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DOCUMENTS OF THE GENERAL FACULTY
Following are the minutes of the regular Faculty Council meeting of April 23, 2012.
Sue Alexander Greninger, Secretary
General Faculty and Faculty Council
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR FACULTY COUNCIL MEETING OF
March 19, 2012
The seventh regular meeting of the Faculty Council for the academic year 2011-12 was held in the Main
Building, Room 212 on Monday, April 23, 2012, at 2:15 P.M.
ATTENDANCE.
Present: Robert H. Abzug, Mark I. Alpert, Ronald B. Anderson, Jacqueline L. Angel, Phillip J. Barrish, Carl S.
Blyth, Douglas S. Bruster, Erika M. Bsumek, Natalie E. Butler, Benjamin H. Carrington, Lee R. Chesney,
Namkee Choi, Michael B. Clement, Patrick J. Davis, Arturo De Lozanne, Michael P. Domjan, Michael W.
Downer, Zachary S. Elkins, Brian L. Evans, Alan W. Friedman, Shernaz B. Garcia, Robert B. Gilbert, Thomas
W. Gilligan, Edmund (Ted) Gordon, Sue A. Greninger, Hillary Hart, Kevin P. Hegarty, Susan S. Heinzelman,
Martha F. Hilley, David M. Hillis, Neville Hoad, James A. Holcombe, Coleman Hutchison, Kerry A. Kinney,
Judith Langlois, Chang Liu, S. Reid Long, Blinda E. McClelland, Gretchen Murphy, Edward W. (Ted) Odell,
Soncia Reagins-Lilly, Patricia Roberts-Miller, Snehal A. Shingavi, Jeffrey Chipps Smith, Vincent S. (Shelby)
Stanfield, Pauline T. Strong, Dnika J. Travis, Leslie J. Vaaler, Jo Lynn Westbrook, James R. Yates.
Absent: Samer M. Ali (excused), Byron P. Almen (excused), Ashley Baker (excused), Seth R. Bank (excused),
Mark Barber, Anthony L. Brown (excused), Keffrelyn D. Brown (excused), Deborah J. Carney (excused),
Loftus C. Carson (excused), Alan K. Cline, Patricia L. Clubb, Miles Lynn Crismon, James W. Deitrick
(excused), Douglas J. Dempster, Randy L. Diehl, Andrew P. Dillon, Bradley G. Englert, Gregory Fenves,
William L. Fisher (excused), Manuel A. Gonzalez, Juan C. González, Donald A. Hale, Roderick P. Hart, Fred
M. Heath, Jacqueline C. Henninger (excused), James L. Hill (excused), Robert L. Hutchings, Kedra B. Ishop
(excused), Michael Johnson (excused), Manuel J. Justiz, Susan R. Klein (excused), David A. Laude, Steven W.
Leslie, Stephanie A. Lindquist, Hunter C. March (excused), John H. McCall, Juan Miró (excused), Ismail S.
Mohiuddin (excused), Sharon Mosher, Dean P. Neikirk (excused), Carisa K. Nietsche (excused), Patricia C.
Ohlendorf (excused), David S. Onion, Yolanda C. Padilla (excused), Anthony J. Petrosino (excused), William
C. Powers, Karen L. Rascati (excused), Mary Rose (excused), Stanley J. Roux (excused), Victor B. Saenz
(excused), Cinthia S. Salinas (excused), Juan M. Sanchez, Rajashri Srinivasan (excused), Frederick R. Steiner,
Alexa Stuifbergen, Emanuel Tutuc (excused), Emily E. Van Duyn, Gregory J. Vincent, Deborah L. Volker
(excused), Alexandra K. Wettlaufer (excused), Darlene C. Wiley (excused), Paul B. Woodruff (excused), Luis
H. Zayas.
Voting Members:
Non-Voting Members:
Total Members:
45 present,
5 present,
50 present,
32 absent,
30 absent,
62 absent,
77
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112
total.
total.
total.
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I.
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY.
Secretary Sue Greninger (human development and family sciences) greeted everyone and asked if
there were any questions or corrections regarding the secretary’s report ((D 9639-9649)as posted.
There were none.
II.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES.
The minutes of the sixth regular meeting of the 2011-12 Faculty Council (D 9650-9656), which was
held in MAI 212 on March 19, 2012, were unanimously approved as posted by voice vote.
III.
COMMUNICATION WITH THE PRESIDENT.
