35th Faculty Senate
Vol. 35, No. 2
September 14, 2000
I. Roll Call.
Present: Bange, Barmore, Barnd, Brooks, Claflin, Cravins, Gendreau,
Heim, Hench, Hollenback, S. Kelly, S. Krajewski, R. LeDocq, Majak, Marx, Monte,
Odulana, Senger, Stroud, R. Sullivan, Tyser, VanVoorhis, Zellmer.
II. Approval of Minutes.
The minutes of the May 4, 2000, thirty-fourth faculty senate meeting were
approved as distributed. The organizational meeting minutes of the
thirty-fifth faculty senate were also approved as distributed.
III. Reports.
There was not a Chancellor's Report. There was not a
Provost/Vice-Chancellor's Report.
Chair's Report. The following tentative schedule of meetings for fall semester was distributed: September 28; October 12, 26; November 9, 16, 30; and December 7.
Chair Bange advised the senate that the Joint Budget Committee will be operating differently. The academic deans will be serving as voting members of the committee. Additionally, to help the process run more smoothly, the Provost has asked that the Joint Budget Committee recommend a university-wide priority listing to go to governance groups for their consideration.
Faculty Representative's Report. At their September meeting, President Lyall met with the faculty representatives. Budget matters look bleak. It is a different climate in Madison than it was 2-yrs ago when UW-System had the support of Thompson administration and a slight majority of legislators. The UW-System budget request of a 3.7% increase in each of the two years of the biennium sounds conservative but word is that the Thompson administration doesn’t look favorable. Unofficial estimates are that Governor Thompson's position is zero or maybe one percent.
Regarding instructional academic staff, it looks like final recommendations will be made regarding governance issues. System expects to hear some things soon from the blue ribbon committee appointed in 1992.
Lastly, the Board of Regents will meet at UW-La Crosse October 5th/6th. The sub-committees (Education, Business & Finance, and Physical Planning) will meet in Cartwright Center on Thursday while the full board convenes on Friday. Senators are encouraged to attend one or more of the sessions, as this is an excellent opportunity to watch the Regents in action
IV. Approval of Committee Appointments.
The Senate Executive Committee recommends the following committee
appointments:
Joint Promotion Committee
3-year terms
George Arimond
Ron McKelvey
Curt Reithel
Bruce Riley
2-yr continuing terms
James Finch
Mary Hampton (replacement for Mark Sandheinrich)
Charles Lee
Greg Wegner
1-yr continuing term
Michael Haupert
George Huppert
Pam Rodgers
William Zollweg
Academic Priorities Committee
3-year terms
Niranjan Pati
John Porcari
Ray Schoen
2-year continuing terms
Pat DiRocco
S. N. Rajagopal
Curtis Reithel
1-year continuing term
Eric R. Kraemer, Convener
Tom Krueger
Pat Wilder
Consultative Layoff
3-year terms
Michael Abler
Paul Keaton
Sara Sullivan
2-year continuing terms
Dan Duquette
Sandra Krajewski
Rebecca LeDocq
1-year continuing term
Barry Clark
Dennis Fater
Ed Wood
Senate Elections Committee
T. J. Brooks
Joe Heim
Rob Tyser
Senate Committee on Faculty Committees
George Cravins
Tom Hench
Susan Kelly
Need 2 more members
Ombudspersons
David Bange
Susannah Lloyd
Laura Nelson
Parking Appeals Board
Tom Claflin, member
Ron Glass, alternate
Sexual Harassment Hearing Register
Sandra Krajewski
Charles Lee
Rob McGaff
Sara Sullivan
Sonja Schrag
Student Technology Fee Committee
Ron Stoffregen
University Ethics Committee
Gary Gilmore
Continuing members
John Gardner
Eric Kraemer
Gwen Straker
Alternates
David Bange
Katie Barton
Ron Glass
Senators Hollenback, VanVoorhis, and Odulana volunteered to serve on the Committee on Faculty Committees.
M/S/P that six senators serve on the Committee on Faculty Committees for the present academic year. (voice vote)
Concern that not enough women have been appointed to the Joint Promotion Committee the past two years was noted.
M/S/P to approve the above list of committee nominations as modified. (voice vote)
V. Nominations to the Chancellor Search & Screen Committee.
In presenting the list of Senate Executive Committee nominees for the
Chancellor Search & Screen Committee, Chair Bange explained that it was not an
easy task to select 18 of 29 names. Indeed, there are 345,972,900 possible
combinations! President Lyall's request was that the nominations reflect
the diversity of the campus with respect to academic disciplines, tenured and
untenured faculty, gender, and ethnicity. If approved, Chair Bange will
submit the names of the 18 faculty members (list includes one instructional
academic staff), with a brief background statement for each person to President
Lyall for her consideration. She will name the committee and committee
chair 9/27/00 (one week after receiving the nominations). Bange indicated
that we do not know what sources of information she will use to make her
selection only that she "expects to set up a committee as broadly representative
of the university community as possible."
