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August 26, 1996

October 7, 1996 		November 4, 1996

January 13, 1997 		February 17, 1997

March 17, 1997

April 21, 1997

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MINUTES
August 26, 1996

Martha Alligood, Presiding

Members present: Martha Alligood, Linda Bensel-Meyers, Bill Blass, Al Burstein, David Dobbs, Jose Marie Griffiths, Sam Jordan, Dennie Ruth Kelley, Susan Lucarelli, Kula Misra, Ray Mundy, Mary Papke, John Peters, Marla Peterson, Paul Phillips, Phil Scheurer, Flora Shrode, Marianne Woodside, Dhyana Ziegler

Alligood called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m.

1. President's Comments.
Alligood welcomed everyone and announced that she would try to distribute by mail an agenda for each meeting. Attendees then introduced themselves. Alligood next said that she would be consulting with the past-president, D. Ziegler, about matters to be continued from last year. She then reminded everyone of the invitation to participate in the System-to-Campus Visit to occur in early September. She also reported that she has asked all committee chairpersons to review the Five-Year Plan and make recommendations concerning it. A progress report is to be prepared. Next, Alligood distributed copies of the first page of the Faculty Senate Bylaws which lists the powers and duties of the Faculty Senate. She then called attention to the fact that 1997 will be the 25th anniversary of the Faculty Senate. B. Blass noted that the Five-Year Plan is not prioritized. He suggested that committee chairpersons should think about which items should have high priority and which should have less priority. Alligood said she plans to work closely with the administration, since faculty and administration priorities are not the same.

2. Information Policy Advisory Committee.
G. Graber distributed copies of a draft report "Responsible Use of Information Technology." Included was a draft of a Network Usage Policy. Graber briefly reviewed the drafts and expressed hope that they will generate considerable discussion among all groups on campus. Copies will be distributed with the agenda. Dobbs noted that some individuals might inadvertently cause computer problems out of ignorance. In such cases, education should come next, not loss of privileges or some other punishment. Blass suggested very clearly marking the drafts as drafts. Peters suggested adding an introduction or preamble, and Peterson suggested giving a deadline for comments.

3. Library Policy Change.
On behalf of S. Riggsby, Alligood reported that there will be a proposal to allow faculty to check out books for one year, rather than until the next May 1. The proposal is intended to spread the workload on the library staff. It was noted that the proposal might have some faculty returning books almost every week. B. Blass suggested that the proposal not go to the Faculty Senate until the Executive Committee has seen it in writing. D. Ziegler suggested that there be an announcement at the end of the first Faculty Senate meeting so that comments can be reported to the Library Committee.

4. Senate/Chancellor Committee on Campus Cultural Life.
P. Phillips distributed copies of an "interim report" on the work of the committee. He then briefly described its activities by discussing the seven subcommittees' charges and actions. The subcommittees are Campus Meeting Sites, Communications Methods, Performing Arts, Library as a Meeting Place, Multiple Activities Spaces, Debates, and International Festivals. Phillips concluded by asking for comments. M. Papke urged that the film equipment at the University Center be upgraded. No one disagreed with the need for better equipment. P. Scheurer then commented that the committee should consider how better to use the University Center Plaza and, more generally, how to provide spaces for a variety of activities. He also commented that it has been a truly enjoyable committee with outstanding participation. Ziegler suggested that the Faculty Senate and other groups be provided with a list of the already available "new" spaces. Phillips suggested that only the first three pages of the "Interim Report" need be distributed to the Faculty Senate. Alligood and Ziegler suggested that students and staff should also be informed of the new spaces and asked for further suggestions.

5. Alligood reported that the Faculty Senate Homepage has been updated. The minutes of Faculty Senate meetings will be included.

