Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Minutes

The regular monthly meeting of the Faculty Senate was called to order by President Mike Quinn on April 12, 2007 in the LaSells Stewart Center.  

Meeting Summary

• Action Items: Approval of March Minutes; Category I Proposal - New Instructional Program Leading to a Bachelor of Science in Ecological Engineering; and Proposed Revisions to AR 13.c. [Motion 07-621-01 through 03]
• Special Reports: Athletics Update and Interinstitutional Faculty Senate Recap
• Discussion Item: Proposed Promotion and Tenure Guidelines Revisions
• New Business: None

SPECIAL REPORTS

Athletics
Bob De Carolis, Athletic Director, gave away apparel containing the new OS athletic logo to those holding tickets drawn. De Carolis, Kelvin Koong, Faculty Athletic Representative (FAR), and Luanne Lawrence, Vice President of University Advancement, provided updates related to Athletics issues.

Koong reported on several issues:

• The BRIDGE program was initiated last summer to acclimate football players to university life. Student athletes came to campus three weeks prior to the start of fall football camp and attended class 8+ hours per day. Due to the success of the program, additional sports teams will be involved this year. Koong views this program as an ‘academic boot camp’ and credited the Academic Success Center for the role they played in creating this successful program.
• Oversight of special admit students are now handled by areas that report to Becky Johnson rather than by Athletics.
• Kate Halischak, Student Athlete Academic Services Director, was given credit for increasing the academic success of athletes. In fall 2004 football student athletes passed an average of 9.7 credits, in fall 2005 it was 9.8 credits and fall 2006 increased to 11.04. The new Athletics philosophy is that student athletes are able to make a significant contribution following graduation, rather than just shooting for eligibility. Koong also credited the coaches, but Mike Riley in particular, for placing increased emphasis on academics.
• Koong has tried to bridge the relationship between athletics and academics. He credited President Ray and De Carolis for periodic mixers between university leadership and athletics staff. He also noted that a nutritionist has been jointly hired to teach in Nutrition and Exercise Science as well as advising athletes on nutrition issues.

Lawrence showed video images of posters, which are hanging in Gill Coliseum and Reser Stadium, honoring athletes and their academic and post-athletic interests. The posters have proven to be very popular with spectators at athletic events and are being used as recruitment tools by coaches.

She reported that the new OS athletic identity was developed with numerous focus groups including students, athletes, donors, media and alumni with the thought of consistency and distinctiveness; the OS is considered to be the spirit mark. She noted that the funding to develop the identity was paid wholly out of merchandise licensing revenue. Old logos will be making a comeback, including the old Benny Beaver.

De Carolis included the following in his report:

• Regarding the BRIDGE program referred to by Koong, De Carolis noted that the remaining student athletes went through the program in September. OSU is considering this as a pilot program with student athletes and may eventually include all incoming freshmen.
•  Only two teams in the last year, baseball at 924 and football at 913, fell under the required Academic Program Rate (APR) of 925 which roughly equates to a 50% graduation rate. Beginning in fall 2007 penalties ranging from losing scholarships to barring post-season play, or even closing the program, will be imposed if teams fall below 925. He noted that sometimes a low APR is beyond their control, such as a student athlete transferring out of a program which is considered a negative point.
• 210 student athletes achieved a 3.0 GPA or better for winter 2007, with 19 of those attaining a 4.0; there are about 470 athletes. Most of the winter teams achieved PAC-10 all-academic honors with the gymnasts and swimmers ranking first. Overall, the athletic teams are trending upward in terms of academics and passed credit hours.
• OSU was the only institution to have both baseball and softball compete in the College World Series in the same year. Wrestling had not won the PAC-10 since 1994 until last year and had the first All-Americans since 2001. Gymnastics is ranked 26th in the country, but 3rd in the PAC-10. Both of the rowing teams are ranked nationally for the first time. Swimming had four all-Americans and, for the first time, a relay team competed in the nationals.
• Athletics is part of the capital campaign and items on the wish list include: Goss Stadium expansion, renovation of Gill, a track, and a boathouse. Of particular interest is an Academic Center, in collaboration with the university, that would cater to all students. This would involve moving the current Academic Success Center to a 30,000 square foot facility that would be located in the bottom of the parking structure; Athletics would take the lead in raising funds.
• Phase II of the Reser expansion, funded by private funds, is on budget and on schedule and will expand capacity to just over 46,000.
• The first phase of the Gill Annex will include a 7,000 square foot wrestling room and a 20,000 square foot weight room for all athletes.

