WESTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY
Regular Meeting, 26 October 2010, 4:00 p.m.
Capitol Rooms - University Union
ACTION MINUTES
SENATORS PRESENT: B. Clark, L. Conover, B. Davies, G. Delany-Barmann, D. DeVolder, K. Durkin, S.
Haynes, R. Hironimus-Wendt, M. Hoge, D. Hunter, J. McNabb, L. Miczo, K. Pawelko, C. Pynes, S. Rahman, P.
Rippey, M. Singh, I. Szabo, B. Thompson, T. Werner
Ex-officio: Jack Thomas, Provost; Tej Kaul, Parliamentarian
SENATORS ABSENT: N. Made Gowda, D. Yoder
GUESTS: Michele Aurand, John Cooper, Judi Dallinger, Autumn Greenwood, Ken Hawkinson, David Lane, Jim
LaPrad, Russ Morgan, Bill Polley, John Simmons, Cynthia Struthers, Ron Williams
I.
Consideration of Minutes
A.
12 October 2010
MINUTES APPROVED AS DISTRIBUTED
II.
Announcements
A.
Provost's Report
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Provost Thomas told senators that the University is now owed $32.1 million by the state of
Illinois, and that WIU has $9.6 million on hand. He said that while he hopes at some point that
the Provost’s Travel Award funds can be released, the administration is still unable to do so.
Provost Thomas is continuing to approve all requests for travel and purchases over $500 and is
asking that everyone affected continue to bear with the process.
The University Research Council (URC) will consider 2010 grants this afternoon. Applicants
will be notified of the URC decision in early November. Provost Thomas told senators that 14
applications for research council grants have been received. He related that Sponsored Projects
is pleased that administrative and facilities cost recovery dollars were up in 2010, allowing for
more funds to be designated toward faculty seed programs.
Provost Thomas told senators that some University employees have experienced problems
successfully receiving their green cards. He has asked Tom Arkell, an attorney working with
WIU on immigration issues, to offer training to WIU offices engaged in this process so that they
can better assist individuals that come into their offices. He explained the process is spread
between the Provost’s office, Business office, and Center for International Studies. Provost
Thomas stated that some situations encountered by individuals working through immigration
issues are quite complex, and he hopes that the process can eventually be centralized. He
believes some of the difficulties being encountered are due to the number of offices assisting
with the process, and stated that some problems go back several years.
Provost Thomas has been working with Rick Carter, Director of the School of Distance
Learning, International Studies and Outreach, on issues of recruitment and increasing
international student admissions. Provost Thomas wants Dr. Carter to speak to Faculty Senate
and other constituent groups about ideas for growing international student enrollment. He related
that two new international scholarships have been identified that will be used as recruitment
tools along with various kinds of articulation agreements and partnerships with institutions. The
Provost pointed out that Western’s English as a Second Language (WESL) program has been
very beneficial for the institution, and many students who participate in it tend to stay at WIU.
He told senators that a couple of institutions in the Macomb area that do not have ESL programs
are interested in sending students to Western’s program over the summer months.
Provost Thomas expressed his congratulations to those individuals who recently received the
Provost’s Awards for Excellence.
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Commencement is set for December 18. John Welty, who was unable to attend the spring
commencement due to adverse weather conditions, will receive an honorary doctorate degree.
Three posthumous degrees will be presented to the parents of WIU students who passed away
this year.
Senator Delany-Barmann asked Provost Thomas whether Mr. Arkell, in his training sessions on
green cards, will specifically address the issue of students that may be undocumented and how
faculty might advise those students. Provost Thomas responded that Mr. Arkell will address that
topic, and an open forum for faculty to meet with him is also being coordinated by Associate Provost
Dallinger.
Senator Haynes suggested it would be helpful if international faculty were informed more
specifically during new faculty orientation about the immigration process, costs involved, and
important deadlines. She stated that as a faculty member currently going through this process, she
has found some parts of it to be a shock; no deadlines were brought to her attention, and she has had
to learn much of the process by word of mouth. Provost Thomas related that a new orientation
process has been developed by Roger Runquist, Director of the Center for Innovation in Teaching
and Research (CITR), and the New Faculty Orientation Committee. Senator Thompson served on
that committee, which Provost Thomas stated did a good job of revamping this year’s orientation for
incoming faculty. He asked Senator Thompson to take Senator Haynes’s concerns back to the
Committee when it meets again.
