You are here

Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes November 18, 2015

Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes November 18, 2015

The senate meeting was preceded by a rap session starting at 3:40pm with Provost Henderson:
Provost Henderson introduced Paul Thomas, director of Human Resources and chair of the task force charged with finding alternatives to the new pay plan.  A number of faculty members spoke about the detrimental impact of the announced new pay plan on faculty who currently are on a 12 month pay schedule.  Since this is an urgent issue of critical importance to faculty, the rap session discussion with Provost Henderson continued past the normal senate meeting start time.

Senate Meeting called to order at 5:01 PM

Senator Wooddell made a motion that due to the late start of the meeting, the senate hold a regular meeting in two weeks, on Dec. 2, and that the current meeting be an abbreviated one limited to covering pending motions.  That motion was seconded and passed. 

Unfinished Business: 

Senator Wooddell presented a motion from the Committee on the Status of Women requesting that a Gannt chart of a plan to obtain the data requested by the committee be constructed by the administration and delivered to the Faculty Senate.  The motion passed unanimously.

Lewis Deaton presented Provost Henderson’s response to the amendments made by the senate at the October senate meeting to the proposed Policy on Extending the Probationary Employment Period.  After discussion of the issues, senator Wooddell made a motion to replace “director of diversity….” with the appropriate academic chain of command as was in the original proposed policy.  The motion was seconded and passed.  The faculty handbook change establishing the Policy on Extending the Probationary Employment Period can now be voted on at the next scheduled senate meeting.

Next senator Wooddell presented a motion to delete the section of the university’s Strategic Plan regarding election of senators and composition of the faculty senate.  The motion was seconded by Chad Parker.  Dr. Deaton stated that the strategic plan has been revised as a result of comments received so that the current wording is not what was originally distributed.  Senator McDonald suggested an amendment to say that the faculty senate should be the ones to determine the composition of the faculty senate.  Senator Wooddell’s motion was tabled until the next meeting so that the current wording of the strategic plan could be considered.

New Business: 

Senator McDonald made a motion that the senate request that the Provost add an additional faculty member to the recently constituted payroll task force.  The motion was seconded.  Senator Wooddell suggested a friendly amendment stating that the senate requests that Jamie Baldridge, or if he cannot serve then David Baker, be the additional faculty member added to the task force.  The motion as amended passed.

Meeting adjourned at 5:36 pm.

Kathleen Knierim
Secretary