President Jacobson called the meeting to order in the Farish Hall Kiva at 12:15 p.m.

MEMBERS PRESENT:  [33]  
ARCH: B. Price
BUS: S. Khumawala, M. Parks, D. Rude
CLASS: V. Brady, K. Brown, S. Craig, P. Gingiss, A. Jacobson, G. Jowett, J. Kotarba, B. Lange, J. Middents, G. San Miguel, T. Tillery, R. Weldon     EDU: S. McNeil
ENGR:  S. Kleis
HRM:  K. Titz
LAW:   S. Huber
LIB:   S. Ferimer, J. Myers
NSM:  G. Auchmuty, D. Blecher, P. Copeland, J. Eichberg, K. Kadish, E. Leiss, D. Wells
OPT:    R. Manny, S. Quintero
TECH:    C. Goodson, K. Greenwood

MEMBERS ABSENT:  [18] 
BUS: W. Chin
CLASS: W. Herendeen, D. Jacobs, B. Johnsen, R. Murray
EDU: M. Connell, A. Warner, C. White
ENGR: T. Cleveland, O. Ghazzaly, R. Metcalfe, G. Paskusz, D. Shattuck
LAW:  P. Linzer
NSM:  G. Etgen, A. Ignatiev
PHA:  C. Pedemonte
GSSW:  H. Karger

ON-LEAVE:  B. Breitmeyer, CLASS

VISITORS:  Edward Sheridan (UHS Senior Vice Chancellor and UH Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs/Provost), Marco Mariotto (Dean of Graduate & Professional Studies), Robert Herrington (UHS Assistant Vice Chancellor and UH Assistant Vice President for Human Resources); Theresa Monaco (Professor of CUIN)

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES:  The January 29, 2003, minutes were approved.

KUDOS:
     The Faculty Senate offers kudos to John Lienhard, M.D. Anderson Professor of Technology and Culture Emeritus in the Cullen College of Engineering on his election to the National Academy of Engineering, one of the most highly regarded professional engineering organizations in the world.   Dr. Lienhard, creator of the popular "Engines of Our Ingenuity" radio program, was elected as a member  "for creating the awareness of engineering in the development of cultures and civilizations,  and for the development of basic burnout theories in boiling and condensation.

ANNOUNCEMENT:
     The Spring Faculty Assembly will take place on Wednesday, March 19, at noon in the Kiva of Farish Hall.   Chairman of the University of Houston System Board of Regents, George "Gene" McDavid, has agreed to make a brief presentation.  Barring another summons to Austin, UH System Chancellor and UH President, Arthur K. Smith, will also speak.  Dr. Smith is in Austin today.

