3B. GPSC President Kirsten Price
Senator Kidd reported in Senator Price’s absence due to a class conflict. GPSC announced that the 25% tuition remission for Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) is beginning this spring. Due to administrative restrictions, Graduate Research Assistants (GRAs) will receive a stipend to match the GTA benefit. GPSC hopes to increase the remission/stipends to 100% within three years. The University has received $700K of the $1.05M appropriated by the legislature to address GTA workload problems. The remainder of these funds will probably not be awarded due to the state budget crisis. GPSC is exploring offering Graduate Advising Assistantships to augment and improve undergraduate advising on campus and to increase graduate student support. Facilities Design and Construction and Ambling Companies are conducting focus group sessions to finalize plans for on-campus graduate student housing at the Euclid site. GPSC expects to review the responses to the Arizona Board of Regents’ (ABOR’s) Request for Proposals for Student Health Insurance plans within the next few weeks. The current plan is inadequate and very expensive, particularly for single male students. GPSC will be attending the Graduate Organizations Summit Meeting on Saturday, January 19 at ASU. UA, NAU, and ASU’s graduate organizations will discuss an agenda that includes developing strategies for assisting the administrations in obtaining ABOR approval for discretionary approval over scholarships and fee/tuition waivers; discussion of the student health insurance plans and the status of ABOR’s search for a new provider; and general discussion of the state budget crisis and its impact on graduate student recruitment and retention. Winners from the Fall 2001 Student Showcase will present their work to the state legislature on Tuesday, February 12, 2002 as part of the GPSC’s Phoenix Showcase event and UA Pride Day.

3C. Vice Chair of the Faculty Wanda Howell
Vice Chair Howell welcomed Dr. Richard Poss of the Humanities Program who is substituting for Senator Jenkins who is on sabbatical this term. The nomination process for the offices of Vice Chair and Secretary of the Faculty as well as for seats on the Committee on Committees, the Committee of Eleven, the Strategic Planning and Budget Advisory Committee, and the Faculty Senate is now underway. Petitions and biostatements are due in the Faculty Center by February 14, 2002.

3D. Secretary of the Faculty Robert Mitchell (attachment)
Regarding the Senate’s views on the procedures for approving honorary degrees, Secretary Mitchell reported that Vice President Patti Ota assured him that the confusion the Senate experienced last fall was inadvertent and that the administration will follow the Senate-approved process in the future. He urged Senators to remind their faculties and administrators that faculty approval of honorary degree nominations must take place prior to the nominations being brought to the Senate for a vote in the Spring. Secretary Mitchell informed the members that the Senate’s customary practice of approving the Academic Calendar was somehow overlooked for the most recent set of calendars extending from 2002-2005. These calendars have already been approved by ABOR and published, although it is possible to amend them even after ABOR approval and publication. This item will appear on the agenda for confirmation in February. The calendars for 2002-03, 2003-04, and 2004-05 can be viewed on-line at http://catalog.arizona.edu/acadcals.html. Referring to the most recent Draft Faculty Grievance Policy in the packets on Senators’ desks, Secretary Mitchell reported that this draft represents the culmination of four months’ work by Amy Williamsen and the Academic Personnel Policy Committee (APPC), Secretary Mitchell, and the University Attorneys’ Office. The draft will appear as a seconded motion from the APPC for discussion and possible action at the February 4 Senate meeting. Since the document was ready today, however, he wanted to distribute it as early as possible to give Senators as much time as possible to review it. The packet also contained the version passed by the Senate last March 2001, and the relevant portions of the ABOR Policy Manual. Secretary Mitchell will present a list of bullet points highlighting the differences between this version and the Senate-approved version of last March 2001 for the February 2002 meeting.

3E. Chair of the Faculty Jory Hancock
Chair Hancock reported that the legislature endured a fierce battle with respect to the state employees’ 5% salary increase, which was ultimately saved for this year in the face of severe budget rescissions. He explained to several legislators that for many units, 5% of their budget is operations and 95% is dedicated to salaries, the result of years of cutting budgets without restoring those funds as they became available in boom years. His hope was to show how difficult it is for units to come up with 4% to rescind, but several pro-education legislators said many of their colleagues would react to these statistics as proof of faculty salary bloat. Continuing efforts to educate our legislators must prevail in order to counter this and other misperceptions. He expressed thanks for UA lobbyist Greg Fahey’s efforts, faculty members’ advocacy, and the effectiveness of the students’ "No More Than 4" strategy which helped to establish a ceiling for what the universities could sustain. Chair Hancock also reported that State Senator Ruth Solomon expressed her belief that with the new redistricting, the legislature may become even more right-winged. For the universities’ budget relief, the economy needs to improve, some tax laws need to be changed, and more pro-education legislators need to be elected.

