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Governance Minutes ArchiveMarch 7, 1989
VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE AND STATE UNIVERSITY FACULTY SENATE 7 March 1989 (approved 11 April 1989) 32 Pamplin Hall Present: Senators Arnold, Batie, Beyer, Birch, Blieszner, Conn, Cranford, deWolf, Dudley, Dugger, Eiss, Eng, Farkas, Geller, Geyer, Goss, Grossman, Kingston, Knocke, Kriz, Marriott, Oliver, Polan, Salvaggio, Scanlon, Schug, Snoke, Sullins, Thompson, Wang, Gwazdauskas (alternate for Nielsen) Absent: Senators Baumgartner, Bunce, Fine, Hansen, Killough, Morrill, White, Wokutch Visitors: Ms. Susan Trulove (SPECTRUM), Dr. Dennis Hinkle (Office of the Provost), Mr. Buddy Russell (Alumni Association), Mr. Cliff Cutchins (Board of Visitors), Dr. Joe Falkingham 1. PROGRAM President Conn called the meeting to order at 7:30 pm, welcomed guests, and suggested changing the order of the agenda so the guest speaker could make his presentation at the beginning of the meeting. There be- ing no objection, President Conn introduced Mr. Cliff Cutchins of Sovran Financial Corporation, member of the Board of Visitors and Alumni Association Board of Directors and former member of the Virginia Tech Foundation and Student Aid Association (now, Virginia Tech Ath- letic Fund) Boards of Directors. Mr. Cutchins, who graduated from VPI & SU in 1947, opened with a comment on his long and pleasant associ- ation with the university. He noted that the Board of Visitors looks to the faculty for academic leadership in the university. He explained the connection between the independent corporations and the university, and spoke in particular about the Virginia Tech Foundation, the Alumni Association, and the Virginia Tech Athletic Fund. These corporations exist to undertake programs and activities on behalf of the university. Mr. Cutchins acknowledged that efforts to improve communications be- tween the corporations and the faculty should be ongoing. Members of the Virginia Tech Foundation are those who have made large donations to the university; members elect the directors. All requests for funds to VTF are first approved by the administration and/or Board of Visitors. Examples of major projects that have been funded include start-up costs of the Corporate Research Center, the establishment of development officers in each college, and advances or matching funds for capital construction projects. The Virginia Tech Athletic Fund is now administered under the Develop- ment Office, with its funds managed by the VTF. It provides scholar- ships for student athletes, money for athletic facilities maintenance, and funding for nonrevenue sports. Mr. Cutchins mentioned several ways in which the faculty can assist the independent corporations: attention to quality of instruction and ad- vising helps fundraising efforts; good stewardship of grant funds and reports of work to grantors enhance the reputation of the university; willingness to speak to alumni and others via Alumni Association pro- grams helps to educate citizens about the strengths of the university. Mr. Cutchins then responsed to questions from Senators. He has no strong feelings one way or the other about having a faculty member on the Board of Visitors, and said he did not know what the advantages of such membership would be. He has no problem with changing the name of the university. He reported hearing that some students are unhappy about academic advising, but could not give any details that would have helped Senators address the problem, if there is one. He did not have any specific suggestions about how faculty might help legislators un- derstand the space problem on campus, but felt the legislature is well aware of our needs. Finally, he indicated that VTF is providing money for athletics only until the teams begin to earn revenue again. 2. ANNOUNCEMENTS President Conn made the following announcements: a. The Senate volleyball team beat the SGA team two games out of three for the second year in a row. A game with administrators will be scheduled for April. b. A retreat for old and new Senators will be scheduled for April. The Provost's office will sponsor dinner. Discussion will center on Senate activities of this year and plans for next year. c. A final issue of the FACULTY SENATE FORUM newsletter will be produced at the end of the semester. Senators who report on com- missions and committees are to send a one-paragraph summary of the important issues and accomplishments of the groups they represent to Secretary Blieszner by March 31. d. President Conn will distribute a nomination sheet for Senate repre- sentatives to commissions and committees for next year. Nomi- nations of self and others, including nonsenators, are welcome. e. Having received no objections, President Conn submitted the follow- ing names to the VPI Facilities, Inc. Board: Senators Baumgartner, Beyer, Bunce, Dudley, Duke, and Polan. The Board will select one Senator for Board membership. f. President Conn is seeking four names to submit as nominees to the Waste Policy Institute board of directors. g. The Nominating Committee will meet at the end of tonight's meeting. h. President Conn encouraged senators to attend the Faculty Forum on Thursday, March 9 in 30 Pamplin to discuss issues concerning the future of the university, and to encourage their constituents to attend. 