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FACULTY SENATE
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MINUTES
FACULTY SENATE
THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA® April 5, 1999 These minutes may be accessed electronically at:
http://fp.arizona.edu/senate/minutes.htm
Visit the faculty governance webpage at:
http://fp.arizona.edu/senate/1. CALL TO ORDER
A quorum being present, the regular monthly meeting of the Faculty Senate was called to order by Presiding Officer Jeffrey L. Warburton on April 5, 1999, at 3:07 PM in Room 146 of the College of Law.
Present: Senators Aleamoni, Atwater, Caldwell, Christiano, Cohen, Coker, Dahlgran, D. Davis, Dvorak, Erlings, Ervin, Garcia, Gruener, Heckler, Heinrich, Hogle, Howell, Impey, Jenkins, Laetsch, Larson, Levin, Likins, Love, Marchalonis, Maré, Medine, Merkle, Miller, Mishra, Mitchell, Nolan, O’Brien, Parsons, Pope, Schooley, Silverman, Spece, Swindle, Szilagyi, Taylor, Voyatzis, Warburton, Weinand, Wilson-Sanders, and Witte. Robert Sankey served as Parliamentarian.
Absent: Senators Armstrong, T. Davis, Dryden, Dyl, Gerken, Gottfredson, Hurt, Joens, Johnson, Levy, Meaker, Pepper, Pitt, Troy, and Zwolinski.
2. OPEN SESSION
(Please note that speakers at the Open Session are expressing their personal opinion, which may not reflect the position of the Faculty Senate.)
Mr. Avery Kolers (representative of Students Against Sweatshops) - concerns regarding the UA’s membership in the Fair Labor Association. (Attachment)
Senator Szilagyi - concerns regarding the war in Yugoslavia. (Attachment)
Senator Medine - issues related to the General Education Program. (Attachment)
3. REPORT FROM MS. JUDY GIGNAC, PRESIDENT OF THE ARIZONA BOARD OF REGENTS (ABOR)
A summary of Ms. Gignac’s comments: (1) ABOR and the state universities have spent a considerable amount of time dealing with crisis situations (e.g., trying to repair the damage of the early budget proposals). In order to avoid that type of scenario in the future, we need to build bridges of communication and understanding between the state university system and the Legislature. ABOR President-Elect Hank Amos is considering making this bridge-building the overarching theme of his presidency. (2) Issues of interest—(a) The success of transfer articulation with all the community colleges in the state; failure to have effective articulation could lead to a new movement for a state college system, whereby the community colleges could issues four-year degrees. (b) Working with the K-12 sector of the state’s educational system to ensure the best possible training for K-12 teachers and high-quality programs in the colleges of education. (c) Continued integration of technology into the curriculum and classrooms, thereby facilitating outreach programs and communication across all levels of the state’s educational system. (d) Competency-based education/assessment; ABOR is planning to focus on this topic at its April 15 meeting. For the first time, representatives from all areas of the state’s higher education system will gather to discuss the transformation to a learner-centered educational environment; Dr. Alan Guskin will be a featured presenter at the working meeting. (e) Also at the April 15 meeting, the Regents will consider changing the name of the Sierra Vista campus from University of Arizona Sierra Vista (UASV) to University of Arizona South, to reflect the fact that UASV now has campuses in additional locations, such as Douglas. (f) UASV is currently planning for a Bachelor of Applied Science degree. (3) "Motherly advice"—(a) The state universities need to develop more of a sense of urgency regarding matters involving the State Legislature (e.g., the internal whistle-blower policies the campuses have been developing), because most legislators do not understand the difference between ordinary time and university time. This suggestion to recognize and respond to legislative concerns in a more timely manner does not negate the need for campus communities to discuss and collaborate on important issues. (b) We should strive to balance academic freedom with common sense. Obviously, academic freedom is essential, but imbedded in it are certain responsibilities, such as "truth in advertising" with regard to course descriptions on syllabi. While there is absolutely no problem with teaching controversial material, we need to be candid about course content in advance. (4) Thanks to the UA’s faculty leadership for their efforts to work with ABOR and help Regents understand campus issues.
A summary of comments/questions for Ms. Gignac: (1) A suggestion that the universities randomly select only a small percentage of the faculty for post-tenure review. (2) What are the positive benefits of post-tenure review? Are there plans to link evaluation with salary increases? (3) Two requests for clarification or elaboration of Ms. Gignac’s comments regarding the whistle-blower policy. (4) Having a two-tiered higher education system in Arizona, similar to California’s university and state college system, may have some advantages. (5) Is the community of Sierra Vista in favor of the proposed name change for UASV? (6) Why was this proposed name change not processed through UA faculty governance channels? (7) The current Arizona Board of Regents and the UA President are the most knowledgeable and supportive of any in the last three decades.
