Minutes of the University Senate Meeting February 14, 2007

 

 

Present: H. Briston, C. Cherry, M. Chong*, S. Cohen, M. Dennis, A. Emami, P. Gilkey, O. Guerra, N. Gulley, S. Holmberg*, L. Karim, P. Lu, B. Malle, Corlea (Sue) Martinez*, K. McPherson, T. Minner, C. Minson, K. Mourfy, J. Newton, D. Olson, V. Ostrik, M. Pangburn, A. Papiliou, C. Parsons, G. Psaki, F. Pyle, P. Rounds, G. Sayre, J. Sneirson.      *=Classified Staff Participants.

 

Excused: A. Coles-Bjerre, C. Ellis, N. Fujii, R. Irvin, P. Lambert, L. LaTour, A. Mathas, A. Schulz, N. Tublitz,

 

Absent: C.A. Bassett, C. Bengston, G. Berk, S. Brownmiller, J. Daniels, A. Djiffack, S. Gary, J. Hurwit, L. Richardson, A. Sherrick, J. Stolet, K. Wagle

 

 

 

CALL TO ORDER

 

The regular meeting of the University Senate was called to order at 3:06 p.m. in 150 Columbia.

 

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES

 

Minutes of the January 10, 2007 meeting were approved unanimously as distributed.

 

STATE OF THE UNIVERSITY

 

Remarks from by President Frohnmayer. The president reported a favorable climate in the legislature for the higher education budget and commented that the governor’s proposed budget is the best in many years. He noted that the UO is asking for $30 million in bonding authority to help cover capital construction for Phase II of the nanoscience facility for which the UO has raised $20 million in private funding (donated by Mr. Lokey). The March and May economic forecasts likely will affect the final budget outcome.

 

President Frohnmayer next spoke about the changing demographics in our state and how it will affect students’ ability to access higher education. He noted that the median household income has been falling, and it is increasingly likely that new students will come from families who are poorer than current students’ families. Also, there have been changes in immigration and ethnic status which is resulting in an increasingly diverse society and student body. The accompanying changes in perceptions bring into sharp focus the need to adapt, and thus the timeliness of the diversity report debated last May and which is now being implemented on a short timeframe. These statistics tell us these are real issues and they are nearly upon us.

 

The president also commented on the OUS graduates’ satisfaction survey that is conducted every two years. Data for the UO (as of 2005) indicates overall satisfaction has increased. Generally, UO graduates said they were happy about availability of library resources, access to computing services, and the quality and accessibility of faculty. The UO was higher than the state averages, which also are generally high. However, there was lower satisfaction with academic support services, such advising and mentoring/tutoring.

 

President Frohnmayer concluded his remarks by announcing that he had invited Mr. Pat Kilkenny to be the next Athletics Director, replacing Mr. Bill Moos. Mr. Kilkenny accepted, and his appointment is for two years initially. The president commented that Mr. Kilkenny will donate his compensation to the Department of Athletics and to academics at the university. Mr. Kilkenny met with the search team and members of the FAC and Senate Executive Committee earlier in the day. His focus will be on the engagement of the athletic department with the larger community, to restart construction projects and plans, and to develop and maintain the financial stability and independence of the athletic department from general fund money. The president expressed his gratitude to the search team which worked with great intensity and speed; he noted that the search team canvassed the entire landscape of possible choices and that his decision was to select a person based on a targeted approach to deal with the athletic department’s immediate issues.

 

Report from Provost Linda Brady. Provost Brady began her remarks by announcing the first round of awards from the Fund for Faculty Excellence. She noted that creation of the fund was owing to the generosity of donors who recognized the importance of investing in our faculty to improve overall reputation and to recruit, support, recognize, celebrate, and retain a world class tenure faculty. Deans recommended faculty who are making important contributions in their fields and to the institution; the list of 47 nominees, all truly outstanding, was reviewed by a faculty advisory committee, chaired by Kathy Cashman, geological sciences, who worked with Vice Provost Russ Tomlin and eventually recommended 15 to 20 faculty members to the provost for consideration (see recipient list in Addendum A). Four criteria were used in the selection process: (1) quality of the faculty member evidenced by individual standing in discipline and impact of work in the field; (2) impact on our academic programs and institutional quality; (3) disparity of compensation, compared with the average for faculty in her or his discipline across all public AAU peer institutions; and (4) need for a proactive offer to retain. The provost met with the advisory committee to determine the 20 awardees and noted that the groups includes faculty who truly excellent across the board: winners of teaching awards, outstanding scholars, and important university and community servants. The award extends for a 5-year period and is designed to support salary and research.

