FAC091099

FAC091099

FAC091099

Minutes

Faculty Representative Assembly Meeting

September 10, 1999

Attendance: Richard Blade, Mark Malone, Doris Carey, Kelli Klebe, Rex Welshon, Mary Beth Chambers, Harlow Sheidley, Jenenne Nelson, Robert Carlson, David Fenell, Tom Napierkowski, Tom Zwirlein, Gerald Oleszek, Rob Weigand, Diana Cook.

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, Donna Wilson of All Staff, Ron Fitz of the Silver & Gold Record, Dave Schmidt, Perrin Cunningham, Linda Kaastner, John Jacques.

1.    WELCOME - RICHARD BLADE

Blade welcomed everyone to the first of this year's meetings. Guests and visitors are always welcome. Motions must be introduced by members of the Faculty Representative Assembly.  Blade asked that reports be limited to five minutes followed by five minutes for discussion. This can be modified by a non-debatable motion to extend the time.

2.     ADMINISTRATION REPORTS

CHANCELLOR LINDA BUNNELL SHADE

Welcome to the fall semester. The Chancellor and Blade met through the summer.

The Chancellor and the Vice Chancellors spent a lot of time at a retreat planning and setting some priorities for the fall. At the kickoff this morning a decision matrix was handed out. Also there is an organizational communication plan for the Chancellor, the Vice Chancellors, and Martin Wood which lists all the formal and informal opportunities for communication. Also handed out was a distribution of who is responsible for TLE goals. For growth, the responsible person is Dr. Shockley. Dr. Pierce is responsible for strengthening the quality of the educational experience and research. Dr. Pierce and Dr. McDaniel will share responsibility for technology.  The Chancellor will take the lead responsibility for strengthening our relationships with the community. Dr. McDaniel will take the lead on enhancing the infrastructure. All will be responsible for diversity.

CCHE rejected our proposal for a Master's Degree in Computer Engineering which had no cost associated with it. The Regents were angry about the CCHE decision.

VICE CHANCELLOR FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS JOHN PIERCE

Core Curriculum Committee has a draft skeleton of core curriculum for the campus. It goes to EPUS first and then to the campus community. We will be implementing the Graduate School rules and procedures prepared last year. Graduate student enrollment is down not just here but across the state and country.

We will be working on implementing TLE. Diversity Plan has been approved and we will be
moving forward there. We will work with the Deans on non-tenure track faculty issues.

We will be responding to reports from task force on sponsored programs, continuing education and technology. Dr. Pierce will be working with the Deans who will be working with the departments and faculty on the fund raising campaign. We will be bringing forth soon a model for the salary allocation process.

Regarding Carlson's library motion last spring, Dr. Pierce and Blade did meet with Leslie Manning this summer. The final report does address concrete steps to re-evaluate policy.

VICE CHANCELLOR FOR ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE CLEVE MCDANIEL

There is good news about the FY 99 budget process. We ended FY 98 with a cumulative balance of all funds $83,500. This year end our cumulative balance was $674,591. It is not where we would like it to be but it is a significant improvement. We spent as a campus 99.6% of our revised operating budget. We only had a deficit in one area and that was for $14, 700. We began last year with a cumulative debt of $1.7 million and that was reduced this year to $1.4 million. We had savings of capital, travel and operating expenses. We will still work on the debt to bring it down. We have to be careful of the carry forwards.

Dr. McDaniel will continue to work closely with UBAC and the Faculty Budget Committee. We will be using the IRMS to implement TLE goals. A key component is multi-year budgeting.

VICE CHANCELLOR FOR STUDENT SUCCESS PAM SHOCKLEY

We just finished 43 orientations. Over 50% of our first time freshmen are eligible for Boulder or Mines. The Housing Village is full of students. The University Center is under major construction. The new food court is open and the volume is up. The Family Development Center is almost fully subscribed. Sandy Wurtele has agreed to head up all the research and grant opportunities for the Family Development Center. Memorial Hospital raised costs for the Student Health Center which will now be run by Beth-El which will open up grant opportunities.
Recruitment starts next week.

