Faculty Senate
November 1, 2002
The meeting was called to order at 2:05
Members Present: Meyer, H. Hamilton, Murphy, Simone, Puleo, Truss, Walsh, Parker, Scott, McMinn, B. Jones, and Kurtz
The minutes of the October 18th meeting were corrected and approved.
President’s Report:
President reported that he and Senator Powers had met with a faculty group working on a sick-day pool proposal. The group will be working with Vice President Jarrett. The goal is to have an initial draft by February. The trustees have been informed of the work this committee is doing.
President Meyer summarized the Board of Trustees meeting he attended earlier in the day. Student trustee David ???? expressed interest in attending a faculty senate meeting. The discussion which followed supported the idea of a student representative attending a senate meeting with the understanding that certain topics might require the representative being asked to leave temporarily. The university is accepting bids for construction of the new recreation center. Dr. McChesney reported to the trustees that enrollment was holding steady. Montevallo’s label as a “best buy” university has helped student recruitment. The Institutional Plan 2003-98 was approved. The 2003-04 calendar was normalized; meaning it was coordinated with the AEA calendar. The Annual Fund Campaign is ahead of last year’s campaign at this time. Formal invitations to the trustees on behalf of the faculty senate were mailed out last week. One trustee has tentatively accepted the invitation and another has expressed interest in doing so,
President Meyer gave an update on the effort to balance senate term rotation. A plan calling for 2 CAS senators to step down after serving the first year of their 2 year terms, will achieve the desired balance. Dean Rowland has stated he would assist the senate in this undertaking and has asked for a formal request from the faculty senate.
2. Liaison Reports:
There was nothing new to report concerning the SGA.
Senator Murphy (Montevallo Chamber of Commerce liaison) was asked to gather information concerning the Main Street Players request to use university facilities.
Senator Simone reported as senate liaison to the OSP. The OSP is undertaking a review of their bi-laws. An extensive discussion concerning how best the faculty senate might support efforts on behalf of the OSP took place. It was decided that for now Senator Simone would communicate to OSP officers that the faculty senate would fully support the efforts of the OSP to revisit policies concerning OSP operations.
3. Committee Reports:
There was no report from the committee on student grievance procedures.
The faculty salary administration review committee is in the process of gathering information. This includes concerns communicated by individual faculty members, notes and data from previous committees, COPLAC guidelines, data from other Alabama colleges and universities and CUPA data.
Senators Hamilton and McMinn reported on the university budget review. Senator Hamilton made clear that the information he had gathered was on the budget, not the financial statements of the university. A number of questions were raised concerning changes in the budget over the last 3 years. Senators Hamilton and McMinn collected the questions raised and invited senators to send their questions to him.
The morale and retention committee reported on work being done on a faculty satisfaction survey. Issues concerning the grouping of questions and how to maximize the response rate remain. It was pointed out that while it is important to ensure confidentiality and anonymity, we do not want to create more misgivings among faculty.
Senator Walsh reported on the IITC’s work on a strategic plan and expressed the importance of faculty input as this plan is being developed.
Senator Truss reported on her efforts to locate the source of university policy concerning drop dates and mid-terms. It was determined that questions concerning the coordination of these dates should be asked of the provost. President Meyer referred to the faculty handbook and the stated policy concerning finals scheduling. An issue that remains unresolved has to do with the conflict between night classes and the 4:00-6:00 finals slot. It was requested of President Meyer that he get a clarification regarding dead days and reading days. There was consensus that the enforcement of the university finals schedule fell to the Deans specifically, and the administration, in general.
The meeting began to fizzle out altogether and we adjourned at 4:06
Next Meeting: November 15th.
Respectfully submitted and offered for your viewing pleasure,
Stephen Parker, Recording Secretary, Faculty Senate