3. AGENDA Four items of new business were placed on the agenda: election of a replacement member to the Committee on Reconciliation, a report on the Task Force on Evaluation of Extension and Service, a suggestion for the Parking and Transportation Task Force, and a report on the timeliness of Savings Bond purchases. President Conn requested that the Extension and Service report be taken up after approval of the minutes, and the group agreed. The agenda was adopted with these additions. 4. MINUTES The minutes of the Faculty Senate meeting of 14 February 1989 were ap- proved. The minutes of the Faculty Senate Cabinet meeting of 21 February 1989 were accepted. 5. REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE EVALUATION OF FACULTY EFFORT IN EXTEN- SION AND SERVICE President Conn introduced Dr. Konrad Kubin, member of the committee, who reported for the chair, Dr. J. Douglas McAlister. The committee identified, and Dr. Kubin defined, four types of service: public, uni- versity, profession, and community. Dr. Kubin distributed an overview of the committee report and the "Conclusions and Recommendations" sec- tion. He reviewed the committee's recommendations and stated the con- clusions that the university should seek more external evaluation of faculty service activities and place more emphasis on measuring the im- pact and positive contributions of service activities. In response to questions from senators, Dr. Kubin stated that the re- port will be submitted to the Provost, who established the Task Force. He assumed that the recommendations would go through the usual governance procedures. He mentioned that Task Force documents have been accepted by CFA and will be distributed to deans and department heads; senators can provide additional input to CFA and CE. 6. COUNCIL, COMMISSION, AND COMMITTEE REPORTS UNIVERSITY COUNCIL - Senator Scanlon - 6 Mar 89 First reading: CSA resolution on including "sexual orientation" in the university's EO/AA statement. Second readings: CUS resolution on faculty-authored class materials (adopted); CFA resolution to establish a Committee on Faculty Ethics (motion to add student mem- bers was tabled to allow further CFA discussion; resolution was ta- bled). Dr. Hooper gave an update on the Waste Policy Institute, a part of VTIP. Mr. Ridenour and Dr. Smoot announced that they are developing procedures to permit graduate students to defer payment of summer tuition until after they have received a paycheck. COMMISSION ON EXTENSION - Senator Marriott - no meeting COMMISSION ON FACULTY AFFAIRS - Senator Scanlon - 17 Feb and 3 Mar 89 Approved a resolution specifying perquisites of Alumni Distin- guished Professors. Change on sick leave policy from EO/AA: preg- nancy can be considered a medical trauma and thereby stop the tenure clock. Concern raised about use of the term "tenure-track" in description of Supplemental Grants Committee guidelines, because this term excludes certain faculty such as in Humanities. Approved a resolution to permit faculty who have instructor or lecturer ser- vice at the university prior to completion of the terminal degree to choose to disregard those years of service as part of the probationary period. This equates such people with those who are hired here after similar experience at another university. COMMISSION ON GRADUATE STUDIES - Senator Snoke - 15 Feb and 1 Mar 89 Approved a resolution to discontinue review of faculty-authored textbooks. Adopted new wording for the POLICIES AND PROCEDURES manual regarding continuous enrollment: "Unless on an approved leave of absence, graduate students in degree programs must be reg- istered continuously during the academic year and pay the pre- scribed fees." COMMISSION ON RESEARCH - Senator Arnold - 22 Feb 89 Dr. Stout is seeking nominations for Associate Provost for Re- search. Revised Appendix K of the MANUAL OF PROCEDURES. Heard re- ports on the University Planning Task Force from Larry Moore, on a meeting on April 3 of the Commission on the University of the 21st Century, and on the Waste Policy Institute from Gary Hooper. COMMISSION ON STUDENT AFFAIRS - Senator Goss - 2 Mar 89 Interviewed five candidates for the student member of the Board of Visitors; forwarded three names to President McComas. COMMISSION ON UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES - Senator Dudley - Routine processing of courses. ATHLETIC COMMITTEE - no report BUILDING COMMITTEE - Senator Dugger - no meeting COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK COMMITTEE - no meeting COMPUTER COMMITTEE - Senator Birch - 1 Mar 89 The IBM 3090 model 200 will be upgraded on March 12 to a model 300-E. The Computing Center distributed a second issue of ON THE MOVE and SPECTRUM carried a front-page article on impending changes. The Computing Center will provide a 24-hour delivery