Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Present:
Karen M. Turner (Pres.), Paul S. LaFollette (V. Pres.), Joan P. Shapiro (Secy.), Robert M. Aiken (Past-Pres.), Joan Delalic (Engr.), Michael W. Jackson (STHM), Tricia S. Jones, (Educ.), Luke Kahlich (BCMD), James Korsh (CST), Laurie MacPhail (Dent.), Charles Ruchalski (Pharm), Jay Sinha (FSBM), Roberta Sloan (SCT), David Waldstreicher (Fac. Herald), Cheryl Mack (Coord.)
Absent:
Adam Davey (CHPSW), Charles Jungreis (Med), Stephanie Knopp (Tyl), Mark C. Rahdert (Law) Arthur Schmidt (CLA)
Call to Order:
The meeting began at 1:02 PM
Approval of the Minutes:
The Minutes from January 19, 2010, were approved unanimously.
President’s Report: Karen M. Turner
President Turner made a few announcements:
- She said that President Hart may or may not be with us next week. If she is unable to join us, she will ask Betsy Leebron Tutelman, Senior Vice Provost and Dean of Students, to join us.
- On Tuesday, March 2nd, a Middle States reviewer will meet with the Executive Committee of the FSSC at 1:00 p.m. The weekly FSSC meeting will take place at 1:30 p.m. and possibly a reviewer will join us.
- We hope to discuss with Diane Maleson, Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Development and Faculty Affairs, the bylaws process and annual report today.
Vice President’s Report: Paul S. LaFollette
- Vice President LaFollette said that he sent a message this morning through the listserv to ask for volunteers for various offices.
- He said that Bill Woodward (Law) would soon convene the Standing Committee on Continuous Revision in Faculty Handbook. He also stated that he asked Ron Tallarida (Med.) to serve on this committee and he said he would be willing to do so. His biographical sketch was passed around and a vote was taken. The vote was unanimous that Ron Tallarida should serve.
Guest: Diane Maleson, Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Development and Faculty Affairs
The Senior Vice Provost covered a number of topics with the Steering Committee.
- At the outset, she brought up a possible issue that we might consider in the Senate - - child pornography on the internet. Pennsylvania law has changed regarding child pornography. As this might affect some faculty members’ research, she suggested that we consider looking into a process for dealing with the new legislation.
- A representative suggested we look into the IRB protocol;
- Another representative thought we should ask Social Administration what their guidelines are on this topic;
- Paul LaFollette suggested we create a joint administration/faculty committee to look into this.
- Diane Maleson then said how much she enjoyed the Representative Faculty Senate Meeting yesterday focusing on the quality of life for faculty at Temple.
- She is looking forward to the FSSC’s involvement in the Council of Dean’s Retreat this coming June.
- The Senior Vice Provost then spent some time discussing the Annual Report that all faculty would have to file to be eligible for the .25% merit increase. There will be a demonstration of the report online in March looking for errors. The form was developed at Temple. Cornell’s form provided a framework. It is meant to be user-friendly and intuitive. It is also meant to reward service. She thought the reward for service might be a good topic to discuss at the retreat with the deans. The hope is that when we publish a new book or get a new grant, we can upload this information with ease. The Annual Report will provide a central repository so that it will be easy to know who is doing what.
- President Turner wanted to know if the Annual Report will help to standardize the colleges a little bit so that one faculty member does not receive 15 merit points and others receive very few merit points;
- Vice President LaFollette asked if Deans will be urged to use this report.
- A discussion on the importance of service occurred. Some comments included:
- Since guidelines are fuzzy on service, it might be helpful if there was a short one page description of how this area is handled for merit in each college/school;
- Service involving faculty working with students in this area needs to be addressed;
- How the University Tenure and Promotion Advisory Committee procedures handle service is very important;
- Currently some tenured faculty feel that they can say “no” to a service request by their chair;
- The issue of how much service, if any, a non-tenured faculty member should do was discussed. There were mixed opinions from none, to some, to a little more than that to be recognized within the college and to become socialized to performing service;
- Incentives need to be offered to “put teeth” into service, someone thought;
- Associate level professors need protection from doing too much service;
- The conversation then turned to mentorships and orientations. Some comments were:
- Mentorships are needed for newly arrived faculty. An orientation, organized by Human Resources, is good for staff, but we need orientation for faculty. Some colleges are so large that a new faculty member should have a proper introduction to it. Also, personal advice is needed as one comes from another location into this urban environment;
- Diane Maleson said that the new chair orientation has been fairly successful; however, she would like some advice as to what an orientation for faculty should include;
- A faculty representative said that he had the experience, as a new faculty member, who was advised by his chair to have lunch with a different person in the university each week;
- A suggestion was made that new faculty be invited to visit committees, such as the FSSC;
- It was indicated that not only new faculty need assistance but associate and full do as well; it was also suggested that we ask people what they want;
- Brown bag seminars for new people were mentioned;
- One suggestion was that one college and one university faculty member drop into an office, with doughnuts and coffee, during the office hours of the new person and answer questions;
- In the past at Temple, mentors have been assigned; some from other schools and colleges; and they have proved to be effective;
- It was stressed that for political reasons it might be good to have faculty outside the person’s department serve as mentors;
- The conversation then moved to the bylaws. Diane Maleson mentioned that most college/school bylaws are now technically out of date. Currently, new bylaws go from the dean to the counsel’s office. There needs to be a stamp of approval from the counsel.
