President Auchmuty called the November 17 Faculty Senate meeting to order in the Farish Hall Kiva at 12:15 p.m.   

MEMBERS PRESENT:  [30]                                      
ARCH:       D. Kacmar
BUS:         W. Chin, S. Khumawala
CLASS:    B. Byrnes, S. Craig, A. Jacobson, J. Kotarba, J. Middents, D. Papell, J. Rushing, F. Schiff, G. Trail, R. Weldon
EDU:        M. Connell, A. Warner
ENGR:     S. Kleis, G. Paskusz, D. Zimmerman    
LIB:         S. Ferimer, M. Thomson
NSM:       G. Auchmuty, P. Copeland, J. Eichberg, G. Etgen, E. Leiss, D. Wells
OPT:       R. Manny                    
TECH:     C. Goodson, K. Greenwood
GSSW:    H. Karger        

MEMBERS ABSENT:  [21]                                                                                                                
BUS:        M. Parks, D. Rude(w/E)                                  
CLASS:    K. Brown, P. Gingiss, W. Herendeen, B. R. Lange, G. San Miguel, R. Murray             
EDU:        S. McNeil(w/E), C. White                   
ENGR:     T. Cleveland, O. Ghazzaly, T. Helwig   
HRM:       K. Titz
LAW:       M. Duncan(w/E), S. Huber(w/E)                                                                     
NSM:       D. Blecher, A. Ignatiev, K. Kadish
OPT:       S. Quintero
PHA:       C. Pedemonte  

ON LEAVE:  [1]                                                                                                                      
CLASS:           V. Brady(w/E)

VISITORS:   
Jay Gogue (UHS Chancellor and UH President), Jerry Strickland (Interim UHS Senior Vice Chancellor and UH Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs/ Provost), Dona Hamilton (UHS Vice Chancellor and UH Vice President for Legal Affairs and General Counsel), Elwyn Lee (UHS Vice Chancellor and UH Vice President for Student Affairs), Marco Mariotto (Dean of Graduate & Professional Studies), Ed Hugetz (UHS Assistant Vice Chancellor and UH Assistant Vice President for Planning & University Outreach), Ed Apodaca (Associate Vice President Enrollment Management and Admissions)

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES:  The October 13, 2004, minutes were approved.

KUDOS:
            On the occasion of its twenty-fifth anniversary, the Faculty Senate offers kudos to Arte Públicio Press and its founder Nick Kanellos, Professor of Hispanic Literature.   Arte Públicio Press is the oldest and most accomplished publisher of contemporary and recovered literature by U.S. Hispanic authors.

            Sen. Copeland offered kudos to the Geosciences Department on the successful conclusion of its conference on “Plate Tectonics, Plumes and Planetary Lithospheres.”    The event honored Kevin Burke, Professor of Geosciences and one of the early pioneers in plate tectonics, on his 75th birthday and attracted audience members from around the world. 

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
            The deadline to nominate faculty and teaching assistants or teaching fellows for the 2004-2005 Teaching Excellence Awards is 5:00 p.m. on Monday, November 29.   Faculty, students, and alumni may nominate candidates for six tenured and/or tenure-track faculty awards,  one non-tenure track award, and two teaching assistant and/or teaching fellow awards.    Nomination guidelines are available on the web (the link is accessible from the Senate homepage); from deans and chairs; or from Dr. Marilu McGregor at 713-743-9187.
            Nominations for Excellence in Research and Scholarship Awards are due to Division of Research by 5:00 p.m. on Monday January 31, 2005.   There will be one award for each faculty rank of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor and Professor.   Nominators must be faculty members at the University of Houston. Guidelines and nomination forms are available on the Web.  Again the link is available by going to the Senate’s homepage.

            To keep up-to-date with the Faculty Senate, check out its Web page at:  http://www.uh.edu/fs/

 REPORT FROM AND DISCUSSION WITH FACULTY SENATE PRESIDENT:  Giles Auchmuty
            Faculty are urged to make nominations for the Provost and Vice President for University Advancement positions to the relevant Search Committees.  Contacts and job descriptions are available on the Senate’s website.  
           The Senate is also still taking nominations for the new UH and UHS standing committees.  Senators are encouraged to nominate colleagues or urge colleagues to nominate faculty who are interested in serving on any of these committees. The charges for the new UH and UH System standing committees are also on the Senate’s website.  Nominations are still being accepted for service on these committees.
           Recently, the Vice President for Student Affairs, Elwyn Lee, has been looking into creating a plan to develop graduate student housing around the campus.  They have engaged a consultant from Washington D.C., Brailsford & Dunlavey.  If any faculty have an opinion or interest in this issue please let Dr. Auchmuty know at FSPres@uh.edu.  The Senate would like to have some faculty representation in these discussions.
           The Executive Committee has been discussing various faculty remembrance and recognition issues.  There was a time when the Senate remembered faculty members who had passed on and tried to have someone write a short statement about the deceased.  Dr. Auchmuty said he would like to continue that tradition.  Also, the Executive Committee is considering recognizing faculty members on significant anniversaries, etc.  If anybody is interesting in participating in these discussions, please contact Dr. Auchmuty at FSPres@uh.edu.
           The Senate is trying to assemble a list of faculty or former faculty who have passed on this year.  Notices or statements should be sent to Mary Brantley (MBBrantley@central.uh.edu) for inclusion in the memorial observance at the December 8 meeting.
            Suggestions or comments about any of these items or others should be sent to FSPres@uh.edu  or FSenate@uh.edu .