6. Vice Chancellor's Comments.
Peters reported that Chancellor Snyder is in Japan with Mayor Victor Ashe. He also reported that the "new" Faculty Handbook has gone to press and that the faculty "phased retirement" option is now available. It was noted that workshops are needed to help faculty understand the option. In particular, faculty need to understand that they can enroll this year even if they do not intend to begin phased retirement for several years. Alligood volunteered to have the systems-level document on the program distributed to the Executive Committee. Peters next reported that Snyder has established task forces to study various aspects of the institution in light of current and future budgets. It was decided that Snyder should be asked to report on these committees to the Faculty Senate. Peters then distributed copies of the paper, "Making a Place for the New American Scholar" by R. Eugene Rice.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 5:05 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Sam Jordan, Secretary



EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MINUTES
October 7, 1996

Martha Alligood, President

Members present: Martha Alligood, Linda Bensel-Meyers, Mary Dale Blanton, Alvin Burstein, David Dobbs, Sam Jordan, Kula Misra, Mary Papke, John Peters, Marla Peterson, Flora Shrode, Bill Snyder, Joe Sutter, Dhyana Ziegler

Alligood called the meeting to order at 3:35 p.m.

1. Announcements
Michael Day from Project Share Life talked about a bone marrow donor program. A particular concern is getting participation of minority groups. The American Red Cross will be at the University Center, Room 226-227, on October 23 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. to collect blood samples from potential donors. An announcement will be distributed with the next Faculty Senate meeting agenda.

2. Library Policy Proposal (S. Riggsby)
Riggsby reviewed the history of two proposals. One calls for books to be loaned for one year from the date borrowed by faculty and the other limits faculty renewal by telephone of bound journals. There has been no faculty comment on the first matter. The second calls for one phone renewal for a three-day loan period. The idea of allowing no borrowing of bound journals was considered. The idea presents several difficulties for the Library, but discussion of the idea did convince the Library Committee that the matter deserves further discussion. It was decided to take the original proposal to the Faculty Senate's next meeting.

3. University Employment Protection Against Liability (J. Sutter)
Sutter reported that there had been no concise statement of the legal protection available to university employees. The office of the General Counsel has prepared a draft statement, summarizing the law and including a list of what to do or not to do if one is sued in connection with one's university employment. A. Burstein asked whether the law covers student employees. The answer was not known. It was decided to mark the statement as a draft and then to distribute it with the agenda for the next meeting. Written questions and comments may be submitted to Sutter or to the Faculty and Staff Benefits Committee. Sutter will prepare an introduction to be distributed with the statement.

4. Family Care Policy (J. Sutter)
After some discussion of whether the policy is going to the Board of Trustees for approval or only as an informational matter, Sutter noted that the Faculty and Staff Benefits Committee has had an opportunity to suggest changes in the policy. There will be further opportunities as well. The only change so far is including twelve-month faculty appointments as eligible for requesting an extended probationary period.

5. Senate Role in Communication Plan for Retrenchment/Enhancement (M. Alligood)
Alligood opened a discussion on how to facilitate the flow of information between the faculty and the Chancellor's Advisory Committee for Planning and Budgeting (ACPB). D. Ziegler noted that the Communication Task Force already has met with the Chancellor and recommended, for example, that he use various media and that he hold a convocation for staff members similar to the recent one for faculty. Including in the process as many different constituencies as possible is a major goal. The task force welcomes suggestions. Alligood noted that each task force leader will be given time to report at the next Faculty Senate meeting. Snyder said he expects each task force to hold an open forum and to report to the Faculty Senate. Alligood expressed the desire for background information to be available to the university community before the open forums. Snyder reported that he presents information to any group with which he interacts. M. Peterson suggested that it might be good for the Faculty Senate to take the lead in presenting the forums. J. Peters cautioned that there is a danger in having too many committees. Snyder said his office is prepared to provide the coordination of the various activities involved. Alligood expressed her desire for the Faculty Senate to be involved significantly in the entire process. Snyder also noted that he and Peters are scheduling meetings with the faculty of each college. Burstein noted that there needs to be an ongoing dialogue, not simply an exchange of information. M. Papke urged that a hard-copy report be made widely available soon after each forum. Peters noted the need to inform everyone about the overall program and how the various activities mesh. He also spoke in favor of couching comments in terms of university improvement rather than in terms of budget matters. Ziegler noted the need for clarity about the functions of various committees; in particular, everyone needs to know that the committees are not to make decisions which will be "crammed down everyone's throat."

6. Tracking Resolution (K. Misra)
Alligood noted that Misra will work with Betsy Brewer to see what has happened with past resolutions. Misra reported that he is working on a reporting format for tracking resolutions.

