Faculty Council Minutes for August 26, 1997

The first meeting of the Faculty Council was called to order at 3:55 by the newly elected president, John Kolena. The meeting opened with 36 members is attendance. Guests and administrators present included Doug Gray and Steve Warshaw. John Kolena asked department heads to introduced new department members.

The first item of business was the committee assignments for the 1997/98 school year. Previous committee members described the workings of each committee. President Kolena reminded the faculty that all full and 3/4 time people must serve on one committee. He also stated that some people may have to serve on more than one committee. Joe Liles asked if one could return for a third year to a committee that had served on for the past two years. President Kolena told Joe that such a request could be made and considered when the Faculty Council officer meet to assign committees. All faculty, full and part-time, were given a listing of the Faculty Council committees and the positions that are currently filled.

There is one remaining elected position on the Curriculum Council and nominations will be taken until Wednesday, August 27th at 5:00 PM. Ballots will be placed in each faculty mailbox and these ballots will be due by 5:00 PM on Friday, August 29. In addition to the Faculty Council Ballot Box in the Faculty Mailroom, ballot boxes will be place in the office of each departmental secretary for the convenience of the faculty.

The second item of business was to set the meeting time for Council meetings for this school year. The pros and cons of each day, Monday - Thursday were discussed. Several members mentioned that schedules for other meetings have been determined by our meeting, and changing the day of the week might cause many others to have to change their meeting times. Others mentioned that Monday is a very difficult school day with many student issues needing attention, so Monday is not as good a day as others for all faculty to be tied up in a meeting. Approval voting was done to narrow the days of the week to Monday or Tuesday. After some additional discussion, a second vote was taken and Tuesday was chosen as our meeting day. Julie Graves suggested that we see how Tuesdays work this semester and take a new vote for spring semester.

John Kolena gave a summary of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees. He reported that the ETC is behind schedule and may be ready for "beneficial occupancy" by February, 1998. Also fire sprinklers for all residence halls except Hunt have been budgeted and work will begin on installation this year. The Executive Committee asked that the Administration try to find the additional funds to build a regulation track instead of the shortened track currently planned. The Fairness and Diversity Commission provided information on their goals, scope, and timeline. Copies will be provided to each department head. The Commission will give their final report at the December 5th Board meeting.

Liaisons to the various Board committees were discusses. Dot Doyle is the current liaison to the EPPC, Julie Graves to Personnel, and Gretchen Skidmore to Finance. All expressed interest in remaining in their capacity. Others are encouraged to contact officers if they are interested. Dot Doyle and Jon Miller stressed the importance of having someone who will attend meeting, stayed informed, and articulate faculty concerns to the various committees. Jon suggested that we find a way to raise the significance of these positions.

Steve Warshaw announced that there will be a required meeting of the Faculty next Wednesday to discuss our new salary plan, pending final budget approval by the General Assembly.

At one point in the meeting there were 45 faculty members in attendance. The meeting adjourned shortly after 5:00 PM.

Submitted by

John Goebel, Secretary