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Governance Minutes ArchiveNovember 1, 1993
Faculty Senate Cabinet Minutes November 1, 1993 Accepted by the Faculty Senate: November 16, 1993 Present: William E. Barbeau, Don G. Creamer, David A. de Wolf Timothy G. Gregoire, Michael T. Lambur, Marilyn L. Norstedt, Peter K. Shires, N. Larry Shumsky, Robert T. Sumichrast Guest: Jerry Cain, Legal Council to Virginia Tech JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY ISSUE David de Wolf informed the Cabinet of a speech given by the President of James Madison University (JMU) which was critical of the JMU Faculty Senate. The speech suggested that the JMU Faculty Senate abolish itself. David de Wolf informed the Cabinet that Virginia Tech's interim president, Paul Torgersen does not share this view of Faculty Senates. Mike Lambur suggested that we not take actions based on this report since we do not know what lead to the speech. Bill Barbeau said that the case may simply be another case of opportunistic faculty bashing and should not be interpreted to mean that most people view faculty in this light. STATE INTERPRETATION OF GRIEVANCE JURISDICTION Jerry Cain, Legal Council for the University, informed the Cabinet of the state's actions in one case of alleged age discrimination regarding tenure and salary. In the past, grievances by faculty members have been settled by the university, rather than by state agencies. This time, a faculty member has filed cases with both university and state agencies. The Virginia Department of Personnel and Training has refused a request from Virginia Tech to defer judgment to Tech. This agency has cited an executive order from Governor Wilder as authority to proceed. Mr. Cain said that the executive order was in conflict with state statutes concerning the matter and that Virginia Tech believed it should not accept the power of the state agency to interfere in this matter. No judgments have been handed down by any of the parties involved in this case. Mr. Cain said that Dr. Torgersen wanted to keep the Faculty Senate informed of the University's position on this matter and wanted to know of any facility disagreement with the university's position. Mr. Cain expanded on the particulars of the case in response to questions. There appeared to be unamious support of the university's position by the Cabinet. FACULTY ETHICS COMMITTEE REPORT David de Wolf reported that the Ethics committee is in the final stages of preparing its report. It will be discussed when available. Peter Shires, a member of the committee, noted that the Ethics Committee procedures, included in the report, are considerably more detailed than those included in Section 1.4.12.3 in the Faculty Handbook. The Cabinet discussed various means of making the procedures available to faculty once complete. Larry Shumsky noted that including complete procedures as part of the Faculty Handbook was cumbersome. A possible solution was to distribute procedures in the back of the handbook without making them part of the handbook. Another solution would be to keep the procedures on-line and refer to them in the handbook. SUPPORT FOR TORGERSEN AS PERMANENT PRESIDENT Last week, David de Wolf has asked past-presidents of the Faculty Senate and Cabinet members for opinions concerning the possibility of Paul Torgersen becoming the University's president on a permanent basis. He reported finding strong support for Torgersen among those in favor, and largely problems with circumventing procedure with those not in favor. Several respondents were not in favor, based on personal rather than procedural reasons. David shared these views with Henry Dekker, President of the University Board of Visitors. Mr. Dekker was pleased to receive faculty feedback. He said he would attempt to gather a more complete gauge of faculty opinions in the next several weeks. He also assured Dr. de Wolf that the normal search procedures would be followed. The Cabinet discussed the importance of helping Dr. Torgersen be more effective with state legislators. It was suggested that Dr. Torgersen would be more effective with legislators if they understood that he might be appointed to the position permanently. It was suggested that Dr. Torgersen be asked to publicly express his willingness to serve as president. PROGRAM FOR DECEMBER 7 MEETING There was strong support for asking Interim President Torgersen to speak at the December Faculty Senate meeting. Dr. Torgersen has expressed interest in addressing the Senate. This meeting would provide those faculty who do not know Dr. Torgersen, an opportunity to learn his agenda first hand. Bill Barbeau suggested asking Charles Steger to come as a second speaker on the same night. Further, he suggested that Dr. Steger be asked to discuss the university's long awaited fund raising campaign. If Dr. Torgersen is unavailable that night, Larry Shumsky suggested that we ask Henry Dekker to come and address the Senate concerning the university's search for a new president. POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE Leon Geyer has agreed to chair the effort looking into setting up a political action committee or similar organization for the faculty. STUDENT DRILL FIELD RALLY David de Wolf gave a brief report on the rally organized the campus students in cooperation with students across Virginia. FACULTY INPUT TO REALLOCATIONS The University Advisory Council on Strategic Planning and Budgeting may be asked to help make recommendations concerning budget reallocations. Potentially, these decisions will include programmatic reductions. David de Wolf has recommended that the Provost include greater faculty participation in these decisions. The provost suggested that Dr. de Wolf present a plan for augmenting the Advisory Council. The Cabinet discussed elements which such a plan should include. A desire for diverse representation was expressed as was the possibility for a greater role by members of the College Faculty Associations. David de Wolf will take this matter up in the next Senate Officers meeting. COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS Two committees still need representatives. David de Wolf will make appointments. Respectfully submitted, Robert T. Sumichrast Secretary, Faculty Senate
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