Faculty Senate
FACULTY SENATE MEETING MINUTES
M a y 1 6, 2 0 1 4
Faculty Senate Chair:
John Adlish
Executive Committee member, Curriculum,
Assessment & Programs Committee Chair:
Executive Committee member, Salary,
Benefits and Budgetary Concerns
Committee Chair:
Executive Committee member,
Professional Standards Interim Committee
Chair:
Executive Committee member, Student
Learning Outcomes & Assessment
Committee Chair:
Steve Bale
Greg Ellis
Bridgett Blaque
Codes & Bylaws Committee Chair:
Library Committee Chair:
Part-Time Issues Committee Chair:
Recognition & Activities Committee Chair:
Senator for Allied Health:
Senator for Allied Health:
Senator for Applied Industrial Technology:
Senator for Applied Industrial Technology:
Senator for At-Large:
Michael Holmes
Brian Ruf
Tommy Guy
Senator for At-Large:
Senator for At-Large:
Senator for At-Large:
Jay Jorgenson
Tom Kearns
Melanie Purdy
Senator for Biology:
Senator for Biology:
Senator for School of Business:
Senator for School of Business:
Senator for Computer Technology:
Senator for Computer Technology:
Senator for English:
Senator for English:
Senator for Humanities:
Robin Griffin
Molly Lingenfelter
Dianne Cheseldine
Senator for Humanities:
Senator for Math:
Senator for Math:
Carlo Ferguson-McIntyre
Maria Arrigotti
Shannon McCool
Senator for Physical Science:
Senator for Physical Science:
Senator for History, Political Science & Law:
Jeff Brasel
Bronwen Owen-Haugland
None
Senator for Social Sciences:
Senator for Visual & Performing Arts:
Senator for Visual & Performing Arts:
Ron Marston
Bridgett Blaque
Erin Frock
Jim Collier
Nancy O’Neal
John Coles
Faculty Senate Chair-Elect:
Tom Kearns
Julie Muhle
Dan Williams
Steve Bale
Dan Bouweraerts
Melanie Purdy
Molly Lingenfelter
Patti Sanford
Robert Kirchman
Judy Fredrickson
Brian Wells
Absent: Steve Bale (his proxy was Judy Fredrickson), Erin Frock (her proxy was Sherry McGee), Julie Muhle (her proxy
was Patti Sanford), Dan Williams (his proxy was Jim Collier), Jeff Brasel (no proxy).
Guests: Darryl Cleveland, Dr. Jane Nichols, Rich Olson, Stephanie Prevost, Gina Schuster, Dr. Maria Sheehan, Dr. Rachel
Solemsaas
The meeting was called to order at 12:34 p.m.
Faculty Senate Chair Marston: Please be sure to sign in (Exhibit A)
Order of Business: Visual and Performing Arts Senator Dan Bouweraerts has been appointed by Chair Marston to serve
another term, and Dan has graciously accepted.
Page 1 of 6; Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes
TMCC is an EEO/AA institution. See http://eeo.tmcc.edu for more information.
May 16, 2014
Approval of the Meeting Agenda (Exhibit B)
Motion: To approve the meeting agenda for May 16, 2014, as submitted.
Movant: NA
Second: NA
Vote: Passed unanimously
Approval of Meeting Minutes from April 18, 2014 (Exhibit C)
Motion: To approve the Faculty Senate meeting minutes from April 18, 2014, as submitted.
Movant: NA
Second: NA
Vote: Passed unanimously with one abstention
Administrative Report
President Maria Sheehan
•
Commencement – The Commencement Committee has chosen a new venue in the Grand Sierra Resort.
Provides a greater cost savings
Greater seating capacity
Please encourage RSVPs from students
More space for our faculty to robe for the ceremony
Entrance is remote from the casino entrance; no need to walk through smoke
•
New tenure track colleagues joining us- Welcome to them.
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SB 391 committee- is a committee talked about in the past. Its work is about Community Colleges in the State of
Nevada. Ron did a brilliant job and represented TMCC very well despite the not so professional response to
members of the NSHE team. Not sure where this is going but it could consume the next legislative session. June
and July meetings are planned. What will happen with Community Colleges, in the North and South, is still being
looked at. Will keep you posted.
•
June 5-6th, We host the Board of Regents- This is a wonderful opportunity to have captive audience with the
Board of Regents. Opportunities to Showcase TMCC. Tables are fully manned for the reception – thank you faculty
who have stepped up to do this.
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Moving forward on Health Science Center at Redfieldo 5 million in hand for a 10 million dollar venture
o Construction costs will increase if we don’t start right away
o Finance plan is solid but it’s a tight budget
You can year more on my video on the TMCC website. Hope to see you at commencement. Thank you.
New Faculty Hires
Vice President Jane Nichols
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Incredible process with few glitches along the way
Excellent pools of candidates
Tenure committees for each new hire will need to be formed
Getting hired as a tenure track is no guarantee of getting tenure at TMCC. I say this to underscore the
importance of the tenure track committees.
