Index
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Site Index |
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October 7, 1974
November 4, 1974 December 2, 1974 |
January 20, 1975
February 17, 1975 March 12, 1975 April 14, 1975 |
May 12, 1975
June 2, 1975 July 21, 1975 August 18, 1975 |
COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES
Mr. Jones presented the report of the summer meeting of the Committee on Committees. The report nominated members to many of the Senate Committees. The committee report was approved with the change in spelling of the names of two nominees.SABBATICAL LEAVE COMMITTEE
Mr. Stephens presented a progress report for the Sabbatical Leave Committee. A full written report will be submitted this quarter to the Senate members. The committee is developing a faculty position on the Sabbatical question. This position will be based on 3 broad lines of inquiry: 1) the academic justifications for sabbaticals, 2) practices of other institutions of higher education comparable to the University of Tennessee, 3) the existing arrangements in lieu of an official sabbatical policy that are present on this campus for aiding faculty members who arrange their own sabbatical-like programs.BUDGET ALLOCATION COMMITTEE
Mr. Dittrich pointed out that many budgetary decisions are made early in the academic year and the committee is soliciting input from Senators.RETIREMENT COMMITTEE
Mr. Leuthold commented on the deficiencies in our present disability program and the retirement committee is considering establishing an improved disability program (with the cooperation of the University). It is estimated that 0.5-1.0% of an individual's salary would fund a supplementary program giving full disability insurance to members. The committee solicits comments from Senators concerning this proposal and about any other matters that they think the retirement committee should be considering.EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Mr. Keller presented a report of the activities of the Executive Committee. The major portion of this report concerned the progress on a search for a Vice Chancellor of Business and Finance. (A copy of this portion of the report is attached.)ISSUES OF CONCERN TO THE SENATORS
Mr. Jones made some general comments concerning responses to his questionnaire to Senators soliciting information for the Committee on Committees. He expressed his appreciation to Luther Keller for his fine work as President of the Senate during the 1973-74 year.UNDERGRADUATE COUNCIL
Mr. Norman presented the Undergraduate Council report for the meeting of October 1, 1974 (distributed to Senate members prior to the meeting). The major item of business at the October 1 meeting was the report from the Committee on Grading. The Undergraduate Council approved six recommendations of the Committee on Grading and presented them to the Senate for approval. The disposition of these 6 recommendations by the Senate was as follows:1) Following 2 unsuccessful attempts to amend the first recommendation concerning the adoption of a single system of nonconventional grading for the entire campus and that the system be a Satisfactory/No Credit (S/NC) system, this recommendation was approved.The proposal by the music department regarding the requirements for acceptance into the applied music courses and the course changes in the Colleges of Law and Home Economics were approved by the Senate.
2) The second recommendation establishing anonymity of S/NC students, was approved following lengthy discussion.
3) The third recommendatio
n concerning eligibility rules for electing S/NC grading, was rejected. 4) Recommendation 4, concerning add/drop uniformity, was approved.
5) Recommendation 5, concerning proficiency examinations, was amended so that the penultimate sentence reads "An exception to this is when a proficiency examination is graded only on an S/NC basis."
6) The sixth recommendation, eliminating grades of E and X, was passed unanimously.
GRADUATE COUNCIL
Mr. Smith presented the report of the Graduate Council meeting of October 3 (distributed to Senate members prior to the meeting). The report was approved as submitted.ANNOUNCEMENTS
The reports of the Subcommittee on Selection of a Vice-Chancellor of Business and Finance, the Executive Committee, the Committee on Committees and the report of the President's meeting with the Senate Presidents of the other UT campuses were presented to the Senate but discussion of these reports was delayed until the next meeting due to the lack of a quorum and the lateness of the hour.EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Mr. Jones presented the report of the Executive Committee dated November 4. The members of the subcommittee to prepare a statement on academic rights and responsibilities of students and. faculty have been appointed. These members and their representation are Lida Barrett (Faculty Affairs Committee), Felicia Felder (Student Affairs Committee), Harry Rutledge (Academic Policy Committee), Joe Cohen (undergraduate student), Silvia Sergent (undergraduate student), and Mary Kelly (graduate student). Everyone was urged to give the committee members input and advice on their views on academic rights and responsibilities of both faculty and students. There was considerable discussion concerning both the need for the statement and the issues involved.REPORT ON MEETING OF THE FACULTY COUNSELORS TO THE PRESIDENT
Mr. Jones presented the report of the meeting at UT Martin of the Faculty Counselors to the President. Mr. Jones called attention primarily to the discussion at that meeting of "faculty interchanges on the various campuses" and to his hopes that this could be realized.COMMITTEE ON ACADEMIC CALENDAR
The status report of the Academic Calendar Committee prepared by W.T. Becker was presented by Mr. Jones. Mr. Lusby had agreed to answer questions for the committee. It was suggested that the committee come forth with alternative proposals when it submits its report so that the Senate could do more than accept or reject the committee recommendations.DISCUSSION OF NOMINATIONS MADE BY THE COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES
