NORTHEASTERN STATE UNIVERSITY
Minutes of Faculty Council Meeting
Friday, April 8, 2005
[Approved October 6, 2005]
I. 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),
Renee Cambiano (Education), Dan Glasgow (Education), Peggy Kaney
(Library), Jeff Miller (Optometry),
John Pembroke substitute for Latricia Pack (Optometry), Mike
Phillips substitute for David Scott (Liberal Arts), Julie Sawyer
substitute for John Diamantopoulos (Science
& Health Professions), Lallie Scott (Liberal Arts), Jon
Shapiro (Business & Technology), Randy Snider substitute for Rick
Matzen (Science
& Health Professions), Linda West substitute for Harriett Hobbs
(Library), and John Yeutter (Business & Technology).
Council Officers in attendance: Gary Wickham (President),
Andrew
Vassar (Vice President), and Chuck Ziehr (Secretary-Treasurer).
Guests in attendance: James Pate (V.P. for Academic Affairs).
II. NSU Administrative Officers
[The Council will set aside time
at the first of each meeting to visit with President Williams, VP
Academic Affairs Pate and/or VP Administration Cherry should they be
able to attend.]
Dr. Wickham opened the meeting by turning the
question
period over to Dr. Pate. Dr. Pate said
that two task forces had been appointed by the President.
The two Dean searches are going well and he
reported on their progress. There will
be on campus interviews in the coming weeks.
<>Dr. Baker asked a question about people being based
at one
campus or another and what the criteria was used. Dr.
Pate stated that there are over 40
faculty based in Broken Arrow
and the main consideration is what courses we need to teach not where
the
faculty member lives. Mileage rates have
increased lately to help with gas costs.
Dr. Vassar brought up the question of student
memorial
services. Dr. Pate referred him to the
Office of Student Affairs.
<>Dr. Pate then addressed several of the New Business
items
on
the Council agenda.
*Can we use Faculty Council funds for release time
for the
Council President? You would have to ask
the President’s Office.
*Can faculty who are actively involved in research
(as
evidenced by grants, data collected, etc.) get a one course load
reduction? Several faculty members have
applied for this
along with their grants. There are
guidelines from the Faculty Research Committee.
*In forming a new program, shouldn’t NSU ensure
full pay for
faculty teaching initial courses where enrollments are expected to be
small? We always pay faculty for classes
taught. We have had faculty teaching low
enrollment classes in every session. Often
this is negotiated ahead of time. If a
faculty member has a problem, they should talk to him.
*Rewards for Increasing Enrollments and Academic
Integrity? Several delegates commented
on the decline in quality of the student population.
Dr. Pate said that even selective
Universities face the same issues. There
are a lot of societal issues and there is no cure all or magic formula. Faculty should present the best learning
environment, set standards, establish learning outcomes and stick to it. We will continue to see these problems more
in the future as the number of high school graduates decline and we
enroll more
non-traditional students.
*If
classes are held to the arbitrary 40% WDF
standard, is large class size considered?
Dr. Pate said there is no such standard in place.
Some of our classes have a 78%WDF. There
was discussion of the date for
withdrawing from classes and student motivations. Dr.
Pate would like to see a University
College that
focuses on the success of
the first two years. He would like
the
faculty to see him about any problems they have with pay or class
assignments
III. Committees and Standing Reports
1. Minutes of the March 4, 2005 Faculty Council meetings will be
considered at the May meeting.
2. Treasurers Report -- no report
3. Faculty Welfare Committee Report -- Dr. Andrew Vassar extened
congratulations to John Baldridge, an NSU geography major, who was
selected to participate in two prestigous programs in Japan this summer
(Kyoto
International Exchange Program and the
Japan-America Student Conference).
IV. Old Business
1. Award for Previous Faculty Presidents
There will be a ceremony for
presenting these awards on Thursday, April 26 at 4:00 p.m. in the NET
Tower following the Circle of Excellence ceremony. There are 18
former presidents (or chairs).
2. Plagiarism -- draft statement -- tabled
a. New Software Available by License
Through
Teaching and Learning Center
3. Circle of Excellence
The awards ceremony will be Thursday, April 28 at 2:00 p.m. in the NET
Tower.
