UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON FACULTY SENATE MINUTES – January 25, 2006 

President Warner called the January 25 Faculty Senate meeting to order in the Rockwell Room of the M. D. Anderson Library at 12:15 p.m.  

MEMBERS PRESENT:  [36]                                                                                    
BUS:        S. Kadipasaoglu, R. Keller, C. Pirrong 
CLASS:    E. Brown-Guillory, S. Craig, M. Haun, W. Herendeen, N. Houston, G. Jowett, T. Karner, J. Kotarba, J. Middents, D. Papell, F. Schiff, G. Trail
EDU:        M. Clarke, J. Freiberg, S. McNeil, A. Warner
ENGR:      J. Richardson, R. Willson
HRM:        K. Titz
LAW:        S. Huber                              
LIB:          D. Camille, S. Ferimer, N. Linden
NSM:        D. Blecher, P. Copeland, J. Eichberg, D. Graur, G. Johnson, J. Subhlok, D. Wells
OPT:         R. Manny                                     
TECH:      K. Greenwood
GSSW:     H. Karger              
                                                              
MEMBERS ABSENT:  [14] 
BUS:        M. Parks
CLASS:    B. Byrnes (w/Notice), R. Lence  
ENGR:     W. Rixey (w/Notice), J. Williams, D. Zimmerman
LAW:       M. Duncan (w/Notice), P. Linzer                 
NSM:       T. Albright (w/Notice), A. Ignatiev, T. Lee (w/Notice),             
OPT:       S. Quintero
PHA:        C. Pedemonte

ON-LEAVE:  [2]
CLASS:    V. Brady, D. Mazella

VISITORS:   
Donald Foss (UHS Senior Vice Chancellor and UH Senior Vice President for Academic), John Rudley (UHS Vice Chancellor and UH Vice President for Administration & Finance), Dona Hamilton (UHS Vice Chancellor and UH Vice President for Legal Affairs and General Counsel), Elaine Charlson (UHS Executive Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and UH Executive Associate Vice President for Academic and Faculty Affairs), Ed Hugetz (UHS Assistant Vice Chancellor and UH Assistant Vice President for Planning & University Outreach), Dana Rooks (Dean, MD. Anderson Library), Agnes DeFranco (Interim Assistant Vice President for Undergraduate Education), Ernst Leiss (Former Senator and Professor of Computer Science), Patrick Daniel (Director, Learning Assessment), Kristen Young (Reporter, Daily Cougar)

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES:  The December 7, 2005 minutes were approved.

WELCOME
            Pres. Warner introduced Dana Rooks, Dean of the UH M.D. Anderson Library.  Dean Rooks welcomed everyone to the Library and especially the Rockwell Room.  Dean Rooks said after the meeting everyone is welcome to tour the rest of the building to see what has been achieved here.  She said she really is honored to welcome Senators here today because the Faculty Senate as a body was one of the very earliest supporters to achieve a new facility for the Library.  Many served on the very first facilities planning committee that worked with the Library through the master plan and devoted countless hours to that process.  This building, the Honors College and Library, will be dedicated on Wednesday, February 15.  The Dean invited everyone to attend the celebration.  
 