 REPORT FROM AND DISCUSISON WITH THE UH SYSTEM CHANCELLOR AND UH PRESIDENT: Dr. Jay Gogue
           Dr. Gogue talked about: (1) The Provost Search.  Dr.  Gogue said about six weeks ago he charged the committee and named the chair, Paul Chu. There are 31 candidates to date.  There are another 150 possible candidates who are being contacted about joining the pool.  The committee is about two weeks behind their original schedule.  They had hoped to have airport interviews prior to Christmas.  Their goal now is to have airport interviews immediately after Christmas but to still have the on campus visits at the latter part of January; first week of February.  (2) A request to create a Task Force on Designated Tuition.  Dr.  Gogue said the administration agreed to do that.  The Provost will comment on that a bit later.  Last year UH did form a group and had discussions about increasing designated tuition and what should the rate be.  The UT System has already said that it cannot exceed 5% from within their system.  In the paper today UT-Austin has declared that there will be a 4.75% increase for that campus.  UH’s task force should go forward and do its work to determine what it thinks is appropriate for this campus.  The legislative session will be very awkward because of increasing designated tuition.  UH has to reach closure on tuition no later than April 1 because that is when it starts early registration and there is a statute that says once a university begins to collect tuition, it cannot change the rate.  (3) Tier 1 Funding Distribution.  Dr. Gogue said Dr. Rudley indicates that UH has received the check for Tier 1 or Excellence Funds.  It has been expected since September.  The Research Council has been asked to offer recommendations on its allocation.  The recommendations will go to the Provost and then go to the President.  Dr. Gogue said he understood that the Research Council has two items of particular high priority: one deals with a small grants program and the other is the GEAR project. One costs about $30,000 or so and one about $300,000.  Hopefully, the new funds along with the ability to retain indirect cost monies will increase the funding of these two accounts.  (4) International Education.  Dr.  Gogue said the Provost and he had attended the annual meeting of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges.  One of the key discussions at that meeting was international education.  After listening to the discussions UH ought to have some additional discussion to see what is reasonable for this campus.  Dr. Gogue said he didn’t know what the right answer is to the question of international education, but the number in this country of students in higher education who participate in study abroad is about 3%.  Dr. Gogue said he didn’t know the numbers for UH student participation, but he would guess that it is less than 3%.  That is the national average.  The goal for Michigan State is to have 40% of their students engage in study abroad.  About 20% participate now.  Several other schools have goals in the !5% to 20% range.  The one piece of advice that Dr. Gogue heard from most of the Presidents who shared their stories was that if the language is required before the person goes to study abroad, not many students become involved in study abroad.  If the language isn’t required before they go, many students return with a tremendous interest in the language and take far more courses than they would have prior to the study abroad.  Dr. Gogue asked the Senate to give some thought to the whole international aspect.  He added that Chapel Hill has decided to focus on five major international university systems to try to hold all their activities in those five different countries.  Ohio State has identified 100 linkage agreements.  Of those agreements, there are 40 that offer a study program that is actually cheaper for the student, including the airfare, than if they stayed on their respective campus to do the course work.  Obviously there is a cost issue, a quality issue and a safety issue.  A program also has to make sense for the University.  Dr. Gogue said he will ask the Provost to begin discussions to see what is reasonable for UH.  UH has a fairly non-traditional student body so there may be some difficulties that other student bodies don’t have.  (5)  Budgets.  Dr.  Gogue said the three states in the United States that have not received budget cuts in higher education in the last two years are: Alaska, New Mexico, and Wyoming.  It is primarily because of the way they have handled their gas and oil monies over the years.  The University of Minnesota took two 15% cuts and they have budget instructions for 0 to -1% for the next two years.  The New York System is probably the worst – with two budget cuts and a flat budget expectation for the next several years.  They expect no growth over a seven year period.  Ohio State has taken its sixth straight year of budget cuts and they have another 6% cut proposed for next year.  The good news for University of Virginia is that the State of Virginia is going to raise taxes and support higher education.  It is the only State where there is any optimism.  The University of Maryland System has an agreement with the state that for every four new students who come in, the system will only receive money for three.  They are going to try to keep a flat growth within their system.  Colorado is probably the worst story.  They have had a reduction in State budget by 40%.  The University Colorado-Boulder only receives about $2,900 for a student.  UH receives about $7,400 for a student.  That sort of puts in perspective the type of cuts that some states have had.  It something to remember as Texas goes into the next legislative session.  Dr. Gogue said he has heard some very positive news about the gas and oil money in the State.  He added that the only person who can do revenue forecasting is the Controller.  The State by Constitution must use those numbers in putting together its budget.  Dr. Gogue promised to keep the faculty posted on the budget. 

