WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY

                                                                                                                                                          FACULTY SENATE MINUTES

                                                                                                                                                         Regular Meeting – June 6, 2011

Call to Order

Scott Pearce, Faculty Senate President, called ROLL CALL of the 2011-2012 Faculty Senate after calling the meeting to order at 4:05 pm.  Pearce welcomed twenty-one (21) Senators along with nineteen (19) others including newly-elected Senators for a total of forty (40).   (See attached roster).

Thanks to outgoing Executive Council: President pro tem Pearce thanked the members of the 2010-11 Executive Council and those faculty whose terms on the Senate are ending.  Pearce reported on results of faculty governance in the colleges which have been posted to the Senate website. 

Approval of Senate Minutes: Senators accepted the Senate minutes of May 16, 2011, and the special Senate and UPRC joint meeting minutes of May 25, 2011. 

Resolution Honoring Senate President.  Senators passed a Resolution honoring Scott Pearce (text follows):

RESOLUTION - Of the Faculty Senate of Western Washington University - For the Outstanding Service of Scott Pearce

WHEREAS, Scott Pearce has served as Western Washington University’s Faculty Senate President during the 2010-2011 academic year; and, WHEREAS, Scott Pearce has proven to be an effective and judicious leader,  Who has served the University with dedication, integrity, and humor, And who has shown courage and vision in directing the Senate’s Deliberations on crucial issues throughout the 2010-2011 academic year; and WHEREAS, the members of the Faculty Senate of Western Washington University are Grateful to Scott Pearce for his commitment to shared governance, to Broadening faculty participation in meaningful decision making Throughout the University, and to making the Faculty Senate Of Western Washington University such a force for Effective faculty governance, BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED, By the Faculty Senate of Western Washington University, At its regular meeting of June 6, 2011, that Scott Pearce be and hereby is HONORED for his outstanding service as Faculty Senate President from June 22, 2010 to June 20, 2011.

  --end text

Items from the Administration

·         President Shepard reported that results from the conference budget indicated that legislators could not ignore the historical underfunding of Western.  Shepard will attempt to cover the 3% cut to classified staff if current legislation will allow it.

·         Provost Riordan reported remarkable participation and enthusiasm for the candidates for CST Dean and CIS Director and expects final decisions will be made in the next couple of weeks.

·         Riordan expressed strong interest in a Western conversation focused on interdisciplinary and liberal education, and suggested this was a discussion that ought to take place outside of a budget cutting mentality.

·         Marsha Riddle Buly confirmed that we are still seeking a faculty member willing to serve as FLR for 2011-2012 and discussed with the Senate possible strategies on how to advocate for higher education with legislators.

·         Steven Garfinkle, UFWW President, encouraged faculty devoted to the future of the State to write letters and emails from home to legislators in support of higher education and to register with Western Advocates to get updates on current issues.  Garfinkle emphasized that it is the coalition of its stakeholders that has enabled Western to send a unique message to the legislature on behalf of higher education.  Garfinkle added that having “dodged a bullet” this year should not lead us to think we are “bulletproof.”

Presentation:  GRADUATE STRATEGIC ADVISORY COMMITTEE Report:  Susan Mancuso, Roger Anderson, Co-Chairs. 

Mancuso reviewed the history of the GSAC which was appointed last year jointly by the Senate and the Provost.  Mancuso announced that today’s report is final.  The report can be found centrally on the Senate website at http://www.acadweb.wwu.edu/senate

Senators commented that the report should lead to a larger dialogue in the university about graduate programs -- not just those we have, but what we could have.  The report opens the door to a larger conversation about graduate degrees.  Perhaps a standing committee should look strategically in an ongoing way at graduate study and frame questions on how the programs can best serve the state and community.

We are 48^th in terms of support for higher education and 45^th in terms of State support for higher ed. We need to make some additional arguments relative to our peer states, and the fact that we are last in terms of our peer institutions.  We need to convince legislators of these needs.

