Faculty Council
Minutes of the meeting of May 4, 1992 (continued on May 11, 1992)
O. The meeting was called to order at 4:03 p.m. by Faculty Council Chairperson Stephen Warner.
1. Motion (M.L.Lunde/R.Belliotti): to approve the published agenda. Motion passed.
2. Motion (M.L.Lunde/R.Belliotti): to approve the minutes of the April 6, 1992 meeting as published. Motion passed.
3. President Donald A. MacPhee read his May 4 memorandum to campus community on the Rodney King verdict and ensuing violence. He said that on Saturday evening the college experienced two ugly, apparently racially-motivated incidents, one involving a student, one a non-student, both violently attacked, by assailants not yet identified. He said they required medical treatment but were not seriously injured. He said his committee on bias-related incidents would meet with VP Dimitri concerning these events. President MacPhee called attention to the extended series of articles on the SUNY system being published by Newsday, [Long Island newspaper], saying the series is very critical of the inadequate funding being provided to SUNY. He said the paper has a very high circulation and many of SUNY's students come from Long Island. The president said the budget scene remained unchanged; he assumed a $1,120,000 cut to Fredonia's budget, and cautioned that there may be a further spending limitation in the summer or the fall. He said an early retirement plan was being discussed, and may further reduce campus funds available. He noted that CSEA workers were about to vote on a contract. President MacPhee then read a three-page year-end memo to the campus community dated May 1, concluding that Fredonia remained remarkably strong and attractive in spite of the many challenges recently encountered. P.Sinden asked whether the president's advisory panel on restructuring had reported? MacPhee said they had not, but would report directly to him. J.Straight asked for information on Tuition Income Fund Reimbursable accounts. MacPhee responded that present policy is that no money has to be returned to SUNY if within 1% of planned budget. He added that legislative consideration may be needed for changes to this. A.Altobellis asked when the proposed restructuring plan would go into effect. MacPhee answered that he would not be making any changes in dean structure at least until after the fall semester.
4. Chairperson Stephen Warner introduced new members Gordon Baird and Kenneth Lucey. He expressed thanks to Sandra Brown for her work with Governance Committee and its elections and related documents. He also expressed thanks to the standing committees for their input to the recent hearings. He announced the Executive Committee's recommendation of Dan Berggren for appointment to the Scholarship Committee. He stressed the importance of filling out Faculty Preference Sheets. Warner announced that election for Vice Chairperson of the Faculty Council would be deferred to the first Fall Faculty Council meeting, since there had been no nominations received to date.
5. Faculty Senator H. Joseph Straight made no report.
6. Franklin Krohn, chair of the Governance Committee yielded to R.Belliotti who introduced the following resolution: BE IT RESOLVED that the creation of ad hoc committees by administrators be subject to the following principles: (1) In accordance with the recommendations of past Middle States accreditation reports and with consideration for the extant campus governance mechanism, there must be a strong presumption against the creation of ad hoc committees by administrators. (2) In such cases where an administrator is convinced that the creation of an ad hoc committee is necessary, he or she must take the following steps prior to the creation of the proposed ad hoc committee: (a) consult with the relevant Faculty Council standing committee(s), and (b) solicit and receive the approval of the relevant Faculty Council standing committee(s). The "relevant Faculty Council standing committee(s) is that committee(s) or subcommittee(s) which would otherwise be charged with the duties sought to be assigned to the proposed ad hoc committee. (3) Where ad hoc committees are created, pursuant to principles (1) and (2), the administrator must include on these committees some elected members of Faculty Council and/or elected members of the relevant standing committee(s) (as defined above). (4) Prior to accepting an invitation to join an ad hoc committee, members of the college community should be satisfied that the administrator creating the ad hoc committee has complied with principle (1) - (3).
Motion (J.Romal/M.L.Lunde): to adopt the resolution. Discussion followed.
Motion (T.Loughlin/J.Hansen): to refer the resolution to the Governance Committee. Motion to refer passed.