Mr. Klein presented his "analysis of membership of faculty Senate committees" showing that the majority of the committees are staffed primarily by non-senators. Since much of the work of the Senate is done by these committees, Mr. Klein asked for an expression from the Senate of its "sense of the matter" so that it could perhaps give instructions to the Committee on Committees for the future as to how it wants its committees staffed. Mr. Jones responded that many of the members of Senate committees were former senators and since senators are not eligible to succeed themselves this arrangement was a mechanism for tapping their expertise. He also presented an analysis prepared by Robert Wilson of the faculty nominated for committees during the summer meeting of the Committee on Committees. This report indicates that the majority of new members of the committees are senators. The discussion that followed indicated that the majority felt that too many senators were not represented on any committee.LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE
Mr. Ungs presented a status report of the Legislative Committee. The specific tasks of the committee are 1) monitoring legislative activity of the general assembly so as to provide some means by which the faculty through the Faculty Senate can react and communicate its positions relative to proposed legislation, and 2) studying and recommending through appropriate channels needed legislation better to serve the needs and interests of the faculty. The legislative committee has spent most of its time trying to define what it can do within its broad charge. The members felt that their role was not that of a lobbying group. Mr. Leuthold suggested that the committee should have representatives at the Saturday meetings of the Knox County delegation.COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES
Mr. Jones reported that David Chambers has been nominated to be Chairperson of the Development and Alumni Affairs Committee and has accepted the nomination.FACULTY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
Mr. Stephens gave a progress report for the Faculty Affairs Committee. They have been primarily concerned with assisting the Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs in the development of broad guidelines to be used in the awarding of Faculty Development Grants.EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
The Executive Committee met with the Vice Chancellor for Administration and members of the committee preparing a Role and Scope Statement for UTK. Mr. Ebersole commented that as soon as the Role and Scope Statement is finished it will be published in the Daily Beacon with the announcement that it would be reviewed by the Senate and the Student Co-ordinating Council.UNDERGRADUATE COUNCIL
Mr. Norman presented the Undergraduate Council report for the meetings of November 5 and December 3. At the November 5 meeting they approved three proposals of the Committee on Grading and presented them to the Senate for consideration. These proposals would complete the non-conventional grading policy adopted by the Senate in the Fall Quarter. The disposition of these 3 proposals by the Senate was as follows:1) The first recommendation was amended slightly to read "There should be no individual college or school eligibility rules establishing a certain GPA or a certain number of hours of completed course-work for students electing non-conventional grading. That is, any student should be allowed to opt the S/NC system of grading and use the credit earned as credit toward graduation if the course lies in a permissible area for non- conventional grading and provided that the total number of hours so elected for S/NC grading does not exceed the maximum number permitted."These three recommendations were approved as amended.
2) The second recommendation was amended to read "A student may not repeat a course for S/NC if he or she has received a conventional grade (A, B, C, D, F, or I)."
3) The third recommendation was amended to read "An instructor, department, or college may not exclude a particular course or courses from being elected for S/NC grading without the approval of the Undergraduate Council and the Faculty Senate."
GRADUATE COUNCIL
Mr. Smith presented the Graduate Council minutes for the meetings of November 7 and December 12 (distributed to Senate members prior to the meeting). The actions of the Graduate Council were confirmed by the Senate.PRESIDENT'S REPORT
Mr. Jones reported on the following items:EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
A written report of the Executive Committee was submitted by President Jones. He moved acceptance of the charge to the Budget Committee contained in the report. This motion was passed by voice vote. At this point Gleb Mamantov asked to make a statement. His statement and motion were:"Recent publicity dealing with salaries of selected individuals at UT, almost exclusively involving medical school and administrative personnel, may play a very harmful role as the legislature considers appropriations for higher education in general and UTK in particular. A number of us believe that it would be highly desirable for the UTK Faculty Senate to publicize widely the average salary rates for the four academic ranks at UTK and to compare these figures with similar figures from the state universities in neighboring southern states, e.g., the Universities of Georgia, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Virginia. It is interesting to note that according to last years AAUP figures, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and University of North Carolina, Greensboro, for example, ranked above UTK as far as compensation is concerned. This is certainly true of the state universities mentioned earlier. I, therefore, move that the Executive Committee, in cooperation with the Budget Committee, obtain the averages for the four academic ranks at UTK as well as information on comparable salaries of other universities in the South and that this information be publicized promptly and widely across the state."Following considerable discussion this motion was passed. by voice vote.
