FACULTY SENATE MEETING
Emporia State University
October 5, 1999

Members Present: Aber, Akers, Calhoun, Catlett, Chamberlin, Cogswell, Fowlkes, Ghosh, Kuehn, Landis, Lovett, Mehrhof, Montalvo, Moore, Piper, Robinson, Russell, Salvatore, Saunders, Schwenn, Shapiro, Simpson, smith d, smith f, Summerville, Swanson, Templeton, Tidwell, Waters, Wright, Wyatt
Members Absent: Blaufuss, Goltra, Hoy, Koch, Toadvine
Liaison: Hill
Substitutions: Angela Wolgram for Blaufuss, Pat Robinson for Goltra, Firooza Pavri for Toadvine
Visitors: Ryan Wilson

  1. Call to Order: President Kuehn called the meeting to order at 3:35 PM in the Messenger Room of the Memorial Union.

  2. Announcements of Attendance: (see above)

  3. Approval of Minutes: The minutes of the September 21, 1999 meeting of the Faculty Senate were approved as amended.

  4. Announcements and Comments:

    1. ASG President T. J. Templeton: Templeton informed the Senate of a Trick or Treat Food Drive that would occur on October 30. The ASG, Black Women's Network, Black Student Union, and the Resident Hall Association are sponsoring this event. A community Halloween party will also be held that night.

    2. Vice President for Academic Affairs John Schwenn: Schwenn announced the membership of the University Committee on the Revision of the Policies and Procedures Manual. Committee members are John Schwenn (Chair), Judy Calhoun, Scott Irwin, Richard Schrock, Barbara Kern, Steve Hanshu, and Deborah Rupprecht.

    3. Faculty Senate President Marvin Kuehn: Kuehn reviewed a number of issues.
      1. He asked Wyatt to discuss his [Wyatt's] proposal on speaking privileges in Senate and Committee meetings. Wyatt told the Senate that the Constitution mandates speaking privileges for all members of the university community. His proposal provides time at each Senate and Committee meeting for guests to address the Senate or Committee. Motions can be made for guests to address the Senate or Committee at other times during the meeting.
      2. Kuehn told the Senate that Faculty Senate (Kuehn, Moore, Wyatt), Associated Student Government (Templeton and Peavler), and Administration (Schwenn) had recently met to discuss issues relevant to ESU. Freshman seminar and academic advising dominated the discussion. A policy on academic advising approved last spring by the Board of Regents was discussed. As the report of this meeting concluded it was determined that few Senators were aware of the Regents policy. Discussion ensued. Schwenn indicated he would remind the Deans and Chairs about the policy.
      3. Kuehn told the Senate that a resolution to the Kansas Board of Education from Emporia State University in opposition to the Board's decision to de-emphasize organic evolution and change science standards is likely. Moore is leading the effort to review resolutions passed at other universities and will work with interested individuals to propose a resolution from ESU. Dr. Richard Schrock has prepared an initial draft. It is hoped a resolution will be ready for consideration at our next meeting.
      4. Kuehn asked Simpson to report his research into the recent Poster Policy at ESU. The document summarizing Simpson's finds was distributed to the Senate. This is the same document distributed at the September 30 Executive Committee Meeting. Simpson reports that the prohibition against material of a religious or political nature has been removed from the policy. There is no need for further action.
      5. Kuehn informed the Senate that the ESU Gender Equity Committee is meeting today and that ESU is approaching the assignment as a joint effort between representatives of the administration and faculty. Other institutions have separate committees for faculty and administration.
      6. Kuehn asked Hill to report on recent Alumni Association activities. Hill told the Senate that the ESU Booth at the Kansas State Fair had been a success. Many prospective students visited the booth.

  5. Committee Reports:

    1. Committee of Campus Governance (Akers): Akers introduced herself as the new chair of COCG and paid tribute to the work of Robinson who is stepping down to concentrate on other duties. She told the Senate that COCG will review the Constitution and Bylaws and have a report by the end of the semester. Amendments to the Constitution and Bylaws are likely. She informed the Senate that she has communicated with campus-wide committees and informed them of the requirement to submit copies of minutes of all meetings to COCG.

    2. Academic Affairs (Swanson): Swanson informed the Senate that the review of developmental courses and developmental course policy is underway. A report will be made to the Senate when the review is completed. A Bill addressing concerns about graduate students and midterm grades will be introduced today for 1st reading. This Bill resulted from discussion in AA with Graduate Council President Penny Speedie and Graduate Studies and Off-Site and Distance Education Dean Timothy Downs. Finally, Swanson reported preliminary research on registration holds. Discussion ensued. A decision about what action if any should be taken on registration holds has not been made.

    3. Faculty Affairs (Simpson): Simpson reported that all difficulties about the Grievance Policy have been resolved. FSB 98017 will be removed from the table and amended today. A draft of the intellectual property policy has been written.

  6. Old Business:

    1. FSB 98017 Grievance Policy: Simpson moved that FSB 98017 be taken off the table. Lovett seconded the motion. The motion carried. Copies of the amended Bill were distributed. Simpson detailed the changes. 1) The statute of limitation has been shortened from 12 to 9 months (line 10). 2) "[I]mproper, arbitrary, or capricious action committed by the University or any of its agents" was added as a grievable offense (lines35-6). 3) Action during an academic appeal has been removed as a grievable offense. 4) A statement mandating the confidentiality of Grievance Committee proceedings has been included (lines 204-5). Simpson offered two friendly amendments to the Bill. The first removed the word "discrimination" from the list of grievable offenses because it is included in a separate policy. The second friendly amendment removed the phrase "decisions concerning" in two places. These phrases were removed for grammatical reasons. Discussion ensued concerning the Bill. Schwenn expressed concern about the lack of an immunity clause in the Bill. Catlett responded that complaints against individuals would not warrant immunity. Grievance proceedings are not legal actions. Discussion followed. Amotion was made to accept the revised Bill; motion was seconded and passed. All Senators except one voted in favor of adopting FSB 98017 as revised. One Senator abstained.

  7. New Business:

    1. FSB 99001 Revision of Graduate Midterm Grade Requirement: Swanson offered a motion to adopt FSB 99001. The motion was seconded and approved. Swanson told the Senate that legislation passed last year (FSB 98007) mandated that faculty submit midterm grades for graduate students. This Bill rectifies this mandate by making the assignment of midterm grades for graduate students optional. Midterm grades would be awarded at faculty discretion. Considerable discussion ensued. Landis asked why graduate student opinion had not been sought in developing this Bill. Shapiro asked for clarification of the word "artificial" in Section 1 C, the "Purpose" section preceding the Bill. Possible wording changes were discussed. Swanson noted that the Bill did not acknowledge the plus and minus grading system that will be implemented next year. More discussion ensued. The Bill will be revised and distributed before the next meeting to reflect the suggestions offered at the meeting; the changes suggested were offered as friendly amendments. President Kuehn concluded the discussion by reminding Senators that substantive changes in the Bill may be proposed as amendments when the Bill comes up for second reading.

  8. Other Concerns: None

  9. For the Good of the University:

    1. Schwenn reminded Faculty of the Tilford Conference on Diversity scheduled for October 6, 1999.
    2. Moore informed the Senate that a chapter of the American Association of University Professors has been established at ESU. Joe Yanik is the President.

  10. Adjournment: President Kuehn adjourned the meeting at 4:45.

Submitted by:
Gary Wyatt
First Vice President of the Senate
Last updated on 18 October 1999.
Provide comments about the text to Gary Wyatt at wyattgar@emporia.edu.
Return to the Minutes of the Faculty Senate.