Faculty Senate Minutes - 3/1/2001

FACULTY SENATE MINUTES
March 1, 2001



Call to order


President Mikkelsen called the meeting to order at 4:02 p.m. He welcomed
James Scanlon, the new president of MWSC, to his first faculty senate meeting.


Senators present


Aschermann, Bargar, Cadden, Caldwell, Greiert, Hamzaee, Klostermeyer,
Mikkelsen, Nelson, Noynaert, Tapia, Willliams


Senators absent


Fowler, McLear, Radmacher, Roberts


Ex-officio


James Roever, vice president for academic affairs, Missouri Western State
College
James Scanlon, president, Missouri Western State College


Guests present


Todd Ekdahl, associate professor of biology, and chair of faculty senate
salary committee
Steven Lorimor, assistant professor of chemistry,
Timothy Miller, assistant professor of mathematics, and chair of faculty
senate professional leave committee
Kathyrne Mueller, administrative associate to vice president of academic
affairs


Approval of minutes


The minutes of the February 15, 2001, meeting were approved as presented
(Nelson/Bargar).


Meeting agenda


The agenda for today's meeting was approved by unanimous consent
(Caldwell/Noynaert).


Report from college president


James Scanlon, president of MWSC, made his first report to the faculty
senate. He indicated that he had been visiting with various individuals
and groups on campus about the planning process and the mission review
process. He emphasized that he wanted more widespread involvement,
including that of faculty, in each process.
Scanlon noted that, during his recent trip to Jefferson City, the question
of FTE funding for Missouri Western State College and Missouri Southern
State College frequently came up. The issue at hand is that of equity in
student funding per FTE in public education in the whole state of Missouri.
Scanlon reported that MWSC is below the average of funding for regional
institutions and for institutions within the state itself. No rationale
exists to explain this disparity. Some state legislators are becoming
impatient with the CBHE and its commissioner over the explanation put forth
by that body about this measure involving public colleges and universities.


President Mikkelsen asked Scanlon about two issues: 1) the budget picture
for MWSC; and 2) capital requests regarding new buildings at
MWSC. Scanlon responded that Governor Holden had proposed a "no growth"
budget. Most other state departments are being asked to reduce their
respective budgets. Higher education has not yet been asked to do so.
Scanlon mentioned another pertinent issue involving the Hancock Amendment
and an ongoing court case. He said that a considerable degree of pessimism
existed about this court case and its impact on higher education within the
state. He also indicated that he had discussed the capital project
priorities at MWSC with James McCarthy, executive vice president of the
college. They had agreed to take the Alumni Training and Development
Center off the list for MWSC. That meant that the Fine Arts addition would
be at the top of the MWSC list of capital projects. Scanlon also stated
that they had conversed about using private money to complete the Alumni
Training and Development Center.


Report from vice president for academic affairs


James Roever, vice president for academic affairs, reported that documents
had arrived at his office concerning the following faculty matters: 1)
faculty evaluations; 2) faculty promotions; 3) faculty sabbaticals;
and 4) merit pay for faculty. Decisions on those issues will be
forthcoming within the next several weeks.


Report from faculty senate executive committee


President Mikkelsen reported that the faculty senate, via e-mail, had
approved the appointment of Evelyn Brooks, associate professor of nursing,
to the Faculty Senate Promotion and Tenure Committee. The nomination had
passed by a vote of 12 to 0 with three senators not voting (including an
abstention by Vice president Nelson, who is a candidate for promotion).


Vice president Nelson reported that X. George Yang, assistant professor of
engineering technology, has agreed to serve on the Faculty Senate
Scholarship Committee, replacing Brooks. This nomination received
unanimous approval from the faculty senate.


Mikkelsen reported that SR00-01.02 regarding on-line degrees unanimously
passed by the MWSC faculty senate at its meeting on February 15, 2001, has
received the support of MAFS by a vote of 12 to 0 with one abstention.
This faculty senate resolution reads as follows: The Missouri Association
of Faculty Senates affirms that normal faculty governance processes must be
used in the development, approval, and operation of on-line and other
cooperative degree programs." (See Attachment A, MWSC Faculty Senate
Minutes, February 15, 2001.)
Mikkelsen explained that he had asked Jeanie Crain, professor of English at
MWSC and president of MAFS for additional information regarding the new
junior college in Jefferson City. Mikkelsen noted that in the MWSC faculty
senate minutes of its meeting on February 15, 2001, this junior college had
been erroneously identified as "Big Sky Junior College." The correct name
for that institution is State Fair Community College, which has a main
campus in Sedalia, Missouri. Roever interjected that the main problem for
the CBHE with this arrangement is that State Fair Community College may be
offering the same courses Lincoln University is offering on the same campus
­ approximately at half-price. He stated that Central Missouri State
University had needed CBHE approval to lease a building at AT & T for an
off-campus program. This had prompted the CBHE to undertake an
investigation of taking whole academic units off campus.


