UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON FACULTY SENATE MINUTES – January 26, 2005 

President Auchmuty called the January 26 Faculty Senate meeting to order in the Farish Hall Kiva at 12:15 p.m.  

MEMBERS PRESENT: [32]                                           
BUS:      J. Berkowitz, W. Chin, S. Kadipasaoglu, R. Keller
CLASS: V. Brady, B. Byrnes, S. Craig, W. Herendeen, N. Houston, T. Karner, J. Kotarba, D. Mazella, J. Middents, D. Papell, F. Schiff, G. Trail
EDU:     J. Freiberg, S. McNeil, A. Warner
ENGR:  G. Paskusz, J. Richardson, D. Zimmerman                     
LIB:     D. Camille, S. Ferimer, M. Thomson
NSM:   P. Copeland, J. Eichberg, D. Graur, G. Johnson, E. Leiss, D. Wells
OPT:   R. Manny         
PHA:  C. Pedemonte                          

MEMBERS ABSENT:  [20]                                                                                                                     
ARCH:   D. Kacmar                    
CLASS: K. Brown, A. Ignatiev, R. Lence (w/E), J. Rushing, G. San Miguel       
EDU:    M. Connell,
ENGR:  O. Ghazzaly, T. Helwig
HRM:    K. Titz
LAW:    M. Duncan  (w/E), S. Huber, Robert Schuwerk (w/E)                    
NSM:    T. Albright, D. Blecher, T. Lee (w/E)        
OPT:     S. Quintero
TECH:   K. Greenwood (w/E)                                                                              
GSSW: H. Karger (w/E)  

VISITORS:   
Jerry Strickland (Interim UHS Senior Vice Chancellor and UH Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs/ Provost), Marco Mariotto (Dean of Graduate & Professional Studies), Ed Hugetz (UHS Assistant Vice Chancellor and UH Assistant Vice President for Planning & University Outreach), Roger Boltz (Associate Dean/Associate Professor, Optometry), George Gamble (Professor, Accountancy/Taxation), Maria Gonzalez (Associate Professor, English), Theresa Monaco (Professor, Curriculum & Instruction), Laura Oren (Professor, LAW)  Angela Stokes (Reporter, Daily Cougar)

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES:  The December 8, 2004 minutes were approved.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
            February 8 is UH System in Austin.  Faculty are encouraged to visit the Alumni Organization website --a link is available on the Senate web page -- and sign up for the Cougar Advocates for Texas  Faculty are also asked to be generous toward their students who participate in this trip and who have to miss their class because of it. (CATs).
            As UH students who participate in UH System Day in Austin meet with legislators and relay the needs of the University to them, Sen. Kotarba made a motion that faculty allow those students to attend this event without penalty.  The motion passed unanimously.
            Applications for the Summer Fellow Internship Program for the Texas Council of Faculty Senates are due by March 1, 2005 (available from the Senate Office).  This program provides faculty with the opportunity to learn about the role and functions of the Coordinating Board by working on a related topic with its staff members.
            The nomination deadline for Moores Professorships is March 4, 2005.  This program was established to honor full-time tenured faculty who have achieved the rank of full professor at the University of Houston and who have made outstanding contributions in service, teaching, and research, scholarship, and/or creative activities. The purpose of the Moores Professors Program is to encourage and support continued excellence by providing funds for individual career development.  Individuals, department chairpersons, or deans may make nominations.   For more details, please visit the Provost’s website.
            March 25 is the deadline to apply for a grant from the Faculty Development Initiative Program.  The FDIP provides funds to faculty interested in utilizing instructional technology in the classroom and in electronic delivery.  Individuals interested in developing electronic course materials for use in a course may submit proposals for Program A grants (maximum award of $4,000).  Teams of faculty, particularly those working on interdisciplinary projects, interested in developing electronic course materials for a group of courses may submit proposals for Program B grants (maximum award of $25,000).  More information is available from the Educational Technology and University Outreach website (www.eto.uh.edu/programs/grants/)        

KUDOS:
            Kudos to Jerald W. Strickland, Interim Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, and Gerson David, Professor of Social Work Emeritus, who have both received a 2004 National Award from the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge.  The Foundation is a non-profit organization that honors organizations and individuals whose positive words or deeds promote the heritage of the United States.   The award recognizes Drs. Strickland and David for community service and dedication to their profession.

