Governance Council
Monday, February 27, 2012
10:30 AM
UNH 306
Andi Lyons, Chair
Minutes
Present: Raysa Capellan, Liang Chu, Cynthia Fox, Donald Keenan, Danielle Leonard, Andi Lyons,
John Schmidt, Joette Stefl-Mabry, Daniel White
The meeting convened at 10:34 am.
CHAIR’S REPORT
Chair Lyons expects the GOV agenda to be busy through the rest of the semester. At the last Senate meeting, three resolutions were passed and GOV has been charged with two of them. In addition to the one discussed at the last meeting, GOV will be responsible for forming a committee to provide determinations on which programs in European Language and Classical Studies should be activated, reactivated or remain active.
Chair Lyons reported that the CARE group met with President Philip and heard his concerns as well as those of the University Counsel. It appears the amendment will need to be revisited.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 13, 2011
Daniel White read a number of recommended changes. Those changes and the minutes were approved.
OLD BUSINESS:
Spring meeting schedule
GOV members agreed to a meeting schedule through May which includes March 19, April 16 and May 7.
All meetings will be held at 10:30 am.
Secretary Leonard voiced concern about having sufficient time to address the resolutions GOV has been charged with and asked if more time would be needed. Senator White said he would discuss 1112-03R under new business.

NEW BUSINESS:
Committee on Liaison and Elections update
Secretary Leonard has reached out to eligible incumbents in at-large seats to verify if they are interested in running again. She received confirmation from Hassaram Bakhru, John Murphy and Jane Kadish. It was unclear to GOV members how Mr. Murphy became eligible for the faculty at large seat. Senator
White said he believed it stemmed from a problem last year when there were not enough teaching faculty on the slate and he was put on the slate but it appears his status is that of professional staff. Other inconsistencies in status were discussed, particularly that of the part time at large representative. Last year the at large seat was filled by a faculty member who later became full time. Chair Lyons said if the same person ran again it should be for a full time seat. Senator White voiced his support for having the faculty member fulfill the remainder of the term which ends in 2013 and said there are precedents for this type of situation. Chair Lyons said part of the problem is that part time faculty have no voting rights and do not vote for their own representative who can speak about their concerns. Secretary Leonard said arguments could be made for both sides but we need to be careful about the precedents we continue to set or running counter to the Charter and the Bylaws. Senator Stefl-Mabry voiced additional support for allowing representatives to continue serving their terms even if their status has changed. Chair Lyons said going forward we need to ascertain that people are in the correct categories before the slate goes out. If we continue to set precedents that are counter to the Bylaws and Charter, it shows bad faith toward those being asked to serve as well as to their constituents.
Secretary Leonard discussed the process for the slate. The preliminary slate needs to go out on March 5 with the deadline for nominations on March 19. The call is to put forth a minimum of two names for each seat on the initial slate but more names may be added after the call goes out. There are two vacant seats for teaching faculty at large and three seats for the professional faculty at large. In addition, one of the
UFS Senators seats needs to be filled as well as two UAS seats. Several members of GOV expressed interest in continuing their service and in running for seats that are available. GOV members discussed other potential names for available seats. A conversation ensued regarding the three professional at large seats for this year. Normally the seats are staggered with two being available each year and GOV discussed some possible scenarios for returning the process to staggered terms.
Secretary Leonard was informed by Chair Fessler that she had met with the Provost’s PEAC group to discuss Senate service. A call will be going out to deans of the schools and colleges at the end of March in an effort to determine if people in individual departments whose terms are up would like to continue and be nominated.
Secretary Leonard encouraged GOV members to provide additional names for the slate. GOV members agreed that a larger slate and variety of representation would be healthy for governance in general. She believed the slate could be accomplished via email and would follow up later in the week.
Administrative Assessment Committee update
Senator Stefl-Mabry discussed the meeting CARE members had with President Philip. The President expressed his major concern as wanting to know if problems existed in an area or unit but did not want an individual implicated for the problem. He understood that the person can be separated from the position.
Senator Stefl-Mabry clarified for the President that the intent of the process is more diagnostic as opposed to providing an individual with a report card. President Philip also reminded CARE that although these are good intentions the new administration may view things differently.

President Philip also expressed his concerns about protecting the information from an assessment.
Senator Schmidt informed him that if the information is not shared it is a futile process. Senator Stefl-
Mabry said the information should be welcomed by the administration but people seem to fear the process. She agreed that the President may be informed of what other administrators are doing although he may not have a full picture of procedures in the unit. Chair Lyons was concerned about not obtaining administrative support and didn’t believe the process would be useful without it. She expects the conversations to continue before the legislation goes back to the Senate. Senator Stefl-Mabry said CARE will be meeting with the Provost as well as Bruce Szelest in Institutional Services. Senator Schmidt didn’t believe the administration would give approval until the instruments are in place which may not be until next year. Senator Stefl-Mabry said any resistance should not deter from continuing the conversation.
Senate Resolution 1112-03R Investigation Update
Senator White reported on his activities which include compiling documents and assembling a timeline.
He will begin writing a document using the resources that are available and will ask for edits from GOV.
The text will need to include the financial situation the University was experiencing at the time.
There was a discussion concerning Resolution 1112-05R which the SEC has charged to GOV since GOV is the Council on Committees and the resolution calls for the establishment of a subcommittee to determine which programs in European Language and Classical Studies should be activated, reactivated or remain active. The subcommittee is to report back to the Senate by April 15. Senator Stefl-Mabry recommended contacting the Center for Technology in Government since they could offer resources that can assist. Secretary Leonard referred to a notation from the SEC that the French Program should provide a representative and the committee should include members from the Strategic Plan. Chair Lyons asked
Senator Fox if she would take the responsibility for a representative from the French Program and she agreed to do so. Chair Lyons will look into other required representation.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 12:23 pm
Respectfully submitted by
Gail Cameron, Recorder