Other comments: It has been a stressful year for all of us. But think of what we have accomplished; in terms of equity
adjustments, a new system for merit, faculty evaluations, budget reductions, and all the conversations about student
success and enrollment. We have asked a lot and we are aware. The President has opened the door for me to stay past
July 1 and I will. Please feel free to stop by and see me, I want to hear from you all. There is a new hire for the Dean
of Sciences. This means there will be an opening for the Associate Dean of Planning and Assessment on July 1. I am
going to send out an email and ask faculty if they are interested in the interim position. Please contact me and I will
meet with you if you are interested in the position. The position will remain the same and is essential to the college.
Thank you.
Page 2 of 6; Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes
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May 16, 2014
Financial Report:
Vice President Rachel Solemsaas
I was not on the agenda, but will take financial questions and answer them.
Comment: Thanks for funding the Equity Study.
Question: What’s happening to furloughs? Are they becoming permanent?
Answer: We have had salary restoration and I believe the furlough will be on the agenda for the next
legislative session. NSHE’s position is to get rid of furloughs; it has been a priority. We have accomplished
salary equity restoration and merit funding. We are hoping there will also be a push for COLA and maybe
additional merit for the next cycle.
RON added: Dr. Solemsaas is correct, a new legislative session is coming up in February and for the last round
Faculty Senate came up with a prioritized list of what they wanted to ask of the legislature and we will
probably do the same thing again. The obvious thing to ask for is doing away with furlough but there are other
things. Stay tuned…
Report of Faculty Senate Chair
Ron Marston
Much has already been addressed in the administrative reports, so I will be brief.
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Equity adjustments have been made. It was amazing that we got this done in the current environment of
budget cuts. Thanks to all those who worked on this committee.[Applause]
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Nevada College Collaborative (Shared Services) –Frank Woodbeck will be on campus again next week
Tuesday the 20th. Today is the deadline to RSVP. If any of you are interested in meeting Mr. Woodbeck it
would be a good idea for you to sign up for that. He is spearheading the whole task force that is looking into
efficiencies by combining back-office services. Things like HR, IR, IT, finance, and the like. Discussion of 391
and its impact on the shared services initiative.
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Board meeting here on June 5th and 6th Please attend the meeting if you are able. It is a fascinating and
informative process.
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I will be your chair for one more year -It’s been an incredibly busy year for me – I’m on eight committees:
Presidents Cabinet, PRAC, CCSSE committee, Compensation Equity Committee, Merit Policy Committee, Budget
Reduction Committee, Accreditation Committee. I also attend PAC, Deans meetings, biweekly VPAA meetings,
meetings with HR, NFA, legal council, System level meetings, Agenda Reviews, Chancellor meetings, Regents
meetings, legislative committee meetings, and meeting with the other senate chairs. The Faculty Senate
meetings are a small part of my routine. Through all of it I’ve tried my best to serve and advocate for faculty
collectively. Throughout all of this we’ve managed to get merit pay, equity adjustments, buyouts (rather than
terminations), 23 new faculty tenure track hires – all done in an environment of severe budget reductions. I
was elected last week by the other NSHE senate chairs to serve as the Chair of Senate Chairs – so I will speak
on behalf of all the NSHE institutions to the Board and Chancellor.
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Thank you all for your service as Senators and Chairs. You put in a lot of work. The committee Chairs have all
done a great job. Certificates of Awards will be presented. [Applause]
Report of Faculty Senate Chair-Elect
John Adlish
•
Administrative Evaluation Committee –We had a good first meeting. Rich Olsen from HR attended the
meeting and had some good insights. The committee has nine members and is still welcoming more faculty
who want to serve.
•
Salary, Benefits and Budgetary Concerns – Committee is looking at the summer school pay policy. There
are some issues with our policy with contracts and the committee should be identifying these issues and
bringing them forward, so that by next summer we will have a solid policy that clearly explains what you will
be paid. Contact Steve Bale if you have concerns or ideas.
•
The Faculty Senate seems now to be more present and more capable of helping faculty. I want to encourage
you to keep speaking up and keep going to administration if something is wrong.
Page 3 of 6; Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes
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May 16, 2014
Consent Agenda (ACTION) (Exhibit D)
Motion: To approve the Consent Agenda as submitted.
Movant: NA
Second: NA
Vote: Passed unanimously
Committee Reports:
Student Government Association
Stephanie Prevost, SGA President
•
Official Mascot – we have a new mascot at TMCC, which was designed by a TMCC student and voted on by
students. It’s a lizard, and SGA is working with PIO to get T-shirts and promotional material made.
•
SB391 – I attended one of the legislative subcommittee meetings with Ron to read an SGA statement opposing
moving the community colleges from NSHE.
•
SGA survey on the fee increase – It looks like student are willing to support a fee increase as long as the money
goes to student services and possibly need based financial aid.
Library Committee
Tom Kearns, Chair
•
The committee last met on 4/10/14.
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Ethiopia: Straight from the Land of the Lost Ark – On Thursday, April 24th, Dianne Cheseldine gave a
wonderful presentation on her travels in Ethiopia. Ask Tom for the Peanut Butter Chicken Soup recipe.
