May 12, 2011
University of Nevada, Reno
Faculty Senate 2011-12
Meeting Minutes
Meeting 1
1. Roll Call and Introductions:
Present: Gerald Ackerman (SOM), Pat Arnott )COS), Rafik Beekun (COBA), Mike Bennett (A & F), Todd Borman (IT), Susan
Donaldson (Cooperative Extension), Patricia Ellison (CABNR), Isabelle Favre (CLA), Eric Herzik (Past Chair), Julie Hogan
(DHS), Yanyao Jiang (EN), Amy McFarland (SOM), Amy McFarland for Kami Larsen (SOM), Donica Mensing (JO), Glenn
Miller (CABNR), Louis Niebur (CLA), Elissa Palmer (SOM), Elissa Palmer for Catherine Goring (SOM), Crystal Parrish (DEV),
Chuck Price (SS), Maggie Ressel (Lib), David Ryfe (Chair), Valerie Smith (VPR), Valerie Weinstein (CLA), Claudene Wharton
(Pres), Leah Wilds (CLA), David Zeh (Chair-elect).
Absent: Keith Hackett (Pres), Stephen Lafer (COE), Vannessa Nicholas (Prov), Rich Schultz (COS).
Guests: Interim President Marc Johnson.
2. Orientation:
Chair David Ryfe introduced himself. He apologized in advance for any social faux pas that he might make in the coming
year. As an academic he said that sometimes it was difficult for him to wear matching socks. He said that the stakes at
the university were unprecedented during this time and the university would change dramatically.
A document on authority and role of the senate was distributed to all senators in attendance.
Ryfe gave an overview of the senate:
The chair was the official spokesman for the senate and UNR faculty at large. His job was to support senate actions,
advocate for shared governance, pay close attention to the Code and the Bylaws, serve on the President’s Council and
represent the faculty before the regents and with the Chancellor’s Office and to oversee the Grievance Process.
The executive board’s job was to consult with and advise the chair and to set the agenda for the senate meetings.
The senate committees advise the senate on issues of concern, write yearly reports, and make recommendations to the
senate.
The senate’s responsibility was to attend senate meetings (or if not able to attend, to assign a proxy), familiarize
themselves with the Faculty Senate Bylaws, the UNR Bylaws and the NSHE Code, be prepared for senate meetings,
review the agenda and read reports and informational items, report on the business of the senate to their constituents
and ask for their input, send ideas for senate agenda topics to the executive board, help fill vacancies if they retire or
resign from the senate, and to speak up in senate meetings.
The Agenda:
The agenda is set by the executive board and is usually sent to the senators at least five days in advance, it may be
modified in the meeting with unanimous consent and is not a precise timetable.
The Process:
Once a quorum is established it remains regardless of the number of senators who leave the meeting. If senators wish to
speak during the meeting, they are requested to raise their hand until they are recognized; the senate follows a relaxed
version of Robert’s Rules of Order. Visitors may speak to the senate time permitting and once all senators have had an
opportunity to speak. A senator or executive board member makes a motion, which is seconded, then discussed, then
voted upon. Each senator has one vote and if a proxy for a senator from the same unit, will have that vote as well. The
chair votes only to break a tie, the Chair-elect, the Past Chair, and the Senate Manager do not vote. The senate usually
conducts voice votes unless it is a close vote and then a show of hands will be done. Also there are some votes that are
done by ballot, such as for the executive board members. Most votes only required a simple majority to pass. The chair
may invoke the two minute rule to give everyone an opportunity to speak.
The Parliamentarian: The chair may invoke the rules of debate when discussions are contentious. The visitor sign in
sheet was still being used, and visitors may speak, but it was not their right to speak.
1|Page
May 12, 2011
Meeting 1
Shared Governance was more and more in dispute across the nation. Shared governance dates back to the 1850s and
seemed to be the issue that most senates have. What does shared governance mean? Faculty often think this means
decision making. The senate does not have the tools to make decisions. Governance is a process, not an outcome. This
suggests that we should share this with others on campus. Ryfe would like the senate to worry more about
conversation, deliberation and narratives. Shared governance was to hold administrators accountable for their views,
when we question the large narrative guiding their decisions and when we offer alternative stories about the future of
the university. The senate has not been able to question administration about their narrative guiding the decision that
administration was making. In what story of our future does it make sense to cut Cooperative Extension, but not
Engineering, Dance and Theatre but not Journalism, the provost has given us strategies and criteria, but not a story that
has given us a vision of where we are going. We also need a story of why budget cutting is wrong. In short, focusing on
decisions we risk losing sight of the conversation. We need to know where we are heading as a university.
Discussion:
Hogan said that his remarks were inspiring, honest, and real. She has felt unprepared to make some of the decision that
the senate has had to make. She was also not sure of what to do with the information received at the senate. She was
also glad that Ryfe opened the door to envision the future.
Louis Niebur felt that the senate was a powerless body. Once a narrative was agreed upon, what power did the senate
have to act upon it?
Ryfe said that he felt that administration also needed help to clarify their vision. While they might not be open to selling
land, but more about are we going to make the university wholly vulnerable to the forces of the market? Administration
was under considerable conflicting pressure.
