Meetings and minutes

Faculty Senate Meeting
April 15, 2009

Present:  Lee Alvoid, Karen Baker-Fletcher, William Bridge, Gordon Birrell, Alan Brown, Christine Buchanan, Daniel Buraczeski, Thomas Coan, *Michael Connolly, Ed Countryman, Hemang Desai, *Linda Eads, *Gary Evans, *Dennis Foster, presiding, Ed Fox, Sean Griffin, Barbara Hill-Moore, James Hopkins, Thomas Knock, Paul Krueger, Alexis McCrossen, Alyce McKenzie, *Fred Olness, William Orr, Thomas Osang, Andrew Parker, Doug Reinelt, Hector Rivera, Carolyn Smith-Morris, Mary Spector, *Ken Springer, Mark Stamm, John Walther, Matthew Wilson
Absent: *Amit Basu, Leslie Brott, *Jaime Clark-Soles(on leave), Greg Crespi, Carlos Davila, Robert Howell, Benjamin Johnson, Robin Pinkley, Roark Reed, Linda Stearns, Rajani Sudan, John Ubelaker, David Willis
Ex Officio:  Paul Ludden, Campbell Read
Guests:  Bill Detwiler, Ellen Jackofsky, Courtney O’Callaghan, Steve Orsini, Ellen Pryor, Nina Schwartz, Kathleen Tibbetts, Don Vandewalle

1. The agenda for the meeting was approved.

2. The Senate minutes of April 1 were amended and approved.

3. President Foster reminded Senators of the dinner hosted by the Provost this evening.

4. Matt Wilson, interim chair of the Athletics Policy Committee, presented the committee’s spring report.  After commenting favorably on the academic performance of student athletes and acknowledging the women’s basketball team for winning a Conference USA title, Professor Wilson discussed the implementation of the new admissions policy for student athletes, the outcome of appeals for the revocation of football scholarships, the process of NCAA recertification, and the Athletic Department budget deficit currently projected to be 5.9 million dollars for the coming year.  Professor Wilson noted that the anticipated deficit is attributable more to increased expenses than to declining revenues.  In response to questions, Professor Wilson discussed the Mustang Club’s progress toward its targeted fundraising goal of 2 million dollars, the relationship between the academic marginality of incoming student athletes and the likelihood of their graduation, the minimal Athletic Department deficit that can be reasonably expected, and the breakdown of different revenue streams and expenses associated with different sports.  Following additional discussion, the Senate received Professor Wilson’s report with gratitude. 

5. Tom Osang, chair of the Student Policies Committee, presented the committee’s spring report.  After describing difficulties in accessing some of the task force reports his committee was charged to review, Professor Osang presented a summary of the Honors Programming and International Education Task Force Reports.  Provost Ludden commented on the opening of the Honors Commons in the basement of Clements Hall and invited Senators to attend the upcoming Big iDeas and graduate research symposia.  Associate Provost for Educational Programs Tom Tunks commented on the genesis of the task force reports and noted that some of the reports were not originally created for university-wide perusal.  Following discussion, the Senate received Professor Osang’s report with gratitude.

6. Associate Vice President for Human Resources and Business Services Bill Detwiler discussed the rationale, content, and success of the Naturally Slim/Healthy Lifestyles pilot program.  Vice President Detwiler encouraged greater faculty involvement in the program.

7. Don Vandewalle, member of the University Benefits Council (UBC) and chair of the Subcommittee on Faculty Benefits, presented the subcommittee’s spring report.  The report focused on the progress of improvements in SMU child care facilities, the implementation of a Roth 403(B) account option, plans to add an ombudsman to assist faculty in retirement decisions, open enrollment for a long-term care program, and declining enrollments in the HMO we offer.  Following discussion, the Senate received Professor Vandewalle’s report with gratitude.

8. Steve Orsini, Athletic Director, provided an update on athletic programs at SMU.  Mr. Orsini noted that 7 of our 17 teams have performed in the top 25 nationally over the past two years, and then commented favorably on the academic performance of our student athletes, the conduct of student athletes, and the financial status of the Athletic Department.  Mr. Orsini corrected several details in Professor Matt Wilson’s report (see #4 above), noting for example that the projected deficit for the Athletic Department is 6.3 rather than 5.9 million dollars.  Mr. Orsini also summarized the 5-year plan for reducing the Athletic Department deficit, in which flat revenue is projected for one year in combination with a reduction of expenses related to personnel and operating expenses.  Expenses should continue to decline, according to the plan, until the deficit is reduced to 4 million dollars at the end of the 5-year period.  Following extensive discussion, the Senate received Mr. Orsini’s report with gratitude. 

