Minutes
Meeting # 12, February
Faculty Senate
The Faculty Senate
Room of the University
present were: Adamcik,
Davis, Dixon, Eissinger
L. Luchsinger, V. Luchs
Oberhelman, Owens, Pear
Tereshkovich, Troub, Wa
Christian, McGlynn, and
pressing personal matte
1979
met on Wednesday, February 14, 1979 at 3:45 p.m. in le Senate
enter with Margaret Wilson, President, presiding. Se lators
lexander, Allen, Aycock, Brittin, Chamberlain, Cumin. 2 Dale,
Elbow, George, Gillas, Higdon, Jebsen, Keho, Kellogg 2 Lee,
Newcomb,
nger, McDonald, McGowan, McPherson, Mehaffie, Nelson
1,
Stoune,
on, Reichert, Rylander, Sanders, Sasser, Smith, Sowel
nt
were:
e, Wagner, Walkup, Williams, and Wright. Members abs
iness
or
Shine. Members absent because of other University b
S.
s: Hunter, McLaughlin, Michael, Mogan, Morris,and Vi
harles Hardwick, Vice President of Academic Affairs;
Guests included:
Registrar; Gene Medley, Associate Director, Admissions and Records; James D.
Henry C. Thomas, Physic ; and Rod McClendon, University Daily.
Don Wickard,
Howze, Art;
SUMMARY OF BUSINESS TRA SACTED
The Faculty Senate:
I. Accepted the Rlport of the ad hoc Committee on Equus.
II.
III.
I.
Created an ad oc committee to study academic freedom and its applic ation at
Texas Tech Uni ersity.
Voted to forwa d to President Mackey as findings of the Senate a por don of
the Report of he ad hoc Committee on Equus.
Heard a supple entary report from the ad hoc Committee to Study Face 1ty
Employment Contracts.
II. Moved to form n ad hoc committee to investigate the use of Universi ty motor
pool vehicles.
III. Heard the final report of the ad hoc Committee on Raising Retiremem. Age of
Faculty.
VII. Heard a report from the Committee on Committees.
VIII.
IX.
X.
Passed a resolLtion calling for the establishment of a manual pre-re ;istration
plan.
Moved to reque t a change in the 1979-80 University calendar.
Voted to delet4 a portion of the charge of the Academic Affairs and
Committee.
Status
Senate President, Margaret Wilson, called the meeting to order at 3:45 p .m. and
welcomed the guests.
I. MINUTES OF THE JANU RY 17, 1979 SENATE MEETING
Hearing no correct ons or additions, President Wilson declared the minu
as distributed.
s accepted
Page 2.
Meeting # 12, February
Faculty Senate
, 1979
II. REPORT OF THE AD H C COMMITTEE ON E UUS - James Howze
Howze moved that t
gate the Cancellation o
committee report contai
1. A committee sh
freedom and its app
to developing a be
the protection of
2. Every effort s
to raise the statu
appreciation for a
For example, the t
designed to enable
freedom. In addit
freedom when neces
in its pursuit of
to explain to the
freedom.
e Senate accept the report of the ad hoc Committee to InvestiEquus as distributed. The motion carried. The lengthy
ed the following recommendations:
uld be appointed by the Faculty Senate to study academic
ication on this campus; special attention should be directed
ter understanding of the various activities that fal. within
he concept.
ould be made by faculty, administration and Board of Regents
of academic freedom on this campus and to cultivate an
ademic freedom in the community served by Texas Tech University.
ree groups should each undertake a program of self-education
them to better understand, protect and interpret academic
on, faculty members should be committed to testing aoademic
ary; administrators should be prepared to support the faculty
cademic freedom; and the Board of Regents should be rrepared
egislature and their constituency the importance of academic
3. The Board of R gents and administration of the University should accept the
policy that each a ademic area has the responsibility for selecting the content
of the offerings i its discipline so long as its decisions are consistent with
sound practices of scholarship and ethics as defined by the discipline es a whole.
4. The Theatre Ar s Division should be able to schedule Equus or any ocher play
so long as the sel ction is in accordance with sound practices of scholership
and ethics as defi ed by the theatre arts discipline as a whole.
Following prolonge discussion of the ad hoc committee's report Sasser 'roved that
an ad hoc committee of he Faculty Senate be formed to carry out recommendation #1 of
the Equus Committee. T e motion carried following further extended debate.
Lee then moved tha discussion of Committee recommendations #2, #3, and #4 be postponed until the ad hoc ommittee created by the Sasser motion reports to the Senate.
and to
Adamcik moved to d vide recommendation #2 from recommendations #3 and The
motion
to
divide
the
recommendations
for
considEration
consider it separately.
carried.
