Minutes of the University Senate Meeting
8 June 2010
3:00 p.m.
Broun Hall Auditorium
Submitted by
Dennis DeVries, Secretary
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(for a complete transcription of the meeting, go to https://auburn.edu/administration/governance/senate/website/transcripts/TrScrpt2009-2010/transcript_06_08_10.html)
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Present: Kathryn Flynn, Claire Crutchley, Dennis Devries, Russ Muntifering, Robert Locy, Richard Guthrie, Stewart Schneller, Jeff McNeil, Ainsley Carry, John Mason, Mary Ellen Mazey, April Staton, Bill Hames, Andrew McLelland, Norbert Wilson, Charles Mitchell, Werner Bergen, Barbara Kemppainen, Michael Clay, Paul Swamidass, Anthony Moss, Ronald Neuman, Prabhakar Clement, Hollie Lavenstein, Sanjeev Baskiyar, Wi-Suk Kwon, Charles Eick, Michael Stern, James Witte, James Goldstein, Xing Ping Hu, Allen Davis, John Mazaheri, Larry Teeter, David King, Mark Fischman, Jennifer Brooks, Shea Tillman, Robert Bulfin, Andrew Wohrley, Herb Rotfeld, Claire Zizza, Jim Wright, Daniel Parson, Jan Kavookjian, Guy Rohrbaugh, Mike Bozack, Steven P. Brown, Chris Correia, Del Epperson, Emily Myers, Heather May, Ralph Henderson
Absent, sending a substitute: Joe Morgan (for Larry Benefield), Greg Sommers (for Richard Brinker), Constance Relihan (for Anne-Katrin Gramberg), Kimberly Braxton Lloyd (for R. Lee Evans), Paula Sullinger (for Bonnie MacEwan), Brian Thurow (for Winfred Foster), Allyson Comstock (for Christopher McNulty), Rebekah Pindzola (for Daniel Phillips), Harris Hollans (for Keven Yost), T.Y. (for Steve Stuckwisch), Barbara Wilder (for Constance Hendricks), J. Emmett Winn (for Monica DeTure), Gwen Thomas (for Yasser Gowayed), Keith Pickens (for Jon Segars)
Absent, no substitute: Jacob Watkins, James Winfield, Judy Woodrow, Larry Crowley, David Shannon , Sondra Parmer, Yifen Wang, Paul Holley, Eduardus Duin, Michael Baginski, Raymond Kessler, Ellen Abell, Casey Cegielski, Bart Prorok, Howard Goldstein, Wesley Lindsey, Robert Voitle, Rebecca Curtis, Scott Lewis
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Call to Order:
Kathryn Flynn called the meeting to order at 3:04 PM
She briefly reviewed procedural rules for the meeting.
There were no comments or changes on the minutes from the 4 May 2010 University Senate meeting, so they were approved as posted to the web.
Remarks and Announcements:
Kathryn Flynn (Faculty Chair) invited Dr. Gogue, President, to present comments from the President's office.
Dr. Gogue had several items to mention.
--He reported on a recent meeting of groups of university presidents with reporters at the Chronicles. He said that the Gulf oil spill was one issue that was discussed, and he thanked those on campus who were helping with the situation. He also noted that there was interest from the other universities about Auburn's employee prescription program and the Healthy Tiger's Initiative.
--He mentioned that May was a good month for the Educational Trust Fund with an increase in interest of 6% over May 2009.
--He noted that it has been an interesting year, with good progress on the strategic plan, and he thanked the Senate officers/leadership for being such a good collegial group with which to work.
Questions for Dr. Gogue:
--Richard Penaskovic (Philosophy, not a Senator) asked about progress concerning facilities. Dr. Gogue responded that in regards to Dan King's list of prospects, they will be discussed at the next Board of Trustee's meeting.
Comments from the Chair:
--Kathryn Flynn noted that both she and Dennis DeVries wanted to say thanks for the opportunity to serve.
--She noted that the Academic Affairs Committee will consider the time that students have to add classes at the start of the semester.
--The Rules Committee has been busy with staffing Senate Committees and nominating individuals for University Committees. She encouraged everyone to be willing to serve and noted that there will be an email call to AU-Profs for additional volunteers.
