EC#8
Approved,.
October 24, Minutes
Indiana State University
Faculty Senate 2006-07
Time: 3:15 p.m.
Place: Hulman Memorial Student Union 227
Present: Chairperson S. Lamb, Vice Chair B. Evans, Secretary C. Hoffman
S. Davis, B. Frank, A. Halpern, J. Hughes, M. Miller, T. Mulkey
Ex-Officio: Provost J. Maynard
I. Administrative Report
1) The Board of Trustees will meet Wed. 11-1-06 at 10 a.m.
Agenda information will be distributed electronically in advance.
2) A Chair's Retreat ("Leadership Development") will take place this week.
3) Administrative searches - updates:
-- VP Enrollment Services: President Benjamin has been provided information,
including names of nominees for the search committee. He should be responding within
5-7 days.
-- Dean, College of Arts and Sciences: The internal search for permanent dean
should take 2-3 months to complete.
-- Dean, College of Business: Provost met with faculty on Friday 10-20. A search
committee is being formed. The intention is to move forward for continuity of leadership.
-- Director, Diversity and Affirmative Action: No new information available.
4) Nursing / HHP: The Task Force, chaired by V. Sheets, has been meeting regularly, has
received input from the affected colleges and from outside consultants, and will submit its
recommendation(s) to the Provost by mid November. Expected options: (1) Maintain two
separate colleges and search (soon) for two deans, or (2) Create a "comprehensive" single
college and search (later) for one dean. The decision should be made within the next two
months. S. Lamb stressed the need to follow processes specified in the University Handbook.
The Provost concurred.
II. Chair Report
"Vice-Chair Blanche Evans and I met with Trustee President Mike Alley, Trustee Vice-President
Ron Carpenter, President Benjamin, and Provost Maynard on Thursday, October 19th, at Condit
House to discuss the present climate on campus. The conversation was extremely frank. Trustee
Alley stated that the 360 would take place this year. He did not state when. Trustee Alley
conducted a fair and open meeting."
Chair Lamb thanked B. Evans for her contributions to the discussion.
III. Fifteen Minute Open Discussion
1) ISU is at a crossroads. Issues noted:
a) Enrollments are down. Even the "leveling" this year is not grounds for relief.
Numbers must increase significantly.
b) Funding is down, and increased state funding unlikely. Administration is taking
steps to lower instructional costs. The gap between ISU and Ball State is ~$1600 per in-state
FTE. Program Prioritization may result in cancellation of many degree programs and the
combining of departments. Two colleges may be merged. The proposed reorganization of Arts
and Sciences is forging ahead. All of these "initiatives" are proceeding without a definitive costbenefit analysis.
c) How will ISU be different after the above-noted "initiatives"? Is the goal
maximum budgetary efficiency? Will ISU have any remaining "distinctive identity"?
Have "Experiential Learning" and "Community Engagement" enhanced or diluted our
image?
d) What effects will current processes and procedures have on the number and
nature of faculty hired within the next few years? A large number of faculty are slated to
retire soon, which will permit recouping of significant funds. How and where will those
funds be applied? Will the full-time, tenure-track faculty be replaced with non-tenuretrack appointments (both full- and part-time)? What will be the effect on the level of
scholarly activity and on the character of the faculty itself? What will be the effects on
our new "identity" and on the nature of the student body which ISU will be able to
attract? Has any evaluation and discussion of these considerations occurred?
e) In Arts and Sciences a majority of current chairs are interim, and because all
but three deans also are now interim, dean-level involvement in strategic planning is
attenuated. Although the provost and his staff are to be commended for their efforts to
establish and maintain stability, the institution suffers from a lack of vision and
leadership at the highest level.
f) The search of a new Vice President for Enrollment Management, Marketing,
and Communications is a positive step, but the appointee can be successful only if
a "distinctive identity" is clearly established and we can attract a student
population which matches the image which best represents us in the marketplace.
As one administrator is reported to have said: “There nothing distinguishing about
Indiana State."
g) The faculty, Faculty Senate leadership, and administration must have serious,
collaborative conversations about our identity and, thus, which path we want to
follow into the future. Critical decisions about academic structure and faculty
hiring must occur within an agreed-upon, updated model (or vision) for this
institution.
2) Question re: total cost of the new "Welcome Center"
The Provost said he believes it to be approx. $100K - considerably less than has
been rumored. He will inquire and report back.
IV. MINUTES of 10/17/06 -- APPROVED (Miller, Halpern 9-0-0)
VI. Old Business – none
VII. New Business – none
VIII. Standing Committee Liaison Reports
SAC – Met Oct. 13 and heard from R. Guell about the TAFFY report and proposals to:
-- create a "University College," and
-- change the policy regarding academic dismissal of first-semester students earning
GPAs of 1.00 or lower.
Both items will be considered later.
The SAC approved a proposal to eliminate the printed schedule of classes.
FEBC – Has been meeting every two weeks.
Concerns being addressed:
-- Problems with timely refill of prescriptions: errors are (slowly) being corrected.
-- Retiree benefits: no guarantees exist; current faculty need better information to
make informed retirement decisions.
-- Health Benefit Premium adjustments: current rates will continue for at least six
months – a review will occur in July 2007.
-- Coverage for chemotherapy – disparities appear to exist between published and
FEBC-discussed coverage.
[Later clarification: Aricept is covered and chemo is covered at 80% level.]
The Committee went into Executive Session (Hughes, Halpern 9-0-0).
The Committee came out of Executive Session and adjourned at 4:32 p.m. (Davis, Miller 90-0).
Respectfully submitted,
C. Hoffman, Secretary