FAC040999
FAC040999
University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
Faculty Assembly
Minutes, Faculty Representative Assembly Meeting
April 9, 1999
Attendance: Tom Zwirlein, Richard Blade, Paul Harvey, Douglas Swartenzruber, Don Morley, Tom Napierkowski, Christina Martinez, Bob Carlson, Harlow Sheidley, Teresa Jillson, Venkat Reddy, Eric Olson, Rex Welshon, Mark Malone, Gerry Oleszek, David Fenell, Mary Hagedorn.
Guests: Chancellor Linda Bunnell Shade, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs John Pierce, Vice Chancellor for Student Success Pam Shockley, Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance Cleve McDaniel, Jim Henderson, Mary Jo Kraus of All Staff, Ron Fitz of the Silver & Gold Record, Rick Wunderli, Susan Szpyrka, Alex Soifer, Paul Sale, Jim Daly.
WELCOME – TOM ZWIRLEIN
Zwirlein welcomed everyone to the meeting. It was moved and seconded that Item #3 under New Business be made a special order item, REQUIRING IT to be discussed no later than 1:30 p.m. Motion passed.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
It was moved and seconded to approve the March 19, 1999 Faculty Representative Assembly meeting minutes. Motion passed.
COMMENTS FROM THE CHANCELLOR – CHANCELLOR LINDA BUNNELL SHADE
Concerning insurance, $2.2 million is being moved to CU from reserves in place for claims.
The Chancellor has made a $1.5 million request of assistance from the President. We have lost $500,000 since 1993 because of tuition. $650,000 has been requested to be added to the base. A meeting with the Presidents and all the Chancellors will take place later this month.
UBAC met Thursday. The Chancellor provided the University of Colorado Fact Book as a handout. Salaries remain behind but we have gained some ground. Since 1991-92 enrollment declined for three years but in 1997-98 we did actually begin to come of the decline. Concerning the cost of education at the campuses, we are low in terms of graduates and undergraduates.
Swartzendruber pointed out that Denver and Boulder have gone down in faculty/student ratio while we have not.
TLE implementation team is assigning goals to areas. There will be a key/primary person assigned for each oversight team. That person will be responsible for that area. We are the only campus to finish our TLE report.
COMMENTS FROM THE VCAA – JOHN PIERCE
Dr. Pierce announced the faculty-l and faculty-d lists will be in place April 19th.
We have the votes on the recommended approval of the new graduate school. Work will begin this summer to set this up. New grad school rules recommendation approved by faculty by vote of 65 to 11.
The campus academic master plan will be presented at the Regents' meeting. There are several reasons to push forward. The last plan ended in 1995. CCHE and the Regents have held things up until the campus had a master plan which included the facilities master plan and the academic master plan.
COMMENTS FROM THE VICE CHANCELLOR FOR STUDENT SUCCESS - PAM SHOCKLEY
Dr. Shockley announced the new financing for the housing village is completed with the bonds being bought at 4.99% for over 27 years. We will save almost $1 million over the term in interest. Dr. Shockley thanked everyone who was involved in this process. The Treasury has been making money on our payments and the money will be returned to us which will allow us to put lightening protection in the housing village. Air conditioning is being considered for phasing in with the convention areas first.
Students are going to be phoned and asked for nominations of faculty and staff for participating in orientation.
We are now running our highest quality of student applicants. 57% EXCEED 103 INDEX. For the first time in three years our graduate applications have been going up.
One concern which Dr. Shockley has taken to the Student Success Initiative Policy Board is the community colleges have entered into an agreement with Franklin College for a four year degree. Dr. Shockley's first concern is the quality of that degree, but she is also concerned about recruitment. She is brining this issue to different avenues. A copy of the information will be distributed to the Representative Assembly.
COMMENTS FROM THE VICE CHANCELLOR FOR ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE - CLEVE MCDANIEL
Dr. McDaniel has good financial news. Our controlled maintenance budget is up from $350,000 last year to over $900,000 for next year. The bid on the El Pomar Center and the University Center came in at $2.7 million under what was projected which means we can reinstate some items from the building that had been value-engineered out originally, making it a truly first-class building.
ASP and CPP training is gearing up. CPP training will be for staff and supervisors. This year will be a dry run with next year being the real thing.
Carlson asked if we have a response to the Tim Foster issue. Dr. Pierce said all the information came out after the last vice chancellors meeting. He anticipates there will be a strategy. Zwirlein stated the Gazette contacted him and he told them service is not just to the community but to the campus as well. Other faculty stressed the need to have an organized response from the CU system to Foster's distorted view of academic work. Dr. Pierce said we all do community meetings and we need to address these issues.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT – TOM ZWIRLEIN
Send e-mail to Richard Blade if you are interested in running for election. Zwirlein encouraged FACULTY to contact their legislators about recent events. Daphne Greenwood has said if legislators receive at least six letters concerning an issue, they think that issue is important.
The APAs will be on the web this year to save costs. Instructions will be sent out. There are only 25 questions this year. Results will be anonymous which involves using a pin number. Oleszek suggested the results of the APAs be posted on the web or sent to the faculty via e-mail. Morley passed out a summary sheet of last year's APAs.
Zwirlein encouraged everyone to look at the UBAC budget. All members of UBAC have a copy as well as Dr. McDaniel's office, plus each college has a representative on UBAC.
Zwirlein was able to meet John Bliss, the new Vice President for finance.
For April, there will not be any committee reports due to the heavy agenda. If you send your reports to Zwirlein via e-mail, they will be posted on the web.
OLD BUSINESS - None.
NEW BUSINESS
Item #1. Forest Tierson is not present so this item on parking will be postponed.
Item #2. It was moved by Carlson and seconded by Dandapani to split Item #2 into three separate motions. Motion carried.