           Sen. Copeland said about the international idea -- sending students away is a good thing but perhaps UH could talk about ways of taking university students abroad.  He suggested that faculty could take students along on field trips abroad.  These would be university supported activities that could not only show students the world but also show them research at the same time.  Dr. Gogue said there is a new commission called the Lincoln Commission that is just reporting out.  It is a congressional level commission and their preliminary recommendations will be along these lines.  It is to provide an international supplement to institutions that would allow such field trips around the world.
           Sen. Jacobson said UH didn’t get that $6 million in Excellence funding by accident.  She said somebody at the University probably worked very hard to get the money.  She asked the President to convey the faculty’s thanks to that party or parties.  Dr. Gogue said thank you.
           Sen. Wells said faculty got a mailing today about “UH Fan Appreciation Day.”  It basically begs people to come to the football game because if UH doesn’t get at least 17,961 fans in attendance the University won’t meet the NCAA required average of 15,000 attendance and there is a chance to get kicked out of Division IA.  Dr. Wells said he did a quick survey of his faculty and half said great; and the other half said if UH wants to appreciate the fans let them park free.  Parking is a problem.  One of the biggest problems for faculty who come to work on Saturdays is not being allowed to park in 15D, the parking lot that they pay to use.  If someone works near the football stadium and parks in those lots, they get really angry about being shut out.  Sen. Wells added that 15 D is the gated portion of that area and it is empty every game, so faculty should be able to use it.  Dr. Gogue said he would check into it.
           Sen. Karger asked if the President was preparing the faculty for something.  Dr. Gogue said no.  He added that the five priorities of the university are the following:  (1) Stop budget cuts.  UH is facing a 5% budget cut.  That is what all state agencies and institutions in the State of Texas are supposed to absorb.  The first priority is to try to get the 5% back and that is a reasonable thing to work on.  (2) The second thing is recovering the debt service.  The State of Texas has paid the debt service on buildings for 35 years but in the past biennium they didn’t have the money and stopped doing it.  For this campus it was a 4% or 5% that this University has to pay, but for UHCL 70% of their tuition increase went to debt service.  Statewide it is a big issue. (3) Preserve the formula.  UH stands to lose about $6 million in the proposed recalculation of the formula.  The programs that they would cut funding for include education, engineering, computer science, pharmacy and nursing; areas that seem to be kind of high demand.  Areas that would get increases include agriculture, forestry and natural resources.  (4) HEAF monies.  Every ten years that account has to be renewed.  It has been $175 million for the last ten years.  That has done remarkable work, particularly on this campus.  The request that is not only to get the $175 million, but to adjust it for inflation which would bring it to about $225 million and then UH would receive shares of that as needed.  The other schools that do not receive the PUF monies consider this an important priority.  (5)  Tier 1, the research related funds.  The idea is to make these funds an on-going source of revenue.
           Sen. Craig asked if UH has good data about where it stands regarding budgets relative to other universities in the country?  Dr. Gogue said he just saw the exact numbers going into this fall.  Remember that UH’s ball park for tuition and fees is about $4,200 per year.  Dr. Gogue added that all this data is for undergraduate education.  UT and Texas A&M are at about $6,100 per year for tuition and fees. The national average for four year public universities for this current year is $5,132; for four-year private institutions it is $20,082; and for two-year public community colleges the average is $2,076.
           Sen. Eichberg asked about the fundraising needed to complete the Science and Engineering facility that is scheduled to open next fall.  Dr. Gogue said they have raised probably $5 million to $7 million in private funds at this point.   There is some strong interest to use a portion of the Tier 1 research money as well as a portion of the indirect cost money, too.  There are a number of grants that are out.  UH did get one federal earmark that has some limitation components to it.  There is the $2.9 million for bio-nano technology.

REPORT FROM AND DISCUSSION WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON SYSTEM INTERIM SENIOR VICE CHANCELLOR AND UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON INTERIM SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS AND PROVOST:  Jerald Strickland
          Dr. Strickland reported on: (1) The Strategic Plan.  Dr. Strickland appealed to everyone to review the strategic plan and propose more new initiatives.  He said the document is not a finished product and he would like to receive new ideas from the faculty.  Progress is being made on several of the items.  (2) Fall Commencements.  UH will have fall commencements.  ENGR will have commencement on December 16; HRM on December 17; TECH, BUS, EDU on December 19; and CLASS on December 20.  Dr. Strickland urged the faculty to attend.  He said the UH Administration and Regents will be present.  (3) Currently, UH is searching for 70 tenured or tenure track faculty members.  About a dozen searches are nearing completion. (4)  UH has 38 college level professorships that have been funded or are in the process of being funded.  The deans and the development directors are working to try to get those professorships filled in the next four months. These professorships are for current faculty. They are not to be used to recruit from the outside.  (5) Staff Scholarships.  Part of the designated tuition allocation was used to create a pool of $300,000 for staff scholarships.  This is the first time the University has done this.  This Faculty Senate helped to raise the money along with the Staff Council as one of its priorities for the year.  At least for the Fall there were 110 staff scholars.  That leaves around $200,000 on the table for staff scholarships for the Spring and Summer of 2005.  Staff can expect to have another $300,000 available next Fall.  (6) The UH Information Technology program has recently been audited by the State of Texas looking specifically at security issues.  They have now released their audit.  There were several strong recommendations which the University will follow.  There is a news release about that particular audit on the state auditors website or the Provost Office can send individuals a copy of it.  There are some very good suggestions.  The auditors are going around to all of the State institutions looking at security in the information technology.  (7) Some of my staff are now visiting with the deans.  They are visiting to discuss and show them the new modeling methodology that has been developed to allow modeling of resources so that they can look at their enrollment, look at their faculty needs, determine their space needs, estimate the cost of living increases, etc.  There is a model of projected differentiated designated tuition or designated tuition that would allow an individual college to make some management decisions.  Dr. Hugetz and Craig Ness are meeting with each of the deans to discuss this.  This can be used as a planning document. (8) Search Committees.  Dr. Strickland said he is chairing the Search Committee for VP for University Advancement.  He encouraged faculty to make nominations.  He suggested that faculty might know of likely candidates from previous universities or have friends in the area of advancement.  Dr. Strickland said the committee would contact any nominees.  Currently there are less than 45 candidates in the pool as of this past Thursday.   There are 23-24 applications and another 20 or 30 nominations.  That pool ought to be a lot larger.  
             Sen. Khumawala said last summer, as she was preparing to lead a study abroad program, she encouraged all the students to apply for the scholarship that was available through the Office of International Studies & Programs and that office was able to accommodate most of the students.  A number of them received about $300, which is better than nothing.  Sen. Khumawala said she has been told that there is a proposal to increase that fee.  Right now the fee is $1 per student per semester.  The proposal is to increase that from $1 to $4 which would really increase the pool of funds.  Dr. Strickland said the proposal is coming from the students who have said this is something important that UH ought to be doing.  Dr. Strickland said he is expecting a resolution from the Student Government very soon.
           Sen. Jacobson said the University has contacts through departments.  Dr. Strickland said a lot of the departments and colleges do have international ties.  Dean Warga just came back from Dubai.  There is a suggestion that if they will built physical facilities, UH will come.  Dean Bear is looking at an institution in Cairo, Egypt.  It is a possibility.
           Sen. Kacmar said she took students to Rome this summer and one of their comments or complaints   was that they were paying fees here for library use, computer lab use while they were also paying for study abroad.  Dr. Strickland said there are limits and UH may need a ruling from the General Counsel on what fees can be waived.  Sen. Kacmar asked who do faculty call to find out about waiving fees?  Dr. Strickland said the best bet is to go through him.  Ms. Hamilton said some fees can be waived and some cannot.  Dr. Strickland said some are legislatively mandated and can’t be touched.  Sen. Kacmar said it would be easier for students to study abroad if they weren’t paying additional fees for facilities here that they are not using.
           Sen. Craig said Dr. Gogue asked is there going to be another task force on tuition.  Dr. Strickland said the task force hasn’t been set up yet but it will be made up of faculty, administrators, the Provost, Dr. Rudley, four or five students from various levels, and one or two staff.  Dr. Rudley and the Provost wanted to meet with the Faculty Senate President and President-elect about the faculty representatives.

