MĀNOA FACULTY SENATE
University of Hawaii at Manoa Faculty Congress, October 16, 1996
Architecture Room 205
Chair Kiyoshi Ikeda called the Congress to order at 2:36 PM
Senators Present:
Barry Brennan, Patricia Burrell, Sandra Chang, Donna Ching, Joanne Cooper, Jim Dator, Steven Dawson, Eric
DeCarlo, Joel Fischer, Dolores Foley, Patrick Gilbert, John Halloran, Patricia Hickman, Kathryn Hoffmann,
Kyoshi Ikeda, Roderick Jacobs, Kenneth Kipnis, Sumner LaCroix, Bruce Liebert, Michael Maglaya, John
Mahoney, Alexander Malahoff, Jennifer Matsuda, Robert Meyer, Ralph Moberly, Deane Neubauer, Thomas
Olson, Aspy Palia, C. S. Papacostas, Robert Paull, Gay Reed, Jurgen Sang, Thomas Schroeder, Steven Seifried,
Glenn Teves, Lesley Wright
Senators Excused:
Craig Chaudron, Richard Guillory, Wayne Iwaoka, Thomas Ramsey, Raul Rudoy, Lorrie Wong
Senators Absent:
Sarah Burchfiel, Robert Duesterhaus, Samir El-Swaify, James Gaines, Gregg Geary, Sue Hanson, Ruth Horie,
Ken Hunter, Casey Jarman, Barry Labonte, David Lally, Fred Mackenzie, Stacey Marlow, Robert McLaren,
Karen Meech, Jane Moulin, Marita Nelson, Peter Nicholson, Stephen O'Harrow, Victor Olgyay, Karen
Peacock, Leon Serafim, Miriam Sharma, Thomas Speitel, Joseph Stanton, Victor Stenger, John Stimson, MingBao Yue
Administrative Members:
Kenneth Mortimer, Carol Eastman, Thomas Bopp
Invited Guests
Dean Smith, Sinika Hayasaka, Judith Inazu
Three additional persons signed the attendance list.
The minutes of the Congress meeting of February 28, 1996 were approved.
Chair Ikeda announced that plans were underway to have a memorial service for Madeline Goodman who died
recently. Faculty members who have suggestions about that service should contact either Prof. Ikeda directly, or
the Faculty Senate Office.
Chair Ikeda then introduced UH President Kenneth Mortimer who said he intended to focus on five major
items--the current enrollment/budget situation; the uncertain future status of Bill 161; the upcoming legislative
session; private fundraising activities and plans; and the UH Strategic Plan.
Before doing that, the President expressed his thanks to everyone involved in the General Education effort
ongoing this weekend. Recognizing that determining the form and content of General Education is a special
obligation of the faculty, he nonetheless expressed his great interest and concern with this. It is a matter of
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI’I AT MĀNOA FACULTY SENATE
An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Institution
MĀNOA FACULTY SENATE
determining what it means to be an "educated person", and how the curriculum reflects this understanding, he
said. However, he also pointed out that it is not entirely a matter of what the faculty designs, but also of what
courses students actually take out of the array offered as General Education. It is something which the faculty
needs to reconsider at least once every decade, so the time is ripe for the current effort, the President concluded.
On the matter of enrollment, tuition, and the budget generally, the President pointed out that the news is not as
bad as it may at first have seemed. Last year, the University estimated that there would be a 5% drop in
enrollment, system-wide if tuition were raised. There was in fact a 6% drop, with an 8% drop at Manoa. There
also appears not to have been a substantial flight of students from the more expense Manoa campus to the
community colleges in the system, although the 40% decline in freshmen enrollment remains a puzzle which
must be sorted out.
Also, the University did bring in an additional $10 million because of the tuition increase (although it was later
pointed out that the Governor has also withheld $10 million).
Athletics has been cut just as everyone else has, and as planned. It may be the public has only now come to
realize what that means, but it is not something new.
However, President Mortimer pointed out again, as he has before, that we won't really know what our budget
situation is this year until spring enrollments are completed and tuition all counted--about March 1. In general
though, he continues to believe that the worst is behind us.