Senator Hunter asked – given the state of Western’s budget last year, this year, and next year – if any
data is being collected about the effect on tenure-track faculty, for instance in relation to the
Provost’s Travel Awards. Provost Thomas pointed out that the Provost’s Travel Awards were only
instituted when he came to Western; faculty still receive travel funds from their departments and can
advocate for travel funding from their deans. He noted the Provost’s Travel Awards are intended as
only a little extra to help faculty who might wish, for instance, to attend more than one conference
during the year, and lack of current funds to award them should not affect faculty’s ability to travel,
conduct research, or attend professional meetings. The Provost said he signs off on travel requests
daily, and does not believe the unavailability of the Provost’s Travel Awards at this time prevent
faculty from doing what they need in order to get promoted and tenured. Senator Thompson
suggested it might be interesting to assess how the budget cash flow crisis is affecting faculty in
general; for instance, whether faculty are unable to purchase the lab equipment necessary for
research. He believes there might be collateral damage caused by the state fiscal crisis. Provost
Thomas responded he has been considering this and is working to put a plan in place.
Parliamentarian Kaul has two searches ongoing in his department and several applications from
foreign faculty, and wonders if he can ask potential candidates about their employment eligibility.
Provost Thomas responded that searches must be fair, and the best applicant for the position must be
chosen regardless of whether candidates are from a foreign country. Senator Rippey added that
faculty may not know if they are eligible to be employed because their immigration status may be
tied to receipt of a job offer. She stressed that departments may not discriminate based upon nation
of origin. Associate Provost Dallinger remarked that Mr. Arkell has a list of interview questions that
can be used to elicit potential employment information, but they must be asked uniformly for all
candidates and not just of those candidates who might be of foreign origin. Provost Thomas added
that more discussions along these lines will occur with Mr. Arkell, but a date for his visit has not yet
been set.
C.
Student Government Association (SGA) Report
(Autumn Greenwood, SGA representative to Faculty Senate)
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The SGA last week met with Senator Bob Graham, who encouraged senators to continue to be
leaders in their communities and school.
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D.
Other Announcements
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III.
Two weeks ago SGA passed a bill to encourage a change in the tailgating policy. SGA hopes
that tailgating can be made free again for students in order to encourage school spirit and greater
involvement in football games. A trial run of the new policy will occur at the last two football
games this year, along with a school spirit contest.
SGA passed a bill to change the parking meters in front of residence halls to both one-hour and
half-hour time limits; currently the residence hall meters are all half-hour maximums.
SGA passed a bill to expand Rocky Dollars for use off-campus for meals.
Chairperson DeVolder announced a search committee is being formed for the position of Vice
President for Student Services. He informed senators that when Committee on Committees
reports on the representative for the Vice President for Administrative Services search
committee, they are prepared, if the Senate wants to use the same process, to nominate a faculty
member for the Student Services search as well.
Chairperson DeVolder received a request today from Vice President Johnson for a faculty
representative to the search committee for Director of Admissions. That search will begin early
in spring semester.
Reports of Committees and Councils
A.
Council on Admission, Graduation and Academic Standards
(Bill Polley, Chair)
1.
Elimination of 24 s.h. Admissions Requirement for Interdisciplinary Studies
CAGAS unanimously approved a request from the Interdisciplinary Studies degree program
to remove its 24 s.h. restriction for admission and change the undergraduate catalog from the
current instruction that “Freshmen who wish to declare Interdisciplinary Studies on entry to
the University should contact the Coordinator for application procedures” to “Students who
wish to declare Interdisciplinary Studies as a major …” The rationale provided by
Interdisciplinary Studies Coordinator Michele Aurand and Honors College Director Bill
Knox to CAGAS explains that “With the creation of concentrations of study in ISP, and
most recently those in renewable energies, the traditional cohort of students has changed
from those who join ISP after a year or so in other majors to those who want to get on with
their study in these nationally growing career fields. It is our belief that with the removal of
the 24-credit restriction, enrollment in these concentrations will expand – perhaps rapidly –
and [they will] become an even more attractive course of study for new and transfer students
alike.”
NO OBJECTIONS
2.
Request for S/U Grading
a.
PSY 200, Careers in Psychology, 1 s.h.
Dr. Polley explained that CAGAS considered only the S/U grading portion of the
request. Senator McNabb asked for clarification that Senate approval of S/U grading
does not necessarily indicate approval of the subsequent new course request;
Chairperson DeVolder confirmed that is correct.
