FACULTY SENATE MINUTES

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
The meeting was called to order by Vice Chair and Presiding Officer Wanda Howell at 3:04 p.m. in the College of Law, Room 146.

2. OPEN SESSION
Ms. Rachel Wilson – Ms. Wilson is a member of Students Against Sweatshops (SAS) and a member of the University Committee on Corporate Relations (UCCR). She reported that for over two years the UCCR has been debating the requirement for UA student-athletes to wear a corporate logo on athletic uniforms without actively consenting to it. Considering Regent Jewett’s recent remarks about undue influence of corporate relations on intercollegiate athletics and the Knight Commission’s Report, she urged the Faculty Senate to pressure the UCCR to move forward on the issue of corporate logos.

Senator Jeff Warburton – Senator Warburton distributed invitations and schedules for the Multicultural Institute this Friday, September 14, and the Fall 2001 Faculty Fellows Speaker Series from 12:00-12:50 every Wednesday in Holsclaw Hall.

3. REPORTS
3A. ASUA President Ray Quintero – Senator Quintero reported that the ASUA has been actively appointing student members to serve on all of the various campus committees. The Academic Advising Task Force is in stage two and is focusing on student input regarding the role of advising in their academic experience. The student input will be combined with the advisors’ and administrative surveys in a final report to determine how best to improve advising on campus. The Arizona Students’ Association (ASA) is working to define critical issues across Arizona campuses such as brain drain and tuition. The ASA is meeting with both students and university officials to determine how best to address these issues in the most beneficial way. Next week, ASUA is hosting an Involvement Fair to increase student involvement in student government.

3B. GPSC President Kirsten Price
Senator Price explained GPSC is continuing work on four primary issues: Graduate Teaching Assistants’ workload, tuition waivers, graduate student and family housing, and student health insurance. The TA workload issue is being resolved with the Graduate College assessing the needs by communicating with the units and the TAs. GPSC representatives will be visiting the units to be certain that no mis-communication between the administration and the TAs exists. GPSC will also continue to support and assist the UA administration in receiving ABOR approval for TA tuition-waiver granting authority. Graduate and family housing currently involves two projects; developing an on-campus graduate student housing structure just north of Coronado Hall, and issuing an RFP for a family housing site. Current student health insurance is both inadequate and expensive, so ABOR has approved a search for alternatives. GPSC will hold special elections on September 18 for representatives from CALS, CAPLA, Business MBA, FA, Nursing and Pharmacy.

3C. Vice Chair of the Faculty Wanda Howell
Vice Chair Howell introduced Polly Lindeman, the new Faculty Center Administrative Assistant. The Faculty Census has commenced and departments are urged to complete and return the Census forms. ABOR President Kay McKay will be visiting the Faculty Senate on November 5, 2001.

3D. Secretary of the Faculty Robert Mitchell (attachment)
Secretary Mitchell reported that the Committee on Faculty Membership continues to work on the issue of voting status for emeritus faculty and assistant and associate deans and will forward a proposal to amend the Constitution later this Fall. The faculty officers are bringing some issues surrounding the grievance policy passed by the Senate last March 2001 back to the Senate for advice. Normally, a policy passed by the Faculty Senate would then be sent to the General Faculty for a vote. Over the summer, however, a number of internal inconsistencies were noted, most of which occurred when the policy was amended from the floor in one place, but not in others. The faculty officers believe that the policy should be returned to the APPC to make the changes necessary and then be re-approved by the Senate. Also, there are two other areas of the policy that could benefit by the APPC’s additional work. The concerns that CAFT raised last spring might be able to be reconciled relatively easily, and would eliminate the necessity of immediately amending a document that has just been passed. The final area for APPC to consider has to do with President Likins’ concerns with the policy as passed last March. He will attempt to resolve those concerns by working with the APPC prior to returning the document to the Senate for its vote. The Senate’s choices are to try to negotiate a compromise that is acceptable to both sides before sending the policy to the faculty for a vote, or to conduct the vote and run the risk that the President may veto the unacceptable portions and substitute his own language. The faculty officers recommend that all three areas of the policy be considered by the APPC, and that it be placed on a fast track.