REPORT FROM FACULTY SENATE COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY GOVERNANCE:  Jerome Freiberg, Chair:
            Dr. Freiberg said the Commission has been on-going for the past six months.  He introduced members of the Commission who were present, including faculty representatives Roger Boltz, OPT; Joe Eichberg, NSM; George Gamble, BUS; Maria Gonzalez, CLASS; Laura Oren, LAW, and Andrew “Skip” Szilaygi and administrative representatives:  Ed Hugetz, Provost Office, and Nancy Rapoport, Dean of LAW.  He added that John Antel, Dean of CLASS, and Earl Smith, Dean of OPT, were also members of FS-CoUG. 
            Dr. Freiberg distributed copies of an interim report (available in the Faculty Senate office) and gave a PowerPoint presentation on the highlights of group’s work.  Dr. Freiberg said FS-CoUG has found that:

“The foundation of a great university is a well-functioning governance system.  Universities prosper when
governance is inclusive and shared and when a balance exists between the need to discover and disseminate knowledge and the process of achieving fair decision-making.” 

He said that FS-CoUG has:

• established a knowledge base regarding issues of university governance
• identified potential best practices of governance models
• met with experts on university governance face-to-face and through video-conferencing
• identified and reviewed research documents that established a range of approaches to governance
• reviewed existing governance documents from the University of Houston main campus and other UH System campuses
• established a FS-CoUG Web Site (http://fscoug.uh.edu/)  to provide a means of campus-wide communication and feedback regarding governance models and future directions of the commission.
  

Dr. Freiberg said the Commission was proposing:

“In order to accomplish all the tasks set forth by the Faculty Senate, the members of FS-CoUG are
requesting the Senate extend the work of the Commission to January, 2006 with the following proviso:
That a final draft be presented to the Faculty Senate and the broader UH community by September 2005
and that a comment period during the 2005 fall semester be provided for campus-wide forums and
discussions with a final report presented to the Senate and the University of Houston community the
first faculty meeting in January 2006.”

FS-CoUG has discussed whether the mechanics of shared governance or the process was more important, but have agreed that both must be considered.  Dr. Freiberg listed a number of principles involved in shared governance, including: 

•  Shared university governance addresses the interests and responsibilities of all stakeholders: the governing board, the faculty, the administration, the staff, and the students.
• Those most affected by policy and decisions have the greatest opportunity for involvement in the discussions leading to those decisions.
• The governance process allocates responsibility between faculty and administration and among the other stakeholders where appropriate.  For example, the faculty has primary responsibility for decisions about curriculum and about promotion and tenure; the administration has primary responsibility for resource acquisition; with planning and budgeting being a shared responsibility.
• Shared governance facilitates communication and coordination among the university policymaking groups in order to minimize fragmentation and the “silolization” of decision-making.
• Governance processes and structures are transparent and flexible and are capable of responding, over time, to differing administrative styles and philosophies.
• The decision-making process incorporates a diversity of opinions, especially at the information-gathering and policy-drafting stages.
• As racial and ethnic minorities and women of all backgrounds remain underrepresented on the campus as a whole, special efforts are necessary to include their views in decision-making.
• Decisions are made in a timely manner, while assuring participation of all interested parties.
• A broad cross-section of the faculty, including our most highly qualified colleagues, regularly participates in shared governance.
• These governance principles apply to all organizational units of the University, from departmental to central levels, and across the lateral spectrum of decision-making bodies.

             Dr. Freiberg said in one video-conference, Edmund Gordon, the Richard March Hoe Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Education and Director of the Institute of Urban and Minority Education (IUME) at Teachers College, Columbia University and the John M. Musser Professor of Psychology Emeritus at Yale University, said that great universities have great shared governance with top faculty engaged in the process.
            Dr. Freiberg proceeded to list conditions that are necessary for shared governance to exist, including:

• A climate of mutual trust within the academy is a necessary condition for effective interaction and the basis upon which governance is sustained.  Transparency of actions across all levels and of allocation of resources, in particular, facilitates such trust. 
• For all but emergency situations, deliberation and decision-making should occur when the greatest numbers of faculty members are present (i.e., during the fall and spring semesters).  Therefore, policy and procedure implementation should have a fixed annual cycle.
• There should be multiple identifiable steps for input and deliberation prior to any final policy decisions and policy initiatives requires lateral coordination and communication among University governance bodies.
• A well-planned organizational climate is conducive to faculty access, input and feedback in the decision-making process. 
• The Faculty Senate should provide a regular and timely review of the organizational climate at the University.
• To ensure that diverse ideas are heard at every level of decision-making, group decisions (and dissents from group decisions, if there are any), should accompany the recommendations of each decision-making group.
• Reassigned workloads should be provided to some faculty in exchange for participation in governance activities that require extensive commitments of time, effort, and responsibility.
• To diversify participation in shared governance and to encourage participation by the greatest number of faculty members may necessitate term limits in certain decision-making bodies. Term limits for senators and faculty members contributing to other key policy groups should be considered as a way of encouraging participation in shared governance among a broad group of people. 

