MSU-BOZEMAN FACULTY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
                           February 2, 2000
                                   
PRESENT: Sherwood, McDermott, Kommers, Peed, Neff, Leech, Benham,
         Howard, Duncan, Larsen, Jost, Harkin, Nehrir, Mooney, Weaver,
         Amend, Locke, Lansverk, Levy, Bogar, Bond, Jelinski, Francis,
         McKinsey, Lynch, Fisher, Prawdzienski, Butterfield, Scott,
         Griffith.

ABSENT: Ag Econ, Hatfield, O'Neill, Burgess, Anderson, Carlstrom.

The meeting was called to order at 4:10 PM by Chair John Amend.  It
was determined a quorum was present.  The minutes of the January 26,
2000, meeting were approved as distributed.

Chair's report - John Amend.
    - Deputy Commissioner of Higher Education Scott will not be able
    to attend the meeting today.
    - Jerry Coffey, interim Chair of the MSU Benefits Committee, will
    report on the last Interunit Benefits Committee meeting later in
    this meeting.
    - John and Chair Elect Ron Larsen met with interim President Roark
    this morning.
         - He views his work here in the short term as keeping the MSU
         system moving ahead on an even keel.  If he remains here a
         year or more, he will take a more proactive roll.  His
         contract lasts through June, 2001, if necessary, but it is
         hoped a new president will be hired before then.
         - There was brief discussion of the MSU President Search
         - The list of topics from the two UGC Steering Committee/
         President's Executive Council retreats fall semester were
         given to the President.  He would like to have a similar
         retreat within a month.
              - If Dr. Roark is here a short time (six months), he
              will not move forward with the workload/teaching load
              policy.  If he is here an extended period of time, he
              will consider the policy.
         - President Roark is scheduled to attend Faculty Council on
         February 16.

Report from the Interunit Benefits Committee - Jerry Coffey.
    - The Interunits Benefits Committee met in Helena February 26.
    Jerry, as past Chair, attended the meeting, because there
    currently is no permanent Chair of the MSU Benefits Committee.
    - In March, the benefits and premiums for the coming year (July
    2000 - June 2001) will be decided.
    - The financial report for the year is not as good now as it was
    three months ago, because of three or four organ transplants.  The
    balance above the required reserve at the end of the year is now
    projected to be $.5 million.
    - Medical inflation is currently running at 8%, pharmacy inflation
    is running at 17%.  Although the state will be providing $10 more
    per month per employee for benefits, with inflation, $23 would be
    needed to maintain the status quo.  Therefore, there probably will
    be an increase of about $10/month in premiums.
    - Use of HMOs, where practical, is being discussed.  They are
    available in many cities in the state but not in Bozeman.
    - There has been a lawsuit filed for coverage of same sex domestic
    partners.  The cost appears to be negligible.  The issue has been
    passed on to the Commissioner of Higher Education for
    consideration.
    - An act has been passed to provide mental health parity (Mental
    health coverage can't be limited to less than other health
    coverage).  The insurance plan will probably conform to the act.
    - The plan has an exclusion for sexual dysfunction.  The committee
    will probably reaffirm that Viagra is not covered by the pharmacy
    plan.
    - The whole issue of screening may be discussed in the future.
    Some screens seem to be overused and some are not provided.  Some
    additional screens may be covered this year (osteoporosis).
    - Wholesale vision exam preferred providers may be identified
    through bids.
    - Naturopathy is not covered.
    - There is cost transfer in the plan.  About ? of the MSU
    employees have "single" coverage, and this covers the additional
    cost of spouses, early retirees, and Medicare-eligible retirees.
    - The medical savings plan is quite typical and must conform to
    IRS regulations.
     - Some issues have been discussed concerning the MSU Benefits
Committee.
         - Should the Chair be a faculty member?  The Chair probably
         should be.
         - The Interunit Benefits Committee now has 24 members, 12
         union and 12 non-union.  The union membership cuts across all
         employment lines on the unionized campuses.
         - The MSU Benefits Committee operates by consensus and there
         is rarely a vote.  Continued broad representation on the
         local committee is important.
         - At the Interunits Benefits Committee level, the MSU
         Benefits Committee has four vote: Vicki Whitney (MPEA), Ken
         Emerson (President's appointee), Susan Alt (Employee
         Relations - Human Resources), and the Chair of the local
         committee.

Proposed Changes for MSU Benefits Committee - further discussion.
    - Three changes are proposed: One of the two faculty on the
    committee may be retired, add the immediate past Chair of the MSU
    Benefits Committee as a nonvoting ex officio member, and add a
    statement that the Chair may be retired.  Jack Jelinski moved the
    proposed changes be accepted and forwarded to the President and to
    the Vice President for Administration and Finance.  The motion was
    seconded and carried.

University Governance Council Nominating Committee report.
    - Jack Fisher moved that Sandra Osborne, Health and Human
    Development, be nominated to fill the position of Doug Young on
    the MSU Benefits Committee while he is on sabbatical and that Don
    Mathre, Emeritus Professor in Plant Sciences, be nominated as
    Chair of the Benefits Committee.  The motion was seconded and
    carried.

Faculty Affairs Committee report - Jack Jelinski.
    - The Sabbatical Committee provided the Provost's office with its
    report on January 4.  Additional information was provided about
    January 12.  At that time, the Provost's Office said it would be 2
    or 3 weeks before sabbaticals were announced.

Procedures used for President Search Committee Nominations.
    - A memo outlining the procedures used by University Governance
    Council Steering Committee to gather nominations and to forward
    them to Dr. Joyce Scott, Deputy Commissioner, was distributed
    (attached for members absent).  Faculty Council members are
    encouraged to distribute the information to their departments.

As there was no further business, the meeting adjourned at 5:05 PM.

Joann Amend, Secretary