7. Other
Peterson asked whether budgeting information accompanies proposed academic program changes when they come to various committees, such as the Educational Policy Committee. No one was aware of any detailed budgeting information being provided. Peterson suggested that there should be discussions about whether budgeting information should be provided. She feels the Budget Committee should have an opportunity to comment. There was general agreement that new program proposals should contain detailed information not only on costs, but also on sources of funding.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 4:55 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Sam Jordan, Secretary



EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MINUTES
November 4, 1996

Martha Alligood, Presiding

Members present: Martha Alligood, Mary Dale Blanton, Bill Blass, Al Burstein, David Dobbs, Dennie Kelley, Ted Hipple, Sam Jordan, Susan Lucarelli-Dimmick, Kula Misra, Ray Mundy, Mary Papke, John Peters, Bill Snyder, Dhyana Ziegler

Alligood called the meeting to order at 3:35 p.m.

I. COMMITTEE REPORTS
Bylaws Committee (W. Blass)
Blass reported that the caucus structure needs to be incorporated into the bylaws. Caucus leaders will meet to discuss how matters are being handled. There was general agreement that the purpose and function of the caucuses in the bylaws should be written broadly enough to allow a wide-range of caucus activities. Blass also reported that there is some interest in redefining membership of the Executive Committee to include more committee chairs. He personally favors having some appointed members. Ziegler noted that the questions of length of service and how members rotate off the committee would need to be considered. Another possible topic for Bylaws Committee consideration is faculty welfare/preservation/development.

Faculty Affairs (R. Mundy)
Mundy reported that all cases from last year have been completed and no new cases have arisen. There have been some informal requests concerning salary issues. He and Peters agreed that reviews have been concluded successfully.

Educational Policy Committee (M. Papke)
Papke reported that the EPC has approved the Graduate Council minutes of 20 June 1996, the Undergraduate Council minutes of 19 September 1996 and the Graduate Council minutes of 12 September 1996. The EPC calls attention to the policy requiring "culminating experiences" in each Master's degree program. These experiences must be identified in departmental graduate student handbooks. Program reviews require documentation of culminating experiences. It was suggested that it is also necessary to develop a way to monitor whether each Master's degree student has met the requirement. Dean Minkel is to be asked by Peters to have someone at the next Faculty Senate meeting to speak about this matter.

Budget Committee (Alligood)
Alligood reported (on behalf of M. Peterson) that the Budget Committee has sent letters to various administrators to ask (1) how new programs on various UT campuses are approved and, in particular, how budgetary impacts of such decisions enter into the process, (2) whether cost analysis studies are underway or planned for academic and non-academic units, and (3) for a meeting with Snyder after he has reviewed reports from the five ACPB task forces. Snyder responded that he will meet with the Budget Committee, as well as many other groups, to discuss the task forces' reports. Alligood reminded everyone of the need to involve as many faculty as possible in all discussions and she announced that the first faculty forum will be held November 25 from 3:30 - 5:00 p.m. in the Hodges Library Auditorium. She hopes that a second faculty forum can be held this semester.
II. EXAMINATION OF TRENDS AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR THE SENATE COMMITTEE STRUCTURE REGARDING FACULTY WELFARE (Alligood)
Alligood noted that the Faculty Senate has no committee specifically charged with watching out for faculty welfare. She presented graphics based on data taken from the Fact Sheets produced in the Office of Institutional Research showing fairly level student, faculty, and administration numbers over the last ten years, but a significant increase in the professional category (non-faculty academic personnel, post-docs, etc.) She said we need to emphasize the faculty role in the University and ask Chancellor Snyder to make faculty a priority in these changing times. Chancellor Snyder agreed that the faculty was a priority. She then asked everyone to think about whether an existing committee could be charged with taking a proactive role in looking out for faculty welfare on whether a new committee might be needed. Alligood said that she had considered this role as an extension of either the Faculty Affairs or the EPC committees or both. Peters noted that including the current year data in Alligood's presentation would show decreases in all categories with the largest decrease in the professional category because of the terminations in DII There were several questions about who is included in the data and how. Blass suggested that the need for existing committees should be reviewed and a new committee should be established to deal with what currently is being called "faculty welfare." Dobbs suggested using "the state of the faculty" as a more appropriate term. Papke suggested using "faculty development" and adding to the charge of the Professional Development Committee.

