[approved February 8, 2007]

Minutes of the Executive Committee of the Academic Senate

February 1, 2007

St. Mary’s 113 B; 12:00 AM

 

Present:  D. Biers (presiding), D. Courte, G. DeMarco, P. Johnson, M. Lofton, W. Luckett, M. Morton, J. O’Gorman, R. Penno, A. Seielstad, R. Wells

 

 

Roll Call:  

Eleven of the twelve members of the Committee were present.

 

Prayer:

D. Biers opened the meeting with a prayer.

 

Approval of Minutes:

January 25, 2007 approved with minor corrections.

 

Announcements:

  • D. Biers announced that he is working on organizing ECAS meetings with individuals regarding the Campus Mater Plan, the Honors Program, Faculty Benefits, and the Graduate School.
  • D. Biers announced that he has a draft of the campaign strategy related to faculty.  Once this has been further developed in the Provost Council, it will be shared with the Executive Committee of the Academic Senate.

 

Old Business:

D. Biers reported on the current draft of the “University Committee to Review Policies and Procedures for Promotion and Tenure.”  The question was again raised as to whether or not the Academic Senate should continue to work on this issue without first determining whether or not there is endorsement, at least in the Executive Committee, for the Board of Trustees delegating its authority on issues of tenure and promotion and for establishing a University-wide committee.  Several reasons were articulated for moving forward with the document in its current form.  These included:  improving the promotion and tenure process, protecting faculty from arbitrary decisions during the process, making the process more transparent, protecting the rights of those in the process, increasing the faculty voice on these issues, addressing potential legal issues by clearly articulating processes and procedures.

 

Agenda items for February 9 meeting of the Academic Senate:

  • Discussion of the current draft of DOC I-06-10, “University Committee to Review Policies and Procedures for Promotion and Tenure.”  The draft of 02-01-07 will be placed on the Senate webpage with a link to the original draft. 
  • Discussion of the draft report for the Higher Learning Commission.  One person from each standing committee is to be assigned one of the five chapters of the report.  This should result in at least three members of the academic Senate having read each chapter.  This will facilitate discussion.  D. Biers will consult to be sure that readers have been identified.

 

Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 1:10 PM.

 

Respectfully Submitted,

 

Patricia A. Johnson, Secretary