The first meeting of the University Senate, Twin Cities Campus Assembly, and Faculty Senate for 2002-03 was convened in 25 Mondale Hall, Minneapolis campus, on Thursday, October 3, 2002, at 2:15 p.m., as a joint meeting of the three bodies. Coordinate campuses were linked by telephone. Checking or signing the roll as present were 128 voting faculty/academic professional members, 37 voting student members, 3 ex officio members, and 4 nonmembers. Vice Chair Marti Hope Gonzales presided.

Vice Chair Marti Hope Gonzales asked senators to keep their remarks brief today because of the State of the University Address scheduled to begin at 2:59 p.m. She also noted that there are only two microphones available in the outside aisles. If a senator wishes to make a comment, he or she should walk to the microphone and state their name and unit affiliation before proceeding.

2. TRIBUTE TO DECEASED MEMBERS OF THE UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY

FACULTY/ACADEMIC PROFESSIONALS/STAFF

Theodore Anderson
Professor
Sociology
1927 – 2002

Ladislav Cerny
Professor
Civil Engineering
1927 – 2002

Dennis R. Clayton
Department Director
Graduate School
1946 – 2002

Beulah Compton
Professor
Social Work
1919 – 2002

Edward J. Cowles
Professor
Science and Engineering – Duluth
1918 – 2002

William A. Diaz
Professor
HHH Institute of Public Affairs
1945 – 2002

Paul W. Freed
Professor
School of Music
1927 – 2002

Marguerite Gardner
Professor
Physical Med & Rehabilitation
1946 – 2002

Paul R. Giel
Director
Men’s Intercollegiate Athletics
1932 – 2002

Richard Guilfrod
Professor
Social Work
1909 – 2002

Ben E. Hallaway
Associate Professor
Lab Medicine and Pathology
1919 – 2002

Laurence R. Harper
Professor
Mathematics
1929 – 2002

John S. Hoyt, Jr.
Professor
Independent and Distance Learning
1923 – 2002

Herbert Jonas
Professor
Plant Biology
1915 – 2002

Richard C. Jordan
Professor
Mechanical Engineering
1909 – 2002

Roger J. Larson
Professor
Minnesota Extension Service East Central
1933 – 2002

Bernice W. Lund
Professor
Science and Math
1913 – 2002

Jess H. Mottaz
Research Fellow
Dermatology
1930 – 2002

Mark W. Olson
Professor
Psychology – Duluth
1955 – 2002

Charles Rausch
Department Director
St. Paul Student Center
1940 – 2002

Palmer Rogers
Professor
Microbiology
1927 – 2002

Jay H. Sautter
Professor
Vet Pathobiology
1912 – 2002

Marilyn Schneider
Professor
French and Italian Literature
1933 – 2002

Hubert H. Serr
Professor
Dentistry
1914 – 2002

Theodore Stall
Professor
Concerts and Lectures
1908 – 2002

Robert W. Tenbensel
Professor
Epidemiology
1936 – 2002

Alfred Vaughan
Professor and Dean
Physics
1906 – 2002

Stephen S. Wang
Professor
East and South Asian Languages
1934 – 2002

Richard Widmer
Professor
Horticultural Sciences
1922 – 2002


STUDENTS

Mutinta Chilala
College of Business and Economics – Duluth

Brandon Hall
General College

Damien M. Jacklitch
College of Science and Engineering, Duluth

John H. Mason
College of Continuing Education

Peter Murray
Carlson School of Management


3. ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSES TO SENATE AND ASSEMBLY ACTIONS
Information

* The Administration strongly supports the spirit of this request and will direct Vice President Carol Carrier and Vice President/Vice Provost Robert Jones to work with the subcommittee to determine need and benefit, discuss options and strategies, and determine cost to benefit ratio for the proposed new Human Resources program.

FOR INFORMATION:

In the recent election to fill a vacancy on the Nominating Committee, Professor Richard Skaggs was elected to a three-year term (July 1, 2002 through June 30, 2005).

FOR INFORMATION:

In the recent election to fill a vacancy on the Committee on Committees, Professor Joel Weinsheimer was elected to a three-year term (July 1, 2002 through June 30, 2005).

The Senate Consultative Committee, in its charge, has the authority, “to act on behalf of the Senate when a decision is required prior to the next scheduled meeting of the Senate and when a decision is required when it would not be possible to convene a special meeting of the Senate in a timely fashion; such actions will be reported to the Senate at its next meeting and the Senate may then overrule the Consultative Committee.”

Pursuant to that grant of authority, the Senate Consultative Committee approved changes on behalf of the University Senate to the University Grievance Policy on May 2, 2002. The policy is being distributed for information.

The Senate Consultative Committee approved changes to the Board of Regents Policy on Honors, Awards, and Recognition on September 19, 2002. The policy is being distributed for information.

