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Page 4805 Minutes of Senate Meeting 224 30 Nov 1994
THE SENATE OF MICHIGAN TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
Minutes of Meeting No. 224
30 November 1994
Synopsis: The Senate
(1) Heard a report from the Presidential Commission for Women.
(2) Passed Proposal 8-95: University Health Care Agreement.
(3) Passed Proposal 1-95: Changes to the University Sabbatical Leave
Policy.
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1. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL
President Bornhorst called the meeting to order at 5:30 pm on Wednesday,
November 30, 1994 in Room B37 of the Electrical Energy Resources Center.
Secretary Jobst called the roll. Absent were representatives from
Math, AFROTC, and ROTC; and Liaisons Lumsdaine, Seel, and Cross; and
Staff Council.
2. RECOGNITION OF VISITORS
The Senate had the pleasure of recognizing numerous visitors: Pauline
Moore (Library), Ellen Horsch and Ingrid Cheney (Human Resources),
Richard Brown (Chemistry), Sue Beske-Diehl (Geology), Linda Ott (CS),
Jarrod Karau and Robb Kistler (Copper Country Gay and Lesbian Alliance),
and Mike Mullins (Chem. Eng.) as well as F. Dobney (Provost and Executive
Vice President).
3. AGENDA ADJUSTMENTS
President Bornhorst made several agenda adjustments: Under"8. New
Business," move proposals A, B, C, and D to immediately after the
approval of the minutes. These are merely introductions of new
proposals, not debate on the issues. Under "7. Old Business," move "C.
Proposal 8-95: University Health Care Agreement" before "A" in the same
section. Finally, under "8. New Business," move the remaining two items,
E and F, to the end of "7. Old Business" and reverse them so "F" is
first. Bornhorst also said that at 7:20 pm the Senate will immediately
proceed to the agenda "Old Business" items E and F. [Appendix A. NOTE:
only official Senate and Library archival copies of the Minutes will
contain a full complement of appendices.]
There was no discussion, and Vanek MOVED to accept the agenda
adjustments; Mroz seconded. Bornhorst declared the agenda approved as
amended.
4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Meeting 222
Brokaw MOVED to accept the Minutes from Meeting 222; Reed seconded.
Whitt asked what topics were covered under "Whitt corrected comments."
Jobst replied that she had requested a change in the Minutes of Meeting
221, and these were duly recorded on those minutes before archiving.
Jobst offered to repeat them in the Minutes to 222, and Whitt approved.
Discussion ended, and the minutes were approved on a voice vote.
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8. NEW BUSINESS
[Section moved by agenda adjustment.]
Bornhorst introduced the following new proposals:
A. Proposal 13-94: Atmospheric Science Option in the BS in Geology Degree
[Appendix B]
B. Proposal 9-95: Absence From Regularly Scheduled Class Meetings
[Appendix C]
C. Proposal 10-95: Recommendation on Disciplinary/Discharge Policy
[Appendix D]
D. Proposal 12-95: Search Procedures for Deans and University
Administrators [Appendix E]
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5. REPORT FROM SENATE PRESIDENT
A. FUTURE SENATE MEETINGS
In order to deal with the backlog of proposals, the Senate will meet next
Wednesday, December 7, then again on December 14, 1994. The first Senate
meeting after the holiday break will be on January 11, 1995.
B. MTU QUALITY STEERING TEAM
Bornhorst attended a one-day retreat on November 10 at the Franklin
Square Inn.
C. ATHLETIC COUNCIL
The Administrative Policy committee will review membership in the
Athletic Council.
D. PROPOSALS SENT TO THE ADMINISTRATION
1. 2-95: University Closure Guidelines has been sent to the
Administration with minor editorial changes. [Appendix F].
2. 7-95: An Amendment of Proposal 86-5: Grading System Change has been
submitted to the Administration [Appendix G].
E. CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY
Bornhorst reminded the Senate to consider the Conflict of Interest policy
and give B. Seely (SS) any comments or suggestions. The Senate will
discuss this at the December 7 meeting.
F. BONDING ON NEW BUILDINGS
Bornhorst, responding to many queries about the potential bonding of new
buildings, has asked Chief Financial Officer McGarry to appear before the
Senate at the December 14 meeting and answer questions.
G. SENATE HANDBOOK
Senate assistant Meyers distributed copies of the 1994-95 Senate Handbook
[Appendix H].