The meeting was adjourned at 5:20 pm.

Respectfully submitted,
Ken Springer, Secretary

 

Faculty Senate Meeting
April 1, 2009
 

Present:  Lee Alvoid, *Amit Basu, Christine Buchanan, Thomas Coan, Ed Countryman, *Linda Eads, *Gary Evans, *Dennis Foster, presiding, James Hopkins, Thomas Knock, Paul Krueger, Alexis McCrossen, *Fred Olness, Thomas Osang, Doug Reinelt, Hector Rivera, *Carolyn Smith-Morris, Mary Spector, *Ken Springer, *Mark Stamm, John Walther, David Willis
Absent: Karen Baker-Fletcher, William Bridge, Gordon Birrell, Leslie Brott, Alan Brown, Daniel Buraczeski, Jaime Clark-Soles(on leave), *Michael Connolly, Greg Crespi, Carlos Davila, Hemang Desai, Ed Fox, Sean Griffin, Barbara Hill-Moore, Robert Howell, Benjamin Johnson, Alyce McKenzie, William Orr, Andrew Parker, Robin Pinkley, Roark Reed, Linda Stearns, Rajani Sudan, John Ubelaker, Matthew Wilson.
Ex Officio:  Paul Ludden, Campbell Read
Guests:  John Buynak, Ellen Jackofsky, Joseph Magliolo, Ellen Pryor, Ton Tunks


1. The agenda for the meeting was approved.

2. President Foster described a minor administrative change to the previously approved 2010-2011 academic calendar that will result in the second summer session opening one day earlier.

3. President Foster noted that on April 8, the GEC Review Committee would like to meet with as many Senators as possible to discuss the general education curriculum.  The location of this meeting and other details will be conveyed to Senators in the near future.  Associate Provost for Educational Programs Tom Tunks commented briefly on the purpose of the meeting.

4. President Foster commented on Athletic Director Steve Orsini’s upcoming visit to the Senate.

5. John Buynak, chair of the Subcommittee on Libraries, presented the subcommittee’s spring report.  Professor Buynak discussed the subcommittee’s annual survey of faculty interest in CUL activities.  Survey results indicated that the faculty’s main priority is acquisitions, particularly in the area of electronic journals.  Professor Buynak also noted that the CUL received about $110,000 this year to offset inflationary costs.  The Senate unanimously voted to approve a resolution thanking the Provost for his efforts in providing this money.  The Provost in turn acknowledged Dean of CUL Gillian McCombs for her efforts.  The Senate and the Provost then discussed why the university budget does not provide for a standing increase in the CUL budget to cover inflationary costs.  The Senate also discussed the possibility of monitoring interlibrary loan activities and comparing our acquisitions budget to those of peer institutions.  Following discussion, the Senate received Professor Buynak’s report with gratitude.

6. Jody Magliolo, chair of the All-University Finance Committee, presented the committee’s spring report.  The report focused on the updated 2009 and projected 2010 university budgets.  Following discussion of expenditures on dormitory renovations, the Athletic Department, and faculty salaries, the Senate received Professor Magliolo’s report with gratitude.

7. Professor Joe Kobylka addressed the Senate on behalf of AARO.  Professor Kobylka described how faculty have become increasingly integrated into student orientation over the past six years, and how faculty are currently able to participate in AARO orientation activities and in Mustang Corral.  Professor Kobylka asked Senators to inform faculty in their units about these opportunities, and to convey how important our involvement is to the incoming students.  Provost Ludden also commented on the influence of Mustang Corral on retention.

8. President Foster noted that the annual Senate dinner, hosted by the Provost, will be held on April 15 at DeGoyler House.

9. The meeting was adjourned at 4:04 pm.

Respectfully submitted,
Ken Springer, Secretary

 

Faculty Senate Meeting

Present:  Lee Alvoid; William Bridge; Gordon Birrell; Leslie Brott; Christine Buchanan; Daniel Buraczeski; Thomas Coan; *Michael Connolly; Ed Countryman; Hemang Desai; *Linda Eads; *Gary Evans; *Dennis Foster, presiding; Sean Griffin; Barbara Hill-Moore; James Hopkins; Robert Howell;  Thomas Knock; Alexis McCrossen; *Frederick Olness; William Orr; Thomas Osang; Doug Reinelt; Hector Rivera; Mary Spector; John Ubelaker; John Walther;
Absent:  Karen Baker-Fletcher; *Amit Basu; Alan Brown; Jaime Clark-Soles, on leave, Greg Crespi; Carlos Davila; Ed Fox; Benjamin Johnson; Paul Krueger;  Alyce McKenzie; Andrew Parker; Robin Pinkley; Roark Reed; *Carolyn Smith-Morris; *Ken Springer; Linda Stearns, on leave;  *Mark Stamm; Rajani Sudan; David Willis; Matthew Wilson;
Ex Officio:  Paul Ludden; Campbell Read
Guests:  Ellen Jackofsky; Kathleen Tibbetts; Michael Van Breda

