Minutes of the Senate Meeting
September 9, 2008
Broun Auditorium
3:00 p.m.
Submitted by Sue Barry

Present: Robert Locy, Sue Barry, Kathryn Flynn, David Cicci, Dennis Devries, Paul Bobrowski, Timothy Boosinger, Anne-Katrin Gramberg, John Mason, Lindsey Stevenson, Andrew McLelland, Winfred Foster, Norbert Wilson, Charles Mitchell, Werner Bergen, Michael Clay, Christopher McNulty, Anthony Moss, Paul Holley, Rik Blumenthal, Brigitta Brunner, Laura Plexico, Sanjeev Baskiyar, Carol Centrallo, John Saye, James Witte, James Goldstein, Robin Huettel, Claire Crutchley, Allen Davis, John Mazaheri, Larry Teeter, Jim Saunders, Mark Fischman, David Carter, Raymond Kessler, Robert Bulfin, Andrew Wohrley, Steve Stuckwisch, Bart Prorok, Howard Goldstein, Constance Hendricks, Claire Zizza, Jim Wright, Daniel Parson, Jan Kavookjian, Bernie Olin, Guy Rohrbaugh, Mike Bozack, Changhoon Jung, Robert Voitle, Peggy Shippen, Scott Lewis, Jon Segars, Tom Williams, Emily Myers, Gwen Thomas,

Absent sending a substitute:  Todd Storey (Todd Storey), Sondra Parmer (Victoria Tuttle), Barbara Kemppainen (Dawn Boothe), Ronald Neuman (Steve Duke), Dan Gropper (Goger Garrison),  Scotte Hodel (Michael Baginski), Constance Hindricks (Kim Raines), Don-Terry Veal (Marcia Folmar), Salisa Westrick (Jan Kavookijan), M. Scott Phillips (Robin Jaffe)

Absent no substitute:  Larry Benefield, Richard Brinker, R. Lee Evans, Barbara Witt, Jeff McNeil, John Heilman, Bonnie MacEwan, Lauren Hayes, Paul Swamidass, Larry Crowley, Ellen Abell

Bob Locy called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m.

Approval of Minutes:  The minutes of the July 8th, Senate meeting were approved by voice vote without opposition.

Remarks/Announcements from the President and selected administrators

Dr. Gogue announced the selection our new Vice President for Advancement, Jeff McNeil.  He also introduced the new VP for Research, John Mason and asked him to make a few remarks.

John Mason (VP for research)
John told us that he had served in the Faculty Senate at Penn State for an extended period of time, and therefore, he appreciated the service provided by the Senate.  Then he outlined his ideas for implementing the strategic plan for research.  His plans are as follows:

1. To create a task force fully representing the faculty to look at issues identified in the strategic plan, to set agendas, and to do some internal assessment.
2. To work closely with associate deans in charge of research.
3. To form a  research council to serve as an advisory body to deal with policy issues 
4. To schedule visits to every major unit in each college and to look at their facilities. 

Dr. Gogue asked Stew Schneller for an update on the provost search. 

Stew Schneller (Dean, COSAM & Chair of the Provost Search Committee)
Stew told the Senate that the committee selected Funk & Associates of Dallas as the search firm and in mid-June the advertisements were published and contacts were made with potential candidates.  This process gave us a pool of about 100 candidates who came from several sources – applications, nominations and candidates identified from previous searches.  Now, the pool has been narrowed down to around 60, and the search committee has just begun to evaluate these applicants.  The committee plans to have interviews with 3-5 candidates in early November, sometime after Election Day and prior to Thanksgiving break.

Dr. Gogue said that there will be no cuts in academic programs and no midyear request for colleges to return a certain amount of money.  He anticipated proration for the coming year, but hoped that K-16 including community colleges and four-year schools would be affected at the same rate.  Then, he asked for a report from Don Large on campus security.

Don Large (Executive Vice President)
Don Large pointed out that in February 07, Dean Boosinger led a committee to look at security on campus and what we should do about it.  Then the shootings at Virginia Tech occurred and caused every institution in the country to reassess their security.  Some of our first acts were 1) to choose the area currently occupied by the AU Credit Union as a permanent security area, 2) to contract with the Auburn Police for a greater presence on campus,  3) to hire Robert Mann as our emergency planner to direct readiness exercises and training drills, 4) to contract Randy Cherasky to direct public safety, and 5) to obtain a permanent vendor for AU Alert.

Improved security for residence halls was a high priority.  Therefore, they have secured and installed alarms and surveillance cameras at ground floor entrances and increased the security van service to 24 hours. Students can call the dispatcher from anyplace on campus to go any other place on campus; however,  vans don’t go off campus. Integrating the closed circuit television system is taking longer than expected and won’t be finished until December.  Many other improvements have been implemented, and therefore, Melvin and his group deserve to be complimented.

Questions and Remarks

Connor Bailey, not Senator (Ag Economics & Rural Sociology) asked if there has been any discussion of reestablishing a campus police department. 

Don Large responded that this was not a realistic option at this point. He believes that what we have now works well.  However, they will continue to monitor and evaluate what is best for the university.