MOTION BY ROBERT CARLSON

It was moved by Carlson and seconded by Zwirlein to adjust the agenda to introduce a motion during the Standing Committee Reports between Budget and Minority Affairs. Motion passed, 11-0.

3. OFFICER REPORTS

PRESIDENT'S REPORT - RICHARD BLADE

President's report was sent out via e-mail prior to the meeting.

Zwirlein would like the ACPC to consider a better campus-wide e-mail system. One that would be better at grabbing attachments so it would be easier for faculty to open attachments. Blade agreed and offered a CD Rom with directions on how to set up Eudora Light which can be downloaded from the web for free. Contact Blade for more information.

Blade's report included the parking budget. Zwirlein said feedback from graduate students is the parking issue. Parking fees are a hardship for graduate students, commuter night students and part time staff.

All Faculty Assembly committees are appointed by the Faculty Assembly President and then the chair is elected by the committee.

FACUL TY COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE - GERRY OLESZEK

None of the committees have had time to meeting. There is a concern for the lack of investment options for retirees. EPUS will look at this matter.

Blade said Mike Martin stated that each campus should have a salary distribution oversight committee that looks at how salary is distributed. Blade has asked our Personnel Committee to look at that and make a recommendation.

EPUS did have a report on non-tenure track faculty and their report to the Regents. Blade's view is that it was positive but we won't know until the minutes come out.

4. STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS

EPUS - TOM NAPIERKOWSKI

There are four major issues EPUS will be dealing with this year:

a. Post tenure review issue. They had a marathon meeting late last spring and put together recommendations that they hope campus administration will find acceptable.
b. Non-tenure Faculty Bill of Rights at the UCCS level and the recommendation that came from the system-wide committee that address the issues of non-tenure track faculty.
c. Retreat report of the Core Curriculum Committee regarding the general education packet. They will look at it.
d. Still going over the campus-wide curriculum.

PERSONNEL AND BENEFITS - NO REPORT

BUDGET- DAVID FENELL FOR JIM DALY

Fenell is chair of UBAC and Jim Daly is the chair of the Faculty Budget Committee. The Faculty Budget Committee met earlier this week to get to know one another. There are a lot of issues that will be coming up that are related to the campus budget. The first UBAC meeting of this semester has been set for September 23rd which will be an orientation and set the stage for the process of the upcoming budget cycle. There will be a review of lessons learned.

INTRODUCTION OF ROBERT CARLSON'S MOTION

It was moved by Carlson and seconded by Zwirlein that:

"Whereas, Salary is a major concern of faculty on this campus.
Whereas, The salary of full time instructors is a disgrace.
Whereas, A sampling of faculty suggests that the mail problem for professors is what is usually called compression: raises adjust salary for inflation, but there is no substantial improvement in standard of living as one is promoted through the professorial ranks.

Examination of national salary surveys indicates that after correction for inflation, salaries should rise 25% as one is promoted from assistant to associate professor, and 30% as one is promoted from associate to full professor. At UCCS these figures are typically close to 0%.
Whereas, It appears that substantial correction of this problem for full time faculty, including full time instructors, would cost about $1.25 million per year, a large but not impossible sum.

Resolved That the representative assembly make correction of salary compression a major focus of its efforts for this year, with regular (monthly) monitoring of the progress toward a solution, and that this priority be reflected in the agendas for its meetings.
That the representative assembly request that the administration, the faculty budget committee, and the personnel and benefits committee clarify the extent of the compression problem, and provide cost estimates to rectify it.
That the representative assembly request that the administration draft and execute a plan, in consultation with the faculty and university budget committees, to substantially correct salary compression, preferably over a time period not to exceed 3 years.
That the representative assembly consider, on a regular (monthly) basis, strategies for convincing the Chancellor, the President of the University, the state legislature, and other relevant authorities, to address this problem with appropriate financial support."