            Dr. Freiberg pointed out that almost a third of the Senate membership is new.  It represents one of the largest turnovers in membership in a long time.  He added that the Senate has 52 members.  There are 36 standing committees to which the Committee on Committees appointed 206 faculty.  This doesn’t include ad hoc committee membership or that of task forces, college or department committees.  He said 30-40% of UH faculty is involved in committee work at any given time.
            One of the problems FS-CoUG has observed with the present governance structure is the lack of communications, both vertical and horizontal.  He distributed organization charts (available in the Senate office) that showed communication tends to follow in one direction only.  He added that a lot of decision-making bodies don’t communicate across structures.  These discussions also need to be inclusive of students and staff.
            Concerns were raised about effectiveness being included in governance models.  Sen. Eichberg replied the intent is create a mechanism so that while a policy is being formulated there is a means for more dissemination and feedback prior to finalizing it.  This provides an opportunity for all the stakeholders who will be affected this policy to give input.  Dean Rapoport added that the idea is to balance efficient, speedy decision-making with broad cross-talk between groups for a better decision.  Dr. Hugetz said the Undergraduate Council makes a lot of decisions on course levels which would be inefficient to send to everyone for input.  However the University just changed its freshman admissions policy and the Council made some recommendations about the proposed changes.  These changes will affect everyone.  Does everyone know about these changes?
            When asked if the final recommendations would include college level shared governance, Dr. Freiberg said FS-CoUG has had meetings with college groups like the CLASS Executive group and LAW to get feedback on the current structure.  Colleges don’t treat governance the same way.  FS-CoUG wants to continue to get this feedback for its final report.
           Other questions involved:  (1) Putting in a recommendation on accountability between administration and faculty, including evaluations of administrators that could be based on criteria that they write for themselves.  Dean Rapoport said she was intrigued by the idea of writing her own criteria for evaluation.  She agreed that it is useful for everyone to measure their own performance. (2) Implementation, including buy-in from the administration.  Sen. Eichberg said the process will involve creating a climate and culture for inclusiveness.  Dr. Hugetz said there needs to be a clear set of expectations and policies enacted.
            Dr. Freiberg said this is an interim report.  He invited feedback, then introduced Ann Jenkins who designed the FS-CoUG website at http://fscoug.uh.edu/  Ms. Jenkins demonstrated the site which provides background documents, links to information and a mechanism for faculty to give input into the process.
            Pres. Auchmuty thanked the FS-CoUG members for their presentation.  He noted that the Senate would discuss and vote on whether to extend the group’s time limit later in the meeting.