•
Panel of Monsters - October 30 –mark your calendars for this popular event.
Part-Time Issues Committee
Molly Lingenfelter, Interim Chair
•
The committee has not met since the last faculty senate meeting, however we did award Joseph Denims the part
time faculty of the month award.
•
Dawnne Ernette has been elected to serve as the new Chair of the Part Time Faculy Issues Committee. Welcome
Dawnne!
Codes & Bylaws Committee
Bridgett Blaque, Interim Chair
•
All the members of the Codes & Bylaws committee were contacted and asked if they wanted to keep the committee
going, and I offered to continue to chair the committee if they saw the need for the committee to go forward. All
four member declined, and are fine with the committee being disbanded.
•
Bylaws Change to Discontinue Codes & Bylaws as a Standing Committee Within the Faculty Senate –
(Exhibit E) This motion was put forward to the Senate as a first reading on 4/18/14.
Motion: To approve a change to the Faculty Senate Bylaws to disband the Codes and Bylaws Committee as a standing
committee of the Faculty Senate.
Movant: Codes & Bylaws Committee
Second: Codes & Bylaws Committee
Vote: Passed; 2 nay, 1 abstention
Page 4 of 6; Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes
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May 16, 2014
Professional Standards Committee
Greg Ellis, Chair
•
The Committee last met on 5/2/14.
•
Counseling Faculty Annual Evaluation Criteria – (Exhibit F) In order to make the Counseling Faculty Annual
Evaluation criteria consistent with that of the Academic Faculty, and to adjust it according to the new Merit Pay
Policy, the committee has submitted a revision for the Senate’s approval.
Motion: To approve the revised Counseling Faculty Annual Evaluation Criteria as submitted.
Movant: Professional Standards Committee
Second: Professional Standards Committee
Vote: Passed unanimously
Salary, Benefits & Budgetary Concerns Committee
Steve Bale, Chair
•
The committee last met on 5/2/14.
•
No report
Student Learning Outcomes & Assessment (SLOA)
Bridgett Blaque, Chair
•
The committee last met on 4/11/14.
•
Committee Chair Election – No committee member has been willing to accept a nomination to serve as the chair
of the committee next year. It may be necessary for the Senate Chair to appoint, if someone is willing to accept
the appointment.
•
AAS General Education – I’ve been working with dean New in the formation of Gen Ed for non-transferrable
degrees and how it works with the Gen for transferrable degrees (AA/AS), and how it will be stackable with the
upcoming BAS degrees. It’s turned into a larger discussion than first thought, but we hope to have it done in the
fall semester.
Curriculum, Assessment & Programs Committee
Melanie Purdy, Chair
•
The committee last met on 5/9/14.
•
Revision of the transferrable Gen Ed – The committee is reviewing the general education courses that need to
be revisited to accommodate the new outcomes for gen ed.
•
AAS Degree Requirements – the committee is having discussions about what the degree requirements should
look like and how they should be different from the AA/AS gen ed and how it will work with the BAS. Discussions
will continue in the fall.
•
Curricunet – is not up and running so we are using the existing MCO academics database system for now. If you
need help let me know, and we will have training during Professional Development.
The link to view current master course outlines, degrees, emphasis and certificates is now listed as “Academics Data.”
Check it out at: https://webapps.tmcc.edu/acdmcs/login/
Recognition and Activities Committee
Sherry McGee, filling in for Erin Frock
•
The committee last met on 4/3/14.
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Commencement – information was given about
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Distinguished Faculty Awards – recipients: Bridgett Blaque will be awarded the Reno Gazette Journal TMCC
Excellence in Teaching award, and John Molt will be awarded the Model Dairy TMCC Excellence in Service award.
•
Professional of the Month Award – We are happy to announce that our April recipient is Deloris Wonder from
the CNA program. The May recipient is Bridgett Blaque from the English Department. Congratulations!
Page 5 of 6; Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes
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May 16, 2014
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TMCC Employee Recognition Awards Ceremony – The awards ceremony will be held on Tuesday, May 13th, at
3 pm in the Student Center. Everyone is invited to attend.
Professional of the Month – nomination form
Note: Nominations are kept for three months at a time, after which the nomination might need to be resubmitted.
http://www.tmcc.edu/facultysenate/professional-employee-of-the-month/submit-a-nomination/
Old Business
None
New Business
Reminder that in the fall there will be another Parliamentary Procedures workshop put on by the faculty senate during
Professional Development days. It will be done by Ralph McMullen, who does a great job and really knows his stuff. The
date will be Friday, August 22nd.
There is a new NFA president, Ted Owens, who was recently elected. Julia Hammett will serve as the vice-president. I
encourage you to support the NFA.
Adjournment at 1:38 p.m. (*Adjournment time will run no later than 2:35 p.m. unless approved via motion by the
Senate.)
Page 6 of 6; Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes
TMCC is an EEO/AA institution. See http://eeo.tmcc.edu for more information.
May 16, 2014