UAH FACULTY SENATE
PRESENT:
ADSC: Tseng, Patnayakuni
LBAR: J. Johnson, Ferris, Bollinger, Moore, Meister, M. Johnson, Heikes, Reeves, Sitaraman, Neuschatz
ENG: Joiner, Gholston, Frendi, Lin
NUR: Lawson, Anderson, George, Thompson
SCI: Boyd, Bishop, Paddison, Delugach, Ai, Miller
ABSENT WITH PROXY:
ADSC: Gramm, Schnell
ENGR: Anderson, Jovanov, Karr, Wessling
LIB:
NUR: Foote
SCI: Magnuson, Mecikalski, Weimer, Ravindran
ABSENT WITHOUT PROXY:
LBAR: Pritchard, Ragsdale
ENGR: Banish, Kulick
SCI: Aygun, Elsamadicy
0. Senate
1. Draft Minutes of Meeting Number 477 were approved. Motion by Shari George, seconded by Kader Frendi.
2. Senate Executive Committee Report accepted. Motion by Kader Frendi, seconded by Faye Anderson.
3.
President Franz was not present.
4. Dr. Radonovich’s Report.
Dr. Radonovich reported the Council of Deans recently met and expressed
a desire to explore future use of “clickers” in classrooms. Clickers are devices which student use to
electronically respond to a question from their professor. The results are then anonymously displayed on
a screen for analysis and feedback. The
Council would like to investigate whether an official institutional policy on
the use of clickers should be developed.
Provost Radonovich asked for a faculty member with experience with
clickers to advise this process. The
Executive Committee will recommend someone.
Dr. Radonovich asked Harry Delugach to report on the Search Committee
for the replacement of Barry Scott who was in charge of the WebCT. The Search is progressing, focusing on
candidates currently working in the WebCT/distance learning areas.
5. A. Senate Committee Reports:
1. Executive: The report was distributed with the minutes. The report was approved.
2.
4. Governance and Operations:
No Report.
5. Personnel: No Report.
6. Undergraduate Curriculum:
7. Undergraduate Scholastic
Affairs: No Report. If anyone is
interested in serving on the “Clicker” Committee, email Melinda.
8. Finance and Resources: Dr.
Delugach noted that the REU proposal process is no completed. 15 of the 34 submissions were approved and
funded. Ten were funded from the Space
Grant Consortium. A list of approved
proposals will be sent to faculty members soon.
There is also an RFP out now for the Distinguished Speaker
Series—submissions are limited to one per department.
B. University Committees: No Report.
C. Officer Reports:
Parliamentarian: No Report.
Ombudsperson: No Report.
6. UAH Financial Report (Ray Pinner)
Ray Pinner gave a brief overview of the upcoming budget. This will be “another good budget year”. The third in a row. A bond issue estimated between $500 million and $1 billion is expected, with roughly ¼ of that being devoted to higher education.
07 appropriations up about 7% and tuition and fees up about 3.4%.
The head count is 7034 students.
Faculty and staff compensations are the top priority.
The most recent tuition raise is 3.4% for undergrads and 3.5% for graduate students.
The total UAH budget will increase this year by about $10 million.
The utility budget is greater than
$4 million. The
Support for program enhancements $200K for QEP and SACS enhancements.
PEEHIP—we pay 1.2 million to fund retirement health costs
Health Insurance—proposed $500K. Now $390K
The faculty and staff clinic is on track, to open sometime in April.
The floor was opened for questions for Ray. A question was asked about the settlement money from Nektar Theraputics. So far $15 million has been received, with 12.75 million currently in an endowment. While a final decision has not been reached on what to use this endowment for, it will likely go towards scholarships or graduate student stipends, either way with a focus on promoting biotechnology studies.
Other issues: Concern with Banner.
Budgets are available through e-print one time a month
Suggest a good time for Banner budget and account statement training. It was pointed out that not having interpretable account information is one of the most frustrating aspects of faculty research.
Criticisms of Computer & Network Services were also raised. Complaints involved network speed, inconsistent responses from CNS about problems, and the fact that CNS falls under the administration aspect of the University, not faculty and research. Ray noted that more bandwidth is in the works, and requested a written document be sent to him about these issues. He will investigate further.
Concerns were also raised about the state of high co pay amounts on the current health insurance plan. The question was asked if the Benefits Committee had been included in the health insurance discussions.
7. Senate Bill 308: Course Repeat Policy Revision
Shari George opened by summarizing the history of this bill. Some questions still exist – Dr. Severn was unable to immediately say how Banner would handle the changes proposed by the bill. Harry Delugach noted that there has been some controversy among faculty over this bill. Concerns were also raised on what this bill implies about the individual responsibility of students and advisors. Another issue was whether previous grades of a B should be allowed to repeat a course in hopes of an A. No amendment was proposed. The bill passed at third reading 19 in favor, 8 against, and no abstentions.
8. Sense of the Senate Resolution
The Sense of the Senate Resolution passed unanimously.
9. Ms.
Lawson closed with a reminder about how privileged we are to be involved in the
governance of the University, and how important it is that we actively
contribute. She adjourned the meeting at