FAREWELL ADDRESS from 2005 FACULTY SENATE PRESIDENT:  Allen Warner
            A year ago I stood before you and said I was acutely aware that each president of the Senate has a precious, short one year in which to attempt to make a positive difference.  I also said that few of the challenges we face would be solved in one year.  Allow me to close this year by reviewing the four goals set forth 12 months ago.
            First, to build an ethos of partnership between the faculty and senior administration, staff and students that is open, transparent, and less dependent on the personalities of individuals in leadership roles:  I continue to urge all Senators to take to heart the Preamble to our Constitution and Bylaws, and remind all of us that this Preamble was only added in April, 2003.  Later in this meeting you will be asked to act on several recommendations from your Executive Committee on the report of the Faculty Senate Commission on University Governance.  We must seek ways to continue to build these partnerships in an atmosphere of transparency, mutual trust and respect, while maintaining our responsibility to take the role of the loyal opposition if necessary.  Above all, this ethos of partnership and mutual respect, of shared governance, must become evident at all levels of the University – including colleges and departments.  You will be asked to approve FS-CoUG’s recommended criteria for college and department bylaws, with one minor modification.  You will also be asked to approve the FS-CoUG recommendations for a policy year that begins with the fall semester, with no new policies to be implemented (except for extreme emergencies) after May 31.  And a conversation of a pilot implementation of the University Coordinating Commission concept is initiated between the Executive Committee and Council chairs.  Under the leadership of Senator Steve Craig, a joint resolution on research excellence will soon result in the University’s first research and scholarship report that encompasses the broad range of our faculty’s achievements.  Candidates are being sought for the position of ombudsperson, a direct result of joint effort between the Senate and Staff Council.  Our partnership-building continues to grow.
            The second goal was to work in partnership to develop policies that are more family-friendly to achieve Strategic Principle 6 adopted by the Board of Regents:  That Principle speaks to recruiting and retaining the highest quality faculty and staff.  We recommended an interim policy that allows untenured faculty to request an extension of the probationary period for a variety of explicit reasons including care of a small child and eldercare.  The interim policy also requires that those requests not be pocket-vetoed, but forwarded by the chair and dean to the Provost for disposition.  That interim policy is now in use.  In addition, the Commission on Women is working on an even stronger statement that will come forward in the near future for deliberation by the Senate.  We are also working with Human Resources to provide access to an Employee Assistance Program and supplemental gap insurance options. 
            The third goal was to support the upcoming comprehensive campaign for the University:  I said a year ago that great universities are not solely dependent on state allocations, and student tuition and fees, to create and sustain excellence.   With your support, and superb work by the Scholarship and Community Committee, a very successful Scholarship and Community Conference this past November 4 brought us more closely together to understand the importance of a comprehensive campaign, and of its intricacies.  Vice President Rierson is now with us to orchestrate that campaign.  A recent study by the National Association of College and University Business Officials reports that 56 North American universities now have endowments worth at least $1 billion.  If we continue to support the comprehensive campaign toward its stated goal, we will join that group.  When we do, our future students and our successors as faculty will benefit for decades to come.
            My fourth, procedural goal, was for all of us to respect one another’s time in meetings:  You have responded magnificently to this goal.  Our meetings have become both more abbreviated, and more productive because our homework is done between meetings of the Senate and action items are brought forward after deliberation.  In this respect I want to especially thank the standing committee chairs this past year.  In alphabetical order by surname, they are Senators Jerry Freiberg, Katy Greenwood, Joe Kotarba, Karl Titz and Dan Wells.  No statement of thanks would be complete without expressing deep gratitude to Mary Brantley and Brenda Jones for their tireless efforts on our behalf.
            A year ago I cautioned that we would not finish all of our work in one year, and that other issues would arise.  They did.  Your Executive Committee interviewed every finalist for senior administrative leadership and provided feedback to the appropriate search committees.  The number of Senators on the designated tuition advisory committee increased from two to four.  Members of the Budget and Facilities Committee participated in budget hearings for each college.  With President Gogue’s support we have reported on behalf of the Senate to the Board of Regents at each of their regular meetings since May, and at the Regents’ retreat on tuition.  More recently, the Executive Committee met almost weekly to deliberate and develop recommendations to you regarding the FS-CoUG report.  We have maintained -- and expanded -- the momentum that was in place a year ago.
            A year ago I promised that at this meeting I would don a beige suit and slip quietly into the woodwork to support President-elect Craig and all of the Senate.  Turns out I don’t own a beige suit.  But I do pledge to fulfill the second part of that promise.  As I step back up to the Senate membership, though, thank you for the honor of serving as your president this past year.  I’ve teased that as the first recovering dean to be elected president of the Faculty Senate, it’s as though a former plant manager were elected to head the union.  The reality, though, is that the confidence of one’s peers and colleagues is a very special thing.  Thank you for entrusting me with that confidence, and with this opportunity to serve.

PASSING OF THE GAVEL
            Pres. Warner asked Sen. Craig to come to the podium.  He passed the office keys and the gavel to Sen. Craig; and welcomed him as the new President.  Sen. Warner also presented Pres. Craig with his own copy of Roberts Rule of Order. Pres. Craig thanked Sen. Warner for a job well done and the opportunity to work with him this past year.  He then presented the outgoing President with the traditional commemorative plaque and gavel. 