NO OBJECTIONS
B.
Council for General Education
(Cynthia Struthers, Chair)
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1.
Request for Inclusion in General Education
a.
MUS 397, Jazz History Survey, 3 s.h.
Senator Rippey noted that traditionally General Education courses, except in the
multicultural category, have always been 100- and 200-level. She expressed
concerns with IAI articulation for a 300-level fine arts course, and with infringing
upon the domain of community colleges, who traditionally offer fine arts Gen Ed at
only the 100- and 200-level. She added that Western can offer multicultural Gen Ed
above 200-level courses because that category is not part of the state IAI. Senator
Rippey expressed her intention to object to the course until these concerns are
answered. Associate Provost Dallinger responded that MUS 397 originally came
before CGE requesting both multicultural and fine arts designation but was
approved in only the multicultural category. The “X” in the fine arts box on the
request form should have been removed and only the “General Education Category:
V” retained.
Senator Rippey inquired about the multicultural aspect of the course since jazz is a
distinctly American genre. Music professor John Cooper responded the criteria of a
multicultural course includes the perspective of underrepresented groups; jazz is a
development of the African American community, an underrepresented group in
America. Senator Rippey withdrew her objection to the course.
Change: Remove “X” in fine arts category box.
GENERAL EDUCATION DESIGNATION APPROVED WITH CHANGE
C.
Council on Curricular Programs and Instruction
(Jim LaPrad, Chair)
1.
Requests for New Courses
a.
PSY 200, Careers in Psychology, 1 s.h.
Senator Pynes related that he tried to bring a preparation-type course before CCPI
last year and was told that credit is not given for those types of courses. He noted
that ECON 197, Skill Development, is a similar advisement-type course, but it is
offered for 0 s.h. Senator Pynes said he would like to see PSY 200 offered as a 0 s.h.
course rather than for credit.
SENATOR PYNES OBJECTED TO THE COURSE
Motion: To restore consideration of PSY 200 to the agenda (Durkin/McNabb)
MOTION APPROVED 19 YES – 1 NO – 0 AB
Senator Hunter asked if there is a policy on these types of courses. Dr. LaPrad
responded that under Relationship to Other Courses, the PSY 200 request indicates
its similarity to BIOL 170, Introduction to Health Careers, which is also 1 s.h. He
explained that both are career exploration courses, so there is a precedent for
offering these types of courses for credit. Parliamentarian Kaul asked if CCPI’s
policy has changed over time, stating that he recalled the conversation when it was
stated that certain types of courses would not be allowed for course credit. Senator
Pynes recalled that the course he brought before CCPI that was denied by the
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Council was a pass/fail logic course to prepare for the LSAT test. He noted that the
following semester, Economics brought forward their 0 s.h. course, which was
approved. Senator Pynes said he does not see the argument for granting credit for
some of these types of courses and not for others; he would like to see comparable
groups of courses treated similarly. Dr. LaPrad explained that CCPI saw PSY 200 as
different than a preparation course for an examination. He explained PSY 200 is a
course to explore the options available to students who are completing a degree in
Psychology and do not wish to continue to grad school; it explores options for
employment in the field, which is different than preparing an individual to take an
examination.
Senator Hunter asked for an explanation of the 0 s.h. ECON 197 course.
Parliamentarian Kaul, who chairs the Department of Economics and Information
Sciences, explained that incoming freshmen and transfer students are required to
take the course, which advises them what they are supposed to be doing during their
time in the program, including some career choices. He added that ECON 497,
Senior Knowledge Assessment, 0 s.h., is the accompanying course that Economics
students are required to take for University assessment. Senator Hunter pointed out
that the point of contention seems to be that courses which are preparations for class
or for examinations are not allowed for credit while career preparation or
exploration courses can receive credit. Parliamentarian Kaul agreed that there are
examples in the undergraduate catalog where credit is given for career preparation
courses but there are no examples where credit is given for a course preparing
students to take the LSAT or other tests. He said the question seems to be whether
these are two different types of courses. Senator Hunter asked if ECON 197 is more
like career preparation or test preparation courses; Parliamentarian Kaul responded
it is not exactly like either. He explained that ECON 197 is a program preparation
course whereby students are guided through what they need to do at Western;
ECON 497 is an assessment of that process. Dr. LaPrad pointed out that the PSY
200 request form also references its similarity to HS 450, Health Sciences Careers
Workshop, which is also offered for 1 s.h. Senator Hunter asked if similar courses
have been denied credit hours; Dr. LaPrad responded that similar courses have not,
to his knowledge, been denied credit, noting that the Philosophy course which was
denied as a credit course was directed specifically toward preparation for an exam.