ser- vice after the move, probably to Burruss and McBryde, using lockboxes. The Consulting Service will remain in 128 Burruss and continue to operate as it does now. Senators still have a question about the delivery service: How of- ten will deliveries be made, especially at night? EMPLOYEE BENEFITS COMMITTEE - Senator Thompson - no meeting EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION COMMITTEE - no report INTELLECTUAL PROPERTIES COMMITTEE - Senator Dudley - no meeting LIBRARY COMMITTEE - Senator Duke - 21 Feb and 6 Mar 89 Dr. Heterick spoke on state allocations for library materials, how the university allocates funds to the library, and the overall sta- tus of funding and other problems. Frances Painter reported on li- brary staff development and training activities. Discussed policies associated with branch libraries. Received a status re- port on database access services. Mr. Gherman is seeking members for a task force to evaluate VTLS; reply by March 24. Senators expressed concern about the library not spending the en- tire allocation based on the state funding formula on materials. This issue was added to New Business. NATIONAL SPEAKER'S FORUM - Alternate Gwazdauskas - Recommended to the Provost six names for next year's program. Fees range from $5,000 to $18,000. SCHOLARSHIP AND STUDENT AID COMMITTEE - Senator Wang - no meeting SELF STUDY MONITORING COMMITTEE - Senator Arnold - 23 Feb 89 Received reports from various groups on the status of self-study recommendations. Subcommittees are evaluating the reports and de- termining what else needs to be done. SUPPLEMENTAL GRANTS COMMITTEE - Senator Morrill - no meeting PARKING/TRANSPORTATION TASK FORCE - Senator Oliver - no meeting FACULTY SENATE OF VIRGINIA - Senator Conn - no meeting The next meeting will be this spring. Submit topics and concerns to President Conn, who will pass them on to our representatives. PROVOST SEARCH COMMITTEE - Senator Scanlon - 27 Feb 89 Four candidates accepted invitations to come for on-campus inter- views: Howard Ball (March 21-22), Ronald Hopkins (March 23-24), Eloise Clark (March 27-28), and Anthony Marsella (April 4-5). CONSTITUTION COMMITTEE - Senator Birch The mailing for the ratification of the revised Senate Constitution will include a yellow cover letter, a ballot providing opportu- nities to vote on each change, a summary of the changes, and a copy of the revised Constitution. President Conn asked Senators to divide the constituents in their colleges among themselves and personally visit faculty to encourage them to vote. WASTE POLICY INSTITUTE - Senator Eiss - 20 Feb 89 President Conn turned chairing of the meeting over to Vice- President Scanlon for this discussion. Senator Eiss reported that articles of incorporation, bylaws, and an affiliation agreement have been developed and approved by VTIP. WPI will operate under VTIP until VTIP decides it should be a sepa- rate organization. Senator Conn stated that the Management Group had been established to prepare the organizational paperwork. It will now be dissolved and a board of directors will be elected, after the Board of Visi- tors approves the organizational plan. President Conn resumed chairing the meeting at the end of this dis- cussion. 7. OLD BUSINESS - none 8. NEW BUSINESS COMMITTEE ON RECONCILIATION ELECTION President Conn stated that it is necessary to fill an unexpired term. Alternate Joseph Falkingham was nominated and elected by ac- clamation. PARKING AND TRANSPORTATION TASK FORCE Senator Eiss reported that West Virginia University had adopted a portable sticker program that was not successful. Problems in- cluded tags being stolen and being in the wrong car when a univer- sity member needed to go onto campus. Other senators commented on the expenses associated with needing to purchase multiple stickers for multiple vehicles even though only one would be on campus at any time. One senator suggested providing an option of a portable or fixed sticker. Senator Oliver will take these concerns to the Task Force members. SAVINGS BONDS Senator Cranford reported that the delay in the purchase of savings bonds is in Richmond, not on campus. Deposits to other forms of savings are controlled on campus. LIBRARY Senator Duke attempted to clarify the relationship among the state's allocation for library materials, the distribution of the allocation to the library by university administration, and the op- erating expenses associated with acquisition of new materials. Senators expressed confusion about the library's inability to spend all of the state allocation in the face of faculty being asked last year to recommend journals for deletion. Some expressed the opin- ion that groups such as WPI should pay for library services. All agreed that Provost candidates should be asked about their views of the library issues. The meeting adjourned at 9:50 pm. Respectfully submitted, Rosemary Blieszner, Secretary ADDENDUM Treasurer's Report 13 March 1989 Balance on hand, 24 February 1989 $ 123.01 Balance on hand, 13 March 1989 $ 123.01
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