INAUGURAL ADDRESS from 2006 FACULTY SENATE PRESIDENT:  Steven Craig
            Let me start by expressing appreciation for the great year that the Senate had in the year just ending.  Al Warner was a true pleasure to work with, and kept a steady hand on the ship of state.  So there is no better way to thank Al but to acknowledge that, to use one of his favorite phrases, he definitely had a dog in the hunt in most of what went on for our campus.  So Al, to remind you that you had a dog in the hunt for an excellent University, here is a memento.   Pres. Craig then presented the former President with a statute of a dog bearing a plaque of “2005 Pres. UH Senate.”  I am counting on Al not only to continue Jerry Freiberg’s excellent work on the Committee on Committees (COC), but also to serve as our unofficial parliamentarian.  Let me also personally acknowledge Jerry Freiberg.  If you remember, he agreed to chair the COC, even though he was NOT the immediate past president.  And this was on top of his diligent work on the FS-COUG report.  So thank you, Jerry.  Sara McNeil served excellently as the Senate secretary, and I am looking forward to being able to continue to work with her since you all have elected her to be an at-large member of the Executive Committee.  Finally, let me profusely thank Katy Greenwood for doing a great job as chair of Faculty Affairs, and we’ll count on your services in the year to come, Katy.  Also, we will miss Wynne Chin, since he has temporarily retired from being an at-large member of the Executive Committee, and we’ll look forward to his rapid resumption of leadership duties.
            The last year built a terrific foundation for the year to come, and I will do my best to exploit that great work.  The key to accomplishing anything, I think, are committee chairs.  So let me thank Karl Titz for continuing as chair of the Budget and Facilities Committee.  He started in the middle of last year, and I think he’s really grown into the job.  David Wells has agreed to continue as chair of Educational Policies and Student Affairs Committee.  His committee had a full plate last year, and I’m going to try to put some more stuff on it this year.  One of the attributes that keeps the Faculty Senate strong is to rotate some new people in as well.  So thank you, David Papell, for agreeing to chair the Faculty Affairs Committee, another committee with a very full slate.  And I am sure Dave will benefit from Katy Greenwood’s behind the scenes excellent insight.  And I want to thank Suzanne Ferimer for agreeing to chair the Scholarship and Community Committee.  The only way I was able to get both Dave and Suzanne to agree to chair these committees is to lie through my teeth about how little work is entailed– but I think the previous chairs already spilled the beans, so thanks to both of you.  I will also benefit from the excellent people you all selected to work with me on the Executive Committee– Joe Eichberg and Sara McNeil as the members-at-large, and Peter Copeland as Secretary.  And last, but definitely not least, you all have given me an excellent President-elect to work with, Joe Kotarba.  Joe did an excellent job on the Scholarship and Community conference last semester, and I hope for more of the same, Joe!
            This slate of people, and all of the excellent people I see sitting in this audience, make me optimistic about what we might accomplish this year.  Our Faculty Senate retreat is Feb 17 where we will discuss some of the year’s upcoming agenda in detail.  But for now, I want to get you all to start to think about where this University is going.  On average, you can only accomplish something if you have a clear-cut goal.  UH has uniquely positioned itself among U. S. universities to turn itself into a top tier university, but we definitely are not there yet.  What I mean by a top tier university is one comparable in quality to a Big Ten University, like Illinois, Indiana, or Michigan State.  This is another way of saying I think we have a much better potential than the list of relatively mediocre universities that we hear about when UH administrators have talked about urban research universities, places like the University of St. Louis, Temple, or Wayne State.  Another way of enunciating this goal is to say that we should be a better university than Texas A&M.  This is a lofty goal, and one that will take more than one administration to achieve. 
            I believe, however, that a lofty goal of becoming a serious research university is both a reasonable goal, and attainable.  Houston is a large and vibrant city.  Our residents deserve access to a top-notch university, and Rice isn’t doing it.  Further, residents of the State of Texas deserve access to an excellent research university in a truly urban area, not an overblown college town like Austin nor a rural campus like A&M.  The other reason that a top notch university in Houston is essential is because the city’s economy needs a new growth industry.  The petroleum age will end in the next 30 to 40 years and the city economy will need a new key industry.  The only source of that industry is the knowledge base that can be stimulated by top notch university research.  Thus all of our constituents need UH to become an excellent place to learn and teach, and its our duty, I believe, to do so.  And finally, I think the goal of becoming a top notch research university is attainable.  UH has grown immensely, and until now it was all by its bootstraps.  But tuition has been de-regulated, meaning that we can differentiate our price from other Texas universities when the quality is there.   And Houston, and indeed the national business community, have come to understand that it needs to support excellent university education to fuel economic growth.
            At the retreat, therefore, I plan to spend some time planning how to plan.  A plan will need to entail a lot of parts.  It will require quality undergraduate students, excellent graduate students, a fine faculty, an excellent physical plant, a wide range of administrative services commensurate with the students and faculty, and maybe even a college town.  None of these things will happen by accident, and we need to prepare for them systematically, and sequentially.  Yes, it will take a long time.  But my objective is to start slowly and systematically.  But we need to get ourselves, and the entire University community, pointed in the same direction.  I think as a faculty, we have matured to the point where we have similar overall objectives.  Now we need to put some flesh on these dreams.
            That part of my talk sounds a little like a dream sequence!  To start the implementation, I really do want to think about the planning process.  As a faculty, we need to make our voice heard so that students, administration, and faculty are all headed in the same direction.  The Scholarship Report we’ve asked the Provost to do by the end of May is one important step.  We need to be accountable for progress toward our objectives.  The Scholarship and Community conference Joe Kotarba and Al Warner ran started to link us to the development people, and we will follow up on that good start.  The faculty need to be closely tied into the admissions process for undergraduates, both first-time in college and transfer students.  And we need to have first-rate compensation and benefit plans to attract first-rate faculty, and we will spend some time on that.  And we will spend some time helping to build the case for an enlarged faculty, with an even larger research capacity.
            I’ve maxed out on ambition, and I’ll spend the rest of my year on mundane details.  But I look forward to working with you, and I appreciate the opportunity to be here.  My family, I think, wishes otherwise and has no appreciation for your efforts, which is the first legislative lesson – you can’t please all the people all the time.  But my goal is to push this UH battleship with our little Senate rowboat, and see how far we can go.  Thank you.