The Senate Committee on Faculty Affairs has been considering faculty privacy policy and current practice.

A major issue has emerged. The Committee feels obligated to warn faculty about certain aspects of the privacy issue. There is a legal gap in privacy protection for faculty.

In the view of the Committee, the Minnesota Data Practices Act, at http://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/stats/13/, in essence removes many protections that faculty may believe apply to research data, and possibly personal communications.

The act permits anyone to request any records that a faculty member has that are arguably relevant to any public or private interest. These records may be on paper or electronic, maintained in an office or home or on an office computer or even on an entirely private home computer. This includes email, no matter where it is physically or electronically located or how it was generated. There is no requirement that the information requested actually be proven important to the public. This is the legal gap.

The only current protection for research data arises from the “trade secret” provisions of the act. Unpublished data may be considered a trade secret. To what extent data in support of published research can still be considered a trade secret is not clear to the Committee. Even data or communications (email, for example) that faculty view as private may have to be disclosed.

Requests for information can be sent anywhere in the University. Affected faculty, department heads and deans can ask the General Counsel’s Office for legal advice. This process may involve turning over all potentially relevant data the General Counsel to see whether or not it is protected under the provisions of the law. Even the process can be very onerous. The law can be an effective harassment mechanism.

The law does not seem to specify what data we must keep. Most faculty are probably repelled by the thought of secure erasure of data and of data encryption, but these may be options. Of course, many of us expect never to be the subject of a data request.

Adopted unanimously May 7, 2002.

New tenure track assistant professors must be employed for two years before they can join the Faculty Retirement Plan.  The funds that would be contributed to the retirement plan have been given to their colleges by Central Administration.  Currently, however, the funds in the colleges are used for “other” purposes.  In contrast, P&A staff whose salary exceeds $55,000 join the Faculty Retirement Plan at time of hire. It also should be noted that no other Big Ten University has a waiting period for new faculty.

If new tenure track faculty received their retirement benefits for the first two years of their employment at the University, an analysis indicates their retirement income could be as much as 17% higher than under the present plan.

Because of compounding, the first two years of retirement contributions play a very significant role in the retirement benefits of a faculty member.  A simple analysis, using reasonably conservative and historical values for salary increases and growth of retirement funds from investment gains, shows the importance of these contributions. Thus, providing the first two years retirement benefits would result in an increase of 13-17% in a faculty member’s retirement plan after a thirty-year career.  Our retirement program, which many of us boast about as being among the very best in the nation, is drastically reduced by this loss.  

If there is a need for taking money from individuals’ retirement accounts, then the colleges would be better served taking money from the last years of a faculty member’s service, rather than the first two years.  Thus, because of “the power of compounding,” the first two years of retirement investment provides more in the final retirement balance to an individual than the last eight to ten years of retirement contributions in a thirty-year career and the last twelve to thirteen years over a 40-year career.

Not being able to provide retirement benefits for starting tenure track faculty has resulted in some programs placing new hires in P&A status, where they can start their retirement program immediately, and then moving them over to faculty status after a few years.  This procedure, in our view, is not the way to handle the issue.  Rather, since the retirement funds are already available in the colleges and in many cases in departments, we believe the University should immediately grant retirement benefits to all starting tenure-track faculty.

The Senate Committee on Faculty Affairs had asked the administration to drop this two-year waiting period for new faculty.  Unfortunately this has not, as yet, been approved. SCFA believes the waiting period puts the University at a disadvantage in recruiting.  It also believes the difference between faculty and P&A appointments in terms of initiation of retirement plans is unfair and ill-advised.

SCFA recommends to the Faculty Senate that it ask the administration and the deans to reconsider their position on this issue. In view of the importance of the first two years of contributions to the retirement plan, the Committee once again urges that the waiting period for Faculty Retirement Plan be eliminated for new tenure-track faculty. 

Adopted unanimously May 14, 2002.

DISCUSSION:

With no discussion a vote was taken and the motion was approved.

_______________________________________
CONSENT AGENDA A
Action by All Bodies

Agenda Items 10. through 12. are considered to be non-controversial or “housekeeping” in nature and are offered as a “Consent Agenda” to be taken up as a single item with one vote. Any item will be taken up separately at the request of a senator. (A simple majority is required for approval.)

MOTION:

To approve the University Senate, Faculty Senate, and Twin Cities Campus Assembly minutes, which are available on the Web at the following URL. A simple majority is required for approval.

http://www1.umn.edu/usenate/u_senate/020425sen.html

The chairs of the University Senate, Faculty Senate, Student Senate, and Twin Cities Campus Assembly recommend the following officers for 2002-03:

Clerk – Professor Carol Wells
Parliamentarian – Professor David McGowan

University Senate committee memberships for 2002-03:

DISABILITIES ISSUES – Faculty: William Durfee (chair), Felicia Hodge, Elizabeth Lightfoot, Virgil Mathiowetz, Ken Myers, Harold Pickett, Joe Reichle. Academic Professionals: Harvey Carlson, David Wuolu. Civil Service: 2 to be named. Students: Christopher Johnstone, 1 to be named. Ex Officio: Bobbi Cordano, Julie Sweitzer.