H. BY-LAWS AND UP-DATE TO CONSTITUTION
Bornhorst explained that the Constitution needs to be updated, and he
said that at a future date he would bring forth all the changes at one
time before the Senate. He asked for comments, especially major
concerns.
1. The names of some departments have changed since the Senate
Constitution was written.
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Page 4806 Minutes of Senate Meeting 224 30 Nov 1994
2. The need to address the previously approved internal protocol in the
By-Laws.
3. For continuity, Bornhorst would like to include the list of standing
committees (on page 17 of the handbook) in the By-Laws.
4. The Constitution delegates the "Executive Committee," that is the
chairs of all standing committees, plus the Senate officers, with the
responsibility of meeting to approve the agenda, assign proposal numbers,
and so on. These duties cannot be completed efficiently by a large
group; instead, the Senate Officers currently assemble the agenda and
handle these relatively mundane tasks, and the Constitution should
reflect this. Beck, however, pointed out that an unscrupulous future
President could conceivably squelch a proposal he or she disliked, and
the Constitution should prevent this from occurring. Bornhorst agreed
and said that perhaps the wording could cover this potential problem
area.
I. SENATE CONSTITUENCY
Diebel stated that his group (IWR) would like to be considered an
"academic, degree-granting department." Bornhorst said the Senate will
be considering major changes in constituency at a future meeting, and
would cover the request at that time.
6. COMMITTEE BUSINESS / REPORTS
A. PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION FOR WOMEN
Bornhorst then introduced Linda Ott, who made a presentation on a
"Climate Study For Women at Michigan Tech" conducted by this commission.
The charge for her committee, Ott said, was to suggest ways of
improving the climate for women on the MTU campus. Initially the
committee surveyed several groups: faculty, staff, undergrads, grad
students, and alumnae. The survey asked for responses on education and
job satisfaction. The most satisfied were students; the least were staff
personnel.
Ott said a good indicator of feelings were captured in quotations
offered by the surveyed groups. The issues were isolation, discrimi-
nation/harassment reporting, and family concerns. Ott offered seven
recommendations:
1. Increase efforts to attract and retain women faculty and students.
2. Hire, promote, and retain more women in central administration.
3. Educate students and employees about sexual harassment and assure
appropriate methods for identifying and dealing with it.
4. Eliminate gender bias through education.
5. Provide a safe environment.
6. Assure pay equity.
7. Create a family-friendly climate.
Whitt said the recommendations contained no procedures for identifying
harassment. "The committee recommends," Ott replied, "that every woman
should know the University procedure." Ott was asked if Public Safety
personnel were also sent the questionnaire: "All female staff received
survey copies," she replied. The only group not represented 100% were
students, who were sampled. Whitt asked about the response rate:
"Faculty was highest," she said, "about 65 % or so." Ott also said that
the staff was the only group which clearly felt the need to hide work
unit identifying markers.
B. UNIVERSITY APPOINTMENTS
1. Bornhorst reported that enough nominees had materialized for the
Administrative Evaluation Commission.
2. Academic Tenure Committee still has only one nominee.
3. General Education Committee has none, and Bornhorst asked for nominees
from the floor. His sullen expression was met by silence and sheepish
looks.
4. Computer Advisory Subcommittee: Judy Fynewever said Mike Axford had
agreed to serve, and Bornhorst asked the Senate if they approved. There
were no objections.
C. CONFERENCE ON CHANGING EVALUATION OF K-12 STUDENTS
On November 11 Senate Secretary Jobst attended a conference on the
Northern Michigan University (NMU) campus with Enrollment Management
Director, Joe Galetto. Jobst said the conference was a follow-up from an
earlier Lansing Conference which outlined recent state-mandated changes
to K-12 schools. Representatives from all state-supported UP
post-secondary schools attended the NMU conference. Most were enrollment
management personnel, but some were administrators, and a few were
faculty.
Those attending covered three main areas: Portfolios,
State-Endorsement of High School Diplomas, and Dual Enrollment Problems.
Portfolios are materials a high school student collects, such as a
description of high school projects, samples of assignments, etc. Some
schools have not yet prepared for this, while others allow students to
place anything in the portfolios, thus producing, in essence, a scrap
book. The University of Michigan has been experimenting with high school
portfolios as an entrance measurement, but it is too time consuming, and
no one has established guidelines as to what the portfolios must contain.
