UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON FACULTY SENATE MINUTES – October 19, 2005 

President Warner called the October 19 Fall Faculty Assembly and Faculty Senate meeting to order in the Farish Hall Kiva at 12:00 p.m.  

MEMBERS PRESENT:  [41] 
ARCH:  D. Kacmar
BUS:    W. Chin, S. Kadipasaoglu, R. Keller, C. Pirrong
CLASS: V. Brady, B. Byrnes, S. Craig, M. Haun, W. Herendeen, N. Houston, G. Jowett, T. Karner, J. Kotarba,
             R. Matland, D. Mazella, J. Middents, D. Papell, F. Schiff, G. Trail
EDU:    J. Freiberg, S. McNeil, A. Warner
ENGR:  J. Richardson, D. Zimmerman
HRM:    K. Titz
LAW:    M. Duncan, P. Linzer                
LIB:      D. Camille, S. Ferimer, N. Linden
NSM:    T. Albright, D. Blecher, P. Copeland, J. Eichberg, G. Johnson, E. Leiss
OPT:     R. Manny
PHA:    C. Pedemonte
TECH:  K. Greenwood
GSSW: H. Karger    
                                               
MEMBERS ABSENT:  [10]   
CLASS: K. Brown                      
EDU:    M. Connell                                            
ENGR:  W. Rixey, J. Williams
LAW:    S. Huber                          
NSM:    D. Graur, A. Ignatiev, T. Lee (w/Notice), D. Wells (w/Notice)
OPT:     S. Quintero      

MEMBERS RESIGNED:  [1]          
ENGR:  O. Ghazzaly                        

VISITORS:  
Jay Gogue (UHS Chancellor and UH President), Donald Foss (UHS Senior Vice Chancellor and UH Senior Vice President for Academic), Dona Hamilton (UHS Vice Chancellor and UH Vice President for Legal Affairs and General Counsel), Art Vailas (UHS Vice Chancellor and UH Vice President for Research and Intellectual Property Management), Elwyn Lee (UHS Vice Chancellor and UH Vice President for Student Affairs), Michael Rierson (UHS Vice Chancellor and UH Vice President, University Advancement), 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), David Bell (UHS Assistant Vice Chancellor and UH Assistant Vice President for Academic and Faculty Affairs), Agnes DeFranco (Interim Assistant Vice President for Undergraduate Education), Patrick Daniel (Director, Learning Assessment), Jan Cottage (Director, Employment and Records, HR), Penny Honeycutt (Student, HR), Audrey Taylor (Associate Librarian), Carolyn Meanley (Associate Librarian), Chad Wilson (Adjunct, Assistant Professor, ENGR), Ken Waldman (Director, Counseling & Psychological Services), Valarie Coleman-Ferguson (General Counsel, Senior Assistant), Diane Gwamanda (Assistant Librarian), Wendy Adair (UHS Associate Vice Chancellor and UH Associate Vice President, Public Affairs),  Malcolm Davis (Police Chief & Executive Director, Public Safety), Dave Irvin (UHS Associate VC/VP, Plant Operations), Spencer Yantis (UHS Associate VC/VP, University Advancement), Lawrence Williams (Chair, Undergraduate Council), Lawrence Curry (Professor Emeritus of History), Linda Thompson (Associate Librarian), Marc Truitt (Associate Librarian), John Lehner (Associate Librarian), Jim McShan (UHS Associate VC/VP, Finance), Paul Gordon (Professor of Psychology), Maria Gonzalez (Professor of English), Cameron White (Professor of Curriculum and Instruction), Oscar Gutierrez (Assistant to VC/VP, University Advancement), John Powell (Executive Speechwriter) 

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES:  The August 31, 2005 minutes were approved.  The September 21 meeting was canceled due to Hurricane Rita. 

