Faculty Senate Meeting
Attendance
The Faculty Senate met on Thursday, September 15, 2011 at 3:40 pm in the Reynolds 207. Senators in attendance were Stacy Clanton, Jan Duke, Abdel Bachri, Pierre Boumtje, Denise Moseley, Karen Ferneding, Pat Clanton, Vikram Bhadauria, Dan May, Shannin Schroeder, Tim Schroeder, Hong Cheng, Tim Daniels, Scott White, Bernadette Fincher, Mary Armwood, Jennifer Logan.
The following senators were absent with proxies: Tim Wise served for Sam Riner.
Ex-officio: Dr. David Crouse
Visitors included: Aaron Street, Shelley Keith, Amber Sharp, Dr. Jamie Brandon
Call to Order: Pres. S. Clanton calls the meeting to order at 3:44 p.m. Proxies read.
Approval of Minutes
Motion to approve the minutes by Duke, Moseley seconds. Motion passed.
Special Orders of the Day
Proxies: Pres. S. Clanton suggested that senators try to keep proxies to a minimum but that when needed, senators should ask someone to serve as a proxy that is (1) eligible, but (2) has not served on the Faculty Senate in an effort to encourage greater participation across campus.
Dealing with the Vice Presidency of Senate: Due to unexpected events, Sam Riner, the elected Vice President of the Faculty Senate, has requested a leave of absence for the Fall semester. Tim Wise has volunteered to serve as a proxy both as a Senator and as Vice President. Bernadette Fincher has also volunteered to serve as Vice President. The Senate discussed how to address this situation. Discussion ensued in regards to a lack of precedence in the matter. Senator Schroeder agreed to look into the matter as Senate Parliamentarian. This issue was tabled until the October meeting.
Broad Representation on Officers Group: Pres. S. Clanton invited volunteers from the College of Science and Technology and the College of Education to serve on the Executive Council of the Faculty Senate along with current officers from the College of Liberal and Performing Arts as well as the College of Business. The Executive Council is now comprised of the following Senators: S. Clanton, S. Riner, S. Schroeder, J. Logan, P. Clanton, and S. White.
Establishing Membership of Senate Committees-Handbook, Budget, and Parking: Senators self-selected onto the 3 committees by college. Pres. S. Clanton then formally appointed these Senators to the respective committees as volunteered. The committee members for each are listed below. Handbook Committee: J. Logan, P. Clanton, Abdel Bachri, S. Schroeder. Budget Committee: T. Wise, D. Moseley, T. Schroeder, D. May. Parking Appeals Committee: V. Bhadauria, K. Ferneding, J. Duke, M. Armwood.
Liaisons to Standing Committees: Faculty Senate liaisons to Standing Committees of the University were determined by the Executive Council prior to the meeting and the list was distributed to the members.
Issues Brought before the Senate by Constituents:
#1) “Has the web site coordinator done any comparisons with our sister institutions regarding the number of staff members assigned to update and monitor the web page? What was the date of the last significant web page overhaul? What assistance would the web site coordinator need were we to redesign the web page to reach the ever-expanding technologically-savvy audience it should?”
Shelley Keith gave the following responses (briefly summarized here): Many other sister institutions have teams of 2-4 whereas here Shelley is the primary web site coordinator with the help of two graduate assistants. The last major website overhaul occurred in 2009. The graduate assistants are currently helping to create tutorial videos for departmental training in order to address incoming support requests. The Communication Center is striving to improve current features, functionality, and efficiency within the current system in order to facilitate optimal resource allocation. Faculty members are strongly encouraged to review website content in their respective area and provide feedback to assist in continual improvement. Departments can also assign a “web captain” to receive website management training for their respective areas. There is also a new system in place now that is more flexible than before which will allow for redesigning departmental publications such as brochures used for student recruitment to help move us away from a “one size fits all” design process.
#2) “Is Dr. Rankin classified as a state employee? Are deans? In the spring, the faculty learned from Dr. Rankin that the Arkansas legislature would not allow the University to give state employees raises. Does the fact that Dr. Rankin and the two returning deans received raises this year indicate that the state has lifted its restrictions on state employees receiving raises? If so, has the University made arrangements for a retroactive raise for the faculty, as was the case last year?”
