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Page 5765 Minutes of Senate Meeting 243 11 Oct 1995
THE SENATE OF MICHIGAN TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
Minutes of Meeting No. 243
11 October 1995
Synopsis: The Senate
(1) approved the formation of task forces on sabbatical leave, TIAA/CREF
retirement health benefits, and graduate student tuition.
(2) accepted Senate committee assignments.
(3) approved Proposal 29-95, Department of Education.
(4) approved Proposal 37-95, Statement of the Value of Interdisciplinary
Scholarship and Teaching.
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1. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL
President Bornhorst called the Senate meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. on
Wednesday, 11 October 1995, in Room B37 of the Electrical Energy Resources
Center.
Secretary Glime called roll. Absent were At-large Senator Filer,
representatives from Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Army/Air
Force ROTC, Enrollment Management, and Research and Graduate School/
Communication Services/Administrative offices. Liaisons in attendance were
Max Seel (Dean of College of Sciences and Arts), Yadu Dar (GSC), Steve
Batzer (GSC), David Henke (USG), and Ted Soldan (Staff Council).
2. RECOGNITION OF VISITORS
Guests included Marcia Goodrich (Tech Topics), Fred Dobney (Executive
Vice President and Provost), Ted Lockhart (Humanities), and Freydoon Arbabi
(Civil and Environmental Engineering).
3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Caspary MOVED and Carstens seconded the motion to accept the agenda as
published. The agenda was APPROVED by voice vote. [Appendix A. NOTE: only
official Senate and Library archival copies of the minutes will contain a
full complement of appendices.]
4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM MEETINGS 239, 240, 241, and 242
There was a brief discussion of the brevity of the minutes,
particularly those for Meeting 239. President Bornhorst explained that the
officers had agreed to try the abbreviated form suggested by Robert's Rules
of Order. He pointed out that it was problematic to distill a shorter
version and still represent people accurately. Senators suggested that the
main points of discussion be included. Keen reminded the Senate that it
was of interest to be able to go back to the minutes during the Ventures
episodes and read the comments. He also reminded the Senate that Robert's
Rules of Order states that if minutes are to be used for other than
recording, if they are to be a source of distributed information, then the
minutes should be extended beyond a record of motions and actions.
President Bornhorst took a straw vote that indicated 11 persons wanted more
extensive minutes and 8 preferred the more abbreviated form. The Secretary
will provide more complete minutes in the future.
Soldan MOVED and Sandberg seconded to approve the minutes of Meeting
239. The motion CARRIED on a voice vote.
Carstens MOVED and Heyman seconded to approve the minutes of Meeting
240. The motion CARRIED on a voice vote.
Arici MOVED and Soldan seconded to approve the minutes of Meeting 241.
The motion CARRIED on a voice vote.
Heyman MOVED and Gale seconded to approve the minutes of Meeting 242.
The motion CARRIED on a voice vote.
5. REPORT FROM SENATE PRESIDENT
Ted Soldan has been elected unanimously as the pro tem non-academic
Vice President of the Senate.
The Capital Planning Committee has been meeting and consists of Senate
President Ted Bornhorst, past Presidents Bill Shapton and Pete Tampas,
Chief Financial Officer Bill McGarry, Director of Facilities Management
Bill Blumhardt, Dean Lumsdaine (Engineering), Dean Seel (Sciences and
Arts), and Provost Fred Dobney. The committee recommends that the next
capital expenditure be for high-tech classroom space for physics and
mathematics as an extension to Fisher Hall with space for library compactor
storage. The funding will be capital from the state with an anticipated
expense of $35-39 million.
President Bornhorst invited President Tompkins to speak to the Senate
on charter schools, but Tompkins proposed instead a workshop for everyone
concerned before he comes to the Senate. The Board has made no formal
decision, but 6-7 members of the Board have expressed support for MTU
involvement in charter schools. [Appendix B]
The Senate Assistant has reorganized the Senate materials on reserve in
the library.
The Department of Humanities has asked for Senate clarification on
proposal 16-92 (department charters), particularly on the statement, "The
departmental charter shall be valid after it is approved by a simple
majority of the Senate constituency of that unit and any other members as
determined by that constituency." Senator Keen stated that a simple
majority refers to those who vote. Senator Pegg interpreted the Senate
constitution to mean the majority of the whole. Bornhorst stated that the
standard quorum for voting is 2/3. Bornhorst showed a statement from the
Provost that interpreted the eligible voters for ratification of
departmental charters to be tenured and tenure-track faculty. Dean Seel
stated that his interpretation of the Provost's guidance was that the
tenured and tenure track faculty can determine by a simple majority of the
votes cast who will vote on the charter. Keen referred to the statement in
the most recent revision of the Senate
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Page 5766 Minutes of Senate Meeting 243 11 Oct 1995
constitution that the academic faculty are the constituents, including
instructors, lecturers, assistant professors, associate professors, and
professors, but not part-time faculty. He therefore concluded that the
charter statement meant a simple majority of the constituents as currently
defined. Lockhart (Humanities) interpreted that a simple majority of the
Senate constituents meant a majority of all members, not just those voting.
