advised that the Academic
Receivership Policy has been received for review.
All committee chairs were asked to see the Chair
upon adjournment.
Sen. Cantwell announced that he will retire on
January 15, 2002. He recounted some
highlights of Faculty Senate history, and discussed his plans for
retirement. The Chair and President
Witt expressed their best wishes to Sen. Cantwell.
The meeting was adjourned at 3:10 p.m.