Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Present:
Karen M. Turner (Pres.), Paul S. LaFollette (V. Pres.), Joan P. Shapiro (Secy.), Robert M. Aiken (Past-Pres.), Adam Davey (CHPSW), Margaret Devinney (CLA), Michael W. Jackson (STHM), Tricia S. Jones, (Educ.), Charles Jungreis (Med.), Luke Kahlich (BCMD), Stephanie Knopp (Tyl.), Laurie MacPhail (Dent.), Mark C. Rahdert (Law), Charles Ruchalski (Pharm.), Jay Sinha (FSBM), Roberta Sloan (SCT), Cheryl Mack (Coord.)
Absent:
David Waldstreicher (Fac. Herald)
Call to Order:
The meeting began at 1:05 p.m.
Approval of the Minutes:
The minutes from May 2, 2009 were approved with two amendments from Luke Kahlich.
President’s Report: Karen Turner
After a welcome and the introductions of the new members, who include, Tricia Jones, Charles (Chip) Jungreis, Laurie MacPhail, and Charles Ruchalski, Karen Turner turned to a number of issues.
Turner spoke of the CARE Team (Campus Assessment Response Evaluation Team) and the need for faculty representation on it. New members wished to know what the CARE Team was and Turner explained that the team came into existence after the shootings at Virginia Tech. The team was composed of legal and advising personnel and student services. The hope is that a faculty member on the team would make it more accessible. The president and provost are interested in this addition, but do have some concerns. Turner will talk to them about it.
We turned to the President’s Report (9/1/09) that was prepared for this meeting. What follows is the discussion that took place as we reviewed the sheet.
- Videoconferencing at HSC and Ambler needs to be promoted. Representatives should mention this at their collegial assemblies. Bob Aiken raised the question as to who were now the faculty in Ambler. The decision was to keep the videoconferencing there until things settle down on that campus.
- Turner reminded us that Apreso (audio capture) of the senate meetings is still online. Visit the Faculty Senate home page for the link.
- Sustainability and the budget were discussed. The Faculty Senate will no longer provide as much food at meetings. It is fine to bring your own lunches and drinks. We have decreased the count for refreshments from 60-70 guests to 30-40. Cookies will remain at the monthly meetings. The budget is through the Provost’s Office and it is not a great deal of money.
We have been asked to read the agenda and minutes on Blackboard. If we like, we can print our own copies or bring our computers to the meeting. We can save trees if we bring our computers along.
The problems with financing the Faculty Herald have not been resolved. We are to support an associate editor, but we have never been able to really cover this in our budget. As Bob Aiken pointed out, this has been a bone of contention for some time.
- The senate’s consulting role will hopefully continue in areas such as Middle States reviews and graduate education. We hope to receive an update on Middle States from Jodie Levine Laufgraben. We also hope to be informed about graduate education.
President Hart will continue her informal gatherings. A theme might be very helpful for some of these gatherings. She has carried out one theme meeting focused on the arts with Tyler. If you have ideas about a theme, please let Karen Turner know through an email.
- The University issues for this year will be Graduate Education, Academic Compass implementation, and Middle States.
- There are openings on some of the Board of Trustees’ committees. A letter to Karen Turner from George Moore is currently on blackboard about the various committees. Betsy Leebron Tutelman will move to an ex officio member of the Athletics Committee, so another member is needed. Michael Jackson’s name was suggested by Bob Aiken and he agreed. The Development Committee did not meet last year. Mark Rahdert will continue to serve and Roberta Sloan has agreed to replace David Baron on the Development Committee. Michael Jackson would like to serve on the Facilities Committee to replace Roy Stevens but in the past his class conflicted with the meeting time of this committee. Tony Wagner will visit us soon to speak about facilities. Marge Devinney serves currently on the Student Affairs Committee. She says the committee meets a couple of times each year. It has good presentations from diverse student groups. Karen Turner has served on this committee and says you get a better sense of student life when you participate on it. Trish Jones has agreed to serve on this committee.