Parliamentarian Kaul added that ECON 197 and 497 were not denied credit but
were brought before CCPI originally as 0 s.h. courses.
Senator Pynes noted that there are other WIU classes on the books that are
preparatory in nature; he listed a certification course in Nursing as well as the two
courses in Economics. He stated that if the argument is made that PSY 200 concerns
career advancement, he finds it even less convincing that it should receive college
credit because most departments treat this as an advising issue. He added if PSY 200
prepares students for exams, he would like to see some equity in the decisionmaking process for these kinds of situations. College of Arts and Sciences Associate
Dean Russ Morgan explained PSY 200 is a course that was taught for over a decade
prior to the retirement of its instructor. He related at that time the department
thought PSY 200 was no longer needed and it was no longer taught, causing it to fall
into deep freeze. He said the course is being brought back because student
evaluations indicate a need for this type of instruction; there are a lot of subdisciplines within psychology, and students need to understand what careers are
available to them if they focus on certain fields within the discipline and what kinds
of backgrounds they will need.
Senator Rippey expressed her belief that there is a significant difference between an
LSAT preparation course and the course being considered before Senate. She
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explained PSY 200 is related to a disciplinary offering in Psychology, and she can
understand how exploring different careers could help students engage their major
more effectively by thinking about different directions. She stated this would be
particularly helpful in the College of Arts and Sciences, where the disciplines are
not matched to particular jobs. She believes students who choose not to go to
graduate school need to understand the value of a liberal arts education, and PSY
200 would reinforce that, as well as sustaining and exciting interest in the major.
Senator McNabb noted the current PSY 200, Careers in Psychology, does not sound
exactly the same as the PSY 200, Professional and Career Issues in Psychology, that
is currently in deep freeze and which would be replaced by the newer version. She
asked if there is a description available for the earlier course. Psychology professor
David Lane responded there is a description in an earlier undergraduate catalog, but
could not recall the exact wording. As a result of talking to the retired professor who
previously taught PSY 200, he believes the content is fairly similar; despite their
different titles, both address professional and career interests, such as what students
can do with their bachelor’s degree or options for graduate study. Senator McNabb
noted that aspects of the Justification of the Course section seem to indicate issues
of advisement rather than something for which the University should grant course
credit. She related that the her department engages in career planning as an activity
of their History club, and faculty advise their students about the options available to
them. She said while she would support PSY 200 as a 0 s.h. course, she does not see
why student credit hours (SCH) should apply to a course intended to address longterm weaknesses in the department that sound like they could be solved through
advising.
Parliamentarian Kaul, reading from the course descriptions, explained that ECON
197 is a “skill development course” that is taken by all freshmen and transfer
students, while 497 is a “senior knowledge assessment” course. He added that
neither of the courses is similar to PSY 200.
Senator Singh explained his concerns stem from possibly diluting the Psychology
program. He stated that if a 120 s.h. bachelor’s degree is to be “chipped away” by
the addition of this course, other issues should be considered, such as globalization,
ethics, and sustainability. Senator Singh believes approval of PSY 200 could ruin
the Psychology program “pretty substantially” and expressed his agreement with
Senate colleagues who believe that career options as well as excitement for grad
school or for options within their disciplines are more appropriately the
responsibility of faculty. Senator Singh conceded that there is precedent for
informing individuals about career options but thinks that at some point that
precedent needs to be wiped clean.
Senator Rippey explained that in Arts and Sciences students are required to
complete a major, a minor, and usually about 12 hours of general electives. She
estimated the addition of PSY 200 may mean that Psychology majors will graduate
with 121 hours of credit, but it will not replace any existing Psychology course. She
told senators that faculty can always think of things they would like student to focus
upon, but it is traditionally left to the discipline experts to determine what they want
their students exposed to as their priorities. Senator Rippey stated she has no
problem with PSY 200 either as a 0 s.h. or a 1 s.h. course because it will not replace
any other Psychology offerings and might serve as a motivation for students to focus
on things that may enable them to obtain a better grounding and real substance in
their discipline. She does not believe PSY 200 will undermine Psychology because
it is a large, successful, and tough major and she thinks the department knows what
it is doing. Senator Pynes said he does not think Psychology majors should have to
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pay the extra tuition and fees required for the 1 s.h. PSY 200 course, noting that it
would cost students nothing if the course was offered for 0 s.h.