REPORT FROM AND DISCUSSION FROM THE FACULTY SENATE PRESIDENT:  Anne Jacobson
     The evaluations on the Faculty Senate Retreat were very positive.  Dr. Sheridan and Dr. Smith both addressed the retreat.  The topics covered were almost all under a shadow of the budget.  Dr. Sheridan spoke to a number of important changes that have happened at the University such as increased retention and graduation rates and UH’s expansion into various areas surrounding Houston.
     Dr. Smith warned the senators that it is not advisable to anticipate cuts.  He pointed out long term damage can be done by announcing what should be reduced or eliminated until the actual amount of budget cuts is officially announced.   Pres. Jacobson said the Senate suggested to the administration that there should be faculty participation in the budget planning process and more generally in discussing how to manage change.
     Pres. Jacobson said she is coordinating a visit to the Council of Deans to discuss what the faculty think are really important initiatives.  The Chair of the Research Council will also participate in this meeting.
     Pres. Jacobson said the Senate needs to get more organized at the college level.  It appears there has been a real breakdown with communication in colleges.  The idea is that there is a chain of discussion starting with the faculty that goes to the department chair to dean and finally to the Provost.  But it isn’t working out that way.  This was a leading issue arising from the climate survey, and as the representatives of the faculty, it is the Senate’s job to find a mechanism to make sure the voice of the faculty is heard.  Pres. Jacobson said she would ask the Faculty Senate Executive Committee to start organizing plans after the spring break.
     There will be a search committee for the new Chancellor/President that will advise the Board of Regents.   There will be faculty representation on the committee.  The names are to be announced soon.
     The Faculty Senate Office, along with most units, was asked to take a 2% cut in its current budget.  Funds have been identified with the impact borne by the Senate staff and the Executive Committee.
     At the last meeting the Senate was asked to look into the budget of the Recreation and Wellness Center.  Sen. Auchmuty is organizing a meeting with John Rudley.   The Executive Committee had a discussion about budgets with John Rudley, who will discuss this matter with the Senate this spring.  The Athletic Director, Dave Maggard, will also be invited.
     Sen. Tillery asked how faculty representation on the Presidential Search Committee will be determined?   Pres. Jacobson said it was drawn up by the Board of Regents.  Dr. Sheridan said he didn’t know, but pointed out that while committees are usually involved in these searches, there is a very small pool from which eligible candidates could be drawn.  The search firm, Korn Ferry, will hold very private conversations with people that aren’t disclosed to the search committee until the point it identifies someone who is very appealing and meets all the expectations that the Board has.  The best way for faculty to have input is through nominations.  Perhaps a faculty member is really impressed with a university or president, (s)he should nominate that individual.  The search firm or Board Chair can try to enlist that person’s interest.  The search for a chancellor/president will probably not be very public.  The firm may not be able to get back to a nominator because it may be honoring the confidentiality of people they approach.  Dr. Sheridan encouraged the faculty to make nominations and to give their input now.
     Sen. Brady asked if the position would be advertised in the Chronicle of Higher Education?  Dr. Sheridan said yes, the Board of Regents will make a public announcement.  He added that he was quite confident they will put it in the Chronicle of Higher Education.  He noted, however, that one almost never finds a President that way.   It is interesting that for every other level of the university an advertisement is useful, but not at the presidential level, especially when one is looking for someone to be both chancellor and president.
     Sen. Jowett said the faculty should have some idea about how the representatives for this search committee are chosen and what criteria are used.  Sen. Brady suggested the faculty representatives be elected by the Faculty Senate.  Sen. Myers said it is more important that once the names are released, for the Senate to decide whether it is a good, representative group.  She indicated that the Senate can talk to Chairman McDavid next month at the Spring Assembly about any concerns with the Search Committee.  Sen. Myers suggested that the best thing that the Senate can do is to open these lines of communication, let the regents know why the faculty are concerned, and keep the dialogue going.
     Sen. Huber said the Board has every right to appoint the faculty members they want.  It is a matter of reasonable courtesy and sensibility for Chair McDavid to ask the Senate’s opinion.

UH SYSTEM DAY IN AUSTIN:  February 18, 2003
     Sen. Eichberg reported on UHS Day in Austin, sponsored by the Houston Alumni Organization and the Cougar Advocates for Texas (CATS) to present the University’s concerns to legislators or their staff members.  The major issue focused on research excellence funding which is now composed of two separate funds with identical dollar value but very unequal distribution.  The intent was to encourage the legislature to combine the funds and institute a set of criteria that all schools would have to meet to receive funding.  This change would be revenue neutral for the state; that is, it would not cost more money but would increase competition among the schools.  The CATS also tried to point out the strides UH has made in terms of diversity, student retention, and graduation rates.  There was a good representation of alumni, students, administration, staff and the regents, including six members of the board.  There were not many faculty.

FIRST READING:  “Principles of Shared Governance”  (Revision of 2/14/03)

Definition and Purpose:  Shared governance is the collective commitment of faculty and administrators to work cooperatively with and for all University constituencies to achieve a common vision of University excellence.  Successful shared governance requires an active partnership at the System, University, College and Department levels to set priorities and to provide a basis for joint participation in policy formulation.  Effective implementation of shared governance depends on mutual trust, shared confidence and frequent communication between faculty and administrators and an appreciation for the interdependent roles and responsibilities of each constituency.

Faculty Role in Shared Governance:  The faculty sets the standards and provides the excellence in teaching and research that determines the quality and reputation of the University.  The faculty has a major role in devising academic policies that affect instruction and scholarship, and in protecting academic freedom and the unfettered examination of ideas.  Therefore, the faculty shall have primary responsibility for formulating, evaluating and implementing curricula, course content and degree programs, and for recommending decisions on faculty appointments and promotion and tenure decisions and post-tenure review.  The faculty shall have significant input and effect in the formulation of budget priorities, including compensation policies, and shall be involved in the selection and review of administrators.  The faculty also shall have a voice in the development and articulation of broad University goals that impact the quality of campus life, affect the surrounding community and improve the national academic standing of the institution.