A. Comments by the President. None.
B. Questions to the President.
From Michael Domjan, Chair, Committee on Financial Aid to Students:
I would like to inquire about the range of issues to be considered by the
newly formed Committee on Business Productivity. The University
Committee on Financial Aid to Students has been discussing the
considerable benefits to students of including campus employment
opportunities as a part of offers of financial aid. The Report of the Task
Force on Undergraduate Graduation Rates also recommended that the
University "offer more on-campus employment that both fulfills the financial
needs of the students and helps keep them connected to the campus." I would
like to inquire whether Committee on Business Productivity will consider
ways in which various vendors that operate on campus (e.g., Wendy's, Taco
Bell, Quiznos) and campus service units could employ more students as a
part of their standard operating procedures.
President Powers responded by
IV.
REPORT OF THE CHAIR.
Chair Alan Friedman (English) reported
Letter to Chancellor Cigarroa (See D 9659)
V.
REPORT OF THE CHAIR ELECT.
Chair Elect Martha F. Hiley (music)
COIA recommendations see D 9660-9671
VI.
VII.
VIII.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS—None.
REPORTS OF THE GENERAL FACULTY, COLLEGES AND SCHOOLS, AND
COMMITTEES—None.
NEW BUSINESS
A. Discussion of the Guidelines and Procedures for Implementing the Rules and Regulations of the
Board of Regents Rule 31102: Evaluation of Tenured Faculty.
Chair Friedman
Amendment 1 submitted by James Yates was to flipping E(1) with E(3)
Amendment 2 submitted by Shernaz Garcia was to insert the following sentence in E(4) and F(3).
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“The final evaluation must reflect consideration of the recommendations of the departmental
evaluating committee.”
Therefore, E(4) would read:
The departmental chair (or dean in a non-departmentalized college/school) shall communicate
the final evaluation in writing to the faculty member and to the appropriate members of the
administration. The final evaluation must reflect consideration of the recommendations of the
departmental evaluating committee. The faculty member may prepare a responsive statement,
which will be included with the permanent records of evaluation.
And F(3) would read:
The evaluation committee shall communicate its final evaluation in writing to the faculty
meber and to the appropriate members of the administration. The final evaluation must reflect
consideration of the recommendations of the departmental evaluating committee.
B. Resolution in Support of Academic Freedom in the Case of Loretta Capeheart
Snehal A. Shingavi (assistant professor, English)...
Appendix A
IX.
ANNOUNCEMENTS AND COMMENTS.
Chair Friedman called attention to the announcements…
A. Faculty Council election results are posted online.
B. Professor Steven Goode (law) has been appointed to serve on the Co-op Board of Directors for a
four-year term beginning September 1, 2012, through August 31, 2016. Professor Kevin Foster
(educational administration) has been appointed to serve on the Intercollegiate Athletics Council
for Women, and Professor Ben Carrington (sociology) has been appointed to the Intercollegiate
Athletics Council for Men; both appointed to serve a four-year term beginning September 1, 2012,
through August 31, 2016. Edmund T. Gordon (African and African diaspora studies) has been
appointed to serve on the UTPD Oversight Committee beginning September 1, 2012, through
August 31, 2015.
C. Annual reports from the Standing Committees are due now. If you have questions or concerns,
contact the Office of the General Faculty.
D. Continuing Council members should submit standing committee preferences to the Office of the
General Faculty.
E. Continuing Council members should submit nominations for Council officers.
F. Next Faculty Council meeting scheduled for May 14, immediately following the special meeting
of the 2012-13 Faculty Council.
X.
XI.
QUESTIONS TO THE CHAIR—None.
ADJOURNMENT.
Chair Friedman adjourned the meeting at 3:31 P.M.
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Posted on the Faculty Council website (http://www.utexas.edu/faculty/council/) on May xx, 2012.
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Appendix A
Resolution in Support of Academic Freedom in the Case of Loretta Capeheart
University of Texas at Austin Faculty Council
Drafted by Dana L. Cloud, Associate Professor of Communication Studies,
University of Texas at Austin
Background:
Loretta Capeheart, a longstanding activist, scholar, and teacher, has been in a protracted struggle with her
employer, Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) in Chicago. The campaign is now at a crucial stage as she
awaits the outcome of a decision by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Depending on the decision, the case
could go all the way to the US Supreme Court. The court’s ruling on Loretta’s case will have wide ramifications
for academic free speech and workplace rights across the country. Loretta has been forced to spend nearly
$100,000 in legal fees which has put her and her family under enormous financial strain. Part of the NEIU
administration’s strategy is to bankrupt Loretta and intimidate anyone else from standing up to them.