Senator Hironimus-Wendt asked if the department had considered bringing the
inactive PSY 200 out of deep freeze. Dr. Lane responded that “a mistake was made
somewhere” and he was told that PSY 200 had been eliminated; he did not find out
that it still existed until informed by the Registrar’s office representative at the CCPI
meeting. He said that at that time he decided to complete the process since it was so
far underway.
Motion: To approve PSY 200 (Rippey/Hunter)
MOTION APPROVED 11 YES – 7 NO – 2 AB
b.
REL 458, Comparative Asian Religious Thought, 3 s.h.
NO OBJECTIONS
2.
Request for Change in Option
a.
Applied Music: Jazz Studies
NO OBJECTIONS
D.
Committee on Committees
(Gloria Delany-Barmann, Chair)
UNIVERSITY COUNCILS AND COMMITTEES:
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Search Committee for Vice President for Administrative Services
Mike Tracey, Management and Marketing
There were no further nominations; the nominee was elected by acclamation.
Chairperson DeVolder distributed President Goldfarb’s letter requesting that Faculty Senate appoint a
representative by November 19 to the search committee for Vice President for Student Services. He
asked senators if they wished to follow the same process – utilization of faculty responses to the CoC
survey indicating interest in serving on search committees – to fill the faculty representative position,
noting that to do so would require a two-thirds vote. He added that CoC has identified a nominee in
case senators do wish to use the same selection process. Chairperson DeVolder clarified that Faculty
Senate at its last meeting identified a process to use only for Vice President for Administrative
Services (VPAS) searches, and now needs to determine a method to use for Vice President for
Student Services (VPSS) searches.
Motion: That Faculty Senate use Committee on Committees to fill the search committee vacancy for
Vice President for Student Services (Rippey/McNabb)
MOTION APPROVED 20 YES – 0 NO – 0 AB
Chairperson DeVolder told senators that now that a process has been determined to fill the search
committee vacancy for VP Student Services, and since CoC has a nominee to bring forward, Faculty
Senate could add consideration of their nominee to the agenda, but it would require a two-thirds vote.
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Motion: To add to the agenda the CoC nomination for VP Student Services and act on it
(Rippey/Pawelko)
MOTION APPROVED 20 YES – 0 NO – 0 AB
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Search Committee for Vice President for Student Services
Sandra Watkins, Educational Leadership
As there were no further nominations; the nominee was declared elected.
IV.
Old Business – None
V.
New Business
Motion: To add a resolution to New Business (Thompson/Hunter)
Chairperson DeVolder noted it would take a two-thirds vote to add this item to the agenda.
MOTION APPROVED 18 YES – 2 NO – 0 AB
A.
Resolution to Add UPI Representatives to the Search Committees for Vice President for
Administrative Services and Vice President for Student Services
Senator Thompson read the resolution: “The Faculty Senate recommends the addition of a
representative from the University Professionals of Illinois to the search for the Vice President,
Administrative Services and to the search for Vice President, Student Services.”
Senator Thompson stated that although the Administrator Selection Procedures regarding these
searches do not mention that Faculty Senate approval of changes is necessary, President Goldfarb
would like Faculty Senate to make a recommendation to him about adding UPI representatives to
these searches. Senator Thompson said he believes this is a good thing because by doing this
President Goldfarb is strengthening the Senate’s position about putting individuals on searches and
is somewhat setting a precedent.
Senator Thompson read from a rationale statement accompanying the resolution which explains that
“it is traditional at WIU that the benefits UPI bargains for its members are extended to persons in
other unions and to those who belong to no unions at all” and that the Vice President for
Administrative Service’s advice is sought as these benefits are crafted. The rationale points out that
the advice of the VPAS may shape the benefits that faculty receive, as well as noting that it is likely
that UPI expansion plans will result in many members reporting to the VP for Administrative
Services as well as the VP for Student Services. The rationale also notes that UPI already has
members in the Admissions office that report to the VPSS.
Chairperson DeVolder explained that since the resolution was added to the agenda as a new item of
business and was not placed on the agenda by the Senate Executive Committee, it has not been
moved and seconded by ExCo, and a motion would be necessary to act on it. He added that it would
probably be a good idea to consider such a motion before continuing the discussion.