NEW BUSINESS:
     Dr. Theresa Monaco wondered if the Faculty Senate would consider commending the Chancellor for the things that he has done for the university.  She asked the Senate to consider it.
     Pres. Jacobson said she wanted to raise another point from the Retreat.  Sen. Kotarba was asked to draw up a short statement on the mission of the new Research and Community Committee.  This statement will be presented to the Faculty Senate but the committee will be looking at research at UH and internal and external communities.
     Pres. Jacobson said she wanted to propose two items of new business.  One is a budget task force and the other is an organizational meeting within the college for the Faculty Senators so that they can communicate with each other and communicate with the deans at least once a year and with the chairs in their colleges so that senators can have a sense of what decisions are being made and a sense of what concerns the faculty might be.
     Sen. Copeland said the idea of a budget task force was fairly well received at the Retreat where it was discussed in concert with the coming budget issues.  The question arose whether this task force would be part of one of the standing committees like the Budget and Facilities Committee, or an ad hoc committee on university priorities.
Sen. Huber said committees exist for the purpose of letting a body or sub-group of a body focus on particular issues.  The Senate has a Budget and Facilities Committee.  This should one of its major responsibilities.
     Sen. Leiss suggested that one way to stay within the current structure and still make discussions accessible to everybody is to make sure that no other Senate committees meet at the same time the BFC meets.  As all committee meetings are open to all senators except for the Executive Committee or Committee on Committees, there should be a standing invitation for every Senator to attend the Budget and Facilities Committee meetings.  In this way the Senate can stay within the limits of its current committee structure and still make it available to everyone who wants to say something about the coming situation.
     Sen. Craig said one of the reasons planning committees in the past haven’t been very successful is because they don’t have the authority to implement any of their ideas or recommendations.  It is going to have to be the Senate President and the Executive Committee, meeting with senior administrators, make sure that there really is faculty input.
     Sen. Myers said she want to comment about the agenda from the Executive Committee meeting with the President and Provost.  She said she understood that the discussions of these meetings are confidential and that having the topics listed is very nice, but as issues are decided and could be made public, it would be good for a report to be made to the Senate.  This body has not been as active as it might have been in following up on issues and concerns.  In particular she pointed out that (1)”Texas Open Records Act: Legal Status of Faculty Senate, its Executive Committee and meetings.”  That item would be important for the Senate.  And (6) “OPPA Data,” which particularly interests her because of the difficulty she experiences in trying to obtain any kind of data when she needs it.   She added that it is personally frustrating and she missed the Factbook.  The current Website is not up to date and she misses being able to call that office and talk to people who understood her requests and could get her the data she needs.   Sen. Myers commended the inclusion of that item on the agenda, but when the President is able to make a public statement about the results of these discussions the Senate will be anxious to hear it.
     Pres. Jacobson said the UHS General Counsel office has a book on the Texas Open Records Act and has promised to give the Senate a copy of it.  This document lays out details about the obligations for record keeping and record retention.  The faculty need to know that any document produced as part of one's role as a faculty member or using any UH equipment is subject to the Texas Open Records Act.  The two exceptions noted so far are communications with the general counsel and or data pertaining to unpublished research.  In general everything that is written down is subject to a TORA request.  Any document that is produced.  The Faculty Senate Staff Associate keeps handwritten notes of every meeting with the administration.  A request has been made for the notes covering 1997-2002; however the Staff Associate is not obliged to make them legible (i.e. type or translate them).  Pres. Jacobson indicated that the discussion on the Office of Planning and Policy Analysis data will continue.
     Sen. Huber said he hasn’t had any of these problems.  The important thing to know is that records don’t have to be kept.  Pres. Jacobson said that once records are created, there is a time period during which they must be kept.  The book says that the period is two years.

