MSU-BOZEMAN FACULTY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES May 3, 2000 Members Present: Hatfield, Sherwood, McDermott, Kommers, Peed, Neff, Leech, Benham, Howard, Larsen, Harkin, Nehrir, Mooney, Kerans for Weaver, Amend, Locke, Lansverk, Levy, Bogar, Bond, Jelinski, McKinsey, Lynch, Prawdzienski, Butterfield, Scott, Griffith, Carlstrom. Members Absent: Ag Econ/Econ, O'Neill, Burgess, Anderson, Duncan, Jost, Francis, Fisher. 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 April 26, 2000, meeting were approved as distributed. Chair's report - John Amend. - Chair Amend read an e-mail which he sent to President Roark after the decision was made to freeze salary raises and the spending on most new initiatives to balance the university budget. University Governance Council Nominating Committee report. - Henry Sorenson, Architecture is a nominee for a position on the University Facilities Planning Board. His name was approved by Council to be forwarded to the President. - The faculty work load task force will be constituted from faculty, deans and department heads. The task force will collect information during the summer. - Nominees presented by Nominating Committee are John Amend, Dean Drenk, and Bill Locke. Ed Mooney was nominated from the floor. Kim Scott moved recommending the entire slate of names be forwarded to the President. The motion was seconded and carried. Faculty Affairs Committee report - None. Budget discussion. - Chair Amend prefaced remarks by saying an issue is how to get adequate funding for the university system from the legislature. MSU is consistently underfunded for the breadth of its mission, so difficult choices must be made. - Bill Locke followed up on his draft motion of several months ago to dissolve Council. He stated he does not see that faculty concerns are being taken seriously. A lot of energy is being expended as faculty express their opinions and concerns, but the input from faculty doesn't seem to go anywhere. Is there a better way to have faculty input? - It was suggested a formal outside audit be done to find out what is causing the shortfall in funding at MSU. - After extended discussion concerning the kind of response Faculty Council would hope to get from a vote of no confidence in MSU's upper administration or from some other resolution and of the current budget situation at MSU, Duane Griffith moved a vote of no confidence in administration at the level directly below the MSU president. The motion was seconded. After discussion, the motion was voted on and did not carry. - Jack Jelinski moved 1) Faculty Council vote to censure the fiscal management of Montana State University and endorse the Faculty Council plan (distributed earlier in the meeting) for addressing future budget and planning issues, and 2) the Faculty Council Chair be made a part of the President's Executive Council. The motion was seconded and carried. - After discussion of the effects of a salary freeze on all employees, but especially on those within a year of retirement, Ed Mooney moved protecting soon-to-be-retired faculty from the salary freeze, if it is legal to do so. The motion was seconded and carried. - Duane Griffith moved requesting that strategic planning for the university be put on a fast track. The motion was seconded and carried. - It was recommended that when the motions are forwarded to the President, the accompanying memo express that faculty are very angry and feel they are victims of other people's mismanagement. As there was no further business, the meeting adjourned at 5:15 PM. Joann Amend, Secretary