Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Meeting held in Bryant 209
Senators in Attendance:
Susan Allen, Adnan Aydin, Robert Albritton, Michael Barnett, Melissa Bass, Will Berry, Sarah Blackwell, Mark Bing, David Case, Judith Cassidy, Yunghee Chang , Jason Dewland, Robert Doerksen, Daneel Ferreira, Les Field, John Garner, Carol Gohm, Jason Kovari, John Lobur, Soumyajit Majumdar, Mustafa Matalgah, Erwin Mina-Diaz, Ann Monroe, Mike Mossing, Stephanie Noble, Brice Noonan, Brian Reithel, Philip Rhodes, Charles Ross, Jeff Roux, Bashir Salau, Chris Sapp, Paul Scovazzo, Zia Shariat-Madar, Steven Skultety, Jason Solinger, Debra Spurgeon, Don Summers, Durant Thompson , Lollie Vaughan, Mark Walker, Alex Watson, Donna West-Strum, Lorri Williamson, Ethel Young Minor, Ahmet Yukleyen
Senators absent with prior notification:
Amanda Johnston
Senators absent with replacements:
Brian Reithel replaced by Milam Aiken
Don Summers replaced by Emanuele Berti
Senators absent without notification:
Chung Song, Bill Chappell, Ronald Schroeder, Mark Dole
Agenda
- Senator Albritton opened the meeting at 7:00 p.m.
- First order of business: Approve minutes of last meeting
- Moved by Sen. Lobur
- Seconded by Sen. Barnett
- Approved unanimously
- Moved by Sen. Lobur
- Second order of business: Committee Reports
- Executive Committee
- Some senators have expressed a need for more detailed agendas.
- This should be brought before the senate as a whole
- Issue of representation for nontenured faculty
- AAUP has recommended that chair of AAUP governance committee come and speak to us in February on this issue
- Move to table representation issue until February
- Seconded by Senator Barnett
- Approved unanimously
- Sen. Lobur: Can we get some numbers?
- Sen. Albritton: Yes
- Academic Affairs
- University tobacco-free campus
- Adoption of a resolution in support of this
- Passed unanimously in committee
- Move to adopt said proposal
- Seconded
- Comment: resolution has no teeth
- Sen. Lobur: Should be some provision made for people who are addicted
- Sen. Harker: Will place an undue burden on 9-5 staff workers
- Sen. Barnett: Concerns about disadvantages in hiring
- Millions of potential candidates could be turned off
- 14 MS schools don’t have such bans in place
- Stricter enforcement preferable to outright ban
- Background and rationale explained and summarized from resolution by committee chair
- Would include no smoking in the Grove
- People encouraged to take advantage of “cessation programs”
- Violators will be “verbally warned” with “reasonable fine” as an ultimate penalty
- Question: Who would issue the fine?
- Unclear; perhaps the campus police
- Division of Student Affairs authored and endorsed proposal
- Staff council has done so as well
- Comment: Under existing system, certain areas are designated for smoking. Have campus police refused to enforce it?
- People have been flaunting it
- If the current policy is not enforced, who is to say that this new one will be enforced?
- Question: Does this include snuff and chewing tobacco?
- Yes
- Move the previous question: Moved that the senate endorse the DOSA proposal for a tobacco-free campus
- Seconded
- Yea 15
- Nay 13
- Motion passes
- Request that vote totals be forwarded along with resolution
- Academic Support
- No report
- Finance
- No report
- Subpoint2
- Subpoint3
- University Services
- Report on distracted driving (e.g. cell phone use)
- Mississippi state law prevents local distracted driving laws; state laws are only route for this
- Multiple such bills have died in committee
- Education campaigns are only possibility at present
- See attached for full copy
- GOVERNANCE: No Report
- Executive Committee
- Third order of business: Old business
- Electing COIA representative
- Will Berry from Law volunteered
- Nominated
- Moved
- Approved by acclimation
- Electing COIA representative
- Fourth order of business: New business
- Nontenured represenatives tabled
- Cell phone use addressed above
- Support for “green fund”
- Students pressing for small fee to tuition for funding projects for an energy-sustainable campus
- MS State has a similar program
- Sen. Watson: How can a fee be charged when Chancellor has said that fees cannot be charged?
- Would go to IHL for “tuition increase” with the new money going into the fund
- Sen. Lobur: Would be a student-controlled fund
- Sen. Doerksen: ASB president has vetoed item according to DM
- Has actually been sent back for clarification
- Sen. Albritton: Should be tabled for now; perhaps a representative could brief us
- Sen. Harker: $2 mil to athletics; Faculty should move to stop this
- Sen. Albritton: Used to be a fee; is now a tuition deduction
- Should be referred to a committee, perhaps Finance
- Comment: much of money subsidizes student ticket prices; committee can look into it
- Sen. Barnett: Should that include all “tuition fees” including, for example, subsidized tickets for theater events?
- Sen. Harker: No, just athletics
- Comment: All sports, or just revenue-generating sports?
- Sen. Harker: specific concern is for tuition money going to athletics in a time of high athletic income (e.g. from TV)
- Comment: What about the rifle team and other low-profit to no-profit teams?
- Sen. Harker: Information would be welcome
- Provost Stocks’ slides from several meetings ago: Need to be circulated as promised
- Fifth order of business: January meeting
- Motion to forego late January mtg. in favor of February only
- Moved
- Seconded
- Approved unanimously
- Motion to forego late January mtg. in favor of February only
- Senator Albritton closed the meeting at 9:00 p.m.