REPORT ON FACULTY SENATE ACTIVITIES:  Allen Warner
            In January of this year when I took office as president of the Senate, I proposed four major goals for the year.  Allow me to use those goals as a structure for this biannual update on the activities of the Senate.
            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.  Later in this meeting Senators will be asked to support a motion to receive the final report of the Faculty Senate Commission on University Governance and to refer it to the Executive Committee for deliberation and action.  The report includes at least four sets of recommendations, each requiring a different timeline, and the sorting can probably best be done in the Executive Committee rather than in a meeting of the full Senate.  We extend our deepest thanks to the members of the Commission for their scores of meetings, their thoughtful and open debate of issues, and their spirit of good will and dedication.  We also thank President Gogue for his strong support in appointing members to this body, and providing resources to support its work.  Above all, to reiterate a point made in January, this ethos of partnership and mutual respect, of shared governance, must become increasingly evident at all levels of the University – including colleges and departments. 
            Second, to work in partnership to develop policies that are more family-friendly to achieve Strategic Principle 6 adopted by the Board of Regents:  recruiting and retaining the highest quality faculty and staff.   To this end, an interim policy on extension of the probationary period is now in effect that states the right of untenured faculty to request a one-time, one year extension for a variety of reasons that explicitly include care of a small child, and eldercare.  The policy also requires that the request be forwarded through channels to the Provost for a final decision, eliminating the possibility of pocket-veto at the department or college level.  At the recommendation of President Gogue, the Board of Regents approved a four percent pool of funds for faculty merit increases despite many other pressures on those funds.  For the first time to my knowledge, a separate line is created in the budget to address salary compression.  And the Senate continues to work with senior administration to develop data that are useful to identify issues of faculty salary equity and compression.
            Third, to support the upcoming comprehensive campaign for the University.  Great universities are not dependent on state allocations and student tuition and fees alone to create and sustain excellence.  On November 4 the Senate’s biennial Scholarship and Community Conference will focus on Professors and Private Philanthropy.  In the materials you received for the January meeting was a list of the top university endowments in this nation for 2003.  The University of Houston System was ranked #101 on that list with a market value at the time of $440 million.  Endowments are gifts that keep on giving, to support research, scholarship, teaching, and students.  We need to move up the list.  I urge you to participate in this Conference and to encourage your colleagues to participate.  Dr. Gogue will start the first session with an overview, followed by the newly-appointed Vice Chancellor and Vice President for University Advancement, Michael Rierson.  I believe you will be as impressed by him as was the Search Committee.  And you will be fed – if you pre-register.
            Fourth, to respect one another’s time in meetings:  I deeply appreciate the cooperation of Senators (at least so far) in following normal rules of parliamentary procedure during our Senate meetings so that we make sound use of our time together.   A number of Senators expressed appreciation of our increased efficiency, but efficiency must not come at the expense of stifling discussion of vital issues.
            The Senate is engaged in a number of other activities.  At this meeting Senators will be asked to join the Graduate and Professional Studies Council and the Research Committee in a joint resolution coming forward from the Senate Task Force on Research Excellence chaired by President-elect Craig.  At the request of Provost Foss, the Educational Policies and Student Affairs and Faculty Affairs committees will hold a joint meeting with him to discuss textbook adoption, and evaluation of teaching.  And on November 9, veteran faculty celebrating 20, 25, and 30 years or more of service to the University will be recognized at a dinner organized at the recommendation of the Scholarship and Community Committee.  For those of you in between these anniversaries, I am assured that this is the first of a series of annual events.  In short, your time’s coming.
            I thank you for your attention and continued support, and will be happy to respond to any questions.