4. Finding Officers for 2005-06
Linda West has agreed to be a candidate for Secretary-Treasurer, and
Chuck Ziehr is willing to serve as Vice President, if
needed. Terri Baker expressed a possible interest in being
a candidate for President. Additional candidates are encouraged
to express an interest in these offices.
5. FAC Visit with OTRS Director
The Director of the Oklahoma Teachers Retirement System, Tommy Beavers,
recently met with the Faculty Advisory Council of the State Regents for
Higher
Education (on which Council President Wickham serves). Mr.
Beavers encouraged faculty who are nearing retirement to request OTRS
to develop a prospectus of options regarding the individuals
retirement. He noted that the State still owes OTRS about $135
million from the late 1980s.
6. OSEEGIB Questions
The Faculty Advisory Council will meet with the Oklahoma State
Employees and Education Group Insurance Board in May. He
requested faculty to submit any questions for the OSEEGIB to him.
7. Timely Receipt of Student Evaluations of Faculty
President Wickham will inquire about this and report back next month.
8. Recommended Faculty Association Constitution Changes,
Draft By-Law Suggestions in Order of Reading Constitution
The following by-laws were presented for consideration. The
action taken follows each by-law.
By-Law I - Role of the NSU
Faculty Association
[As presented]
The NSU Faculty Association, acting through its officers and Council,
will represent faculty interests in work-related matters pertaining to
the role of faculty members on any campus of Northeastern State
University.
[Action taken: approved unanimously as follows]
The NSU Faculty Association, acting through its officers and Council,
will advocate faculty interests in any work-related matters pertaining
to the role of faculty members on any campus of Northeastern State
University.
By-Law II -
Membership and Voting Rights
[As presented]
All members of the full-time faculty, including department chairs,
automatically shall be members of the Faculty Association.
Deans, associate deans and assistant deans shall not be considered
members. Program directors with faculty status whose
administrative duties consume half or more of their workload shall not
be considered members.
[Action taken: tabled until May]
By-Law III- Historian/Archivist
[As presented]
The President shall appoint a Historian/Archivist from among the
Association membership who will keep a database of records relevant to
the organization. These will include: 1) a history of motions
made and passed by the Council Delegates; 2) summaries of open meetings
held with University Administrators with lists of questions and
answers; and 3) other data as supportive of the good of the Faculty.
[Action taken: approved unanimously as presented]
By-Law IV - NSU
Faculty Council Membership
[As presented]
Members of the NSU Faculty Council shall hereafter be referred to as
Delegates. Each College and the Library will automatically have 2
Delegates on the Faculty Council. Therefore, each College and the
Library shall select, from among its membership by simple majority vote
of those full-time faculty voting, two Delegates to serve as
College/Library representatives to the Faculty Council. The faculty
roster base for each academic entity represented is defined as 15
faculty members. Each academic unit also will elect an additional
Faculty Council Delegate for each group of 30 faculty, working
exclusively in that unit, over the base of 15. Furthermore, the
Muskogee and Broken Arrow campuses will each have one Delegate on the
Faculty Council. Such a person must have the majority of his or
her workload at the site represented and will serve regardless of his
or her College or Library affiliation. These Delegates will be elected
by simple majority of those full-time Faculty who have a majority of
their workload either at Muskogee or Broken Arrow. The
Northeastern Faculty Council shall determine in the by-laws to this
Constitution those entities eligible for representation on the Council
and in what years each entity shall select its Faculty Council
Delegates.
[Action taken: approved unanimously as presented]
By-Law V - Terms of Office of
NSU Faculty Council Officers
[As presented]
The terms of all officers shall commence one week before the first day
of classes in the fall semester following the April election.
[Action taken: approved unanimously as follows]
The terms of all officers shall commence one week before the first day
of classes in the fall semester following the April election in
odd-numbered years.
By-Law VI - Vacancies of
Offices
[As presented]
If a Delegate vacates his or her seat, the President of the Faculty
Association shall inform the Dean or Director of the academic unit, as
well as the faculty members in the academic unit, of the need to fill
the vacancy. Following the election of a successor, the Dean or
Director and/or the remaining Delegate or Delegates shall inform
the President of the Faculty Association and Council of the
selection.
