September 2018
September 2018
FACULTY REPRESENTATIVE ASSEMBLY MEETING
September 14, 2018
Attendance: Susan Taylor, Suzanne Scott, Carolyn Rupp, Lara Ackerman, Marc Pino, Melissa Benton, Mary Coussons-Read, Maja Krakowiak, Norah Mazel, Andrea Hutchins, Pam Carter, Margaret Harris, Deb Kenny, Kaitlyn DeGhetto, Martin Key, Kathleen Tomlin, Andrea Bingham, Ji Hyun Oh, Jugal Kalita, Michelle Dorne, Suzanne Cook, Leah Chandler Mills, Solveig Olsen, David Havlick, Leilani Feliciano, Claire Rau, Christine Robinson Coon, Justin Tucker, Kristi McCann, Wendy Haggren, David Weiss, Susan Vandagriff, Michael Landon-Murray, Roger Martinez, Monica Yoo, Carlos Duarte, Scott van Ness, Samantha Adrian, Elizabeth Daniels, Dave Anderson, Joel Tonyan
Call to Order / Approval of Minutes:
Motion to approve the minutes from May 4, 2018 meeting by Pam Carter
Seconded by Maja Krakowiak
Motion passed with 28 in favor, 0 opposed and 4 abstentions
Reports of Visitors:
Susan Taylor, Associate Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate Education & Academic Planning:
(Since both Chancellor Reddy and Provost Christensen were attending the Board of Regents meeting, AVC Taylor presented both of their reports to the assembly).
Chancellor Reddy’s Report:
Appreciation was expressed to all who attended the event honoring John Harner (Thomas Jefferson Award winner) and Mary Ann Cutter (Teaching Scholar Award winner). UCCS was ranked #10 in best value among public universities in the west this year in US News and World Report. We welcomed about 42 new faculty to campus this Fall, as well as Steve Ferris (Dean, College of Business), Jessi Smith (Associate Vice Chancellor for Research), and Amanda Allee (Director of Institutional Equity and Title IX Coordinator). We have brought in JERA Partnerships to assist with our 2030 Strategic Planning process. The CU Presidential search is underway – please self-nominate or nominate individuals for the search committee. We are working with the President’s office and Regents on the Online Initiative, with a possible investment of $20 million for the whole system. The Chancellor and Provost met with WEST faculty along with the chairs of FMAC, PRIDE, FAWC, WEST and FA Committee on Disability to discuss issues going on in WEST. We launched the new ViewBook and marketing campaign of UCCS with the assistance of Karsh Hagan. We received $1.8 million in funding from the state for the cyber initiative, which allows us to hire faculty and staff experts in cyber security; 15% of the $1.8 million will go towards student scholarships. There is no capital construction money, so we are engaged in fund raising efforts now. The indoor practice facility (Mountain Lion Fieldhouse) opened on September 5, 2018. This facility will attract top track and field students from around the state and will provide indoor practice for a variety of other UCCS sports. The UCCS Downtown Presence started on September 11, 2018, which offers non-credit classes this academic year. Next year it will offer for-credit classes. A system-wide initiative is in the preliminary stages regarding student mental health issues. Please complete the recent Ethics Survey that was sent to your campus e-mail. The State of the Campus address will be held on September 20, 2018, from 2pm – 4pm in Berger Hall.
Provost Christensen’s Report:
Regent Law and Policy 5 is up for a vote by the full Board of Regents on Friday afternoon. They will vote on everything except the provision about external validation of teaching for excellence at the time of tenure. That issue will continue to be discussed by faculty and the administration and will be voted on later. Assuming that the revised Law and Policy 5 is approved, the CU system will work on revising and developing Administrative Policy Statements to implement the Law and Policy. Many of the details that were in the old law and policy will now appear in Administrative Policy Statements. As we get some guidance from the CU system on what these will look like, we will start revising the UCCS policies. The changes to laws and policies may require us to go through a revision of Reappointment, Promotion and Tenure criteria. This probably will not take place until next year. The Regents have asked Faculty Council to suggest ways that we might address the lack of knowledge of students in the area of civics. The CU system office has prepared several reports, which examine practices at other institutions and options that we might consider if we choose to act. Several of the Regents are very concerned about this issue. The Regents have requested input from the faculty by December 1, 2018. The process will probably be developed through Faculty Council working with the various Faculty Assemblies.
