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MINUTES
URBANA-CHAMPAIGN SENATE MEETING
November 30, 1998

A regular meeting of the Urbana-Champaign Senate was called to order at 3:10 p.m., in Foellinger Auditorium, with Chancellor Michael Aiken presiding.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

11/30/98-01 Minutes of the October 19, 1998, meeting were approved as written.

SENATE COUNCIL REPORT

Senator Richard Schacht (LAS), Chair of Senate Council, indicated that floor privileges were requested for the following individuals, and he moved that such privileges be granted, to speak to: FAC.99.01: 1997-98 Annual Report of the Faculty Advisory Committee (FAC), Professor Ronald J. Peters, 1997-98 FAC Chair; AB.99.01: NCAA Certification Self-Study-Proposed Timetable, Terry Cole, Associate Director of Athletics. There was no objection.

Schacht reported that Senate Council recently discussed the following:

Senate Office Move. Schacht announced that the Offices of the Senate and the Faculty Advisory Committee will be moving from their present location in the Henry Administration Building during the spring semester. The new quarters will include a conference room for use by Senate Committees supported by office staff.

Support Services Strategy Report (S3). Schacht reiterated the URL for this University-level report (http://s3.ua.uillinois.edu). He added that Senate Council, in conjunction with the Committees on Budget, Campus Operations, and General University Policy, will present recommendations on this important document to the Senate in February.

Public Safety Training ("Heichel" report). A campus committee, chaired by Professor Gary Heichel, was charged with reviewing a possible consolidation of the Police Training Institute, Fire Service Institute, and the Institute of Aviation into a single "Public Safety" entity. Senate Council referred the committee's report to the Senate Committees on Educational and General University Policy.

Proposal to Establish a Senate Committee on Research Policy. Schacht reported that this proposal has been resurrected by the Senate Statutes Committee, and it has been referred to GUP, who rejected it once before. Since this proposal would require a change in the Senate Bylaws, the Senate will be able to exercise authority over its passage.

CIC Conference. Schacht, on behalf of this campus, recently attended the annual meeting of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC), a group that includes Big Ten universities and the University of Chicago. He indicated that he will provide a complete report of the CIC gathering at the next Senate meeting.

Conflicts of Commitment and Interest in Outside Teaching. Vice-President Sylvia Manning appointed an ad hoc committee to examine the policy on Conflicts in Outside Teaching. The matter was ultimately referred by Senate Council to General University Policy (GUP) and Academic Freedom and Tenure (AFT); recommendations from GUP and AFT, along with the remarks of Senate Council, will be forwarded to the Vice-President. Schacht will advise the Senate when a response from the Vice-President is received.

Senate Council Vice-Chair. Schacht reported that Senator Erica McClure, Vice-Chair of the Senate Council, has resigned from the Council, due to unavoidable schedule conflicts that would prohibit her from attending further Council meetings. Schacht proposed, on behalf of Senate Council, that since Senator Don Uchtmann was the next highest vote-getter in last spring's election for Senate Council Chair/Vice-Chair, that Uchtmann serve as Acting Vice-Chair until an action item from Council bringing closure to this situation may be presented to the Senate in February. There was no voiced objection.

Schacht announced that the following senators agreed to serve as tellers: Billie Theide (FAA), Jason Luther (ENGR), Edwin Herricks (ENGR), and Lois Pausch (LIBR).

Senator Schacht then welcomed University President James J. Stukel, and reminded senators that the President would be available to respond to questions and comments after his remarks. (The President received applause from the Senate both before and at the conclusion of his remarks.)

PRESIDENT'S REMARKS

President Stukel introduced the new Executive Director of the Office of Public Affairs, Ms. Susan Trebach. The Senate welcomed Ms. Trebach with a warm round of applause.

The President began his formal remarks with reference to the proposed goals as promulgated by the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) in its Education for the 21st Century: A Citizens' Agenda for Illinois Higher Education (herein Citizens' Agenda).

The goals embedded in the Citizens' Agenda include:

· Increase the educational attainment of Illinois citizens
· Extend access to higher education
· Assure that college is affordable
· Enhance access and success for members of underrepresented groups
· Improve the quality of education
· Enhance responsiveness to students, employers, communities, and the state
· Strengthen school-college partnerships
· Improve productivity

President Stukel pointed out that the Citizens' Agenda is silent on research and on the impact of higher education on economic development, and that these omissions have been brought to the attention of the IBHE staff, who are in the process of revising the Agenda.

The President reported that the IBHE recently conducted surveys of the general population and opinion leaders to gauge reaction to the Citizens' Agenda. Overall responses were very positive, with the goals of the Agenda endorsed by over 90% of survey respondents. Other higher education issues receiving high priority from survey respondents included improving the training of teachers and greater support for undergraduate education. He emphasized that we need to care about the poll results because future budget requests to the IBHE will likely need to be linked to one or more of the goals in the Citizens' Agenda.

President Stukel then turned to the Statement of Strategic Priorities for the Urbana campus, as prefaced to our Budget Planning Guidelines. Some of the key elements of the Priorities include:

1. Retain top faculty

2. Improve undergraduate education

3. Preserve affordability

Other goals of the Citizens' Agenda that exist in Urbana, but do not appear in its Priorities, are providing access from underrepresented groups, strengthening school-college partnerships, and improving productivity. The President also made reference to the existence of an ethical and moral value system shared by the University and campus community, and how such a system relates to educational issues. He then welcomed any questions or comments.

