REGULAR MEETING OF THE UNIVERSITY FACULTY SENATE
MAY 6, 1996
MINUTES
Senators excused were: Kenneth Biederman, Hugh Frick, Steven Helmling,
Neil Houser, Vera Kaminski, Calvin Keeler,
Michael Rosenberg, Leonard Schwartz, Roland
Smith, Tracy Smith, William Stanley, Carolyn
Thoroughgood
Senators absent were: Steven Bennett, Paul Hooper, William Idsardi,
Abigail Jahiel, Arnold Kerr, Francis Kwansa, Bill
Lawson, Ajay Manrai, Kara Newport Paige, Shawn
Phillips, Ali Poorani, Kent Price, Tuncay Saydam
I. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA
The agenda was approved as submitted.
II. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES
The minutes of the April 1, 1996 meeting were approved as written.
III. ELECTION OF SENATE OFFICERS AND CERTAIN COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Balloting for Senate Officers and certain committee members was
held. Ballots were collected and removed for counting by members of
the Committee on Committees and Nominations.
IV. REMARKS BY UNIVERSITY PROVOST SCHIAVELLI
The Provost had no remarks.
V. ANNOUNCEMENTS
President Hall thanked all members of the Faculty Senate for their
work during the year and remarked that the business of the Senate
could not proceed smoothly without the dedicated work of the several
committee chairs and those serving on the committees.
ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR CHALLENGE
The following two Announcements for Challenge were accepted without
discussion:
1. Modification of degrees and modification of GPA requirements
for admission to EDDV 400 Student Teaching
2. Revision of the Master s in Business Administration: Creation
of concentration in Leadership and Management of Museums
V. OLD BUSINESS
There was no old business.
VI. NEW BUSINESS
A. Request from the Committee on Committees and Nominations for
Senate confirmation of appointments.
The amended list (attachment 1) of committee appointments was
confirmed.
B. Election of a chairperson for the Committee on Committees and
Nominations to be chosen from the committee members elected by
the Senate.
This position appeared on the ballots already cast.
C. Recommendation from the Faculty Senate Executive Committee for
revision to the Promotion Policy as stated in the Faculty
Handbook, Section III, Personnel Policies for Faculty, Section
K, pages III-24 through III-33, and to the charge of the
Faculty Senate Committee on Promotions and Tenure as stated in
the Faculty Handbook, page I-19.
President Hall listed a few typographical corrections to be
made to the document on the floor. He then explained that the
proposal was the result of a two-year self-study and review by
the University Committee on Promotions and Tenure and
primarily consisted of procedural changes and clarifications
intended to make the system work more smoothly and
efficiently. Moreover, there was a companion resolution from
the Committee on Committees and Nominations (COCAN) concerning
the charge to the University Committee on Promotions and
Tenure Committee which arose from the routine evaluation
carried out by COCAN. These, together with the results of
conversations between members of the Provost s Office and the
University Committee on Promotions and Tenure, resulted in the
recommendations which were now on the floor.
President Hall then stated that his intention was to consider
the proposals contained in the document in seriatim
Senator David Bellamy stated that the College of Arts and
Science Senate intended to recommend that the University
Committee on Promotions and Tenure be abolished and made the
following motion as a substitute resolution:
RESOLVED, that the duties of the University Committee
on Promotions and Tenure be suspended for
twenty-four months.
President Hall ruled that the motion was more appropriate for
the next question concerning the charge to the Committee.
This ruling was accepted by Senator Bellamy.
Senator Maurice Cope asked if there were procedures in the new
document which were in conflict with present practices and
whether the new procedures would take precedence.
President Hall stated that any such change would be applicable
only to future proceedings. Cases currently in the system
would proceed under the old procedures.
Senator Lu Ann DeCunzo said that she had taken the proposed
changes to her departmental colleagues and that it was their
opinion that there were several substantive changes that were
being suggested. She objected to the consideration of the
proposals in the document serially as she would be voting on
portions of the document before she had a chance to discuss
the final form of the proposal with her colleagues. She felt
that, in spite of President Hall s characterization of the
majority of changes as minor, she should have the opportunity
to take the proposed document back to her department for
discussion before voting on it.
Senator De Cunzo s motion was interpreted by the
Parliamentarian to be a motion to consider the motion on the
floor as a whole. The motion was seconded. Senator De Cunzo
then clarified that she wished to move--that the document be
returned to the committee because the compelling reasons for
introducing the proposed changes were not clear to the members
of her department. She then agreed to withdraw the motion
until some debate on the main motion could take place and
some of the motivation for the changes could be made clear.
Senator Gordon Bonner asked for some comment on the background
of Senator Bellamy s motion. President Hall confirmed that
he had received a motion from the College of Arts and Science
to abolish the University Committee on Promotions and Tenure.
Senator Bonner asked if Senator Bellamy had anything to add to
the discussion since such a recommendation should be
considered if the resolution was returned to Committee.