Questions were raised by members of the Senate in regards to the difference between merit raises and salary adjustments. T. Schroeder requested a list of recent salary adjustments from the VPAA office.
This issue was tabled until the October meeting since Dr. Rankin and Mr. Giles were in Little Rock and thus were unable to address the posted questions at the meeting.
#3) “In light of the fact that the search process for a new VP of Finance began so quickly, when may the faculty expect a search for a non-interim VPAA to begin?”
This issue was tabled until the October meeting since Dr. Rankin and Mr. Giles were in Little Rock and thus were unable to address the posted questions at the meeting.
Old Business:
Implementation of the Revised Academic Integrity Policy: Pres. S. Clanton reported that a referral to the Academic Integrity Workshop is listed in the Faculty Handbook under “Automatic Penalties” for a student’s first infraction. For this reason, Pres. S. Clanton then requested that the Academic Integrity Council investigate the use of this workshop in academic misconduct cases and report back to the Faculty Senate if this process meets our needs.
Motion to follow through with these suggestions was made by S. Schroeder, T. Schroeder seconds. Motion passed.
Academic Calendar Recommendations: T. Schroeder reported that last year’s ad hoc committee, created to review the Academic Calendar, made the following recommendations in Spring 2011- If the Monday class day needs to be included, corresponding test days should still be set to coincide with the regularly scheduled class day. For example MWF classes should still take their final on a Wednesday or a Friday. This helps to ensure there is adequate time between the last class day and the final exam as well as to avoid problems for students when arranging schedules (i.e. work, childcare, etc…). The committee feels that these recommendations were not followed and fear that the same problems will arise once again. T. Daniels made a motion requesting that the VPAA office investigate to see if changes can be made to reflect the committee’s recommendation if possible. M. Armwood seconds. Motion passed.
Committee Reports
There were no committee reports given.
New Business:
Next meeting will take place on Thursday, October 20, 2011 in Reynolds 210.
Adjournment:
The motion to adjourn was made by S. White and seconded by J. Duke.
Submitted by Jennifer Logan, Faculty Senate Secretary, September 16, 2011.
Normal
0
false
false
false
EN-US
X-NONE
X-NONE
Faculty Senate Meeting
September 15, 2011
Attendance
The Faculty Senate met on Thursday, September 15, 2011 at 3:40 pm in the Reynolds 207. Senators in attendance were Stacy Clanton, Jan Duke, Abdel Bachri, Pierre Boumtje, Denise Moseley, Karen Ferneding, Pat Clanton, Vikram Bhadauria, Dan May, Shannin Schroeder, Tim Schroeder, Hong Cheng, Tim Daniels, Scott White, Bernadette Fincher, Mary Armwood, Jennifer Logan.
The following senators were absent with proxies: Tim Wise served for Sam Riner.
Ex-officio: Dr. David Crouse
Visitors included: Aaron Street, Shelley Keith, Amber Sharp, Dr. Jamie Brandon
Call to Order:Pres. S. Clanton calls the meeting to order at 3:44 p.m. Proxies read.
Approval of Minutes
Motion to approve the minutes by Duke, Moseley seconds. Motion passed.
Special Orders of the Day
Proxies: Pres. S. Clanton suggested that senators try to keep proxies to a minimum but that when needed, senators should ask someone to serve as a proxy that is (1) eligible, but (2) has not served on the Faculty Senate in an effort to encourage greater participation across campus.
Dealing with the Vice Presidency of Senate: Due to unexpected events, Sam Riner, the elected Vice President of the Faculty Senate, has requested a leave of absence for the Fall semester. Tim Wise has volunteered to serve as a proxy both as a Senator and as Vice President. Bernadette Fincher has also volunteered to serve as Vice President. The Senate discussed how to address this situation. Discussion ensued in regards to a lack of precedence in the matter. Senator Schroeder agreed to look into the matter as Senate Parliamentarian. This issue was tabled until the October meeting.
Broad Representation on Officers Group: Pres. S. Clanton invited volunteers from the College of Science and Technology and the College of Education to serve on the Executive Council of the Faculty Senate along with current officers from the College of Liberal and Performing Arts as well as the College of Business. The Executive Council is now comprised of the following Senators: S. Clanton, S. Riner, S. Schroeder, J. Logan, P. Clanton, and S. White.