AD HOC COMMITTEE ON STUDENT-FACULTY RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Harry Rutledge reported on the activities of this committee. They are currently investigating 3 areas of student rights and faculty responsibilities, 1) a lack of definition at the beginning of courses of the nature, objectives and specific requirements oil the course, 2) the handling, of tests, the need for advance announcement of the major tests, relevance of the tests to course content, prompt return of the tests and opportunity for discussion of them, 3) classroom atmosphere.. The committee is preparing a statement to be proposed to the Senate and then to be incorporated into Chapter of the Faculty Handbook. (in particular, paragraphs 2 and 3). The committee is also at work on a statement on faculty rights and the responsibilities of students to be proposed as a modification of pages 54-55 of Hill Topics.FACULTY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
Otis Stephens presented a memorandum prepared by Chancellor Reese, with the advice of Vice-Chancellor Herndon and the Faculty Affairs Committee which in general indicates the scope and possibilities of the Faculty/Staff Development Grants and also its current limitations. Two points Mr. Stephens made were 1) the allocation of funds for the implementation of this program is at the moment. non-existent; and 2) these grants are intended for a variety of purposes. They can he used for doctoral work by people wishing to complete a doctoral degree; however, they are by no means confined to that kind of function. They can serve in connection with research, post-doctoral programs and also, they are programs which people are encouraged to apply to participate in. There is no indication that the Faculty/Staff Development Program can be used in any way to force or coerce a faculty member to move into a particular kind of program. Rather the idea is that normal application procedures somewhat similar to those used in connection with our research grant programs would be employed. They would be reviewed on a year by year basis and up-dated when needed.RETIREMENT AND FRINGE BENEFITS COMMITTEE
Prank Leuthold presented the report of the Retirement and Fringe Benefits Committee. They have formed the following subcommittees, 1) retirement, 2) medical insurance, 3) disability program, 4) summer school pay, and 5) improved communications. The 4th and 5th subcommittees are joint committees working with the Faculty Affairs Committee. All of these committees are meeting on a regular basis and faculty input is welcome.UNDERGRADUATE COUNCIL
Mr. Norman presented the Undergraduate Council report for the meeting of January 14 (distributed to Senate members prior to the meeting). Following approximately 40 minutes of discussion the report was approved as presented with the exception that the proposal involving A, B, C/NC grading for freshman English be referred back to the Undergraduate Council for further consideration.PRESIDENT'S REPORT
Mr. Jones reported on the following items:1. On February 20, at Nashville, the Faculty Senate Presidents of Martin, Chattanooga, Medical Units and Nashville agreed that such meetings were of value. Mr. Prados thinks that regular meetings on a formal basis would be very useful, and will assist in formalizing the meetings.
2. On February 21 the Board of Trustees Academic Affairs Committee, of which the Senate President is an ex-officio member, met in Nashville. Among the matters acted upon was a decision to award Associate of Arts degrees to students in "College-within-the-Walls" (prison).
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
1. There was a meeting with Mr. Boling on February 19 and. with Mr. Johnson on February 20. At the latter the Budget Committee was present. Members of the Executive Committee and Budget Committee would be happy to discuss with interested individuals the information imparted at these meetings.SYSTEM SELF-STUDY
Mr. Prados reported on the progress of the System Self-Study. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools approached Mr. Boling about a year and a half ago to ask if the University would undertake a self-study of the state- wide university system. Mr. Boling appointed a Steering Committee in 1973 (chaired by Mr. Prados) to organize the self-study, i.e., to decide how it would be carried out, to direct it, and to prepare the final report. 'The actual study however was to be carried out by the 14 "functional committees" which include representatives from each campus and from the State-wide operating units of the University. Formed and charged last summer, the committees submitted a preliminary report in November, and a second progress report in mid-February. Final committee reports are due in July and the Steering Committee hopes to have the reports compiled into a Summary Report in the Fall. During the question and answer session that followed Mr. Prados' description of the self-study, a question was asked as to whether anyone was studying the need for all of the administrators in the System Administration. Mr. Prados said that part of the self-study would focus on "administrative fat." A question was also raised concerning the importance attached by the administration to the self study concerning the time span of more than 2 years from start to finish. Mr. Prados commented on the difficulties of getting organized in the beginning due to his having been appointed "Acting Chancellor" and to the difficulties in arranging committee meetings when the members are geographically spread over the state. A further comment was made regarding the relatively large number of administrators on the committees.UTK ROLE AND SCOPE STATEMENT
Mr. Ebersole listed the members of the Committee responsible for the Statement and presented the statement to the Senate with a description of the means by which input had been solicited from faculty, staff and students. Several questions were answered by Mr. Ebersole. One question concerned the lack of a clear statement of the appropriateness of faculty guidance and advising of students in academic and career matters. Discussion continued during the report of the Educational Policies Committee.EDUCATIONAL POLICY COMMITTEE
Mr. Herndon presented the report of this committee which recommended four changes to the Role and Scope Statement. These were:1. In the section on "Individual and Societal Needs," in the fourth paragraph, second sentence, the words "and service" should be inserted after "research." The scope of this section is broad and the exclusion of the service dimension of the University appears to be an oversight. In the same section or a following one (Student Body Composition), consideration should be given to a more explicit statement of the role of the University in the enhancement of social. mobility in a democratic society.To these four changes was added a fifth at the suggestion of Mr. Utley, that the Statement include a section on faculty guidance and advising of students in academic and career matters. The Senate endorsed the Role and Scope Statement with the request that the Committee give further consideration to the five suggestions mentioned above.
