MSU FACULTY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
September 19, 2001
PRESENT: Young, Sherwood, Engel, Mast for Peed, Linker, Leech,
Howard, Stewart, Larsen, Ross, Nehrir, McClure/Amend,
Lansverk, Levy/Bandyopadhyay, Bogar, Jelinski,
Pratt/McKinsey, Lynch, Fisher, Lynes-Hayes, Butterfield,
Kempcke, Provost Dooley.
ABSENT: Hatfield, Morrill, White, Anderson, Kommers, Benham, Jones,
Mooney, Lefcort, Weaver, Locke, Henson, Idzerda, Griffith,
Carlstrom.
The regularly scheduled meeting was called to order at 4:10 PM by
Chair John Sherwood. A quorum was present. The minutes of the
September 5, 2001, Faculty Council meeting were approved as
distributed.
Chair's report - John Sherwood.
- The newest regent, John Mercer, will meet Friday, September 21,
with Faculty Council, Professional Council, and CEPAC at 8 a.m.
in the President's Conference Room. Members are encouraged to
attend.
- A strategic planning subgroup will discuss and finish the work
left undone when the planning retreat of September 10-11 was
adjourned early. This subgroup will come up with a strategy for
developing a strategic plan for MSU. The larger group that met
for the retreat (about 50 people) will meet to discuss the
subgroup's recommendations on October 2.
- Chair Sherwood has been contacted by faculty regarding issues
within departments and colleges. As a body, Faculty Council may
not be able to deal with these internal situations, but there
currently is no other body at MSU to deal with them. The concern
was discussed this morning at the meeting with the President and
Provost. A possibility is having an ombudsman in place who can
look into these situations. Please contact John with your
thoughts on this.
- The schedule for upcoming Faculty Council meetings:
- September 26 - IDC's - Vice President McCoy
- October 3 - Faculty development opportunities on campus -
Provost Dooley
- October 10 - President's inauguration. University
Governance Council will most likely be cancelled. Faculty
are encouraged to attend the inauguration and to be part of
the processional.
Faculty Affairs Committee report - Ron Larsen.
- The committee will discuss definitions in the faculty workload
policy, P&T policy, and other related policies, and make them
consistent in all the documents. This is a topic left over from
last year, and the committee hopes to complete the task fairly
soon.
Policy for Use of Salary Release for Faculty Council Chair and
Chair-Elect (attached for members absent).
- The policy was developed by the Provost's Office.
- In the past, the salary release has not always been passed down
to the affected departments. The policy makes it clear that such
funds are to be used to provide appropriate release time and that
departments are compensated for making possible the release time
from the faculty members' teaching, research, or
service/research.
Large Class Task Force report - John Amend.
- Thirty-six people who teach or are involved with large classes
met during the summer to discuss ways to make the experience of
students in large classes more positive. Almost all students
take at least one large class during their first two years at
MSU, so improving the large-classroom experience will benefit
many students in a relatively small number of classes.
- Issues to be considered were divided into three areas:
- Facilities issues - lighting, sound, chalk/white boards,
etc. Pam Barrett and John Amend are contacts.
- Technology issues - overhead projectors, video projects,
smart carts, internet access, etc. Jeff Adams and Brad
Garnick are contacts.
- Instructional issues - use of support staff, large class
teaching strategies, workload implications, etc. Sharon
Eversman is a contact.
- In the short term, sounds systems and lighting will be fixed,
new projectors and additional smart carts will be added.
- In the mid-term, additional lighting, white boards and fans
will be added; screens will be moved.
- In the long term, some major classroom renovations are
expected. Issues of staffing, instructional strategies, and
workload need to be addressed. Upgrading labs and co-ordinating
labs and classes will be discussed.
- It was suggested there be some kind of assessment to determine
the effect of these improvements.
Space Allocation Principles (attached for members absent).
- The University Facilities Planning Committee has developed
principles to be used by department heads and unit managers when
space is reallocated.
- During discussion, it was pointed out that the last bullet,
"Space assignments or allocations should not be made to address
personnel issues" may be somewhat unclear and should perhaps be
reworded.
- "University planning standards" mentioned in bullet 4 are
regional and national space allocation standards by specific use.
If needed, they are available from Cecilia Vaniman, Facilities
Services.
- Bullet 6 gives users/occupants of assigned spaces an
opportunity for input into decisions about reallocation.
- A list of the membership os the University Facilities Planning
Committee was distributed. President Gamble asked that such a
committee be organized as a policy guideline and policy
development committee. The University Facilities Planning Board
continues to review building project design.
- During discussion, there was consensus that the President
should be asked to add representation from faculty on the
committee.
- It was suggested that department-specific procedures for
implementing the principles be put into place. Chair Sherwood
will recommend this to the President.
Vision/Mission Statements (attached for members absent).
- The Vision Statement is short and succinct. It is intended
more for internal use than for wide distribution.
- The Mission Statements are quite broad but are still somewhat
specific for Montana and MSU. The reference to "assessment" in
the last bullet is not necessarily a part of the mission, but
assessment helps achieve the mission.
- If there are comments or specific suggestions about the
statements, please contact the Faculty Council Chair.
As there was no further business, the meeting adjourned at 5:00 PM
Joann Amend, Secretary John Sherwood, Chair