UH SYSTEM CHANCELLOR AND UH PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Jay Gogue         
            Dr. Gogue reported on: (1) The November 4 Scholarship & Community Conference, Professors and Private Philanthropy.  There are some elements that Pres. Warner didn’t mention.  This is an effort to invite faculty from throughout the UH System to be a part of this discussion.  The Regents have been invited.  A number of people have been invited to discuss what it means to go into a major comprehensive campaign.  It is important step.  The UH endowment currently is $440 million.  The number should be a little higher than that because it does not include the endowments that are held by the Business School, by the various colleges or by the University Foundation, which is about $80 million above that, so it is probably within the range of $600 million for the actual numbers for the institution.  That is a fair number.   Dr. Gogue said he wanted everyone to think about the fact that in the next ten years UH has the opportunity to raise more money than has been given to it in the previous forty years.  The conference is a very timely event.  It takes a community to be successful in a private fund raising.  Dr. Gogue said he was looking forward to that discussion about comprehensive campaigns and the way to approach them.   Pres. Warner mentioned that he has asked that there be a glossary prepared to help faculty understand the language development officers use.  The President encouraged faculty to make an effort to attend.  The actual start date of the campaign is sometime in the Spring.  Dr. Gogue said there will not be a public announcement until 40%-50% of the money is in the bank.  Several colleges are working on eight figure gifts.  These are significant gifts that will have major impact on this institution.  (2) At the Senate meeting and at the Senate Retreat the last legislative session was discussed.  As the year progresses, more data is available from other states to compare with what Texas has done.  Overall the UH System’s net return from the State was quite good.  The debt service for construction projects was restored as was Tier I research monies.  Texas did quite well relative to other states.  Dr. Gogue said everyone ought to be proud of the Texas legislature.  There are a number of times during the fall to honor legislators.   A variety of groups in Houston are doing that now.  Dr. Gogue encouraged everyone to find a way to thank the legislators.  He added that it doesn’t have to be a major university event, areas could invite a legislator to visit, see their research or take part in a seminar that can be an important way to recognize a legislator.  (3) A speech was given last week by Senator Kaye Bailey Hutchison during which she indicated that she had asked the Texas Academy of Science members which institution in Texas should be the next flagship research institution and they said the next one should be the University of Houston.  Dr. Gogue pointed out that to be a member of the Texas Academy of Sciences an individual has to be a member of the National Academy.  He added that he wasn’t present to hear the speech, but it is important the UH is getting these kinds of indications at the federal level.  (4) In the past two years there have been seven to ten academic reviews of departments as well as accreditation visits.  Dr. Gogue said he thought it might be interesting, since there is a pool, to share the principles that are seen consistently across these colleges or departmental reviews both in terms of the strengths and weaknesses.  For strengths:  (a) Dr. Gogue said he has never had a review in which the quality of the faculty, enthusiasm of the faculty, and the excitement that the faculty have is not picked up by external reviewers.  (b) The diversity of UH students.  External people who come to this campus are extremely impressed with the diversity of the students.  The Bauer College of Business ranks third in the country in the number of minority students it graduates.  UH ranks within the top ten in all of those categories.  In looking at the list, it is noticeable that there is no other Texas university listed in the top 50.   (c) Last week Tatcho Mindiola’s program in Mexican American Studies won a Star Award in the State.  It is one of the most magnificent awards given by the State in terms of the quality of his program.  (d) UH also received another Star Award for Bio-Nano Health Care.  For weaknesses: (a) There is not enough space for what UH does, but at this junction space has not been an issue.  Departmental support has not been an issue. The weaknesses that are coming out more often are (b) departmental planning, (c) vision, (d) assessment and (e) accountability.  Dr. Gogue said he wanted to call everyone’s attention to these areas as the ten year SAC reaccredidation visit is approaching.  UH has about 1-1/2 years to be able to complete its self study before the actual work.  That is going to be an extremely important element.  (5) Academic standards.  The President said he particularly wanted to thank the committee that got together and looked at new ways that UH should evaluate freshmen who come to this institution. The group made some changes in the academic standards which were approved by the Board of Regents and will go into effect next Fall.  Dr. Gogue said it is his understanding is that there will be discussions this year to look at the academic standards for transfer students.  These are very important steps but there won’t be quick changes.  (6) The Faculty Senate recommended that UH host faculty recognition dinners.   The first one will happen in November.  Dr. Gogue said he appreciated that recommendation.  Sen. Kotarba said there may be an upward of 300 people in attendance.  (7) Thank to everyone who was able to come to the faculty reception this past Saturday.  There were 300 people who came to the Wortham House, including emeriti faculty.  It was very nice to sit and talk to faculty who have been on this campus many years.  The fundamental foundation of any institution is the faculty and finding ways to recognize, to support and to bring faculty together is very important.  (8) Governance is one of the most important things that UH as an institution can undertake.  There are many different models.  Sen. Freiberg and a committee have worked very hard to look at all sorts of different ideas that deal with quality, input and decision making within the University.  Dr. Gogue said he is excited with the steps that have been made at this point.  He looks forward to the discussion as the report moves forward.  It is extremely important to put this process in place.  As a young university, and UH is still a very young university, the mechanisms of interacting are not as established.  That doesn’t mean that faculty should look at an institution that has been established for 400 years and take their system and impose it on UH.  But the next step is to try to create the kind of appropriate interactions that faculty and administration feel comfortable with and that will work to make the institution better.  (9) UH had difficulties with Hurricanes Rita and Katrina.   Dr. Gogue said he very much appreciated the resolution by the Faculty Senate for the University to move forward in addressing problems.  With Rita everyone has noticed things that could be done better.  The President has asked Dr. Rudley and a team of individuals to spend some time to think about disaster planning on this campus.  One of the issues UH has as an employer is what to do about employees who live in homes that might prove more dangerous than if they were allowed to stay on this campus.  If people are allowed to stay on campus, what provisions need to be made?  The Emergency Preparedness Group will provide guidelines.  He has asked Pres. Warner to get the right faculty to be a part of that key effort.
            Dr. Gogue reported on several things that worry him:  (1) Energy costs are going to rise 40% to 70%.  It costs UH around $15 million to turn on the lights each year.  He added that he didn’t know if Dr. Rudley has a number in terms of what energy costs will be going into next year but the only source of funds to cover the rising cost is going to be student tuition fees.  (2) How will the massive destruction of property caused by hurricanes affect property insurance rates?  After the very localized event of Tropical Storm Allison, the rates went up $2 million.  What will be the impact of this broader destruction and how will it affect UH rates?  Tropical Storm Allison was a few billion dollars event while estimates for Katrina and Rita are as high as $200 billion.  (3) Health Care Costs.  The rate of increase for next year is 11%-12%.  What that means is that each person pays one-third of his/her medical cost which is in essence a proportional pay cut.  What people need to remember is the university, the employer, pays for two-thirds and that will impose 11% increase on its share.  The numbers get large in hurry.   Dr. Gogue said he wished that he could tell everyone that the increase is a one year thing and the next year it will be back to normal, but all the projections show 10-12% increases every year for the next decade.  That is a huge issue for everyone in the public sector.  (4) In the month of September the inflation rate in the United States was 1.2%.  In one month the rate went up 1.2%, the highest inflationary rate per month for the past thirty years.  Once again these broad increases have to be reflected in the way the University opens the door next year in terms of cost. 