2. The first sentence of the section on Student Body Composition ought to be changed: "subscribes to the basic land-grant philosophy" should be deleted and replaced by a work like "seeks." There is a diversity of opinion as to what is meant by a "basic" land-grant philosophy. Members of the Committee with special knowledge of the history of land-grant institutions would be happy to discuss this question further with the Role and Scope Committee if it would be helpful.
3. It is suggested that in the section on "New Programs" that a statement (or modification of present statements) be made to the effect that the University provides administrative and faculty governing structures which ensure the capacity of response to changing external conditions and which encourage sound administrative practices, interdisciplinary learning and new curricular design.
4. In the section concerning Statewide and National Responsibility, the Committee recommends that there be some emphasis to capitalizing on the unique resources of UTK--for example, the proximity of large federal installations.
FACULTY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
Mr. Stephens reported that the Faculty Affairs Committee had agreed to appoint a subcommittee charged with examining questions of tenure and promotion as they affect women members of the faculty. The committee has also discussed the statements in the 1973 THEC Master Plan on the role of faculty in higher education.BYLAWS COMMITTEE
Mr. Wagoner requested that Senators give guidance to the Committee on the request of several Senators that the Senate Committees have more members of the Senate. However the Bylaws Committee has received few suggestions about how the Committees should be structured and how the changes should be made, and the Committee would like guidance on this point. The Committee expects to make a complete report to the Senate during the Spring Quarter.RETIREMENT COMMITTEE
Mr. Leuthold reported on the retirement committee which meets once a month. Anyone is welcome to attend or to receive the minutes of the meetings.UNDERGRADUATE COUNCIL
Mr. Norman presented the report of the February 4 meeting of the Undergraduate Council. The Senate confirmed the actions of the Council on Curricular matters that start on page 3266.GRADUATE COUNCIL
Mr. Smith presented the report of the January 23 meeting of the Graduate Council. Particular attention was called to the actions of the Graduate Council in approving an allowance of the transfer of up to one year's credit in the School of Social Work Program from other institutions providing the usual rules of transfer are met. The School of Social Work is a 2 year program and the students would still be required to complete a full 3 quarters of work at UTK.OLD BUSINESS
The press release concerning faculty salaries and faculty service at UTK has been prepared and will be released on Thursday. The faculty salaries at UTK are compared very generally with salaries from comparable institutions in neighboring states. In relationship to salaries for Professors we are near the middle of the scale and at the lower ranks we are in the lower 6th, 7th and 8th of the group. The press release also emphasizes the public service aspects of the faculty including ways in which many professors bring money into the University.PRESIDENT'S REPORT
Arthur Jones presented a report of the Memphis meeting on April 7 of the Faculty Senate Presidents of the UT System. A major topic at that meeting was the necessity to prepare a Senate position concerning financial exigency.EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
1. At the request of the Executive Committee the Educational Policy Committee has gathered information concerning revisions to the Master Plan of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission. This material was approved by the Executive Committee and forwarded to the THEC.COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES
The Committee on Committees has formed a Nominating Committee for nominating new officers for next year. This nominating committee is composed of Joe Googe, Jim Liles, Carroll Southards, Otis Stephens, Mary Nelle Traylor and, as an alternate, Joe Wilkerson.STUDENT AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
Clint Allison presented the report of the Student Affairs Committee. The committee has been 1) a reaction committee to the Student Affairs Council or to the Administration when asked to do so, and 2) looking at current or potential problems concerning the quality of student life on the UTK campus and bringing those problems to the attention of either the administration or the Faculty Senate.1. Considered the university policy toward implementing Public Law 93380 (Buckley Amendment).a. Concerning the release of student records to federal and state government officials, the committee feels that a student ought to be notified in writing when these records are released. The committee is working with Howard Aldmon on this question.2. The Committee has asked the Executive Committee to look into the question of files on non-criminal activity of students and faculty allegedly maintained by Safety and Security. Mr. Jones, on behalf of the Executive Committee has agreed to look into this matter.
b. Concerning the records of teaching assistants there is the problem of whether such records are education records or employment records. Educational records are open to the student, but employment records are not. There may be some difference between departments in this matter.
c. Another concern has been the destruction of educational records. The draft of the university guidelines reads, "all or part of a students educational records may at any time be removed from a university file and destroyed by university personnel authorized to perform such acts. However, once a student requests access to his or her record such removal and destruction may not occur until access has been granted." It was the feeling of the Student Affairs Committee that there ought to be a stated length of time before those records are destroyed so that a student Will have ample time to examine them after he or she has been accepted or turned down for some job position or honor.
d. A final concern is related to the form proposed for use in a "waiver of right to review confidential letters of recommendation." On the present proposed form a student must either check 'waived' or 'do not waive.' Some of the Committee members feel that students ought not to have to take positive actions to preserve their right under the Buckley Amendment, that to mark 'waive' if they wish to waive is sufficient.