3E. Chair of the Faculty Jory Hancock
Chair Hancock announced that in the currently ongoing special election for six Senators-at-Large, the number of candidates exceeds the number of available Senate seats. He thanked Bob Sankey for filling in as Parliamentarian for the next several meetings, and asked for a volunteer to train with Dr. Sankey to become the Senate’s permanent Parliamentarian. Chair Hancock told the Senate that at last June’s ABOR meeting, the NAU faculty expressed disappointment with the process surrounding the appointment of NAU’s new president. Chair Hancock’s impression is that faculty representation and shared governance at NAU doesn’t have the strength that it has at UA because there is a lack of advocacy at the upper administration levels that allows for faculty involvement. He described a positive flow of communication at the recent UA Heads’ Retreat in which the President, Provost, Vice President for Research, Senior Vice President for Business Affairs, and Dean of the Graduate College participated in open forums with small groups of department heads. There are plans for additional opportunities of this nature for the general faculty. At the August ABOR meeting, Wanda Howell was named "Chair-elect" of the Arizona Faculties Council.

3F. Provost George Davis (attachments)
Provost Davis reported that the Vice President for Undergraduate Education (VP-UGE) search did not reach completion and is restarting under the continuing chairmanship of Chuck Tatum. The Vice President for Health Sciences search was completed with the recruitment of Ray Woosley from Georgetown, who began August 1. Marjorie Isenberg began as the Dean of Nursing last January, and Marie Swanberg will begin October 1 as Dean of Public Health. The search for Dean of Arizona International College continues with Tom Volgy as replacing Holly Smith as search committee chair. Toni Massaro is chairing the search committee for Dean of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and Joaquin Ruiz is chairing the search for Dean of Education. Libbie Ervin, who led focus group discussions to develop a strategic plan for the Center for Creative Photography (CCP) last Spring, is chairing a search for a Director of CCP. Almost three years ago a search for a Chief Information Officer (CIO) was terminated. This year, following consultation with President Likins and the Information Technology group, a search for a Vice President for Information Technology and Distributed Learning is underway, chaired by Patti Ota. This position would report to the provost, and the purview includes aspects in all of the fundamental areas of the University, including Business and Financial Affairs, Academic Affairs, and Student Affairs, yet with a strong emphasis on leadership to direct the technology to support the learning mission. The Provost is receiving nominations for these search committees from shared governance groups including the Committee on Committees. There are two five-year dean reviews this year; Maurice Sevigny will conduct the review for Dean Eribes of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture, and Tom Peterson will conduct the review for Dean Zupan of Business and Public Administration. Moving to the overhead, Provost Davis said one of the most meaningful experiences of his first year as Provost has been full participation in the Academic Program Review (APR) process. Every program is reviewed every seven years and last year, twenty-four reviews were completed and sixteen are scheduled for this semester. He has been most impressed with the self-study reviews, and has welcomed the opportunity to meet with the external and internal committees and then to sit down with the deans and department heads to consider the recommendations and to understand the issues and opportunities. With respect to recruitment planning and budgeting, It is increasingly important to link investments into programs that have a rational relationship with recommendations made in the APRs. Provost Davis noted that Senator Chris Impey, who led the self-study for Astronomy, added a fundamental critique to point out to the Provost and others that there are many specific opportunities in the University to improve the support to staff and faculty. Senator Impey suggested that the vice presidents and deans walk the floors and really learn from the people what are the high priority issues and struggles that interfere with our effectiveness. He also suggested a column in Lo Que Pasa to increase communication about issues and provide for responses from the responsible professional. At the recent Heads Up Retreat, Provost Davis confirmed the importance of getting to know his department heads more fully. He also shared that he believes the administration should carefully examine the degree to which the fundamental budgeting processes like all-funds, department, and college level budgeting, are supporting or working against what is important in this University, and to be careful not to inadvertently screen out opportunities such as the cross-disciplinary studies and IDPs. The Academic Council (Deans) Retreat focused on retention and recruitment, with not so much emphasis on resource issues, but rather on considering the fundamental factors that can influence faculty members’ decisions to leave or to stay. The brainstorming session yielded seventy-five ideas that he distributed to Senators. Cathy Trower, an outside expert from Harvard, provided a broad overview of nationally derived factors that are working for and against recruitment and retention. These included the importance of an environment of significant academic freedom and how faculty members work the combination of scholarship, teaching, and service. In the spirit of President Likins’ interest in opening up with some clarity and transparency the budgeting and finance dynamics of the University, Provost Davis provided SPBAC with a written description of the all-funds budgeting and the recruitment planning processes.