 

COMMITTEE REPORTS

 

OUS Advisory Committee on Retirement Plan Changes. Mr. Larry Dann, finance, indicated that the advisory committee met twice and two more meetings are planned. He indicated that the OUS proposed retirement plan changes generated discussion of a wide range of issues such as the new federal regulations, the need for a single record keeper, the new plan’s fit with the current Optional Retirement Plan, menu choices and whether they are retained, and what happens to previously invested funds. The discussions have been productive, and a web site has been created with a link were campuses can post comments. In addition, there is a link for each of the campuses where comments can be posted concerning the retirement plan redesign.

 

Mr. Dann indicated that there are 17 tax-deferred investment (TDI) options at the UO, and new forthcoming federal regulations coming will affect the TDIs and their record keeping. Currently, individual participants pay recording costs, however, consolidation to a single record keeper has potential to save costs and simplify accounting. Although final decisions have not been made, the discussions include considerations of previous TDIs as well as future choices. There are several questions on the committee’s agenda: will all current menu choices be retained, will there be four choices of vendors, and what happens to previously invested funds if choice menus change over time, among others. For example, roughly half of the TDI participants are in TIAA/CREF, which was not one of the originally proposed choices. Another question is whether the committee would support combining TDI and ORP, conditionally, if advantages are going to be realized for participants.

 

Mr. Dann provided a packet of information with possible scenarios of what the TDI choices might be like as an example, saying the default option will be a high quality and low fee target retirement fund for a particular date of retirement when the participant turns 65. The example also included choices based on level of investment risk involved. Mr. Dann concluded his report by inviting the senate members to review the materials and to share comments with either Mr. Dann or the other committee member Mr. Joe Stone, economics. (See Item #3 http://www.uoregon.edu/~uosenate/dirsen067/letters067.html.)

 

Report from the Athletics Director (AD) Search Team. Faculty Advisory Chairman and Search Committee member Michael Moffitt, law, provided a follow-up to President Frohnmayer’s earlier announcement of the new athletics director appointment. Mr. Moffitt outlined the process that was used to make the recommendations to the president. The search team comprised of faculty members (FAC chair and senate president), administrators, and supporters and donors advised the president on the process it thought should be followed to seek a new director. The search team was charged simply to canvass the nation for the best possible candidates for the next director. Candidates’ came directly from people who were interested in the position as well as the search team’s proactive efforts to talk with officials in NCAA, conference commissioners, and dozens of sitting directors. The team literally went across the country more than once on airplanes to go and talk to people. The AD job is an attractive one, and was seen as an important opportunity nationwide. The team identified three categories in whom the president should be interested: sitting athletic directors at the most prominent institutions; people identified by ADs and others as the best and brightest of the upcoming generation of ADs, and people who were non-traditional candidates, but who held potential to contribute to the needs of the department. The search team considered dozens of people, met at least a few hours several times a week, and provided detailed and uncensored feedback to the president about individuals in each of the three categories. Mr. Moffitt explained that he emerged from the process both exhausted and hopeful because of the substantive decision President Frohnmayer made in selecting Mr. Kilkenny. He expressed his belief that Pat Kilkenny will be a good athletic director for Oregon, and that the process laid the groundwork for an innovative relationship between athletics and academics.

 

Report from the Interinstitutional Faculty Senate. Senator Peter Gilkey, mathematics, referred to a handout he provided detailing the recent IFS meeting (see http://www.uoregon.edu/~ifs/dir07/IFS23Feb07.html) and highlighting, among other issues, the IFS’ concern regarding the College Now program, especially its lack of clear tracking and monitoring of high school students’ preparation for and success in university level coursework. He indicated that he would give notice of motion on this topic later in the meeting (see http://www.uoregon.edu/~uosenate/dirsen067/US067-13.html).