BUDGET & FACILITIES COMMITTEE, CHAIR – Saleha Khumawala
          The Committee met on November 4 to discus the Faculty Rebuilding Plan.  Members present included:  Steve Craig, Wyman Herendeen, Stanley Kleis, Karl Titz, Al Warner, and Saleha Khumawala (chair).
           Sen. Craig discussed his initial analysis of the faculty data.  The committee is in the process of getting additional data and will be doing more analysis.  The Budget & Facilities Committee plans to have a joint meeting with the Faculty Affairs Committee and hopes to have a report to the Faculty Senate by the end of the year.

COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES, CHAIR -  Anne Jacobson
           Robert Wilson, Chief of UH Police, visited with the Committee on Committees on Oct. 29  to discuss issues related to the UH Safety & Security Committee.  Chief Wilson discussed some of the projects that the committee had identified as important to campus security, most of which have been completed:  (1) Lighting in and around Campus Parking Lots has been increased or improved.  Chief Wilson also asked that faculty report lights that don’t work.  They should call FIX-IT (UH extension 34958) to ask for repairs.  Most problems are resolved within twenty-four hours.  (2) Increased Visibility of Security on Campus.  Several departments have employed Security Officers who are paid by the unit but trained and supervised by the UHPD.  This program is open to any interest unit.  (3) Implementation of Closed Circuit Camera System in and around Campus.  A number of parking lots already have cameras installed and there are plans for increasing the number.  Chief Wilson said he is working on setting up a virtual patrol room that monitor the system and dispatch police.  (4) Better Visibility.  Plant Operations has been working with UHPD to cutback the hedges around campus so that Police and Security Officers can see what is going on in parking lots as they drive past.  (5) “Walk in the Dark.”  This program brings faculty, staff and students together with UH Police Officers and Plant Operations personnel to tour the campus at night.  Areas of concern are discussed to try to improve the safety, both real and perceived.  Any unit or department interested in hiring security personnel or installing cameras should contact UHPD.
            Chief Wilson reported that he is planning to retire at the end of the year.  He considers his biggest achievement to be the Closed Circuit Camera System.  He would like to add one more safety first to his list – to see Cullen closed to through traffic.
            The Committee on Committees also discussed the slate at this meeting and again on November 10.  Below is the slate of candidates for 2005 Faculty Senate officers and Committee on Committees.

President-elect: [2 candidates required]  

Secretary: [2 candidates required]

Members-at-large:  [4 candidates required]

Committee on Committees:  [8 candidates required]

Dr. Jacobson called for nominations from the floor, but none were made. 
            A Voter Guide will be sent to senators prior to the next meeting.  Also, an absentee voting process will be available again this year.  Eligible senators can go to the Faculty Senate Office in room 351 Cullen Performance Hall between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on weekdays beginning Wednesday, December 1, and ending Tuesday, December 7.  Senators are encouraged to call ahead to the office at 713/743-9181. 
            All ballots will be opened and read during the December 8, 2003 meeting.  No ballots will be mailed to senators and no ballots will be accepted after the official counting occurs on December 8.
            This information is also available on the Senate's website:  http://www.uh.edu/fs/.

EDUCATIONAL POLICIES & STUDENT AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, CHAIR – Dan Wells
         The textbook policy states:

The development of textbooks and other educational material is a natural and desirable outcome of intellectual activity and should be encouraged.  In addition, the selection and production of educational materials by faculty is essential to providing quality instruction, and the freedom to choose educational materials is central to the principle of academic freedom.  Therefore, the ultimate decision on the use of such materials should properly rest with the faculty instructors.  However, it is recognized that potential for conflicts of interest are present when textbooks and other educational materials produced by faculty members are required, recommended, or suggested for a class in which the faculty member is teaching and where the sale of such materials produces financial gain for the faculty member. 