If officers are not elected in April for any reason, the Council
Delegate with seniority in total years of service on the Council shall
be President until a new President is elected. The delegate with
second seniority in total years shall be the Vice President until one
is elected, and the delegate with third seniority in total years shall
be the Secretary-Treasurer until one is elected. If there is a tie in
seniority of service as a delegate, the person with the longest tenure
at NSU shall take office. Delegates temporarily serving as
officers under these terms shall retain the right to make motions and
vote on motions.
[Action taken: approved unanimously as follows]
If a Delegate vacates his
or her seat, the President of the Faculty Association shall inform the
Dean or
Director of the academic unit, as well as the faculty members in the
academic
unit, of the need to fill the vacancy. Following the election of a
successor,
the Dean or Director and/or the remaining Delegate or Delegates shall
inform
the President of the Faculty Association and Council of the
selection.
If no election occurs in April and
the sitting President cannot find a
presidential candidate, the Council Delegate with seniority in total
years of
service on the Council shall be Acting President until a new President
is
elected. If there is no Vice President elected, the delegate with
second
seniority in total years shall be the Acting Vice President until one
is
elected, and the delegate with third seniority in total years shall be
the
Acting Secretary-Treasurer until one is elected. If there is a tie in
seniority
of service as a delegate, the person with the longest tenure at NSU
shall take
office. Delegates temporarily serving as officers under these
terms shall
retain the right to make motions and vote on motions.
By-Law VII - Cycle of
Election of NSU Faculty Council Delegates (Modify 4.2 By-law 2)
[As presented]
The College of Liberal Arts, the College of Education, and the College
of Optometry shall elect their Faculty Council Delegates in the Fall of
the odd-numbered years. The College of Business and Technology; the
University Libraries, and the College of Science and Health Professions
shall elect their Delegates in the Fall of the even-numbered
years. [As revised by Council, December 4, 1998; titles corrected
March 2002]
[Action taken: approved unanimously as follows]
The College of Liberal
Arts, the College of Education, the College of Optometry and NSU
Muskogee shall
elect their Faculty Council Delegates in the Fall of the odd-numbered
years.
The College of Business
and Technology, the University Libraries, the College
of Science
and Health Professions and NSU Broken Arrow shall elect their Delegates
in the
Fall of the even-numbered years. [As revised by Council, December
4,
1998; titles corrected March 2002; modified and adopted by Council,
April 8,
2005]
By-Law VIII - Dues
[As presented]
Each two years, at the time of the election of the NSU Faculty
Association (Council) officers, the Council shall place on the ballot
an amendment to this constitution regarding the payment of dues by
Association members.
[Action taken: approved unanimously as follows]
Each two years, at the time of the election of the NSU Faculty
Association (Council) officers, the Council may place on the ballot
an amendment to this constitution regarding the payment of dues by
Association members.
By-Law IX - Standing
University Committees
[As presented]
The Faculty Association President, acting with the input of the Faculty
Council Delegates, shall appoint two members to the New Faculty
Orientation Committee each year in May.
[Action taken: tabled]
By-Law X
[As presented]
An NSU Faculty Member may receive a Circle of Excellence award one time
in his or her career. Once a Faculty Member wins an award in any
category, he or she is retired from competition for a further award in
any category.
[Action taken: approved as presented by a vote of 9 Yes, and 4 No]
V. New Business -- due to the late hour the
meeting was adjourned and the following items were not addressed.
1. Appellate Committee Election: April 26, 2005, Tahlequah 8
a.m.-3p.m.. Broken Arrow 3-7 p.m.
2. Can we use Faculty Council funds for release time for the
Council President?
3. Can faculty who are actively involved in research (as
evidenced by grants, data collected, etc.) get a one course load
reduction?
4. New Life Insurance RFP
5. In forming a new program, shouldn’t NSU ensure full pay for
faculty teaching initial courses where enrollments are expected to be
small?
6. Campus Parking Committee
7. Rewards for Increasing Enrollments and Academic Integrity?
8. If classes are held to the arbitrary 40% WDF standard, is
large class size considered?
VI. Other Business
VII. Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 5:32 p.m.
Submitted by Chuck Ziehr,
Secretary-Treasurer, July 19, 2005.