             Sen. Craig asked the President tell the Senate about his relationship with the Board of Regents and how he sees Regents talking about the university?  Dr. Gogue said the Governor appoints the Regents.  They serve for six years.  They can be re-appointed and serve an additional six years.  The Governor appoints nine Regents to the Board.  In the last legislative session the Governor also made allowances for a Student Regent and so there will be actually a tenth member of the Board of Regents.  The Student Regent has very limited powers.  He added he didn’t think the Student Regent could vote on issues.  UH is expecting three Regents to rotate off the Board:  Bo Smith, Morgan O’Connor and Morrie Abramson.  Their official term ended August 30, 2005 so they are serving until the Governor appoints new members.  Dr. Gogue said he didn’t have any insight as to who might be appointed.  He has not been called by the Governor to seek consultation on that.  He didn’t know when the Governor would make the new appointments.  There is a Board of Regents Retreat on November 1-2.  The discussion at the Retreat is tuition & fee rationale and philosophy.
            Sen. Copeland asked, if the Governor did call the President, what qualities would Dr. Gogue tell him were important to the Board of Regents?  Dr. Gogue said to be honest, one usually thinks of names, but for qualities he might suggest a strong CPA background or people who have a strong interest in philanthropy and private giving.  If one looks at the skill sets that the Board is likely to lose, the Board is losing a member with very strong legislative skills and two with strong business skills.  Business and philanthropy would be components that he would suggest the Board could use.
 