 

Report from the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee (IAC). IAC chairman Jim Isenberg, mathematics, appeared before the senate at the request of senate president Suzanne Clark. Mr. Isenberg indicated that the committee met regularly and was an oversight committee that was advisory to the athletics director. Recent IAC meetings confronted two higher profile issues dealing with the plans for a new Academic Learning Center (ALC) and a decision to change the football schedule for next year’s Civil War game the weekend between dead week and final exams. Mr. Isenberg reported that his committee raised concerns that early plans for the ALC focused primarily on tutoring and learning services for student athletes, which are sorely needed; the IAC, however, pushed the planners to include such services for general students as well. The result was a rethinking of the entire area of campus (Oregon Hall area) as one that could be developed and improved as a focal point (a “neighborhood”) of many kinds of student services.

 

Mr. Isenberg then spoke about the rescheduling of the football game on the weekend prior to exams (in response to a television request to change a game date for televising). He noted that Athletics Director Bill Moos brought the rescheduling issues to the committee which discussed it for about 10 to15 minutes. Mr. Isenberg reported that the IAC was not particularly pleased with the proposed rescheduling, but eventually agreed when told such scheduling problems would only happen once every five years or so. Mr. Isenberg also commented that he was unaware of an earlier Senate resolution (since brought to his attention – see http://www.uoregon.edu/~uosenate/dirsen001/US0001-4.html ) indicating the senate’s displeasure with such scheduling after a similar scheduling situation occurred six years ago (nor did any committee member bring the previous legislation to the chair’s attention). Mr. Isenberg said the committee plans to talk further about the issue. Lastly, Mr. Isenberg remarked that with the arrival of a new AD, it is a good time to reassess how much effect the IAC will have on the ADs decisions, and how important it is for IAC to have ready access to relevant senate legislation. He concluded that it is not easy to solicit campus opinion on such matters, but the IAC is an elected representative committee for which it is often difficult to get sufficient numbers of people to stand for election; he hopes to address ways to encourage more participation and sharing of opinions in future committee memetings

 

Report from the Senate Budget Committee (SBC). SBC chairman David Frank, Honors College, noted that the SBC meets eight times this academic year and is pursuing several objectives. The committee wants to be sure that the goals of the SBC White Paper are achieved. He reported that UO faculty compensation is now at 91% of our peers comparators (up from 86% when the paper was adopted) and is heading toward the 95% parity goal. Mr. Frank remarked that Vice President for Finance and Administration Frances Dyke is in close conversation with the committee, and that a second salary problem to contend with is compression and inversion. Mr. Frank commented that the SBC is looking at using the University of Washington model to tackle this problem. UW recently did a very good study of faculty salary compression and salary inversion, and created plan to rectify it that may be a good model for the UO as well. Mr. Frank concluded by assuring that the SBC will keep an eye on the proposed OUS retirement system changes with assistance from Mr. Stone and Mr. Dann who are on the OUS retirement advisory committee.

 

ANNOUNCEMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE FLOOR

 

Joint Senate/Academic Affairs ad hoc Committee on Faculty and Course Evaluations. Associate Dean Priscilla Southwell was recognized by President Clark to announce the formation of the recently appointed committee that will focus on how the faculty assesses academic excellence in teaching through course evaluations (see http://www.uoregon.edu/~uosenate/dirsen067/JSAADCTE13Feb07.html for committee members list and charge). Dean Southwell noted a number of issues the committee will address, such as, are the currently required four questions in our course evaluations the right ones; should we include questions that are directed at overall university efforts to maintain teaching quality – ones that do not directly reflect on the instructor of the courses; should we change the manner and location in which the data on teaching evaluations is currently reported; should alter the statistics that are reported along with this data; how can we use the qualitative comments in a more effective way such that they can be used in generalized assessments; how are we using these evaluations, and should we have different forms of evaluations that better fit these different purposes; and should we integrate the evaluation of research with the evaluation of teaching? The list is not exhaustive, as the committee will also look at how evaluations are collected and what is the substantive nature of the evaluations. Ms. Southwell indicated the committee will report no later than final senate meeting in May 2007.

 

During a question period, a question was asked when the new evaluations forms might be used. Ms. Southwell replied that there likely will be a trial run, perhaps in fall 2007. Optimistically, the system may be on-line in fall 2008. Senator Christian Cherry, dance, recommended that faculty who regularly have performing arts and studio based classes be included on the committee or planning for implementation. Vice President Gordon Sayre, English, asked about “altering” some of the statistics currently reported. Ms. Southwell explained that z-scores have created some difficulties with their interpretation and use, so they will be looked at further. Mr. Brad Shelton, mathematics, added that when the data is available in electronic format, many types of comparison statistics will be possible. Senate participant Star Holmberg, computer and information science, asked why the university was using an outside vendor for the on-line system instead of using staff at the university. Mr. Shelton replied there were legal reasons for contracting out the online course evaluation system. With no other questions, President Clark asked if there were other announcements.