Suzanne Scott, Budget Office Director:
Vice Chancellor Chuck Litchfield is also attending the Board of Regents meeting today. We successfully closed fiscal year 2018 and set-up is now complete for 2019, so all base budgets have been allocated. The Strategic Enrollment team continues to work diligently on sub-committees, looking at all aspects of enrollment (marketing, admissions, capacity, and graduation and retention). By the end of September, we should have been successful in obtaining bonds, most importantly, the bond for the Hybl Sports Performance building. We are also planning for a road to attach main campus to the Lane and Hybl buildings, which should open Fall 2019. Fall census numbers are in and we are up 1.2% in head count overall, and up 1.6% in student credit hours. We are now looking at how the budget matches to revenue.
Lara Ackerman, Senior Manager of IT Change Management from UIS and Carolyn Rupp, UCCS Controller:
A presentation was shared with the assembly representatives concerning new financial rules for sponsored projects beginning October 22, 2018. In addition, a New Systems Controls Overview handout was distributed for reference. It is important to minimize any risks associated with sponsored project legalities and to watch time deadlines carefully.
Marc Pino, Executive Director of Public Safety and Chief of Police:
The UCCS Police have begun providing training to faculty at their department meetings, which covers the Standard Response Protocol and what is done to prevent acts of violence at the campus. This training takes between 20-45 minutes to complete. The flyer posted in the classrooms illustrates the response protocol that will be used in these types of emergency situations. Faculty should be prepared for lockdown drills beginning in the Spring 2019 semester. These will be coordinated, communicated, and take place similarly to the evacuation drills conducted in the Fall semester. Students have received comparable training during Orientation and have likely received training in their K-12 institutions. All classroom doors should now have proper locks.
Officer Reports:
President’s Report
Faculty Council is asking for input on desired characteristics for the new CU President; 2 faculty members from each campus are needed for the President search committee; CO Committee of Higher Education and CO Faculty Advisory Council needs a faculty volunteer for a 3-year term
President-Elect’s Report
No report
Past President’s Report
No report
Reports from Standing Committees:
EPUS:
No report – not met yet
Faculty Advisory Committee on the Budget:
Not present – no report
Faculty Minority Affairs Committee
Non-Tenure Track Faculty:
No report – not met yet
Teaching with Technology:
No report – not met yet
Intercollegiate Athletics:
Not present – no report
Sustainability:
No report – not met yet
Committee on Disability:
Not present – no report
Misconduct in Research, Scholarship & Creative Activities:
Not present – no report
Reports from Representatives:
None
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
None
NEW BUSINESS
Motion 1:
The Faculty Assembly Executive Committee moves that the revisions to Section IV of the Faculty Assembly Bylaws be approved.
(Motion passed unanimously with 31 in favor, 0 opposed and 0 abstentions)
Background for Motion 1: The current Faculty Assembly Bylaws mandate that the Executive Committee meets on the 1st Friday of the month and that the Representative Assembly meets on the 2nd Friday. For the last several years, the FA has gone through the process of voting to suspend the bylaws so that both the Executive Committee and the Faculty Assembly can meet a week earlier when Commencement occurs on the 2nd Friday of either May or December. Amending the bylaws to account for Commencement will be more efficient.
Discussion 1:
The Faculty Assembly has recently received questions regarding faculty expectations for unpaid service during the summer when faculty are not on contract. It was decided to solicit feedback from the colleges to find out if this is a faculty concern. A Qualtrics open-ended anonymous survey will be sent to the faculty-l list to obtain information and suggested questions concerning uncompensated summer work in order to develop a more detailed survey to send out to all faculty. Michael Landon-Murray and Deb Kenny volunteered to work on this project.
Adjournment:
Motion to adjourn the Faculty Assembly Meeting by Pam Carter
Seconded by Andrea Hutchins
Motion passed unanimously
Meeting adjourned at 1:18 p.m.