4. QUESTION AND ANSWER PERIOD
Senator D. Davis inquired whether the graduate students were having problems with drop/add and late fees, which have amounted to students paying 150% tuition. Senator Price replied that the problem is serious, and also includes some departments’ tight time windows for TA contracts, which were not issued in time so students were dropped from those sections. After the contract was issued and the classes reinstated, students had to pay late fees, and although these are usually charged to the departments, they may amount to $25-50K. Late TA contracts also result in student health insurance being dropped. Senator Davis remarked that in the competition for good graduate students, the problems with the fees and contracts coupled with the early start date of UA classes may encourage some of these students to look at other Universities who have extended them offers.

Senator Larson moved [Motion 2001/02-02] to send the Grievance Policy back to APPC to consider the three issues raised by Secretary Mitchell. Motion was seconded and passed unanimously. Senator Silverman hopes that the policy will be completed by this semester. As the former chair of APPC, Secretary Mitchell said he intends to work with the new chair, Amy Williamsen, to expedite the process and agreed to monthly reports to the Senate about the progress.

Senator Impey asked whether the two searches for CIO and VP-UGE would be successful. Provost Davis acknowledged the magnitude of the positions. He and President Likins agree upon the fundamental portfolio of the VP-UGE position, and candidate George Bridges affirmed the view that the enrollment management and academic components contribute to the attractiveness of the position. There is a possibility of using a search firm for the new search. The CIO position is a challenging search because of the coordinated, centralized environment for information technology.

5. PRESIDENT LIKINS: TOWN HALL
President Likins called the Senate’s attention to three ABOR agenda items for the fall. He explained that Governor Hull’s request for budget reduction planning involves an analysis of how UA would institute a 4% ($14M) cut in the funds received from the General Fund. Part of the Governor’s motivation lies in the belief that the legislature should have voted to finance the statewide school construction from debt financing (revenue bonds). Instead, the lawmakers chose to pay this capital expense out of the operating budget. The governor is predicting a shortfall of $200-250M over the next two years, so she hopes to convince the legislature to correct this error, hereby saving $150-175M/year. Even if she is successful, the recessive economy may contribute to a greater shortfall, so budget cuts may still be part of the solution to the state’s financing problems. President Likins hopes to persuade Regents in November to allow more flexibility to the University administration regarding the very complex system and procedures whereby financial assistance is allocated to students. While tuition waiver or a tuition scholarship are equivalent in both the University’s and student’s perspectives, over time ABOR has developed a whole set of requirements and arcane rules whereby waivers or scholarship monies can be allocated. The cost for tuition waivers for TA’s would be $5M/year, but the University only has about $700K at this time. ABOR has planned a study session at its September meeting to consider the Knight Commission report on Intercollegiate Athletics (IAC). President Likins expects there may be ongoing national and regional discussions about IAC this year, and he has written a white paper to respond to the Knight Commission’s recommendations regarding some of the issues involved in UA’s IAC.

