Minutes:  FACAS Meeting,   3/13/08

 

Time and Location:  10:30 – 11:45 am, KL 505

 

Present:  D. Biers, G. Doyle (chair), E. Gustafson, P. Johnson, L. Laubach, L. Snyder, R. Wells

 

Absent: T. Lasley, C. Letavec, Y. Raffoul D. Sink

 

Guest: S. Hughes, L. Rismiller

 

1. Minutes of 2/28/08 were approved as written.

 

2. Sheila Hughes, who brought the lack of a maternity leave policy at UD to the attention of the Academic Senate several years ago, spoke to the committee concerning the history of developing the present policy, some of its deficiencies, and suggested improvements.

 

a.       The present policy encourages flexibility, but still has some problems. 

b.      Because it states that a release from teaching over two semesters is not possible, it does not adequately account for deliveries near the end of the fall semester. 

c.       The policy does not address maternity leave for a delivery during the summer prior to four weeks before August 15.

d.      For a new faculty member there is a question of accruing sufficient medical leave benefits. 

e.       Lecturers are not addressed in the policy.

f.        The policy does not consider paternity, adoption or foster care leave.

g.       There is some confusion over medical leave/disability leave/maternity leave.  Where does the money come from?

h.       Who absorbs the cost of substitute instructors?

 

  1. While it was pointed out the UD’s maternity leave policy is better than many other universities as of 2004, we should be taking the lead in this area because we advertise ourselves as family oriented.

 

  1. One suggestion was to extend the leave over an entire 12 months with reduced teaching loads over two semesters.  For example, mothers of summer babies teach one course in the fall and two in the winter.

 

  1. It was suggested that we concentrate on maternity leave only.  But it was counter-suggested that we need to consider paternity, adoption and foster care also.

 

  1. Lisa Rismiller will be constructing a questionnaire that will be sent electronically to all faculty asking for opinions concerning maternity leave.  It was suggested that the questionnaire consider paternity, adoption and foster care also.  It was also suggested that questions be specifically grouped for administrators, faculty who have used the present maternity leave policy, and faculty who had been involved in a birth situation before the present maternity leave policy was enacted.

 

7. The next meeting of the FAC will be Thursday, March 27, 2008 in KL 505.  The purpose will be to review a draft of the questionnaire being assembled by Lisa Rismiller.