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 he appreciated the opportunity to speak.  He is beginning to know more and more of the faculty.  Dr. Foss said he is learning a lot and is very excited about what he is discovering about UH.
            The Provost said one of the things that he is doing is having lunches with senior professors, people who have named professorships, etc.  He added that it will take awhile to go through that group of people.  Dr. Foss is also having breakfast with junior faculty, people who are new on this campus this year.  The Provost said the junior faculty members are very excited to be here.  They feel very welcome in their units.  Dr. Foss asked each of them about the type of mentoring they are getting.  There are not too many formal mentoring programs in departments, so Dr. Foss will be asking deans to at least have a discussion with the department chairs to ensure that people are making sure junior faculty members have the kind of welcoming activities they need in order to be successful.  It may be best to do this on an informal basis, but each unit needs to make sure that their new faculty understand the criteria by which they will be evaluated, including the importance of scholarship and the teaching mission.
            Dr. Foss mentioned an article about faculty diversity in yesterday’s Daily Cougar.   The Provost pointed out that he was accurately quoted in the piece as he has been in all the pieces the newspaper has run.  He commended the Daily Cougar report.  Dr. Foss said he is interested in continuing to recruit diverse faculty.  The reason he brought diversity up this afternoon is the article indicated that a lot of students feel some discomfort in talking with faculty members who are “different from themselves.”   Dr. Foss said he understands that perspective.  The Provost said he wanted to remind faculty to make sure that their office hours are posted and their doors are open so students are made to feel that they can get the kind of help and guidance faculty can provide, in spite of superficial differences in age, gender, discipline, ethnicity, etc.  Dr. Foss said he has done some strolling in his spare time and has found some office hours posted when there was no one in the office.  He said he knocked on the door and there was no answer.  This is not right, so part of making UH a welcoming campus is to make sure faculty are reaching out to the students to help make them feel welcome.  One of the issues in terms of enrollment management is retention and the graduation rate.  Everything that UH can do on this campus in terms of the atmosphere created is a contribution in one way or the other to retention of students.
            Dr. Foss said after consulting with the Senate at its Retreat, he cancelled the study days.  He has not received a single e-mail complaining about that.  He added that he totally relies on the professionalism and the good judgment of the faculty with respect to covering the materials or editing the materials that they need to cover to make their class a worthwhile one.  He will not do anything other than that with respect to that missed time.
            The Provost sent a memo just yesterday to deans and department chairs re-affirming the desire to try make the time of student employees, who are hourly employees, whole.  If the students are being paid by the hour and there is some money in the budgets, the Provost said he would strongly encourage supervisors to allow student employees to make up the time lost due to the University’s closing over the rest of the term so student employees may earn as much money as they would have had the university not closed.
            Dr. Foss said that shortly he will be sending out a request for nominees for honorary degrees for the University.  It will be sent to the Senate President and all of the deans, department chairs and other stakeholders.  There are some restrictions.  Faculty might want to think about individuals to nominate for honorary degrees given during the spring commencement.  Also, the University is allowed to nominate a single person for a Piper Award, so the Provost will be calling for nominations.
            Dr. Foss has asked the Chief Counsel to help draft a job description for the ombuds position that the Senate and Staff Council recommended.  He added that it is his intention is to look for a single faculty member to take on that role as part of his/her assignment.  There are some national organizations and some training programs available and UH will ensure that whoever takes on that role gets this kind of training.  Dr. Foss said there are obviously some interesting issues that the interface between ombuds person, the grievance process and the HR office, so the job description has to be crafted carefully.  As soon as the job description is ready Dr. Foss will put out a call for nominations for anyone who might be interested in serving in such a role.
            Dr. Foss stated that at the retreat he brought up the issue of teaching evaluations.  The plan is to discuss this along with the textbook policy with the relevant subcommittees.  The Provost said he is looking forward to doing that.  He will talk more about that as the year goes by.
            In the Retreat Dr. Foss mentioned that he has asked every dean to let him know how the units within his/her division wish to be evaluated as scholarly research units.  Dr. Foss said he has a big interest in trying to use the standards of the National Research Council to help UH figure out where it is on the national scene in each of the disciplines.  He added that he also knows that the criteria in the NRC are not necessarily the only ones that could be used, but he wants to get something that everyone can agree upon and then have it be more or less a standard across the years so there is the opportunity for units to benchmark themselves with respect to whether or not they are improving in any way.  This is also a prelude to the kind of evaluation that SACS is going to ask UH for in its teaching and other missions inside the institution to measure outcomes, feedback, and what is done in response to what is learned.  That is a routine which many groups that have accreditation bodies are already engaged in and has become more and more common inside institutions like this.
            When Dr. Strickland was the Interim Provost he formed a Task Force on Health Science Initiatives.  That task force includes some deans, faculty members and staff.  They met a lot in the past year and a half.   Dr. Foss said he recently met with them to discuss how to move forward in terms of building relationships between the University and institutes in the medical center.  The Provost said he really appreciated getting input from that group.  There was consensus for Academic Affairs to explore new kinds of administrative arrangements on the campus to help facilitate that growth.  He added that he didn’t have anything more to say about that at this point and time.  He just wanted to alert the Senate to the fact that this was something that is on his agenda to push forward during this academic year as is the consulting report that this group has accepted.
            Dr. Curry asked, for faculty who take advantage of the reading days to teach classes, do they have to do anything more than just announce it to their own students?  Is there any need to report it to the Provost or the registrar or anybody else?  Dr. Foss said no.  Classrooms have been held back for that purpose, same class, same time.
            Dr. Gonzalez asked is there a plan on how to move the University in to Tier I?   If there is, can she have a copy?   Dr. Foss said that he thinks faculty have a plan and that there has been a commitment.  At the Retreat the Provost said that one of the most important things for a university to do is to have the will to do the things that they really want to do.  His definite sense is, among the faculty here, there is the will to do the kinds of things that are required to be viewed as Tier I.  What are those things?  They are the things that faculty have been doing, only  harder and more of them.  With the kind of objective clear analysis of what faculty want to do, assessing it and then going to the next step.  Clearly, one of the easiest steps is in the realm of scholarship.  Is UH producing the kinds, the quantities and the qualities of scholarship that are competitive with those institutions that would be considered Tier I?  UH needs to hold to those standards.  UH needs to have those standards in Promotion and Tenure Committees.  It needs to have them when trying to hire faculty members.  Similarly on the teaching side to ensure that attention is being paid to anybody who is having some difficulty with teaching and to help them do better.  Another one is the view that faculty have of each other, especially off-campus, a view that has to be one of mutual support and enthusiasm.   Dr. Foss said he has heard, and this happened at his previous institution, that people would tell their friends about all the troubles they have seen.  Everyone has trouble at every institution.  There is never enough money.  There is never enough space to do all the things that the University wants, but in his opinion it is really important for people to recommend their colleagues for prizes, to recommend them to be on the national committees, to help them get on NIH and NSF review panels and to do all the things that the people in the big time places do.  Faculty do them here.  UH just needs to do more of them.  There is a plan here.  The Methodist affiliation and the strategic plan to build relationships in an area where NIH funding is available is certainly required for an institution like this to continue to move up.  There plans that were in place before he got to UH and indeed the fact that he sensed that these plans were going on is one of the reasons why he was excited to come here.
            Sen. Brady said there is a conflict between the desire and the ability to do research and raise the level of the institution to the national level of Tier I.  There is a need to do research but at the same time there are demands made upon faculty to teach a great number of students.  Sen. Brady said she sees her young colleagues struggling, trying to juggle teaching three courses and writing a book.  The chair is very interested in giving them time off, but can’t because there isn’t anybody to teach the classes.  Over the years there is a diminishing number of faculty and an increasing number of students and that really is not an environment to do research because the faculty have to teach and mentor students and that gives them less time to do research, not to mention that they may have children at the same time.  Sen. Brady said this is a conflict and something that can’t be solved very easily.  Dr. Foss said she has pointed to real problems.  Dr. Foss said he thinks that the way to manage this, but not solve it, because solving it would probably require a very big increase in the number tenure track faculty, more than UH reasonably can expect.  Dr. Foss said there are ways to manage it, but that has to be done on a unit by unit basis.  Dr. Foss said he will work with deans and department chairs over the coming months and years to look carefully at each unit to try and maximize the opportunities.  He said he also has to point out that what Sen. Brady has said has also been said at the other institutions that he has been at, including the big university up the road and they have done well in this Tier I business.