Blade moved to consider: "1. Moved that the University conduct and make available a thorough and comprehensive analysis of the revenues and expenditures of all units on campus."
Carlson asked Blade if comparable data from other institutions fit with this motion. Blade replied that a great deal has already been done by Steve Chambers of Institutional Research. A unit is a department, school, administrative unit, etc. and is not at an individual level. Zwirlein said if it is done as a discipline, it is considered a unit. Zwirlein also said all the Vice Chancellors have put forth budgets but he has not seen the Chancellor's budget. Start with the Chancellor, then the Vice Chancellors, and then decide what level you want to go to. Start at top and move down.
Carlson said trying to read accounting is torture and the intent should be to make the information clear. Put the most important information up front in an executive summary.
Zwirlein said this would be a financial analysis and would not be telling the units how to run their business. Oleszek said enrollments are going up but where is the money going.
Call for a vote. Motion carried.
Blade moved to consider: "2. Moved that the said analysis be used to develop a plan to eliminate the budget deficit forecasted over the next several years."
The VCAF office would do the analysis. Fenell said the motions imply we are looking for more information than we have received in the past.
Call for a vote. Motion carried.
THE TIME NOW BEING 1:30, SPECIAL ORDER REQUIRES MOVEMENT TO ITEM # 3 ON THE AGENDA. REST OF BUDGET COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION HAS TO WAIT UNTIL AFTER DISCUSSION OF THIS ITEM.
Item #3. Sheidley said as an elected representative of LAS she is bringing forward the following motion from Rick Wunderli which will be read by Zwirlein:
"I move that the following question be put to a faculty vote:
Do you have confidence in the leadership of Chancellor Linda Shade to manage UCCS in the future, and to maintain and to increase the ability of the faculty to carry out the educational (teaching and research) mission of this university?
_____ Yes, I have confidence in Chancellor Shade's leadership.
_____ No, I do not have confidence in Chancellor Shade's leadership."
Sheidley made a subsidiary motion to refer the Wunderli motion to the whole assembly for a vote without amendment. Morley seconded.
Sheidley stated Wunderli has the required 25 signatures.
Welshon stated the motion is to immediately refer the Wunderli motion to an extraordinary session of the full assembly. There can be no amendments in this Representative Assembly but at the full assembly session. If Sheidley's subsidiary motion is voted down, then the Wunderli motion could be amended and put to the full assembly.
Swartzendruber said we are the representative assembly and he has asked colleagues what they thought and they said it should go to the full assembly.
Zwirlein asked if there could be an abstention line to be checked.
Welshon said the motion is to vote to refer the Wunderli motion to the full assembly un-amended.
Zwirlein said he would like the faculty to have all the voting options.
Olson stated he is compelled to vote the way he feels the business faculty wants, based on his polling. Many people he polled indicated they are against this particular form of the motion coming forward right now.
Carlson said an abstention should be offered so the people have the right to not vote yes or no.
Call for a vote. Subsidiary motion passed. 10 FOR, 5 AGAINST, 1 ABSTENTION
The special meeting of the Faculty Assembly will be on Friday, April 23rd, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon in Breckenridge 5101.
Item #2. Blade moved to consider: "3. Moved that the budgeting process focus on increasing the proportion of tuition and general fund dollars allocated to instruction."
Martinez stated the motion is assuming the analysis will show an inappropriate amount of money is put forth for instruction. Blade said there are large categories in the budget for instruction. Zwirlein said instruction will always need support of library and computing services so it is implied that money will go to them.
Call for a vote. Motion passed.
OTHER BUSINESS
Blade stated regarding Wunderli's motion, faculty need to have other options which should EITHER come out of the Representative Assembly or wait until the special assembly meeting. Sheidley said it should be as individuals at the special meeting.
Carlson said he disagreed. He said it was the Representative Assembly's responsibility to put forward alternatives. Some people think a number of things are being lumped together. Carlson supports the introduction of alternatives. Olson agreed. He is not happy but would like to see alternatives.
Zwirelin said there will be a meeting with the President next week with several faculty members attending. Mike Martin said that if a student has a problem with a professor they go to see the dean and if there is a problem with a Chancellor, it should go to the President.
It was moved by Blade and seconded by Martinez that the Faculty Representative Assembly add input to the full faculty assembly at the special meeting. Motion carried.
It was moved by Blade and seconded by Olson that the Faculty Representative Assembly discuss what they are going to present to the full faculty assembly. Motion carried: 8 IN FAVOR, 7 OPPOSED.
Blade said he feels that the faculty should have a say in alternatives. He
had asked for input from the faculty and the responses fell into three
broad categories: (1) those that support his suggestion to form a task
force to study and recommend changes in the decision-making structure, (2)
those that feel the problems are primarily financial, with various
suggestions, and (3) those that feel the problems involve micromanagement
by the chancellor and recommend the three vice chancellors be given the
primary role in the management of campus operations."
Olson said the College of Business faculty have an idea that a formal document be sent to the Chancellor concerning grievances and ask for a written response. If the response is not adequate, then move to more serious alternatives.
Jillson said anything the Representative Assembly does is advisory and symbolic at best.
Fenell said we are better off letting our constituents say what they think at the full assembly.
Welson said we could tell the full assembly other options, inform them.
Napierkowski said it is not right to take the lead for the full faculty.
Olson said they can always vote the motion down.
Blade said there is no hope of the Representative Assembly coming to an agreement so he withdrew his motion.
Zwirlein said the VCAF is new and is working hard to improve things. This is just the second year for the VCAA. April is a difficult time at the university.
Malone said Tabor has put is in this situation.
Jillson said these are discussions that need to go to the full faculty assembly. There has been fear about signing the Wunderli motion.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 2:45 p.m.