When I spoke to you on August 18, 2004 at the Faculty Meeting, I indicated that there were some other points I might wish to make by email. Here are my other thoughts. As always, I encourage you to share with me whether you agree or disagree with what I say!!
First, I’d like to reiterate some points made in my message to the NSU Faculty last May. I very much would like for the faculty members to have more empathy toward the work done by colleagues in their own buildings and across campus. We need to appreciate each other. The faculty at NSU is one large interdependent organism. The outstanding lesson I took from last academic year, with its insecurities and heavy retirement, is, as a whole faculty, we don’t know each well. Certainly, as individuals we lack the knowledge to speak accurately for others in this extended family of scholars in which we work.
Our family of scholars is sufficiently skilled to provide contrasting viewpoints on the nature of education today. This includes the circumstances of our employment. Subjects about which we have expert knowledge include: 1) grading; 2) teaching and learning styles; 3) testing; 4) looking at short- and long-term outcomes; 5) understanding tenure at NSU; 6) knowing the processes by which we are evaluated; 7) sharing strategies for dealing with students in, and out of, the classroom; and 8) building extended professional relationships with alumni. Once again, if you have ideas about ways or formats in which groups of faculty could explore such subjects in a critical and collegial manner, advise me.
Secondly, I’ve fielded some questions about the academic reorganization at NSU. To the best of my knowledge, neither the officers nor the delegates to the Faculty Council were part of the mechanism that determined the greater academic changes. We found out about the plan at the same time that other faculty did. I do know that the organizational changes coupled with our unusual rate of retirement leaves us in a circumstance where we have to help one another.
With these changes, my guess is that “making adjustments” will not go away. Were I asked to share the secret of longevity at NSU, I guess I would focus on five things: 1) A supportive personal environment — spouse, family, companion or good friends; 2) Strong pride in ones profession with a desire for intellectual growth and a desire to have true peers; 3) A love for working with students, especially those with unrealized potential; 4) An ability to work hard — teaching many different classes and doing many different jobs! — without needing to put ones ego on the line all the time, and 5) a willingness to be flexible.
A third item brought to my attention by NSU Faculty members is professionalism. I’m a bit isolated over on the far north side of the Tahlequah campus, but several people reported a steady drumbeat about professionalism recently. While I do not know the genesis of the interest, I do have some thoughts about the subject.
Professional is a term with many meanings and is used like butter. Sometimes it is superficially spread all about and sometimes it is the core of the dish. My ancient Webster’s New World Dictionary says a professional is “of, engaged in, or worthy of the high standards of, a profession.” A profession is “a vocation or occupation requiring advanced training in some liberal art or science, and . . . involving mental rather than manual work . . .; especially, medicine, law or theology (formerly called the learned professions).”
I try to adhere to the values, ethics, morals and other codes associated with the advanced training I received in Zoology. Zoology can be a bit arcane, so let’s talk about Optometry. I’ve spent 33 years working in a biomedical environment (Academic Medicine and Optometry) in which licensure is key. Since my secondary profession is Optometry, I’ve adopted many of its professional standards.
In Optometry, someone called doctor and practicing on patients must be licensed by a Board of Examiners. There are many people who may have the knowledge necessary to do a refraction on a patient to fit her/him for glasses. However, I would expect there to be a good deal of friction and hostility between such a practitioner independently seeing patients and the Board of Examiners of Optometry. So, in the Health Arts, licensure is very important..
Sometimes, people substitute the words civility and politic for professionalism without thinking about it. Actually, in my biomedical experience, some of the most fervent professionals also could be the most academically honest, uncivil, inhospitable and domineering individuals. While learned professionals use their “mental rather . . . manual” powers, they can be as aggressive as is a street fighter. So, while allowing for this, I hope that we all try to communicate, be civil, respect our peers and compromise as much as possible without allowing “unlicenced” persons to do our jobs.
My final thought on professionalism is:
If I can assist you, let me know, and I’ll tell you what I think is possible. Remember, without students and faculty, there is not much use for a university. Also, keep in mind that it is your University, your Faculty Association and your Faculty Council. Have a good semester and a good year. Enjoy the weather while it lasts!!!
M. Gary Wickham
NSU Faculty Association President
B. Call to Order
1. The meeting was called to order at 3:00 p.m. by President Wickham in the NET Tower Room.
Council Members in attendance: Terri Baker (Liberal Arts), John Diamantopoulos (Science & Health Professions), Dan Glasgow (Education), Harriett Hobbs (Library), Peggy Kaney (Library), Rick Matzen (Science & Health Professions), Jeff Miller (Optometry), Latricia Pack (Optometry), David Scott (Liberal Arts), Lallie Scott (Liberal Arts), Jon Shapiro (Business & Technology), and John Yeutter (Business & Technology).