Ms. Gignac’s response to comments/questions above: (1) and (2) A major benefit of post-tenure review is perceptual. It is important for us to show our constituencies that we are reviewing the performance of all faculty. As time goes on, the post-tenure review process will become less time-consuming. Post-tenure review was designed to be developmental and rewarding, not punitive. In the future, we want to link post-tenure review with budgeting for salary increases; however, at the moment, we are having difficulty progressing beyond 2% across-the-board increases from the Legislature. (3) Because of the length of time involved in developing internal whistle-blower policies, the Legislature may have gotten the impression that the campuses were being uncooperative. It is important for the campuses to be responsive to legislative concerns regarding this issue, because formulating internal campus policies is much more desirable than having state whistle-blower legislation imposed on the academic environment. (4) While there may be some benefits to having a two-tiered higher education system, it is important to study the issue thoroughly. Additionally, a two-tiered system would tend to divert funding from the universities. (5) Sierra Vista is overwhelmingly in favor of the proposed name change for UASV.
4. REPORTS
4A. ASUA President Tara Taylor
Senator Taylor commented that the academic year had passed quickly, and that she would leave with the same sentiment she expressed at the beginning of the year—appreciation for faculty support of students. Announcements: (1) Ms. Jackie Dalman, Panhellenic President, will be one of the student representatives to the Faculty Senate for 1999-2000, and she is in attendance as an observer today. (2) Please support and participate in the upcoming Graduate and Professional Student Appreciation Week. (3) The selection process for the new student Regent has been completed. Ms. Christine Thompson, a UA law student who also received her undergraduate degree at the UA, will be the new student Regent. Ms. Thompson is attending today’s Senate meeting. (4) The ASUA scholarship program, coordinated by Senator Love, was highly successful, with 180 students applying; ten of those received $1,000 scholarships.
4B. Presiding Officer of the Faculty Senate Jeffrey Warburton
Presiding Officer Warburton’s comments: (1) Any Senator interested in being the Faculty Senate’s elected representative to the Senate Executive Committee should send a brief biographical statement to the Faculty Center no later than April 10. Currently there is one candidate for the position; the election will take place at the May 3 Senate meeting. (2) Annual reports from the Senate standing committees are due no later than April 14; please submit them to the Faculty Center for inclusion in the Senate packets to be mailed for the May 3 meeting. (3) Today is the last meeting for 12 Senators (five faculty and seven students) leaving the Faculty Senate at the end of the 1998-99 term. [Presiding Officer Warburton individually presented certificates of appreciation to those Senators, thanking them for their dedicated service.]
4C. Secretary of the Faculty Susan Heckler
No report.
4D. Chair of the Faculty Jerrold Hogle (Attachment)
Chair Hogle expressed his appreciation to those who had worked to make the year successful and productive, especially the Arizona Board of Regents and President Gignac. He echoed the thanks of Presiding Officer Warburton to outgoing Faculty Senators and to student representatives. Other highlights: (1) Budget update—Press reports of increases in the universities’ budgets are actually referring to a restoration of previously suggested budget cuts or the annualization of last year’s salary increases. Items currently being discussed for the biennial (1999-2000, 2000-2001) state budget for universities include restoration of the cuts previously proposed by the Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC); $8-9 million of new funds for the universities over two years, including $2.8 million as the UA’s share (of which $2 million will be a permanent augmentation of the base); the new money is earmarked mainly for programs related to Optics (now delayed to the second year of the biennial budget), Hydroponics, and the AHSC Library; there is a possibility of a 2% merit increase next April, with no plans currently for a Classification Salary Adjustment (CSA); 23% of building renewal may be funded; UASV may receive $6 million over the two-year budget period for constructing new facilities. (2) Other legislative issues—The proposed state whistle-blower legislation has been referred to a study committee; the tuition bill appears to be dead for now, as does the proposed change in retirement. (3) Syllabus policy—The memo dated April 2, 1999, from Interim Provost Gottfredson to the Undergraduate Council (copies of which were placed on Senators’ desks today) is merely a request that the Undergraduate Council consider whether changes to the current syllabus policy might be advisable; it is not a mandate for specific revisions. (4) Establishment of the University Compensation Advisory Team (UCAT)—This new group, co-chaired by the Interim Provost and the Director of Human Resources, will examine UA salary policy at all levels. Senators Schooley and O’Brien have agreed to be the faculty representatives to UCAT.
Professors John Schwarz and Jerrold Hogle, former and current Chairs of the Faculty, presented outgoing Presiding Officer Warburton with a plaque in appreciation for his three years of dedicated service. Dr. Schwarz enumerated numerous important issues the Faculty Senate has acted upon during Professor Warburton’s tenure as Presiding Officer. In individual comments, he and Chair Hogle described Professor Warburton as positive, kind, deeply caring, generous, fair, and very hard-working.
4E. Interim Provost Michael Gottfredson
No report, as Interim Provost Gottfredson was unable to attend.