EDUCATIONAL POLICY – Faculty/PA: Martin Sampson (chair), Wilbert Ahern, Dale Branton, Vernon Cardwell, Shawn Curley, Frank Kulacki, Carol Miller, Marsha Odom, Karen Seashore, Mary Ellen Shaw, Mary Sue Simmons, Douglas Wangensteen. Students: Scott Ferguson, Gretchen Haas, 4 to be named. Ex Officio: Victor Bloomfield, Craig Swan, 1 to be named.

EQUITY, ACCESS, AND DIVERSITY – Faculty: Mary Lay (chair), Stacey Aronson, Eric Burgess, Carol Chomsky, Margaret Moss, Jeffrey Roberts, Srilata Zaheer, Jacquelyn Zita. Academic Professionals: Beverly Balos, Shezwae Fleming. Students: Vanessa Bailey, 5 to be named. Civil Service: Rose Blixt, Don Cavalier. Ex Officio: Sallye McKee, Julie Sweitzer.

FINANCE AND PLANNING – Faculty: Charles Speaks (chair), Jean Bauer, Bruce Brorson, Charles Campbell, David Chapman, Robert Cudeck, Joseph Konstan, Michael Korth, Timothy Nantell, Terry Roe, Warren Warwick. Academic Professionals: Thomas Klein, Sue Van Voorhis. Civil Service: Stanley Bonnema, Susan Carlson Weinberg. Students: Prince Amattoe, Brittny McCarthy-Barnes, Daniel O’Connor, 1 to be named. Ex Officio: Tim Church, Tom Gilson, Gary Jahn, Marvin Marshak, Richard Pfutzenreuter, Laurie Scheich, Thomas Stinton, Michael Volna.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES – Academic Professionals: April Schwartz (chair), Mark Bellcourt, Josephine Crawford, Nancy Herther, Thomas McRoberts. Faculty: Yosef Cohen, David Demuth, Stephen Downing, Alan Ek, Douglas Ernie, Haesun Park, 1 to be named. Civil Service: Jeff Johnson. Students: 3 to be named. Ex Officio: Steve Cawley, Eric Celeste, Linda Jorn.

LIBRARY – Faculty/PA: William Phillips (chair), Jennifer Alexander, John H. Anderson, Elaine Challacombe, Isaac Fox, Lael Gatewood, Jill Gidmark, Leon Satkowski, Roderick Squires, Thomas Scanlan, Ray Wakefield. Students: 4 to be named. Ex Officio: LeAnn Dean, Sue Engelmann, Joan Howland, Wendy Lougee, Bill Sozansky, Owen Williams, 1 to be named.

RESEARCH – Faculty: Gary Balas (chair), Melissa Anderson, Kathleen Conklin, James Cotter, Sharon Danes, Kris Davidson, Larry Jacobs, Paul Johnson, Katherine Klink, James Luby, Scott McConnell, Sharon Neet, James Orf, Virginia Seybold, 1 to be named. Academic Professionals: Gerry Baldridge, Barbara Van Drasek. Civil Service: Sabine Fritz. Students: 3 to be named. Ex Officio: Victor Bloomfield, Robin Dittmann, David Hamilton, Phillip Larsen, Wendy Lougee, Mark Paller, Thomas Schumacher.

SOCIAL CONCERNS – Faculty: Mark Pedelty (chair), Jeffrey Crump, Kenneth Heller, Margaret Kuchenreuther, Luis Ramos-Garcia, Ben Senauer, 1 to be named. Academic Professionals: Judi Linder, Jennifer Oliphant, Ruth Taylor. Civil Service: Albert Cooper, Sheri Huerd, Susan Von Bank. Alumni: Roger Beck, Karen Holtmeier, Yvonne Redmond-Brown. Students: Joel Helfrich, 6 to be named. Ex Officio: Greg Schooler, Julie Sweitzer, H. Jeanie Taylor.

STUDENT ACADEMIC INTEGRITY - Faculty/PA: Dorothy Anderson (chair), Mark Bellcourt, Shawn Curley, Robert Pepin, David Roberts, Daniel Svedarsky, Ava Trent, Carston Wagner. Students: Elizabeth McCann, 4 to be named. Ex Officio: Betty Hackett, Laura Coffin Koch.