3F. Provost George Davis
Provost Davis thanked Secretary Robert Mitchell for his perseverance and leadership in the faculty grievance policy revision process. He announced that Dr. William Dalton, who previously served as Director of AHSC’s Bone Marrow Transplant Center, has returned from Moffitt Research Institute in Florida to become the UA’s new Dean of the College of Medicine. Provost Davis reported that he actively meets with faculty members on campus to seek their input and concerns and to hear about new directions in scholarship teaching. Faculty members’ concerns focus on compensation issues, retention, building projects, graduate program competitiveness and transitioning new faculty members. This semester he is co-teaching a graduate seminar on the tectonic foundations of archaeological sites in Greece with the Department of Classics head, Mary Voyatzis. At the upcoming ABOR meeting, he will report on how Proposition 301 money is being invested into the six initiative areas. Even though sales tax revenues are down for the entire state, the UA’s projected Proposition 301 dollars are on track, probably due to conservative projections at the beginning. Turning to the Millennium Project, Provost Davis assured the Senate that he has listened carefully to the very important and visible dialogue in regard to the question of a proposed position of Vice Provost for Diversity. He concluded that it is felt that such a position may not be the best use of precious resources and could be counter-productive, by focusing too much attention on an individual and exempting the rest of the University from responsibility. The academic deans have agreed to accept active leadership roles in diversity and are creating Millennium Project Oversight Committees at the colleges’ levels. Budget concerns continue to challenge the administration as it seeks an additional $1.5M to return for rescission this year. After identifying $156K from Campaign Arizona, the administration will look first to its central office for additional funds, but Provost Davis warned that the operating units will also have accept some responsibility to help make up the shortfall. Looking ahead to FY03 and FY04, the challenge for funding will be even greater and the Finance Committee is carefully considering what is absolutely essential to the future and reputation of the University.

3G. President Peter Likins
President Likins apologized for the Academic Calendar oversight and recognized the importance of faculty’s role in this process. He noted that somewhere between the Cabinet and the Registrar’s Office, the process failed to bring the Calendar before the Senate in a timely fashion. He acknowledged that the state and University’s budgets are a consuming yet disturbing concern. He assured the Senate that he and Provost Davis and Chair Hancock are effective advocates and defenders of the funding sources for the University. He reflected on the positive outcomes of the most recent special session of the legislature: the overall rescission is only 4.56%, the employee’ salary increase was saved, and the GTAs received some relief as well. He is confident the University will find the additional $1.559M still to be rescinded this year, but explained that a more serious challenge looms ahead with the 2002-03 budget. He is working with key legislators like Senator Ruth Solomon to develop strategies for this budget, including convincing the legislature to accept debt financing for K-12. In order to determine and adjust the University’s base budget, his top priority will be to encourage the legislature to increase its funding for the universities as enrollments increase. This year’s increase was not accounted for in the biennial budget process, at a cost of $7M. The increased challenges of the ’03 budget will necessitate deeper cuts however, and the strategies will include identifying the potential for permanent cuts within the University. As our resources continue to be stripped pervasively throughout the University, the economic vitality, the creative energy, and the optimism of the institution is threatened. We cannot afford to let the entire institution be diminished through a series of cuts, so in spite of the harm, he is determined to maintain the institution’s strength and to be ready for future investments. As the economy recovers, hopefully in 2004, President Likins and Provost Davis and Chair Hancock will be determining priorities, restoring funds and investing in future initiatives. Turning to the issue of the proposed Vice Provost for Diversity, President Likins acknowledged the widespread opinion and feedback suggesting that this might not be the best solution. He also acknowledged the hundreds of emails and communications he has received relating to the suggestion of relocating the cactus garden to its original location around Old Main, and the subsequent transplanting of the boojum trees. He hopes that the Alumni Association and its landscape architects will find a way to avoid threatening the lives of the precious boojums.

4.  QUESTION AND ANSWER PERIOD

Senator Garcia inquired about the process for the Senate’s confirmation of the Academic Calendar and whether a regular schedule might be determined. Vice Chair Howell responded that in the past, the Senate had relied on the Registrar’s Office to forward the Calendars, but due to a change in personnel, the process broke down. She is in the process of researching and developing a Master Calendar for such items.

Senator Garcia commented that Chapter 3.18.03 of the University Handbook for Appointed Personnel describes a process for dealing with permanent budget cuts and he hopes the administration will follow this mechanism. Chair Hancock assured him that the Cabinet had considered this procedure at today’s meeting and intends to follow it.