Senator Stephen J. Kaufman (MED) asserted that the extended discussion about the "chief" clearly illustrates this campus has ethical and moral values; he requested a status report about the "chief". President Stukel replied that the resolution passed by the Urbana Senate, as well as accompanying materials, has been forwarded to the Board of Trustees (BOT). He added that the Senate has been only one body of many that has weighed in on this issue; members of the Alumni Association and others have taken a different view. The President acknowledged the difficulty of resolving this situation.

Senator Emanuel Donchin (LAS), referring to the aforementioned S3 report, expressed concern that the proposals embodied in this document would become reality before the Senate had an opportunity to respond. He also indicated that he was unable to ferret out any cost estimates for the S3 proposals. President Stukel assured him that the Senate has been actively participating in the decision-making process through its committee structure, and the full Senate will have the chance to respond before any elements of the report are put into place. He expected dollar figures to be added to the proposals shortly.

Senator Don Uchtmann (ACES) asked when we might reasonably expect to see research and the higher education impact on economic development added to the Citizens' Agenda. The President believed that staff members of the IBHE were working on it even as we speak.

Senator Heidi Von Gunden (FAA) asked about the status of Affirmative Action as it relates to the University of Illinois. President Stukel replied that any issue could be vulnerable at any time, adding that the Bakke case appears to drive the sentiment of the BOT. Senator Joan Larsen Klein (LAS) asked if there has been any progress toward improving the status of adjunct staff members, specifically with regard to salaries and benefits. The President stated the issue is still under study.

CHANCELLOR'S REMARKS

Chancellor Aiken reported that the proposed Policy on Sexual Harassment, as put forward by the Sexual Harassment Task Force, has been distributed to the Senate Council, in preparation for discussion of the policy at Council's December 2 meeting.

The Chancellor announced that the University's FY00 budget request will be voted upon by the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) at its meeting on December 16. Information available at the moment leaves us encouraged for a positive result.

QUESTIONS/DISCUSSION

Senator Donchin asked Senator Schacht to clarify his reference to Conflicts of Commitment and Interest in Outside (Summer) Teaching to remove the "Commitment" portion, since Donchin believed that it was impossible for faculty on nine-month appointments to have a conflict of "commitment" with their University duties when they teach over the summer. Schacht did not object.

CONSENT AGENDA

Hearing no objection, Chancellor Aiken declared the following proposal approved by unanimous consent:

11/30/98-02 SC.99.04*, Deadline for Filing Nominations for the Faculty Advisory Committee.

PROPOSALS FOR ACTION

11/30/98-03 The Chancellor presented for action CC.99.05*, Nominations for Membership on Standing Committees of the Senate. Senator Joseph Oberweis (CBA) nominated Senator Joseph Bolz (FAA) for the student vacancy on the Educational Policy Committee (to stand in opposition to Mr. Daniel Lillig-the listed nominee); Senator Bolz was present and declared his willingness to serve. There were no further floor nominations and nominations were declared closed.

11/30/98-04 By voice vote, nominations for positions other than for the student vacancy on Educational Policy were approved. Tellers distributed ballots and reported the following results: Daniel Lillig-36 votes, Joseph Bolz-35 votes.

11/30/98-05 Daniel Lillig was declared elected.

REPORTS FOR INFORMATION OF THE SENATE

11/30/98-06 Chancellor Aiken presented FAC.99.01*, 1997-98 Annual Report of the Faculty Advisory Committee (FAC). Professor Ronald J. Peters, 1997-98 FAC Chair, noted that the committee's report has been distributed in the senate packet and to all campus faculty, as required by the University Statutes.

Professor Peters reported that it was the view of the committee that the democratic process works quite well in the resolution of complaints received by the FAC. However, he drew attention to some of FAC's recommendations for improving the democratic process by establishing stronger lines of communication-the establishment of appeals committees at the college level, and better mentoring of junior faculty by their senior departmental colleagues.

Lastly, on behalf of the committee, he commended the campus administration for forming and charging the Task Force on Sexual Harassment, whose draft report has helped to give this important issue the serious attention it merits.

11/30/98-07 The Chancellor presented AB.99.01*, NCAA Certification Self-Study-Proposed Timetable. Tony Waldrop, member of the steering committee for the NCAA Certification Self Study, welcomed any questions or comments. Senator Kaufman noted that the NCAA Operating Principles of its Governance and Commitment to Rules Compliance includes the following: "…appropriate campus constituencies shall have the opportunity to provide input into the formulation of policies relating to the conduct of the athletics program and to scrutinize the implementation of such policies." Kaufman wanted to know when the opportunity for campus input into athletic department policies will take place. Waldrop replied that an open meeting will occur probably in the spring, with ample public notice.

REPORTS OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF OTHER MEETINGS

Chancellor Aiken presented the following meeting reports:

11/30/98-08 SC.99.05*, BOT, October 15-16, 1998, R. Schacht

11/30/98-09 HE.99.01*, FAC/IBHE, September 11, 1998, T, Weech

11/30/98-10 HE.99.02*, FAC/IBHE, October 6, 1998, T. Weech

11/30/98-11 UC.99.02*, USC, October 21, 1998, G. G. Belford

Speaking to SC.99.05, Kaufman suggested that Schacht delete the reference to "would-be protesters" found in parentheses in the last line of this report. Schacht had no objection.

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

Robert C. Damrau, Senate Clerk
*Filed with the Senate Clerk and incorporated by reference in these Minutes.