Faculty Council

Tuesday, December 7, 2004, 12:00 p.m.

Cohen House, Esther M. Cohen Dining Room

Present: Jose Aranda, Marj Corcoran, Steve Crowell, Lynne Huffer (Speaker), Donald Morrison, Matteo Pasquali, Bob Patten (Deputy Speaker), Caroline Quenemoen, Patricia Reiff, Herb Ward, and Mark Wiesner Absent: John Casbarian, Vicki Colvin, Rebekah Drezek, Nancy Niedzielski, and David Scott.

(1) Minutes: The minutes were approved from the November 16, 2004 business meeting.

(2) Governance Reform Proposals: The business meeting was dedicated to discussion of two proposals recommending reform of the faculty governance system. Faculty Council initially received these proposals as recommendations from the Task Force on Faculty and Shared Governance. A Faculty Council Ad Hoc Committee, chaired by Donald Morrison, then studied these recommendations and developed a document to present to Faculty Council for a vote. Each proposal was discussed in detail with special emphasis on any modifications that altered the draft originally submitted by the Task Force.

The first proposal separates the Promotion and Tenure Committee from other governance bodies. This proposal includes minor modifications from the original Task Force version including: reducing the number of Provost appointments from three to two and creating a new Jones School position that is separate from the Architecture and Music position. During the discussion, an amendment was approved to add the words "a position is unfilled or" in section 5 to complete the sentence: "In the event that a position is unfilled or an Elected Member is unable or unwilling to serve, the Provost, in consultation with the Dean or Deans of the relevant School or Schools, will appoint a one-year replacement." The first proposal as amended was called to a vote and approved unanimously with no abstentions.

The second proposal creates a Faculty Senate to replace the current Faculty Council structure. Modifications to this proposal include:

1. Adding the restriction: "Among the representatives elected 'at any rank' from various Schools, no more than one person may serve from any single department" under the Elections section.
2. Adding a position in the non-tenure track category, which makes two levels under this category: non-tenure track teaching faculty and non-tenure track research faculty.
3. Reducing the number of Presidential appointments from three to two in order to maintain a total number of 30 members on the Senate.
4. Changing the eligibility to vote for various positions (no change to the definition of voting faculty).
5. Removing the President and Provost from the Executive Committee.
6. Adding the wording "to preserve confidentiality in matters involving individuals" under the section for Meetings and Operation of the Senate to complete the sentence: "The senate may from time to time choose to meet in closed session, e.g. to preserve confidentiality in matters involving individuals."

The second proposal was called to a vote and approved unanimously with no abstentions. Each of these proposals will be presented for discussion at the General Faculty meeting on January 26, 2005 and called to a vote in two special General Faculty meetings scheduled for February 2 and February 28, 2005.

(3) Spring Meeting Dates: Dates for Spring 2005 Faculty Council business meetings were distributed to Faculty Council members along with the dates for University Council and General Faculty meetings.

(4) Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 1:15 p.m., with the next Faculty Council business meeting scheduled for January 12, 2005.

Sarah Holloman

Executive Assistant