STUDENT AFFAIRS - Faculty/PA: Cheryl Meyers (chair), Yasemin Kaygisiz, Amy Lee, Gerald Rinehart Janet Schottel, 1 to be named. Civil Service: David Lenander. Alumni: Cheryl Jorgensen. Students: Clarence Peterson, 8 to be named. Ex Officio: Kathryn Brown.

FOR INFORMATION:

ALL-UNIVERSITY HONORS – Faculty: Shirley Garner (chair), Vernon Cardwell, Lester Drewes, Sara Evans, Mary Lou Fellows, Jooinn Lee, V. Rama Murthy, 1 to be named. Academic Professionals: Stacie Christen, Jean Kucera. Alumni: Jacqueline Byrd, Archie Givens, Judy Lebedoff, Brian Osberg, H. William Walter. Students: Aimee Martin, Tom Walsh, 1 to be named. Ex Officio: Gerald Fischer, Virginia Hansen, Cheryl Jones, Elizabeth Wroblewski.

COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES – Faculty: Dina Lopez (chair), Carl Adams, Jean Bauer, Susan Brorson, Carol Chomsky, Mary Dempsey, Thomas Fletcher, Catherine French, Kathryn Hanna, Richard Poppele, Deon Stuthman, Ken Wallace, Joel Weinsheimer. Academic Professionals: Randy Croce, Lynne Schuman. Students: Matt Dewerff (chair), Judy Berning, Zeina Dajani, Christina Frazier, 3 to be named.

CONSULTATIVE – Faculty: Daniel Feeney (chair), Muriel Bebeau, Susan Brorson, Tom Clayton, Arthur Erdman, Mary Jo Kane, Candace Kruttschnitt, Marvin Marshak, Judith Martin, Jeff Ratliff-Crain. Academic Professional: Teresa Wallace. Students: Judy Berning (chair), Nick Cecconi, Yev Garif, Anthony Heryla, Kelsi Holland, Kari Lindeman, Nathan Saete, Eric Steinhoff, Tom Walsh. Ex Officio: Yev Garif, Marti Hope Gonzales, Ryan Osero, Martin Sampson, Charles Speaks, 1 to be named.

Faculty Senate committee memberships for 2002-03:

FACULTY AFFAIRS – Faculty: John Fossum (chair), Carole Bland, Terence Collins, A. Saari Csallany, Richard Goldstein, Darwin Hendel, Cleon Melsa, Dwight Purdy, Wade Savage, Larry Wallace, Tom Walsh, Carol Wells, Timothy Wiedmann, Aks Zaheer. Academic Professionals: Jessie Daniels, Kathleen Sellew. Ex Officio: Carol Carrier, William Garrard, Robert Jones, Theodor Litman, 2 to be named. Students: 2 to be named.

JUDICIAL – Faculty: George Sheets (chair), F. Ron Akehurst, David Biesboer, Patrick Brezonik, Edward Cushing, Amos Deinard, Mary Dempsey, Bruce Downing, Jeanette Gundel, Patrick Hanna, Cynthia Jara, Diane Katsiaficas, Carol Klee, Sanford Lipsky, Karin Musier-Forsyth, Ken Myers, Sharon Neet, Phyllis Pirie, James Van Alstine, Robert Yahnke.

FOR INFORMATION:

FACULTY CONSULTATIVE – Faculty: Daniel Feeney (chair), Muriel Bebeau, Susan Brorson, Tom Clayton, Arthur Erdman, Mary Jo Kane, Candace Kruttschnitt, Marvin Marshak, Judith Martin, Jeff Ratliff-Crain. Ex Officio: Gary Balas, John Fossum, Marti Hope Gonzales, Marc Jenkins, Mary McEvoy, Martin Sampson, Charles Speaks, 1 to be named.

Twin Cities Campus Assembly committee memberships for 2002-03:

ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON ATHLETICS – Faculty/PA: Eugene Borgida (chair), Linda Brady, Arthur Erdman, Mary Jo Kane, Laura Coffin Koch, Elaine Tyler May, Gerald Rinehart, Richard Weinberg, 1 to be named. Civil Service: Duane Nelson. Alumni: Juanita Luis, John Shasky. Students: Lindsey Hillesheim, 3 to be named. Ex Officio: Carol Gruber, Frank Kara, Joel Maturi.

EDUCATIONAL POLICY – Faculty/PA: Martin Sampson (chair), Dale Branton, Vernon Cardwell, Shawn Curley, Frank Kulacki, Carol Miller, Karen Seashore, Mary Ellen Shaw, Mary Sue Simmons, Douglas Wangensteen. Students: Scott Ferguson, Gretchen Haas, 3 to be named. Ex Officio: Victor Bloomfield, Craig Swan, 1 to be named.