Alligood called attention to the next issue of Context and encouraged getting the word out about the Faculty Forum on November 25.
There being no further business the meeting adjourned at 5: 10 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Samuel Jordan, Secretary



EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MINUTES
January 13, 1997

Martha Alligood, Presiding

Members present: Martha Alligood, Linda Bensel-Meyers, Bill Blass, David Dobbs, Dennie Kelley, Ted Hipple, Sam Jordan, Baldwin Lee, Susan Lucarelli Dimmick, Kula Misra, Ray Mundy, Mary Papke, John Peters, Marla Peterson, Flora Shrode, Marianne Woodside. Also present: Nina Elliott and Warren Neel

Alligood called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m.

1. President's Report
Alligood welcomed Baldwin Lee, Chair of the Student Affairs Committee, who was unintentionally omitted from the committee last term.

2. Report on Exempt Staff Council (Nina Elliott)
Elliott reported on the establishment of the Council and noted the need for it, since the roughly 940 exempt staff on campus have had no representation. Bylaws have been written and are being refined. There will be elections for exempt staff representatives. By late April the officers will be elected. The Council has a Homepage on the Web. In response to a question, Elliott said the exempt staff category includes administrative assistants, directors of various operations and other managers.

3. Institutional Advancement in a Changing Fiscal Environment
Alligood distributed copies of a draft of a document by Chancellor Snyder. The document is titled "Institutional Advancement in a Changing Fiscal Environment." W. Neel noted that he and other deans have advised the Chancellor that the institution needs to do real evaluations, not only simulations, this term. J. Peters noted that the scope of what is done will have to be restricted because of the lack of time. Alligood remarked that the current draft document does not reference "pilots" or simulations. B. Blass suggested that "checks" and "safety valves" should be in place to avoid making serious mistakes. Alligood remarked that no program can be eliminated quickly because curricular matters have to proceed through certain well-defined steps according to Faculty Senate Bylaws. Peters commented that in the budget cycle this spring the principles embodied in the draft document should be implemented, even as the long-term plan is being developed. Neel noted that, since it takes eight years to eliminate a degree program, any such decision taken this spring will not yield an immediate budget benefit, but can guide future allocations.

R. Mundy asked whether it might be possible to assure faculty that no faculty will be dismissed because of the budget situation. Peters noted that the Chancellor already has made that assurance to tenured faculty, but also noted that much of the budget is devoted to faculty salaries. Neel suggested that the institution must take its own budget steps now in order to have any opportunity of better funding later through adjustments in state taxes and/or tuition.

Mundy remarked that he sees nothing in the draft document asking for an evaluation of whether graduates of a program get jobs in their field. Dobbs noted, and Mundy agreed, that the meaning of "in their field" should be defined for each program. Alligood also remarked that employment success is covered in the existing program review process.

D. Kelley observed that almost any activity would qualify as a program under the definition in the draft documents. Peters agreed and suggested that the only way to proceed is to begin by having departments and similar units identify their programs.

Alligood concluded the discussion by reminding the committee that it must provide the Chancellor with the names of twelve faculty to be considered for membership on the Academic Program Evaluation Committee. She asked the members to think about how to generate those names.

4. Athletics Committee (D. Kelley)
Kelley reviewed broad categories of resources and expenditures for athletics budgets. She also presented material on graduation rates and other characteristics of athletes. Comparisons between the performance of athletes and other student groups were not available. The report will be made to the Faculty Senate at its next meeting.

5. Update on Faculty Handbook (M. Alligood)
Alligood reported that she and L. Maxson went through the Faculty Handbook page-by-page to be certain that nothing had been omitted. Work is still being done. Alligood will work with A. Burstein to determine how to process the AAUP recommendations.

6. Election of Faculty Senators (M. Alligood)
Alligood reported that she will work with B. Blass on the election process.

7. Other
Flora Shrode reported that the LRC has provided $1,000 to the Teaching Council to be used for teaching grants to be awarded to GTA's.

Dr. Alligood announced she would use e-mail to solicit faculty names for the APEC recommendations.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 5:10 p.m.