AD HOC COMMITTEE ON STUDENT/FACULTY RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Harry Rutledge presented the report of this committee. Draft statements concerning 'Student Responsibilities' and 'Faculty Responsibilities' suitable for incorporation into Hill Topics and the Faculty Handbook were previously distributed to the Senate. The Senate was asked to give advice on the statements, but was not being asked to approve them since the Student Coordinating Council, the Academic Council and the Graduate Student Council were also being asked for comments. There were a great many specific recommendations for changes in the statements. Some more general comments had to do with whether the statements can serve as a basis of specific sanctions against a faculty member if he or she is in violation of the principles laid down, i.e., with the possible legal implications of the statements.UNDERGRADUATE COUNCIL
Ralph Norman presented the report of the March 4 meeting of the Undergraduate Council. The Senate confirmed the actions of the Undergraduate Council.GRADUATE COUNCIL
Hilton Smith presented the report of the February 20 meeting of the Graduate Council. The Senate confirmed the actions of the Graduate Council.RESEARCH COUNCIL
Ken Stair presented a written report of the activities of the Research Council. A Statement of the Role and Scope of the Research Council is under consideration by the Educational Policy Committee. Several subcommittees of the Research Council will have reports ready for submission to the Faculty Senate in the near future.ANNOUNCEMENTS
There will be a special meeting of the Faculty Senate on June 2 to receive Chancellor Reese's report to the Senate on the "State of the University."EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
The Executive Committee decided rot to conduct a separate faculty investigation of the Safety and Security record-keeping, procedures. An ad hoc committee selected and charged by the Chancellor will Senate President Arthur Jones and Chairperson of the Student Affairs Committee Clint Allison. It will "work with the Department of Safety and Security in the formulation of policies and procedures concerning the maintenance of records and access to them." The Chancellor concurred with two suggestions made by the Senate Executive Committee, which were: 1) the charge to the group should specifically include their right to look into any facts that the Committee feels have bearing on their general instructions and, 2) the Committee or its members who represent the faculty would report to the Senate when its task is completed.Because the UTK Faculty Senate recognizes a need for study the By-Laws of the University of Tennessee, andThis resolution was passed by the Senate.
Because the current System Self-Study is an appropriate method for examining the By-Laws and making recommendations for change, and
Because the Faculties of the various divisions within the System, including the UTK faculty, have a vital interest in the governance of the University, therefore,
Be it resolved that the UTK Faculty Senate, on behalf of the Faculty, request that the Chancellor transmit to Vice-President Prados our offer to assist him in making the University By-Laws a significant subject of the System Self-Study.
COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES
At the request of the Executive Committee the Committee on Committees selected a slate of nominees for the Committee on Financial Exigency. The Committee will be composed of 23 members (plus three administrators and three students). The members are representative of the faculty and include persons of different backgrounds in terms of experience, interest and professional skills. The functions of the Committee are 1) to stud,,)and prepare methods by which the faculty can provide input into administrative decisions regarding priorities in periods of financial emergency necessitating retrenchment, and 2) to examine the present educational functions of the University with a view to encouraging better utilization of existing resources. The slate of nominees was approved by the Senate.AD HOC COMMITTEE ON STUDENT/FACULTY RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Harry Rutledge presented the report of this committee. The report was very similar to the one presented at the April meeting except that introductory paragraphs were included and some of the suggestions of Senators at the preceding meeting were incorporated. The committee moved "That the Faculty Senate vote its endorsement of the statements ' s on Faculty/ Student Rights and Responsibilities and recommend to the Chancellor of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville that the statements be published and distributed to all new students during the 1975 summer orientation program and to all new teaching staff in September, 1975, and that the statements be incorporated as soon as possible into the UTK Faculty Handbook and Hill Topics". Following considerable discussion, Milton Klein moved to table the motion, and the motion to table was seconded, debated briefly by Klein and Rutledge, and passed. In making the motion, Klein stated that his intention was not to reject the work of the Rutledge committee, but to allow further time for amendment and improvement, considering the objections many senators had expressed to specific parts of the statements and their doubts as to the proper way to publish.LIBRARY ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Richard Boss submitted a written report of the Library Advisory Committee. He commented specifically about the Library's 20 year plan. The committee has recommended to the administration that the only plans that will fulfill the needs of the University are 1) building a new main library building in phases, or 2) building a new main library in its entirety. By 1980 (or with modifications to the current building, by 1983) the current main library will be usable only as a storage building: all seating will have to be removed. The committee has also looked at ways that the library can absorb the impact of inflation by internal reallocations in the library budget. Some curtailment of services will be necessary and discussions are continuing with several interested groups of students and faculty as to the most acceptable alterations of services.RHODES AND FOREIGN SCHOLARSHIPS