REPORT FROM AND DISCUSSION WITH THE INTERIM UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON SYSTEM SENIOR VICE CHANCELLOR AND UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS AND PROVOST:  Jerald W. Strickland
            Dr. Strickland reported on: (1) Current Senate President Auchmuty.  Dr. Strickland said he had the opportunity to work with Pres. Auchmuty as part of the Strategic Planning process.  They almost lived together for about four months.  It has not always been compatible.  They had differences of opinions, but President Auchmuty represented the faculty well.  Dr. Strickland said he saw him once a week at the President’s Cabinet.  He saw him once a month at the UFEC.  He did represent the Faculty Senate quite well.  He has led this organization and been a contributor.  Dr. Strickland presented Pres. Auchmuty with a travel mug that he can take to his office in Washington while on leave from UH for a special assignment with the NSF.  The Provost also gave Pres. Auchmuty a crystal paperweight in the form of a Texas star.   (2) Search Committees.  Dr. Strickland said there are two searches underway.  One search is for a permanent Provost.  It is moving right along.  There will be airport interviews occurring soon, followed by campus interviews next month.  That is encouraging. UH will follow the same process it used before, so faculty will have access.  There will be a presentation by the four to six candidates on campus.  Dr. Strickland said he is the chair of the VC/VP for University Advancement Search Committee which is having phone interviews with the development folks next week.  Finalists will be on campus for interviews about two weeks after that.  Keep in mind that both of these positions are not only university positions but UHS positions.  Getting the other three universities involved is quite a process as the Provost candidates will only be on campus for a little over a day.  (3) One of the mechanisms that faculty should hold the Administration accountable for is the strategic plan.  A lot of folks had input into that document.  It was not an administrator the strategic plan and faculty need to constantly ask where is UH on that particular plan.  One of the strategic planning principles had to do with affiliations and bringing a university to the Texas Medical Center.  That thought process came up through the planning activities.  It was generally agreed that UHS needed to proceed in that direction.  There were some timelines with some activities and some luck involved.  Part of it began late last summer and continued with a plan to have a memorandum of understanding signed by UH and Methodist Hospital.  Following that there was lots of discussion, internal discussion, internal groups and task forces that the Provost set up.  Dr. Strickland pointed out that the Senate President sits on that task force.  The VP for Research was involved.  Finally, there is a proposal for affiliation agreement.  UH will be affiliated with teaching and research as Methodist Hospital does lots of things besides patient care.  At this moment the Methodist Board and the UHS Board of Regents are looking at a document that addresses education, services and research in a non-exclusive agreement.  UH will continue its agreements with all of the other operations it has right now with Baylor, St. Luke, etc.  This new affiliation which will allow UH to have access to facilities and allow them access to faculty.  This is a wonderful opportunity for UH to bring everything from the humanities to the hard sciences to the Texas Medical Center.  Keep in mind there is no university at the medical center.  Dr. Strickland welcomed feedback.

FAREWELL ADDRESS 2004 FACULTY SENATE PRESIDENT:  Giles Auchmuty
            Every year issues and topics that concern the Faculty Senate mutate in often surprising ways.  It seems, retrospect, that 2004 was a watershed year for relations between the UH Administration and the UH Faculty Senate.  Our relations improved dramatically and many of the problems identified in the Faculty Senate Survey from 2002-2003 were tackled.
            At the start of the academic year we had a new UHS Chancellor/UH President and a new interim Provost who was a very experienced UH administrators.  They have since brought considerable, and much desired changes to much of the interactions between faculty and administration – as well as making many administrative changes.
            In the Faculty Senate Survey, easily the poorest issue, from the faculty perspective, had been shared governance.  At the start of this year the Faculty Senate established Faculty Senate Commission on University Governance (FS-CoUG) to look at these issues and, in the meantime, it has also worked on improving the environment.  We established 3 new UHS advisory committees, 2 new UH advisory committees and perhaps, most importantly, received a seat at the table in the Dean’s review process.  The last change will hopefully strengthen the appreciation of shared governance at a college level where there are dramatic differences in attitudes and policies in different colleges.
            Another important action of the Faculty Senate in the spring semester was its decision to join the Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics (CoIA).  We’ll hear a report later from Joe Kotarba about the meeting he recently attended.
            The highlight of the University Faculties Executive Council (UFEC) this year was the first joint meeting of the faculty senates of the four UHS universities which was held in Cullen Performance Hall and featured the Inauguration of Chancellor/President Gogue by Morgan Dunn O’Connor, the Chair of the UHS Board of Regents.  We all hope that Chancellor Gogue’s term can maintain the spirit and the hopes that were so prominent at that event.  Many of us feel that UH is in a unique situation and has great opportunities as the major public university for the greater Houston area.
            There are, however, areas of faculty interest that still need considerable administrative attention.  The first is faculty salaries.  We were very glad to hear at his inauguration that this would be one of Dr. Gogue’s major priorities.
            In various discussions of the Executive Committee with administrators over the year, it became clear that there were many misconceptions about the current State of faculty salaries. This was not helped when the university adopted a 2005 budget that included an 8% increase in total revenue – of it from increased student fees – but only allocated 2-1/4% for faculty raises.  Over the last 10-12 years I believe most tenured faculty here have seen very small, if not negative, increased, in real take home salary after.  To quantify this, and other issues – involving faculty salaries, I formed a task force to look at these questions and hope that they will also be able to help frame a plan for trying to fix these problems.
            Another important issue for the Faculty Senate is the make-up of our student body.  The university has 13 academic colleges, 10 of which regard themselves as professional schools together with Honors, CLASS and NSM.  Our relative strength is our graduate and professional capabilities for the last 10 years or so these, overall, have not changed much but that has been great expansion of our enrollment at the lowest levels – serviced mainly by non-tenure track faculty.  It seems to me that there are many other educational institutions in the Houston area that could service most of these students.  The University should focus its limit resources on the highest and best uses – which is the upper level undergraduate and graduate and Professional programs.  Even if those caused a nominal decrease in enrollment, it probably wouldn’t cause a decrease in formula funding.  I strongly recommend to all of you that you encourage the administration to focus on our strengths and not just numbers.
            Finally, I’d like to thank all the people who’ve been so supportive and helpful all year.  This includes the Faculty Senate staff, Brenda and Mary, the Executive Committee and many other committees and so many others that we’ve worked with in organizing orientations, retreats, inaugurations, etc.   It’s been quite an experience and I wish Allen Warner all the best for his term.