REPORT FROM UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON SYSTEM SENIOR VICE CHANCELLOR & UH SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS/PROVOST:  Edward P. Sheridan
     Dr. Sheridan reported that HRM has hired a new dean following a very successful search.  The candidates were extremely strong and there were three very fine recommendations.  John Bowen, Director of Doctoral Studies at UNLV, accepted the offer.  He clearly was the first choice of the faculty of HRM and the first choice of the outside constituencies.  He was on the UH faculty from 1980-1990.  [Recorder’s note:  John Bowen was briefly a member of the Faculty Senate in 1990.]  He certainly was the strongest scholar of all the candidates.  He is very well known.  He travels the world, consulting in Asia, Europe and South America.  The sense from the meeting with the faculty is that people are very pleased that he is the choice.
     Planning is continuing for the new Science-Engineering-Research and Classroom complex.  The science side is going to be a world class building.  Caesar Pelli, one of the world's great architects, thinks this will be an award winning building.  The classroom part will have a wonderful auditorium.  Part of the building process involves the purchase of art, based on a small percentage of the cost of the building.  The planning committee has been interviewing artists to see what they can do to add to this building to create an enjoyable environment for faculty and students.  The classroom part of the complex at any given time could have 1,900 people leaving and another 1,900 entering so this is not a small task.  When the structure is completed, UH will have an extraordinary building.  Faculty are involved in the planning.
     Dr. Sheridan said it is true that the Faculty Senate was asked to take the same 2% cut that colleges were asked to take.   He then pointed out that since he became Provost, the Faculty Senate's overall budget has had a very sizeable increase of more than 25% to 30%.  While every budget cut is painful, at least it is being cut from a budget that is much more reasonable for the Senate than the one it had when Dr. Sheridan first came.
     One of the things that those who seem to be really knowledgeable about the State of Texas and the budget are trying to alert everyone to is that this crisis is not like any previous time.  In previous financial crises, Texas was somewhat isolated.  The difference is that Texas is coming into this crisis late.  Dr. Sheridan said he was talking to John Rudley, who pointed out that other states are not in a position to take advantage of Texas.  He added that Senators will recall hearing him say that in previous years UH has been taking advantage of those states.  UH and its faculty have done an extremely good job of recruiting incredibly talented people.  The point to keep in mind is that UH is likely not going to be severely raided, because while Texas is having a difficult year many other states are having a much worse year.
     Since no one knows what will happen, Dr. Smith is trying very hard to communicate with everyone about where the University is now.  As Dr. Smith writes letters to the faculty one may find inconsistencies.  As the administration gets more information, factors may change.  What was accurate in one letter may not be accurate by the next edition as more factors may have come into play.  The legislature has not made any decisions yet.  Part of the reason is that policymakers are not sure how much money they have.  What they do know is that they don’t have many choices.  The legislature really only controls about 15% of the state budget.  They do control 100% of the budget for higher education, though, as it is part of that 15% pool.  During UHS Day in Austin the legislators were trying to alert UH that we will not be able to get all of the funding we need.  The legislators seemed to be saying that they are looking, but not finding new money.  If there are not new sources of revenue and the shortfall is $10 billion, some cuts are going to have to occur.  The administration is going to be looking at how to offset that in various ways.  Dr. Smith will do everything that he can to keep communicating with the faculty.  Dr. Sheridan again asked the faculty not to get distressed about inconsistencies between communications from the President because that is likely to happen as more data become available.
     Sen. Craig inquired whether the Provost had said at the Senate Retreat that the current budget should not affect new faculty hiring at this point if a position has already been approved?  Dr. Sheridan responded that he didn’t want departments to stop searching.  The University is not making cuts until we know what reductions are necessary, and we certainly don’t want to target faculty hiring.  So if a department has a search in process that has identified a desirable candidate then by all means go after that person.  When the time comes, the administration will have to determine where to cut the budget.  Dr. Sheridan said he has been trying to drive this down into the colleges to determine how any needed reductions might take place.  He said he wants to be sure that the choice is in the college.  Right now he knows of no college making the choice of cutting where faculty lines are concerned.  Dr. Sheridan suggested that faculty talk to their chairs and really encourage their chairs to talk to the deans about their priorities.  Should UH have to cut its budget, the Provost will look to the deans.  He added that he will talk to them about necessary reductions so then it would be up to the college to decide.
     Sen. Craig said his department has an ongoing search.  The position is open and the Provost has approved it.  The dean is worried about letting the department fill this position.  The question is, should the faculty of the department talk to the dean or should they talk to the Provost?  Dr. Sheridan said the faculty should be talking to the dean because the dean is the person that the Provost will talk to about how much money is needed.  Then the dean will have to examine the resources of the college and try to determine what to do.  What Dr. Sheridan has been telling the deans is UH really doesn’t want to stop the searches, especially if there is somebody the faculty are excited about hiring.
