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