PASSING OF THE GAVEL
            Pres. Auchmuty passed the gavel to Sen. Warner and welcomed him as President.  Pres. Warner thanked Sen. Auchmuty for a job well done and presented him with a commemorative plaque with gavel.

INAUGURAL ADDRESS 2005 FACULTY SENATE PRESIDENT:  Allen Warner
            Giles, thank you for your leadership and my personal thanks and those of the Senate go to your predecessors as well:  Anne Jacobson, Joe Eichberg, Jerry Freiberg, and all of their predecessors.  I am acutely aware that each president of the Senate has a precious, short one year in which to attempt to make a positive difference.
            Few of the challenges we face, though, will be solved in one year.  Allow me to very briefly address four areas in which I hope to continue the momentum that is already in place.  Three are substantive.  The fourth is procedural.
            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 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.  In this spirit I look forward to the final report of the Faculty Senate Commission on University Governance under the process established by the Senate and as supported earlier in this meeting.  We must seek ways 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.  I am not a fan of trickle-down theories in economics, but I do believe a positive atmosphere established at the highest levels in an organization impacts subsidiary levels.
            The second goal is 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 lose too many good people, often after investing in the development of young faculty to a point where they become attractive to other institutions.  We also lose good people because we don’t invest in them.  Allow me a personal example.  Senator Freiberg and I both came to the University in 1973 among a group of 26 young faculty hired in the College of Education.  For several decades now, the two of us are the only remaining survivors of that Class of 73.  Then, there were few provisions for supporting young faculty in developing their careers, and in starting a family should they choose to do so.  Numerous studies indicate the pressures between an academic career and family are greatest among women faculty.  Men, though, also feel the press.  We need to do better.
            The third goal is to support the upcoming capital campaign for the University:  Great universities are not dependent on state allocations and student tuition and fees alone to create and sustain excellence.  In the materials you received for this meeting is a list of the top university endowments in this nation for 2003, the most recent data available.  The University of Houston System was ranked #101 on this list with a market value at the time of $440 million.  Note that the institutions ranked toward the top are those that most of us would identify as fine institutions.  They have built endowments over time, gifts that keep on giving, to support research, scholarship, teaching, and students.  We need to move up the list.
           The fourth procedural goal is to respect one another’s time in meetings:  I ask your cooperation in the use of normal rules of parliamentary procedure during our Senate meetings so that we can make sound use of our time together.  In our Constitution and Bylaws, our covenant with one another, we are to attend to Robert’s Rules of Order.  Some of the most basic rules are that all discussion is to be directed through the chair, rather than senator to senator; that a motion from a subgroup on which a majority of the members qualify to vote in the main body requires no second.  (A second, by the way, is only intended to assure that at least two members want to talk about an issue!)  The intent is to assure that opportunities are provided in an orderly fashion for all who wish to speak, while assuring that cross talk between two senators does not dominate the time of 50 who may have lost interest some time back!  In short, we need to be action-oriented and to do our homework between meetings.
            We will not completely finish all of this work in one year, and other issues will arise that require attention.  We do, though, need to maintain the momentum that is in place.
           One year from now I will don a beige suit and slip quietly into the woodwork to support President-elect Craig and all of the Senate.  That is the nature of one year leadership roles.  In the meantime, there is work to do, and I ask your support to get it done -- together.

END-OF-YEAR WRITTEN REPORTS FROM 2003 FACULTY SENATE COMMITTEES:

BUDGET & FACILITIES COMMITTEE, CHAIR – Saleha Khumawala
Not available at Publication.

 COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES, CHAIR – Anne Jacobson
           The COC has several statutory duties which it fulfilled this year.  These consist in nominating faculty to serve on the standing committees and preparing the Grievance Committee slate that is voted on in the Spring and the Faculty Senate Slate that is voted on in December.
            Several members of the administration were invited to meet with the COC, including the Chief of Police, the new head of Human Resources, and director of AA/EEO.  At one meeting with the COC, Abel Garza was joined by Russell Barnes, Director of Affirmative Action, and Shirley Redwine, former General Counsel, both from Rice University; at a second meeting he was accompanied by Bianca Springer, an UH AA/EO Officer.
           The COC also worked with Giles Auchmuty, President of the Faculty Senate, to formulate proposals for new standing committees, both University and System.  It also formulated a series of steps for the approval of the committees.
            As a result of its meetings and its work on the new committees, the COC referred a number of measures to the Executive Committee for action.  These were (a) working with the administration to institute an ombuds position; (b) recommending separating the AA/EEO office from that of the legal counsel; and (c) vetting the new committees.
            The results of these actions:   It is hoped that the new chair of the Faculty Affairs Committee will pursue the ombuds proposal.  Dr. Auchmuty informed the COC that the Executive Committee did not fully support (b), and the chair of the COC recommends that this matter be referred to the Commission on Women; it has been a matter of very considerable concern among many women at the University.  Proposals for the new standing committees were taken to the Faculty Senate and were approved by a majority of the 18 senators voting.
            There are a number of future actions the next COC needs to undertake:  (1) working on the proposal for the IT committee; (2) revising the charges of two new standing committees which were found to be problematic as the COC attempted to fill them.  The more serious problem was the legal affairs committee.  As it now stands, a faculty member who becomes involved in legal action with the University has to leave the committee.  In an informal email discussion, a majority of those on the COC responding thought that this condition should not be allowed to stand, and there was general agreement in an Executive Committee discussion that this requirement should be dropped.  It should be enough, it was thought, that such faculty members recuse themselves when they have a conflict of interest on topics before the committee.
           In conclusion, I thank Mary Beth Brantley and Brenda Jones for their diligent support.  The members of the COC, Joe Eichberg, Katy Greenwood, Steve Huber, Judy Myers, Jerry Paskusz, and Dale Rude, along with Al Warner and Giles Auchmuty – are also thanked for their generosity with their time and thought. 

EDUCATIONAL POLICIES & STUDENT AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, CHAIR – Dan Wells
            During the 2004 calendar year the EPSA Committee held monthly meetings.  The average attendance at each meeting was 55% (6 of the 11 members).   During the year the committee (or sub committees) met with the following individuals or groups:  Elaine Charlson, Executive Associate Vice President for Academic and Faculty Affairs; Marco Mariotto, Dean of Graduate & Professional Studies; John Rudley, Vice President for Administration and Finance; the undergraduate council; UH book store representatives including, UH Bookstore Store Manager Mary C. McFather and Textbook Manager John Louis Bolch, Pearson Publishing representatives including Barbara Rifkind, Vice President for Strategic Alliances and Don Kilburn, Regional sales representative; Ed Apodaca, Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management; and B. Buzzanco and S. Kellogg from the History Department. 
            To help facilitate interactions between EPSAC and the Undergraduate Council, the chair of EPSAC attended the UC meetings and reported on pertinent issues.  Likewise the Chair of UC, Larry Williams, was invited to attend EPSAC meetings. 
            The development of a University Textbook and Educational Materials Policy dominated the 2004 calendar year and was approved by the Faculty Senate on November 17, 2004.  In addition significant time was devoted to undergraduate enrollment standards, initially through discussions with Ed Apodoca and then through review of the Enrolment Management Committee’s recommendations for admission of FITC students. The Committee approved the Enrolment Management Committee’s recommendations but advised that if significant improvements are to be made, additional resources would have to be committed to recruitment efforts.  EPSAC also reviewed the Religious Holy Days Policy and worked with Brian McKinney and an ad hoc committee to develop a list of FAQs to assist students and faculty better understand the current Academic Honesty Policy.

FACULTY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, CHAIR – Howard Karger

1.  The FAC passed a primary caregiver leave policy that would allow faculty to take a leave to care for family
     members. This important proposal originally emerged from the UH Commission on Women.

2.  The FAC passed a stop-the-clock policy that ensures faculty members will be able to temporarily stop the
     tenure clock for family emergencies. This is an important gender equity issue (also arising from the Women's
     Commission) that the administration supports. The FAC met together with Dr. Strickland in devising the policy.