Establishing Membership of Senate Committees-Handbook, Budget, and Parking: Senators self-selected onto the 3 committees by college. Pres. S. Clanton then formally appointed these Senators to the respective committees as volunteered. The committee members for each are listed below. Handbook Committee: J. Logan, P. Clanton, Abdel Bachri, S. Schroeder. Budget Committee: T. Wise, D. Moseley, T. Schroeder, D. May. Parking Appeals Committee: V. Bhadauria, K. Ferneding, J. Duke, M. Armwood.
Liaisons to Standing Committees: Faculty Senate liaisons to Standing Committees of the University were determined by the Executive Council prior to the meeting and the list was distributed to the members.
Issues Brought before the Senate by Constituents:
#1) “Has the web site coordinator done any comparisons with our sister institutions regarding the number of staff members assigned to update and monitor the web page? What was the date of the last significant web page overhaul? What assistance would the web site coordinator need were we to redesign the web page to reach the ever-expanding technologically-savvy audience it should?”
Shelley Keith gave the following responses (briefly summarized here): Many other sister institutions have teams of 2-4 whereas here Shelley is the primary web site coordinator with the help of two graduate assistants. The last major website overhaul occurred in 2009. The graduate assistants are currently helping to create tutorial videos for departmental training in order to address incoming support requests. The Communication Center is striving to improve current features, functionality, and efficiency within the current system in order to facilitate optimal resource allocation. Faculty members are strongly encouraged to review website content in their respective area and provide feedback to assist in continual improvement. Departments can also assign a “web captain” to receive website management training for their respective areas. There is also a new system in place now that is more flexible than before which will allow for redesigning departmental publications such as brochures used for student recruitment to help move us away from a “one size fits all” design process.
#2) “Is Dr. Rankin classified as a state employee? Are deans? In the spring, the faculty learned from Dr. Rankin that the Arkansas legislature would not allow the University to give state employees raises. Does the fact that Dr. Rankin and the two returning deans received raises this year indicate that the state has lifted its restrictions on state employees receiving raises? If so, has the University made arrangements for a retroactive raise for the faculty, as was the case last year?”
Questions were raised by members of the Senate in regards to the difference between merit raises and salary adjustments. T. Schroeder requested a list of recent salary adjustments from the VPAA office.
This issue was tabled until the October meeting since Dr. Rankin and Mr. Giles were in Little Rock and thus were unable to address the posted questions at the meeting.
#3) “In light of the fact that the search process for a new VP of Finance began so quickly, when may the faculty expect a search for a non-interim VPAA to begin?”
This issue was tabled until the October meeting since Dr. Rankin and Mr. Giles were in Little Rock and thus were unable to address the posted questions at the meeting.
Old Business:
Implementation of the Revised Academic Integrity Policy: Pres. S. Clanton reported that a referral to the Academic Integrity Workshop is listed in the Faculty Handbook under “Automatic Penalties” for a student’s first infraction. For this reason, Pres. S. Clanton then requested that the Academic Integrity Council investigate the use of this workshop in academic misconduct cases and report back to the Faculty Senate if this process meets our needs.
Motion to follow through with these suggestions was made by S. Schroeder, T. Schroeder seconds. Motion passed.
Academic Calendar Recommendations: T. Schroeder reported that last year’s ad hoc committee, created to review the Academic Calendar, made the following recommendations in Spring 2011- If the Monday class day needs to be included, corresponding test days should still be set to coincide with the regularly scheduled class day. For example MWF classes should still take their final on a Wednesday or a Friday. This helps to ensure there is adequate time between the last class day and the final exam as well as to avoid problems for students when arranging schedules (i.e. work, childcare, etc…). The committee feels that these recommendations were not followed and fear that the same problems will arise once again. T. Daniels made a motion requesting that the VPAA office investigate to see if changes can be made to reflect the committee’s recommendation if possible. M. Armwood seconds. Motion passed.
Committee Reports
There were no committee reports given.
New Business:
Next meeting will take place on Thursday, October 20, 2011 in Reynolds 210.
Adjournment:
The motion to adjourn was made by S. White and seconded by J. Duke.
Submitted by Jennifer Logan, Faculty Senate Secretary, September 16, 2011.
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:””;
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