The production of educational materials such as class notes, workbooks, answer sheets, or custom texts intended for use either exclusively or primarily at the University of Houston shall be considered part of the faculty member’s assigned duties.  It is expected that as such, these materials shall be provided to students at minimum expense such as the cost of reproduction through a commercial reproducer or publisher, and that no royalties or additional fees should be assessed.  If faculty or faculty units feel that special circumstances exist that should allow the assessment of royalties or similar fees for these materials, they are required to obtain prior approval from an appropriate University committee to be determined by the Faculty Senate.

It is recognized that many textbooks and educational materials are developed for a broad national audience and involve significant faculty effort to produce, and that part of the production process involves significant peer review.   Therefore, textbooks and educational materials that are marketed by the publisher for national use are specifically exempt from this policy.

Faculty should strive to minimize costs of these materials to the students by providing that textbooks and other educational materials are accessible for student use through library checkout or similar arrangements; and allow for resale and reuse of textbooks and manuals by eliminating “tear-out” pages and bundled textbook packages.

            Sen. Wells said it is time to talk about a textbook policy again.  At the last Senate meeting a number of concerns were expressed.  The Educational Policies and Student Affairs Committee went back to the drawing board and re-evaluated the policy.  The Committee talked to publishers, bookstore representatives, other faculty members, and held a joint meeting with the Faculty Affairs Committee to which all senators were invited.  There was a lot of discussion.  Out of that meeting came a revised policy that tried to address some of the concerns that were raised.  Since then EPSAC has had several more rounds of meetings with people who requested to address the Committee. 
           Sen. Wells said EPSAC voted to bring to the Faculty Senate a proposed policy on textbook adoption.  The primary points of the policy focused on the following:  the first is that the ultimate decision on the use of educational materials in the classroom resides with the faculty instructors and that faculty instructors should have freedom to use whatever they wish to use in the classroom.  The other thing is that the Committee recognized was that production of some things like class notes, workbooks, answer sheets, everything else intended specifically for that class should be part of the normal teaching duties and as a result no additional fees should be assessed for those.  If faculty put a significant amount of input into the textbook or educational materials that was clearly beyond the normal scope of one’s teaching duties, then a fee might be reasonable.  This new policy exempted textbooks that are marketed outside of a faculty member’s own classroom.  A nationally marketed textbook is exempt from any restriction and can be used in the author’s classroom and the author can collect royalties  This policy only prohibits faculty from making profits on things that should be part of the normal assign duties in the classroom.  The Committee also allowed for the fact that there could be gray areas.  There could be custom textbooks that had a significant amount of work put into it and, even though they are not market nationally, perhaps it might fall into a gray area.  The plan do deal with the gray area is to the wording is, “If faculty or faculty units feel that special circumstances exist that should allow the assessment of royalties or similar fees for these materials, they are required to obtain prior approval from an appropriate University committee to be determined by the Faculty Senate“.   
           EPSAC spent some time talking about which committee should handle this oversight; perhaps the Undergraduate Council should be involved, perhaps the Senate Educational Policies and Student Affairs Committee, or perhaps it should be a joint committee.  The group decided to leave that unresolved until the policy was approved.  There are other issues that are not completely resolved but can be worked out, assuming the policy is approved.
           There was an additional issue raised that involved departments charging fees for educational materials.  At least one department on campus uses this process to raise M&O funds.  The Committee voted 5-2 in favor of making the departments go through the same process that a faculty would if they want to collect royalties on educational materials.  The committee is recommending that the Faculty Senate adopt the policy. 
           Sen. Greenwood offered an amendment to the policy.  She moved that in the second paragraph the Senate should strike the following:

             “considered part of the faculty member’s assigned duties.  It is expected that as such, these materials”.

