Minutes of Faculty Council Meeting

22 November 1999 - 12:00 noon

Faculty Club

Present: Ambler, Caldwell, Cox, Dailey, Dharan Droxler, Mutchler, Patten, Wiener, Wilson. Absent: Akin, Bayazitoglu, Ghorbel, Rea, West, Wittenberg.

The agenda consisted of: (1) Approval of Minutes, (2) Affirmative Action/EEOC Search Job Description, (3) Sexual Harassment Policy, (4) Bachelor of Science Degree.

(1) Approval of Minutes: Minutes of the October 25 Faculty Council Meeting were corrected and approved.

(2) Affirmative Action/EEOC Search Job Description: Wilson announced that a search is underway for a Director of Affirmative Action/EEOC. Because some of the more routine tasks such as preparing reports could be handled by an outside firm, Council was asked its opinion as to whether the position should be halftime or fulltime. After some discussion it was felt it would be best to leave the position as a fulltime one.

(3) Sexual Harassment Policy: Caldwell presented a draft of the RICE UNIVERSITY SEXUAL HARASSMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURES. He then went through each proposed change asking for a motion and vote. Major suggestions included a redefinition of sexual harassment to better fit the educational environment and a change in the procedure for handling complaints against a faculty member so that they conform to our newly established procedures for handling accusations against a faculty member and Policy 201-97. With a few minor changes in wording, Council approved the document. After further consultation with the General Counsel's office, the document will be given to the administration with the recommendation that it become official policy.

(4) Bachelor of Science Degree: A memo from Dean Kathleen Matthews along with a proposal for the creation of a Bachelor of Science Degree Program in the Wiess School of Natural Sciences was distributed. A brief discussion followed and Council was asked to review the proposal and be prepared to discuss and vote on the matter at the December meeting.

The meeting was adjourned at 1:15 p.m.

Joan Reid, Secretary

Faculty Council Officers and Committees 1999-2000

Speaker - Bill Wilson

Deputy Speaker - Robert Patten

Convener of the Committee on Appeals & Grievances - Carl Caldwell

Policy Committee

Ed Cox, Chair

Carl Caldwell

Bob Patten

Jane Dailey

Gordon Mutchler

Elections Committee

Fathi Ghorbel, Chair

Gordon Wittenberg

Joan Rea

Andre Droxler

Committee on Committees

John Ambler, Chair

Martin Wiener

Ed Akin

Andre Droxler

Compensation Committee

Yildiz Bayazitoglu, Chair

Bala Dharan

Jennifer West

Gordon Wittenberg