The state will begin endorsing high school diplomas, presumably after
some type of testing. Some schools are teaching to the test. Employers
will quickly learn, Jobst said, that they should choose employees with
the endorsement. Problems are that out-of-state and foreign students
will lack the endorsement. Jobst was asked why this was occurring.
"Probably," Jobst replied, "it is a reaction to the criticism of skills
in high school graduates."
Dual Enrollment refers to enrolled high school students who
simultaneously take college classes in subjects not offered at their high
school. The college tuition fees are paid by the student's school
district. The college course cannot be a "performance" class. Parents
like this plan, Galetto pointed out, because it lowers eventual college
tuition costs for their children. Dual Enrollment, Galetto continued,
will be a major concern in the future for colleges and universities
because an increasing number of students will take advantage of this
ruling. One potential problem will occur when these high school students
compete for class space with regularly-enrolled college students.
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7. OLD BUSINESS
[Section moved by agenda adjustment.]
C. PROPOSAL 8-95: UNIVERSITY HEALTH CARE AGREEMENT
[See Minutes, p. 4794 for a copy of this proposal.] Bornhorst said that
the Senate will be voting on the concept of a PPO, not the affiliation
with any particular insurance provider. Dobney said the University
wishes to bring in a health insurance
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Page 4807 Minutes of Senate Meeting 224 30 Nov 1994
consultant to insure that Tech gets the best deal. "We are the 800 pound
gorilla in this geographical area," Dobney said.
Mroz MOVED to approve 8-95; Arici seconded.
Carstens pointed out that the proposal specifically identifies Wausau
Insurance. Bornhorst said that the Senate's vote is merely a
recommendation, so this exact wording on the proposal is moot. Financial
decisions, he pointed out, are made by the Administration, and the Senate
only has the right to make recommendations. Mullins asked how long a
possible new health plan would be in effect. Three years, Dobney
replied.
Carstens said that Calumet Hospital should be included in any plan,
to which Horsch replied that the Calumet hospital's new director, Rick
Wright, has met with Horsch three times on this issue in the past few
weeks. Dobney said the University wishes to bring them into an
agreement.
Roblee MOVED and Whitt seconded to amend the proposal: "If the
University chooses a PPO health plan then all the hospitals that serve
local MTU faculty and staff, and wish to be included in it, shall be, so
long as they meet MTU's requirement for quality and cost control."
After discussion ended on the amendment, the motion CARRIED on a
voice vote, with dissent.
Melton said dropping Wausau from the issue was confusing. Mullins
described his experience at a different university with a change in
health care plans. He said that the administration promised to drop the
deductible if the faculty agreed to accept a PPO plan, which they did.
The administration, after three years, reinstituted the deductible.
Dobney said Mullins should not complain about the reinstatement of the
deductible, but rather be grateful: "You didn't pay that extra fee for
three years," he said. Dobney said health care costs continue to rise
each year. "If anyone here has a solution to this larger problem," he
said, "you will become immensely rich."
Beck complained about the faculty representation on the committee
which selected the PPO plan, saying they did not ask and received no
input from him. Roblee asked if the committee would welcome comments
from faculty. Cheney said yes.
Arici asked if the costs quoted by the administration included
retirement faculty costs. Cheney said yes.
Mroz CALLED for the question, and Irish seconded. Since discussion
is not permitted after this motion, the Senate considered it immediately,
and the motion CARRIED to end debate on the issue, by a voice vote, with
dissent.
Bornhorst called for a show of hands. Proposal 8-95 CARRIED by a
vote of 22 to three.
Dobney said his impression was that the University would begin
negotiating with Wausau, and he recommended that the three faculty on the
committee be invited to a future Senate meeting. The faculty
representatives are Kawatra (Met Eng), Drummer (Math), and Sotirin (HU).
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7A. PROPOSAL 1-95: CHANGE TO THE UNIVERSITY SABBATICAL LEAVE POLICY
Bornhorst read a memo from Dobney's office [Appendix I] containing a
table showing sabbatical leave policies at three other benchmark
universities. Mullins said the information was incorrect and argued that
the schools in question, in general, offered more generous sabbatical
leaves than Tech. Dobney pointed out some minor flaws in Mullins' data,
but then asked for a copy of his information. "This money [for the
sabbaticals] will come from the departments," Dobney said, "not from the
Administration. I have no need to mislead. We must sell this plan to
the Board of Control, however, and your information will be useful."