           Sen. Wells said the first sentence will read, “The production of educational materials such as class notes, workbooks, answer sheets, or custom texts intended for use either exclusively or primarily at the University of Houston shall be provided to students at minimum expense such as the cost of reproduction through a commercial reproducer or publisher, and that no royalties or additional fees should be assessed.”  Sen. Wells said  this is a reasonable amendment.
           Ms. Hamilton, General Counsel, commented that she just received this the other day and had not analyzed it but the Senate needs to at least consider conflict of interest issues and reconcile the State law and Board policy, S.A.M policy and M.A.P.P. policy with this document.  Conflict of interest is covered in section 572.051 of the Texas Government Code.  Faculty should have received a copy of the conflict of interest policy within the last 30 days.
           Sen. Copeland asked what idea is conflicting?  Ms. Hamilton said the conflict of interest arises when someone creates something as a state employee on state salary with state property and receives personal benefit.  Ms. Hamilton said nobody brought this policy to her specifically to review it and see how it actually deals with state law.  She repeated that she has not done that analysis.  Ms. Hamilton said that if someone acts in his/her own self interest to his/her own benefit without having any oversight that is a conflict of interest.  That is why the University has oversight.  That is why it has disclosure.  She said she just needed to raise the issue.
           Pres. Auchmuty said anything that is passed will be sent to the General Counsel for discussion at some point.  Sen. Craig suggested the Senate do that first. 
           Ms. Hamilton said she would be happy to look at it and give the Senate her thoughts on it.
           Pres. Auchmuty suggested that the Senate ask the General Counsel to review the proposed policy both with and without the amendment and then vote on it depending upon what the opinion is.
           Sen. Karger said the Senate ought to vote on it as a legal opinion is merely an opinion.  An opinion should not influence the vote.  Senators should vote in good conscious for a policy that was worked on and studied.  If legal counsel says that it is patently illegal or conflicts with state law then the Senate will deal with it at that point.  The Senate should handle its own business.
           Dr. Strickland said the discussion that has gone on in the committee recognized the potential of conflict.  The General Counsel comments that there is a potential problem.  He said that in his view there is going to have to be some disclosure. 
           Sen. Leiss said faculty publish their textbooks list so anybody who wants to find out what the textbook is for a particular course will be able to get that information, so would that be considered a disclosure?  Dr. Strickland said he had signed a disclosure last week.  That is where he would disclose that he has given this in a textbook that is being used in his course.  That is the kind of disclosure that is important.  Disclosure is a separate issue.  The textbook policy has an oversight mechanism in it and the committee has done a very good job, but the Provost said it ought to be reviewed by General Counsel.  He added that his preference would be before the Senate acts, but he would defer to the Faculty Senate on that.
           Sen. Leiss said there isn’t a mechanism yet.  Sen. Wells said the Committee thought that the Senate should have the policy first and then submit it for some kind of review.
           Sen. Schiff said it is the Senate’s job to represent the faculty interest and point of view and this is a mechanism.  At some point, if the administration thinks that it is not adequate, fine but that shouldn’t stop Senate from agreeing on what it thinks should be the policy and if necessary pursuing this. 
           Sen. Craig asked Sen. Wells if his committee talked about using disclosure on the conflict of interest forms to deal with textbooks?  Sen. Wells said no.  What does one disclose? 
           Sen. Craig answered the faculty member could disclose the charge for any materials used in his/her class.  Wouldn’t that be simpler than this complex policy?  Sen. Wells said he didn’t feel that would cover the situation.  So what if somebody charges for materials?  So he puts his class exam together and charges his students and puts it down on that form.  What does that mean?  It doesn’t mean anything.  It doesn’t make it legal.
           Sen. Craig said he was asking whether the Committee thought about just as reporting as a better mechanism than currently in the policy.  Sen. Wells said EPSAC talked about a bunch of different topics but it didn’t talk about the disclosure form as being a mechanism.  It did talk about a lot of different options.  It didn’t specifically talk about using the disclosure form because the Committee didn’t think that would address some of the issues that needed to be addressed.
           Pres. Auchmuty said the amendment is omitting “considered part of the faculty member’s assigned duties.  It is expected that as such, these materials”.   The amendment to strike the passage was passed by unanimous vote.
           Sen. Craig moved that the Senate table consideration of the policy for a month until the General Counsel gives her opinion.
            Sen. Rushing said there may be some issue to decide whether the Senate likes the policy.  The committee has wored on it and it may useful to decide how the Senate feels about this and then let the General Counsel review it.  It is the Senate’s responsibility to make a decision on this.
           Sen. Eichberg said it is wise if the Senate votes on the policy.  If the Senate doesn’t like the policy as it is and it is voted down, obviously there is no point to have the General Counsel review it.  He said he would be in favor of voting now on the policy.
            Sen. Middents said the other thing is leaving things open like the mechanism.  This is a statement of how the Senate feels about the policy and not what it should do about it.
           Sen. Craig said one of the advantages of tabling it is Sen. Wells committee could consider disclosure reporting.  The Senate could think a little bit further about a major option that might work and is less costly. 
           Sen. Zimmerman said there is no policy for or against something being reported.  There needs to be some kind of policy in place that identify a problem or determine what should be done.  It may be UH should have disclosure and a policy.
           Pres. Auchmuty said the motion is to table this policy until the Senate has received an opinion from General Counsel.  The motion to table failed by majority vote (8 For; 18 Against; 1 Abstain).
           Pres. Auchmuty said the motion is to accept this textbook and educational policy materials as amended.
           Sen. Thomson asked for a point of clarification.  If the policy is approved, what happens with it next?            Sen. Leiss said it goes to the General Counsel.  Pres. Auchmuty said it has to be implemented.  Somebody has to set up the procedures to implement it and that will be again the Educational Policies and Student Affairs Committee.
           Sen. Karger said the motion will go from here to the Provost who will then send it to General Counsel for an opinion, then it will come back to the Senate again and then go to the Provost to implement it.  He added that the Senate has a good proposal; let’s see what they have to say about it.
           Sen. Middents said the committee was actually unclear whether it would end up being the Faculty Senate writing the rules or the administration.
           Sen. Craig asked Sen. Wells if the committee talked about giving the Faculty Senate committee some kind of guidance about whether they are going to approve these special cases that come forth.
           Sen. Wells said the Committee talked a lot about it and that is why it added in the sentence, “University committee to be determined by the Faculty Senate,” to be sure that the Senate would have significant input.
            Pres. Auchmuty said the motion is to accept this resolution of the Educational Policies and Student Affairs Committee as amended.  The motion passed by majority vote (22 For; 5 Against; 2 Abstain).

FACULTY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, CHAIR – Howard Karger
           The Faculty Affairs Committee has had a joint meeting with the Educational Policies Committee to work on the draft for the textbook policy. The committee believes good progress was made.
           Also, the FAC met with Abel Garza to examine creating a proposal for an ombuds program.  It was agreed that the FAC would work with the Staff Council in developing this proposal. The President of the Staff Council was contacted and two members were chosen to work with a subcommittee of the FAC.
           The FAC will be meeting in late November to draft a response to the changes made by Provost Strickland regarding the proposed rule on the extension of the probationary period.
            Sen. Karger said the following resolution was passed by the FAC at its October 27 meeting: 

"That the Faculty Senate rescind the amendment of the October 13, 2004 Faculty Senate meeting that restricted the nomination of faculty to serve on the Deans Review Committees to Senators and adopt the resolution in its original form."