7. James Bowser, chair of The Academic Affairs Committee distributed a two-page Annual Report. He said there was growing concern about faculty members' giving final exams during last week of classes. K.Mantai said some profs give hour exams on Friday of Dead Week, followed by finals on Monday, whereas Dead Week was designed to eliminate exam burden during that week. A.Altobellis said that papers are often due during Dead Week. D.Hess said Dead Week is not a social policy; any final exams must be given during exam week; any deviations should be reported to VPAA. T.Loughlin commented that students pressure faculty to move exams ahead so they can leave campus early. Pres. MacPhee said, regarding deactivation of programs, that he had received recommendation from VPAA, and that the matter was not a negotiation between VP and FC committees. He said he sought advice of FC through its committees on these deactivation recommendations. S.Warner recommended that FC read the May 1 memo from VPAA Hess to Ac Affairs Comm chair Bowser recommending the deactivations. Hess clarified that "deactivation" gives about a three-year period before SUNY asks for a final disposition of the program. T.Loughlin commented that FC really can't advise without seeing the documents. S.Warner replied that the matter was under the pressure of time, and the issues were dealt with by the committee at the expense of a great deal of meeting and research time.
Motion (P.Sinden/second unidentified): to adopt the recommendations in the May 1, 1992 AAC memo to VPAA.
G.Sebouhian said FC cannot approve what it has not read and studied. Hess said he would like to have some discussion before FC acts on this. Bowser replied that the AAC had considered whether these programs were viable in the light of present staffing resources. T.Grady asked whether the AAC report was intended to be a recommendation to FC, or only to the VPAA. Bowser answered, VPAA. T.Schwalbe stated that to understand the issues, the committee's documents might need to be distributed to FC. Bowser replied that FC should discuss this, but said the committee had some 50 pages of documentation at its disposal. P.Sinden stated he was willing to accept the committee's recommendation. J.Wysong said that Anthropology/Sociology representatives have met with the committee, and would gladly meet with FC. J.Hansen said he thought the committee had done a fine job. C.Willeford said the Planning & Budget Committee's charge was to look at elimination of the faculty lines, not necessarily the programs themselves. MacPhee added that FC should see the P&B report, but program deactivation is a separate matter for FC consideration. R.Weist said FC should have the most essential documents. Bowser replied that he would not presume to condense this material for FC. J.Straight stated that the Executive Committee should do the condensing. S.Warner added that the committee acted appropriately in finishing its deliberations to make a timely report. H.Jacobson remarked that the School of Music had acted on the deactivation, before it had actually gone into effect, or even been deliberated by FC. MacPhee responded that the College had to notify students that were applying as a matter of consumer information. Chairperson Warner said that he would send the AAC report, plus the P&B report, plus any other documents the Executive Committee thinks will be useful.
Motion (J.Hansen/R.Belliotti): to table the resolution to adopt. Motion to table passed.
{At 5:30 p.m., the meeting was recessed to Monday, May 11 at 4:00 p.m., by consensus of FC.}
9. Gary Barber, chair of the Professional Service Committee distributed a five-page year-end report including reports of the Professional Development and Research & Creativity subcommittees.
10. Constance Willeford distributed a one-page year-end report of the Planning & Budget Committee. H.Jacobson asked whether the committee had discussed the deactivations. Willeford answered that two of the programs to be deactivated involved elimination of lines; those were the only considerations addressed by P&B.
11. Paul Andrews read a year-end report of the Student Affairs Committee, and stated that a current topic was proposed state-wide change in public safety policy regarding jurisdiction and arming of officers. He said there is concern over lack of attendance by the student representatives to the committee. Pres. Macphee added that he is on record as being opposed to any change in current policy which leaves arming of Public Safety officers a campus decision. He stated that there needs to be some clarification of officers' jurisdiction off campus. He said this bears further discussion and consideration to eliminate legal risks to officers.
12. Motion (Weist/Loughlin): to adopt Executive Committee's resolution: BE IT RESOLVED that the College Catalog be revised to change the descriptions of grade "B" from "above average" to "good", and grade "C" from "average" to "fair".