Bornhorst stated that the Senate's interpretation of "simple majority" is
the majority of those who vote however the vote is conducted. Bornhorst,
in consultation with the Senate officers, will prepare a response memo to
the Department of Humanities, to be included in the appendix to the
minutes, telling the Department of Humanities how to interpret the charter
statement for the purpose of establishing the Humanities charter. Senator
Beck suggested that members who cannot attend the charter ratification
meeting should vote by mail. [Appendix C]
6. COMMITTEE BUSINESS/REPORTS
A. President Bornhorst reported that he had received a few responses to the
call for committee nominations. Some positions are still in need of
nominees. The officers will seek additional nominees where needed and
finalize the list.
The Provost has recommended three task forces with subsequent proposals
going back to the Senate for endorsement. Senator Bradley stated that the
task force may be attacking similar topics to those undertaken by standing
Senate Committees. Provost Dobney reminded the Senate that decisions on
these recommendations must be made by December if they are to be considered
in the next fiscal budget; if there is no administrative input, the
proposals are likely to be delayed during subsequent negotiations with the
administration and could miss the deadline. Senator Beck stated that the
task force on graduate tuition needs a person who supports graduate
students with external funds. Bradley expressed concern that these
administrative task forces would sidestep issues from faculty and that all
parties need to talk, but that the urgency needed to be considered. Dobney
stated that he wanted an improvement on the sabbatical incentive and a more
secure faculty retirement benefit. Arbabi (Civil Engineering) asked why we
could not request the Fringe Benefits Committee to address this first.
Keen said for precedent, last year the Senate agreed that any proposals
generated by the ad hoc committee on teaching would go to the Senate
Instructional Policy Committee before being reported to the full Senate.
Senator Barna stated that a task force gathers data. Bradley moved that
the Senate get input; there was no second. Bornhorst suggested that in
order to conclude this discussion, the Senate vote on each task force.
Walck MOVED and Bradley seconded the motion to accept the
recommendation for a task force on sabbatical leave. The motion was
APPROVED by voice vote with dissent.
Soldan MOVED and Bradley seconded the motion to accept the
recommendation for a task force on TIAA/CREF retirement health benefits.
The motion was APPROVED by voice vote with dissent.
Bradley MOVED and McKimpson seconded the motion to accept the
recommendation for a task force on graduate student tuition. The motion
was approved by voice vote with dissent.
B. 1995-96 Committee Assignments. Bornhorst reported that there had been
no requests for changes to the preliminary list of committee assignments.
Senator Caspary requested that the unassigned Army/Air Force alternate be
assigned to a committee, but Bornhorst pointed out that the alternate has
already been assigned to the Administrative Policy Committee. Carstens
MOVED and Soldan seconded the motion to accept the committee assignments as
presented [Appendix D]. The motion CARRIED on voice vote with no dissent.
The committees should now select their chairs.
7. OLD BUSINESS
A. PROPOSAL 29-95, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION [Appendix E] Sloan MOVED and
Walck seconded the motion to approve Proposal 29-95. Suggested voting
units were academic-degree-granting departments. Senator Bradley stated
that the proposal has financial implications and should be voted on by the
full Senate. There was no motion to change the voting units so the voting
units stood as published.
Dean Seel suggested editorial changes on pages 4 and 5. Item 2 of
Specific Goals should read "To consider complementary education methods
courses in the content departments." This replaces "To establish..." Item
6 should begin "Consider the need for formalization of Plan B master's
degree programs in each content department for individuals seeking initial
(provisional) teacher certification and for current high school teachers
who wish to enhance their teaching credentials." This replaces "Formalize
Plan B..." Sweany MOVED and Sandberg seconded the motion to make these
amendments. The motion CARRIED on voice vote. President Bornhorst ruled
the changes to be editorial.
Keen MOVED and Sloan seconded the motion to change "will" to "may" and
"will" to "could" in paragraph 3 of item 4, lines 4 and 5, respectively,
under Vision. The sentence would read, "They may be involved in first year
learning centers and related activities and, together with other adjunct
faculty members of the education department, could help establish a
formalized network of on-campus practical experiences for pre-service
teachers." This motion to amend CARRIED on voice vote with no dissent.
President Bornhorst ruled the changes to be editorial.
Senator Arici asked if the department or program would need to be
accredited. Seel responded that the program is already accredited and that
the department does not need to be. The motion to approve Proposal 29-95
CARRIED on voice vote with no dissent.
B. PROPOSAL 7-94, SCHEDULING OF EVENING EXAMINATIONS
[See minutes, page 5725, for a copy of this proposal.]
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Page 5767 Minutes of Senate Meeting 243 11 Oct 1995
Keen MOVED and Sandberg seconded the motion to take the motion to approve
Proposal 7-94 from the table. The motion CARRIED on voice vote with no
dissent.