University of Houston Faculty Senate Resolution on Nominating Faculty for Deans Review Committees
(Approved on October 13, 2004 by Majority Vote)

           Nominations of faculty for each review committee shall be restricted to current Faculty Senate members and may come from Faculty Senators only. (The nominee must be a tenured faculty member not in the college of the Dean and with no "conflict of interest").
           The President of the Faculty Senate with the advice and consent of the Executive Committee selects from these nominations, two names to be forwarded to the Provost.

Original Resolution

          Nominations of faculty for each review committee shall come from Faculty Senators only. (The nominee must be a tenured faculty member not in the college of the Dean and with no "conflict of interest").
         The President of the Faculty Senate with the advice and consent of the Executive Committee selects from these nominations, two names to be forwarded to the Provost.

            Pres. Auchmuty said this resolution is to rescind the amendment that was passed at the last Faculty Senate meeting.
           Sen. Papell said he has been on dean review committees and offered three observations:  (1) the role of the outside person is for somebody who has experience; (2) it takes a lot of work that is really time consuming; and (3) that even by the standards of university service this work is undervalued.  So to get highly qualified people to spend a lot of time doing potentially unrewarding work the Senate should have as a large pool as possible to choose from rather than a limited number of people.
           Sen. Karger said that was the Committee’s rationale.  There was a unanimous vote from the FAC.
           Pres. Auchmuty said he asked Dr. Strickland when these committees would be formed and he said that they would be formed at the end of the calendar year, so the Senate does have time to ask for further nominations.
           Pres. Auchmuty said the motion is to rescind the amendment to the deans review committee nomination process.  The motion passed by majority vote (19 For; 1 Against).  Pres. Auchmuty requested senators to send in additional nominations. 

SCHOLARSHIP & COMMUNITY COMMITTEE, CHAIR - Joseph Kotarba
            The Scholarship and Community Committee met twice since the last Faculty Senate meeting.  The Committee responded to two charges from the FS President.
           The Committee met on October 20, 2004 to discuss 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.
  

            The Committee also met on November 15, 2004 to discuss the upcoming legislative session with Grover Campbell, Vice Chancellor and Vice President for Governmental Relations.  He was accompanied by Ms. Cyndy Garza.  The following points were raised:

• 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.
• Mr. Campbell said the Faculty Senate should invite him to its meeting in June to give a wrap-up report.
• The Division of Governmental Relations has a website that will keep faculty informed of activities in the legislature:    http://www.uhsa.uh.edu/gov/.  [NOTE: Mary Brantley will add this link to the Senate Homepage.]

CAMPAIGN SPEECHES BY 2005 PRESIDENT-ELECT CANDIDATES [5 minute each maximum]
            President-elect Candidate Steven Craig said I’m slightly surprised to be here, because who wants to do more work for essentially no pay?  On the other hand, however, I find myself very optimistic about the future of U of H, and therefore I am drawn to helping the Faculty Senate move U of H to be the research University to which we as faculty not only want, but which I believe the City of Houston wants. 
            Before I talk about that, though, I thought I would tell you why I think I’m qualified to do this job.  I’ve been in the Senate off and on since 1989.  I’ve been on three of the major standing committees- one year on the predecessor to the Community and Legislative Affairs committee, many years on the Faculty Affairs Committee, and now I’m on the Budget and Facilities Committee.  Additionally, I am currently serving as an at-large member of the Executive Committee.
            I have had several leadership positions in the Faculty Senate.  I have been appointed to the several ad hoc committees, such as on Garrison Gym, parking, and currently on faculty compensation.  I was the first chair of the initial P&T committee for CLASS after the merger.  And you elected me as an at-large member of the Executive Committee.  I believe I can provide effective leadership to this body as a whole.
           The reason I am interested in the President position, however, is not because I enjoy being head of a committee.  But I strongly feel that the University is at a major turning point in its existence.  Tuition de-regulation at the state level is a profound change, and one which has not yet been incorporated into the culture of U of H.  The importance of the change is because, for the first time in our history, we are now able to sell not just the quantity of student credit hours, but also the quality.  That is, if our campus offers a better product than competing Universities, we can charge more based on students’ willingness to pay. 
           Tuition de-regulation changes everything.  The Administration and the faculty should now be more united over our joint interests, I think, because the amount of money coming into the University is no longer fixed.  If students more highly value the output of administrators, then it is in the faculty’s interest to hire more administrators- and vice versa.  This is not a change that will come quickly or easily to U of H.  But it is one that is required if we are to become the University to which we aspire. 
           And, we have a terrific opportunity here.  The current President, Dr. Gogue, seems to be the best person for changing the University along these lines, and I look forward to the opportunity to work with him should you give me the chance.  I would say the same about the current Provost, Jerry Strickland, although I know he hopes to be replaced soon.  I trust that we can hire a like-minded person for that job.  Thus with the institutional change and the right administration, I believe we can seriously improve the fortunes of U of H.
           The last several administrations of the Faculty Senate have really prepared the groundwork for the changes that I believe are coming, by creating the institutions of shared governance.  Now, however, I believe it is time to stop institution building, and begin using the new institutions.  The Faculty Senate needs to become the policy voice of the rank-and-file faculty.  We aren’t the endowed chairs committee, nor the committee of chairs- although we welcome both into the Senate.  But we are the bulk of the faculty, and have a lot to contribute to building U of H.  I believe I can help this body attain this goal.