It was moved by Carey and seconded by Welshon that Carlson's motion be split into four separate motions:

Motion #1: "That the representative assembly make correction of salary compression a major focus of its efforts for this year, with regular (monthly) monitoring of the progress toward a solution, and that this priority be reflected in the agendas for its meetings."

Motion #2: "That the representative assembly request that the administration, the faculty budget committee, and the personnel and benefits committee clarify the extent of the compression problem, and provide cost estimates to rectify it."

Motion #3: "That the representative assembly request that the administration draft and execute a plan, in consultation with the faculty and university budget committees, to substantially correct salary compression, preferably over a time period not to exceed 3 years."

Motion #4: "That the representative assembly consider, on a regular (monthly) basis, strategies for convincing the Chancellor, the President of the University, the state legislature, and other relevant authorities, to address this problem with appropriate financial support."

Motion carried, 9-1.

Carlson said this is an important issue and looking ahead to this year's meetings if we assign this issue to New Business, we are likely never to get to it. It is not his intent to have the group bogged down with details. The issue deserves to be a priority by the Representative Assembly.

Carey stated that the Representative Assembly is required to have five days notice of motion so the motions cannot be voted on today. Only members of the Representative Assembly can take the floor, however a member can take the floor and turn it over to a visitor or guest.

It was brought up that lecturers should be included as well. Discussion followed regarding compression, faculty did not receive cost of living raises, instructor and lecturer salaries. Carey pointed out that the motion simply asks us to consider the issue on a monthly basis.

Zwirlein asked for clarification of major focus. Carlson left it vague intentionally so that it could become part of the Budget Committee report or the Personnel Committee report.

It was moved by Malone and seconded by Carlson to table these motions and bring them to the Faculty Assembly Executive Committee. Motion carried, 10-2.

MINORITY AFFAIRS - No report

WOMEN'S COMMITTEE - Report was submitted to the Representative Assembly via e-mail by Abby Ferber.

ACPC - No report

5. OLD BUSINESS

Blade reported that we did have a motion last year to recommend increasing the Library materials budget by 6% per year and that has been carried out.

6. NEW BUSINESS

a) NON TENURE TRACK FACULTY

Blade yielded the floor to Malone.

It was moved by Blade and seconded by Welshon and Klebe that the Faculty Representative Assembly amend the by-laws to form a regular standing committee of the Faculty Representative Assembly to represent the non tenure track faculty.

Discussion followed. Blade said even though there is a committee of the non tenure track faculty it is not official but it should be. The chair of the committee would be a member of the Representative Assembly. Welshon favors the motion because the problems of the non tenure track faculty are profound and representation of the non tenure track faculty at the Faculty Representative Assembly is appropriate.

It was moved by Carey and seconded by Blade to postpone the motion until the next meeting.
Motion carried, 8-0.

Cunningham provided handouts of the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs Non-Tenure Track Faculty Bill of Rights and the Recommendation of the Ad Hoc Committee on Non-Tenure Track Faculty (system-wide task force to make recommendations to Vice President Groth and the Regents). The Regents rejected the task force recommendations. Instructors are given raises but there is no merit review. It is strictly across the board. Napierkowski said the documents should not be confined to just EPUS but Budget and Personnel as well.

b) LIBRARY ADVISORY COMMITTEE

It was moved by Blade and seconded by Carey to form an official regular standing committee of the Faculty Representative Assembly called the Library Committee. A committee has been in effect for some time but as an ad hoc committee of the Faculty Representative Assembly rather than an official committee

It was moved by Blade and seconded by Carey to postpone the motion until the next meeting.
Motion carried, 10-0.

Malone yielded the floor back to Blade.

7. ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business, Blade adjourned the meeting at 2:00 p.m.