Bruce Shepard noted that the report was excellent although he would like to place a different orientation and focus on a particular point -- that students pick us because the synergy of our graduate programs enhances the work of our undergraduate programs.

Catherine Riordan pointed out that this particular review is more summative and the Graduate Council does more formative reviews to provide constructive feedback to the units.  The intent is to improve individual programs.  We want to make some tough decisions and do that by reviewing everybody at the same time.  GSAC actually developed both formative and summative criteria.  The amount of data needed to be collected for formative improvement is different from summative data.   Riordan added that there isn’t concern about how the graduate council could work, but perhaps help provide a creative catalyst to help us promote graduate programs both on and off campus.  Riordan plans on creating a task force or standing committee to look at large issues using the developed criteria.

Senators passed a MOTION (moved by David Bover, second by Kathleen Saunders) to endorse the final report from the Graduate Strategic Advisory Committee. Senators suggested that the report can be a creative catalyst toward promoting graduate programs both on and off campus. 

REPORTS from Chairs of Senate Standing Committees

Senators received and discussed reports from Jeff Newcomer, Chair of UPRC; Roger Anderson, Chair of ACC; and received reports from the Faculty Legislative Representative and remaining Standing Committees with the exception of Academic Technology.  Reports follow:

1)      UNIVERSITY PLANNING and RESOURCES COUNCIL (UPRC)  - Jeff Newcomer, Chair

During the academic year UPRC:

• Created a revised strategic plan draft for the University that has been adopted.

• Reviewed proposals for cuts to the 2010-11 operating budget and made recommendations on those proposals.

• Reviewed proposed changes to the capital project request form and plans for the development of a 10-year capital plan.

• Worked with the VPUE to learn expectations for the new university accreditation standard and reviewed drafts of Standard One.

• Discussed rebasing, reviewed proposals for the 2011-13 operating budget, and made recommendations on those proposals when there was sufficient information to do so.

2)      2010-2011 ACADEMIC COORDINATION COMMISSION (ACC) - Roger Anderson, Chair

Actions Accomplished by the ACC this AY:

1)       Academic Grievance Policy - Revised

2)       Academic Honesty Policy - Revised

o    Ad hoc Committees Formed:   E-Catalog Review; Business Process Review; Faculty Teaching Handbook;  Academic and Faculty Advising Handbook

o    Revised Charges for: CUE; IPAC; Honors Board;

3)       Changes recorded in the ACC Handbook:

o    ACC chair as ex officio, non-voting member of ACC standing committees

o    Moratorium policies and procedures

o    Probation policy for transfer students

4)       ACC Resolution about maintaining academic quality

5)       Curricular Changes Reviewed and Enacted:

                50 revisions to academic degrees (at least 4 departments were able to make the sorts of changes that should reduce time

               to degree by about 1 academic quarter)

                60 new courses

                330 revised courses

                120 cancelled courses

                (the foregoing excludes the enormous Environmental Studies list)

Reviewed and approved actions of Standing Committees

Tentative ACC plans for 2011-2012

o     Revise Membership and Charge to AIRC to enable it to become a standing committee that is more proactive, creative, and strategic. 

o     Revise Membership and Charge to the Graduate Council to enable it to become a standing committee that is more proactive, creative, and strategic.

o     Complete the tasks begun with ad hoc committees

o     Focus on better integrating the liberal education courses that fulfill GUR requirements with degree programs, and also facilitate earlier entry into degree programs (both minors & majors)

3)      2010-2011 SENATE LIBRARY COMMITTEE (SLC)  -- Rae Lynn Schwartz-DuPre (Chair); Jeanne Freeman (Vice-Chair)

During the 2010-2011 academic year, the Senate Library Committee (SLC) has been engaged in numerous activities.  A brief summary is provided below.

·         Committee Charge: We worked as a committee to revise the SLC charge. It was modified to revise the roles and duties of SLC to be more reflective of a shared governance design.  The membership of SLC was not modified this year, as that had been accomplished in the 2009-2010 year to provide for a representative from each college to serve.

