Revised May 30, 1997

[This document replaces the one distributed on May 14, 1997, which inadvertently omitted
the reports from the Curriculum and Finance Committees. Although this document is not
to be approved until the next full senate meeting in December, the omissions warrant a
reissue at this time. Apologies. IHB]

I. Minutes of December 13, 1996

The minutes were approved with the following corrections. In the third paragraph on the
curriculum committee, the last word should read ALANA. Under College Committees, the first
paragraph, the month of April should be substituted for March for the cellist concert.

II. Committee Reports

President Behuniak asked that committee chairs file reports on the VAX Bulletin by May 6.
These reports should contain any updates to what is reported here and secondly, what issues are
left over from this year’s agenda for next year’s committee. The Faculty Senate Secretary will
record and distribute as attachments to these minutes.

A. ARPP (C. Donn)

Our committee considered and acted upon the following items this year:

Academic Forgiveness (change in policy approved).
Student course overload (policy to stay the same).
Deans List for CL students (change in policy approved).
Grades (no change in plus-minus grading policy, change rejected by Senate referendum) (no change in use of "W" grade).
Internet Citations (did not propose policy, no change).
Minority Pre-doctoral Fellowship (change in policy approved, to come before Executive Board next Fall).
Plagiarism (change in policy approved).
Grade grievances against department chairs (change in policy approved).
The evaluation of the Registrar is complete and those of the Head Librarianand the Academic Dean are almost complete.

The following items are carried over to next year:

Scheduling of athletic events during periods when classes are in session.
CAPHE Grant - Fred Glennon to report on progress
Class scheduling/common hour - Marcia Ruwe is acting as repository for the various proposals
Copying Fees for class handouts
Librarianship - the committee has decided to try a different type of proposal. Cliff Donn will work with the librarians over the summer.
Elimination of Physical Education requirement
Transfer and Residency Requirements - Marcia Ruwe to consult chairs

B. Curriculum (H. O’Leary)

The chair began by thanking her committee, especially secretary B. Blaszak, as well as all those who submitted course proposals in a timely, accurate manner.

Its approval of the Creative Writing Concentration/Minor and of the revision of the Academic Support Center Proposal prepared by an Ad Hoc Committee meeting with Anne Herron in Summer, l996, were ratified by the Senate. The Creative Writing Minor passed as amended with a budget. The Academic Support Center Proposal also passed. The proposed ALANA Program, whose outline was approved by the Curriculum Committee, was tabled by the Executive Board until such time as the Program is re-submitted to the Committee.(3/l9/97) The committee strongly supports the ALANA Program Proposal and until such time as more details are worked out the committee believes that the right step that was taken on ALANA.

At the request of the Academic Dean, the Committee conducted a survey among departments to find out which of the courses listed as "major courses" in the Catalog and on the degree audit check sheets are considered essential by each Department in applying the current Catalog stipulation that "l/2 the major must be taken at Le Moyne." Results of the survey showed that the College policy can be worded: "Half of the courses required by the major and taught by the department must be taken at Le Moyne College and cannot be transferred from another school." There having been no negativeresponses to the Committee by the deadline of 5/6/97, the Committee passed the proposed wording on May 6, l997, with the additional resolution that the College-wide core be listed uniformly for all departments.

Ed Judge reported for the Core Evaluation Team (on behalf of Evie Monsay, Fred Glennon as well). The CET has been working rather diligently throughout the year. In Fall we published our preliminary report, which included an analysis of the strengths andweaknesses of the current core, based on surveys of faculty, staff, and students we had conducted in the Spring of '96 and on input we had received from the various departments and programs. In Spring, l997 we have held a series of 8 public colloquia to discuss the weaknesses we had identified and possible ways to remedy these weaknesses. As proposed at one of these colloquia, we have also drafted and published a list of core objectives, and asked for feedback from the Le Moyne community. We are currently meeting weekly to discuss potential recommendations and to prepare our final report, which we intend to publicize and present to the Curriculum Committee at the start of the Fall semester.

Leonard Marsh, chair of the subcommittee studying the MS in Adult Education reported that the group has met 4 times for its own internal organization and to understand its charge as well as to familiarize itself with the proposal, identify questions concerning the feasibility of the proposed program, and look into the advisability of an updated market survey (last done in 1993).

Representatives from the Curr. Committee, the Faculty Senate, and the Subcommittee on New Programs of the Planning Committee met with AVP Ryan on May 7, l997 to discuss the structural relationship between the Curr. Committee and the New Programs sub-committee. Two principles seem clear: l) Curriculum must have final responsibilityfor the acceptance or not of new academic programs and 2) the faculty members of the Curr. Committee have neither the time nor the resources to engage in the necessary preliminary investigation of the economic viability of new programs. There is to be further dialogue on procedural issues.

President Behuniak injected at this point well-received words of praise for Harriet O’Leary for taking on the position of chair of a major standing committee in her last year before retirement.

C. Elections (J. McMahon)

The chair thanked his committee members. Another adjunct certification will be done in late August. There are two unfilled positions: a division 5 representative to ARPP who must be tenured and a division 4 representative to PR&W. Elections will wait until September to try again. The chair pointed out that the Senate may have to realign divisions in light of the fact that some have 17 members while others have 28.

Elections for the Rank and Tenure Committee and the At-Large Representative to the Faculty Senate Exec. Board have been completed with one exception. The Division 6 election to Rank and Tenure resulted in a tie vote; a second election was approved by the Elections Committee and the Faculty Senate President. The deadline for that election is Wednesday, 5/7 at noon.