Dr. Gogue concluded with remarks concerning the recent tornado warnings.  He explained that they had looked at the situation carefully and that they had made a difficult decision to send everyone home and to cancel classes.  However, Dr. Gogue felt that they did the best they could with the information that they had.  He challenged the Senate to think about better ways to deal with this complex issue. 

Tony Moss, Senator (Biological Sciences) noted that many of these messages were out of synch, and he thought the system was severely overloaded.

Dr. Gogue  agreed with Tony that perhaps they may need a little help on improving the system.

Remarks from the Chair
Bob Locy, (Chair) informed the Senate that we are establishing an office in the basement of the Quad Center to be shared with the newly appointed ombudsman.   In addition, the Senate now has been authorized to hire a secretary to help the elected secretary of the Senate with her chores and to work jointly with the ombudsperson.

Bob relayed two pieces of good news to the Senate.  The first has to do with the triggered post tenure review procedure that was presented at the July meeting.  Since the trigger will require two negative annual reviews within five years to begin with this year’s annual review, no triggering will take place until after the annual reviews are conducted for the 08-09 academic year.  The second concerns the Professional Improvement Leave policy.  Even with the current budget concerns, there is a plan to proceed with whatever funds are available.

In regard to the Retroactive Withdrawal policy passed in July, the word backdating was eliminated from the document because the intent of the form is clear if one looks at the dating on the form.   It is clear that the form is asking for the date on which it is being filled out and the date for which it is to be effective.  The Chair will inform senators of these word changes before he brings it back for ratification.  In case we find other problems with the form, there will be another opportunity to review the policy next  year.

Since the early 90’s the Senate policy concerning new centers and institutes required the President to send this information to the Senate asking for input.  With the Longleaf Pine Ecosystems the Executive Committee decided to send out the information for your perusal and feedback rather than bring it to the Senate as an information item.  This confused some people; however, Bob asked the Senate to continue sending in their feedback to the Executive Committee.

Bob recognized the new senators and instructed them concerning absences, substitutes and signing the attendance sheet at the rear of the auditorium.  He also explained the rules for addressing the Senate.

Questions and Remarks

James Goldstein (English) wanted to know how many professional improvement leaves the administration would be able and willing to move forward with.

Bob replied that there would be approximately $70,000 available for the program for the coming year.  It will depend on the individual plans that come forward.  For this reason, it is difficult to give an exact number.

Action Items:

Addition to the Core Curriculum Oversight Committee (Sue Barry, Secretary)
Sue asked that the Senate approve an additional person on the Core Curriculum Oversight Committee for a period of one year to represent the Natural Sciences. 

The motion passed by a voice vote.

Senate Committee Nominees (Sue Barry, Secretary)
Sueexplained that it was necessary to change the rotations on the Grievance Committee in order to have an equal number of people rotate off each year.  All those who were affected by this change have been notified and have accepted their new rotation.  Therefore, she asked that the Senate approve the reconfigured Faculty Grievance Committee.

The motion passed by a voice vote.

Information Items:
Bob Locy (Chair, Senate) introduced Jim Wohl, our first Auburn University ombudsperson. 

University Ombudsman (Jim Wohl, Ombudsman)
Jim explained the origins of the ombuds model in Sweden where the ombudsperson held a statutory office with investigative powers to issue findings on behalf of the citizenry who were in conflict with the bureaucracy of the government.  However, here in North America it has branched into an organizational position within the corporate and higher education sectors.  The presence of ombuds offices in US universities has increased 34% since 2004. In fact in 2004 a resolution was passed by the Senate and endorsed by the A&P Assembly and the Staff Council, and finally a second resolution authorizing funding was passed in 2007, the ombudsperson now has space adjacent to the Senate Office in the Quad Center.

Jim used the tornado metaphor to explain the developmental process of conflict and resolution as it is dealt with through different modalities.  He emphasized the ombudsperson’s commitment to confidentiality and its limitations which have to do with the risk of serious harm.  Any visits to his office will remain confidential except for the limits placed on the ombudsperson by the International Ombudsman Association (IOA).

Jim also pointed out that independence from the academic or hierarchical structure of the university is an important aspect of the ombudsperson’s role.   This person must function independently in an informal and confidential manner with the hope of resolving conflict at the lowest level.  Visits to the ombuds office are completely voluntary.   During these visits the ombudsperson listens to questions and concerns and provides information concerning policies and procedures, all in an atmosphere of neutrality.

Jim told the Senate what an ombudsperson does not do.  He/she does not make formal decisions of findings nor does the ombudsperson determine guilt or innocence.  Jim also emphasized that in this position he will not offer legal advice or psychological counseling; nor will he participate as a witness in a formal investigation that might involve visits to his office.  Finally he gave out his phone number 844-7170 and his e-mail address ombuds@auburn.edu. 