·         Increased Communication with Faculty: Each college representative on SLC was charged with identifying a departmental-level representative for the various units found within their college. Through these avenues, departments have been informed of findings from the LibQUAL Summit, changes to allocation procedures, and other library issues that pertain to faculty. Through these representatives, constituent concerns and praises came forward and were reported to Dean Cox and relevant library staff. When college representatives were unable to serve due to conflicts, the leadership of SLC actively sought college replacements to ensure the representativeness of Western’s campus on the committee.

·         Prioritization of Library Issues: In response to a list of library concerns brought to SLC by the Dean of Libraries, Chris Cox, the leadership of SLC devised a survey for which each SLC member completed. Through this survey, the SLC leadership was able to prioritize the topics with the greatest priority to faculty. The results from this survey guided the direction of SLC for the remainder of the year. The top issue among SLC representatives was allocations.

·         Allocations: The SLC worked with Library staff to put together justification for a revision to the allocation plan that has been in place since the late 1980s. Through this process, SLC members have provided council for the creation of an FAQ document; decision matrices regarding journal subscriptions, firm orders, media, and government documents; and have brought forward constituent concerns to the Library leadership and staff.

·         Library Space: A member of SLC served on the Music Library Task Force to aid in the development of a plan regarding the possible Music Library relocation.  Furthermore, SLC has discussed and composed a letter regarding their concern for the Map Library. It is our hope that this important library will be housed in Wilson Library (WL) 170 and in Arntzen Hall.  This relocation plan of the Map Library will help ensure that Western’s Library keeps its Federal Government Depository Status and that all constituents have appropriate access to materials necessary to further the academic mission of Western Washington University.

4)       FLR:  Faulty Legislative Representative Report 2010-2011 – Marsha Riddle Buly, FLR.

The primary responsibility of the FLR is to represent all faculty in relations with the Legislature and individual legislators:

• Monitored proposed legislation for impact on faculty.

• Established effective rapport with new members and their staff on the education committees.

• Researched legislative topics of concerns to faculty and reported back to faculty (e.g. Western Governor’s University, Educational Partnerships, Tuition-Setting Authority, budget bills)

• Coordinated with legislative representatives from the five other public BA granting institutions.

• Interacted with the Council of Presidents’ staff and officers on a regular basis in Olympia.

• Met with legislative campus group consisting of students, staff, faculty, and administrators on a regular basis prior to the start of the session.

• Developed strong working relationship with the AS Legislative Representatives from WWU.

• Consulted with Senate Executive Board on a regular basis.

• Reported to Senate on a regular basis.

• Recruited for new FLR, meeting with interested parties.

5)      SENATE ACADEMIC TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE – Geoffrey Matthews, Chair

Report to be prepared for later meeting.

SEATING OF THE 2011-12 FACULTY SENATE and ELECTION OF OFFICERS.

After David Bover asked for nominations from the floor and hearing none, Senators passed a MOTION (brought moved and seconded from Executive Council) to appoint the following faculty to the 2011-2012 Senate Executive Council:  Karen Stout, President (effective June 21);  

David Bover, VP and Parliamentarian;

Kathleen Saunders, Secretary;

Jackie Caplan-Auerbach, Appointments & Elections Officer,

Spencer Anthony-Cahill, Representative At Large. 

The remaining members of the Executive Council are non-voting and include:

Scott Pearce, Past President;

Steven Garfinkle, UFWW President;

Jeff Newcomer, UPRC Chair;

Roger Anderson, ACC Chair.