Senator Flahive, Science, questioned the amount of funding Athletics receives from E&G funds. De Carolis noted that nine years ago Athletics received $4.4 million from E&G funds, which was reduced to $3.7 million. Athletics promised to mitigate the E&G funding if they were allowed to expand Reser. They are currently receiving between $2.1 and $2.5 million. Flahive questioned if Athletics will be required to return a portion of the E&G funds the same as academic units are required to do. De Carolis indicated he has not had that conversation with administration. He did note that, as an auxiliary, Athletics’ indirect costs are increasing next year from $100,000 to $600,000 (academic units do not pay indirect costs). Athletics pays back to the university about $7.3 million in tuition and room and board.

Senator Oriard, Liberal Arts, questioned whether the Reser expansion generated expected revenues. De Carolis responded that the additional revenue generated paid the debt service and generated an additional $1.5-2 million. There is probably about $4.5 million of unrealized BASF, which is why it is critical to take advantage of a 10-win season. He noted there is unused capacity for season ticket holders.

Senator McCune, Science, requested reconsideration of the siting of the Academic Center so it is more centrally located. De Carolis will discuss the siting with the Campus Planning Committee.

Interinstitutional Faculty Senate Report
Paul Doescher, OSU IFS Senator, included the following items in his recap of the April IFS meeting:

• Continuing budget saga – The joint chairs budget is less than the governor’s budget by $34.6 million. If the joint chairs budget passes, OSU’s operating budget would be $12-15 million less.
• At least 400 individuals were in attendance at the Ways and Means Committee meeting held in Corvallis on April 10. He noted the importance of people contacting legislators regarding the higher education budget.
• Legislative Bills to watch:
• HB 2579 – would allow OSHBE faculty representation to increase from one to two; one faculty member would be from the three larger institutions and one would be from the four smaller institutions
• HB 2578 – would mandate that a set percentage of classes would be taught by full-time, tenure-track faculty; would require compensation of part-time and adjunct faculty at tenure-track levels; and would establish a funding base or reserve for increasing faculty salaries
• HB 2705 – mandates resident tuition for non-documented students who graduate from Oregon high schools (strongly supported by the Oregon Students Association)
• HB 2891 – would change the rules under which an entity may unionize and mandates formation of a collective bargaining unit if 50% plus one of the faculty signs a card in support of unionization; this would eliminate a vote by the entire faculty to determine if unionization will occur
• HB 2823 – allows for awarding of honorary degrees for World War II internees who were unable to complete their degrees
• TDI/ORP Reform Update – By October 1 there will be a new elected retirement program in place in which ORP members will also participate. Rather than one record keeper, as was originally envisioned, there will be three. Fidelity Investments will be the primary bookkeeper for future retirement investments. VALIC participants will be allowed to maintain their VALIC contributions; however, no new clients will be signed up by them. TIIA-CREF will be an additional bookkeeper.

Senator Roberts, Liberal Arts, questioned whether OSU faculty should use their OSU email address when communicating with legislators. Doescher and Mark McCambridge responded that personal email accounts should be used rather than those supported by state resources.

ACTION ITEMS

Approval of Minutes
Motion 07-621-01 to approve the March Faculty Senate minutes as distributed passed with no dissenting votes.

Category I Proposal - New Instructional Program Leading to a Bachelor of Science in Ecological Engineering
John Lee, Curriculum Council Chair, presented for approval a Category I Proposal for a New Instructional Program Leading to a Bachelor of Science in Ecological Engineering. He noted that both the Curriculum Council and Budgets and Fiscal Planning Committee approved the proposal. Lee recapped elements of the degree: it is intended to be accredited as an ecological degree; the degree has been under development for several years and four tenure-track faculty have been hired; the department is developing reserves for equipment and space in support of the program; OSU has expertise in this area and the degree is the first of its kind nationally; the proposal supports two of OSU’s strategic investments: ecosystem informatics and water and watersheds; it is in sync with the College of Agricultural Sciences; there was a clear sense of liaison; it expects to grow from 25 majors in 2007-08 to about 220 in 2012-13; and the budget is about $150,000 for the first four years.