The portion of the motion to postpone the consideration of recommendati(n #2
carried, but the motion to postpone the consideration of recommendations #3 -snd #4
failed.
Reichert then move to divide recommendation #4 from recommendation #3
consider it separately. The motion failed.
_1,_ nd
to
Adamdtk moved to i struct the President of the Senate to forward to Prelident
Mackey as being the fin ings of the Senate the following statementftnm the az. hoc
committee report:
Even if all the e ents that led to cancellation are construed in a lighz most
favorable to the U iversity administration it can still readily be demonstrated
that an atmospher restricting academic freedom was created. Restrictions on
academic freedom n exist and are just as harmful even where there is not an
overt act, series of acts or fault on the part of any individual to point to
Page 3.
Meeting #12, February 1 , 1979
Faculty Senate
Report of the ad hoc Committee on Equus continued as having created the condition. At the suggestion of the Dean of Arts and
Sciences Equus was cancelled by the director of theatre arts with the approval
of the faculty and subsequently Curse of the Starving Class was cancelled by
the director of theatre arts with the approval of the faculty; these plus had
little in common except that they both contained a nude scene. The preEent
state of affairs indicates that there is a general prohibition against producing
any play with a nude scene in it, no matter what the play's educational value
to the campus comm nity or its literary worth.
The Senate has con
the Board of Regen
Affairs, Dean of A
faculty of Theatre
of the academic fr
Arts on this campu
luded that this general prohibition whether it be by
s, President of the University, Vice-president of AcEdemic
ts and Sciences, Director of Theatre Arts or the collective
Arts, (or any combination of these) constitutes a vitiation
edom of individual faculty members and students of Theatre
and this is intolerable.
The Board of Regen
policy that each a
tent of the offeri
with sound practic
a whole.
s and administration of the University should accept the
ademic area has the responsibility for selecting the congs in its discipline so long as its decisions are corsistent
s of scholarship and ethics as defined by the discipline as
The Theatre Ants Di ision should be able to schedule Equus or any other clay
so long as the sel ction is in accordance with sound practices of scholarship
and ethics as defi ed by the theatre arts discipline as a whole.
Adamcik's motion c rried.
Wilson expressed t e Senate's appreciation for the ad hoc committee's wcrk.
III. SUPPLEMENTARY REP ORT OF AD HOC COMMITTEE TO STUDY FACULTY EMPLOYMENT 4NTRACTS Ruth Wright
The ad hoc committ e received copies of the Gaston bill, studied it, an agreed
unanimously that the ef ect is the same as that of the two bills studied pre%iously
(Clayton bills): the ab ogation of tenure. The committee finds this bill to also be
unacceptable.
IV. USE OF TECH VANS - Gary Elbow
Elbow called atten
motor pool which was di
the Faculty Senate be f
Elbow reported that the
which, presumably, were
of the University. In
for April weekends foun
have been denied becaus
ion to the report on the use of vehicles in the University
tributed to Senators and moved that an ad hoc committee of
rmed to further investigate the use of these vehicles.
Athletic Departments are monopolizing the use of vehLcles
purchased primarily for the use of the academic departments
anuary faculty members seeking to schedule the use of vans
that none were available and many requests for use of vans
they are already rented.
Hardwick agreed th t problems do exist in scheduling use of vehicles in the
motor pool and expresse a willingness to work with an ad hoc committee to try to
resolve them. He also tated that two more vehicles are currently on order.
Page 4.
Meeting # 12, February 14, 1979
Faculty Senate
Use of Tech Vans contimed Elbow's motion carried without opposition.
V. FINAL REPORT OF AD 11.0C COMMITTEE ON RAISING RETIREMENT AGE OF FACULTY The final report o
Since that report was w
Regents to revise Tech
guideline. The adminis
by considering policies
between ages 65 and 70,
those years.
arry Jebson
this committee was mailed to the Senators with the a enda.
itten the administration has been instructed by the h Dard of
policy regarding mandatory retirement, using age 70 as a
ration has gone even further than the Committee reco
endations
that will encourage half time or one-third time teach ing
with a variety of other options for continued service within
VI. REPORT FROM COMMIT EE ON COMMITTEES - Helen Brittin
a slate
Brittin outlined t e schedule of the Committee on Committees in obtaini
of nominations for the enate to send to President Mackey for use in filling vacancies
on University Committee /Councils for next year.
Mail in
The inf
a. The
fil
b. The
c. Any
d. Spa
qua
February 19, 1979
ormation and nomination forms to all voting faculty.
rmation and forms shall contain:
name of each committee for which vacancies are to be
ed.
number of vacancies to be filled on each committee.
special requirements for nomination to each committee
es for the faculty to nominate and to supply
ifications of the nominees.