REPORT FROM AND DISCUSSION WITH THE UH SYSTEM SENIOR VICE CHANCELLOR AND UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS/PROVOST:  Donald Foss
            Dr. Foss said that Dr. Gogue was called away on short notice to Austin, but asked him to say word about International Initiatives.  The Provost said Dr. Gogue was one of seventy-five university presidents who had a meeting in Washington about two weeks ago with the Secretary of State.  The topics included international students coming into this country and the government states that international student access is now comparable to pre- 9/11 levels.  The government stated that the visa process handles 95% of problems quickly.  There are exceptions and the process for visiting faculty is still somewhat slow.  Pres. Bush has announced an initiative to educate American students in critical languages.  I forwarded the information that I had to Dean Antel.  The other item that the President mentioned has to do with UH internationalizing its curriculum perhaps focusing on some new areas.  Jerry Strickland is leading the charge on international issues.  There will be more discussion about this in the coming year.
            The Provost provided an update on: (1) Call for Nominations for Ombudsperson.  The Provost said he has a half-dozen nominees at this point for that position.
             (2) Scholarship Report.  A draft has been circulated to the Deans for comments.  The Provost said he expects to have the report out to chairs and deans in a formal way next week with a due date of March 31.  Dr. Foss said he appreciated the comments from the faculty and asked faculty to work with their department chairs to insure that this process is done.
            (3) The Budget and Budget process.  The Provost will soon start having budget hearings with the deans.   There is not going to be a separate fee committee; the plan is to streamline the process to one committee for fees and designated tuition.  The Provost offered a heads up on the budget situation as UH is facing a substantial budget challenge in the neighborhood of $17 million.  One factor is the great increase in the utility cost, in the 30-40% range.  That increase will be something in the neighborhood of $6 million.  There is a shortfall of $2-$3 million in benefits due to the fact that the state does not pay the benefits of people who end up on lines funded by tuition. Again that is money that UH doesn’t have.  The University did not meet its enrollment target.  This problem is related to not retaining existing students.  All total this adds up to something like $7 million.  How is UH going to get that money? There are no new dollars coming from the State of Texas.  There are only two answers to that question:  one is for UH to find the money and the other side is to raise tuition.  The energy cost has to be covered and most of these other costs have to be covered as well.  The institution has been asked to come up with $5 - $6 million of these costs.  How is that going to happen?  About half will come from facilities and IT.  This means some facilities projects and IT updates will have to be deferred.  Also, the various divisions of the University, not counting Academic Affairs, have been asked to come up with about $2 million in their recurring budgets.  Approximately, $1.1 million is being asked from the colleges.  About 70% of the college budget goes to instructional costs.  The deans have been told to take no money from the instructional side.  But they have been asked to make a plan and give back 3% from the remaining 30% of their budgets, which amounts to less than 1% of the budget of the colleges.  There probably will not be across the board cuts with respect to the colleges, but the Provost will look at each individually.  When the administration goes to the students and the Board of Regents, it is going to have to say this institution took some pain because now it is going to ask for a substantial increase just to cover the utility cost.  There has been no decision made about hard, fast numbers.  The plan is to use broad categories to deal with this issue. 
            This leads me to some other comments.  One is improvement in retention.  A pretty significant part of that shortfall, indeed an amount equivalent to all the cuts that are being asking for, is due to a shortfall in enrollment.  This is a really important issue for UH, enrollment both at the graduate level and undergraduate level.  Masters has to be turned around.   And the University has to do a better job of retaining its students.  Every college will be asked to participate to help get its students through this institution.  Find ways to recruit and to grow the student base.  The University needs to focus on its Scholarship, Tier 1 and Excellence.  UH has to do it all.  Faculty need to pay attention to the Scholarship Report and to recruiting and retaining students and faculty.
            Pres. Craig said in some units there are master enrollments as well.  Dr. Foss said if there is one area where the enrollment has to be fixed it is at the masters level.  The Provost has had a discussion with the deans and department chairs and mentioned this to the chairs and asked them to think about whether some programs in particular disciplines might take good undergraduates through masters school programs.  The department could advertise that as a six-year program to generate some interest. 
            Sen. Willson said UH needs to focus on real opportunities.  He added that he teaches a large class and always gives them a sermon on success factors.  One clear predictor of failure is trying to do too much.  He asked are there particular departments, colleges, programs that are thriving?    Dr. Foss said yes there are differential effects on the enrollment.  The Provost is mindful of those.  He knows there is no “one size fits all” institutions.  There are some things UH can do, like provide more work opportunities on campus.  Dr. Foss said he is happy to hear that he is giving students this lecture on things to do to maximize their chances of success.

