MSU-BOZEMAN FACULTY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES March 22, 2000 PRESENT: Hatfield, Sherwood, McDermott, Burgess, Kommers, Neff, Leech, Benham, Howard, Larsen, Harkin, Nehrir, Mooney, Weaver, Amend, Locke, Lansverk, Levy, Bogar, Bond, Jelinski, McKinsey, Lynch, Butterfield, Scott, Griffith. ABSENT: Ag Econ, O'Neill, Anderson, Peed, Duncan, Jost, Francis, Fisher, Prawdzienski, Carlstrom. The meeting was called to order by Chair John Amend at 4:10 PM. A quorum was present. The minutes of the March 1, 2000, Faculty Council were approved with the following correction: Add the word "million" to the first sentence of Report from SPBC and budget issues so it reads, "It is anticipated there will be an increase in funding of about $1.8 million next year (FY 01) ..." Chair's report - John Amend. - John and Chair Elect Ron Larsen met with President Roark Wednesday during spring break. The President is thinking in the same terms as Faculty Council, in regard to first preparing some general guidelines for making budget decisions. Faculty Affairs Committee report - Jack Jelinski. - The addition to the Conflict of Interest Policy (Faculty Handbook Section 441.01 B) which limits faculty profiting as a result of making recommendations of specific vendors for the purchase of texts or course materials by students (on-line or from other sources) was approved by the administration. - Changes to the Compensation in Excess of Contracted Salary Policy (Faculty Handbook Section 1100) are still under advisement from the University Legal Counsel. - A post-tenure review policy and recommendations for a conciliation process will be brought to the next Faculty Council meeting for discussion. - Each faculty member who applied for a sabbatical will receive a letter from the Provost's Office as notification of whether the sabbatical request was funded. Pat Chansley, Provost's Office, is responding to questions about sabbaticals. The $200,000 + set aside for sabbaticals suggests eight or nine of them will be funded. University budget discussion. - Faculty workload came up during last Wednesday's discussion with President Roark. It appears he will constitute a task force to discuss the issue, because workload does affect the university budget. - Today Council members will discuss general guidelines for making budget decisions (draft attached for members absent) and vote next week to endorse them. There will then be opportunity to make more specific recommendations. A memo from Dean Jerry Bancroft to President Roark regarding budget guidelines; a November 30, 1999, memo regarding the charge to the workload task force (to President Malone from Faculty Council Chair John Amend); and comments from the UGC budget discussion (March 8, 2000) were distributed and are attached for members absent. - Members present formed three discussion groups: Faculty Workload; Program Enhancement; and Salary, Professional Development, Tenure-Track Positions. - Comments from the three work groups follow. Faculty Workload: - Laying off adjuncts to save money is self-defeating, because it is a very-short term solution. Tenure-track faculty have to teach more so have less time for research and service. - Replacing tenure-track faculty with adjuncts is also self-defeating and a short-term solution. Tenure-track faculty do most of the research, and IDC's help support the university. - There needs to be balance and flexibility in teaching loads. All tenure-track faculty should have some teaching responsibility and some research responsibility, although the proportion will vary from faculty member to faculty member and from unit to unit. - If faculty choose to do so and it contributes to the overall mission of the university, "professional practice" designation may be used for some faculty's responsibilities. There would be less scholarship expected in these positions, but the faculty are still to be recognized for their contribution to the university's mission. Program Enhancement: - It was recommended the Tenure-track Position Guideline be rewritten, "Faculty Council acknowledges that tenure-track positions are the currency of state funding to academic departments. Recognizing that enrollment patterns change over time and that these changes may require the reallocation of tenure-track positions, Faculty Council recommends that, all reallocation of faculty tenure-track positions be done according to clearly stated criteria and with open visibility to the campus community. Council further recommends that academic departments where vacancies occur have the first priority in maintaining vacant positions and that the Provost's office base reallocation decisions upon programmatic review of the departments involved. Finally, Council recommends that the Provost include the Deans' Council in all reallocation decisions." Salary, Professional Development, Tenure-track Positions: - Salary increases are merited. - The legislature funded them. - Delaying salaries hasn't changed behavior in managing the university budget. - The work group wants Faculty Council to consider a motion next week to endorse the memo from Dean Jerry Bancroft to President Roark. During brief discussion, the point was made that attention should not be diverted from the recommendations Faculty Council will forward. There will be more discussion of an endorsement next week. - After the guidelines have been rewritten to include comments from today's discussion, they will be e-mailed to Faculty Council members to share with their departments. Final comment will be taken at next week's Faculty Council meeting before calling for endorsement of the guidelines. As there was no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:05 PM. Joann Amend, Secretary