3.  The FAC met with Abel Garza and Bianca Springer and is continuing to work with the Staff Council on
     developing an ombuds proposal. It is expected to be completed this spring.

4.  The FAC worked together with Dan Wells’ Educational Policies & Student Affairs Committee (EPSAC)
     on a policy relating to royalties accrued from assigned textbooks.
     (http://www.uh.edu/fs/Textbook_Policy_proposed_101304.html)

5.  The FAC worked on the Faculty Senate Resolution on nominating faculty for deans’ reviews.
     (Approved on October 13, 2004 by Majority Vote)

6.  The FAC worked on the library faculty designation which was approved by the Faculty Senate.

SCHOLARSHIP & COMMUNITY COMMITTEE, CHAIR – Joseph Kotarba
            Members:  Wynne Chin, Suzanne Ferimer, Osman Ghazzaly, Alex Ignatiev, Donna Kacmar, Rose Lange, Ruth Manny, Jackson Rushing, Fred Schiff, and Cameron White 
            The Scholarship and Community Committee (SCC) continued to develop its charge and contributions to the Faculty Senate.
            February 25th   The SCC met to discuss the Faculty Senate’s (FS) Executive Committee’s request to review the Research and Scholarship survey proposed by the Research Council and supported by the Graduate and Professional Council.  The SCC also reviewed the draft of the survey instrument prepared by Scott Perry, Chair of the Research Council.  Sen. Chin and Sen. Kotarba amended/edited Dr. Perry's draft, and additional suggestions were made at the meeting.  The committee recommended that the Faculty Senate participate in this survey.  It also agreed that the committee would be willing to help edit the survey instrument, advise on sampling strategies, and so forth.  The Executive Committee received the SCC recommendation, but voted to table the discussion of the survey until Dr. Perry could address several issues regarding the survey.
            April 14th  The SCC met to continue its task of examining university relationships and communication with various constituencies in the community.  Ms. Louise Howell, Director of Community Relations for the Cultural Arts Council of Houston/Harris County (CACHH) attended the meeting.  Ms. Howell noted that CACHH’s major task is to distribute funds derived from the city’s hotel tax to arts organizations and individual artists.  Funded projects are those projects that contribute both to the artistic dimension of Houston, but also to tourism.  The tourism requisite is a recent condition applied by the state legislature.  It effectively eliminated funding for small, neighborhood arts organizations that traditionally provided services to local public schools and children in general.  Proving the value of ones art to promote tourism is a very difficult task.
            CACHH provides more money to UH than to any other institution of higher education in the area.  Ms. Howell indicated that UH faculty can help CACHH several ways:  (1) by submitting creative proposals for funding; (2) by serving on review panels; (3) and by promoting CACHH’s programs to the university community.  The committee agreed that the range of work subsumed under the rubric of art is very wide at CACHH, thus encouraging faculty from the social sciences and humanities to consider working with CACHH.
            We learned that Gael Stack, Professor of Art at UH, is First Vice President of The Arts Council Board of Directors.
            August 19th   The SCC staffed the Faculty Senate information table at the new faculty orientation at the Hilton Hotel.  Dr. Sara McNeil constructed a beautiful banner for our table display.  The Senate staff provided updated brochures on faculty senate activities, current senators, and contact information.
            Numerous new faculty members stopped at our table to chat.  They seemed most interested to learn that they could talk to their senator(s) about any problems incurred while at UH, including those problems which they may not feel comfortable discussing with departmental colleagues.  The suggestion is made for senators to briefly describe the Faculty Senate at Fall college meetings held for new (and returning) faculty.
            September 22nd  The SCC met to discuss preliminary plans for the Scholarship and Community Conference, to be held in October 2005.  Dr. Allen Warner, President-elect of the Faculty Senate, was our guest.  The working theme is: increasing philanthropy at the University of Houston.  The committee agreed to continue helping with plans for the conference.  The committee also stressed the importance of designing the conference to be appealing to faculty, students, and the broader community.
            October 6th  The Committee Chair and President Auchmuty discussed the future of the committees charge.  Our immediate tasks include: advising Dr. Warner regarding the criteria for selecting the new vice president for development; and preparing for the new UH systems committee on government relations.
            October 20th  The SCC met to respond to two charges from the FS President.  The Committee discussed the search for a new Vice Chancellor for Advancement with FS President-elect Al Warner.  The SCC was charged to advise Dr. Warner, who was appointed to the Search Committee.  The Committee offered the following suggestions:

