Faculty Senate Meeting
Attendance
The Faculty Senate met on Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 3:40 pm in the Reynolds 210. Senators in attendance were Stacy Clanton, Pat Clanton, Abdel Bachri, Pierre Boumtje, Denise Moseley, Karen Ferneding, Vikram Bhadauria, Shannin Schroeder, Tim Schroeder, Tim Daniels, Scott White, Bernadette Fincher, Mary Armwood, Jennifer Logan.
The following senators were absent with proxies: Tim Wise served for Sam Riner and Neeraj Bajracharya served for Hong Cheng.
Ex-officio: Dr. David Crouse
Visitors included: Dean MohdZain, Roger Giles, Dr. David Rankin, Kendra Copeland, Dr. Christie Morgan, Gerald Plumlee and Daniel Page.
Call to Order: Pres. S. Clanton calls the meeting to order at 3:45 p.m. Proxies read.
Approval of Minutes
Motion to approve the minutes by Daniels, P. Clanton seconds. Motion passed.
Special Orders of the Day
Issues Brought before the Senate by Constituents: In response to concerns brought forth by constituents regarding the plethora of Allusers emails, the Faculty Senate discussed various options to deal with this matter. The options discussed included the following: establishment of a university calendar (possibly electronic) to list student events that faculty could use for student absences and the implementation of a rule requiring students to contact their instructors. Various caveats were discussed. S. White made a motion that the handbook Committee address the issue as it currently appears in the SAU Faculty Handbook and communicate with the VPAA office to investigate the possible use of a student activity list through the university intranet to provide a safe method for distributing student information. M. Armwood seconds. Motion passed.
Old Business:
Faculty Senate Vice-Presidency: To address the recent resignation of Dr. Sam Riner from his position as faculty Senate Vice President, P. Clanton made a motion that the Faculty Senate accept this resignation with regret and state their eagerness for his return. S. Schroeder seconds. Motion passed. T. Daniels then made a motion that nominations and an election be held presently. S. White seconds. Motion passed. Pres. S. Clanton declared that nominations were now open. T. Daniels nominated S. White. B. Fincher motioned that nominations cease. M. Armwood seconds. Motion passed. S. White was declared Faculty Senate Vice President by acclamation.
SAU Web Site Policy/Practice: In response to information regarding development efforts by the Communication Center, S. Schroeder made a motion that the Faculty Senate adopt a Resolution of Support/Approval. B. Fincher seconds. Motion passed.
Issues Brought before the Senate from Constituents postponed from Sept. meeting at President Rankin’s request: “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?” Mr. Giles responded that yes, Dr. Rankin and College Deans are state employees. Governor Beebe mandated that no cost of living adjustments (COLAs) are to be provided for state employees. Legislative guidance, however, has given limited approval for various salary adjustments. Currently, the restriction on COLAs has not been lifted and there are currently no plans underway to implement a retroactive raise for the faculty. Mr. Giles also explained that increasing expenditures on fringe benefits for faculty such as rising costs for health insurance is a benefit received by faculty although it is not directly observed by recipients. Dr. Rankin also addressed the questions. He explained that salary adjustments are commonly implemented for a variety of reasons including inequity issues, salary compression, etc…He also noted that salary increases for his position have been foregone in previous years when voted for by the SAU Board of Trustees. Additionally he has given up his state-provided vehicle in lieu of the current increase in his salary and housing allowance. T. Daniels made a motion that the discussion be tabled until the Faculty Senate meeting in November. B. Fincher seconds. The motion passed.
