MSU FACULTY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES September 19, 2001 PRESENT: Young, Sherwood, Engel, Mast for Peed, Linker, Leech, Howard, Stewart, Larsen, Ross, Nehrir, McClure/Amend, Lansverk, Levy/Bandyopadhyay, Bogar, Jelinski, Pratt/McKinsey, Lynch, Fisher, Lynes-Hayes, Butterfield, Kempcke, Provost Dooley. ABSENT: Hatfield, Morrill, White, Anderson, Kommers, Benham, Jones, Mooney, Lefcort, Weaver, Locke, Henson, Idzerda, Griffith, Carlstrom. The regularly scheduled meeting was called to order at 4:10 PM by Chair John Sherwood. A quorum was present. The minutes of the September 5, 2001, Faculty Council meeting were approved as distributed. Chair's report - John Sherwood. - The newest regent, John Mercer, will meet Friday, September 21, with Faculty Council, Professional Council, and CEPAC at 8 a.m. in the President's Conference Room. Members are encouraged to attend. - A strategic planning subgroup will discuss and finish the work left undone when the planning retreat of September 10-11 was adjourned early. This subgroup will come up with a strategy for developing a strategic plan for MSU. The larger group that met for the retreat (about 50 people) will meet to discuss the subgroup's recommendations on October 2. - Chair Sherwood has been contacted by faculty regarding issues within departments and colleges. As a body, Faculty Council may not be able to deal with these internal situations, but there currently is no other body at MSU to deal with them. The concern was discussed this morning at the meeting with the President and Provost. A possibility is having an ombudsman in place who can look into these situations. Please contact John with your thoughts on this. - The schedule for upcoming Faculty Council meetings: - September 26 - IDC's - Vice President McCoy - October 3 - Faculty development opportunities on campus - Provost Dooley - October 10 - President's inauguration. University Governance Council will most likely be cancelled. Faculty are encouraged to attend the inauguration and to be part of the processional. Faculty Affairs Committee report - Ron Larsen. - The committee will discuss definitions in the faculty workload policy, P&T policy, and other related policies, and make them consistent in all the documents. This is a topic left over from last year, and the committee hopes to complete the task fairly soon. Policy for Use of Salary Release for Faculty Council Chair and Chair-Elect (attached for members absent). - The policy was developed by the Provost's Office. - In the past, the salary release has not always been passed down to the affected departments. The policy makes it clear that such funds are to be used to provide appropriate release time and that departments are compensated for making possible the release time from the faculty members' teaching, research, or service/research. Large Class Task Force report - John Amend. - Thirty-six people who teach or are involved with large classes met during the summer to discuss ways to make the experience of students in large classes more positive. Almost all students take at least one large class during their first two years at MSU, so improving the large-classroom experience will benefit many students in a relatively small number of classes. - Issues to be considered were divided into three areas: - Facilities issues - lighting, sound, chalk/white boards, etc. Pam Barrett and John Amend are contacts. - Technology issues - overhead projectors, video projects, smart carts, internet access, etc. Jeff Adams and Brad Garnick are contacts. - Instructional issues - use of support staff, large class teaching strategies, workload implications, etc. Sharon Eversman is a contact. - In the short term, sounds systems and lighting will be fixed, new projectors and additional smart carts will be added. - In the mid-term, additional lighting, white boards and fans will be added; screens will be moved. - In the long term, some major classroom renovations are expected. Issues of staffing, instructional strategies, and workload need to be addressed. Upgrading labs and co-ordinating labs and classes will be discussed. - It was suggested there be some kind of assessment to determine the effect of these improvements. Space Allocation Principles (attached for members absent). - The University Facilities Planning Committee has developed principles to be used by department heads and unit managers when space is reallocated. - During discussion, it was pointed out that the last bullet, "Space assignments or allocations should not be made to address personnel issues" may be somewhat unclear and should perhaps be reworded. - "University planning standards" mentioned in bullet 4 are regional and national space allocation standards by specific use. If needed, they are available from Cecilia Vaniman, Facilities Services. - Bullet 6 gives users/occupants of assigned spaces an opportunity for input into decisions about reallocation. - A list of the membership os the University Facilities Planning Committee was distributed. President Gamble asked that such a committee be organized as a policy guideline and policy development committee. The University Facilities Planning Board continues to review building project design. - During discussion, there was consensus that the President should be asked to add representation from faculty on the committee. - It was suggested that department-specific procedures for implementing the principles be put into place. Chair Sherwood will recommend this to the President. Vision/Mission Statements (attached for members absent). - The Vision Statement is short and succinct. It is intended more for internal use than for wide distribution. - The Mission Statements are quite broad but are still somewhat specific for Montana and MSU. The reference to "assessment" in the last bullet is not necessarily a part of the mission, but assessment helps achieve the mission. - If there are comments or specific suggestions about the statements, please contact the Faculty Council Chair. As there was no further business, the meeting adjourned at 5:00 PM Joann Amend, Secretary John Sherwood, Chair