Senator Kingston, Liberal Arts, questioned the wording regarding training students to have some knowledge of the social and political institutions around environmental issues and ecological restoration water resources, but noted there isn’t anything in the proposal to address those issues; the only place one would receive that instruction is in the Baccalaureate Core. She noted there are many courses in Liberal Arts that address these issues specifically and was distressed this component was not included in the proposal; she felt this was a strong absence in the curriculum that she would like to see addressed. John Bolte, Chair of the Department of Biological and Ecological Engineering, stated that they recognize that the social connection is important. ABET accreditation has a strong emphasis to ensure that the integration of social aspects is fully represented. The challenge was to fit everything into the program. ABET provides two pathways to accomplish the integration of all aspects: 1) incorporate additional coursework, or 2) rather than additional coursework, ensure that other courses address those issues - faculty are committed to ensuring that the latter occurs. Bolte noted that this is the first program of this type in the country and ABET will be watching closely.

Senator Spitz, Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, questioned the increase from 180 to 192 credits. Lee acknowledged that the College of Engineering has been moving to 180 credits but, since extra breadth was needed in this proposal, the credits were increased to 192.

Motion 07-621-02 to approve the proposal as presented passed by voice vote with no dissenting votes.

Proposed Revisions to AR 13.c.
Jo Tynon presented for approval the proposed revisions to AR 13c, which appear below. She explained that these changes were made to be consistent with changes made to AR 17 in December, 2006.

AR 13.c. Withdrawal From the University

When a student’s academic progress is interrupted by an emergency situation (e.g., such as serious illness, accident, or death of a family member), within the last four weeks of the term, and the student submits evidence of such to the Registrar, he or she may withdraw from the university with or accept I/alternate grades in all subjects in accordance with the I/alternate grade policy stipulated in AR 17.

Senator Savage, Agricultural Sciences, questioned the time frame that is being considered, particularly if the student is ill and can’t provide timely notification. Tynon responded that the student could use the petition process if it was after the end of the term.

Motion 07-621-03 to approve the proposed revisions to AR 13.c. passed by voice vote with no dissenting votes.

DISCUSSION ITEM

Proposed Promotion and Tenure Guidelines Revisions
Roger Nielsen, Faculty Senate Promotion and Tenure Committee chair, presented proposed revisions to the Promotion and Tenure Guidelines. The P&T Committee members who worked on the revisions are Bill Braunworth, Margaret Burnett, Paul Farber, Jim Liburdy, Maret Traber, and Nielsen.

He explained that the primary goals with respect to the revisions to the Promotion and Tenure Guidelines were to:

1. Examine and suggest revision of the guidelines in the face of the creation of the new fixed-term Extension class of professorial faculty; and
2. Re-evaluate the role and expectations for service in Promotion & Tenure.

In addition, a number of clarification edits were passed on to the P&T Committee from a faculty committee lead by Becky Johnson. As the work progressed, the committee was asked to consider other issues, such as conflict of interest management, and to link guidelines for promotion and tenure of instructors, OAR’s, etc., that existed in disparate locations. Ultimately, the P&T Committee tried to create a more coherent document.

Nielsen outlined several general issues:

1. Unit guidelines must be consistent with the P&T Guidelines
2. The P&T Guidelines are designed for all professorial rank faculty, research assistants and instructors. Professorial rank faculty include courtesy and research appointments.
3. Increased emphasis on peer validation and position descriptions.

The specific major issues that underwent revision or were added:

1. Link to new guidelines for position descriptions – Existing guidelines refer to position descriptions as the basis on which faculty are to be evaluated. However, there were few guidelines for how they should be created.
2. New section on definition of research and extension activities – Definition of research is separate from scholarly activity (this came out of the committee’s initial conversation regarding how different units construct their position descriptions).
3. New section on “other assignments” – This section was rewritten to help draw the line between service activities and assigned duties. Standard service duties can be assigned to any faculty member regardless of their discipline, whereas assigned duties result from a faculty members’ specific discipline.
4. Optional use of service to the profession as scholarly activity (if it was peer reviewed and documented)–
   1. Clearer definition of service to the university (unit and OSU) versus to one’s profession.
   2. Clarification of what type of community service is to be emphasized in P&T – specifically that which advances the mission of the university.
   3. Option of use of service to one’s profession if it is peer validated and documented – and approved beforehand by one’s supervisor.
5. Conflict of interest management – Two separate issues – personal conflict of interest and professional relationships
6. Tenure clock clarifications
7. Insertion of information on tenure of instructors (previously this information existed in a separate document)
8. New process for student input for P&T – Student input will be in the form of a single letter signed by all parties