APPOINTMENTS TO SENATE STANDING COMMITTEES – Jackie Caplan-Auerbach, Elections Officer

Senators passed a MOTION (moved by Spencer Anthony-Cahill, second by Sean Murphy) to approve appointments of faculty to the following Senate Standing Committees (2 year terms):

UPRC from CST (2):  Bernard Housen, Geology; CHSS (2): Ira Hyman, Psychology

Senate Library Committee:  Stan Goto, Woodring; Cara Jaye; CFPA; Doug Clark, CST

Senate Academic Technology Committee:  Elizabeth Stephen, Library; Deepinder Bajwa, CBE; Sarah  Campbell, CHSS; Gary Bornzin, Fairhaven; Bruce Hamilton, CFPA

Vacancies:

The Senate is seeking one faculty to serve as Faculty Legislative Representative (FLR) thru 2012

Senators are sought to serve on the following:  1 each on ACC, ATC, and Senate Library Committee.

The Senate Executive Council approved faculty as candidates for the following:

(Names are submitted to the Provost for appointment):

Judicial Appeals Board: Diane Johnson, M&CL; Kathleen Lundeen, English; Gail Coulter, Special Education

Student Academic Grievance Board:  Dan Warner, Accounting; Brandon Dupont, Economics

Academic Honesty Board: Jennifer Devenport, Psychology; Petra Fiero, M&CL; Ozan Sula, Economics

Faculty Development Grants:  Tina Du Rocher Schudlich, Psychology; Timothy Keiper, Secondary Education; Leza Madsen, Library; Keith Russell, PEHR.

Senate Executive Council appointed the following faculty to:

LGBT Advocacy Council: Garth Amundson, Art; Raine Dozier, Human Svcs & Rehab; Carol Guess, English; Craig Dunn, Management; Bridget Kelley, Special Education; Kristen Larson, Physics/Astronomy

MINUTES FROM SENATE STANDING COMMITTEES (Exhibit C)

Senators commented on motions coming to the Senate through the Standing Committees including UPRC’s motions on college budgets, CUE’s course approval form, and a RESOLUTION from ACC on preserving quality programs.

Roger Anderson reported that the resolution indicates ACC is looking for a slower pace of review that will allow us to make wiser decisions.  Anderson also reported on the Business Process Review committee formed this spring which will review the entire ACC course approval process and seek ways to shorten or reduce paperwork.

Concern was expressed about interdisciplinary education and a liberal education focus which cannot be taken for granted.  There are interdisciplinary challenges: students are looking for interdisciplinary programs and we want to make sure we include a strong liberal arts education.  Such a discussion is not as common when there is budget cutting but we want to have this conversation at Western outside of a budget cutting mentality.

Spencer Anthony-Cahill suggested that people have questions with respect to how resources might be allocated, and we hope to establish and provide conduits so faculty can provide information first and have a more direct role in how different options are perceived before they are even offered.  We are not yet sure how such a process would work. UPRC appears to be an example of collaboration that is working.  We can still examine models on how to make this work better.

Constituent Concerns:  Senators (Kathleen Saunders and Daniel Larner) will seek the source of rumors that Bill McKibben, nationally known environmental writer, may have been requested to limit his remarks on local environmental controversies at the behest of an unnamed "University" official. 

Senators heard additional concerns: 1)  A concern was raised that the academic space devoted to the Huxley Map Library was being converted to retail space. Provost Riordan responded there was a great need for more service area for the increased number of students at the far end of campus, and that bringing the scene shop and other programs on to campus would result in large rental savings.  Riordan mentioned that other food spaces had been turned over to academic areas, and she recognized that the need for more academic space was very important;

2) A concern that a higher profile location for the Huxley College Dean’s office could better serve Huxley College students and staff;  Riordan promised to look into this;

3) Additional information is needed on the file sharing website on which students are storing exams.  President pro tem Pearce reported he would look further into this.

ADJOURNMENT

Senators Adjourned at 5:47 pm in order to attend the President’s Dinner for the Senate.

June 6, 2011 – Rose Marie Norton-Nader, Recorder

                                                                                                __________________________________

Kathleen Saunders, Secretary, 2011-2012

FACULTY SENATE – ROSTER 2010-2011