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) wrote, "If upheld on review, the district court's ruling
would deal a major blow to professors' academic freedom and free speech in the Seventh Circuit--and quite
likely beyond, as it would send the unmistakable message that faculty members aiming to speak out and be
active in campus dialogue risk having their careers damaged."
Capeheart is a 10-year tenured professor at NEIU and a respected union and community activist. NEIU
administrators have systematically targeted her for years. Administrators have engaged in slander against her,
denied her a department chair position and earned merit pay increases. These attacks resulted from Capeheart's
union activities and anti-war work and her attempts to promote the rights of students and faculty, especially
Latino/a faculty.
NEIU President Sharon K. Hahs is an arrogant opponent of student, worker and minority rights on campus and
has presided over a spectacle of administrative scandal during her tenure. In Capeheart v. Hahs et al, a federal
judge concluded that Capeheart could be punished for speaking out against the war because she advised a
student club. The court agreed with NEIU's lawyers that academics have no right to free speech under the
Supreme Court's 2006 decision Garcetti v. Ceballos.
In Garcetti, the Supreme Court stripped most government workers of their rights to speak in the workplace but
made a footnoted exception for professors. In deciding against Capeheart, the lower court effectively ignored
this footnote and left workers with fewer rights. Other federal courts have similarly misapplied Garcetti. Now
the appeal before the 7th Circuit Court of appeals will either reject the new limits set by the lower courts or
further establish them. Either way, this decision could lead to another hearing before the Supreme Court.
The newly-formed Justice for Loretta Capeheart Campaign has been created to win solidarity for her struggle,
encourage financial support, explain the political ramifications of Loretta’s case and direct organizing efforts to
put pressure on NEIU’s administration to end their assault on Loretta and academic freedom more generally.
More crucial information is available at www.justice4loretta.com. The resource link contains articles and
documents explaining all the issues involved.
The website features a newly-penned Appeal Letter signed by Noam Chomsky, Michael Ratner, Mike Davis,
Jesse Sharkey, the Coalition Against the Corporatization of Higher Education, Scott McLemee, David McNally
and many more. The appeal letter can be downloaded at the website.
Activists across the US are asked to circulate the website far and wide on listservs, facebook and by any other
means; circulate the Appeal Letter in academic networks, faculty unions and campus organizations; contact
professors, institutions and student organizations to encourage them to support the campaign in whatever way
they can; make a case to individuals and institutions to provide financial support for the struggle; write and
speak about the campaign in blogs, journals, magazines, online publications, campus newspapers, union
newsletters, at conferences, union and faculty meetings; ask publications to include versions of the appeal letter
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in print and online editions; encourage others to write about the case; and invite Professor Capeheart to speak at
a forum on Academic Freedom and the Corporatization of Universities sponsored by your department, faculty
union or student senate with funding; and join the national organizing list email us at
justice4loretta@gmail.com.
Resolution:
Whereas,
The University of Texas Faculty Council has as its mandate to advise the Board of Regents on important
matters of academic policy to make the University of Texas System of the “first class”; and
whereas,
The capacity of faculty members to critique accepted truths and search for new knowledge is essential to
making the System one of “the first class”; and
whereas,
The University of Texas System Board of Regents Rules and Regulations Series authorizes the faculty to have a
“major role in the governance of their institutions” with regard to general academic policies and welfare,
student life and activities, and faculty rules of procedure; and
whereas,
Federal rulings on the subject of academic freedom and responsibility have an impact on academic freedom in
teaching, research, and expression at the University of Texas; and
whereas,
Garcetti as applied in In Capeheart v. Hahs et al., endangers faculty members’ freedom to critique accepted
truths and search for new knowledge and threatens academic freedom safeguards of tenure, due process, and
faculty governance that allow faculty members to serve the common good without being controlled by public
opinion; and
whereas,
The dangerous application of the Garcetti ruling in Capeheart v. Hahs et al. is of national significance in
defining faculty rights across the US;
Be It Resolved That
The University of Texas Faculty Council shall endorse and support Capeheart in her suit against Northeastern
Illinois University (NEIU); and
The University of Texas Faculty Council shall make this endorsement publicly known and publicize the case
and appeal among the University of Texas System faculty.
Resolved on this day,
Representative Signature
date
,