- A discussion followed about some of the issues that the Faculty Senate would address this year. The senate will try to develop a template for college and school bylaws to present to the colleges and schools;
- Turner has collected some models of chair and dean’s evaluations that could be shared with the colleges and schools;
- There is need for associate level professor support and mentorship. Joan Shapiro remembered a mentorship program that Donald Rackin ran some years ago at Temple. Senior faculty mentored junior faculty. This program could be reviewed in light of mentoring of associate professors. Roland Williams was part of this program and will be contacted about his experiences;
- Academic freedom is an issue that is of special significance at Temple as David Horowitz has targeted some professors here. It might be helpful to have a brief statement or guideline that might assist any professor in responding to his charges;
- There should be a reactivation of the Senate Handbook Committee. Once the new contract is signed, the committee should begin work. The Provost would really like to see goals identified in it;
- There is a need for a faculty database. This would be a place where faculty members’ interests are identified so that the Faculty Senate can turn to them for committee service. There is a need for a form and a way to link this database to the Faculty Senate website. Paul LaFollette will work on setting up such a clearing house.
- Faculty Senate guests and issues for future steering committee meetings were discussed - The president and provost always speak to us as guests. There is a need to ask Human Resources to share with us the Chronicle survey data. We should ask Bill Black and Diane Maleson to continue to join us. Eli Goldblatt, from the Community Based Learning and Collaboration Committee, could report to us. The Provost suggested that Tiffenia Archie from the Multicultural Center would make a good guest. Peter Jones could return to discuss with us the student feedback forms. Bob Aiken thought that it would be good to hear from Jones soon as the steering committee continues to be concerned about the Honors Program. Eleanor Myers was mentioned as a potential guest. Paul LaFollette thought that we needed to hear from Human Resources about the study of salaries at the university. Mark Rahdert suggested that the Faculty Quality of Life Questionnaire be brought back to our attention.
- Monthly meeting guests were also mentioned. The Provost will continue to attend all of the meetings. The President will come to the first and last meetings each semester. Roland Williams, the Director of the new Academic Center on Research in Diversity (ACCORD), should be invited in to speak to the senators. Karen Turner was concerned that the description of the center in the paper was not focused enough on faculty and research. The center hopes to have faculty involved either as joint appointments or affiliated faculty. There should also be someone to give updates on Gen. Ed. and on the Promotion and Tenure Committee. Jay Sinha recommended that Art Hochner join us. Michael Jackson suggested that Bill Bergman be invited to discuss security and safety issues. Sandra McDade could also be invited to talk about sustainability. Roberta Sloan recommended that Betsy Leebron Tutelman join us to talk about her new role as Senior Vice Provost and Dean of Students. Karen Turner mentioned the link between Leebron Tutelman’s office and our ad hoc student committee. Michael Jackson stressed that there was now a focus on entrepreneurial enterprises and thought it would be good to have a discussion about development and how to generate funds. He can identify someone to speak or he could talk to us.
Vice President’s Report: Paul LaFollette
Paul LaFollette emphasized the duties of members of the steering committee to report back to their collegial assemblies. The minutes are on the senate web page so that each representative has the information necessary to speak to his or her constituencies.
LaFollette indicated that committee membership is worse than last year. He said it has been hard to get faculty to volunteer. It is urgent that we fill the Personnel Committee and the Study Leave Committee. The elections come early on so he asked that representatives seek out appropriate people from schools and colleges for these committees. He also reminded us that there are links to each committee on the senate’s home page with descriptions and time requirements. Two ad hoc committees need to be filled: Committee on Faculty Life and the Liaison Committee between the Senate and Student Government. LaFollette stressed the need for a convener for the latter committee and he hoped that Charles Ruchalski and Mark Rahdert, who helped to create this committee, would find someone to serve in this capacity.
The steering committee was asked to approve some appointment replacements for the General Education Executive Committee (GEEC). A discussion took place to determine if the steering committee should just approve the replacements or take a look at the process. Trish Jones was concerned about the process and that all of the schools and colleges were not represented. Roberta Sloan was worried about the selection process itself and asked for applications from other schools. Stephanie Knopp wanted to broaden the representation of the schools. LaFollette will talk to Terry Halbert about the steering committee’s concerns.
Old Business:
A discussion followed about changes to the Faculty Senate Constitution and Bylaws.
New Business:
Dean’s Reviews were stressed as important for the Faculty Senate to carry out in the future.
Adjournment:
The meeting ended at 3:00 PM
Joan Shapiro
Secretary