Senator Trujillo, Liberal Arts, had several concerns:

• Regarding the Conflict of Interest section, he questioned where a documented history of hostility from a faculty member who has a right to be on a college P&T Committee be addressed.
• On page 11 he suggested possibly supplementing “…diversity of faculty perspectives…” which seems too broad to him, with language that addresses the need for reviewers to understand the unwritten obligations placed on individuals due to their association with a particular identity group.
• On page 12, he felt as though the Faculty Senate P&T Committee is excluding itself from a former duty, which was to observe all deliberations of the University P&T Committee, and limiting themselves to only observe divided deliberations when there is a dean or supervisor present.

In regard to Trujillo’s first concern, Nielsen responded that the candidate would likely need to bring a hostility issue to the attention of the chair; he may discuss with Angelo Gomez where this situation could be inserted. Gomez interjected that is a nebulous situation and would likely need to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Senator Doescher, Forestry, stated that the chair is sometimes the hostile individual. Senator Valls, Liberal Arts, noted that the hostile member has only one vote and the other committee members could out-vote that individual. Senator Pence, Engineering, felt there may be more hostile issues than conflict of interest issues, and suggested adding wording that addresses what can be done about the potential for an aggressively negative individual in the process. Senator Doescher noted that the opposite may exist and the candidate may be part of the “good ol’ boy” network within the unit and may not meet the P&T standards, but is advanced since they are part of the network. Senator Valentine, Veterinary Medicine, felt that including wording to address perceived hostility was worrisome. Nielsen stated that the document was written to have the chair removed from the unit P&T deliberations, but to ensure that the committee has access to as much information as possible. It is critical to have the deliberations documented. Nielsen has talked with Becky Johnson regarding the need to hold unit P&T Committee’s accountable for quality documentation and letters; they have discussed the need for training sessions for P&T chairs and department chairs. Nielsen felt that appropriate documentation would disclose a hostile or aggressive individual. Jo Tynon, Forestry, questioned why there was not an equivalent of a graduate representative for faculty going up for P&T. The individual could be from outside the unit or college, who would act as an ombudsperson and ensure that any hostility was documented. Nielsen responded that the committee did discuss this option at length and suggested that this could be implemented separate from the document under consideration.

Senator Wilcox, Health and Human Sciences, advocated for a delineation of peer involvement at the college level. Nielsen stated the committee also discussed this issue but felt it would be difficult to achieve a uniform process across the university and they did not want to propose policies that would be unenforceable across colleges.

Senator Oriard, Liberal Arts, expressed several concerns:

• On page 2 ‘research’ can be defined as either a scholarly activity or assigned duty and he felt this ambiguity should be eliminated.
• He felt it was confusing to have two different references to service on pages 4 and 5.
• On pages 6 and 7, the word ‘balance’ was deleted as a verb and inserted as a noun; he suggested ‘in appropriate proportions’ to replace ‘balance.’
• He questioned whether the intention of the position description was to tie a percentage to the number of hours in a week spent on specified activities and should also correlate to the relative importance of scholarship, teaching and assigned duties. If so, this is a problem in Liberal Arts that is not common in other colleges since their research is not funded by the university. Nielsen responded that this is not a problem unique to CLA. Position descriptions are by FTE, which is a university rule based on a nine-month appointment, and can combine research and scholarly activities. Colleges need to determine their own scholarly activities and research expectations given the realistic amount of available time; these conversations need to occur with the dean, Academic Affairs and the president. Nielsen also suggested reviewing the policies of peer institutions.

Senator Braverman, Health and Human Sciences, was not comfortable with the separation between Extension and research, since Extension can include both teaching and research. Nielsen responded that it is important that units have the ability to describe activities separate from scholarly outcomes.