END-OF-YEAR WRITTEN REPORTS FROM 2005 FACULTY SENATE COMMITTEES:

BUDGET & FACILITIES COMMITTEE, CHAIR – Karl Titz
            The Budget and Facilities met February 23, March 23, April 27, September 28, October 26 and November 17.
            Committee members participated in the University Budget Hearings between March 28th and April 1.  The Provost held a subcommittee debriefing on April 13. At the debriefing, the Provost reported his desire that faculty inclusion in the process be institutionalized.  Discussions are currently underway in preparation for BFC participation in the 2006-2007 Budget hearings.  During the 2005-2006 hearings college budget information was presented in a top line format without the underlying detail.  This format made it challenging to understand the context within which a college operates.  One of the plans for the 2006 BFC is to examine the underlying college spending and develop a better understanding of the relationship between budgeted spending and actual spending.
            The Committee met with Libby Barlow about University reporting capabilities for Faculty and Administrative expenses.  Dr. Barlow is formatting a data base of Faculty Salaries by rank, department, and College.  The data base will include Gender, age, rank, and time in position.  The purpose is to understand the frequency and location of Faculty Salary Compression.  This information will include comparisons to the Oklahoma State Studies of faculty salaries for comparison purposes. The Provost’s announcement of a faculty reinvestment plan may be one response to these inquiries.  The second request of Dr. Barlow’s office was to evaluate the comparative growth between Faculty and Administration.  Dr. Barlow will be making a progress report on these inquiries at the next meeting of the BFC on Friday January 27 at 12:00 p.m. 
            The committee met with Dave Irvin, the Associate Vice Chancellor/Associate Vice President of Plant Operations and Vergel Gay, Executive Director of Facilities Planning and Construction.  The Committee was briefed on the 2005 Facility Condition Report.  The report assesses maintenance priorities for the campus and proposes $95,571,000.00 in expenditures over the next 10 years.  It should be noted that 94% of campus facilities are over 20 year old, which is considered the normal life span of a facility.  The plan details projects in areas of:

A discussion on energy efficiency planning ensued.
            For 2006-2007, the BFC will continue the important work begun with the administration on salary compression.  Through the reports developed by Libby Barlow the Committee will be able to identify and target areas where significant problems are occurring so as to be proactive in developing a responsive Faculty Reinvestment Plan with the Provost’s office.
            A second area of focus will be working with the University Purchasing and Plant Operations Committee to evaluate the condition and efficiency of General Purpose Classrooms and Laboratories and the respective allocation of use across campus constituencies.

COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES, CHAIR – Jerome Freiberg
            The Committee continued its regular duties of filling vacancies on committees and meeting with various UH Standing Committee Chairs and/or Liaisons to determine how well the committees were functioning, discuss any problems or challenges for which the committee would like to have Senate assistance, and to receive feedback on faculty service in general.
            Early in February the Committee on Committees had an organizational meeting, elected a chair (Jerome Freiberg) and set meeting dates to begin reviewing committee recommendation for the next academic year.
            At the March 30 Spring Faculty Assembly the UH Faculty Senate Committee on Committees presented a candidates’ slate to fill seven vacancies on the UH Grievance Committee.  The election was conducted on-line.
            The COC also discussed a request from the Information Technology & Computing Committee for clarification of its mission and charge.  A letter has been sent to the Chair of the ITCC outlining the COC’s initial recommendations.   The discussion of the ITCC’s mission was continued in the Fall and again on January 23, 2006 when the COC met with Dennis Fouty, Associate Vice President for Computing and Telecommunication Services.
            The Committee collected the annual reports from most of the University’s standing committees.  This process is part of the Committees Procedures under Shared Governance in the 2004 Faculty Handbook, page 12.  Members of the COC divided up the reports and provided a summary to the rest of the Committee.  The few problems that were raised were discussed and plans were made to meet with Committee Chairs.
            In November, the COC prepared the slate of candidates for 2006 Faculty Senate officers and Committee on Committees.  The election took place at the December 7, 2005 Senate meeting.  A voter guide was distributed and absentee balloting allowed.
            The Committee on Committees met on November 28 with UH Police Chief, Malcolm Davis, to discuss the Safety and Security Committee.  Chief Davis reported that the group had met 3 times during the Fall semester.  He added that he intended for the committee to meet at least three times each semester.  He praised the faculty representatives, saying they were making positive contributions to the process.
            Chief Davis reported that the Walk in the Dark Program had around 40 participants this semester.  The program, which unfortunately fell on the same night as the Faculty Recognition Dinner, will be held again next semester.  It was suggested that the program be held on alternate nights to prevent excluding faculty who might teach on the night it is usually held.  Details of discussions are available on the December 7, 2005 Senate Minutes.
            The COC met on January 23, 2006 to continue its discussion with UH Standing Committee Chairs and/or Liaisons.  William Kimble, Benefits Supervisor, sat in for Karl Sparks, Assistant Vice Chancellor/Assistant Vice President for Human Resources, to talk about the UH HR Advisory Committee and the UHS Fringe Benefits Committees.  A variety of benefits related opportunities are being considered.  As mentioned above the COC also spoke with Dennis Fouty, Associate Vice President for Computing and Telecommunication Services and Interim Chief Information Officer, to discuss the ITCC.
            A matrix of the findings and issues from the annual UH Standing Committee Reports will be presented at the next Faculty Senate meeting.