Nelson Robinson, substituting for Norman Sanders, presented the annual report of this committee. The University had several candidates for foreign scholarships. There were two successful candidates, Ms. Laura Shepherd (Fulbright-Hayes Teaching Assistantship in France) and Mr. Craig Christy (Fulbright-Hayes Award for the study of Philology in Germany).RETIREMENT COMMITTEE
Frank Leuthold presented the Retirement (Fringe Benefit) Committee report. The committee requested the Senate to vote on 7 resolutions, to be transmitted to appropriate officials or bodies. The Senate approved all the resolutions, which dealt with 1) questioning the requirement that insurance premiums be paid by both husband and wife if both are state employees, 2) regularizing retirement policy for faculty between ages 65 and 70, 3) tax-sheltering of employee's share of retirement contribution, 4) providing adequate long term disability insurance coverage, 5) requesting basic data on composition of UTK faculty, for determining the reasonable cost of various kinds of insurance, 6) appointing a retired faculty member to the Retirement (Fringe Benefits) Committee, 7) changing the name of the committee from "Retirement and Fringe Benefits" to "Fringe Benefits".NOMINATING COMMITTEE
Otis Stephens presented the report of the Nominating Committee concerning officers for next year. There were no further nominations from the floor. There will be a mail ballot and the results will be reported at the June 2 meeting of the Senate. The report of the Nominating Committee was approved by the Senate.OLD BUSINESS
UNDERGRADUATE COUNCIL: Ralph Norman presented the Undergraduate Council reports for the meetings of April 8 and May 6 (distributed to Senate members prior to the meeting). The action of the Council in approving the 2 recommendations of the Report of the Committee on Degrees and Programs dealing with policies relating to the transfer of credit and the substitution of courses was confirmed by the Senate. The third recommendation of the Committee on Degrees and Programs was in response to the Faculty Senate's request that the Council review a motion which the Senate had approved at their October 7, 1974 meeting. The motion would restrict students at UTK from .receiving degree credit for a correspondence course taken from another institution if an equivalent correspondence course is offered at UTK. Following review of the request the Committee recommended that "The statement on correspondence work in the 1974-75 General Catalog, page 34, stand as is presently stated." The Undergraduate Council approved this recommendation. Jonathan Utley moved, and Mike McDonald seconded, the following substitute for the statement in the General Catalog, "Degree credit will not be granted for correspondence courses taken at an institution other than the University of Tennessee by a UTK student if an equivalent correspondence course is available from the University of Tennessee Correspondence program." This motion was approved by the Senate. The proposed new system of grading for English Composition was approved by the Senate with some modifications. The proposal now reads:"Beginning in the Fall of 1975 a student will take Freshman Composition on an A-B-C-NC (No Credit) basis. (NC is not computed in the grade point average.) No grade of "D" or "F" will be given, therefore, in either quarter of Freshman Composition, although a student must have an "A", "By', or "C" in each course before he or she graduates. UTK will not accept transfer "D's" in Freshman Composition earned after the Summer of 1975. This system will be tried for two and one-half years, after which time it will be reviewed by the University Committee on Student English, the Undergraduate Council, and the University Senate.The curricular changes proposed by the Undergraduate Council for the various colleges were approved by the Faculty Senate. (The College of Communications assured the Senate that the change making the instructor's permission prerequisite for all 3000 and 4000 level courses in the College was not designed to keep students from outside the College out of the classes).
(N.B. All students would still be urged to take Freshman Composition during their first two quarters at UTK and until they have completed the requirement, even though they would. technically have the privilege of taking it as late as the senior year. The Undergraduate Council and the Committee on Student English hope that under such a system all students, having lost the fear of receiving a "D" or "F", would not only take the required composition courses early but stay in them through the entire quarter. The second half of the course would then be profitable to more students and economically more advantageous to the State of Tennessee. Weaker writers would be given more exposure to writing and instruction and would be better prepared if they needed to repeat the course; furthermore, a student failing Freshman Composition at midterm often develops enough in the second half of the course to finish it with a "C" grade or better.)
Proposed Catalogue Copy
Insert the following statement on page 31 of the 1974-75 General Catalogue between statements on "Graduating Senior Privileges" and "English Proficiency" and on page 298 after the statements on "Certification in both English and Speech" to read as follows:English 1510-20 and English 1518-28 are offered on a grade system of A, B, C, NC.Add statement on system of grading to read (P. 298):1510-20 English Composition (4,4)Writing, revising, conferences; intensive reading for meaning and ways of expressing meaning. 1510 - Writing with emphasis on organization, paragraph structure, style; attention to grammar and mechanics. 1520 Writing based on reading of literature; use of library and preparation of documented papers. Must be taken in sequence. "A," "B," "C," "NC" grading.
1518-28 Honors: English Composition (4,4) For students selected on basis of placement scores and high school record. Must be taken in sequence. "A," "B," "C," "NC" grading.