4F. President Peter Likins
Saluting her courage for appearing before the Faculty Senate, President Likins thanked ABOR President Gignac for her leadership. Other comments: (1) Budget matters—Press reports celebrating the UA’s success in averting disaster have created a false impression. To get a realistic picture, we need to compare budget numbers to the numbers from last year (i.e., funds received last year compared to those proposed for the upcoming budget cycle); we should not compare the current proposal to the original JLBC proposal. We need to understand that the current budget proposal will keep the numbers flat, with no allowance for inflation. It is imperative that we work with all our constituencies and eventually with the Legislature to convince them how important higher education is to Arizona; concomitantly, we need to be more responsive to legitimate questions and learn to work more effectively with the Legislature. (2) Proposed name change for UASV—This was regarded as a technical matter, rather than an conceptual issue. After consultation with the University Attorneys’ Office, this item was forwarded to ABOR for consideration.
5. QUESTION AND ANSWER PERIOD
Senator Medine asked President Likins if it is feasible to do long-range planning regarding faculty salaries. President Likins’ response: We are already doing an overwhelming amount of long-term planning in many areas; what is currently lacking is the ability to do long-term budgeting and then to link planning to budgeting.
In response to a question from Senator Christiano, Chair Hogle provided some background for the syllabus issue, noting that state legislation recently had been proposed in response to a complaint from a UA student’s parent regarding unexpected course content that she deemed objectionable. Dr. Hogle added that any proposed change to the current syllabus policy would have to go through the Undergraduate Council and be approved by the Faculty Senate.
6. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF MARCH 1, 1999
The minutes of the Faculty Senate meeting on March 1, 1999, were approved unanimously as distributed.
7. INFORMATIONAL PRESENTATION ON STATE SUPPORT OF UNIVERSITIES (Attachments)
Dr. John Schwarz, Senior Faculty Associate to the President, began by thanking the advisory committee he had consulted with throughout the year: the Presiding Officer of the Faculty Senate and the chairs of the four Senate standing committees. Referring to the materials enclosed in Senators’ packets, he noted that he had interviewed many community leaders, legislators, legislative staff members, parents, students, alumni and others before preparing the report on state support of Arizona’s universities. The report outlines serious questions raised by these various groups and responses to them. Dr. Schwarz explained that, when preparing statistics for the report, he had compared the UA to the 11 other public universities in the nation that, like the UA, have colleges of both agriculture and medicine. Highlights: Despite lower funding per full-time student ($12,977 compared to an average of $14,332 for the other 11 schools) and therefore $40 million less revenue than the average—making the UA’s overall funding third from the lowest in the group of 12 peer institutions—the UA nevertheless ranks relatively high in academic reputation, placing fifth highest among the 12 schools described above and 11th highest out of more than 100 public universities in the nation with broadly inclusive admissions standards. Unfortunately, in order to maintain quality in the face of inadequate funding, for the past decade the UA has had to reallocate funds internally and consume its own capital. This situation has caused the University to begin to suffer losses of its best faculty members, as noted in Vice Provost Ervin’s recent report. Although the adverse effects of inadequate funding have thus far been mostly concealed, they will become increasingly apparent as time goes on. The key to improving the funding situation is building sustained relationships with legislators and other constituencies, helping them to see the state’s universities as positive contributors to Arizona’s economy in numerous ways, rather than spenders or drains on the state budget. Dr. Schwarz concluded his presentation by noting that he had asked the Arizona Faculties Council (AFC) and the other state universities to examine his report and the principles set forth in its appendix, perhaps requesting that ABOR establish a special task force for university budgets. Chair Hogle commented that he had made a motion at the last AFC meeting that information similar to that contained in Dr. Schwarz’s report be collected from the other state universities, with a view toward recommending such an ABOR task force.
8. NEW BUSINESS
Senator Hogle moved [Motion 1998/99-36] that the Faculty Senate endorse changing the name of the Sierra Vista branch campus from University of Arizona Sierra Vista to University of Arizona South. The motion was seconded and passed, with no votes opposed and three abstentions.
9. RECESS
The Senate meeting recessed at 5:00 PM to go into Executive Session.
Susan E. Heckler, Secretary
Appendix*
Mr. Avery Kolers’ statement at the Open Session.
Senator Miklos Szilagyi’s statement at the Open Session.
Senator Peter Medine’s statement at the Open Session.
Memo to Roger Dahlgran from Michael Gottfredson dated April 2, 1999, regarding the syllabus policy.
"Arizona’s Universities Deserve the State’s Support, " February 1999, by John E. Schwarz
"Appendix: A New Idea Concerning the Proper Levels and Mix of State Appropriations and Student Tuition," by John E. Schwarz.
*Copies of material listed in the Appendix are attached to the original minutes and are on file in the Faculty Center.
Motions of the Meeting of April 5, 1999
1998/99-36 Motion that the Faculty Senate endorse changing the name of the Sierra Vista campus from University of Arizona Sierra Vista to University of Arizona South. The motion was seconded and carried.
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