Concerning the raising of private money, President Mortimer said that of course this has been ongoing for the
last twenty-five years, but that it has been markedly increased recently. 54,000 phone calls have been made,
especially to alumni, and 30% of the alumni are now donating to UH, which is comparable with most public
university alumni giving. This year, he intends to have 75,000 calls made, with a substantial increase of giving.
He also pointed out that the President's Club campaign has been successful, and he is especially pleased that so
many faculty members participate in this.
And he expects to have ten or more major gifts of one million dollars or more over the next year or so.
Recent fund raising has brought in $25 million each of the last three years, two times the amount coming in
during the 1980s and early 90s. Athletics will be folded into this overall activity, and the University
Development Council is always on the lookout for sources of outside funding. We are moving steadily ahead as
planned and should have a good operation in place over the next ten years.
The President then spoke about the upcoming legislative session. It is time for UH to become more visible to
the legislature and public concerning its mission and funding requirements. We need to rethink the previous
policy which discouraged individual faculty from speaking out. Instead, President Mortimer said that he
welcomes faculty participation in this, and thanked UHPA for its role in bringing the needs of the University to
the public. We need to make the phones ring, the President said.
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI’I AT MĀNOA FACULTY SENATE
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MĀNOA FACULTY SENATE
The crux of the matter is Act 161. There are three parts. The first grants the University the right to set, raise, and
keep its tuition. Moreover, the Act guarantees that the Legislature will not reduce its level of support because of
increased tuition revenues. The Legislature agreed not to reduce the University's resource base further.
The Act also allows the University to grant tuition waivers to up to 15% of the undergraduate enrollment, and
that it is the University, and not the Legislature which shall determine who gets the waivers. Thus the BOR
eliminated all of the legislatively-mandated tuition waivers, and is instigating its own policy, which is more
generally needs-based
Finally, Act 161 states that, in 1998, the level of University funding by the Legislature shall be restored to the
1995 levels, which is $88 million more than the University currently receives from the Legislature. When the
BOR prepared its most recent budget, it did so on the assumption that the law would be followed as written.
Now, it may be that the State cannot actually afford to give the University that much presently, President
Mortimer said, but it is very important that the spirit and intent of the legislation be followed. We must do
everything we can to see that the base does not shrink still further, and each faculty member should play a
positive role in seeing that such is the case.
Act 161 helped restructure the relationship between the State and the University. We are on track to making still
more necessary changes, such as allowing the University to keep 100% of the overhead funds it generates. It is
also imperative for successful private giving that donors know that the Legislature will not reduce the base by
the amount the private donors give. It is very important that we not lose ground on any of these matters.
Of course we also need to develop benchmarks so that we can assure the public that we are using their funds in
appropriate ways. We need a new social contract between the citizens of Hawaii and the University of Hawaii,
and we need to work hard now to achieve that.
The President concluded his remarks by noting that the BOR will probably adopt the new Strategic Plan at its
next session--a plan which intends to make the University of Hawaii the premiere university in the AsianPacific Region.
A question and answer period followed.
Some one asked whether the University was going to purchase land on Molokai in order to set up a branch of
Maui Community College. The President said that this is Priority Number 4 on the BOR list.
Some one else wanted to know how the bargaining process is going; that the last time the President spoke, he
promised to be more active in getting a new contract signed. He said he has been so active, and that written
proposals have been exchanged, but that no definite progress has been made so far.
The President was also asked about the ownership of books and articles written by faculty members. He
reiterated his position that the problem is not with traditional books and articles, but with the new
communication technologies, and that the study of this matter was still underway.
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI’I AT MĀNOA FACULTY SENATE
An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Institution
MĀNOA FACULTY SENATE
When asked about the reason why the amount the Governor took from the University ($10 million) is the same
as the amount brought in by tuition ($10 million), the President said he had no comment.
Since Promotion and Tenure were listed on the agenda, someone wanted to know why the President had not
addressed that issue. Chair Ikeda said that was an error, and had related to the Old Business of having a set of
clearer criteria for Promotion and Tenure, especially for Specialist faculty, which is still not ready to be brought
before the Senate. But normal mechanisms for Tenure and Promotion are in place, and moving forward,the
President assured the faculty.