CHANCELLOR'S REPORT TO THE SENATE
Jack Reese presented the annual Chancellor's Report to the Senate. He presented highlights of an extensive written report which will be circulated to the Senators and any other interested individuals as soon as the budget for 1976 is approved.PRESIDENT'S REPORT
The President distributed a written interim report of the activities of the year.BUDGET COMMITTEE
Norman Dittrich presented the written report of the Budget Committee. The Committee would be happy to receive suggestions from any member of the Senate concerning future activities.ELECTION OF OFFICERS, 1975-76
The Secretary announced the results of the recent election:President: Ronald Fraser
Vice-President: Milton Klein
University Council: Ada Marie Campbell
T. McN Simpson
Jonathan G. Utley
Committee on Committees:
Luther Wilhelm -- Agriculture William Shell -- Architecture Gary Dicer -- Business Sherri Zeigler -- Communications George Wagoner -- Education Ben Oliver -- Engineering Mary Nelle Traylor -- Home Economics Jerry Phillips -- Law Nelson Robinson -- L. A. (Social Science) Dale Cleaver -- L. A. (Humanities) Gleb Mamantov -- L. A. (Natural Science) Mary Frances Crawford -- Library Glenn Estes -- Library and Information Science Kathy Conlon -- Nursing Bob Wilson -- Planning Ann Wachter -- Social Work Walter Frost -- Space Institute
PRESIDENT'S REPORT
The annual report of the President was postponed until the August 18 meeting of the Senate.EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
A copy of the press release prepared by Norm Dittrich of the Budget Committee and the Executive Committee had been distributed to the Senate with the Agenda. This press release, concerning the failure of the State Government to provide adequate funding for higher education in Tennessee, has already received some attention from the local media. Milton Klein, President-elect of the American Association of University Professors read the June 25 letter of the AAUP to media, legislators and the Governor. This letter concerned the financial plight of the University. The Senate unanimously passed a resolution thanking the AAUP for speaking so effectively on this problem.ACADEMIC CALENDAR COMMITTEE
Bill Becker reported the results of the questionnaire distributed to faculty members. The final report of the Committee will be presented during the Fall Quarter and will be based on the results of the questionnaire. The following is a summary of those results.
Total Faculty Departmental Totals For Opposed For Opposed Semester calendar + 285 405 19 42 early start + alternatives 41.4% For Quarter calendar + 181 459 13 42 early start + alternatives 28.3% For Early start 305 321 31 28 48.7% For Alternatives 329 254 33 22 56.5% For Mini term study 234 317 22 32 45.5% For Equal terms 413 196 53 9 67.8% For Total questionnaires returned 768 Faculty 77 Departments
ATHLETICS COMMITTEE
Helen Watson presented the written report of the Athletics Committee. The Senate voted acceptance of the report.BY-LAWS COMMITTEE
George Wagoner reported that the many suggestions for changes in the ByLaws have been incorporated into formal proposals that will be presented to the Executive Committee, and with the approval of the latter, to the Senate, August 18. These will be voted on in the Fall.UNDERGRADUATE COUNCIL
In the absence of Ralph Norman, Clark Roberts presented the Undergraduate Council reports of June 3 and July 1. At the June 3 meeting the "Third Annual Review of Courses Not Taught in Four or More Years" occurred. With the concurrence of the departments concerned, 50 courses (30% of those reviewed) will be dropped effective, 1975. The composition of the Undergraduate Council will be slightly different next year due to the loss of one representative from the College of Education as a result of a decrease in the number of undergraduate degrees awarded in that college, and the addition of a representative of the College of Veterinary Medicine to the Council. It was suggested by LeRoy Graf that the word "clarified" be substituted for "rescinded" on page 3379 where the American history requirement is discussed. This suggestion was accepted by Mr. Roberts. A motion was made, seconded and passed that the Senate confirm the actions of the June 3 Undergraduate Council meeting.GRADUATE COUNCIL
Hilton Smith presented the reports of the April 24 and May 29 meetings of the Graduate Council. The Council recommended, by action taken at its May 29 meeting, that all proposed courses bearing the catalogue numbers 3000-3999 be listed for graduate credit only if so requested and approved for graduate credit by the Council. The Senate confirmed the actions of the Graduate Council.AD HOC COMMITTEE ON STUDENT/FACULTY RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Harry Rutledge moved that the original motion concerning endorsement of the committee report (tabled on May 12, 1975) be removed from the table for new consideration. This was seconded and approved. Mr. Rutledge then moved the following amendment to the original motion:That the Faculty Senate vote its endorsement of the statements on Student/Faculty Rights and Responsibilities and recommend to the Chancellor of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, that the statements be published in pamphlet form and distributed to all faculty and students early in the fall quarter of 1975 and to all new faculty and students who come during the academic year of 1975-76.During the discussion that followed, two substantive changes were incorporated into the body of the document. 1) The titles of the subsections of the document were changed to "Guidelines for UTK Faculty Members concerning the Teaching/Learning Process" and "Guidelines for UTK Students concerning the Teaching/Learning Process" 2) The last sentence in section 2 on page 2 will be deleted and replaced with the following statement "An instructor should be willing to discuss with a student his or her academic standing at any time during the quarter". A few minor editorial changes will also be made.