 

Vice President Sayre, chair of the Committee on Committees, announced that the preference cards for committee service have been sent out; he encouraged senators’ participation in encouraging colleagues to serve on the various committees.

 

President Clark recognized Jared Axelrod, president of the ASUO, to announce the upcoming rally in Salem to promote higher education on February 22^nd. He indicated that buses are available to transport students, staff and faculty who might be interested in attending.

 

NEW BUSINESS

 

President Clark indicated that she was in consultation with the Department of Justice regarding the appropriateness of two proposed motions from Mr. Frank Stahl and Mr. Andrew Marcus that would change the faculty governance enabling legislation, and thus motions are delayed until a response is received.

 

Notices of motion. Senator Bertram Malle, psychology, gave notice that he intends to move to rescind motion US06/07-7 passed at the January 10^th meeting concerning the time period during which students would be able to complete course evaluations. Senator Malle explained he was unable to attend the previous meeting and felt strongly that research suggests course evaluations are adversely affected if completed after the final exam. Mr. Shelton commented he was pleased with the expertise Senator Malle would bring to such a discussion. He noted that if the senate rescinds the motion, his committee will move forward to duplicate current practice as opposed to current legislation. (See http://www.uoregon.edu/~uosenate/dirsen067/US067-7.html. [Note: current legislation states that, at such time as the University of Oregon implements an on-line course evaluation system, the window of opportunity for students to fill out course evaluations will be Monday of Dead Week through the Monday following finals week.]

 

Mr. Cheney Ryan, philosophy, gave notice that he intends to move the following motion at the March 14^th meeting which would amend Resolution US00/01-4 concerning the academic calendar and athletic event scheduling conflicts (passed April 11, 2001) by adding the following text to that resolution:

 

Be It Resolved that,

The University Senate reaffirms the suggestion that major sports events should not interfere with dead week and final exams. The decision to schedule major sports events at this time should only be made in exceptional circumstances, with the academic needs of students remaining the top priority.

Further,

The decision to schedule major sports events that conflict with dead week or exam week should only be made in consultation with the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee, the Faculty Advisory Council, the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, the Provost, and the President of the University. All parties should be informed of University Senate resolutions relating to this matter.

 

Mr. Cheney explained that he was heavily involved in crafting the language of the 2001 legislation, with the assurance that scheduling conflicts during dead week and exam week would only occur in extraordinary circumstances, which does not appear to be the situation in the recent rescheduling of the fall term 2007 football games, hence the reasoning for strengthening the resolution.

 

Senator Gilkey gave notice of a motion he intends to make at the March 14^th meeting which supports the IFS motion passed at its February 3^rd meeting requesting that the OUS Provosts’ Council undertake a formal evaluation of the College NOW programs that serve Oregon students. (See http://www.uoregon.edu/~ifs/dir07/ifs-07-1.html and http://www.uoregon.edu/~uosenate/dirsen067/US067-13.html.)

 

ADJOURNMENT

 

With no other business at hand, Senator Gilkey moved to adjourn the meeting at 4:55 p.m. and the meeting was adjourned.

 

 

Gwen Steigelman

Secretary

 

 

ADDENDUM A – Fund for Faculty Excellence - Winter 2007 Recipients

 

College of Arts and Sciences: Carlos Aguirre, history; Dare Baldwin, psychology; Alice Barkan, biology; Bryna Goodman, history; Susan Guion, linguistics; Michael Haley, chemistry; James Hutchison, chemistry; Alexander Kleshchev, mathematics; Massimo Lollini, Romance languages; W. Andrew Marcus, geography; Christopher Minson, human physiology; Jeffrey Ostler, history; Patrick Phillips, biology; and Regina Psaki, Romance languages. School of Architecture and Allied Arts: Douglas Blandy, arts administration; Kenneth Helphand, landscape architecture; Jeffrey Hurwit, art history; and Alison Kwok, architecture. School of Law: Michael Moffitt. School of Music and Dance: Milagro Vargas, voice.