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Governance Minutes ArchiveApril 25, 1989
VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE AND STATE UNIVERSITY FACULTY SENATE 25 April 1989 32 Pamplin Hall Present: Senators Arnold, Batie, Baumgartner, Beyer, Birch, Bunce, Conn, deWolf, Dudley, Dugger, Duke, Eiss, Eng, Farkas, Fine, Geller, Geyer, Goss, Grossman, Kingston, Knocke, Kriz, Marriott, Morrill, Nielsen, Oliver, Polan, Salvaggio, Scanlon, Snoke, Sullins, Thompson, Wang, Wokutch, Gwazdauskas (alternate for White). Absent: Senators Blieszner, Cranford, Hansen, Killough, Schug Visitors: New Senators Peter Barker, Paul Sorrentino, John Hillison, Jack Webster, Barry Crittenden, Geoffrey Saunders; Ms. Susan Trulove (SPECTRUM), Ms. Karen DeBord (representing Extension faculty). 1. ANNOUNCEMENTS President Conn called the meeting to order at 7:30 pm and welcomed new senators and guests. a. Announced that we won the Faculty Senate-Administration volleyball game by default since they could not find enough administrators to play. b. Faculty Senate retreat will be Tuesday May 9 from 6:00-9:30 pm at the University Club beginning with a buffet dinner courtesy of the Provost's office. c. The FACULTY SENATE FORUM NEWSLETTER will be coming out soon. Thank you to Rosemary Blieszner and to Kelly Queijo, who helped Senator Blieszner. d. Faculty who are interested in participating in the colloquium on higher education in Virginia should contact Senator Conn. e. The University has produced a draft policy statement on AIDS which will be distributed by Senator Conn to the Senate. f. Also, the draft report of the Task Force on Commissions and Commit- tees will be circulated in the same fashion. g. The cabinet met with the library director and will meet this week to review the discussion. More information will follow. 2. PROGRAM No program this meeting. 3. AGENDA The agenda was adopted with the addition of two items to new business: The resolution on faculty benefits submitted by Senator Duke and the Senate office elections. 4. MINUTES The minutes of the Faculty Senate meeting of 11 April 1989 were ap- proved. 5. COUNCIL, COMMISSION, AND COMMITTEE REPORTS UNIVERSITY COUNCIL - Senator Scanlon - 4 Apr 89 Dr. McComas announced that the "Name Committee" had reported and that the official name of the university would be retained and the nickname would be used as appropriate. Mr. Forbes will coordinate efforts to ensure appropriate use of both names on letterhead, etc. Mary Sue Terry, Attorney General of Virginia, will be the commence- ment speaker, not President Bush. First readings given to: CFA Resolution 1988-89 B concerning salary supplements for Alumni Distinguished Professors, CFA Resolution 1988-89 C concerning the tenure process for faculty entering as in- structors or lecturers, CFA Resolution 1988-89 D concerning the length of tenure served by department/division chairs/heads and di- rectors, CFA Resolution 1988-89 E concerning language in the fac- ulty handbook clarifying expectations of cooperation with the reconciliation committee. An initial report was given on the rec- ommendations of the Task Force on the University Council, Commis- sions, and Committees. A second reading was given to the CFA Resolution 1987-88 C concerning Faculty Ethics. The resolution was adopted. A report was given on self-study recommendations 3-5 and 3-6 regarding university related corporations. COMMISSION ON EXTENSION - Senator Marriott - No meeting COMMISSION ON FACULTY AFFAIRS - Senator Grossman - 21 April 89 CFA passed a modified version of CFA Resolution regarding the ten- ure process for faculty entering as instructors or lecturers. Re- port on Fringe Benefits Committee was given by Bob Benoit. He suggested meeting with the CFA more often and that CFA set the agenda. He also discussed retirement benefits. COMMISSION ON GRADUATE STUDIES - Senator Snoke - 22 April 89 Two items discussed in the last Senate meeting were commented on during the announcements: (1) Cunningham applicants are reviewed by two committees. The first is the Program and Course Criteria Committee, a standing committee under the CGS, and a committee cho- sen by Dean Teekell, whose membership is not announced. Dean Teekell makes the final selections, based on recommendations by these committees. (2) A Senator had questioned the appropriateness of the Animal Care Committee reporting to the Executive Vice Presi- dent for Finance. Jack Cranford said that the ACC does not make policy but simply assures that state and federal guidelines are followed. No one there felt that this was an issue for the CGS. The criteria for a second doctoral degree