Council Officers in attendance: Gary Wickham (President), Andrew Vassar (Vice President), and Chuck Ziehr (Secretary-Treasurer).
Guests in attendance: Mark Giese, Tom Jackson, and Julie Sawyer.
2. President Wickham introduced Dr. Tom Jackson, the new Dean of the Graduate College, who was then given the floor. Dean Jackson summarized his job as to help enhance graduate programs. He will increase the promotion of the graduate programs. He believes in academic rigor and best practices and outcome-based assessment. He wants to maintain consistency with the rules and guidelines for admissions and candidacy. He offered his assistance to the faculty.
3. Delegates for 2004-2005
This academic year's Faculty Council delegates are from academics units
that were in place before the administrative re-organization; they will
remain in place during this transitional year while the Council
addresses
the necessary changes to its Constitution and By-Laws:
C. Committees and Standing Reports
1. Minutes of May 7, 2004 meeting were corrected and approved.
2. Treasurer's Report
The current balance is $4,574 with only $20 (for monthly telephone charges) having been spent in this new fiscal year.
3. Faculty Welfare Committee Report
Andrew Vassar, Council Vice President and chair of the committee is
serving on the Employee Appreciation Day Committee. NSU Employee
Appreciate
Week will be September 20-24.
D. Old Business
1. Circle of Excellence
a. Bricks
The bricks for 1995 have been corrected and the
2002-2003 and 2003-2004 winners have been added to the Circle of
Excellence.
b. Permanent plaque
A plaque for centralized display has been ordered
which will include all past winners and have space for the winners for
the next 12 years. The plaque will include the category of award, name
of recipient, highest degree, academic unit, and year of award.
Vickie
Sheffler, University Archivist, located one additional honoree, Calvin
Turnbull.
2. Award for Previous Faculty Presidents
A gavel will cost $13. President Wickham will follow through
on arrangements for these awards.
3. Grievance Policy (Faculty Handbook Section 3.7) Committee
Report
Terri Baker reported that the committee has re-examined the policy
in light of the administrative restructuring of the university.
The
committee will complete its draft of a revised policy and submit it to
the council for its consideration at the October meeting.
4. Faculty Dining Room in the Cedar Room or some other
facility
In response to an e-mail request to Lynn Howard from Gary Wickham
regarding
the possibility of having a faculty eating area in the UC, he received
the following reply from Ms. Howard on September 1, 2004.
The Cedar Room was a great place for faculty/staff to eat before weGary Wickham will send an e-mail to the faculty to determine interest.
contracted out our food service. Unfortunately, NSU food service as a
self-op could operate on a different bottom line than an outside
contractor. I understand why Sodexho can't keep it open like before,
although I wish they could.
For a while after Sodexho closed the Cedar Room down as a food service
venue, we opened it up so people could take food from either the Market
Cafe or the Food Court there to eat in a more peaceful setting. After a
while the interest dwindled and it just seemed to fade away. We're
certainly willing to try that again. We can open it from 11 am - 2 pm
Monday - Friday. I had already planned to move some of the Market Cafe
tables & chairs to the Cedar Room to replace the rickety ones currently
there.
A couple of considerations: we've been booking the Cedar Room for
meetings, primarily those when a large number of breakout sessions are
needed. The COE intern seminars are a good example. Athletic teams also
use it for pre-game meals. We'll have to figure out a way to work around
that. Also, since use of the room could change from dining to meeting in
one day, it will be important for everyone to clean up after themselves
(unlike our students in the Market Cafe!).
Please let me know what you think about this -- if you think it could
work again. If so, we'll do what we can to accomodate.
5. Plagiarism
Lallie Scott, Chair of the Plagiarism Committee, distributed a handout
with background material and sample statements regarding plagiarism
from
syllabi and associations. Handout contents:
Relevant NSU “regulations”
From Catalog
Academic Misconduct
Academic misconduct includes cheating (using unauthorized materials,
information, or study aids in any academic exercise), plagiarism,
falsification
of records, unauthorized possession of examinations, intimidation, and
any and all other actions that may improperly affect the evaluation of
a student’s academic performance or achievement, or assisting others in
any such act or attempts to engage in such acts. Academic misconduct in
any form is inimical to the purposes and functions of the University
and
therefore is unacceptable and prohibited.
Any faculty member, administrator or staff member may identify an act
of academic misconduct and should report that act to the department
head/college
dean, Vice President for Academic Affairs or administrative supervisor.
Students violating the standards of academic honesty are subject to disciplinary action including reduction of a grade(s) in a specific course, assignment, paper, or project; a formal or informal reprimand at the professorial, dean, or academic vice president level; expulsion from the class in which the violation occurred; expulsion from a program; or expulsion from the university.