Motion: That Faculty Senate act on the resolution (Thompson/McNabb)
Chairperson DeVolder asked if by “act on” Senator Thompson intended the motion to mean “act
positively on” or “support.” Senator Thompson confirmed this interpretation.
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Senator Hironimus-Wendt asked if it is impossible to divide the motion because it is a resolution. He
said while he understands why Faculty Senate would recommend a UPI representative serve on the
search committee for a Vice President for Administrative Services, it is less clear why the Senate
would support the second position. Chairperson DeVolder responded that a motion to divide the
resolution would be a significant amendment, unlike dividing other motions. Senator HironimusWendt stated he would like to hear a stronger clarification as to why Faculty Senate would be
concerned whether a UPI representative is included on the VPSS search committee, adding that a
few UPI members in Admissions serving under the VP for Student Services and the discussion of
UPI expansion seem a little weak as rationales. Senator Thompson responded UPI has a strong
interest in the search process whenever its members – whether there are five or 50 – are reporting to
a VP, and the union anticipates having more individuals in Student Services reporting to that VP in
future. Senator Pynes remarked it strikes him as odd that Faculty Senate would wish to request that a
specific member of UPI serve on these vice presidential searches; he noted that Senate normally
does not ask for representation for areas over which it has no control, and the faculty member, if
added, would serve on behalf of UPI. Senator Pynes stated that adding members on UPI’s behalf
seems unnecessary since any faculty member serving on these searches is a de facto member of UPI,
so in some sense the union is represented already. He said he does not know why Faculty Senate is
voting on something that a) they can’t control and b) seems unnecessary. Chairperson DeVolder
responded that President Goldfarb was asked independently to appoint a UPI representative, and his
response indicated that his power to appoint was restricted by the policy. He did not directly refer the
decision to Faculty Senate but did mention Faculty Senate as a body that approved the entire
Administrators Selection Procedures during its overhaul several years ago. That resulted in the
request being directed to Faculty Senate to support UPI’s resolution to add members to the two
searches.
Associate Provost Hawkinson remarked, although he does not support or oppose the resolution, it
should be noted that there are seven to nine unions represented under the Vice President for
Administrative Services; he wondered if the approval of the resolution would lead to the other
unions asking for representation on the search committee as well. He asked senators to take this
possibility into consideration when making their decisions.
Senator Hunter noted that the vice presidential search committees already include representation
from the Civil Service Employees’ Council, Intercollegiate Athletics, the Council for Administrative
Personnel, faculty members, a department chair and dean. He wondered who is not being
represented on the committees, which are already quite large.
Senator Thompson explained that the benefits for which UPI bargains on behalf of faculty are based,
on part, on the input of the Vice President for Administrative Services, whose advice on benefits is
traditionally sought at WIU due to cost considerations. He noted that Parental Leave, which UPI
bargained for in 2007, was granted to non-UPI members after it was approved for UPI members, so
the VPAS is asked to weigh in on the cost as well as whether he/she thinks the proposal is a good
one for the University. He concluded this shapes the benefit being requested and justifies UPI’s
interest in having a representative on this vice presidential search committee. Senator Hunter asked
if the intention is that the UPI representative would be able to ask questions of the vice presidential
candidates that are more applicable to their interests than might be asked by others; Senator
Thompson confirmed this is correct. Senator Singh asked if the individual UPI selects as its search
committee representative would be chosen from the complete membership of UPI. Senator
Thompson responded the UPI President makes these types of appointments.
Parliamentarian Kaul asked who originated the policy on Administrator Selection Procedures, stating
that if Faculty Senate in the first place did not have a hand in bringing this particular policy forward
it may be impossible to change something not under its jurisdiction. He asked if Faculty Senate has
any authority to amend the policy. Chairperson DeVolder responded that the policy designates the
actual power to amend these sections to the vice presidents. He added that if Faculty Senate endorses
the resolution, it will express the Senate’s opinion to the President in support of adding UPI
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representatives to the two search committees. Senator Durkin agreed that what Faculty Senate is
considering is just a resolution and basically gives the President power that he already has since he
can put someone from any constituent group that he wants on a search committee. He believes there
are many other units that should have a seat at the table, and UPI should not necessarily do at the
search committee stage what should be part of the negotiating stage. Senator Durkin would not like
to see a viable candidate negated just because UPI doesn't support him or her, and he does not see a
need to add a UPI rep when the President is already authorized to add a member to the search
committee at his discretion. Chairperson DeVolder clarified that the President cannot add a member
at will to these two specific search committees: the President's power to appoint is restricted to
employees within the division for both of these vice presidential searches.