There was also a question about restoring purchase funds to Hamilton Library and CIP funds for a new library
annex.
President Mortimer pointed out that VP Carole Eastman will describe what is happening in the former, and that
the Number One CIP item in the BOR Budget--even ahead of all the Community College needs--is building the
Hamilton Annex, for which planning money has already been spent and plans readied.
President Mortimer then excused himself, and Vice President Carole Eastman stepped in to discuss other
matters. She said that because of lower tuition income, and the Governor's restrictions, final allocations will be
made this week to all units, and that most units will have 2 -3% less than was anticipated. This will give half
($500,000) of the million dollars needed to allow the Library to resume some level of book and periodical
purchasing. It is necessary, however, to find the additional $500,000 for the library somewhere.
Assistant Vice President Tom Bopp also pointed out that the University is trying to protect the funds it has
budgeted for repair and maintenance, since these are the funds that have been so seriously depleted in past years
of budget cutting.
It should also be possible for recruiting of new faculty members to move forward.
VP Eastman said she also had hoped to be able to say that the plans for annual and special review of deans and
directors were in place and ready for implementation. While that is the case of the annual reviews, there are still
some problems with the special reviews that need to be worked out, she said.
VP Eastman was also asked to comment on the statement by the President that faculty should become more
active in the University's legislative agenda. She said that was a real switch in policy. We now want faculty
involvement, she said, but we need to know what faculty are saying to whom. We need to be as organized and
coherent as possible.
Prof. Sumner LaCroix spoke up at this point saying that his committee wants the faculty to join with the
administration when possible, and to express a separate voice where necessary. There will be many new faces in
the Legislature this year, he said, and it is important that we make our needs and mission known to the
Legislature--even though what the Governor will then do with what the Legislature produces remains a
problem.
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI’I AT MĀNOA FACULTY SENATE
An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Institution
MĀNOA FACULTY SENATE
The policy of generally not having persons on a TPRC from the same college (and certainly not the same
department) as the faculty under review was reiterated, in response to a question by AVP Bopp, with a possible
exception being for Specialists whose role may not be as well known by most other faculty members.
Chair Ikeda introduced Sinika Hayasaka who is the sole University representative for the Aloha United Way.
She explained that with two weeks to go, the University is about 1/3 of the way towards achieving its goal of
$345,000. She stressed how important it was that the community see the University fully meeting its obligation
towards the community as a whole through Aloha United Way.
Prof. Hayasaka was asked why the policy of distributing AUW pledge cards to faculty via the Departments was
changed in favor of sending it to their homes. She said that it was felt that more faculty members would open
and respond to their mail at home than in the office, but that this seems not to be the actual case. Faculty who
did not receive, or save, their pledge cards may call 63258 for a new card.
Chair Ikeda next pointed out that in its recent meetings with the President, the SEC has placed the matter of
Distance Education (and the Virtual University) on the front burner for discussions, and has also urged the
President to restore "College Hill Breakfast"-type meetings between town and gown again, as long as they are
not detrimental to his fund-raising efforts.
A question was raised about faculty funding for possible distance education courses. VP Eastman said the
Colleen Sathre had been made responsible for coordinating all this, but that she is only getting this process
underway. She did say that some funds should be available soon, but that nothing is in place yet.
The assembly then began a discussion of the BOR's proposed policy on tuition waivers. It was noted that
substantially more waivers were proposed for football and the band than for President's Scholars. Several
people wanted to know how we can be "the premiere Asia Pacific university" if this is the way we allocate our
tuition waivers?
A motion was introduced and passed unanimously which stated:
"The Senate is concerned not that tuition waivers are granted, but that they are not being given in a way
consistent with the President's strategic plan to make the University of Hawaii the premiere Asia-Pacific
University."
It was then pointed out first that the body was still meeting as the Congress, and not as the Senate, and secondly,
that there was no longer a quorum of the Senate present.
The Congress then adjourned at 3:58 PM,
Jim Dator
Secretary, SEC and Faculty Senate
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI’I AT MĀNOA FACULTY SENATE
An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Institution