Grade Appeals
A student may petition a grade change by using the Grade Appeals
Process
if satisfactory resolution cannot be achieved after consultation with
the
instructor and/or Dean. The Grade Appeals Process must be formally
initiated
with a written appeal to the Dean within four months following awarding
of the original grade. Please contact the dean of the college in which
the grade was given for a copy of the grade appeals process.
From Faculty Handbook (Sec. 10.27 Grade Appeals)
10.271 B Conditions Allowing for a Grade Appeal by Instructor
Allegations that the student achieved a grade through plagiarism,
cheating,
or misrepresentation. There is no time limit for an instructor to take
corrective action as a result of a grade received through plagiarism,
cheating,
or misrepresentation.
Sample statements regarding plagiarism
From the American Historical Association
The word plagiarism derives from Latin roots: plagiarius, an abductor,
and plagiare, to steal. The expropriation of another author's text, and
the presentation of it as one's own, constitutes plagiarism and is a
serious
violation of the ethics of scholarship. . . .Plagiarism also includes
the
limited borrowing, without attribution, of another person's distinctive
and significant research findings, hypotheses, theories, rhetorical
strategies,
or interpretations, or an extended borrowing even with attribution. The
clearest abuse is the use of another's language without quotation marks
and citation. More subtle abuses include the appropriation of concepts,
data, or notes all disguised in newly crafted sentences, or reference
to
a borrowed work in an early note and then extensive further use without
attribution.
From Brad Agnew’s on-line syllabus
All work submitted to the instructor must be the result of your own
effort. Any instances of plagiarism in any class assignment will result
in a grade of zero for the assignment. To plagiarize is to represent as
one's own work the words or ideas of another. Examples of plagiarism
include:
(1) failure to give credit to the person whose words or ideas have
been borrowed;
(2) failure to place quotation marks around passages that are cited
verbatim; and
(3) minor changes of someone else's sentences and words that do not
alter the essential style or meaning of the passage.
Your paper must be an original work. It cannot have been written for
or used in another class in this or an earlier semester.
From Grant Alexander’s on-line syllabus
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY:
Academic dishonesty of any form including the assisting of others to
commit such conduct is inimical (unfriendly) to the purpose and
function
of this course and the university. Any violations of academic
misconduct
including cheating, plagiarism, unauthorized possession of exams or
other
evaluation materials, and any other actions deemed to improperly affect
the evaluation of a student’s or fellow student’s academic performance
or achievement may result in failure of the assignment, failure of the
course, or other disciplinary action as outlined by the Northeastern
State
University Catalog 2004.
Plagiarism: Copying a sentence, or a significant part of a sentence that has been written by someone other than the person submitting the paper, and then neglecting to indicate through the use of quotation marks or blocking that the material has been copied; or copying from another writer in such a way as to change one or two words in the sentence, or rearranging the order of the wording, or paraphrasing, or summarizing information and then neglecting to furnish documentation; or any failure to cite sources when appropriate.
6. HEAC Function
No action has yet been taken regarding the concerns expressed at the
May 2004 Council meeting regarding the role of the Human
Experimentation
Adivsory Council. Julie Sawyer asked for an overview of the
concern
(she noted that this was her reason for attending the meeting);
reference
was made to the minutes of the May 7, 2004 meeting. She would
like
there to be clarification of what is under the purview of HEAC; she
understood
that surveys without federal funding did not require HEAC approval.
E. New Business
1. Academic Changes: How Are They Affecting Us?
There was a general discussion of the administrative re-structuring
of the university that took place over the past summer. It was
noted
that the composition of the Council, the Grievance Committee, and the
Appellate
Committee would need to be alternated due to the re-organization.
It was noted by all present that there had been very little faculty
input
into the re-structuring decisions. Faculty from some programs
reported
now feeling like "step-children." Communication of the
re-structuring
was not in a timely fashion to allow us to react responsively.
President Wickham is compiling a faculty roster. He noted that there are now 330 full-time faculty of whom 117 are tenured (35%) with four additional tenured faculty serving as administrators.
2. Faculty Association Constitution
a. Keep current delegates for this academic year
Delegates with a year remaining on their terms from all former academic
units will continue to serve this year. New delegates were
elected
from the academic units that were scheduled to have elections this year
(Business & Technology, Library, and Science & Health
Professions).
b. Representing Faculty Equally and Efficiently
As we consider the impact of the administrative re-structuring on our
delegation, it was noted that we should consider the size of the
various
academic units.
c. Representing the Three Campuses
This issue should be addressed as we make needed revisions to the
Constitution
and/or By-Laws.
d. How Hard a Look Do We Need to Take at Our Constitution?
Should we impose dues now?
e. Shared Governance
It was noted that little governance is shared with the Faculty Council.
Over the course of this academic year revisions to the Constitution will be studied and implemented.