There were no questions or comments

Writing Initiative Task Force Report (Sharon Roberts, Co-chair Writing Initiative)
Sharon first identified the members of the task force and explained that their charge from the Provost was to consider some items relative to undergraduate writing at Auburn University.  First they reviewed current practices for undergrad writing by speaking with the freshman composition faculty and with Drew Clark from the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment.  They found a strong freshman composition curriculum that needed additional resources and a lack of a coherent program beyond the freshman year.   Then they reviewed other nationally recognized programs that were in place at other institutions.  After a considerable investment of time and effort into learning what others were doing, the task force is proposing a program to develop a culture of writing across the curriculum that will impact the educational experience of every undergraduate at Auburn.

Sharon presented three recommendations to accomplish their goals.

1. The class size for all freshman composition courses will be reduced to 19 students.  This will require additional instructors and faculty in the Department of English.  With this additional faculty and staff there should be sufficient expertise to support freshman writing, provide opportunities for research, and attract graduate students interested in composition and rhetoric.
2. An outcomes-based model (Writing in the Disciplines) such as the one developed at North Carolina State will drive the writing instruction for undergraduate majors in each discipline offered at Auburn University.  The question for each discipline will be, “What writing competencies do our students need to achieve success”?  The SACS recommended model involves a cyclical process whereby faculty identify necessary competencies, develop appropriate strategies for students to attain them, and then assess whether or not it’s working.  This, of course, leads to the development of new outcomes.  A board with representation from across the University charged with the responsibility to develop guidelines for the program will be established.  Auburn University will hire a nationally recognized expert to lead the program at Auburn and to interact with faculty to help them develop outcomes, strategies, and assessments.  This person would work with other experts already on campus, such as the Biggio Center and the National Writing Project. 
3. The capacity of the writing center will be increased to support all student writing.  Initially, the University will expand their resources in order to be able to provide tutoring support for all writing in every core curriculum course.  The task force is also recommending that the University identify a physical site to house a writing center to support all undergraduate writing.  This space will provide a cross-disciplinary venue for academic discourse as well as research opportunities for graduate students and faculty.  When this center is ready we will merge the English Center into the writing center.

The administration contributed a fourth proposal for the writing program.   This is a proposal to use the ACT writing score for advising and placing students in enhanced writing courses in the summer before they enter the university, or in some other form of supplementary writing experience.  This would require the hiring and training of instructors and tutors for these courses.

The timeline will be the following:

1. Reduce freshman composition class size perhaps as soon as spring 2009.
2. Form the campus writing board this semester and initiate the search for a writing program administrator.
3. Expand the English center’s space and resources starting spring or fall 2009.  Also identify space and begin renovations for the writing center.
4. Begin a summer program for entering freshman with low ACT writing scores summer 2010.

Questions and Remarks

Mark Fischman, Senator (Kinesiology) said that the program for entering freshman with low writing scores sounds great. However, he wanted to know what the plans were transfer students that don’t come to Auburn until their junior year?

Sharon Roberts said that they didn’t address this problem, but with writing across the disciplines these students will learn the disciplinary genres necessary for their majors, and besides the writing center will be able to give tutoring support to these students.

Mark Fischman asked if transfer students take the ACT to get into Auburn. 

Sharon replied that they don’t take the ACT.

Norbert Wilson, Senator (Ag Economics & Rural Sociology) was complimentary about the program and understood the outcome-based approach through the major and the effort to hire a coordinator, but he didn’t understand how we would assess improvement of writing skills.

Sharon agreed that it would be a concern as to how departments would assess their students, but there would be periodic reports to the campus writing board, and they would be looking at writing across all university programs.  Ideally policies would be put in place to be sure students had equal opportunities to improve writing in their chosen fields.

Guy Rohrbaugh, Senator (Philosophy) wanted to know if reduced class size was tied to empirical research.

Sharon said that it was based on the standards from the Council of Writing Programs Administration and the Higher Education Division. 

Guy Rohrbaugh then wanted to know if those standards are based on empirical research.

Sharon felt that they were based on empirical research.

Auburn Research Park (John Weete, Executive Director, AUTF)
John Weete talked about the history of the Research Park over the last four or five years.  This has been a collaborative effort on the part of the City of Auburn and the Auburn University.  The city provided much of the funding that got the Research Park started and the University contributed the 156 acres of land.  There are three expectations for the Park – 1) to diversify the economy In the State, 2) to create a balance between manufacturing and knowledge-based, technology-based companies, and 3) to advance the mission of the university.

The Governor believes that the Research Park will be the driver of a knowledge-based economy in Alabama.  However, the primary attraction for the tenants is the access they will have to our graduates.  Their vision is to create a mixed use research and business campus.  This process has already begun.  The construction of a Leeds certified building is complete and 80% of the landscaping is in.  Northrup Grumman, the first tenant, has moved into their space. Two other companies have signed leases as well over the last month or so.  Their goal is to develop the park at the rate of about one new building a year.

Authenticated AU iTunes Implementation (Kathy McClellan, Manager, Instructional Media Group)
Kathy announced the official implementation of authenticated Itunes at Auburn University.  Beginning Monday, September 15th faculty will have the ability to post podcast, vodcast documents in a secure and authenticated site within iTunes only for students enrolled in our courses.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:35.