1. The agenda for the meeting was approved.

2. The minutes from the February 18 Senate meeting were approved. 

3. Hemang Desai, chair of the Economic Status of the Faculty Committee presented his 2008-2009 Compensation report.  The report argues that faculty salaries of those with professorial rank appear to be in line with comparable universities.  There was no useful data on lecturers or instructors because these titles don’t mean the same thing in all schools, making the comparison impossible.  Ellen Jackofsky is addressing this issue to make this analysis possible.  The second issue addressed in the report concerned the retirement plan.  Last year 23 of 95 faculty ages 26-35 participated in the retirement plan, an improvement over the 68 of 88 faculty enrollment last year. Several Senators questioned the 3%  figure for raises.  It was proposed that next year the Committee investigate the effects of the current salary policy on recruitment and retention of faculty.

4. Michael van Breda, chair of the Information Technology Committee presented his annual report.  He reported on the creation of a new IT organization on campus headed up by a CIO, Joe Gargiulo.  Because faculty will have significant representation on the Advisory Committee, van Breda observes that faculty are now in a position to take a more active role in University decisions involving IT.

5. Christine Buchanan, chair of the Subcommitee on Admissions and Financial Aid, presented a resolution to the Senate for their approva: Resolution Concerning the Acceptable Number of Post-matriculation Transfer Hours.  The new policy will give students the option to transfer up to 30 approved hours post-matriculation, an increase from the current 15 hours.  The intention is to recruit and retain students who have to study away from the University for various reason, including finances, participation in unaffiliated studies abroad programs, and illness.  The new policy should make it easier for such students to return to and graduate from SMU.  The resolution was debated and passed, with 20 for, 1 against, and 2 abstaining.


6. Other business.  Tom Knock asked for further insights on President R. Gerald Turner’s understanding of the recently passed document on Concurrent Appointments with the Bush Institute.

7. The meeting was adjourned at 4:35 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Ken Springer, Secretary

 

Present:  Karen Baker-Fletcher; *Amit Basu; William Bridge; Gordon Birrell; Leslie Brott; Alan Brown; Christine Buchanan; Thomas Coan; *Michael Connolly; Ed Countryman; Hemang Desai; *Linda Eads; *Gary Evans; *Dennis Foster, presiding; James Hopkins; Benjamin Johnson; Thomas Knock; *Frederick Olness; Thomas Osang; Andrew Parker; Doug Reinelt; Hector Rivera; Mary Spector; *Ken Springer; *Mark Stamm; John Ubelaker; John Walther; David Willis; Matthew Wilson
Absent:  Lee Alvoid; Daniel Buraczeski; Jaime Clark-Soles, on leave, Greg Crespi; Carlos Davila; Ed Fox; Sean Griffin; Barbara Hill-Moore; Robert Howell; Paul Krueger; Alexis McCrossen; Alyce McKenzie; William Orr; Robin Pinkley; Roark Reed; *Carolyn Smith-Morris; Rajani Sudan
Ex Officio:  Paul Ludden; Campbell Read
Guests:  Gerald Turner, Ellen Jackofsky; Ellen Pryor; Tom Tunks


1. The agenda for the meeting was approved.

2. The minutes from the February 4 Senate meeting were approved. 

3. President Foster reported that at the request of the Faculty Senate, the Provost recently asked the Council of Deans to reconsider whether actual diplomas should be distributed at graduation, and that the Council decided not to revisit this question.  A motion was made for the Faculty Senate to ask the Council of Deans to reconsider and justify its decision.  Following discussion, the motion passed (20 in favor, 3 opposed, 2 abstain).

4. President Turner addressed the Senate concerning the university budget, the Bush Library Center, and a recent Texas Monthly article.

a) President Turner discussed several details of the 2% campus-wide reduction in budgeted spending.  He noted that the relatively small size of the reduction is based on assumptions about factors such as our the future health of the economy as well as SMU reaching its targeted enrollment each year.  When asked whether the 2% reduction applies to the Athletic Department, President Turner noted that it does.  When asked how the creation of the Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development would affect the budget, President Turner commented on the preexisting solvency of the school.  In response to other questions, President Turner emphasized the success of the capital campaign thus far.

b) Second, President Turner described the evolution of the Bush Library Center design and explained why the Bush Library, Institute, and Museum are part of one building.  Dr. Turner also commented on the officing of Bush Foundation personnel in Expressway Towers.  In response to questions, President Turner discussed the Senate’s most recent resolution on concurrent appointments, as well as the reanimation of the dispute over property on land being leased to the Bush Foundation. 

c) President Turner commented on how SMU is handling some of the misconceptions that may be fostered by an article in the February 2009 Texas Monthly.  President Turner also commented on how SMU handled the events reported in the article and on what we have learned from the situation. 