- When Associate Counsel, Ginny Lederman, returns from a leave, she will be working on default bylaws. We will invite Diane Maleson and Ginny Lederman to speak with us after Spring Break.
- Diane Maleson stressed that if you have problems in your department or college, you are entitled to visit with her. She will treat what you have to say confidentially.
President’s Report (contd): Karen M. Turner
President Turner provided a brief report on the Executive Committee meeting (consisting of Paul LaFollette, Joan Shapiro and herself) with the Provost on January 21, 2010. She mentioned the following:
- Nine candidates will be interviewed off-campus in February for the position of Senior Vice Provost for Research Administration and for Graduate Education;
- Regarding the 20/20 Plan, CFO Tony Wagner and President Hart will present information at the Representative Faculty Senate Meeting about the plan. Work has started on the USB Building and Pearson/McGonigle Halls. President Turner said that although we don’t know the time-line of what will be occurring, we can still make comments and ask questions about the process;
- Turning to the Retreat with the Provost, Karen Turner made a number of comments:
- For the faculty survey, the Provost will turn to the new director of the Institute for Survey Research, Alexander Ortega, for help;
- Provost Lisa plans to continue to hold an annual retreat with the FSSC each fall;
- For our bylaws question and new faculty orientation, the Provost suggested we talk with Diane Maleson which we did;
- The Provost wants us to develop an Awards Breakfast. This was the excellent idea suggested by Michael Jackson (STHM). President Turner asked for some ideas regarding this occasion. Some comments that were made included:
- These awards need to be different from the Stauffer Award but these awards could help a faculty member work towards that honor;
- All representatives to the FSSC could put one candidate from their school forward or the collegial assembly could choose a person for the award;
- Michael Jackson is willing to take the lead for this event and Karen Turner asked us to think about it for a week and come back with ideas.
- The Provost thought that Pam Barnett, Director of the Teaching and Learning Center, should organize the Leadership Institute for faculty;
- Bill Wilkinson, Associate Vice President for Budget and Space Management, is extremely knowledgeable about the matrix and he and the Provost can help us find a block of time when the Representative Faculty Senate could be held without conflicts;
- Responsive Consultation and Initiating Consultation might be topics for the FSCC’s meeting with the Council of Deans;
Unfinished Business:
Peter Jones still has not provided us with feedback on both the Honors’ Program and the Student Feedback Form;
The status of Banner is that Human Resources is on hold; Karen Turner is attending a meeting tomorrow and will be able to provide more information. A real concern has to do with difficulties for PI’s on grants with Banner. Laura Toran (CST) met with Banner personnel and expressed the need for an orientation. Tim O’Rourke, Vice President for Computer and Information Services, and Sheri Stahler, Associate Vice President for Computer Services, are looking into the problems with Banner and graduate research.
New Business:
There is a problem of chairs and faculty positions being filled without faculty input. The hiring of a spouse, when a faculty member is coming to Temple, needs to be addressed. Frequently, the hiring is done so quickly. A suggestion is that the FSSC provide guidelines for the hiring of faculty; we should consider writing up what we think is reasonable. This is a topic of importance for the Executive Committee of the FSSC to discuss with the Provost at their next meeting.
The Nominating Committee of the FSSC has a member who is running for office. Paul LaFollette expressed a desire to resign from the nominating committee, and his resignation was accepted. The Nominating Committee will now go forward with two members. A suggestion was made that those who are running for office should not serve on the Nominating Committee in the future.
Adjournment:
The meeting ended at 2:57 P.M.
Joan P. Shapiro
Secretary