Rafik Beekun asked why the senate was involved in curricular review; it was felt that the senate had no impact at all.
David Zeh said that he felt that the senate had a large impact on curricular review, especially with the Curricular Review
Committee.
Ryfe said that administration had been receptive to faculty. Administration had difficult decisions to make in a
compressed environment.
Leah Wilds said that Shared Governance is sometime painful and that you want to have your best people involved.
There was more discussion on priorities and visions for the university. There was ignorance of at least one-half of the
budget information.
3. Visit with President Marc Johnson:
President Marc Johnson reported that the entire Curricular Review Process had been followed and that he was
accepting most of the recommendation of the Senate:
Recommendation on UNCE:
University of Nevada Cooperative Extension would be downsized beginning in Fiscal Year 2012, although it would
continue to maintain cooperative agreements with each Nevada county. State allocated funding through Cooperative
Extension would be $2.2 million plus enough funds to cover operating expenses. Fifteen county extension educators and
the statewide 4-H program would be maintained. Cooperative Extension would have sufficient state funds to meet
required matching of federal funds. A number of specialist positions would be maintained as augmented by county
funds. This scenario is in agreement with the Faculty Senate recommendations.
Recommendation on NBMG:
Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology would be downsized beginning Fiscal Year 2012, although it would continue to
provide services to meet statutory requirements and serve industry needs. Funding provided through the University for
May 12, 2011
Meeting 1
the Bureau would be $1 million. The faculty would become part of the Department of Geological Sciences and
Engineering and the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology would remain identifiable with the director of the
Bureau/State Geologist reporting directly to the dean of the College of Science in similar fashion as the Nevada
Seismological Laboratory.
Recommendation on Theatre and Dance:
Department of Theater and Dance would continue. While the bachelor of fine arts in theater would go on hiatus, the
existing theater and dance majors and minors would continue with reduced staffing. Johnson said that FTE should not be
used for reduction. The Redfield Theatre would be kept.
Recommendation 4 French:
French would continue, offering a major and minor with reduced faculty staffing. The master of foreign languages and
literatures in French would cease in Fiscal Year 2012. French would keep the two tenured faculty and two or three RCUF
or lecturers and they would not look at cutting French again.
Recommendation on Special Collections:
Special Collections would continue, through utilization of grant funds. A plan to sustain Special Collections for the future
must be developed.
Everyone in the Humanities understands the value of Special Collections.
Discussion:
When units or departments merge together, the faculty in those departments need to work together to have one
common set of bylaws. This would need to be overseen by the deans. Johnson felt that the curricular review process
filled the required senate review of the reorganization process. It was pointed out that the senate was not actually
looking at the nuts and bolts of the reorganization during curricular review and Johnson said that the senate was
welcome to take a look at those reorganizations.
Johnson was thanked for taking the senate proposals seriously. There was some discussion of the issues of grants
funding salaries in UNCE.
Additional Recommendation 1: Laid-off tenured faculty should have priority over untenured faculty for other positions
for which they are equally qualified, with some accommodation for the need to retool when changing job
responsibilities.
Johnson accepted this recommendation with emphasis on “equally qualified.” The accommodation of retool was part of
AAUP guidelines. The equally qualified was not just by credentials from 20 years ago, but also in terms of competitive
productivity and that sort of thing.
Additional Recommendation 2: In general, non-tenured faculty positions should not replace tenured or tenure-track
faculty positions as a way of achieving cost savings, unless an academic program is being significantly downsized or
reduced to a service capacity only.
Johnson reported that the Budget Advisory Committee developed and they did not want to turn the university into a
teaching institution.
Additional Recommendation 3: The possibility of voluntary separation packages should be offered to all faculty in
programs affected by curricular review, and proposals by specific individuals should be accepted if they are mutually
beneficial.
May 12, 2011
Meeting 1
Johnson said that this recommendation sets it up as policy and this would make it an expectation of every program
under curricular review. The concern was that our accreditation standards require that if we downsize a program or
close a program we have a responsibility to get those students graduated and this could affect that ability.
Any CR proposal alternative that has a voluntary separation agreement component, we would consider it at that time.
Discussion:
Johnson said that there were two parts of the faculty senate, one was communications that would come to the senate
and then go to deans and administrators. The other part was the establishment of policy changes. The senate
recommends policy. The role of the senate was very important and many very intelligent people were hired to share in
governance. Universities did not need dictatorial presidents doing anything they wanted. Some policies came from the
senate and some policies came from administration and were reviewed by the senate. This enriched discussion in the
governance of the university and that was an important role.
Johnson asked the Executive Board about characteristics about an Interim Provost and the overriding theme beyond the
characteristics was that morale was tough and communication needed to be enhanced. There would be some type of a
Town Hall after the budget and written communication. If we do not have to do another round of CR then we need to
create an atmosphere of security and build communications of a positive nature.
Johnson thanked the senate for their participation in this process.
4. New Business:
Colleagues that have been terminated needed to be thanked for their service.
Please correct the meeting dates to reflect August 25, as the meeting date, not August 24, 2011.
Meeting Adjourned at 5:15 pm.