Senator Szilagyi inquired about priorities and costs involved in the large number of ongoing campus building projects. President Likins explained that building allocation funds are not interchangeable with other funds such as faculty salaries, that some of the projects are completely financed by private donations, and that the new construction will ultimately increase the resources available at UA. The Student Union is being built without impacting UA’s general-fund budget or tuition dollars. The Integrated Learning Center has been debt financed ($25M) out of the general (tuition) resources but the University then requested and received "backfill" money for retained tuition that UA is paying the debt service on the new building, so this too, is not burdening the budget. The Sarver Heart Center and the Cancer Center have both been built entirely with gift money. A new faculty office building is also being financed academic revenue bonds and backfill money will be requested. The expansion of the Optical Sciences Building is partially funded by Prop 301 money. President Likins believes this expenditure will allow such a dramatic expansion in research that the indirect costs will probably pay for the building and the research will stimulate the economy. He concluded that the campus building projects are having a positive impact on the revenue stream.

Senator Silverman inquired whether all full-time, UA staff are making a livable wage ($8/hr with benefits, $9/hr without benefits), and also asked for clarification regarding the spring salary raises, specifically whether all of the money above a $1500 minimum raise will be targeted for the "brain drain." President Likins explained that the University is not committed to paying a livable wage. He has, however, been aggressively increasing the compensation of the least well-paid staff to the current $7.50/hour. By coincidence, this rate will rise to $8.25/hour after the $1500 Spring 2002 salary increase, followed by another $1500 increase in Spring 2003. The legislature has now committed to two $1500 increases for every state employee over the next two years. The legislature provided sufficient funds to pay either $1500 or 5%, whichever is the larger. The University Compensation Advisory Team (UCAT) is charged with advising the administration as to how salary dollars should be used and will be considering what use should be made of those remaining funds. President Likins would like some latitude to make allocations upon meritorious performance and market and equity adjustments. President Likins expects to receive the Millennium Project and Grace Project Reports that deal with compensation equity for women faculty. In the health sciences particularly, statistically verified deficiencies exist in the compensation of women faculty. Finally, in some disciplines, the market value of faculty is rising nationally and the University must have some means to respond to market changes.

Senator Garcia inquired whether the 35,000 student cap has been lifted. President Likins responded that the 35K cap was self-imposed a number of years ago when the enrollment was at 37K and the incoming freshmen were not being adequately served. Since then, the University’s capacity is growing with the general education curriculum, which increased efficiency, and the three additional residence halls that are under construction. The University is also relieving enrollment pressure by partnering with Pima Community College in a campus development on the Northwest side of Tucson. Enrollment needs to be managed rationally, however, because some parts of the University are over-enrolled while others are under-enrolled. President Likins will ask the Regents for the freedom of action to make local optimization decisions and to determine UA’s proper capacity. He also reminded the Senate that the state funding mechanism only increases with increased enrollment. Senator Garcia inquired whether branch campuses provide a more personal experience and education. President Likins would like to see the culture change to enable student connections within the University community, to enhance and personalize the students’ experience and education.

Senator Medine inquired whether only two of UCAT’s 21 members are faculty. Senator Schooley responded that the actual team is composed of thirteen people, of which two are faculty. The additional members are committee chairs or support people. Senator Medine asked if President Likins’ desire to use some funds for faculty salary equity adjustments for all groups or just gender inequities. President Likins acknowledged that salary inequities exist for the entire faculty relative to the nation, but he is responding to the Grace Project data that shows the accumulated inequity of salaries for women in the health sciences. President Likins said he is striving to correct both the in-house inequities as well as with the peer institutions but he is constrained by the given set of resources.

6. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF May 7, 2001.
The minutes of May 7, 2001 were approved as distributed.