 EDUCATIONAL POLICIES AND STUDENT AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, CHAIR – Dan Wells
            In 2005, EPSAC worked on a number of issues:

1.  The Committee began the year examining the organizational structure and coordination of undergraduate related activities.  As a result of this examination EPSAC advocated for stronger leadership, organization, coordination and administration of these activities.  To this end the Committee was pleased that the University appointed Dr. Agnes DeFranco, Interim Assistant Vice President for Undergraduate Studies.  EPSAC met with Dr. DeFranco, expressing its concerns and offering assistance to her when needed.  The Committee has continued to work closely with Dr. DeFranco throughout the year. 

2.  The Committee has also maintained close ties with the Undergraduate Council and has met with Dr. Larry Williams, Chair of the Undergraduate Council, on a number of occasions.  EPSAC is continuing to foster a close working relationship with this group.

3.  Early last year the Committee spent considerable time discussing HB1185 (as well as textbook related laws in other states) that exerts limited state control over the selection of textbooks for the core curriculum.  EPSAC submitted a resolution opposing HB1185 to the FS Executive Committee.  EPSAC monitored this bill throughout the legislation session.

4.  The Committee also spent considerable time discussing FS-CoUG.  The Committee specifically requested that the final FS-CoUG report present a mechanism that will clearly delineate between the duties and responsibilities of EPSAC and the Undergraduate Council, and will more formally, establish clear channels of open communication between these two groups 

5.  During September, the Committee met with Ken Maynard form the Student Government Association to discuss issues of mutual concern.   The discussion centered mostly around the use of custom text books and the status of the University Textbook policy.  There appeared to be fairly good agreement between what the Faculty Senate had recommended and what the SGA would like to see in place.

6.  Considerable time was expended during the fall semester discussing the Provost's concerns about the Faculty Senate ratified Textbook Policy.  In November EPSAC (in joint session with the Faculty Affairs Committee) met with Provost Donald Foss largely to discuss this issue.  As no resolution was achieved at this meeting, it was decided that the President of the Faculty Senate, and the Chairs of EPSAC and Faculty Affairs would meeting personally with Dr. Foss to try to achieve an amicable resolution to the conflict.  At this meeting it was agreed that the Faculty Affairs Committee would develop a new resolution that would be agreeable to the Provost to be presented to the Faculty Senate at an upcoming meeting.

7.  During November and December the Committee met with Dr. Foss and discussed the Provost's interest in revising Department and College teaching evaluation forms to include a common sub-set of questions regarding teaching effectiveness that can be aggregated for reporting purposes.  EPSAC developed a draft resolution supporting the Provost's concept.  This proposal was sent to the Faculty Affairs Committee for discussion and revision.

8.   Throughout the year the Committee has worked with the Enrollment Management Taskforce on a number of issues including: the development of an improved set of requirements for transfer students; evaluation of FTIC admissions; problems with freshman and transfer student orientation; course drop policies; student retention issues; undergraduate advising; and the development of graduation contracts.

 FACULTY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, CHAIR – Katy Greenwood               
            The Faculty Affairs Committee was comprised of the following Senators:  K. Greenwood (Chair), David Blecher, Valentini Brady, Brian Byrnes, Meredith Duncan, Howard Karger, David Mazella, Jonathan Middents, David Papell, Carlos Pedemonte, William Rixey, and  Richard Willson.
            The committee met ten times during the calendar year; attendance was between 60% and 90% for each meeting.  Accomplishments:

1.  In February, FAC recommended a policy for “Extension of Probationary Period for Emergency Purposes; after discussion, it was approved by the full Senate as an “Interim Policy on Extension of Probationary Period for Emergency Purposes”;

2.  During February and March, FAC worked in collaboration with the University of Houston Staff Council to draft a Resolution to institute an Ombudsman program at the University of Houston.  On April 20, the resolution passed by unanimous vote on the Senate floor.