•  The new VC/VP should have academic experience to better understand faculty and staff needs.
• The new VC/VP should follow the example set by the Advancement Office at the Bauer College of Business.  Constant contact with faculty can help Advancement staff to build upon the faculty’s relationships with alumni, community leaders, and other potential donors.
• The new VC/VP should work with the various alumni organizations to improve alumni commitment to UH through such incentives as a UH-sponsored ISP (internet service provider).
• The new VC/VP should establish a better system for monitoring faculty interests and expertise.
• The new VC/VP must understand the dramatic demographic changes taking place in Houston both in terms of increasing ethnic diversity and changes in the composition and distribution of wealth.
• The new VC/VP’s office must be adequately funded.
  

            November 15th  The SCC met to discuss the upcoming legislative session with Grover Campbell, Vice Chancellor and Vice President for Governmental Relations.  He was accompanied by Ms. Cyndy Garza.  Mr. Campbell indicated the legislature should have more money available to distribute now than in the previous biennium.  Nevertheless, higher education will probably not be a top priority among legislators, in comparison with the public schools and human services.  Mr. Campbell agreed to keep the FS informed of relevant events during the legislative session.
            The FS should be constantly involved with governmental relations.  Getting active in the fall before the spring session is too late to be effective.  Faculty should meet with local legislators before the legislature goes into session.  Mr. Campbell said it might be more effective to meet with business and industry leaders to encourage them to support UH’s concerns in the legislature, than to try to get to busy legislators directly. 
            February 8th is UH Day in Austin.  A representative of the SCC will attend the day’s activities.  Mr. Campbell said the Faculty Senate should invite him back to give a summary report on the legislative session.
            The Division of Governmental Relations has a website that will keep faculty informed of activities in the legislature:    http://www.uhsa.uh.edu/gov/
            December 7th  The SCC met with Steve Hall, President of the Houston Alumni Organization to discuss the upcoming University of Houston Day in Austin.  This trip is scheduled for February 8th.
            There is one item initiated by the SCC Chair to be discussed in 2005.  We are proposing a system to acknowledge significant anniversary dates of faculty who are dedicated to the university.

REPORT ON COALITION ON INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS:  Joseph Kotarba
            Sen. Kotarba said the COIA met on January 6-7, 2005 in Nashville, Tennessee.  The COIA is made up of representatives of 50 Division 1A school Faculty Senates.  The ultimate overall goal of the COIA is to put together faculty input on policies regulating intercollegiate athletics.  Sen. Kotarba is the Senate’s elected delegate to CoIA, which takes very seriously the notion of the student athletes. There is a lot of pressure on student athletes to be athletes. The pressure comes from entities ranging from presidents down to coaches.  The Coalition thinks faculty should have input into the academic side of that role.  The Faculty Senate Homepage has a link to the full document drafted at the COIA meeting dealing with academic integrity in intercollegiate athletics.  A summary of the document is posted on the Senate homepage, too.    This Senate needs to review and vote on this document.  Comments and suggestions should be sent to Sen. Kotarba [E-Mail: jkotarba@uh.edu; Phone: 713/743-3954].  Sen. Kotarba said he has already gotten some good suggestions/comments. 
            Sen. Kotarba said this document is not binding in any way.  It is not going to establish policy for NCAA schools.  What this document does is to make recommendations including best practice recommendations.  There are also several recommendations for NCAA Bylaw changes.  Myles Brand, President of NCAA, wants to see this document.  The task force of university presidents who really control intercollegiate athletics will read this at their next meeting so there is an audience for the document.  The “Academic Integrity in Intercollegiate Athletics:  Principles, Rules, and Best Practices” will be discussed at the February 16 Senate meeting.

NEW BUSINESS: 

A motion was made and seconded:

“FS-COUG as currently constituted shall be extended until the September Faculty Senate meeting,
or no later than September 30, 2005.  At that time, FS-COUG shall offer the Senate a single proposed
plan for the structure of faculty participation in decisions advancing the interests of the University."

Discussion centered around whether the Senate should insist on having a single plan presented.  The general consensus was that the Senate should not constrain FS-CoUG, but request that when they present their final report that they prioritize the models.
            A majority of the Senate voted against restricting FS-CoUG to a single plan.  It then voted, again by a majority, to approve:

“FS-COUG as currently constituted shall be extended until the September Faculty Senate meeting,
or no later than September 30, 2005.”

  
The meeting adjourned at 2:00 p.m.