Faculty Senate Meeting

Attendance

The Faculty Senate met on Thursday, April 19, at 3:40 pm in Reynolds 205.  Senators in attendance were Stacy Clanton, Jan Duke, Sam Riner, Pat Clanton, Karen Ferneding, Tim Schroeder, Shannin Schroeder, Denise Moseley, Pierre Boumtje, Scott White, Tim Daniels, Abdul Bachri, Hong Cheng, Vikram Bhadauria, Mary Armwood, Jennifer Logan.

Ex-officio:  Amber Allen, Terrye Stinson, Trey Berry, David Crouse, Donna Allen, Roger Giles

Visitors included:  Linda Blake.   

Call to Order: Pres. S. Clanton called the meeting to order at 3:40 p.m.

Approval of Minutes

Minutes from the March Faculty Senate meeting were approved electronically.

Special Orders of the Day   

Report from VPAA Search Committee:

Senator P. Boumtje reported that the search committee was still in the process of reviewing applications.  Two applicants for the position, Dr. Terrye Stinson and Dr. Trey Berry, have been formally interviewed on April 16 and April 18.  The search committee had scheduled a meeting for Monday, April 23 and would announce their decision sometime after that date.

 

Faculty Assembly:

Pres. Clanton requested that senators remind their constituents that the faculty Assembly is scheduled for 3:00 pm on Friday, April 20 in BUS #208.

 

AQIP General Education Assessment Committee Learning Goals Report:

Senator T. Schroeder explained the responsibilities/functions of this AQIP committee.  He explained the need for a solid mission statement for the university as well as a way to condense the learning goals.  Dr. Trey Berry and Dr. Terrye Stinson then discussed how the committee planned to address these concerns.  They distributed a handout showing the suggested mission statement.  This handout also showed the process in which education and university learning goals were condensed.  Dr. Stinson explained that the reasoning behind these changes was to clearly communicate the mission of the university as well an effort to build a clear process to assess general education throughout all campus programs.

Unfinished Business

Ad Hoc Academic Integrity Committee Report

K. Ferneding reported the committee was currently working with Del Duke from the Magale Library to design instructional modules.  The modules would be organized in the following order:

• Introduction to academic dishonesty
• Plagiarism
• Cheating
• Fabrication
• Consequences

Pre and post tests are also being created for each module.  On behalf of the committee, Senator Ferneding asked for feedback from any faculty interested in looking over what had been created thus far.  The links to do so are http://www.saumag.edu/library/AcademicIntegrity/AcademicIntegrity.html, and http://www.saumag.edu/library/AcadIntegModule1ALT/AcadIntegModule1ALT.html.

The committee also reported that SAU will receive a 1-semester trail for Turnitin.com.  Turnitin reported has a faster turnaround as well as a much larger database than SafeAssign.

Allusers Policy/Report from Handbook Committee:

On behalf of the Faculty Handbook Committee, Chair P. Clanton reported the recommendation of the committee would be effective starting in the fall 2012 semester and will be discussed with the faculty at that time.  With the help of the Technology Committee, an absence form is being constructed for students to submit to their instructors.       

Ethics Policy/Recommendation from Handbook Committee:

Chair P. Clanton distributed a handout showing an expansion of the current ethics policy.  This handout will be presented to the general assembly at the start of the fall 2012 semester, and will be voted on at that time.

 

Reports of Committees   

Staff Senate/Benevolence Fund:

Senator S. White reported that the Staff Senate is planning to initiate a benevolence fund to help SAU community members in need.  Senators were encouraged to share this with their constituents and help to contribute to the fund if possible.

New Business

Blackboard Maintenance Schedule:

Pres. Clanton explained that many faculty have raised concerns regarding the Friday afternoon maintenance scheduling for Blackboard.  Many faculty argue that assignments are due at this time and the regularly scheduled maintenance adversely affects their ability to conduct their classes.  Mike Argo has responded to these concerns in a letter, explaining regular maintenance keeps the Blackboard system up and running the rest of the week and is therefore necessary to continue.  Senator T. Schroeder moved to table this issue and revisit it in the fall semester.  Senator B. Fincher seconded.  The motion passed.

 

Closing Remarks from President:

Pres. Clanton discussed the many topics discussed in the senate over the past academic year.  These issues include (but are not limited to): Allusers emails, academic integrity, salary adjustments, ethics policy, parking appeals and the VPAA search.  Many of these issues are still ongoing, thus Pres. Clanton expressed his desire that the faculty senate continue moving forward with these issues as well as others as they arise.  He expressed his gratitude to the senate and stated that he looked forward to serving as a senator in the upcoming year.

 

Seating of New Faculty Senators:

• The following senators completed their 3 year terms – T. Daniels, B. Fincher, P. Clanton, and P. Boumtje
• The Faculty Senate welcomed the following new senators – C. Christensen, S. Paulson, D. Sanson and N. Dobbins

Election of Senate Officers:

Elections were held and the Faculty Senate officers for next year are shown below:

President – Scott White

Vice President – Sam Riner

Parliamentarian – Shannin Schroeder

Secretary – Jennifer Logan

Remarks from Faculty Senate President for 2012-2013:

S. White thanked the outgoing senators for their service to the university and welcomed new senators.  He discussed the need for better collaboration throughout the SAU campus and expressed his desire to make this a priority for the upcoming year.

Adjournment:

The motion to adjourn was made by T. Schroeder and seconded by J. Duke.

Submitted by Jennifer Logan, Faculty Senate Secretary, April 25.