March 5, 1979
d
forms
for
nominations
of faculty to University Co
Comp let
cils
are
due
to
the
Committee
on Committees.
and Cou
'ttees
March 12, 1979
4-5 p.m Committee on Committees meets to make up a slate of nominations.
March 26, 1979
4-5 p.m Committee on Committees meets to finalize the slate of nominations.
March 30, 1979
Slate o nominations will be given to Senate Office Secretary to duplicate
and cir ulate with agenda for the Senate meeting on April 11.
April 11, 1979
The Sen te nominates persons to fill vacancies on University
and Cou cils for 1979-80.
VII. RESOLUTION ON PRE REGISTRATION - Vince Luchsinger
Luchsinger moved t e adoption of the following resolution:
Committees
Page 5.
Meeting #12, February 14, 1979
Faculty Senate
Resolution on Pre-Regis ration continued Resolved th
the state o
Further, it
pre-registr
mitting the
work plans;
and re-allo
for course
t Texas Tech is one of the few universities in
Texas that does not offer pre-registration.
is contended that students would benefit from
tion by the early resolution of schedules perto optimize their semester study, living and
and that the administration could better allocate,
ate, resources by the early indications of demand
!ferings.
It is furth
conducted a
graduate St
registratio
distant in
r noted that several years ago Texas Tech
manual pre-registration for upper division and
dents that was not without success. Computer preis reported to be years and many thousands of dollar
he future.
3
Resolved that Texas Tech administration and faculty investigate
the possibility of conducting a manual pre-registration at the
end of Spri Semester 1979 for summer an/or fall terms to test
the feasibility of manual pre-registration on a continuing basis.
According to Hardwick a committee has studied the possibilities of pre-r egistration
or a computerized form o registration, but at this time Tech's computer is 1 -ladequate
to handle such a system f registration. He hopes that with the installation of a
new computer the University will move rapidly toward a computer pre-registrat on
system and believes that perhaps some type of manual system of pre-registrati on
might be beneficial in t e meantime. Several senators spoke in favor of the
resolution and it was ad pted without opposition.
VIII. ANNOUNCEMENTS
Senators dicussed Several of the announcements items briefly and action was taken
on one, the 1979-80 Univprsity Calendar.
The University cale dar proposed for Summer 1979 through Summer 1981 is _s follows:
Summer Sessions 1979 - June 4-July 14; July 16-August 25
F nal exams July 12-13 and August 22-23
F nal grades due July 16 and August 24
Fall 1979 - August 30-31 registration December 22
F nal exams December 17-21
Final grades December 22
Sprin 1980 - January 8-9 registration May 10
F nal exams April 30-May 6
S nior grades May 8; final grades May 12
C mmencement May 9-10
Summe Session 1980 - June 2-July 12; July 14-August 23
F nal exams July 10-11 and August 20-21
F nal grades duei July 14 and August 22
Fall 980-August 28-29 registration Decmeber 20
Final exams December 15-19
Final grades due December 20
Spring 1981 - January 13-14 registration May 16
Final exams May 6-12
Spnior grades May 14; final grades May 18
Skimmer Sessions 1981 June 1-July 11; July 13-August
Page 6.
Meeting #12, February
Faculty Senate
1979
Announcements continued
Luchsinger moved t recommend to Associate Vice President Of Academic A
Len Ainsworth, that the beginning and closing dates of the Fall 1979 Semeste
moved one week earlier, keeping December 22, 1979 as the due date for final
The motion carried.
airs,
be
ades.
Jebsen proposed an alternate recommendation to move the final grade due
Fall 1979 to December 2 , 1979 in the event that the Luchsinger recommendati
acceptable to Ainsworh nd the Administrative Council.
ate for
is not
Wright moved to ta le the Jebsen motion until after the Senate receives
to the Luchsinger reco 1111 endation. The motion to table the Jebsen motion car
response
ed.
IX. OTHER BUSINESS
Senators inquired a out the revised Faculty Review Forms. Hardwick assur
Senate that faculty memb rs would be receiving instructions concerning the f
reports shortly.
the
ulty
The Academic Affair and Status Committee asked the Senate to clarify a
made by the old Faculty ouncil, referring to a statement which requested th
committee to s udy the p ocedures used for student advising.
harge
Discussioti suggeste that in the time since this request was made a par
charge of the Academic A fairs and Status Committee the University and its C
have improved student ad ising at all levels.
of the
leges
Newcomb moved that he committee pursue the charge to study the procedur s used
for student advising. N wcomb's motion died for lack of a second.
Adamcik then moved hat this sentence be struck from the charge of the
Affairs and Status Commi tee. The motion carried.
The meeting adjourn d at 5:55 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Gary . Elbow, Secretary
Façdlty Senate
ademic