Respectfully submitted by
Samuel Jordan, Secretary



EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MINUTES
February 17, 1997

Martha Alligood, Presiding

Members present: Martha Alligood, Linda Bensel-Meyers, Mary Dale Blanton, Al Burstein, Susan Dimmick, David Dobbs, Sam Jordan, Dennie Kelley, Baldwin Lee, Kula Misra, Mary Papke, John Peters, Marla Peterson, Bill Snyder

1. Update on Faculty Handbook (Carried over from 1/13/97 meeting)
Alligood described her meeting with L. Maxson in December, 1996, to review the Faculty Handbook on a page-by-page basis. She noted that a position statement on artistic freedom by the AAUP had been excluded since it was an AAUP position statement rather than a UTK policy position. The Student Affairs Committee noticed that the statement was not included and has pursued the matter with Linda Maxson and with the university's legal counsel. Alligood restated her goal to address another matter concerning recommendations from the UTK AAUP chapter which was not addressed in the revised Faculty Handbook. Those items are to be brought to the Faculty Senate Executive Committee in the form of recommendations for the handbook for consideration. Alligood asked Burstein to bring those recommendations as soon as possible.

2. Report on Faculty Nominations to Chancellor for APEC (M. Alligood)
Alligood distributed a list of faculty who accepted or declined nomination for APEC. The name of each individual who accepted was sent to Snyder, who reported that he is almost ready to announce the final committee membership.

3. Nominations for Committee on Committees (M. Alligood)
Alligood distributed a list of current senators. For each unit the committee selected two nominees for the Committee on Committees. The ballot will be available at the next Faculty Senate meeting.

4. Update from the Chancellor (B. Snyder)
Snyder reported that the Family Care Policies are now in effect. Alligood asked Snyder and Peters about the current status of the proposed University Employee Protection Against Liability Policy brought forward from the Faculty and Staff Benefits Committee at the October 21, 1996, Faculty Senate meeting. Peters agreed to determine its status and report to the Executive Committee. Peters noted that only a dozen or so faculty have indicated an interest in the post-retirement service program.

5. Budget Committee Report (M. Peterson)
Peterson read a letter of commendation from the Budget Committee to Snyder regarding his widely involving faculty during preparation of the FY 1997-98 budget. She also reported that she had received an e-mail message expressing concern about the proliferation of duplicative graduate programs in the state. It was observed that no state unit currently is effectively dealing with this matter.

6. Chancellor's Report
Snyder reported that money being held for an impoundment has now been transferred to a central fund, but that no impoundment figure has been received from the state. Planning for next year is based on the assumption that there will be a reduction of about $6,500,000 from the current year's initial budget. Snyder wants to involve the Senate Budget Committee in the budget process. He announced that he is scheduling a meeting with Ray Hamilton, Marla Peterson and Martha Alligood to plan that involvement.

Snyder next distributed a summary of the current budget (based on NACUBO categories) and asked the committee to prioritize the "expenditures and transfers" functions. He provided Alligood with twelve pages of explanations of the function. Alligood will distribute brief descriptions of the functions to the Executive Committee. Snyder suggested that R. Hamilton might attend the Executive Committee's next meeting to explain the data. It was agreed that committee members bring their priority list to the next meeting.

7. Vice Chancellor's Report (J. Peters)
Peters discussed the matter of how many faculty are at UTK. He noted that the number depends on how one defines faculty and when one tries to do the count. He plans to provide "count" FTE and Head, once per year. He also noted that there are anomalies which need to be dealt with. For example, department heads currently are not counted as administrators. The current report is being distributed to faculty this week in the Academic Affairs' Newsletter.

Alligood reported that she is urging Peters to encourage serious evaluation of all faculty. Peters reported that the campus and system administrations believe that UTK currently has an effective evaluation procedure described in the Faculty Handbook.

8. Educational Policy Committee (M. Papke)
Papke distributed a report on the EPC's activities.

9. Other
Misra noted that counting publications and external funding does not fully account for a faculty member's usefulness to a department. Peters agreed that faculty must be evaluated on their total contributions. He noted also that a meaningful evaluation must be based on an institution-wide standard.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 5:05 p.m.