--She provided a bit of background concerning the Lecturer/Senior Lecturer positions. The Senate approved the positions, and then passed guidelines for those positions with de facto tenure. The administration did not approve the guidelines as were passed by the Senate. There is a great deal of interest in these positions, so the question was how to bring the guidelines back to the Senate. She summarized the problems that are encountered with the current situation without these positions. The guidelines were sent to the Non tenure track instructors committee, and they have worked on them and are bringing them back to the Senate today for consideration.
Questions for Dr. Flynn:
--Herb Rotfeld (Marketing) expressed concern over the process used to put external faculty on the search committees for Deans. Why were they not nominated by the Rules Committee, why were they just selected from the Senate leadership? Kathryn Flynn noted that she was not on the Rules Committee during previous Dean searches and was not aware of any previous procedures. Dr. Mazey said she also did not know of any previous practice; if it was a mistake, it was her mistake.
--Herb Rotfeld then noted that as Past Chair, Kathryn Flynn would serve as the faculty representative to the Board of Trustees. If she is successful in being named to the Interdisciplinary Director position, would she ask someone else to serve in her place on the Board of Trustees? Kathryn provided a bit of background concerning the position that he mentioned, and noted that she saw no perceived conflict as the position is really equivalent to an undergraduate program director.
Action Items:
Election of new Rules Committee member (Dennis DeVries, Secretary)
--Barbara Kemppainen has been nominated to serve on the Rules Committee, and was approved by the Senate (59 yes, 2 no, 1 abstain).
Approval of proposed changes to the Curriculum Committee and Graduate Council (Linda Glaze, Associate Provost for Undergraduate Studies)
--The proposed changes are at https://auburn.edu/administration/governance/senate/website/agendas/2009-2010/June10/Handbook-Curr&GradCoun.pdf
--Linda Glaze provided some background.
--Norbert Wilson (Ag. Econ./Rural Sociology) asked about the situation with 5000/6000 courses that affect both an undergraduate and a graduate course. He provided an amendment, which Linda Glaze accepted as a friendly amendment. The amendment was to insert "and changes that affect both undergraduate and graduate curricula (e.g., 5000/6000 courses, accelerated Bachelor's and Master's programs, etc.)" to the end of the second sentence (i.e., after "curriculum changes").
--The amended motion was approved (59 yes, 5 no, 1 abstain)
Approval of proposed change to the Faculty Handbook concerning Academic Freedom (James Goldstein, Senator)
--The proposed change to the Faculty Handbook is at https://auburn.edu/administration/governance/senate/website/agendas/2009-2010/June10/Chapter3_AcademicFreedomRevision.pdf
--Background is provided at https://auburn.edu/administration/governance/senate/website/agendas/2009-2010/June10/Background_%20ProposedRevision_Chapter3.pdf
--The motion was moved by Steven Brown (Political Science), seconded by Mike Clay (Architecture).
--The motion did not pass (55 yes, 7 no, 2 abstain; 58 votes required to pass which is a 2/3 majority vote of all Senators, or 2/3*87=58).
--James Goldstein (English) moved to require Senators to stand up for the vote, seconded by Tony Moss (Biological Sciences); the motion passed by a voice vote.
--Tony Moss (Biological Sciences) asked for clarification of the original motion, and James Goldstein clarified.
--The motion did not pass (57 yes votes; 58 votes required to pass).
Approval of three remaining proposed changes to the Faculty Handbook (Russ Muntifering, Secretary-elect)
--The proposed changes are at https://auburn.edu/administration/governance/senate/website/agendas/2009-2010/June10/Pages_fromP&TChanges_2-15.pdf
--All require a 2/3 majority vote of all Senators, which is 2/3*87=58.
--Chapter 3.11.E, last paragraph (create a "closed" dossier)
--Herb Rotfeld (Marketing) commented whether information could be sent concurrently in dossier and to the P&T committee.