Senator Bellamy remarked that the motivation of the College of
Arts and Science was to confine assessment of a case closer to
those who have the expertise to make the required professional
judgments. There were adequate safeguards within the system
and, unless the Provost felt a need for the input of another
committee, the College of Arts and Science Senate did not see
the need for the University Committee on Promotions and
Tenure. Provost Schiavelli stated that he did not think that
the floor of the Faculty Senate was the appropriate forum in
which to discuss the question of abolition of the University
Committee on Promotions and Tenure. He remarked that he had
lived for nine years without a university committee and would
not like to go back to that state of life.
The Chairperson of the University Committee on Promotions and
Tenure was asked by Professor Kenneth Koford both to discuss
the issue of the difficulty of evaluating individuals across
different departments, as well as to identify those proposals
in the resolution which he believed were potentially
controversial.
Professor Dalrymple replied to the first question that the six
members of the Committee did represent some breadth of
discipline. What the Committee does is to make judgments as
to whether the material in the dossier supports the assertion
that the departmental criterion for excellence in research
and/or teaching is met. It is not necessary to be an expert
in the field in order to see whether, for example, research is
being pursued or contributions to the profession are being
made, nevertheless it is a difficult, but not an impossible
task.
Regarding changes in the Promotions and Tenure documents of
the departments, Professor Dalrymple remarked that much of the
document is a restatement of the University policy and that
streamlining those documents would be of considerable help to
those who must read the dossiers. Further changes are
designed either to protect confidentiality of outside
reviewers, and close loopholes in terms of deadlines or to
make other minor changes.
Professor Dalrymple further stated that it was not the
intention of the proposed changes to alter departmental
criteria. Misinterpretations could be a source of
controversy. The other potentially controversial point was
some change made to the criteria for promotion to full
professor.
President Hall added that an additional change was that of
disallowing tenure-track individuals coming up for promotion
in their terminal year.
Senator Linda Gottfredson remarked that some changes might
throw the College of Education procedures out of compliance.
For example, they currently have untenured individuals serving
on their committees. Moreover, having only two departments,
if members of a department were not allowed to vote on the
promotion of a departmental colleague, the other department
would control promotions in that department. Furthermore, the
timetable being proposed would make it more difficult to
obtain outside reviews in a timely fashion.
Vice Provost Andersen commented that current policy forbids
the service of untenured faculty on promotions and tenure
committees and, if that was the current practice in the
College of Education, they were currently out of compliance.
Senator De Cunzo asked that Professor Peter Weil of
Anthropology be allowed to speak. There being no objection,
Professor Weil reviewed some of the history of the current
policy and some of the abuses that it was designed to prevent.
In particular, the policy put primary responsibility on the
departments. He expressed concern that the proposed policy
could be interpreted in shifting some of that responsibility
to the University Committee and that such a shift should be
carefully debated.
The motion to return to committee was then seconded and the
first part of the resolution was returned to the Committee on
Promotions and Tenure.
WHEREAS, the Faculty Senate Committee on Promotions
and Tenure has been involved in a two-year
self-study of its policies and procedures
which has resulted in recommending a number
of minor revisions aimed at improving the
information submitted to the Committee,
making its efforts more efficient, and
producing the best judgment of which a
faculty committee is capable, and
WHEREAS, a subcommittee of the Committee on
Committees and Nominations has recently
completed a routine review of the Committee
on Promotions and Tenure and recommended
several minor revisions to its procedures
and constitution, therefore be it
RESOLVED, that the revised Promotion Policy, as
attached, be approved by the University
Faculty Senate,
The Faculty Senate then considered the second part of the
resolution which was to change the charge to the Committee on
Promotions and Tenure as stated in the Faculty Handbook. As
certain proposed changes were contingent upon the passage of
the preceeding part of the resolution, the Chairperson
considered the resolution on the floor to be amended to
exclude those changes which were dependent upon the preceeding
motion being passed.
Senator Bellamy s motion to substitute a recommendation
suspending the review of promotion and tenure cases by the
Committee on Promotions and Tenure for a period of 24 months
was reintroduced and ruled in order by President Hall. After
being seconded, the floor was open for debate. Interim
Associate Provost John Cavanaugh pointed out that the current
document promised a university-level faculty review of cases,
and any suspension of those rules should not be immediately
implemented. Senator Bellamy was asked what implementation
schedule he intended, and replied that he intended that the
suspension be effective with the next academic year.
Senator Stuart Cooper spoke against the motion. Professor
Dalrymple commented that it was clear to him, after
discussions with the President of the Arts and Science Senate,
that that body did not have a clear idea of just what the
Committee did.
The question was called and the motion to substitute was
defeated.
Debate on the original question proceeded. The Chairperson of
COCAN, Carol Denson, explained the thrust of the proposal:
the reordering of the charge would make the Committee s role
clearer; lines 8 through 17 were not to be amended, as the
previous question had been returned to committee, and the
charge would disallow department chairs from serving on the
University Committee on Promotions and Tenure.