Mullins said he would supply copies.
Glime said most department chairs were supportive of the plan, but
they may have been thinking of their own sabbaticals when they return to
a faculty appointment. The proposal, she said, will probably be harder
on small departments and those without grad programs.
Leifer MOVED to table the proposal; Glime seconded. On a voice vote
the motion FAILED.
Whitt asked about additional funding, which could be useful for
smaller departments and those without grad programs. Glime said that the
provost had indicated such money must come from other academic
activities, but some possibility existed for reinstating the Creativity
Grants, and a person going on sabbatical could apply for such funds to
supplement salary.
Since discussion had ended, Bornhorst called for a vote. Proposal
1-95 with an amendment, CARRIED on a voice vote, with dissent.
B. PROPOSAL 6-95: POLICY ON DISCRIMINATION AND PROHIBITED CONDUCT
[See Minutes, pg. 4693 for a copy of this proposal.] Rob Kistler, a
representative from the Copper Country Gay and Lesbian Alliance addressed
the Senate and thanked them for a proposal that included an injunction
against discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Glime MOVED to approve Proposal 6-95; Arici seconded. Keen
immediately MOVED to amend 6-95 with a replacement proposal. Jobst
seconded.
Whitt MOVED and Bulleit seconded to amend the revised Proposal 6-95:
- To the end of the first paragraph add "... as determined by the
University Committee on Discrimination and Harassment."
- Strike the last sentence of the proposal and replace with "This
policy shall be administered in accordance with procedures established by
the University Committee on Discrimination and harassment. This
committee shall be made up of faculty, staff, and students; and it shall
referee the diversity of the University community as regards gender,
race, ethnicity, and sexual preference."
Bulleit asked for a sense of how such a committee would work. Keen
then argued against Whitt's amendment, saying that attorneys have
approved the previous versions, and that the courts would throw out any
decisions made by a committee. The Board of Control, Keen continued,
would prefer the Provost make such judgments.
At this point, Bornhorst stopped debate on this topic at 7:20 pm, as
agreed in Agenda Adjustments, to give two faculty members an opportunity
to speak to the Senate.
8. NEW BUSINESS
Bornhorst introduced Richard Brown (Chemistry) who made a personal
statement. Brown called attention to a letter he distributed to the
Senate [Appendix J], and said he was offended by copies of e-mail
distributed to the Senate without his permission. He argued that the
e-mail may have played an overly significant role on the Senate's
consideration of voting members on Senate Standing Committees. "I was
misrepresented," Brown said. "When I responded to the e-mail I had
recently returned from a sabbatical leave and honestly thought I was not
on the Finance Committee but rather on the
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Page 4805 Minutes of Senate Meeting 224 30 Nov 1994
Fringe Benefits Committee, not knowing that the two had been merged in my
absence. I also thought I was being confused with the other Richard
Brown on campus." Brown said he should have been consulted before his
e-mail was copied and distributed. Kawatra noted that Pickens was not
given the opportunity to respond either.
Les Leifer then had the floor for his personal statement, but Leifer
said he needed ten minutes. Bornhorst asked the Senate if the meeting
could go beyond 7:30. Roblee said he, for one, did not wish the meeting
to extend beyond the traditional time. Keen said the agenda identifies
five minutes for Leifer, and that time was currently available. Leifer
said he was falsely accused of packing the Finance Committee, but the
"volunteers" whom he wished included in voting were not all supporters of
him or his views.
Leifer said he did not feel the Senate President had been fair with
him on this issue, and now that Richard Brown had made a presentation to
the Senate, Leifer proposed a new vote be taken on Proposal 3-95: Voting
on Standing Committees. He also proposed that an ethics committee
consider the unauthorized use of e-mail copies in the Senate.
Leifer was asked if the Finance Committee yet had a chair, and he
said no, the group has not met since November 9. Bornhorst directed
Senate Vice President Glime to call a Finance Committee meeting to
resolve the impasse. Bornhorst also directed Secretary Jobst to prepare
a proposal reconsidering Senate Proposal 3-95.
9. ADJOURNMENT
Vanek MOVED and Minor seconded to adjourn. Motion CARRIED. Bornhorst
declared the meeting adjourned at 7:30 pm.
Submitted by Jack Jobst
Secretary of the University Senate
.