FACULTY ACADEMIC OVERSIGHT ON INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS –
Faculty: Laura Coffin Koch (chair), Eugene Borgida, Linda Brady, Jo-Ida Hansen, Perry Leo, Susan Mantell, Earl Scott, Cathrine Wambach, Richard Weinberg. Ex Officio: Carol Grubber, Frank Kara.

STUDENT BEHAVIOR – Faculty/PA: John S. Anderson (chair), Jane Carlstrom, Patricia Fillipi, Michael LuBrant, James Luby, Judy Rayburn, Michael Rodriguez, Bruce Schelske, Carol Shield, Eden Torres. Students: Zeina Dajani, Ryan Mann, Elizabeth McCann, Daniel O’Connor, at least 6 to be named. Ex Officio: Betty Hackett.

FOR INFORMATION:

ACADEMIC HEALTH CENTER PROVOSTAL FACULTY CONSULTATIVE – Faculty: Marc Jenkins (chair), Denis Clohisy, Edward Combs, Jean Forster, Lois Heller, Christine Mueller, Michael Murphy, Ronald Sawchuk. Ex Officio: Tim Church, 1 to be named.

ACADEMIC HEALTH CENTER STUDENT CONSULTATIVE – Student: Melissa Highman (chair), Jessica Hammell, Alisa Madson, Matthew Wiisanen, 4 to be named.

COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES – Faculty: 1 to be named (chair), Carl Adams, Jean Bauer, Carol Chomsky, Mary Dempsey, Thomas Fletcher, Catherine French, Kathryn Hanna, Richard Poppele, Deon Stuthman, Joel Weinsheimer. Academic Professionals: Randy Croce, Lynne Schuman. Students: 1 to be named (chair), Judy Berning, Zeina Dajani, Christina Frazier, 1 to be named.

COUNCIL ON LIBERAL EDUCATION – Faculty: Richard McCormick (chair), Greg Anderson, John S. Anderson, Terence Collins, Ernest Davenport, John Dickey, Gordon Duke, Joyce Leon, Lary May, Lisa Norling, George Spangler, Vaughan Voller. Academic Professional: Beverly Atkinson. Students: 2 to be named.

NOMINATING – Faculty: 1 to be named (chair), Charles Campbell, Patrice Morrow, Jean Quam, Nelson Rhodus, Richard Skaggs, Carol Wells. Academic Professional: Vicki Glasgow, 1 to be named.

STEERING – Faculty: Daniel Feeney (chair), Muriel Bebeau, Tom Clayton, Arthur Erdman, Mary Jo Kane, Candace Kruttschnitt, Marvin Marshak, Judith Martin. Academic Professional: Teresa Wallace. Students: Judy Berning (chair), Yev Garif, Anthony Heryla, Kari Lindeman, Tom Walsh. Ex Officio: Yev Garif, Marti Hope Gonzales, Ryan Osero, Martin Sampson, Charles Speaks, 1 to be named.

DISCUSSION:

With no discussion a vote was taken and the motion was approved.

_______________________________________
END OF CONSENT AGENDA A

Professor Dan Feeney, Chair of the Senate Consultative Committee (SCC), welcomed senators to the first meeting of the Senate. He then introduced several people who make these meetings happen: Becky Hippert, Vickie Courtney, Gary Engstrand, Renee Dempsey, Professor Carol Wells as Clerk of the Senate, and Professor David McGowan as the Senate Parliamentarian.

Most of the items on today’s agenda are housekeeping in nature. Two items of considerable importance are electronic voting and provostal consultative committees. Returning senators know that sometimes there is a problem with having enough senators at a meeting to pass amendments to the Constitution and Bylaws. There is an amendment that will allow electronic voting as a back-up method only if there are not enough people at a meeting. This amendment is not an intention to subvert the action of the Senate, but is simply meant to make better use of senators’ time. The second item is two remove two of the old provostal committees which are no longer functioning.

Regarding the Faculty Consultative Committee (FCC), there are several items that it is working on. One is the stadium. FCC has made a statement including a list of questions and concerns. FCC has not weighed in for or against the proposal but would like to know what effect it will have on campus. Several senators wanted to discuss this item in depth. Because of the time constraint a discussion cannot be held today, but time has been allotted on October 31 Senate agenda for this discussion. This discussion will still be timely since the Regents will not be making a decision until December. A straw poll is being taken electronically for those people who wanted to weigh in early.

Other issues for FCC are research secrecy, service unit accountability to the academic mission, the presidential search, and regularly-scheduled meetings with Twin Cities Campus deans. Earlier today, FCC met with Vice President David Hamilton regarding research infrastructure, animal care and use, and human subjects review. A questionnaire will be sent out on this last issue.

In closing, he asked senators to contact him with any issues that they felt FCC should be addressing.

