March 2018
March 2018
FACULTY REPRESENTATIVE ASSEMBLY MEETING
March 9, 2018
Attendance: Venkat Reddy, Tom Christensen, Maja Krakowiak, Melissa Benton, Barbara Prinari, Norah Mazel, Andrea Hutchins, Pam Carter, Rhonda Glazier, Eileen Gerrard-Gough, Margaret Hunt, Carole Traylor, Kaitlyn DeGhetto, Martin Key, Matt Metzger, Andrea Bingham, Patty Witkowsky, Jugal Kalita, Les Tekamp, Michelle Dorne, Suzanne Cook, Leah Chandler Mills, David Havlick, Leilani Feliciano, Sarah Treschl, Kristi McCann, Wendy Haggren, Nicole Huber, Kathrin Spendier, Joel Tonyan, Michael Landon-Murray, Monica Yoo, Carlos Duarte, Scott van Ness, Elizabeth Daniels, Dave Anderson
Call to Order / Approval of Minutes:
Motion to approve the minutes from February 9, 2018 meeting by Barbara Prinari
Seconded by Pam Carter
Motion passed with 24 in favor, 0 opposed and 2 abstentions
Reports of Visitors:
Venkat Reddy, Chancellor:
The campus is mourning the loss of both Dr. John Pigage, Associate Professor of Biology, and Officer Larry Darnall, an 11-year veteran with the UCCS police department. The Chancellor’s Leadership Team (LT) is now called the Chancellor’s Cabinet. Our new Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance, Chuck Litchfield, has now arrived on campus, and Gayanne Scott, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Finance and Human Resources, is retiring at the end of the month. The nursing bill passed giving community colleges the 2+2 programs to be able to do the 4-year degrees. This happened as a result of the dire shortage of nurses in El Paso County. We will continue to provide strong programs and great experiences for our students in order to stay competitive. We are also working with Memorial Hospital on tuition models since we are currently higher than Anschutz. Last weekend we opened our new baseball field, Mountain Lion Park, and we won the first game. The indoor practice facility will be done in April or May. The women’s Track and Field team won its first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) indoor championship and the men’s team finished in second place. UCCS business student, Mirai Nagasu, finished #10 in the ladies single figure skating event at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games. Former student Derrick White returned to campus for his jersey retirement celebration. He is the first UCCS student-athlete drafted by the NBA and the highest-drafted player in RMAC history. Margaret Sabin, CEO of Penrose/St. Francis resigned recently and we have an agreement with them regarding the Hybl Center, but we have been assured by their board that that project and our partnership will still be on track. We are working with the National Cybersecurity Center on funding models through fundraising and legislature. Although the future of DACA students is in the hands of Congress, we are concerned and supportive in their dilemma. KOAA will be hosting a community town hall at the ENT Center on March 12 to discuss the ongoing threat of school safety. Vicente Fox, the former president of Mexico, and Nigel Farage, the architect of Brexit, will speak in a moderated debate “Nationalism vs. Globalism” on campus on April 3. The Student Government Association (SGA) is celebrating its 50th year. Please watch for upcoming Town Halls – they will not be done in the forum format anymore. We want to encourage open dialogue and hope you will participate as your schedule permits.
Tom Christensen, Provost:
Article V is back – as you know, the CU system is going through a review of the entire regent law and Article V, which deals with faculty. The document is still in review for comments, and the deadline has been extended until April 9th. The website has the document and justification, so please take time to read it. This version is shorter to keep it more for regent action items. The descriptions are being pulled out of regent law and put in campus policy. “Instructional modality” is something that has been worked out. Freedom of expression is different from academic freedom. Non-tenured faculty ranks are being pulled out and going to administrative policy. Shared governance applies to all faculty. Tenure is being defined by the university. Departmental changes can recognize tenure from other departments as well as cross-campus. Regents continue to award tenure. Excellence in teaching is determined by providing external impact beyond the university/institution. The Primary Unit Committee defines the criteria – that is still under faculty control. Another EAS Dean candidate was on campus earlier in the week and we are continuing to work on that search.
Officer Reports:
President’s Report:
Regent Ludwig will attend the April Faculty Assembly meeting
President-Elect’s Report:
Elections will be held right before Spring Break
Past President’s Report:
(See Motion 2)
Reports from Standing Committees:
Faculty Advisory Committee on the Budget
Faculty Minority Affairs Committee
Women’s Committee:
Grant Writing Workshop will be held on March 14, 9am-12pm, in UC 122
PRIDE:
Working on campus surveys
Intercollegiate Athletics:
No report
Committee on Disability:
Not present – no report; still organizing this new committee
Misconduct in Research, Scholarship & Creative Activities:
Not present – no report
Reports from Representatives:
- Testing Center – several concerns mentioned, e.g., can’t get students in soon enough for rescheduled exam, which becomes an issue with so much time lapse; more students need accommodations; not enough staffing, space, money; some possible alternatives were discussed.
- What is the status of 3-year contracts for non-tenure track faculty?
3. Uncompensated merit is not in the budget.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS:
Discussion 1:
Update from the FCQ Task Force; there will be a few open faculty forums in mid-April; vote date has been changed to May instead of April
NEW BUSINESS:
Motion 1:
The Faculty Assembly Women’s Committee moves that the Faculty Representative Assembly approve its updated bylaws.
(Motion passed with 31 in favor, 0 opposed and 1 abstention)
Background for Motion 1: FAWC has amended their bylaws to allow for a maximum of 10 members on the committee.
Motion 2:
The Executive Committee moves that the Faculty Representative Assembly approve the proposal brought forth by the Faculty Assembly’s special purpose Committee on Research, and recommend that it be presented to UCCS campus administration for consideration.
(Motion passed with 26 in favor, 1 opposed and 3 abstentions)
Background for Motion 2: In Fall 2017, the Executive Committee convened a special purpose committee to investigate and provide suggestions on how UCCS can better support the commitments to research and graduate education included in its mission. The attached document is the result of their work. Additional points made were as follows: 1) in 2011, research was added to our mission as a statement with no support; 2) with our continuous growth, UCCS is not considered a predominantly undergraduate institution by NSF because of the many graduate and PhD programs we now offer, which could result in our loss of NSF external funding; 3) this situation affects our competitiveness for grant funding. It is important to grow both the research and graduate education together because they are mutually beneficial to each other.
Adjournment:
Motion to adjourn the Faculty Assembly Meeting by Pam Carter
Seconded by Barbara Prinari
Motion passed unanimously
Meeting adjourned at 2:05 p.m.