Issues Brought before the Senate from Constituents postponed from Sept. meeting at President Rankin’s request: “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?” Pres. Clanton distributed handouts quoting the following Section X part C of the SAU Faculty Handbook, “When an appointment to a position is made as an interim appointment, the search for a person to fill that position on a permanent basis must begin within one year of the date when the interim appointment was made.” Dr. Rankin responded that SAU was currently searching for a Vice President of Finance. Dr. Crouse has served with distinction and that it was his request that we continue to function as we have been. Some debate took place regarding whether Dr. Crouse’s appointment was subject to the statement from the Faculty Handbook since he received the appointment prior to the establishment of that rule in the Faculty Handbook (August 3, 2010). Discussion ensued in which the following points were stated: (#1) Negative appearance of having the VPAA position listed as interim, (#2) The promptness of initiating a search for a VP of Finance while still having an interim VPAA sends a message that finance is more highly valued than academics, (#3) Faculty should have some input in determining if a VPAA search should be conducted, (#4) Procedures listed in the faculty handbook should be followed since it serves as a contract between the faculty and the administration. S. White made a motion that the Handbook Committee to investigate the matter and report options for moving forward at the November meeting. T. Schroeder seconds. The motion passed.
Salary Adjustments: In response to a previous request, information was provided regarding salary adjustments. Mr. Giles explained that these salary adjustments are based on recommendations from chairs, deans, and/or directors. The administration reviews the budget and makes decisions accordingly with justifications. Pres. S. Clanton distributed the following excerpt from the Faculty Handbook in regards to merit raises, “Regarding the issue of salary increases, on May 7, 1997, the Faculty Assembly passed a recommendation that states: The Senate recommends that cost of living raises take precedence over merit pay… The Senate does not oppose appropriate salary “adjustments” when change of degree status, prior gender or racial discrimination, considerations of salary equity or other weighty considerations can be documented. Moreover, if the budget for faculty salaries exceeds cost of living increases, the Senate would support using the excess for merit pay. If it falls below cost of living increases the Senate feels a policy of merit pay will result in more mischief than good.” Discussion ensued. Pres. Rankin explained that salary adjustments occur for a variety of reasons each year and cautioned against viewing the current year as a snapshot but instead to view it as part of an overall process with the intent of evening out observed inequities in the payment system. S. White and S. Schroeder pointed out a lack of standards in regards to salary adjustments. S. Schroeder then made a motion requesting documentation from Mr. Giles in regards to the evening out process over the past four years P. Clanton seconds. The motion passed.
Implementation of Revised Academic Integrity Policy: Pres. S. Clanton explained that Daniel Page and Del Duke (SAU Magale Library) have successfully set up the academic integrity course discussed previously. He requested that the Academic Integrity Council to examine the materials and report back to the Faculty Senate.
Academic Calendar Recommendations: The final exam schedule for 2012 was distributed based on a request from the previous faculty Senate meeting. S. Schroeder recommended the VPAA office consider the following alteration: Monday and Wednesday courses beginning at 6:10 pm have their scheduled final exam time changed from 6:10-8:00 pm and 8:10 – 10:00 pm to 5:10-7:00 pm and 7:10–9:00 pm, respectively, on Wednesday, December 12.
Committee Reports
There were no committee reports given.
New Business:
Campus Parking Policy: Pres. S. Clanton distributed handouts showing the layout and number of parking spots available on campus. It was pointed out that there are currently more spaces that registered vehicles. Many faculty have complained regarding students parking in reserved places as well as an inconsistency in procedure from campus police. The Faculty Senate then requested that the Parking Appeals Committee should investigate this matter and report their findings/recommendations at the November meeting.
Request from Senate President regarding student possession of textbooks: Pres. S. Clanton requested that senators ask their constituents if they are observing a problem with students not having textbooks for various reasons and to provide feedback via emails.
Notification of deans’ recommendations regarding registration: The Faculty Senate discussed various issues/problems with allowing online registration for students. A request was made for recommendations from the deans in reference to this matter.
Next meeting will take place on Thursday, November 17, 2011 in Reynolds 205.
Adjournment:
The motion to adjourn was made by S. White and seconded by T. Schroeder.
Submitted by Jennifer Logan, Faculty Senate Secretary, October 17, 2011.