A Joint Resolution of the UH Faculty Senate, Research Council and Graduate & Professional Studies Council

 FACULTY SENATE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE RESOLUTION
(Passed unanimously on September 7, 2005)

The Executive Committee recommends that the University of Houston Faculty Senate adopt this joint resolution
without modification.

A Joint Resolution of the UH Faculty Senate, Research Council and Graduate and Professional Studies Council

 Whereas scholarship is an essential component of what makes the University of Houston a vibrant institution;

Whereas the breadth and impact of the scholarship output from the faculty and students at UH contributes to achieving the stated goal of research excellence at the University; and

Whereas information that could help fully and faithfully characterize the scope of scholarship output on the UH campus is not available in a single convenient location; therefore be it

Resolved by the Faculty Senate, Research Council, and Graduate and Professional Studies Council of the University of Houston that the Provost initiate a Scholarship Report for the University of Houston to be broadly available to the University community;

Resolved that the Provost make sufficient funds available to facilitate data collection, analysis and reporting;

Resolved that the first UH Scholarship Report be issued before May 1, 2006 and that annual reports continue to be issued in following years;

Resolved that the UH Scholarship Report be designed in consultation with the Faculty Senate, Research Council, Graduate and Professional Studies Council, departmental personnel committees and other interested faculty and student groups to reflect scholarship output in all of its forms of the several academic units of the University; and

Resolved that the information contained in the report progress in its breadth and depth over time, so that although the first report may concentrate on broadly aggregate measures of scholarship output, reports further in time will incorporate an inventory of published research and other scholarship and creative accomplishments, as well as a departmental assessment of the importance of the research outlets.