M/S/P to approve the following list of names for membership on the Chancellor Search & Screen Committee: (voice vote)
David Bange, Mathematics
Billy Clow, Theatre Arts
Jim Finch, Marketing
James Gallagher, Archaeology
Kim Harbst, Physical Therapy
Michael Haupert, Economics
Joe Heim, Political Science
Cecilia Manrique, Political Science
Betsy Morgan, Psychology
Dianne Morrison, Finance
Laura Nelson, Communication Studies
Niranjan Pati, Management
Thomas Pribek, English
John Porcari, Exercise & Sport Science
Steven Senger, Computer Science
Gubbi Sudhakaran, Physics
Matthew Taylor, Psychology
Karen Terpstra, Art
The Senate then participated in a discussion of what the faculty should be looking for in our next chancellor. Several qualities were mentioned including:
- Supportive of general education in the curriculum
- Strong respect for faculty governance, rights, and tenure
- Understands that the university is not a business
- Earned tenure and risen through the ranks within an academic discipline
- Continues to demonstrate a commitment to teaching and scholarship
- Maintains a strong connection to the community
- Embrace in a deep way a partnership to strengthen the institution
- Sensitive to issues of women and minorities and continues to strengthen international education
- Quality classroom facilities
VI. Approval of New Academic Programs.
Three new undergraduate sub-programs were forwarded to the faculty senate
from the Registrar. These programs have received approval from the
appropriate curriculum committees.
M/S/P to approve the History Major and the History Minor with Regional World Emphasis. (voice vote)
M/S/P to approve the Physics Major with Biomedical Concentration. (voice vote)
VII. Job Description and Search-and-Screen Procedures for the Director of
General Education Program.
Chair Bange reviewed last year's action regarding the Director of General
Education. The faculty senate approved the creation of, and the
administration has agreed to fund a Director of General Education. This
will be a .50 position and will be filled internally. The Search & Screen
Committee was appointed late last spring and met over the summer months to
develop the following job description and search/screen procedures:
Title: Director of General Education
Contract Duration: Faculty contract with reassignment time for administration of General Education Program responsibilities. Conditions of faculty appointment applicable. Three-year appointment with possibility for renewal.
Contract Arrangement: Fifty-percent reassignment to direct the General Education program during the academic year with an additional summer appointment of at least fifty-percent.
Minimum Qualifications:
- Associate Professor (Tenure-track or Tenured) at UW-L.
- An understanding of, and commitment to, the principles of General Education at UW-L.
- A willingness to develop a working knowledge of national trends and developments in general education through active participation in professional organizations, conferences and workshops.
- Excellent organizational, communication, and interpersonal abilities.
- Experience in curriculum assessment.
- Commitment to excellence in teaching.
Duties and Responsibilities
Serves as a spokesperson and advocate for general education.
Coordinates scheduling of General Education courses, working with the deans, department chairs, faculty and registrar.
Fosters development of the General Education curricula, both current and new.
Coordinates, supports, and supervises assessment of student learning in General Education.
Works with faculty, departments and colleges to review the results of assessment and their possible application to the General Education Program.
Works with the General Education Committee.
Teaches in the General Education Program, as appropriate.
Coordinates the orientation of students to the General Education Program.
Coordinates the orientation of faculty and staff to the General Education Program.
Provides professional development opportunities related to general education for faculty and departments. Provides opportunities to explore and develop teaching practices and curricula related to general education.
Prepares written materials describing the Program for a variety of audiences
including students, prospective students and parents, faculty and alumni.
Establishes relevant connections with other educational activities on campus
such as the Undergraduate Research Program, Lectures and Concerts, First Year
Student Seminar, and the Honors Program.
Manages the Fund for Innovation in General Education, in consultation with the General Education Committee.
Seeks external funding to strengthen the curricula, teaching, and learning in
the General Education program.
1. The Chair of the Search and Screen Committee, Mary Hampton, will request authorization to proceed with the search from Interim Provost/Vice Chancellor and Assistant to the Chancellor for Affirmative Action and Diversity. With this request, the following will be provided: a position description, qualifications for this position, these Search and Screen Procedures, as well as a list of questions that will be asked during the interview process.
2. Once authorization is received, the Chair will arrange for the
announcement of the position vacancy along with deadline date using the
following methods of information:
Campus Connection
E-mail to all faculty and staff in the university
3. Interested individuals should submit the following to the Chair of the
Search and Screen Committee:
a. A resume
b. A letter of application
c. One letter of reference and the names and phone numbers of two
additional references
The files of applicants for this position will kept in the Office of the Provost/Vice Chancellor in a secure cabinet and available to members of the committee by contacting this office (785-8042).
