MSU FACULTY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES April 25, 2001 PRESENT: Young, Sherwood, McDermott, Kommers, Peed, Benham, Howard, Stewart, Larsen, Harkin, Nehrir, Mooney, Weaver, Locke, Lansverk, Levy, Bogar, Bond, Jelinski, McKinsey, Lynch, Fisher, Prawdzienski, Butterfield, Scott. ABSENT: Hatfield, Morrill, White, Anderson, Linker, Leech, Jost, Lefcort, McClure, Francis, Griffith, Carlstrom. The meeting was called to order by Chair Ron Larsen at 4:10 PM. It was determined a quorum was present. The minutes of the April 18, 2001, Faculty Council meeting were approved as distributed. Chair's report - Ron Larsen. - Faculty Forums for candidates for Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs were announced. All faculty are encouraged to attend. - Dr. Joane McKay - April 30, 4:00 PM, 275 SUB - Dr. Joseph Fedock - May 7, 4:00 PM, 275 SUB - Dr. David Dooley - May 9, 4:00 PM, 275 SUB - UPBAC met April 24. - It was unanimously agreed that staff salary increases of 4% should be included in the FY02 budget. - Departmental budget worksheets are available for UPBAC. However, it will be difficult for members to know what might be cut in many of the budgets without familiarity with specific departments. Faculty Council members are encouraged to look at budgets (http://www.montana.edu/upba/) in areas where they have specific knowledge and send recommendations for budget cuts to Chair Larsen or Chair- Elect Sherwood. Please include the line number assigned to the department, the amount of the recommended reduction, and the rationale for the reduction. - One million dollars for new programs has been included in next year's budget, but no new programs have been approved by UPBAC. Those dollars could be used to restore cuts as well as to fund new programs. - Before the budgeting process is completed, the committee will again consider all proposed reductions in light of whether the cuts will affect the university's ability to raise revenue or adversely impact the quality of our academic programs. - The faculty line reversion report was mentioned at today's meeting with the president and provost, because it does not contain all of the information desired by members of Faculty Council. At its meeting tomorrow, UGC Steering Committee will discuss what will be useful to include in the report. - The faculty pay improvement plan proposal was distributed for discussion. It will be sent to UPBAC in a standard form used for new initiatives. This proposal addresses salary only, not benefits. Benefits could be submitted in a different initiative. Many university benefits are controlled at the state level, so they cannot be addressed at the university level. - Four graphs of MSU faculty salaries, compared to a regional peer group, were discussed briefly. Using any of the four graphs, salaries for associate and full professors at MSU have fallen behind the peer group because of delays and pay freezes in recent years. UGC Nominating Committee report - A draft ballot was distributed. Nominees are still needed for Chair Elect, Chair of Faculty Affairs Committee, and Chair of Grievance Committee. A Faculty Council liaison with the New Core Task Force is also needed. Faculty Affairs Committee report - Marvin Lansverk. - May 4 is the deadline for submitting proposals for next year's Montana Campus Compact fellowships. The grants are to promote "service learning", which means professor's students go into the community to do service, using what they are learning in class. Marvin received one of the fellowships last year and found that service learning is a worthwhile experience for his students. Questions for Candidates for Provost. - Questions to be asked of the three candidates at the faculty forums were discussed. - Any comments about the candidates should be sent to Bruce McLeod, Chair of the Provost search committee, with copies to President Gamble. Definitions of Research, Teaching and Service (in regard to proposed Faculty Handbook Section 480) - Faculty Handbook promotion and tenure definitions, the workload definitions, and proposed combinations of the two were distributed. They will be discussed at tomorrow's Steering Committee meeting. Resolution Regarding Faculty Sabbaticals. - A draft resolution to next year's Faculty Council regarding development of an initiative to substantially improve funding for sabbaticals was distributed. There was consensus that although the issue should be on next year's Faculty Council agenda, a resolution is not needed. Proposed Amendment to Faculty Handbook Section 1312 (Conciliation and Grievance Complaints - Deadlines for Filing) - It is proposed that the following wording be added to Section 1312: If notification by the Provost and Vice President is made less than thirty (30) days before the end of a faculty member's contract period, the faculty member's right to file a complaint will be extended to October 1 of the following contract period. - After discussion, Jack Jelinski moved approval of the policy as an interim policy. The motion was seconded and carried. - The amendment will be forwarded to the administration for approval. As there was no further business, the meeting adjourned at 5:00 PM. Joann Amend, Secretary Ron Larsen, Chair