            Sen. Craig moved that the Senate adopt this resolution.  Pres. Warner said the motion on the floor is to endorse the joint resolution from the Task Force on Achieving Research Excellence.  This resolution has been approved by the Research Council and the Graduate and Professional Studies Council.
            Sen. Leiss said the resolution does not mention anything about undergraduates.  There are initiatives at the NSF level to get research experience for undergraduate students established, so it may be appropriate to have some participation by the Undergraduate Council with this effort.
            Sen. Craig said there is lots of research activity on this campus.  A scholarship report is one way to try to measure it all.  The only report UH has now is called a Research Report, which is a report on grant input, not outcome.  The idea was to measure the outcome.  He added that he didn’t think anything is excluded.
            Pres. Warner said the motion on the floor is whether or not to adopt this proposal. The motion passed by unanimous vote (voice).   

Final Report from the Faculty Senate Commission on University Governance (FS-CoUG)
            Sen. Craig moved that the Senate receive the FS-CoUG Report, and refer it to the Executive Committee to implement those recommendations that will make the Senate and the University more effective by strengthening its institutions of faculty governance.  He also moved that the Senate offer its most heartfelt gratitude and deepest appreciation for the careful examination and recommendations by the Commission.  Each member is hereby highly commended for their efforts to help the Commission meld the joint efforts of faculty and administration to develop UH into an outstanding teaching and research University.
            The motion passed by unanimous vote (voice).
            Pres. Warner said the Senate will send a letter to each of member of the Commission including the language of the motion on behalf of the Faculty Senate.

BUDGET & FACILITIES COMMITTEE, CHAIR – Karl Titz
            A small but hardy group of committee members met on September 28 upon the opening of the University at noon.  Peter Copeland agreed to look into the process for payments by wire transfer of invoices from international vendors.  Libby Barlow discussed reporting capabilities for wage and salary and analyzing the growth of administrative and professorial positions over the past five years.  She will be presenting preliminary reports at the next Budget and Facilities Committee meeting on October 26.  A discussion of the last facilities report completed in 2000 was tabled until the next meeting.

COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES, CHAIR – Jerome Freiberg
             The Committee on Committees will meet on October 24.  Over the summer the Committee has been replacing any people who have had to drop off the University standing committee on which they were serving.

FACULTY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE REPORT, CHAIR – Katy Greenwood
            The FAC will meet on October 26.  There will be a joint meeting with the Educational Policies and Student Affairs Committee and Provost Don Foss on November 7.

SCHOLARSHIP AND COMMUNITY COMMITTEE REPORT, CHAIR – Joseph Kotarba
            The committee met on October 11, 2005 at 10:30 a.m. in Faculty Senate Conference Room.  The following members were present:  Joseph Kotarba, Damon Camille, Wynne Chin, Sara McNeil, Suzanne Ferimer, J.T. Richardson, Dan Graur and Fred Schiff.
            The guest was Faculty Senate President Al Warner, who discussed the upcoming Scholarship and Community Conference.  The SCC is providing design and staffing services for the conference.
            The next meeting of the Scholarship and Community Committee will be October 24th (Monday) at 10:30 a.m. in room 353, Cullen Performance Hall.

New Business:  None.

             Pres. Warner asked senators and others present to take a poster for the Scholarship and Community conference on November 4.  Sen. Kotarba suggested that someone from each department take two posters to put up on the bulletin boards, etc., where people would be likely to see them.  Sen. McNeil said senators could take posters to the development officer in their colleges.  Pres. Warner said Development is also inviting their staff to the conference so it will be an opportunity for faculty to work with them.  Pres. Warner said there is a sign up sheet for the conference on the handout table.

The meeting adjourned at 1:05 p.m.