May 2010

FACULTY REPRESENTATIVE ASSEMBLY MEETING
May 14, 2010

Attendance: Andrew Czaplewski, Peg Bacon, Brian Burnett, David Moon, Pam Carter, Suzanne Cook, Catherine Kelly, Peggy Beranek, Katie Kaukinen, Barbara Frye, Jim Null, Christina Martinez, Tom Napierkowski, Andrea Hutchins, Bob Durham, Sylvia Martinez, Amanda Sinclair, Clint Fisher, Ron Fitz

Call to Order / Approval of Minutes:

Motion to approve the minutes from April 9, 2010 meeting by Bob Durham
Seconded by Andrea Hutchins
Motion passed unanimously

Reports of Visitors:

Peg Bacon:
This spring for the first time the spring semester ends tomorrow, May 15, and not as done in the past on the following Monday, May 17.  Please notify Peg with any feedback regarding the impact of this change.

There will be a reception tonight at Peg’s home for the nine faculty members who received tenure and promotion to Associate Professor along with the two faculty members who were promoted to full Professor this semester.

The CU Foundation has a board meeting today and hosted a reception and dinner last night at the Gallogly Event Center, which was very nice.  All of the colleges had displays at the reception which showcased their programs and college highlights, which the board members found very impressive.

Appreciation was extended to all faculty who will be participating in Commencement next Friday, May 21, at the World Arena.  An honorary degree will be given to noted author Greg Mortenson.

The General Education Taskforce has completed their work on adopting a set of goals and the next step is to bring it forward for campus conversations concerning those goals in the fall.  Then it will be brought to EPUS and FA and finally brought to an all-campus vote.

The yearly update on the RPT (Reappointment Promotion and Tenure) report is as follows:  the possibility of a faculty statement has been added; all colleges had to review their criteria and now those criteria are more consistently clear; Jim Burkhart composed a Faculty Responsibility Statement and others are reviewing it.

Brian Burnett:
The campus budget for next year will be given to the Regents at their next meeting on June 24 in Boulder for approval.  It does contain a rise in contributions for insurance premiums, which is about 4.9%.  The insurance rates that were just announced did reflect this increase.  It also includes no pay increases across the board again for the second year.  This practice may not be able to be continued in the future for a number of reasons and the Leadership Team is reviewing it.

The legislature is out of session but they did approve a couple of bills that go in our favor which allow us to create our own fiscal rules so our accountants and budget personnel will be able to create them.  They also stated that their main focus when they return to session in the fall will be how to sustain higher education funding.

The Science Building remodeling project is coming along and they are getting ready for the moves back into the building this summer.  The rededication ceremony will be held on Thursday, August 19, 2010.  Renaming gifts are being pursued for the building, which will be back in service for fall.  A form was distributed with three potential names for the building and input is requested by May 28.

David Moon:
Freshmen Orientations are being done in a different format this year so please be sure to read the e-mails from Sue Mitchell which outline the scheduled programs.  Faculty participation is encouraged and welcomed for these orientation programs.

Officer Reports:

President’s Report
Report attached; appreciation was expressed to all representative members of FA for their service this year; Mark Malone is the new chair of Faculty Council next year.

Vice-President’s Report
No report

Past President’s Report
Not present - no report

Reports from Standing Committees:

EPUS Report:
Report attached

Personnel & Benefits:
Committee not met yet this month; open enrollment is currently going on

Faculty Advisory Committee on the Budget:
New degree in Biochemistry was approved and moved forward

Minority Affairs Committee:
No one present – no report

Women’s Committee:
No one present – no report

Non-Tenure Track Faculty:
Report attached

Academic Computing:
No meeting this month – no report

Library:
No one present – no report

Intercollegiate Athletics:
Golf team just missed being in NCAA championship

Sustainability:
No one present – no report

PRIDE:
Janice Gould will be the new committee representative next year.

OLD BUSINESS

None

NEW BUSINESS

Discussion item from EPUS:  Draft of Faculty Report of Professional Activities to replace current Scholarly Report.  EPUS is seeking comments from faculty regarding this draft prior to preparing a final draft to submit to the Faculty Representative Assembly.  In the discussion it was agreed to take this back to the colleges for review, so it will be sent again in the fall.  It was also recommended that this report be available online.

MOTIONS

None

Adjournment:

Motion to adjourn the Faculty Assembly Meeting by Jim Null
Seconded by Andrea Hutchins
Motion passed unanimously

Meeting adjourned at 1:00 p.m.