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Faculty Senate summary of May 9 meeting

May 18, 2007

The Faculty Senate reconvened for the last time this semester on Wednesday, May 9.

Chair Guy Hoelzer reported:

• A number of proposals have been made at the legislature to reduce the impact of the projected budget shortfalls. None have yet been accepted and some will affect the University more than others.
• The town hall meeting was a great success and more will be scheduled both in the North and South.
• The summer reading program is moving forward, and the book that has been chosen is Sweet Promised Land by Robert Laxalt. Ann Ronald who wrote the forward for the reprint of the book will speak and participate in the discussion.
• The draft policy on Confidential Research will be going out to the senate for review and comments.

The times for faculty to gather for commencement have changed:

Platform Party meets at JTSU Alumni Room at 7:45 a.m. Baccalaureate Degree recipients line up at north and south ends of quad at 8 a.m. (directional signage posted). Faculty line up at Morrill Hall at 8 a.m. Processional begins by 8:30 a.m. Ceremony concludes by 12 p.m.

The following outgoing senators were thanked for their service and presented with certificates of appreciation:

• Denise Baclawski
• Cynthia Birk
• Greg Gardella
• Howard Goldbaum
• Terry Henner
• Karen Kopera-Frye
• Ron Phaneuf
• Mark Pinsky
• Stefanie Scoppettone
• Mary Stewart
• Debra Vigil

The following were elected to the 2007-08 Executive Board:

• Steve Rock, Chair
• Bill Follette, Chair Elect
• Cindy Kiel, Parliamentarian
• Elliott Parker and Hans-Peter Plag, At Large

The 2007-08 Senate Convened

Chair Steve Rock explained the role of the senate and senators. The responsibility to attend meetings, communicate with constituents, represent constituents as well as the university, shared governance and the influence of the senate with the president and the regents.

Rock asked senators if they had questions or issues that could be considered in the coming senate year:

• When will the senate office send out requests for elections to add representatives for the chair and chair elect? They will be sent after the meeting.
• When will the committee preference forms go out? What is happening with Role Statements, and what is the position of the senate?
• Issues with clinical faculty being able to get promotion and tenure based on the current 40/40/20 formula.
• The frustrations of dealing with the IRB process.
• The administrative faculty evaluation process and what was happening with that as the senate has not heard much from this committee recently.
• Environmental issues and why the university was not taking the lead in the community to make things more environmentally sound, the use of green buildings, recycling, solar energy, power house, etc.

President Milton Glick, thanked the senate for inviting him and said that he would be attending not only when invited, but if there was a particular issue that needed to be addressed, but will try not to wear out his welcome.

He understood that his presence could change the tone of the conversation.

Glick is looking forward to working with the Executive Board and the senate with open communication. The senate would be able to detect problems before he could and he asked that the senate continue to do so. He expects the senate to study policies that would be going before the regents and advise him on potential concerns of faculty.

The president spoke about the need to recruit and keep students and faculty and encourage the community to be involved in the campus and its activities. The new student union will be the anchor, but the university must be able to fill the forum, to get the students and the community involved.