3.  In May, Faculty Affairs Committee was asked to give input to the University of Houston System policy on intellectual property.  After reviewing various documents, the committee emphasized that in matters of copyright and intellectual property, the following clause should be pivotal:  “unless there is a prior written contract between a faculty member and the university, all creative endeavors belong exclusively to the faculty member”

4.  In August, Faculty Affairs identified the need to compare “family friendly” policies at the University of Houston with those at other major research universities.  They also identified the need to compare health benefits held previously and currently and also compare University of Houston costs and benefits with other major universities. Karl Sparks, Assistant Vice Chancellor/Assistant Vice President for HR and other employees from Human Resources were guests at the FAC meeting and discussed alternative ways of providing insurance.

5.  Meetings were cancelled in September due to storm warnings.

6.  FAC met with Paul Janicke, Professor of Law and Director of the Intellectual Property and Information Law Program at the University of Houston.  Members asked for clarity of the current policies.  As a member of the University of Houston System Committee on Intellectual Property, he pledged to keep the committee informed with upcoming policy considerations.

7.  FAC addressed a request from Dr. Foss to endorse the establishment of a system for gathering University-level statistical means on teaching effectiveness by incorporating a subset of questions common to each department and/or college.  Special guest was Patrick Daniel, Director, Office of Learning and Assessment Services.   He discussed the technical process for putting such a system in place.  The committee voted to support Dr. Foss’s request for such a system.

8.  FAC and EPSAC met jointly with Dr. Foss to discuss the alternatives for a textbook policy to the one passed in 2004;

9.  FAC met in November, December and January regarding a textbook policy that would be approved by the University of Houston administration.  The draft FAC is proposing will be presented at the January, 2006 Senate meeting. 

             Regarding the Textbook Policy, Sen. Greenwood said a recent draft has been circulated.  The EPSAC and FAC have spent a lot of time trying to draft a textbook policy acceptable to the faculty and the administration.  The administration has not accepted the policy, so the groups worked very hard on the policy again.  Please send any comments to Sen. Greenwood, FAC Chair Papell or to any member of the Executive Committee and the FAC will take another go at it.  Pres. Craig said the document will be voted on at next Senate meeting.
            Dr. Leiss asked if a faculty member has to collect whatever royalties, how should that be dealt with from a tax point of view?  Sen. Greenwood said the committees talked about that a great deal; the faculty member should have the authority to compute this.  It is an honor system.  This money does not fall under the university money.  It is the faculty member’s money, but faculty are being asked to handle this in a good faith effort to avoid this conflict of interest.  Faculty should work with their chairs to figure it out.
            Sen. Jowett said the real problem comes with the used book market.  He just published the fourth edition of his book which has been in print now for 20 years.  It is the only book in the field and he uses it in his classes.  The problem is if one applies gradual sales of that book from year-one, by year-five the sale of used books is about 80% versus 20% new books. If the Bookstore would be willing to collect the royalties on the 80%, in fact 100% is what they are currently selling, of the used books they sell, he would be more than happy to turn the entire sum over to the University.  The Bookstore is taking the entire sales.  There is a series of mechanisms involved in this.  One of them is the used book market, which the Bookstore gets 100% profit.  Used books need to be taken into consideration.
            Pres. Craig said clearly the whole textbook issue has changed a lot.  He added he was happy to have the committee look at the textbooks.  This is something that will be hard for a single university to change but it should stay on the radar and stay on the schedule. 

SCHOLARSHIP AND COMMUNITY COMMITTEE, CHAIR – Joseph Kotarba
            The President’s Medal  Interim Provost Jerry Strickland requested that the SCC help design a medal that would represent the highest honor the President could bestow on a distinguished visitor or special friend of the university.  With the assistance of several vendors, administrators from three universities that have such a medal, and Gayle Mongan from the Office of Special Events, the committee designed a medal and accompanying text.  The design was approved by the Executive Committee on July 6^th and forwarded to the President and Provost on July 25^th 

            New Faculty Orientation  Sara McNeil and Joe Kotarba staffed the FS table at New Faculty Orientation on August 17^th. 

            Scholarship and Community Conference  On November 4^th, the Scholarship and Community Conference was held at the University of Houston Hilton Hotel.  Suzanne Ferimer took the lead in organizing the Committee’s support activities.  The Scholarship and Community Committee provided breakout group leaders, registration assistance, homepage design, and so forth.     

             Faculty Service Recognition Dinner  On November 15^th, the first Annual Faculty Recognition Dinner was held at the River Oaks Country Club.  A total of 240 faculty members, librarians, and their guests were invited.  Honorees received a leather portfolio and lapel pins recognizing their long service to the University of Houston.  Plans for next year include inviting VMOEs. Sara McNeil took lead in organizing the Committee’s support activities.  The Scholarship and Community Committee helped with the design of the dinner, the distribution of gifts to honorees, and design of the program, and so forth.           