7. INFORMATION ITEM: CAPITAL CAMPAIGN
Mr. Tom Sanders introduced himself as Director of Operations for the Capital Campaign and he and his staff provide assistance to those working to raise funds for the campaign. He reported that the Campaign’s "quiet phase" began July 1, 1997 and the public phase began on October 6, 2000 with an announced goal of $1B. The campaign’s volunteer leadership includes individuals with a history of generosity toward the University and over fifty members of the Presidential Leadership Team who are similarly qualified and similarly generous, from all over the country. The next meeting of the campaign’s leadership is October 6 in the Kiewit Auditorium. This past year the Campaign has generated $100M in commitments, totaling almost $600M toward the $1B goal for the Campaign end in 2005. Drawing on previous institutions’ experiences with Capital Campaigns, Mr. Sanders projected that 1) the University will meet the goal of $1B; 2) 95% of the donations will be specifically designated by the donors; and 3) that 50% of the commitments will be all or in part deferred as planned gifts in bequests, trusts, or life annuities that are legally committed to the University. Senator Bickel inquired whether donors are told that the funds may not go where they have designated. Mr. Sanders said the donors can restrict the gifts to a specific college or department or program. Senator D. Davis asked how the $1B goal compares with other public and private institutions. Prior to the announcing the goal, the Campaign personnel dispatched teams to various institutions around the country that were either beginning or ending their campaigns. UC-Berkeley was founded at roughly the same time as UA, but has twice as many alumni, of which half live within an hour’s drive of the campus. UA’s alumni’s base is very young (50% have been created in the last 25 years) so they are still raising families, and they are widely scattered. The teams also considered the economy before recommending the goal. President Likins noted that the Chronicle of Higher Education periodically reports on the progress of about 15-20 billion dollar-plus campaigns and the UA is becoming a visible player, nationally. ASU’s Capital Campaign is just ending having reached $500M of the stated goal of $400M.

8. INFORMATION ITEM: STRATEGIC PLANNING AND BUDGET ADVISORY COMMITTEE STRATEGIC PLAN (attachment)
SPBAC current chair Jerry Hogle said that both he and his committee are committed to the Shared Governance agreement. Eleven general faculty members are included in SPBAC’s 21 voting members including the SPBAC chair (nominated by the Chair of the Faculty), the Chair of the Faculty (an ex-officio voting member), six elected faculty members, and three faculty members appointed by the Chair of the Faculty. The rest of the committee includes administrative, APOC, staff and student representation. Furthermore, Senators Hurt and Mishra happen to be members of SPBAC. He distributed the University-wide Strategic Plan for the complete UA system that serves the entire state. The Plan includes an environmental context, the Plan itself with the mission and vision of the University restated, the goals and objectives, the strategies to reach the goals, and the measures and indicators of progress which are negotiated with ABOR. SPBAC intends to produce an Implementation Plan by March with recommendations for new monies as well as reallocations over the next five years. He described the widely extensive consultation and input the committee received in developing the Plan, and said he will return in January or February to request Senate input regarding the Implementation Plan.

9. INFORMATION ITEM: SPRING SALARY RAISES (attachment)
Senators Schooley and O’Brien are faculty members of UCAT, a group charged with providing advice to the President and the finance committee on all aspects of compensation for University personnel. Senator Schooley noted that the actual team is thirteen people, of which two are faculty. The team will provide recommendations in mid-November relating to the Spring 2002 salary increase. Referring to an attachment in Senators’ packets, the actual legislation allocated a $1500 or 5% increase, whichever is greater. UCAT has been asked to provide a recommendation concerning the $711,156 shortfall from the total of $16M allocated for the salary increases, due to an accounting error. UCAT will also address the question of whether to distribute the residual funds for those positions for which 5% is greater than $1500 as merit, as across the board cost of living, or for other issues such as equity or retention. Employee groups such as faculty, staff and appointed personnel can be treated differently regarding these issues. One possible solution for the shortfall would be to not apply the increase to vacant lines. Senator Schooley asked Senators to consult with their constituents and to provide input to UCAT about these issues at the October 1 Senate meeting.

10.ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:00 p.m.

Robert L. Mitchell, Secretary

Appendix*

Motions of the Meeting of September 10, 2001

2002/02-2     A motion to return the Grievance Policy as passed by the Senate on March 5, 2001 to the APPC to consider the internal contradictions, the CAFT concerns and recommendations, and President Likins’ concerns. Motion passed.

senmin/2000-01/9-10-01 senmin.doc

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