     Sen. Lange said she is on a search committee right now and the group is consumed by a rumor that money has already been cut off, so the committee is hastening through and probably not considering stellar people who sent their applications in right at the deadline.  Dr. Sheridan said she should certainly tell the search committee what she has heard from him.  Dr. Sheridan said he has not frozen any searches.  He is really encouraging people to continue to search.  People should look for the very best person they can find.  If they don't find the right person they should move on and look again.
     Dr. Sheridan said to handle reductions to the current year's budget, the administration took $8 million out of deferred maintenance.  In the long run it will create problems because by putting off repairs now, it will cost more later -- but there is not much flex in any University budget.  If a department needs some flex money it might not want to fill every line, but these are decisions that faculty and chairs have to mutually examine, and then talk with the appropriate dean.  It differs so much from college to college.  UH has some departments that are larger than some colleges, so it is always dangerous to generalize.
     Sen. Copeland said it may be that this message is getting to the Senate but it is not reaching the middle man.  If this is the message that he wants out there, Dr. Sheridan might want to tell everyone again because everybody else is telling the faculty something different.
     Dr. Sheridan said he was pleased about being alerted to this problem.  He said he would be sure to comment rather strongly about this at the next meeting of Deans' Council.  Most everyone is very aware of how well the guaranteed search has worked.  He added that he will find some way to protect money so that when people are being recruited away, and everybody in the department says they do not want to lose that person, the University will have the capacity to counter-offer.  Dr. Sheridan reiterated that he didn’t think raiding will be as significant as in the past due to the national economy.  There are a number of states that have freezes on faculty hiring.  He added that there was one place where UH can’t compete in recruiting faculty, and that is providing tuition for the children of faculty.  Some of the big private schools will pay college tuition for the children of faculty to attend that college or they will pay up to a given amount per year for the child to go to any other institution.  If the person has two or three children who are about to become college age, this is a big benefit that UH can't match.  In fact, UH has lost a couple of people this way.
     Sen. Leiss asked what the Provost's instructions were to the deans about summer school because he had heard mixed messages.  Dr. Sheridan said he has told deans to try to protect summer school as much as possible. First of all the University has many students who depend on summer school, especially elementary and secondary teachers trying to earn masters degrees. It is highly probable that UH will not have as many resources as one would like for summer school.  Colleges may have to look at holding classes where there will be a larger number of students.  One of the reasons not to cut summer classes is that if fewer student credit hours are generated, the University loses both formula funding and tuition.  There probably will be some pressure on faculty to teach larger sections.  Also many faculty expect to teach summer school and rely on that income.
     Sen. Copeland asked if things could get too difficult, might the University consider not starting a new construction project?  Dr. Sheridan said he didn't think so because the revenue for buildings comes from other sources.  For instance, when UH bonds funds, it is committing this pool of money to this project and it is ready to pay it back in a certain way.
     Sen. Wells asked whether promotional raises would be saved.  Dr. Sheridan said yes.  The administration is committed to giving raises to people who are promoted.  New associate professors this coming year will get $3,000 added to their salary and those promoted to full professor will receive $6,000.
     Sen. Manny commented that the communication breakdown may not be between the Provost and the deans; it may be between the deans and department chairs.  Dr. Sheridan said he will certainly look into this because he has been very consistent in this message and the questions that are being asked are very reasonable.
     Sen. Leiss emphasized that it is really is important that the Provost understands that there seems to be a breakdown.  While Senators have the opportunity to talk to the Provost directly, others do not.  It is important to spend as much time as is necessary to make the point that there are problems, and they may not be with the Provost, but it is the Provost who will have to take care of them one way or another.
     Sen. Gingiss noted that there isn’t really a good mechanism for Senators to communicate with their constituencies, especially for departments that don’t have a senator.  The Senate needs to improve its reporting of what it hears from the Provost to the faculty, but it doesn’t have such a mechanism at this time.  Dr. Sheridan said he would certainly make the effort to make sure that the deans are made aware of it.  The faculty can talk to the chairs if they are not getting the same message that he has been conveying to the deans.
     Pres. Jacobson said there may be a certain cynicism among the deans.  In 1993 or 1994 the upper administration proposed not honoring verbal offers and that is a very serious situation that must be avoided.  Dr. Sheridan said it is very hard to ask people to suspend their experience.  That is why he has been trying to aggressively say that this time it actually is different.  In some ways it would be better if this crisis was like something everyone had been through because then one can predict how long it will take to recover.  It is likely that Texas won't suffer as much as some of the other states and it may come out of the crisis sooner.  Dr. Sheridan said we are now living in a culture very different from the culture many of you experienced when you went to college.  Many of today's students are paying 100% of their way through college.  There are citizens who don’t want to be taxed so that more money can go to universities to lower tuition.  Students today are in a unique situation.  The University itself is in a unique situation.  The culture certainly isn’t promoting higher education.
 
The meeting adjourned at 1:55 p.m.