Mikkelsen announced that Martin Johnson, dean of the division of liberal
arts and sciences, will submit the academic deans' "food and drink policy"
to CGAC at its next meeting. The version of the plan which he will present
will be the one permitting students to have food and/or drink in
non-carpeted classrooms. In accordance with the faculty senate discussions
at November and December meetings at which senators decided not to object
to "version two" of this plan, Mikkelsen indicated that he will not object
to this proposal at the next CGAC meeting.


Mikkelsen stated that President Scanlon will meet with the Faculty Senate
Executive Committee on March 8, 2001, to discuss the most significant
issues that the college must address: 1) increased faculty
representation on the Master Plan Committee; 2) procedures for discussing
the college's mission statement; and 3) opening up the budget process.


Mikkelsen identified important items on the agenda of upcoming faculty
senate meetings: 1) the election of a new faculty senate and its officers;
2) the report from the Faculty Senate Academic Regulations and Standards
Committee; 3) the report from the Faculty Senate General Studies Committee;
and 4) the debate and vote on the recommendations of the Faculty Senate
Salary Committee.


Report from the ad hoc faculty senate salary committee


Todd Ekdahl, chairman of the Faculty Senate Salary Committee and a member
of the ad hoc Faculty Senate Salary Committee, presented a draft of the
final report of the latter committee. His purpose was twofold: 1) to
identify four specific recommendations put forth in this report; and 2) to
stimulate discussion of the final report before its due date on April 1,
2001. The four specific recommendations are as follows: Recommendation #1)
The ad hoc Faculty Senate Salary Committee recommends an across-the-board
increase of 5% in faculty salaries for the academic year 2001-2.
Recommendation #2) The ad hoc Faculty Senate Salary Committee proposes that
salary increases for promotion be increased, and that the length of time
required for promotion also be increased from four to five years to make
promotion more meaningful and more financially rewarding. In addition, the
salary increases for promotion should be incrementally increased by 3% each
year. Recommendation #3) The ad hoc Faculty Senate Salary Committee
recommends the institution of the Active Career Award.
Recommendation #4) The ad hoc Faculty Senate Salary Committee recommends
that the college should use the initial placement guidelines for
instructors in setting starting salaries for lecturers. Each current
lecturer's salary should also be adjusted to the level at which it would be
if he/she were hired now under these guidelines. (See Attachment A)


Roever indicated that he had no update on recommendations from the salary
committee of the professional and support staff at MWSC. Mikkelsen stated
that he had learned the ad hoc salary committee of the professional and
support staff had recommended spending $85,000 over three years for
consultants on the issue of the re-classification system. Roever expressed
skepticism that the president's cabinet would support funding the outside
consultants.


The faculty senate received the draft report of the ad hoc Faculty Senate
Salary Committee.


Report from faculty senate professional leave committee


A motion was made to close the meeting pursuant to Missouri Statutes
610.021 (13) to consider personnel matters in order to allow for
confidential discussion of the committee's rankings and the rationale for
them (Noynaert/Bargar). The motion was approved unanimously. Senator
Cadden, a candidate for sabbatical, exited the closed session in order to
avoid a conflict of interest. Timothy Miller, chairman of the faculty
senate professional leave committee, then presented its report to the
faculty senate in closed session. No minutes of that session were taken.


The faculty senate meeting was reopened, and Cadden resumed his seat at the
table. During the ensuing discussion, four issues emerged as paramount.
First, Senator Klostermeyer asked Roever what variables he considered the
most important when he reviewed sabbatical applications and the committee's
recommendations. Roever responded as follows: 1) Is it a solidly written
proposal? 2) Does it [?] what she/he is expected to do? 3) How does the
administration cover this position within the department? 4) Length of
service by the faculty member is not a decisive requirement.
Second, Mikkelsen asked Miller what criteria his committee deemed the most
important as it ranked the proposals. Miller said that his committee
considered three criteria: 1) the quality of each proposal; 2) the benefit
of each proposal to MWSC students; and 3) past performance by each faculty
member. Third, Mikkelsen asked Miller if his committee was willing to
consider revising criteria in order that future committees might have a
more precise clarification of the most important issues they should
consider in rendering their decisions. Mikkelsen also inquired about the
advantages of having the committee review sabbatical proposals during the
fall semester so that recommendations could be made before the end of the
fall semester. Roever noted that this would immensely help departments in
planning for staff replacements during the ensuing academic year. Fourth,
Senator Hamzaee asked Roever whether the number of sabbatical applications
affected his decisions in approval. Roever said that, in the past, the
administration had almost always been able to fund sabbatical requests
because they had not been very numerous. Roever explained that a faculty
member was required to have had five years of service in order to apply for
a sabbatical. Faculty members could apply more than once for sabbaticals,
but they had had to wait another five years in order to do so. Mikkelsen
stated that this has been an assumption that has been followed but that it
is not a part of the MWSC Policy Guide.