That the Faculty Senate recommend to the Chancellor the publication and distribution of the Guidelines for UTK Faculty and Students concerning the Teaching/Learning Process for the purpose of ascertaining the desirability of the Senate's endorsing such a statement and recommending its inclusion in the Faculty Handbook and Hill Topics: and that the Faculty Senate recommend that the statement be published in pamphlet form and be distributed to all faculty and students early in the fall quarter of 1975 and to all new faculty and students who come during the academic year of 1975-76.
FRINGE BENEFITS COMMITTEE
Frank Leuthold presented two matters for the consideration of the Senate. 1) In a check of the first 100 men's names in the Faculty Staff Telephone Directory against corresponding names, telephone numbers and addresses in the Knoxville Telephone Directory there were 34 differences discovered and 26 names which could not be located in the Knoxville Directory. Therefore, the Fringe Benefits Committee suggested the following resolution: "Resolved that the UTK administration send every employee annually a form to ascertain the facts listed in the directory. Also, be it resolved that a statement be placed in the front of the telephone directory that the employee is responsible for bringing changes and errors to the attention of the 'people' in charge of the directory". This resolution was passed by the Senate. 2) In reference to the State Law that passed as part of the Appropriations bill it has been ruled that State employees may not receive gratuities any longer. What constitutes gratuities is determined by the Commissioner of Finance. The Commissioner has ruled that a) the reduced rate of season tickets for athletic events is a gratuity, and b) the 10% discount in the bookstore is a gratuity. Therefore, our discounts on these items have been discontinued. The Appropriations Bill, however, exempts the clause on gratuities from affecting any state employee whose contract of employment includes gratuities. Since the Faculty Handbook clearly states that athletics season tickets will be available at a reduced rate and that faculty members receive a discount on most purchases in the bookstore, the Fringe Benefits Committee feels that these two items are part of our employment contract and, therefore, are exempt under the State act. The Committee proposed the following resolution: "Be it resolved that the Faculty Senate request that the UT administration check with the Tennessee Attorney General on whether the UTK faculty have as employment rights the purchase of season athletic tickets at reduced rates and discounts on purchases in the bookstore since these rights are stated in the Faculty Handbook (section 15)." This resolution was unanimously passed by the Faculty Senate.At the conclusion of discussion and voting, Russell French made the following points: (1) That the Senate, having recommended that the Chancellor publish the Guidelines, ought to put its own energies also into their implementation; and (2) That the need for the Guidelines is simply another illustration of a general need - the need, that is, to respond to calls for accountability of the university to the public, and calls for accountability of different elements within the university to each other.
PRESIDENT'S REPORT TO THE SENATE
Arthur Jones read his annual report to the Senate. (Copies are available from the Senate Secretary). He recognized the necessity of faculty-administration-student interaction by citing three successful examples: 1) the Statement on Financing Higher Education, prepared by the Senate at the Chancellor's suggestion, 2) the still unresolved investigation of charges against Safety and Security, undertaken by the Chancellor's Committee with the Senate's advice and consent, and 3) the System exchange, facilitated by the President through his Counselors, of information between campuses by their respective Senates. He praised the Senate for the eventual success of Harry Rutledge's Special Committee on Faculty-Student Rights and Responsibilities, but wished for more Senate participation in university democracy. Finally, he recommended a change in the Senate By-Laws that would permit senators to be re-elected for successive terms. The present rule, he said, disenfranchises the faculty by denying it the right to vote for incumbent senators.EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Arthur Jones reported on the meeting of the Executive Committee with Vice President Joe Johnson concerning the Senate resolutions on the University By- Laws (Senate meeting of May 12) and the gratuities issue (Senate meeting of July 21). Joe Johnson felt that the By-Laws were not within the charge of the System Self Study Committee. Since the Executive Committee felt that the system, especially the relationships between campus officers and their system counterparts, cannot be understood without reference to the By-Laws, which are inconsistent in some ways with present System-Campus realities, the Executive Committee recommended that the Senate reaffirm its desire to have the System Self Study Committee examine the By-Laws and suggest changes. These changes could only be acted on by the Board of Trustees.COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES
Ron Fraser gave an oral report of the activities of the Committee on Committees. A slate of nominees for the various Senate Committees will be ready for Senate action at the first meeting of the Senate in the Fall Quarter.UNDERGRADUATE COUNCIL
Ralph Norman presented curricular material from the School of Architecture that had been approved at a special meeting of the Undergraduate Council on August 12. Bill Lauer, Assistant Dean of the School of Architecture, spoke in support of the curricular material and gave reasons for some of the changes. A statement of support for the new curricula from the U.T. Student Chapter of the American Institute of Architects was presented by the Chapter President, Randall Damron. There was considerable discussion by many Senators. The Architecture curriculum material was eventually approved by the Senate.| Senate Directory Officers Committees Members |
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