Senator Valentine expressed the hope that a university document would be created that is broad enough to allow flexibility to further define and fine tune within units and colleges.

Senator Savage, Agricultural Sciences, felt that the guidelines were good and was opposed to having one set of guidelines mandating that all units must be exactly the same. Nielsen responded that was the reason why the committee tried to define common terms.
 
Since many Senators felt that a continuation of the discussion was important, President Quinn committed to proposing a Faculty Forum to the Executive Committee. He encouraged Senators to send comments to Roger Nielsen. Senator Marshall, Business, suggested advancing the document by accepting changes as they are presented while acknowledging there are still future revisions that could be made.

DIALOG WITH THE FACULTY SENATE PRESIDENT

President Quinn, referring to the P&T Guidelines discussion, noted that the Promotion and Tenure Committee was responding to particular needs and felt it is unrealistic to fix all the problems in one year. He encouraged Senators to consider whether the document is a step in the right direction when voting on the revisions.

Quinn announced that he has accepted the position as Dean of the College of Science and Engineering at Seattle University and will resign as Faculty Senate President effective September 1. President-Elect Lynda Ciuffetti will assume the position of president and Immediate Past President Bill Boggess will assume the duties of president-elect on September 1, as outlined in the Faculty Senate Bylaws.

NEW BUSINESS

There was no new business.

Roll Call
Members Present:
Agricultural Sciences: Anderson, Bolte, Dreher, Hartley, Ketchum, Pereira, Rao, Savage, Selker, Thompson.
Associated Faculty: Achterman, Averill, Bruce, Dorbolo, Eklund, C. Kasten for Elmshaeuser, Gillies, Gomez, Greydanus, R. Weber for Hoff, Minear, Oldfield, Pribyl, Ross.
Business: Banyi, Marshall, Raja, Wu, Yang.
Education: Ward, White.
Engineering: Bell, Bose, Huber, Hunter-Zaworski, Jovanovic, Pence.
Extension: None present.
Forestry: Doescher, Kellogg, Puettman, Reuter, Zahler.
Health & Human Sciences: Acock, Asbell, Bowman, Braverman, Friedman, Wilcox.
Liberal Arts: Carson, Folts, Gross, Helle, Kingston, Lunch, Oriard, Orosco, Plaza, Roberts, R. Sahr for Steel, Trujillo, Valls, Walls.
Library: McMillen.
Oceanic & Atmospheric Sciences: Spitz.
Pharmacy: Indira, Stevens.
ROTC: Sullivan.
Science: Blair, Bogley, Flahive, Ho, Jansen, Lee, McCune, McLeod, Parks, Rajagopal.
Student Affairs: Alexander, Benton, Larson, S. Clark for Yamamoto.
Veterinary Medicine: Valentine.

Members Absent:
Agricultural Sciences: Cassidy, Curtis, Gamroth, Gregory, Hayes, Jepson, Mallory-Smith, Parke, Rossignol.
Associated Faculty: Arthenayake, Dempsey, Fernandez, Gaines.
Business: No absences.
Education: No absences.
Engineering: Higginbotham, Lee, Momsen, Sillars.
Extension: Carr, Galloway, Godwin.
Forestry: Freitag, Sexton.
Health & Human Sciences: Cardinal, Hooker, McAlexander.
Liberal Arts: Edwards, Melton, Rosenberger.
Library: No absences.
Oceanic & Atmospheric Sciences: Benoit-Bird, Skyllingstad, Wheatcroft.
Pharmacy: Ramirez.
ROTC: No absences.
Science: Field, Gitelman, Grunder, Jones, Kimerling, Lajtha, Mason, Matzke, Taylor.
Student Affairs: Langford, Schwab, Winter.
Veterinary Medicine: Estill, Mosley.

Guests Present:
B. Becker, B. De Carolis, S. Dobbie, V. King, K. Kuo, S. Leslie, S-L Yu, M. McCambridge, G. Shellhammer, J. Tynon.

Faculty Senate Officers, Ex-officios and Staff:
Officers: L. Cuiffetti, president-elect; M. Quinn, president; Ex-officio: M. Olson; Staff: V. Nunnemaker.

Respectfully submitted:
Vickie Nunnemaker
Faculty Senate Staff