Respectfully submitted by
Samuel Jordan, Secretary



EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MINUTES
March 17, 1997

Martha Alligood, Presiding

Members present: Martha Alligood, Linda Bensel-Meyers, Mary Dale Blanton, Bill Blass, Al Burstein, David Dobbs, Ted Hippie, Sam Jordan, Dennie Kelley, Lonnie McIntyre, Kula Misra, Ray Mundy, Mary Papke, Marla Peterson, Flora Shrode, Bill Snyder

Alligood called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m.

1. Report on Review of Administrator (L. McIntyre)
McIntyre distributed two packets of material on reviews of administrators. The first provides data on the number of evaluations to be done, the number completed and the number in progress, as well as data on faculty participation in reviews. The second provides data on the status of individual evaluations. McIntyre noted that the self-studies of those being evaluated sometimes take considerable time and delay the remainder of the process. He said in summary that the process seems to be going well, but that it can be difficult to get faculty to serve on the committees. McIntyre and Snyder both emphasized that the reports resulting from reviews are only a part of the information used in evaluating administrators. Snyder noted that one dean has taken action to remove a department head before an administrative review was done. He also observed that supervisors of those reviewed are responsible for seeing that reviewees do what they are supposed to do in a timely manner. It also was noted that now a plan of action is required in every case and one year after the plan of action is filed a report is made on the case to the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate. Snyder commended McIntyre for his work. It was decided that a revised report on the status of evaluations would be distributed with the agenda for the next meeting of the Faculty Senate. It is expected that the data on evaluations and the data on faculty participation will appear in Context. McIntyre said membership on this committee is a three-year term and he especially wanted to recognize those going off this year for their service.

2. Report on Teaching Council (F. Shrode)
Shrode distributed a written report and briefly reviewed the Council's activities. It's focus this year is instructional technology, but it has dealt with a variety of matters. There was an extensive discussion of evaluation of teaching and post-tenure review in relation to quality teaching and of the need for faculty to be able to present their cases and have complete and accurate reports submitted by deans or department heads. A revised report will be distributed with the agenda for the next meeting of the Faculty Senate.

3. Educational Policy Committee (M. Papke)
Papke distributed a short report of the committee's activities. She asked whether curricular changes approved immediately before the next two Faculty Senate meetings could be reported as approved during the meeting that day. She was assured that that procedure is appropriate to complete the curriculum changes before the academic year ends.

4. Resolution Proposed by Faculty and Staff Benefits Committee
Alligood distributed copies of the resolution which urges and encourages the UT Board of Trustees to continue the Post-Retirement Service Program for Tenured Faculty. The resolution was endorsed by the committee and will be taken to the Faculty Senate.

5. E & G Budget Priorities Exercise for Chancellor Snyder
Snyder indicated his willingness for individual Executive Committee members to send their rankings directly to him.

6. Other
Alligood conveyed a question to Snyder from faculty in response to comments at the campus-wide convocation about how eliminating programs would save money unless faculty positions are also eliminated. Discussion of tenure protection of faculty followed. Snyder responded that he has asked the General Counsel's office for an opinion on where tenure resides, but that he always has felt that tenure is awarded by the institution. Snyder was encouraged to understand faculty concerns in this area. Chancellor Snyder also noted that there are policies on how programs can be eliminated and that the process is not a quick one. In particular, elimination of any program will not yield immediate budget savings. Alligood noted that John Peters has referred faculty to the handbook re: faculty welfare in elimination of programs.

7. Athletics Committee (D. Kelley)
Kelley introduced C. Asp, the UTK representative to the NCAA, who wanted to report to the Faculty Senate on the recent events in men's athletics. He particularly wanted to report on the process of approval of academic credentials by the NCAA and the institution's responsibility. It was agreed that he should report briefly at the next meeting of the Faculty Senate.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 5:30 p.m.

Respectfully submitted by
Samuel Jordan, Secretary



EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MINUTES
April 21, 1997

Martha Alligood, Presiding

Members present: Martha Alligood, Bill Blass, Al Burstein, Susan Dimmick, David Dobbs, Sam Jordan, Dennie Kelley, Baldwin Lee, Ray Mundy, Mary Papke, John Peters, Bill Snyder, Joe Sutter

Alligood called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m.