Senator Jay Hildebrandt inquired if the long delay which his
department experienced for the approval of changes to the
departmental promotion and tenure document was at all typical
and, if so, whether the Committee was overworked and that its
duties should be divided. Professor Denson remarked that the
subcommittee did not consider that issue. The question of
delays was referred to Professor Dalrymple who commented that
the Committee on Promotions and Tenure continued to meet and
was considering document changes at the present time. He
stated that he believed it a bad idea to separate the duties
because the University Committee on Promotions and Tenure must
familiarize itself with all departmental documents. If there
were a separate committee two sets of individuals would have
to familiarize themselves with the documents.
Senator Bellamy remarked that his department had also
experienced a long delay before its document was approved.
The following recommendation was voted on and carried by a
vote of 32 to 2: (The revised charge is at Attachment 2)
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED,
that the revised charge to the Committee on
Promotions and Tenure, as stated in the
Faculty Handbook, page I-19, be approved.
President Hall then interrupted further consideration of New
Business to announce the results of the election:
President-Elect Robert Carroll
Vice President Joann Browning
Secretary Frank Dilley
Member, Committee on Committees
& Nominations Barbara Viera
Chairperson, Committee on Committees
& Nominations Carol Denson
D. Recommendation from the Committee on Undergraduate Studies for
a change to the Faculty Handbook and Undergraduate Catalog
pertaining to student class attendance.
Professor Robert Taggart, Chairperson of the Committee on
Undergraduate Studies, explained that there were a number of
students who, as parents, occasionally were required to miss
a class because of the illness of a child or other members of
the immediate family. Professor Kenneth Koford, Chairperson
of the Committee on Graduate Studies, supported the motion,
pointing out that there were also students who were required
to take business trips for their employer and were therefore
absent. Professor Robert Bennett, Chairperson of the
Committee on Student Life, suggested that the new statement
also be placed in the Student Handbook and his suggestion was
incorporated in the motion without objection.
The following resolution was unanimously approved:
WHEREAS, many students have children or other family
members for whom they are responsible, and
WHEREAS, these family members may have medical
emergencies that make it impossible for the
student to attend class, therefore be it
RESOLVED, that the following additions in wording be
made to the section on Student Class
Attendance in the Faculty Handbook, page
II-9, section d., second paragraph, to the
Undergraduate Catalog, page 17, section d.,
second paragraph, and to the Official
Student Handbook, page 59, section d.,:
[Additions in bold and underlined]
d. [Second paragraph] For relatively minor, short-
term illnesses of students (e.g. colds and flu,
where attendance in class is undesirable) or
their immediate family, the University system
depends upon reasonable communication between
students and faculty. If possible, students
should report such illnesses before the affected
class, following the directions of the instructor
of the term.
E. Introduction of New Business
Senator Maurice Cope presented a resolution for consideration
by the Faculty Senate concerning the journal holdings in the
Morris Library. While the Faculty Senate has no budgetary
power, he asked that the resolution be presented as a Sense
of the Senate.
President Hall inquired if he wished the resolution be
forwarded to the Faculty Senate Library Committee. After some
discussion, it was decided that the following resolution be
presented to the Faculty Senate at its next meeting.
WHEREAS, the library is mandating cutbacks in the
orders of professional journals (1991--20%,
1992--18%, 1997-98--30%), and
WHEREAS, periodical literature is of fundemental
importance for teaching and research in all
field, and is crucial for departments
offering graduate degrees, and
WHEREAS, other sources of periodical material are at
present grossly insufficient: most journals
are not yet on-line, some may not be on-
line for the forseeable future, and there
is not yet the technology for reproduction
adequate for all needs, and
WHEREAS, having to order each article separately
will greatly increase the time needed for
research and its cost as well, costs which
the library will cover only in part,
therefore be it
RESOLVED, that the cutback in journal orders for 1997
and 1998 be rescinded, and the entire
program be reconsidered in the light of the
needs of the various departments, the state
of technology, and the actual availability
of articles of comparable quality from
other sources. Any future cutbacks should
be discussed with and approved by the
individual departments before
implementation.
There being no further new business, the meting was adjourned
at 5:15 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Thomas Angell
Secretary
University Faculty Senate
TA/rg
Attachments:
1. Committee Appointments
2. Revised charge to the Committee on Promotions and Tenure
3. Annual Reports of the Faculty Senate Standing Committees
E. Such items as may come before the Senate. (No motion
introduced under new business, except a motion to refer to
committee, shall be acted upon until the next meeting of the
Senate.)
MK/rg
Attachments: Committee Activities Report
1. Slate of Nominees
2. Biographies of Nominees
3. Modification of degrees and modification of GPA requirements
4. Revision of the MBA
5. Confirmation of Appointments
6. Present and Revised Promotion Policy
7. Charge to the Committee on Promotions and Tenure