A motion was made to approve the report of the faculty senate professional
leave committee (Tapia/Williams). This motion meant that the faculty
senate would accept the recommendations of the committee for sabbatical
leave. This approval would not indicate sanctioning the rankings of those
approved or disapproved, because the faculty senate does not have the
authority to make that judgment. Discussion ensued concerning the
respective roles of chairpersons and deans in deciding how many faculty
members from the same department might seek professional leave in the same
academic year before the applications ever reached the faculty senate
professional leave committee. Discussion also included an examination of
the reasons for granting sabbaticals to senior faculty and those reasons
for granting sabbaticals to junior faculty, especially within the same
department. Nelson called the question. The vote to call the question was
unanimous. The vote on the original motion was 7 Yes, 1 No, 2 Abstentions
(one senator had already left the meeting by the time of the vote). The
motion carried.


The following list is comprised of those faculty whose requests for
sabbatical were approved by the Faculty Senate Professional Leave Committee:


David Bennett, assistant professor of Music, plans to strengthen his skills
in synthesizer techniques and to study and learn two major compositions for
piano (Carnival by Schumann and Piano Concerto No. 1 by Brahms). As part
of his sabbatical he will also travel to Germany to visit the places
Schumann lived.


Michael Cadden, associate professor of English, plans to finish a draft of
a book, tentatively titled, Genre Crossings: Ursula K. Le Guin's Literature
for Children and Adults. He has already written three articles that will
serve as a basis for three of the chapters in the book. Ms. Le Guin has
already consented to an interview.


Jane Frick, professor of English, plans two projects: 1) to conduct a Meta
Analysis of Missouri Writing Surveys; and 2) to research and study
Dual-Credit composition, write a case study regarding delivery of
dual-credit composition in collaboration with a professor from Southeast
Missouri State University, and write two journal articles.


Diane Gorcyca, associate professor of Communication Studies, plans to
conduct an intensive investigation of selected established FIG programs
across the country and to develop as well as analyze data collected from
this investigation and her ongoing assessment research on MWSC's FIG
program into scholarly publications.


Ed Malone, associate professor of English, plans to complete the final
editing and proofing of the second volume of the Dictionary of Literary
Biography series, British Rhetoricians and Logicians, 1500-1600, Second
Series. He also plans to write a workbook on the process of word formation
to be used as a supplementary text in his course, ENG 373 History of the
English Language.


Mohammad Najafi, associate professor of Engineering Technology, plans to
serve as executive director of the Midwest Chapter of the North American
Society for Trenchless Technology, which will require working closely with
other universities in teaching, research, and development. He also plans
to assist the Department of Engineering Technology at MWSC in establishing
an applied engineering research center.


Monica Nandan, assistant professor of Social Work, plans two projects: 1)
to research the Asian-Indian elderly immigrant population and their
attitudes toward different types of social and medical services; and 2) to
investigate opportunities for social work students to be politically active
at the state level regarding social policy issues.


Shiva Nandan, associate professor of Business, plans to research linkages
between the fields of marketing and finance. His recent research interests
have moved from Marketing to Finance. He also has begun a program that
will lead to a Master's degree in Finance.


Betty Sawin, professor of English, plans to prepare three articles for
publication concerning her experiences in Writing Across the Curriculum and
the Outdoor Semester program. She also plans to develop a slide show.


Drawing to restore balanced rotation of professional studies division senators


In order to restore balance to the rotation of senators from the division
of professional studies the names of two current senators from that
division whose terms will end this year were placed into a jar. Those
senators were Hamzaee and Nelson. Since Nelson, a member of the Faculty
Senate Executive Committee, was one of these two candidates, Mikkelsen and
Senator Greiert, the two remaining members of the Faculty Senate Executive
Committee, conducted the drawing in full view of the rest of the faculty
senate. Greiert drew the name of Nelson from the jar. Nelson will,
therefore, have the length of his term extended by one year. Hamzaee may
stand for nomination and re-election for next year's faculty senate.


Old Business


None.


New Business


SR00-01.03 (Greiert/Klostermeyer) To change the wording of the 2000-2001
MWSC Policy Guide (Appendix L, CONSTITUTION OF THE ASSOCIATION OF THE
MISSOURI WESTERN STATE COLLEGE INSTRUCTIONAL FACULTY (Approved March 10,
1978) Article VIII: POWERS, Section 6, p. 250) from: "The Faculty Senate
shall have the power to alter by one year the length of Senate terms for
the purpose of restoring a balanced rotation of Senators." to:


" The Faculty Senate shall have the power to call a special election of the
association in order to alter by one year the length of Senate terms for
the purpose of restoring a balanced rotation of Senators."


SR00-01.04 (Bargar/Caldwell) To support Recommendation #1 put forth by the
ad hoc Faculty Senate Salary Committee: The ad hoc Faculty Senate Salary
Committee recommends an
across-the-board increase of 5% in faculty salaries for the academic year
2001-2002.


SR00-01.05 (Noynaert/Bargar) To support Recommendation #4 put forth by the
ad hoc Faculty Senate Salary Committee: The ad hoc Faculty Senate Salary
Committee recommends that the college should use the initial placement
guidelines for instructors in setting starting salaries for lecturers.
Each current lecturer's salary should also be adjusted to the level at
which it would be if he/she were hired now under these guidelines.


Adjournment


The meeting was adjourned at 5:47 p.m. (Williams/Bargar)



Respectfully submitted,



Steven Greiert
Secretary