Humanities and Sciences Senate Meeting Minutes
September 5, 2003
Present: Rick Anderson, Cory Brown, Jason Hamilton, Julio Lopez-Arias, Patrick
Meister, Joseph Miller, Bruce North, Tom Pfaff, Hugh Stephenson, Zenon Wasyliw
Excused: William Kolberg, Diane Schwartz, Michael Trotti,
Meeting called to order at 4:05.
Question to the Senate: should we actively seek out a senator in the Fine Arts to replace
Cynthia Baldessare-Henderson; she is currently on sabbatic for the fall semester, and her
term is up in the Spring semester.
Approval of minutes:
April 25, 2003 – Approved by an unanimous vote. (10-0)
Announcements:
Michael Trotti will put out another ballot for 2 vacant seats on the Senate. Names put
forward are Jason Hamilton (At Large) and Hugh Stephenson (Social Sciences).
New Business:
Representative to Associate Dean Search Committee: It is not clear what time this
search will take place. Currently it is not known if there is an internal candidate or not.
Howard has called several times for an internal candidate; if no one applies then the
search will be open publicly. Rick Anderson has volunteered to serve on this committee.
A note to Senators: Please check the H&S Senate web-site it has helpful information
and it updated occasionally.
Faculty handbook committee: No action has been taken at this time. We need to avoid
overlapping issues with other groups (i.e. faculty council). We should focus our attention
on issues that focus on the Humanities and Sciences school. This issue in particular,
affects college wide.
Senate by-law committee: (Wasyliw, Schwartz, Kolberg) The committee is revisiting
the “power” issues. The Senate has changed from it’s conception and the by-laws may
need to be edited to reflect these changes. They have met with Howard several times,
they need to meet again; possibly within this month.
Campus Master Plan: Do we want to gather information and have a voice? Should we
establish a committee and charge them with this task? What is the plan? It has been
‘rumored’ that the back entrance will be re-routed, could replace the union parking lot
with a grassy quad, new entrances, new offices for Humanities & Sciences. We don’t
currently know what phase this plan is in and haven’t heard anything about future plans.
This does not appear to be a pressing matter at this time.
Motion: The senate will table this issue but, leaves the option to re-introduce in the
future when it becomes more predominant open. (10 yeahs – 0 opposed)
Online applications – speed of access and placement of EEOP: The current system is
problematic. Currently all applicants must go on line to apply for a position. In order for
the departments to get a hard copy of the applicants, they must then go online and print
up the information that was sent (vita, application, recommendations, etc.). This is a
cumbersome process for all involved. It may also be possible that we loose applicants
due to this time consuming process. It is a concern of the Senate that Human Resources
may not understand the position open in all areas and therefore would not be able to
judge the appropriateness of each applicant.
Motion: We, the Senators will poll our departments, along with associate
departments for their opinions and experiences with the application system. (10
yeahs, - 0 opposed)
After a consensus is taken, we will invite a representative from Human Resources and/or
Affirmative Action to discuss their goals in implementing this current system. We are
unsure of what their motives are and will be able to address this issue with more
information. At that time (hopefully October) we will be able to determine if we need to
set up a committee.
Old Business:
Faculty Workload recommendations: Bill Kolberg and Michael Trotti worked on the
editing of this document. It is unclear at this time what the final results were.
Emeritus Status: Previously Howard had asked the Senate to look into the
Emeritus/Emerita criteria as stated in the handbook. He was looking for some feedback
as to the definition of such status. The Senate drafted a letter stating that the current
criteria seemed to be in-line and that he should present emeritus to the faculty that have
followed the guidelines.
Motion: The Senate has offered a letter, and the strength of that document
indicates its position on Emeritus/Emerita to the dean. This is a college-wide policy;
the senate does not believe that Humanities & Sciences Faculty need spend any
further time with this item and has closed it. (10 yeahs – 0 opposed)
Benefits for part-time faculty: It is the understanding of the senate members that a
faculty member is required to teach 50% or more in order to receive benefits from the
college. We are losing good candidates due to this ruling. The benefits policy is not
clear. No one seems to know who has made the policy and who was consulted. The
impression of the Senate is that the provost and the dean were unaware. The current parttime faculty also have questions, 1. what happens to our benefits during the summer of
2004? 2. Can we get the choice of 12 months pay versus the 9 month pay period? 3.
Will we have to go through the search process again? It is believed that the dean may
have reinstated the benefits to cover the summer of 2004, but it is not in writing.
Cory Brown volunteered to work with Marian MacCurdy and Claire Gleitman to seek out
information regarding the standing of benefits. He will report at the next meeting. The
president (Joseph Miller) has also requested that all members gain facts from their
departments and associate departments to discuss at the next meeting in October.
Cross-listing courses: Is there a current policy in regards to cross-listing courses?
Many issues need to be discussed before a policy in instated. We would like to be part of
the discussion. We don’t know who if anyone is currently discussing it. Jason Hamilton
will research this and report back at the next meeting.
Increments of Merit: It is unclear what the percent of merit you receive, if you receive
any. It would be nice if there were a mathematical formula that could be used in order to
determine what merit was given. Bill Kolberg has been charged with the duty to draft a
letter requesting a solution for this confusion and present it at a future meeting.
Actions to be taken:
1. Look for a replacement for Cynthia Baldessare-Henderson.
2. Rick Anderson to assist in Associate Dean search.
3. Poll colleagues for opinions on on-line application process
4. Executive Committee will talk to Human Resources and Howard Erlich to find
out the appropriate person to explain the process.
5. Cory will talk with Marian MacCurdy and Claire Gleitman to discuss benefits.
6. Senators will collect anecdotes about the problems with benefits
7. Jason Hamilton will research cross-listing policies.
Adjourned at 5:30
Submitted by Diana Lotito