4. After the deadline has passed, a list of applicants, for information purposes, will be forwarded to Ron Rada and Al Thompson. Members of the Search and Screen Committee will review the applications and will meet as soon as possible to select candidates for interviews. The selection of these candidates will take place during a closed meeting. The following statement will be used to move this meeting into closed session: “I [name of individual] move that we convene in a closed session to consider personal history information about applicants for the position of Director, General Education Program, as provided in section 19.85 (1)(f) of the Wisconsin Statutes."
A majority vote by the members of the committee who are present will be required to advance a candidate to the interview stage. If the number of applicants warrants, the committee may choose to establish a preliminary list for review before choosing those to interview.
No absentee ballots will be accepted; members of the committee must be present to vote.
The chair of the committee will inform, in writing, those applicants who are
no longer under consideration. The chair of the committee will request
authorization to interview from Ron Rada and Al Thompson.
At this point, candidates for interview may be asked to respond to a set of
written questions relating to the position such as their philosophy about
General Education and their goals for the program at UW-La Crosse.
5. The chair of the committee will arrange for the interviews of the chosen
candidates. Included in this interview process will be the following:
a. Meeting with the Interim Chancellor (30 minutes).
b. Meeting with the Interim Provost/VC (30 minutes).
c. Meeting with the Search and Screen Committee. This meeting will be
an open meeting and will be announced to the campus community and serve as an
opportunity for those interested to meet with the candidates.
d. Informal opportunities for members of the committee to meet
with the candidates may also be arranged.
6. Once the formal interviews have been completed, the Search and Screen
Committee will meet in closed session to consider the candidates. The
Committee will make two determinations about the candidates:
a. Whether or not each candidate is considered acceptable for the position.
b. The name of one individual to be recommended for the position.
A two-thirds majority vote will be required to advance a candidate for the
position. No absentee ballots will be accepted; members of the committee
must be present to vote.
7. The Interim Provost/Vice Chancellor and/or the Assistant to the Chancellor for Affirmative Action and Diversity may be invited to meet with the Search and Screen Committee at this point to discuss the recommendations.
8. The Interim Provost/VC will contact the candidate and make the offer. Once the offer is accepted, those candidates not chosen will be contacted by the chair of the committee. The Office of the Provost/VC will make the announcement of the appointment using the Campus Connection as well as e-mail lists.
M/S to approve the job description and search and screen procedures for the Director of General Education as presented.
Discussion followed with search and screen committee members present to answer questions. The subject of minimum qualifications of rank of Associate Professor was addressed. The committee wants to be assured that candidates have had some experience at this institution and moving toward promotion and tenure. Under the duties/responsibilities section, the senators expressed a desire to see a person in the position who would provide leadership in assessing student learning.
M/S/P to amend the position description under duties and responsibilities, 4th bullet to read: Coordinates, supports, supervises and provides leadership in assessment of student learning in General Education. (voice vote)
Discussion continued on the duties and responsibilities section. Committee members were asked to expand on "teaches in the General Education Program, as appropriate." Assumption is that people interested would have taught in the general education. However, there may be scenarios where a candidate's department does not offer general education courses but the candidate has a deep and abiding interest in general education.
Does the three-year appointment mean that the person is renewed after 3-years or the position? The faculty senate created the position, so it is the Director who is renewed.
In response to the question of how will the position be reviewed, Interim Provost/Vice Chancellor Ron Rada has indicated that an annual review process will be in place to review the work product and progress of the General Education Director. The committee also realizes the position will create itself as it goes along. There needs to be room for initiative. The faculty teaching in the general education program will know whether or not program is working. Another way to look at the issue is that if the Director has not presented a plan for assessment of the program by the end of three years then the effort has failed.
As a final comment to the discussion, Chair Bange noted that members of the General Education Committee were present at today's meeting and have heard the senator's issues and concerns.
The main motion as amended, PASSED. (voice vote)
The Search and Screen Committee presented the following two motions to the Faculty Senate for consideration:
1) The Faculty Senate changes the By-laws so that the Director of the General
Education Program at UW-L would be a full voting member and chair of the General
Education Committee.
2) The Provost and Vice chancellor provides funds that are sufficient for
the General Education Program Director's office supplies, printing expenses and
other costs of office operations.
M/S that the Faculty Senate charge the Articles & By-laws Committee to redraft the by-law governing the General Education Committee so that the new Director of the General Education Program becomes a full voting member and chair of the committee.
M/S to amend by striking "and chair."
Discussion centered on whether or not the Director of the General Education Program should indeed be the automatic Chair of the General Education Committee. The issue was seriously debated, however in the end the faculty senate supported the position of leadership within the committee.
The amendment FAILED. (show of hands: 10 yes, 11 no, 1 abstain)
The Main motion PASSED. (voice vote)
The meeting adjourned at 5:08 p.m.
Submitted by
Thomas O. Claflin, Secretary