were discussed and post- poned until next year. It was established that no policy exists regarding academic miscon- duct by students, e.g., how to deal with fraudulent theses/dissertations. Referred to committee for study. TOEFL/TSE guidelines were discussed. Presently there are no guide- lines in the catalog, and this could create a problem if a student arrives in August and does not have a good command of spoken Eng- lish and is scheduled to teach. The topic was referred to commit- tee for next year. COMMISSION ON RESEARCH - Senator Bunce - 12 Apr 89 Funding of utilities and services at outlying facilities was dis- cussed. Normal services, such as custodial, are not provided by the university. This has been a major point of contention. Dis- cussion centered around the fact that the university needs to treat these areas as on campus. COMMISSION ON STUDENT AFFAIRS - Senator Goss - 20 Apr 89 A draft of student leader eligibility standards was presented for feedback and discussion. Students expressed concern about the pro- posed 2.3 gpa required for a student leader position. The student library subcommittee expressed its concern about vari- ous aspects of the library including no place to take a break. An ad hoc subcommittee reported on recommendations of the student budget board. COMMISSION ON UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES - Senator Dudley - 24 April 89 Several courses were approved on second reading. There was a report on the subcommittee reviewing the undergraduate catalog. Recommendations included: discontinuance of the catalog as a recruitment device, a statement reaffirming that the catalog is not a contract between the student and the University, and mak- ing the language gender-neutral. The Commission approved three undergraduate programs for the Col- lege of Education in Business, Marketing, and Home Economics. A brief discussion of the 1990-91 calendar ended with a suggestion that the beginning date of Fall 1990 be moved from August 20 to Au- gust 27 and the ending date be December 19 instead of December 12. This would allow a two day break between summer sessions. These suggestions were taken under advisement by the Provost. A resolution was passed unanimously to recognize the good leader- ship of John Perry, Interim Provost. The preservation of free electives for students was also discussed. ATHLETIC COMMITTEE - Senator Nielsen - No Meeting BUILDING COMMITTEE - Senator Dugger - No Meeting COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK COMMITTEE - Senator Nielsen - No Meeting COMPUTER COMMITTEE - Senator Birch - No Meeting EMPLOYEE BENEFITS COMMITTEE - Senator Thompson - No Meeting EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION COMMITTEE - Senator Fine - 11 Apr 89 The subcommittee on women has learned that the faculty exit inter- views have been discontinued. They will recommend that this not happen. Three candidates for the affirmative action position will be interviewed in May. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTIES COMMITTEE - Senator Dudley - No Meeting LIBRARY COMMITTEE - Senator Duke - No Meeting NATIONAL SPEAKER'S FORUM - Senator Salvaggio - No Meeting SCHOLARSHIP AND STUDENT AID COMMITTEE - Senator Wang - No Meeting SELF STUDY MONITORING COMMITTEE - Senator Arnold - No Meeting SUPPLEMENTAL GRANTS COMMITTEE - Senator Morrill - No Meeting PARKING/TRANSPORTATION TASK FORCE - Senator Oliver - No Meeting The issue of equity of parking fees between staff and faculty was raised. Discussion was moved to new business. FACULTY SENATE OF VIRGINIA - Met but no one attended from VPI & SU. PROVOST SEARCH COMMITTEE - Senator Scanlon Two additional candidates have been interviewed. A provost has not been announced. CONSTITUTION COMMITTEE - Senator Birch We were 143 ballots short. We needed 780 and 637 were returned. We must vote again next fall. It was mentioned that we may have to distribute ballots next fall at faculty meetings. It was also sug- gested that we amend the Constitution to reduce the number of votes required to amend the Constitution. 