Professor Sara Evans, a faculty member of the Presidential Search Advisory Committee, said that she, along with Professors John Sullivan and Wilbert Ahern, are the faculty members on the committee. She stated that she cannot share much information since the nature of the process is for everything to be confidential to generate the best possible pool of candidates.

She encouraged senators to think about everyone that they know in the country and nominate that person or ask them to suggest other nominees. The committee needs to use existing networks to get at the best candidates for the position.

Professor Evans noted that one concern regarding the process is that there are only three faculty on the committee, and of these three, two are historians and two are from the College of Liberal Arts in the Twin Cities. There are no scientists or faculty from a professional school. To be an effective faculty voice on this committee, the three committee members have been meeting with as many faculty leadership groups as possible. This includes faculty leadership groups at Duluth, Crookston, and Morris, as well as IT, CLA, CBS, COAFES, AHC, CSOM, and Law in the Twin Cities. For those senators who have not had an opportunity to meet with the committee members, they are willing to receive the issues, concerns, and priorities by e-mail or voicemail.

Professor Fred Morrison, Chair of the Benefits Advisory Committee (BAC), reminded senators that open enrollment for health benefits is October 16 through November 15 and everyone must re-enroll because dental benefits are changing. There are also some small changes in the medical benefits, so please read the information carefully. In particular, there will be a change in the tiers for some of the care systems in Patient Choice and a change in the Definity offering.

Additionally, there will be changes in the life insurance program. The principle change is that the cost for optional insurance has been reduced between 30-50 percent. For standard life insurance, there will be reduction in benefits in accordance with the Age Discrimination Act for people over 65 years of age.

The BAC is currently considering offering a new benefit on medical evacuation for people who are more than 150 miles from home and primarily in foreign countries. This benefits has not been finalized. Bids are currently out and proposals are due in November.

BAC is also reviewing the successes and problems with the current medial plans. If anyone has any comments, please send them to the Senate Office for disbursement to the BAC.

This year the University, instead of the state, will be the insured party for dental benefits so different choices will be offered. While most of the plans remain the same, the former state dental plan will have a broader network, with an increase of 400-500 dentists, and will be provided by Delta Dental. A non-network plan will also be offered, at an increased premium cost and a fee for restorative services.

_______________________________________
MOTION B – RULES CHANGES
Action by All Bodies

Agenda Items 16. through 19. are offered as a one motion to be taken up as a single item with one vote. Any item will be taken up separately at the request of a senator. A simple majority is required for approval.

To amend Article III, Section 7 of the University Senate Bylaws as follows (new language is underlined).

...

...

- Committee members may participate and vote in committee meetings through an electronic connection.

- The chair or a committee member who voted on the prevailing side, was absent, abstained, or did not vote may move, by electronic communication, that an action taken by the committee be reconsidered. The motion to reconsider, including a proposed disposition, must be made to or by the chair within two business days after the meeting was adjourned. Committee members must vote, by electronic communication, within two business days from the time the motion to reconsider was distributed. The number of votes cast on the motion must meet or exceed the requirement for a quorum; if that number is achieved, a two-thirds majority of those voting is needed for approval of the motion to reconsider.

...

COMMENT:

There have been times when committee members have voted one way on a particular matter and then, after overnight thought, decided the outcome was undesirable and wished to reconsider the item. There has been no legitimate way to reconsider an item immediately unless a special meeting of a committee is called. This change in the rules, which is only possible on practical grounds because of the advent of email, would allow a committee to vote, by two-thirds majority and within four days of the meeting, to change its mind on an action it took. ("Four days" because a committee member eligible to make a motion to reconsider would have up to two days after the meeting to make the motion; the committee would then have two additional days to vote on the motion.)

Although it is unlikely this option will be used very often, the fact that it has arisen on occasion suggests that it might be a helpful device for committees.

To amend Article III, Section 7 of the Twin Cities Campus Assembly Bylaws as follows (new language is underlined).

ARTICLE III. RULES FOR COMMITTEES OF THE ASSEMBLY

...

7. Procedures for Committees of the Assembly

...

- Committee members may participate and vote in committee meetings through an electronic connection.

- The chair or a committee member who voted on the prevailing side, was absent, abstained, or did not vote may move, by electronic communication, that an action taken by the committee be reconsidered. The motion to reconsider, including a proposed disposition, must be made to or by the chair within two business days after the meeting was adjourned. Committee members must vote, by electronic communication, within two business days from the time the motion to reconsider was distributed. The number of votes cast on the motion must meet or exceed the requirement for a quorum; if that number is achieved, a two-thirds majority of those voting is needed for approval of the motion to reconsider.

...

COMMENT:

See the comment to the previous motion.

To amend Article III, Section 2 of the University Senate Rules as follows (new language is underlined; language to be deleted is struck-out).

...

2. Ex Officio Members of Senate Committees

...