D. Finance (J. Glancy)

The committee’s work in 1996/97 focused a great deal with the 96/97 budget. They were able to recommend to President Mitchell the major salary adjustments. This promise was fulfilled. This budget year will experience an excess of revenues over expenditures of at least $500,000. Because an inflationary component of 1.3% was granted rather than the full COLA of 2.8%, the committee does not approve of the use of the word “surplus.” Faculty should anticipate a 2.9% COLA for 1997/98 contracts along with step raises, merit pool, promotions, and the application of the new scale. The 1998/99 budget will be worked on at the outset of the fall semester and is a very conservative budget. The entering class will be strong. Going into the year, the Committee would like to know what the priorities are for faculty. Already mentioned as a priority is adjunct salaries. The chair then thanked M.K. Collins and S. Behuniak and K. Nash for their work, commitment, and political savvy.

E. Research & Development (M. MacDonald)

Ten faculty will receive R&D grants. Course load reduction recommendations were sent to the Dean. The committee met with the College’s financial services people and will revise procedures for reimbursement and the withdrawal of funds.

On May 6 we received approval from the Academic Dean of the committee's recommendation that Jeffrey Chin and Deborah Tooker be granted course load reductions for Fall of 1997. Professor Chin's reduction is for work as editor of the American Sociological Association's journal "Teaching Sociology." Professor Tooker's reduction is for work on her book, "Contextual Hierarchy: the Pragmatics of Spatial Signs among the Akha of Northern Thailand."

On May 12 we shall have an extended meeting from 9:30 to 1:30 inorder to work on the R&D Guidelines document and to bring itto a form which can be submitted to the Executive Board in the Fall.

Over the summer Mary MacDonald and Patricia Schmidt will sortthrough past R&D records and establish a filing system for them.

D. Rank & Tenure (N. Ring)

Nine recommendations for promotion and tenure were sent to the President and three recommendations for the status of emeritus/a. They are revising the handbook. At the direction of President Mitchell, the committee has called for characteristics of scholarship that are unique to each discipline. There is a forum on procedures for promotion and tenure on April 24.

E. Professional Rights & Welfare (K. Nash)

After thanking her committee members, the chair pointed out that the revision of section VI of the Faculty Handbook has finished phase one. A draft will be submitted to the AVP. Regarding FACHEX expansion, a letter to the AVP with the recommendations of the committee to include a membership in “Tuition Plus” was sent. The college wide fringe benefits committee has three members from PR&W on it and continues to explore health benefits.

F. Institutional Review Board (V. Hevern)

The guidelines and principles by which to operate are needed. Relevant documents will be distributed this semester. V. Hevern will meet with affected departments to exchange ideas and concerns. Student research and course-related research are of immediate concern as syllabi for the Fall 1997 semester are about to be drafted. This is a mandate to protect human subjects, yet the Board does not want to nit pick and wishes to acknowledge the professionalism of this faculty. Of particular need is a mechanism of how to revise the policy as we experience it.

G. Jubilee Subcommittee on Academic Programs (J. McMahon)

John reported that programs were well attended.

H. Cultural Performances Committee (R. Romeu)

Raquel was delighted to report that concerts were well attended and that is was great to see so many students in attendance. The group will spend the remainder of its funds this year on maintenance of the Ibach piano.

III. Faculty Senate President Resolution (N. Ring)

Nancy Ring asked for the floor to present the following resolution. It passed by acclamation.

Whereas Professor Susan M. Behuniak has served the faculty in an exemplary manner as President of the Faculty Senate, 1996-97, and

Whereas Professor Behuniak has with grace, determination, and diplomacy fulfilled this responsibility on behalf of and in the best interest of the faculty,

We resolve that this statement be approved by acclamation and entered into the minutes of the Full Senate Meeting of April 16, 1997.

IV. Report of the AVP (E. Ryan)

Fr. Ryan announced that in his report to the Board of Trustees he thanks the Senate, its officers, committee chairs, and members for their work this year.

V. Report of the Faculty Senate President (S. Behuniak)

President Behuniak summarized the year as one that began in uncertainty. Back in August when we began the year, the faculty had lost its salary increases, the travel money for undergraduate faculty was woefully underfunded, course load reductions were suspended, departmental budgets were frozen again, and health care benefits were threatened. We have regained much of what we lost.

Left to be addressed are the need for full-time faculty lines, departmental budgets, adjunct salaries, the definition of a low-profit course, and the faculty handbook revision. What cannot be recovered are the time and effort it took to regain these things. She regrets the lost time and energy spent on regaining things that should never have been lost. She asked whether we need to reflect on what some of the lessons are. We have just completed a two-year period of budget volatility. How can we prevent a situation like this where a ripple in the demographics or the budget has this kind of across-the-board devastating impact on academic affairs? How can we prevent a situation where we spend one or two years regaining things that should never have been lost?

With next year looking good financially, as does the next year after that, (a $500,000 surplus is possible next year), the question of what to do still looms. She wishes to come back next year as citizen, rather than officer, and look into the issue of collective bargaining and begin talking to the AAUP and to weigh the pros and cons. A time of calm is the best time to look at this issue, rather than in a time when finances force us to do so.

She thanked the Executive Board, AVP Ryan, Dean Ruwe, President Mitchell for access and their collegiality. The thanked the standing committees and the other officers.

Adjournment came at 5:00 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Inga H. Barnello
Secretary/Treasurer
May 30, 1997

NB. These minutes contain updated information from committee chairs submitted to the faculty senate secretary.