Senator Pynes asked how the UPI President would choose their appointee, if one was added, noting
that the representative would need to be someone able to focus on the potential and actual benefits
for future and current union members and be extremely knowledgeable about contract and
bargaining issues, which would restrict the pool of competent applicants to a very small amount of
UPI members. He noted this would mean giving power to influence VP searches to one of a small
group of people as opposed to letting Committee on Committees recommend a nominee from a
larger group of potential representatives, which is Faculty Senate's normal way of determining
representation. He reiterated that it seems unnecessary and odd that the resolution to add a UPI
representative to these VP search committees was brought to Faculty Senate.
Senator Thompson explained that the resolution is something that President Goldfarb wants, noting
that it's clear that the people that can modify the procedures are the vice presidents. He said what he
supposes President Golfarb wants is for Faculty Senate to recommend to him so that he can then
recommend to the vice presidents modification of the Administrator Search Procedures. Senator
Thompson reiterated that President Goldfarb asked for Faculty Senate to do this, and he thinks it is a
good precedent for the Senate that the President asked for their input in this way. He pointed out that
it would have been easier when UPI President John Miller approached the President last week with
the request that a UPI rep be added to the two search committees if the President had just agreed and
then gone to the vice presidents with that recommendation, but Senator Thompson reiterated that
President Goldfarb instead wished to go through Faculty Senate, which is a positive thing.
Senator Durkin asked why UPI representation was excluded from the two search committees at the
time the policy was created, noting that a UPI rep was included on the Provost search committee but
not on others. Senator Rippey stated that even on provost searches, faculty play a miniscule role. She
told senators that she served on the search for former Provost Rallo and there were a grand total of
two people from academic affairs on the search committee – one dean and one faculty member. She
related the decision process was dominated by people who were never going to report to the provost
and who likely had insufficient understanding of the provost's role. Senator Rippey does not believe
Faculty Senate needs to worry about other unions' representation; Faculty Senate is asking
specifically for a UPI rep because that is the union that represents faculty. She believes senators
should see adding a UPI rep as an opportunity to get at least one more faculty member on two vice
presidential search committees, adding that this matters because academics should be influential
when hiring at a university and search committees should not be dominated by individuals whose
vision of the university is much more limited. Senator Rippey told senators it matters to her a great
deal that whoever is nominated by UPI to the search committees would be a faculty member because
faculty are not well represented on any of the VP searches.
Senator Hunter asked how President Goldfarb would respond if Faculty Senate asked for an
additional faculty member to be added to the search committees rather than a UPI representative;
Senator Thompson responded that is not the nature of the resolution being considered. Senator
Rippey explained that on all of the searches, constituent groups choose a representative to serve. She
stated that in order for an additional faculty representative to be added to the VP search committees,
Faculty Senate would have to make the case that faculty are central to this University and should
have greater representation on these committees, and that would probably be a lost cause. Senator
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Rippey pointed out there is a constituent group that is populated entirely by faculty that fits the
model being used to fill these committees, but it has always been a surprise to her that faculty, who
should have extensive representation on search committees, are underrepresented. She stated
because of this, there needs to be an identified group that can add more faculty to the search
committees, and UPI is a recognized group that is comprised almost entirely of faculty.
Senator Hunter said he has heard that Faculty Senate developed the Administrator Selection
Procedures. Senator Rippey explained that all of WIU's policies are "owned" by the Board of
Trustees, whose objective is some effort at democratic practices facilitated by rooting representation
by groups rather than by individuals. She added that it sometimes makes sense to the Board to
believe that equal groups are equally interested and need equal representation, but Senator Rippey
believes not all groups at WIU are equally interested and are not equally capable of being good
stewards for the University. Senator Hoge remarked that Senator Rippey very effectively explained
the issues under consideration.
SENATOR PAWELKO CALLED THE QUESTION
NO OBJECTION TO ENDING DEBATE
RESOLUTION APPROVED 19 YES - 1 NO - 0 AB
Motion: To adjourn (McNabb)
The Faculty Senate adjourned at 5:15 p.m.
Lynda Conover, Senate Secretary
Annette Hamm, Faculty Senate Recording Secretary
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