- All-University Honors--Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost; Office of the Vice President for Institutional University Relations (three representatives, including one from Alumni Relations and one from the University Development Office)

- Disabilities Issues--Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost (one from the Disability Services Office and the University ADA coordinator); Office for Campus Life (one from the Disability Services Office)

...

- Equity, Access, and Diversity--Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost (two representatives, including one from the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action); Office for Campus Life (one from the Office for Multicultural and Academic Affairs)

- Faculty Affairs--Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost; representative of the University of Minnesota Retirees Association; Office of the Vice President for Human Resources (two representatives, including one from Employee Benefits); Chair (or his/her designee) of the Academic Health Center Faculty Affairs Subcommittee; Chair, Tenure Committee Subcommittee

...

- Information Technologies--Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost (two representatives, including the chief information officer); University Librarian (or his or her designee), Twin Cities Campus; Chair (or his/her designee) of the Library Committee

...

- Research--Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost (two representatives, including the Director of Agricultural Experiment Stations); Office of the Treasurer Office of Budget and Finance; Office of the Senior Vice President for Health Sciences; Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School; University Librarian (his or her designee); Director of Research Compliance

...

- Social Concerns--Office of the Vice President for Campus Life; Office of the Treasurer Office of Budget and Finance (Asset Management); Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost (Office of Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action)

...

- Tenure—Chair, Committee on Faculty Affairs, Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost; Office of the Vice President for Human Resources

COMMENT:

The Senate Parliamentarian has ruled that when the ex officio membership of a committee is identified by individual position (e.g., University Librarian), the individual identified must serve and cannot appoint a designee. This follows from an earlier ruling by the Parliamentarian a number of years ago that committee membership is personal and that proxies or alternates cannot be appointed. The default rule for ex officio members is that they are subject to the same provisions as other committee members, unless there is a provision specifying something to the contrary. Since there is no such provision in Senate governing documents, the University Librarian must serve on the Information Technologies Committee.

The Consultative Committee believes that while the University Librarian should serve personally on the Library Committee (and thus does not recommend changing the same provision in the designation of ex officio members on the Library Committee), it does believe that the University Librarian should have the option of designating someone to represent the office on the Information Technologies Committee.

The other changes are editorial.

To amend Article III, Section 2 of the Twin Cities Campus Assembly Rules as follows (new language is underlined; language to be deleted is struck-out).

ARTICLE III. RULES FOR COMMITTEES OF THE ASSEMBLY

...

2. Ex Officio members of Assembly Committees

...

- Advisory Committee on Athletics--Directors Director of intercollegiate athletics; Director of Academic Counseling; Director of Compliance

...

COMMENT:

This is an editorial change to reflect the structure change in the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.

DISCUSSION:

A senator noted that the ex officio membership for the Research Committee should be changed to read “Vice President for Research” and “Director for Compliance” due to administrative changes. These changes were accepted as friendly amendments.

With no further discussion a vote was taken and the motion was approved.

_______________________________________
END OF MOTION B

_______________________________________
MOTION C – BYLAWS CHANGES
Action by All Bodies

Agenda Items 20. through 27. are offered as a one motion to be taken up as a single item with one vote. Any item will be taken up separately at the request of a senator.

As an amendment to the Senate bylaws, a motion requires either a majority of all voting members of the Senate (115) at one regular or special meeting, or a majority of all members of the Senate present and voting at each of two meetings. As an amendment to the Assembly bylaws, a motion requires either a majority of all voting members of the Assembly (99) at one regular or special meeting, or a majority of all members of the Assembly present and voting at each of two meetings. This is the first meeting at which these motions are being presented.

To amend Article III, Section 3 of the University Senate Bylaws as follows (new language is underlined; language to be deleted is struck-out).

ARTICLE III. SENATE COMMITTEES

3. CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEES

...

Faculty Consultative Committee

Membership

...

- Each campus faculty shall submit to the clerk of the campus assembly a slate of twice as many candidates as are to be elected from its numbers. These candidates shall be nominated and certified as available according to procedures set forth by each campus assembly, and shall be announced in the campus assembly docket for the first regular meeting of the spring semester. The clerk of the campus assembly shall distribute, by mail, election ballots and slates to all faculty members eligible to vote for members of the Senate and shall receive all returns. The election shall be held and completed during a period commencing February 1 and ending March 10 by April 5. In case of a tie, the clerk shall choose the successful candidate by lot.

COMMENT:

Since the election for the Faculty Consultative Committee (FCC) can not begin until the ballot has been approved, and since this approval does not take place until the end of February at the first Faculty Senate meeting of spring semester, the FCC recommends that the election period be extended in order to be in compliance with the provision in the Bylaws.

To amend Article I, Section 2b of the University Senate Bylaws as follows (new language is underlined; language to be deleted is struck-out).