A.Altobellis spoke in opposition. R.Belliotti responded that current wording does not reflect current policy; an average grade for past 25 years has been 2.6 to 2.72, closer to B-. He said that the probation policy currently goes into effect when grades are even 0.1 below 'average'. He added that this issue arose in 1989-90, and has continued without resolution. T.Schwalbe asked whether consideration had been given to changing probation policies, or faculty's grading practices. Belliotti replied that changing grading practices of professors would be very difficult, as would changing probation policy. Altobellis said her parents would think a 'C' is lower if called 'fair' than if called 'average'. She said she thought students should have a chance to respond to the proposal before FC acts on it. H.Jacobson said he does not like 'fair' because it carries a negative connotation. J.Hansen agreed that students ought to have a chance to comment on this. J.Straight commented that this issue was first passed by Academic Affairs and approved by VPAA in the late 1970s, with 'C' being changed to 'satisfactory'.
Motion (B.Wilson/H.Jacobson): to table the resolution. Motion to table passed.
13. Motion (R.Weist/M.Nelson): to take from the table the motion to adopt the recommendations in the May 1, 1992 AAC memo to VPAA [concerning program deactivations]. Motion to take from the table passed.
D.Hess stated that programs were under consideration for deactivation because of the shortage of lines and money. He said he had to make decisions whether to return vacant lines to departments, or cut them. He said that German had only three majors left, with a faculty resignation pending; it seemed an opportune time to eliminate the major. He said there was no intention of getting rid of German instruction, only the major. He said the Sound Recording Technology major has been beset by two problems: equipment is expensive to acquire and maintain to keep current; and staff with proper background and training is hard to recruit, given our budgetary limitations. He said the program is presently staffed by only one instructor, and one support technician; student enrollment is at an all-time low with about 37, down from eighty-some. He said that in Anthropology one of two tenured faculty had resigned; 13 students remain in the degree program. He said he did not want to start a new cohort of students, obligating college resources for the next four years. He said there is no thought of eliminating studies in anthropology, but that it is very difficult to operate a bona fide program with only one or one-and-one-half faculty; three has been cited as the minimum for an anthropology major. He said it was time to eliminate that which we cannot do properly. He added that there are eight other anthropology programs in New York, with 4 to 8 faculty; we might be better advised to refer potential students in this area to other institutions. He stated that in all three programs, the College has not been able to supply the support needed. M.R.Amiran said the Academic Affairs Committee had accepted the reasoning of VP with regard to German and SRT. She said it appears that three faculty are a minimum needed to run a German major, or perhaps any major; she said adjunct help has been used in German, but not in the major. She said that in SRT, equipment seemed a key factor. She said the Director of School of Music had argued that recruiting a teacher has been hampered by repair and maintenance limitations; he also argued that other electronic music modalities should be emphasized, e.g., synthesizers. She said that the departmental chair had argued persuasively for retaining the anthropology major. She said the position presently being recruited is half in anthropology. She said the committee felt that working on the margins where the two disciplines meet, plus careful filling of positions, there may be a potential for a new sociology/anthropology combined major. Further, she said, Anthropology's offerings in the GCP are central to the mission of the college. T.Schwalbe emphasized that the Sociology faculty may also contribute to the Anthropology program. T.Rywick asked whether there is a fear that the distinction between deactivation and discontinuance may disappear. J.Wysong responded that he was concerned that deactivation brings about the process of discontinuance. He said potential majors had been dissuaded from enrolling when they received letters explaining deactivation. He said it would be difficult to sustain the significance of anthropology without a major. He said that Anthropology generates 10% or more of the GCP's part IIIB, and all but two Anthropology courses are GCP approved. He said that to continue to contribute to the GCP requires the same resources as to continue the degree program. H.Jacobson said that Music faculty felt blind-sided by the deactivation of SRT; administration should communicate with the faculty better before taking such actions. He said that deactivation or discussion of it, becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. P.Sinden indicated the extensive support of the Sociology/Anthropology faculty, who have consistently provided all available adjunct resources to Anthropology. He said faculty had offered to transform a line from Sociology to Anthropology. He said Wysong's departmental plan for the major outlines a plan for maintaining this important element. J.Straight expressed concern that an external review process is being used detrimentally in assessing the Anthropology major, recommending more faculty. He was also concerned about a decrease in morale stemming from the deactivation. He said it makes sense to deactivate the German major, but noted that Dean Rockett recommends elimination of the minor and concentrations in education. He said dropping German to such a rudimentary level flies in the face of world events. He said SRT was a program attracting excellent students, providing good placements, and asked why can't we get some support from the places where these graduates are now working, perhaps endowing a chair. T.Schwalbe added that it is a shame to loose this program which makes our college unique, especially for equipment reasons. He said the committee heard strong arguments from SRT students and Music faculty for maintaining the program, saying the existing equipment is adequate. Hess responded that he never said there would only be one course in elementary German, and he would be happy to study proposals for additional German instruction. He said further that the outside evaluators' report lauded the Anthropology program, but recommended that the college provide more resources for the program. He noted that in Fall 1991 one Anthropology faculty member generated 591 student credit hours. He said we can maintain a solid core of anthropology courses, but lack the resources to maintain a major.