--James Witte (Educational Foundations, Leadership, and Technology) moved to add the following to the end of the proposed text change: "The promotion and/or tenure candidate has the right to review and comment on unsolicited letters of evaluation. Candidate's response will accompany the P&T package." Seconded by Werner Bergen (Animal Sciences). The amendment passed by a voice vote
--the amended main motion did not pass (41 yes, 11 no, 5 abstain; 58 votes required to pass)
--Chapter 3.11.H, 4th paragraph (reworded to conform to current practice)
--the motion did not pass (56 yes, 6 no, 3 abstain; 58 votes required to pass)
--Richard Penaskovic (Philosophy, not a Senator) asked if the required vote was 2/3 of those present. Kathryn Flynn responded that it is 2/3 of the total Senate membership.
--Chapter 3.14, 6th paragraph (allow additional of material to dossier for appeal)
--Xing Hu (Entomology/Plant Pathology) asked about the 14 calendar days if the Department Head is gone, and proposed an amendment to note that the Department Head/Chair is responsible for having all needed appeal materials together and delivered to the Provost within 14 calendar days. This was seconded by Tony Moss (Biological Sciences).
--Michael Stern (Economics) said that it would all be easier if in the original proposed wording the word "through" was struck, and a comma placed after "Provost", the same thing would be accomplished. Xing Hu accepted that as a friendly amendment.
--further discussion
--Mark Fischman (Kinesiology) moved to postpone consideration of this motion until the August Senate meeting, seconded by Tony Moss (Biological Sciences). Motion passed by a voice vote.
Approval of Final Exam Policy (Patricia Duffy, Assistant Provost)
--Patricia Duffy provided some background, noting that this is the process that we follow and the Senate is asked to formally approve it.
--The proposed policy is at https://auburn.edu/administration/governance/senate/website/agendas/2009-2010/June10/FINAL_EXAM_POLICY.pdf
--Herb Rotfeld (Marketing) moved an amendment to add "and brought to the Senate for approval" to the end of the third sentence, seconded by James Goldstein (English). The amendment passed by a voice vote.
--The amended motion passed (61 yes, 3 no, 1 abstain).
Approval of two Ombudsperson proposals (Claire Crutchley, Chair-elect)
--proposals are listed at https://auburn.edu/administration/governance/senate/website/agendas/2009-2010/June10/OmbudspersonProposals.pdf
--approved motion to continue Ombudsperson position (58 yes, 4 no, 2 abstain)
--approved motion to lengthen term of position from 2 years to 3 years (59 yes, 3 no, 2 abstain)
Approval of proposed procedures for Lecturer/Senior Lecture positions (Michel Smith, Chair, Non Tenure Track Instructors Committee)
--background provided in PowerPoint file and at https://auburn.edu/administration/governance/senate/website/agendas/2009-2010/June10/LecturerPolicy.pdf
--James Goldstein (English) moved to postpone consideration of this motion until the August Senate meeting, seconded by Tony Moss (Biological Sciences). Motion did not pass (28 yes, 31 no, 2 abstain).
--Gwen Thomas (Polymer/Fiber Engineering) noted that the word "insure" should be changed to "ensure" in the first bullet under number 3 (Termination). Accepted as a friendly amendment.
--Michael Stern moved to make the following changes, seconded by Mike Clay (Architecture):
--In the first paragraph of #3, remove the statement concerning "lack of collegiality".
--In the first paragraph of #4, delete "Lecturer/Senior Lecturers should participate in departmental governance."
--Add the following to the start of the text under #4: "A Lecturer/Senior Lecturer may be eligible to vote on faculty matters according to department and/or school/college governance rules; this may include the ability to serve on committees."
--James Goldstein (English) proposed a friendly amendment to the amendment to strike the following from the first bullet under #3 (Termination): "including but not limited to a lack of collegiality and unprofessional behavior".
--Michel Smith accepted all of this as a friendly amendment.
--Keith Pickens (ROTC Army) moved to separate all 8 points in the guidelines and vote on each point separately, seconded by Kimberly Braxton Lloyd (substitute for Lee Evans, Pharmacy). The motion did not pass based on a voice vote.
--Bob Locy (Past Chair) asked if the motion was amended or not. Kathryn Flynn responded that the amendments had been accepted as friendly amendments, and thus did not require a vote.
--further discussion
--The amended motion passed (51 yes, 5 no, 3 abstain).
Unfinished Business:
There was no unfinished business.
New Business:
There was no new business.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:59 PM.