3. Grievance Committee for 2004-2005
Liberal Arts (Joining of Former Arts and Letters and Social and
Behavioral
Sciences, New Election 08/2005)
Members:
David Linebarger <linebarg@nsuok.edu> X 2708
Steve Dunker <dunker@nsuok.edu> X3513
Alternates:
Patrick Enright <enright@nsuok.edu> X3236
Ben Kracht <kracht@nsuok.edu> X3522
Business & Technology (Term
Until
08/2006)
Education (Ozturk Moved to Member Because Deloache Retired, Complete
New Election 08/2005)
Science & Health Professions (Term Until 08/2006)
Member:
James Phillips <philljam@nsuok.edu> X2909
Alternate:
Sandy Edwards <edwar001@nsuok.edu> X2928
Ahmet Ozturk <ozturk@nsuok.edu> X3912
Alternate: Stan
Sanders <sande008@nsuok.edu> X
3777
Library (Term Until 08/2006)
Member:
Charles Veith <veith@nsuok.edu> X3260
Alternate:
Sandra Martin <Marti004@nsuok.edu> X3263
Whitney Price <pricemw@nsuok.edu> X5221
Alternate:
Jody Buckholtz <buckholt@nsuok.edu> X3839
Optometry (Term Until 08/2005)
Member:
Nimesh Patel <patelnb@nsuok.edu> X4019
Alternate:
Linda Edmondson <edmondso@nsuok.edu> X4014
4. Appellate Committee Election
The Appellate Committee Election as note held as usual in the Spring
semester. It will be October 5 with polling to occur on the
Tahlequah
and Broken Arrow campus (there is only one tenured faculty member on
the
Muskogee campus). Poll workers are needed; contact Gary Wickham.
5. Parents, Family, & Friends Day
Gary Wickham encouraged the faculty to participate in this event on
September 18.
6. Homecoming
This year's Homecoming will be October 15-16. Many volunteers
will be needed for the various events.
Northeastern State University, Homecoming 2004, October 15-16, An American Tradition
Oct. 15
Rowdy Redmen Golf Event
10:00 a.m.
Muskogee Country Club
Golfers of all skill levels are welcome. For more information or to
volunteer, call Neal Weaver at ext. 2010.
Street Party & Pep Rally
6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Downtown Tahlequah
The the Tahlequah Main Street Association members are working hard
to help us create a festival atmosphere with food, music, games for the
kids and much, much, more.
Oct. 16
Registration Central
8:00 a.m.
NSU University Center
Encourage our alumni to sign up for fabulous prizes, update their
records
with the Alumni Association and visit with friends in the lobby of the
University Center. Arrive early and get a front row seat for the
Homecoming
Parade!
Redmen Brunch
8:00 a.m.
University Center Cafeteria
Enjoy traditional breakfast fare at the University Center Cafeteria.
Letterman’s Breakfast
8:30 a.m.
Jack Dobbins Fieldhouse
Pull out those letter sweaters, dust off the yearbooks and catch up
with teammates from days gone by.
Homecoming Parade
10:30 a.m.
Muskogee Ave., North to Stadium
Seminary Suites Grand Opening
12:00 p.m.
Seminary Suites
Check out the latest addition in NSU housing. Tour the Seminary Suites
clubhouse and grounds and meet the NSU housing staff.
Tailgate Party
Noon
Parking Lot, Doc Wadley Stadium
Dyed-in-the-green tailgaters can snack their way through vendor
concessions,
watch the kids enjoy games and face painting and catch up with friends
under the Green and White tent.
NSU vs. San Angelo State
2:00 p.m.
Gable Field at Doc Wadley Stadium
The halftime crowning of the Homecoming 2004 King and Queen makes the
afternoon complete.
Emerald Ball 2004
6:30 p.m.
Senator Herb Rozell Ballroom (UC)
Return to a more elegant time with a traditional garden party-style
ball during Northeastern’s 7th annual Emerald Ball sponsored by Meigs
Jewelry.
Meet the 2004 alumni honorees, listen to live entertainment, and enjoy
NSU’s newest Homecoming tradition, the Emerald Ball Reverse Raffle.
Participants
can win a variety of prizes from Jimmy Houston Travel, Cedar Ridge Golf
Club, Baker’s Furniture, HealthPlex, Downtown Family Dentistry and
more!
For more information on Homecoming or volunteering for any of these events contact the NSU Alumni Association at 918.458.2143.
7. Faculty Advisory Council, OSRHE
Gary Wickham is now a member due to the retirement of a sister BOROC university representative.
F. Other Business
1 . Centennial Celebration (2009) Committee
Gary Wickham and Chuck Ziehr are the faculty members on the Steering
Committee. As plans develop, there will be additional committees
formed.
2. Faculty Roster
President Wickham will circulate the roster that he is developing to
Council delegates for additions and corrections for their academic
units.
3. Faculty Awards
The Faculty Awards Committee will be formed soon.
G. Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 5:10 p.m.