Following additional discussion, the Senate expressed its gratitude to President Turner for his time.

5. President Foster conveyed his hope that by the end of March, Senate committees will have met to explore how they can help with the implementation of strategic plan

6. President Foster summarized the Executive Committee’s discussion on February 16 concerning faculty communication with upper administration.  President Foster encouraged Senators to talk with their departments or academic units about the state of the faculty, particularly concerning the representation of faculty interests and the extent to which we contribute, or could contribute, to the implementation of the strategic plan.

7. The meeting was adjourned at 4:55 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Ken Springer, Secretary

 

Present: Ed Biehl, Gordon Birrel, *Rhonda Blair, LeslieBrott, Alan Brown, Christine Buchanan, Daniel Buraczeski, Thomas Coan, Ed Countryman, Greg Crespi, Carlos Davila, *Linda Eads, *Gary Evans, presiding, *Dennis Foster, Ed Fox, Barbara Hill-Moore, James Hopkins, Benjamin Johnson, Thomas Knock, Alexis McCrossen, David Matula, Thomas Osang, *Doug Reinelt, John Semple, Raj Sethuraman, *Marion Sobol, Carolyn Smith-Morris, *Ken Springer, Mark Stamm, John Walther, David Willis, *Matthew Wilson
Absent:  Eric Barnes, Tom Chen, Hemang Desai, Sean Griffin, Robert Howell, Robert Krout, Richard Nelson, William Orr, Harold Recinos, Roark Reed, Mary Spector, Linda Stearns, J. Richard Stevens, Rajani Sudan, John Ubelaker
Ex Officio:  Campbell Read, Paul Ludden
Guests:  Marie Trapani, Christine Szaj, Kim Grace, Laura Amberson, Martin Camp, Cheryl Cothrum, Lynn Moubry, Rebecca Greenan, Roland Webb, Paul Kruegar, Gwendalyn LaCroix, Prisna Viasin, Scott Bartlett, Barbara Mohrle, Vicki Hill, Kimberly Bright, Beth Newman, Jim Gerhardt, Carolyn Yates, Michele Oswald, Jan Spann, Bill Detwiler, Andrew Parker, Karen Baker-Fletcher, Dennis Cordell, Caroline Brettell, William Bridge, Julian Guevara, Ellen Jackofsky, Tom Tunks,

President Evans called the meeting to order at 3:10.

1. The agenda for the meeting was approved.
2. The Senate minutes of April 16 were approved.  The Executive Committee minutes of April 14, 21, and 28 were reviewed.
3. On behalf of the Senate, President Gary Evans presented the Outstanding Staff Awards to Kimalee Rene Grace, Julian Guevara, and Vicki Hill. 
4. President Evans presented a resolution of gratitude passed by the Faculty Senate on April 16 to Caroline Brettell for her service as ad interim Dean of Dedman College.
5. President Evans acknowledge the service of those Senators whose term is expiring, including those who will be returning for an additional term.  President Evans then welcomed new Senators.
6. President-elect Dennis Foster read a list of proposed Senate nominees to Board of Trustee committees.  The Senate unanimously approved the list.
7. The Senate unanimously approved a written list of nominees for the Executive Committee.
8. President Evans read a list of proposed Senate nominees for the Committee on Committees.  The Senate unanimously approved the list.
9. Professor Chris Buchanan, chair of the Subcommittee on Admissions and Financial Aid, presented the subcommittee’s annual report.  The report included profiles of the current and incoming first-year classes, a description of a new admissions policy for students with A.B. degrees from early college high school programs, discussion of new transfer credit evaluation policies, and reports from satellite admissions offices.  Following discussion, the Senate received Professor Buchanan’s report with gratitude.
10. On behalf of the Senate, President Evans expressed our gratitude to Provost Paul Ludden for hosting the recent dinner for Senators.
11. Professor Alan Brown, chair of the Academic Policies Committee (APC), presented the committee’s annual report.  Professor Brown described the development of policy and procedures for criminal background checks for new faculty hires and noted that the APC will continue to monitor the implementation of these checks.  Professor Brown also discussed the committee’s work on