Minutes of

FACULTY SENATE

 February 13, 2012

Call to Order

Karen Stout, Faculty Senate President, called the 2011-2012 Senate to order at 4:05 pm.   Stout welcomed twenty-three (23) Senators along with ten (10) others for a total of thirty-three (33).  (See Roster).

Items from the Faculty Senate President:

Approval of Senate Minutes: Senators accepted the Senate minutes of February 6, 2012.

President Stout reported and reminded faculty that:

§  A “Humans vs. Zombies” game will take place the weekend of February 18 and 19;

§  Surveys were sent to all faculty this week as part of administrative review for John Lawson and Roger Gilman;

§  The March 5^th Senate meeting agenda will include a second vote on Sections 7 and 8 of the Code of Faculty Ethics;

§  Western received an award for largest participation increase in its successful Combined Fund Drive this year.

Reports

Provost Riordan announced that a reception will be held for Dr. Moheb Ghali who will resume teaching economics.  Kathy Kitto is experienced in terms of sponsored research and will be acting Dean of the Graduate School.  Kitto will seek information from departments on their interests, needs, and initiatives for research separately from graduate program review and the transition will allow an interim space of time for faculty to provide insight and ideas. 

§  Riordan is considering various factors in putting together a committee to look at Graduate programs, and hopes to establish a better process for their review.

§  Riordan and Vice President Steve Swan are interested in input from faculty on how best to make external partnerships work.

§  Riordan reported on her attendance at a recent AASCU conference.  Riordan would like to take interested faculty to the next conference to become more familiar with national trends in public higher education. 

§  Riordan encouraged faculty to take charge of the textbook arena in which publishers sell faculty materials and intellectual property back to students at exorbitant prices. Riordan showed “Flatworldknowledge.com”, an online site which produces free and adaptable textbooks. 

§  Senators and Riordan are concerned generally about inappropriate liberties taken with intellectual property.  Riordan mentioned that Bill Lyne had helped derail an effort in the legislature make faculty intellectual property freely available.

§  Senators underscored the need for summer research grants and mentioned that some faculty in different disciplines are already incorporating different ways of getting information to students, including creating APPs for smartphones and e-tablets.

Dan Boxberger sent information via President Stout on several bills of concern in Olympia, including SB1650 which would provide state need grants to private for-profit universities; many of these have much higher tuition rates and state need grants to them would drain the pool of available financial aid for WWU students.

Support for Students challenged by Mental Illness: Sherry Mallory, Nancy Corbin, Emily Gibson

Senators heard Directors Sherry Mallory, Student Life, Nancy Corbin, Counseling Center, and Emily Gibson, Student Health Center, provide information on helping students who may display inappropriate behaviors.  Faculty can encourage students to seek out mental health services, either the Counseling Center or the Health Center. 

·         The Health Center sees about 150 people a day and an additional 100 or more have online or phone conversations; about 25% of this is related to mental health. Signs that can alert faculty to potentially troubled students include: missing class more than usual, change in physical appearance, disorientation, sharing personal problems, unusual response to normal events, in appropriate classroom behavior.  

·         Often faculty have concerns with privacy/confidentiality, and do not know what they can say or cannot say.  Faculty cannot be informed of all the specifics of a case but can be informed if a student got help. Faculty are urged to make safety a first concern when situations arise in the classroom and can call 360-650-SAFE or 360-650-3911 to reach campus police.

·         A 2011 issue of Praxis provides detailed information on Western’s many services available for students and referral services available to faculty and students.  The link is http://www.wwu.edu/vpue/Praxis/Praxis_Summer%202011.pdf .

University Advancement: “Western Stands for Washington” Campaign - Stephanie Bowers, Brian Burton, Steve Swan

Stephanie Bowers, Vice President University Advancement and Brian Burton, Dean of the College of Business and Economics, provided Senators with a brochure entitled “Western Stands for Washington” for the Western campaign, and discussed ways that faculty can foster students’ connections to the university as future alumni. 

·      The goal of the campaign is that 90% of the money will be raised from 10% of people, which include parents, alumni and corporations.  Faculty are essential leadership to be completely on board.  The first invited to give are the Trustees and the Foundation Board, then faculty in the near future, then eventually everyone.

·      Burton emphasized that our students are our best sales people and that engagement comes first and creates synergy.  Since class reunions are generally department-based, the biggest reunion is Back to Bellingham which can already provide the staging for departmental reunions. Senators confirmed that online social media is growing as an avenue that fosters relationships between past and future students and their faculty.

Review of Minutes from Senate Standing Committees

Appointments and Elections:   Jackie Caplan-Auerbach, 2011-12 Officer

Ø  Auerbach announced that SENATE NOMINATING PETITIONS will be emailed this Friday and are due back to the Senate office by March 9.  Senators are asked to inform the Senate office if you plan to run for a second or third term from your area, and please encourage colleagues to serve as well.

Ø  Spencer Anthony-Cahill thanked Babafemi Akinrinade and Sandra Alfers who will work with him on revising the Academic Freedom section of the Code of Faculty Ethics.

VACANCIES:  1 Senator for each:  Academic Technology Committee and Senate Library Committee                         

ADJOURNMENT

Senators moved to adjourn at 5:42 pm without caucus.

February 13, 2012 – Rose Marie Norton-Nader, Recorder

__________________________________

Kathleen Saunders, Secretary, 2011-2012

FACULTY SENATE – ROSTER 2011-2012