1. President's Report
Alligood asked whether anyone present would be going to Nashville the next day with representatives of the Legislative Committee. Bill Blass reported that he thought Mark Miller was going to attend with them. Alligood then noted that the Students Against Cuts in Higher Education are rallying (in the rain) in Nashville today. She next noted that the full report on the Evaluation of Administrators appears in the current issue of Context. J. Peters observed that the legislature will have to affirm the recommendation of THEC that the $40 million reduction for higher education be shared equally by the state's higher education institutions.

2. AAUP Recommendations for Faculty Handbook (A. Burstein)
Burstein reminded everyone that the national office of AAUP earlier had noted several concerns with the Faculty Handbook. Some of these concerns were addressed in the latest update of the handbook, but some were not. Burstein distributed a set of five proposed changes to address some remaining concerns. He also briefly described each proposed change.

Alligood then asked how the committee would like to proceed. It was decided to discuss each proposal in turn with attention given to whether any should be sent to a standing committee for further consideration. B. Blass moved approval of the first two proposals which concern tenure and are explanatory in nature. A. Burstein seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

Next to be considered was the third proposed change, which would require a department head to provide a written statement of the basis for not reappointing a part-time faculty member if the faculty member so requests in writing. After some discussion, B. Blass moved that both the third and fourth proposals (the latter concerning termination of continuing part-time faculty) be sent to the Faculty Affairs Committee for consideration in coordination with L. Maxson. Clear processes to be followed in matters of appointment and "non-reappointment" should be a result of the consideration. A. Burstein seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

The committee next discussed the fifth proposal, which would change the composition of the tribunal in a tenure-revocation case to "members of the faculty and administrators with faculty appointments." This change also was approved unanimously.

Presentation of the first, second and fifth proposals will be on the agenda of the next Faculty Senate meeting for full Senate approval. The related materials will be distributed with the agenda.

3. Faculty Affairs (R. Mundy)
Mundy distributed copies of the 1997 Faculty Affairs Report and briefly reviewed the report. The report will be distributed with the agenda for the next Faculty Senate meeting.

4. Faculty and Staff Benefits (J. Sutter)
Sutter distributed copies of the 1997 Faculty and Staff Benefits Report and briefly reviewed the report. The report will be distributed with the agenda for the next Faculty Senate meeting. Snyder noted that he has informed President Johnson of the Faculty Senate resolution urging continuation for the post-retirement service program and has reported that he, his staff, and the deans also endorse the continuation of the plan.

5. Athletics (D. Kelley)
Kelley distributed a listing of athletics department contributions to the university and the community. She will present a full report for full distribution to the Faculty Senate. Kelley also distributed a list of recommended suggestions for establishing subcommittees of the Athletics Committee in the future. This recommendation will go to the Faculty Senate Athletics Committee for the 1997-98 year.

6. Student Affairs (B. Lee)
Lee distributed copies of the 1997 Student Affairs Committee report and briefly reviewed it. The report will be distributed with the agenda for the next Faculty Senate meeting.

7. Bylaws (B. Blass)
Blass distributed copies of the 1997 Bylaws Committee report and briefly reviewed it. The report was accepted and will be distributed with the agenda for the next Faculty Senate meeting. Blass also distributed copies of "Report of the Research Council to the Faculty Senate," which he reviewed in detail, and a Research Council proposal to allow public access to the Faculty Information Service, which he also discussed in detail. D. Dobbs noted that some faculty cannot access their own entries in the FIS and for that reason would choose not to have their entries open to public viewing. All items distributed by Blass will be included with the agenda for the next Faculty Senate meeting.

8. Chancellor's Report (B. Snyder)
Snyder distributed membership lists for the APEC and the NAPEC (one member of the latter has not responded yet). He also provided a "Proposed Budget Reduction Distribution," which was used in the budget hearings.

9. Other Business
B. Lee presented a resolution from the Chancellor's Campus Cultural Life Committee. It concerns the Sculpture Tour and expresses hope that it can be reintroduced sometime. After some minor changes, the resolution will be brought before the Faculty Senate at its next meeting.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 5:30 p.m.

Respectfully submitted
Samuel Jordan, Secretary

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