             COIA Annual Meeting  On December 1-3, Joe Kotarba attended the annual meting of the Coalition for Intercollegiate Athletics at Washington State University in Pullman.  As a member of the COIA Executive Committee, he chaired the Subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility.  Overall, the Coalition assembled a report to the NCAA and it’s Presidents’ Task Force that covers reform issues such as:

• Eliminating bonus clauses for coaches who improve the academic performance of their athletes (we felt that a focus on academics should be inherent in the role of a coach);
• Making the entire athletics department budget process as visible as possible at all levels;
• Increasing the distribution of funds from tournaments and football bowl games to all conferences (including C-USA of which we are a member), not just the BCS conferences; and
•  Restoring a “collegiate” model of sports and eliminating the “professional” model that seems to be overtaking college sports.

 
REPORT ON COALITION ON INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS:  Joseph Kotarba
            Sen. Kotarba said the COIA met back in early December, 2005 and generated a report back to the NCAA.  It is rather lengthy, dealing with a number of important issues such as capping the salaries of assistant coaches.  Sen. Kotarba has been discussing that report with the UH Athletic Advisory Committee to see what applies to UH.  He will then present the AAC’s recommendations to the Executive Committee and eventually to the full Faculty Senate.

ACTION ITEMS FROM FACULTY SENATE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REGARDING FS-CoUG REPORT:  Allen Warner
            Sen. Warner said the Executive Committee has met almost weekly since before the holidays, to discuss on how to deal with the FS-CoUG report.  It is a master document with lots of complicated pieces to it.   There is a table that outlines the progress of the EC on the report and several recommendations for Senate action:  

Motion 1:
            On behalf of the Executive Committee, Sen. Warner moved the adoption of the FS-CoUG recommendations on college and department by-laws.  Note that within that motion there is a slight modification to # 9 about adjudicating faculty and staff grievances must be consistent with university policy and that there will be a May 31 report submitted by the senators to each college. Sen. Warner said the motion is to adopt the full first page.

            Sen. Huber said he would be curious to know if there is a generality that can be made whether the bylaws of the colleges come close to this, nowhere in the ball park or varies one to the other.  Is this a big adjustment or just fine tuning what exists?  He added that for the Law Center this would be fine tuning what already exists.
            Sen. Eichberg said many colleges meet this criteria.  There are some that are further away.   The point is there is a variation.   The intent of the motion is to bring all bylaws into a reasonable proximity.  It is up to each college to determine where it is on the scale. 
            Sen. Huber asked Dr. Foss if he has run this by the deans and did anybody have a problem with it.  Dr. Foss said the FS-CoUG folks reported to the deans yesterday.  Sometime ago he asked them to go to the Website.  They are mindful of it.
            Sen. Middents asked is the Senate asking the deans to be responsible for departmental bylaws, too?  Pres. Craig said this is an opportunity for faculty to look at the bylaws in their units and see it they are consistence with the guidelines and principles outlined here. 
            The motion passed unanimously.

Motion 2:
            Sen. Warner moved the three FS-CoUG recommendations on the Decision-Making Cycle.  Basically these recommendations would have policies going into effect at beginning of the academic year, during the academic year there would be reviews of policies or new policies proposed and for everything, except emergencies, there would be a drop dead date effective May 31 of each year. 

            The motion passed unanimously.

             Sen. Warner said on the very last page of the chart, the recommendation marked Item B, “Faculty Climate Survey,” be carried out every three to five years and that this practice should be initiated not later than FY2006.  Since the report was submitted the Senate has already taken action on that, so it will be done.  Pres. Craig requested any opinions about the faculty climate survey be sent to him.
            Pres. Craig said the Faculty Senate Retreat is February 17 in the Rockwell Pavilion.  He plans to use that retreat to set the agenda for the year.  He has arranged for a couple speakers to tell senators basically what they think should be done about some of the big problems on campus.  Then he wants the Senate to talk about planning.
            Sen. Huber asked what happened to the rest of the recommendations.  Sen. Huber said there is a federal statue called the Regulatory Flexibility Act that addresses to just these kinds of problems and how to do it.  They do it every six months. Since UH is on an academic year, it should be every year.  This could be an administrative task.  Why create a new committee composed of the Senate President and other important faculty on campus to do this?  Pres. Craig said the Executive Committee is working on the UCC now.  He added that he thinks that it is something that the Senate will want to do.  There are a still a lot of questions about what the format is going to be, what the goal is, etc.  It is fundamental to try to integrate with the councils to make this happen.  The Executive Committee is doing a better job of talking with the councils.  The plan is to do the UCC as a pilot for a year.  The Executive Committee already meets twice a month with the council chairs.  Pres. Craig said in his view the UCC would be a formalization of the current process.  The difference would be the certification idea. 

New Business:  None 

The meeting adjourned at 1:45 p.m.