Senator Garcia inquired about the salary adjustments for April 2002 as reported by the University Compensation Advisory Team (UCAT). Provost Davis responded that he and Vice President Taylor are composing a campus-wide memo that will outline the following: classified staff and professionals will receive $1500 or 5%, whichever is greater; graduate and undergraduate students will receive 5%; and faculty and administrators will each receive a $1500 minimum with additional adjustments above that as determined by merit determinations. Eligibility principles will probably remain the same as last year, that is, classified staff probation period completed by March 1, 2002 or, for faculty on board by October 2001, a satisfactory performance evaluation. President Likins noted that the legislature failed to provide adequate funds for the 5% or $1500 for all state employees. UCAT is still considering how to deal with this shortfall, but he expects that it will not affect current positions, but may impact unfilled lines in the units.

Senator Silverman inquired whether the Provost’s memo will address the parameters for eligibility. Provost Davis responded that the UCAT has determined the parameters, but he still has questions about whether the eligibility for the $1500 cost of living adjustment for faculty and administrators is the same as the eligibility for merit, and what was intended in the language of the statute. Senator Silverman expressed concern that faculty have input into this process. Provost Davis recalled the Faculty Senate’s recommendation was to treat the salary adjustment as complete cost of living, however UCAT ultimately did not sustain that recommendation. The recommendation from staff and academic professionals was complete cost of living, which UCAT accepted. President Likins noted that the salary adjustments are being distributed exactly as UCAT recommended.

Senator Silverman inquired if, after the salary adjustment, all full-time permanent employees of the University will be earning a livable wage, which for Tucson has been described as $8/hour with benefits and $9/hour without benefits. President Likins responded that the $1500 adjustment will take UA’s lowest paid employees to approximately $8.25/hour, but he is not committing to the language of "livable wage."

Senator Medine commended the President, Provost and Chair of the Faculty for their efforts to preserve the 5% salary adjustment and the relief for graduate assistants. He inquired whether the staff and academic professionals’ recommendation for 5% across the board disbursement was received and accepted by UCAT. Provost Davis acknowledged that this is correct. Senator Medine inquired whether the recommendation endorsed by the Faculty Senate that the faculty receives 5% across the board was received and recommended by UCAT. Provost Davis acknowledged that the UCAT received the Senate’s recommendation for across the board distribution for faculty but did not endorse that idea in its recommendations to the administration.

Senator Warnock suggested that a decision tree be prepared for the Senate’s discussion of the Grievance Policy and Procedures. Secretary Mitchell accepted this suggestion.

5. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF November 5, 2001.
The minutes of November 5, 2001 were approved as distributed.

6.  RATIFICATION OF NEW SENATORS
Vice Chair Howell asked the Senate to ratify the following Senators-at-Large elected during the special election last fall: Ara Arabyan, Gail Burd, Vicki Chandler, Douglas Jones, Frederick Kiefer, Elizabeth Vierling. Senator Romer moved [Motion 2001/02-6] to ratify these Senators. Motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

7.  CAMPUS CLIMATE REPORT
Dean of Students Melissa Vito distributed copies of the 2001 Campus Climate Report. When she became Dean of Students in 1995, she determined that no benchmark study existed regarding students’ experiences at the University of Arizona. Several hundred faculty, staff and students helped identify the issues and she hired an outside consultant to conduct a benchmark study in 1996. She then decided to conduct a similar survey for every generation of students (4-6 years). This year’s study kept about 80% of the issues, but changed a few things, such as questions about technology and an open-ended question about the top issues on campus. The methodology is statistically reliable to 95%. The profile of the student respondents is consistent with and reflective of the campus population. The study involved telephone interviews of 500 students averaging 17-25 minutes. The survey indicates significant positive increases in students’ satisfaction with both their in-class and outside-of-class experiences over the 1996-benchmark results, although huge variations do exist across the colleges. Dean Vito concluded that the reallocation and refocusing of resources in recent years has positively impacted students’ lives in the campus community. She hopes to continue educating the community to understand the areas that continue to need improvement, such as safety, advising, and technology ownership and usage among ethnic groups. The next survey is planned for 2006. Senators’ comments and questions included the responsibility for rundown facilities created by the lack of building renewal funds, a request for a breakdown of the study showing ethnic students’ attitudes and responses, a request for the study’s results to be disaggregated by colleges and put on a website, commendations for a masterful job, and whether there is any correlation with the Regents’ focus on learner-centered education. President Likins commented that these positive, measurable outcomes are extremely valuable and essential as the University’s selling points with Regents and legislators alike.

8.  ACTION ON CONSENT AGENDA ITEM FORWARDED AS A SECONDED MOTION FROM INSTRUCTION AND CURRICULUM POLICY COMMITTEE (attachment)

The consent agenda item detailed at the end of these minutes was approved. [Motion 2001/02-7]

9. NEW BUSINESS
Senator Medine requested to place on the February 4, 2002 agenda the Salary issue and the Marguerite Kay issue.