6. OLD BUSINESS - None 7. NEW BUSINESS a. PRESIDENT'S COMMENDATIONS Senator Conn thanked Senator Scanlon and Senator Blieszner for their support this past year. He thanked the entire Senate and re- cognized the retiring Senators. b. FACULTY FRINGE BENEFITS Senator Duke began discussion of his proposed resolution by stating that (1) the wellness plan was not included in his initial memo to President Conn, (2) for many benefits suggested by the faculty, too many times we are told "We can't do it," (3) when we want to find money for certain things we find it. Senator Duke moved and it was seconded: Whereas the intentions of the State Legislature as re- gards allocations to the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University are often disregarded, in particular as regards compen- sation of faculty members, therefore, be it resolved that the Fac- ulty Senate request that the State institute a policy of "line item" budgeting at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Univer- sity similar to that used at other senior universities in the Com- monwealth. Senator Sullins stated that it was a misconception that other sen- ior universities have this line item power and spoke against it. Senator Nielsen stated that we need support from the university to try to gain additional support for faculty without them saying "We can't do it." MOTION DEFEATED. Senator Duke moved and it was seconded that we establish a Faculty Benefits Committee of the Faculty Senate. Senator Farkas suggested that we look at the entire way the University lobbies. We do well with money but not benefits. Senator Scanlon pointed out that ben- efits are being eroded elsewhere. Senator Nielsen suggested that this be considered for one of our programs for next year. Senator Arnold offered and Senator Duke accepted a friendly amendment that we establish an ad hoc committee on faculty benefits to report by December 1, 1989. MOTION CARRIED. President Conn asked for volun- teers for this committee. c. ELECTION OF SENATE OFFICERS It was brought to President Conn's attention that both old and new Senators should have voted on the Senate Officers. Since only one college had elected its Senators, this would have been difficult unless we had changed our timing of the election. Therefore, Sen- ators Scanlon, Eng, and Goss were offered for reaffirmation. A mo- tion was made, seconded, and CARRIED electing these Senators as President, Vice President, and Secretary, respectively, of the Fac- ulty Senate. d. PROVOST'S MEMO There was a discussion regarding the Provost's memo in response to Senator Duke's proposed resolution. After much discussion, it was left to President Conn to convey to the Provost the feeling of the Senate that the memo had come from one person, but there was con- cern about our benefits. e. PARKING Senator Fine moved and it was seconded that the proposed flat rate of $40.00 for faculty and staff is inequitable and there should be a sliding fee based on university earned income. MOTION DEFEATED. f. REPORTING RESPONSIBILITIES OF SENATE REPRESENTATIVES Senator Scanlon assumed the chair while Senator Conn moved and it was seconded that Senators who are elected to boards, committees, and such and who go off the Senate before their term of office is complete would, at the time of accepting their nomination, accept the responsibility of maintaining communication with the Senate. MOTION CARRIED. g. ELECTIONS The following individuals were elected. University Council -- Eiss (ME), Geyer (AGEC), Marriott (FST), Snoke (GEOL), Crittenden (EF) Commission on Faculty Affairs -- deWolf (EE), Duke (ESM), Polan (DASC), Kriz (LIBR) Commission on Student Affairs -- Geller (PSYC), Hillison (EDVT) Commission on Graduate Studies -- Conn (EDP) Building Committee -- Canestero (HIDM), Kingston (CHEM) Employee Benefits -- O'Brien (ME), Oliver (EDVT), Perkins (PPWS), Board (EXT) Honorifics Committee -- Siegel (POUL), Dukore (TA), Kok (ENT), Wilkes (CHE) Honor System Review Board -- Fern (MKTG), Painter (HIDM) Commencement Committee -- Conn (Past President of the Senate) Intellectual Properties Committee, Patents subcommittee -- Boles (CT), Hasselman (MATE), Parkinson (ME), Stallmann (AGEC) Intellectual Properties Committee, Copyrights subcommittee -- Butke (ARCH), Canestaro (HIDM), McGilliard (DASC), Holford (HPER) Scholarship/Student Aid Committee -- Camp (EDVT), McAnge (EXT) Supplemental Grants Committee -- Barker (SCinSOC), Webster (BIOL) Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Committee -- Cook (ENG), Dail (FCD), Taylor (AGEC), Schmidt (EDVT) Student Budget Board -- Bailey (SOC), Howard (UAP) Senate Cabinet -- Ventre (ARCH), Farkas (A&S), Wokutch (BUS), Hillison (EDVT), de Wolf (ENG) Senate Committee on Committees -- Barker (SCinSOC), Canestaro (HIDM), Crittenden (EF) Senate Credentials & Elections Committee -- O'Neil (BUS), Sorrentino (ENG), Saunders (VETMED), Ventre (ARCH) Senate Reconciliation Committee -- Farkas (MATH), Walker (ENG) Faculty Senate of Virginia -- Conn (EDP), Cranford (BIOL), Oliver (EDVT), Owen (ENG) The meeting was adjourned by the President. Respectfully submitted, Rosemary Goss for Rosemary Blieszner, Secretary
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