A.Altobellis noted that Sound Recording Services is a valuable, active organization heavily supported by SA money, and SRS might be lost if SRT program is deactivated. She was concerned that the Anthropology deactivation would set a bad precedent. J. Hansen said that given the current budget situation, the administration is moving in the right direction, eliminating weak programs rather than weakening many. He remarked that FC had given the Academic Affairs Committee a job to do, and that he had confidence in their work. R.Weist asked why Anthropology/Sociology had decided to recruit someone part-time in both disciplines rather than full-time in Anthropology. Wysong answered that the plan was to replace the anthro retirement, plus replace the soc retirement with an anthropologist. The joint appointment was a compromise with administration. Hess remarked that FC should be concerned about the discontinuing of these deactivated programs; unless proposals can be presented on how to support them properly, they will probably disappear. D.MacPhee pointed out the distinction between deactivation and discontinuation, stating that deactivation is not necessarily the first step to discontinuing programs. He said that SRT is simply not viable, but if it is deactivated, School of Music should study the area carefully and find out what our role should be in this area. He said that perhaps funding can be found in three years (or more, if we argue for more time). J.Hansen noted that action on the motion would be ambiguous and subject to much interpretation since it contains three separate recommendations, two in support of administration's plans and one opposed. Motion to adopt recommendations of AAC passed.
14. Chairperson Warner called for ideas for the fall Faculty Council workshop, to make Faculty Council a better experience, more responsive to campus needs.
15. Motion (M.Nelson/J.Straight): to adjourn. The motion passed at 5:07 p.m.
Attendance:
Professional Staff/Management:
P. Andrews (92)
K. Bonds (92)
V. Conover (93)
K. Harrington (94)
T. Kflu (93)
T. McNeil (94)
M. Pabst (94)
Arts, Education and Humanities:
R. Belliotti (93)
J. Burke (94)
M. Charbonnet (93)
H. Jacobson (93)
R. Klassen (92)
T. Loughlin (93)
K. Lucey (93)
M. L. Lunde (92)
L. Maheady (94)
M. Nelson (93)
T. Schwalbe (92)
G.Sebouhian (92)
Natural and Social Sciences:
G. Baird (94)
M. Grady (92)
J. Hansen (94)
T. Janik (93)
F. Krohn (93)
K. Mantai (93)
T. Rywick (94)[1]
J. Romal (93)
M. Seyedian (92)
P. Sinden (93)
R. Weist (92)
Student Representatives:
A. Altobellis
V. Martin
B. Wilkins
Ex Officio:
D. Burdette
J. Crowley
M. Dimitri
W. Foeller
D. Hess
J. Hurtgen
D. MacPhee
W. Rockett
H. J. Straight
S. Warner
Excused Absences:
N. Deal (94)
T. Malinoski (93)
K. Porpiglia (92)
A.Wheeler
Unexcused Absences: S. Clarke (93) [1]
D. Johnson (92) [1]
S. Maloney (92)[2]
G. Prechtl (92)[4]
G. Schneider
B. Servatius (93)
Guests:
M.R. Amiran
G. Barber
J. Bowser
C. Willeford
Thomas McNeil, College Senate Secretary