           President-elect Candidate Katy Greenwood said I want to talk a little about my history with the Faculty Senate.  I have been a member for the past six years. I have come to know and appreciate the work of the Senate through its various committees; I believe I have served on all of them to this point.
            My first committee-work as a Senator was on the Budget Committee, at a time six years ago when the budget was not transparent or easily understood.  I next served on Educational Policy and Student Affairs, Chairing this committee the year thereafter. 
            While chairing the Committee on Faculty Affairs a year ago, our committee focused on the realization that the compensation package for the faculty had begun to erode at an alarming rate.  We emphasized to the Senate that the entire compensation package for faculty must be improved including–parking, health benefits and compensation.  My respected opponent here today, Steven Craig, today and I worked on that committee and that emphasis together.  And I know that both of us still see compensation as a point for great improvement in the future.
            Because of those chairmanships, I served on the Executive Committee of the Senate, under both Joseph Eichberg and Ann Jacobson at a time when the leadership of the Senate and the Senate as a whole were under much duress for the positions we were taking.  I am very proud to have helped formulate and support the positions we took and the outcomes along the way.
            During this past year I have served on the Committee on Committees and have come to appreciate more and more the opportunities and advantages of involving many faculty members outside of the Senate on committees that improve the life of the University – to implement faculty governance means faculty interaction at many decision points in the life of the University – both great and small.
            I am proud of the time I have spent on the Senate – not just because of the important committee work, but because I believe all of us during the past four years, in particular, have played a part in changing the culture of this great University.   The Senate as a whole has actually changed the culture of this University to a more open, more collaborative, more wholesome and hopefully more productive work environment.  And hopefully that will result in shared benefits in the future for the faculty as well.
            In just four years the Senate as a whole under able and intelligent leadership has put us on a path that has made and will continue to make a great deal of difference in the quality of  work life for the faculty and I believe for the staff and students as well. 
            In this short period we have gone from a work life that was autocratic, where the greatest benefits existed only for the administration and where faculty governance had eroded to the point of being trampled into the ground, where we are beginning to see really positive change.
            We were instrumental in bringing about that change – now we have an administration that listens –  one that is seeking to involve the faculty as partners – and one that will continue to seek ways to enhance our work lives through  endowments and creative salary increases.  We have most importantly a Chancellor/President who listens and who I believe has our best interests at heart – who sees that the faculty are the greatest asset of the University, not a disposable and easily replaced component.
            I believe we stand today at the threshold of important change – in terms of culture, in style, and perhaps in how resources are allocated.  I believe that the combination of designated tuition, fees and new relationships in the State legislature will bring a period of creative ways to reward and compensate faculty commensurate with their counterparts across the country at other universities.
            I know that currently Giles Auchmuty and Al Warner and current committee chairpersons are hard at work in trying to find ways that the University budget can accommodate faculty needs.  I believe that will continue to happen.  During the past four years, we have elected able and intelligent leadership. We are on the right path.  We need to continue  that momentum.
            We know that work is yet to be done within the Colleges in terms of faculty governance.  That is and will be addressed.  The new culture has not permeated all the down to lower levels of administration.
            Now it is time to choose a President-Elect to follow in Al Warner’s footsteps in January of 2006.  We are not sure what critical events will challenge the Senate at that time and you are wondering what qualities to look for in future Senate Presidents.
            I do not have a crystal ball either - not knowing what the future will bring.  I can only assure you of basic principles for which I stand.  If you choose me as your President Elect to follow Al Warner, and I hope you will, you can trust the fact that I will adhere to the following principles:
            (1) I still stand strong to protect our momentum in terms of what we have accomplished in recent years.  I have been a part in bringing our current ideals to fruition and they would not erode, but be strengthened, under my leadership.  I am speaking of:

• the principles of faculty governance,
• the expansion of faculty committee work into all facets of university life,
• the continuing emphasis on compensation and benefits for the faculty,
• the vision and reality of faculty as partners in strategic planning and allocation of resources
  

            (2)  I will continue to communicate your interests and your needs to the administration in a non self-serving way.  I will not lose sight of my responsibility to serve the faculty interests, above all else.  And I will listen to you and the work that is done through the committees of the Senate.
            (3)  I will try to represent you with grace and poise – and will strive to set a tone of civility in our interactions with the administration and with the community.  I will keep you informed every step of the way.
            So what would I hope that my legacy would be?  Maintaining the status quo?  Yes, but much more.  Our work is not complete, not nearly finished.  There are many fronts that need the attention of the Senate and its leadership - from continuing to improve the work life of the faculty to envisioning and partnering for excellence in terms of research and teaching, to making sure Colleges are units where faculty feel unconstrained to conduct their research and teaching.
            Regarding work life - we should explore annual, not semester, work loads so that faculty can have build-in sabbaticals if they so choose and if their colleagues support them -  one that does not cost the University extra dollars.  Our loads are reported once a year, based on an exact expectation.   This is a variable that can be explored in ways to help the faculty be more productive and to give them opportunities for renewal and development.
            We can explore the uses of undesignated tuition to make sure we have pools of money currently nonexistent to cover sick leave, to cover sabbaticals, summer salaries, perhaps to purchase supplemental health insurance to cover benefits that many do not have now – we can be creative in setting up funds in the way of travel or development funds.  The important point is that we can help identify the best uses for the new monies from tuition and the benefits that new funding configuration will bring to the budgeting process.
            Regarding excellence at the University – we need to make sure we are involved in planning and expanding new graduate programs, in putting new partnerships in place with the community - at the medical center, and in outlying communities. We need to take a leadership role in assessing our undergraduate curriculum to make sure we are graduating a thoughtful, learned product that is indeed marketable.  That is a tangible outcome of an outstanding faculty.
            I am asking for your trust, your confidence and your vote as your next President Elect.  Thank you.

FIRST READING:  Constitutional Amendments
      No changes were offered for the amendments.

NEW BUSINESS: None 

The meeting adjourned at 2:15 p.m.