Keen clarified paragraph 4, stating that an instructor with the smaller
class must provide an alternate test time for a student who has two exams
scheduled at the same time. Senator Tyrell stated that non-traditional and
other students often have conflicts with work and the new policy did not
provide for that. Keen clarified that the new proposal does not change the
policy on other conflicts; this resolution is up to the individual
instructor.
The suggested voting units on this proposal were academic-degree-
granting departments. Heyman MOVED and Arici seconded the motion to
include other course- offering units. The motion CARRIED on voice vote
with no dissent. Bornhorst suggested that "instructor" be changed to
"faculty" in paragraph 4, sentence 1, to read, "Faculty scheduling evening
exams must be prepared to provide alternative examination times for
students with conflicts." This suggestion was MOVED by Carstens and
seconded by Sandberg. This motion to amend CARRIED by voice vote with no
dissent. Barna MOVED and Heyman seconded the motion to add "the following"
in front of "conflicts" in the same sentence. [Secretary's Note: The
motion to add the words "the following" never came to a vote.] President
Bornhorst ruled the changes to be editorial.
Senator Reed stated that we should deal with other conflicts now
without sending Proposal 7-94 back to committee. Keen reminded senators
that times of evening exams are often published in the course schedule.
Heyman suggested that there should be positive guidelines of reasonable
conduct by faculty. Senator Whitt asked for clarification, for the record,
of paragraph 2 and Keen stated that "scheduled class" refers to the class
in which the exam is being given." In response to a query from liaison
Henke (USG), he clarified that "must be prepared to" referred to whenever
it was required by legitimate student need for an alternate exam time.
Keen MOVED and Heyman seconded the motion to remove the words "be prepared
to" in the first sentence of paragraph 4. Keen clarified that the make-up
exam can be any mutually agreed upon time, but that the regular examination
time could not be Friday evenings, Saturday, or Sunday. This motion to
amend CARRIED by voice vote with no dissent. President Bornhorst ruled the
change to be editorial.
USG Liaison Henke suggested that the word "given" in the last paragraph
be changed to "scheduled" to clarify that the statement did not refer to
the alternative. There was no motion on this suggestion. Senator Bradley
asked about alternative exams with conflicts and Keen stated that it would
still be a conflict for the student so that another alternative must be
provided. The choice of 6 p.m. follows current practice and is a time in
which no courses are supposed to be scheduled. The motion to approve
Proposal 7-94 CARRIED on voice vote with no dissent. Reed requested that
the Instructional Policy Committee consider guidelines for the non-academic
conflicts; the committee was so instructed by President Bornhorst.
C. PROPOSAL 37-95, STATEMENT OF THE VALUE OF INTERDISCIPLINARY SCHOLARSHIP
AND TEACHING [Appendix F] Reed MOVED and Pegg seconded the motion to
approve Proposal 37-95. The suggested voting units were academic and other
research units. There were no objections to the voting units so they stood
as proposed.
Senator Leifer asked if there is a reason for this proposal. Reed said
that the committee identified barriers to interdisciplinary activities;
there is no documented value placed on them; the statement is designed for
the Faculty Handbook and the development of a reward system.
Senator Caspary questioned the wording "as the world becomes
increasingly global." Sandberg MOVED and Arici seconded the motion to
stride these words. Leifer stated that a professor most have something to
profess and that there is no reason to legislate interdisciplinary work
because if it needs to be professed it will be. The wording amendment
CARRIED by voice vote with no dissent. President Bornhorst ruled the
change to be editorial.
Reed stated that he agreed with Leifer but that the present system
discourages interdisciplinary work; for example, articles published in
journals outside the person's discipline were sometimes not considered in
salary, tenure, and promotion decisions. Senator Beck reminded us of
questions of who gets credit for an interdisciplinary Ph. D. student and
grant money. Vice President Walck said we need a statement that shows that
we value it. Leifer stated that it is an administrative problem. Sandberg
stated that now interdisciplinary tends to mean we work for free. Senator
Heyman stated that we are not in the business of dictating what faculty do,
but interdisciplinary encouragement has never been successful if it has not
been supported by the administration; it is safer after receiving tenure;
we set priorities in other areas and this should be one. Walck pointed out
that we need to send the message to the faculty promotion and tenure
committees as well. Arici stated that the F10 form asks about
interdisciplinary activities. Senator Whitt pointed out that letters from
referees carry considerable weight and do not address interdisciplinary
work. Reed stated that the method of implementation will drive the
success, that the proposal begins to remove barriers, and that the
committee intends to follow up on the proposal. Leifer stated that the
Provost must make clear what he expects. Sandberg countered that we should
send a message that as faculty we consider it important.
The Provost asked for clarification on interdisciplinary vs
multidisciplinary. Reed stated that the committee found inconsistent use
of the terms elsewhere and that they decided to use interdisciplinary. The
motion to approve Proposal 37-95 CARRIED on voice vote with dissent.
Vichich MOVED and Sandberg seconded the motion to adjourn. The meeting
adjourned at 7:25 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted by Janice M. Glime
Secretary of the Senate
.