ARTICLE I. UNIVERSITY SENATE MEMBERSHIP, ELECTIONS, AND OFFICERS

1. Voting Units

...

2. Faculty/Academic Professional Elections

The elected representatives of the faculties shall be elected in accordance with the following procedures:

a. Each spring before April 1, the clerk of the University Senate shall prepare for each faculty/academic professional unit listed in Section 1 of this Article a list of all persons in that unit who, as of March 1, are entitled to vote for Senate members, and shall send the appropriate number of copies thereof to the administrative head of each unit.

b. Between April 1 and April 30, each unit listed in Section 1 of this Article shall conduct an election for Senate members and alternate members, if any. Each unit shall establish its own procedures for conducting its elections. The results of the elections shall be mailed to the clerk of the Senate not later than May 5.

In establishing election procedures, each unit must adhere to the following principles and must provide notice of these principles to all individuals eligible to vote:

--the Senate office will provide a ballot template that colleges and campuses may use.

...

COMMENT:

The Faculty Consultative Committee has been made aware that on occasion, in some units, not all eligible individuals in a unit were permitted to participate in the nomination process for Senate members. It has also been the case that eligible individuals were not permitted to be on the ballot. As a result of such incidents, FCC recommends that the Senate approve these minimum standards for the conduct of elections to the Senate.

To authorize the Senate Consultative Committee and Assembly Steering Committee to make all necessary editorial changes to the Senate and Assembly bylaws concerning the appointment of civil service staff members to committees.

COMMENT:

At present, the Civil Service Committee nominates to the President individuals to fill slots on Senate and Assembly committees allocated to civil service staff. The President and the Civil Service Committee have agreed that the Civil Service Committee should simply make the appointments, without presidential involvement in the process.

This motion authorizes the steering committees of the Senate and the Assembly to make the appropriate editorial changes in the membership provision for each Senate and Assembly committee that provides for civil service staff membership.

To authorize the Senate Consultative Committee and Assembly Steering Committee to make all necessary editorial changes to the Senate and Assembly bylaws concerning the appointment of civil service staff members to committees.

COMMENT:

See the comment to the previous motion.

MOTION:

To amend the University Senate Bylaws to remove from the list of committee responsibilities for all committees the responsibility to write an annual report.

COMMENT:

Rather than present the very long list of committees with the strike-outs showing that this item in each committee charge will be deleted, the Consultative Committee requests approval from the Senate and Assembly to make the changes in the bylaws.

Annual reports were perhaps useful in a day when committee minutes were not widely distributed and were not available on the web. Now, however, when some committee minutes are distributed widely to the University community, and when all minutes are available on the web, preparing an annual report is redundant. It is only rarely--if ever--that anyone looks at annual reports; they languish in committee files in the Senate office. We see no sense in asking committee chairs or the Senate staff to prepare reports that no one reads and that are of no use to anyone.

MOTION:

To amend the Twin Cities Campus Assembly Bylaws to remove from the list of committee responsibilities for all committees the responsibility to write an annual report.

COMMENT:

See the comment to the previous motion.

To amend Article III, Section 6 of the Twin Cities Campus Assembly Bylaws as follows (new language is underlined; language to be deleted is struck-out).

...

The Nominating Committee shall consist of seven tenured or tenure-track faculty and two academic professional staff members. Both the faculty and the academic professional members shall serve for three-year terms. In case of a vacancy, the remaining members, by majority vote, shall fill the vacancy by interim appointment until the next general election.

...

At present there is no mechanism for replacing a member of the Nominating Committee who has resigned or is otherwise unable to complete his or her term. The Consultative Committee recommends that the Nominating Committee have available the same mechanism available to the Consultative Committee and the Committee on Committees: election of someone to fill the vacancy until the next election.

Normally the Committee on Committees will fill any vacancy that occurs on a Senate or Assembly committee. In the case of committees whose members are elected rather than appointed, however, it is awkward to try to conduct mid-year elections to fill a slot for a few months. We believe it more effective and efficient simply to allow the group to elect someone to fill the position until the next election (by the Assembly) in the spring.

To amend Article III, Section 5 of the Twin Cities Campus Assembly Bylaws as follows (new language is underlined; language to be deleted is struck-out).

ARTICLE III. TWIN CITIES CAMPUS ASSEMBLY COMMITTEES

5. INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS

...

To carry out these responsibilities delegated to it by the Board of Regents, the Assembly establishes the following agencies:

...

5B. ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON ATHLETICS

...

Membership

The Advisory Committee on Athletics shall consist of the following voting members:

(1) a Chair, who must be a tenured faculty member, who holds no administrative appointment higher than department chair or head, appointed by the President after consultation with the Assembly Steering Committee, for a term of three (3) years one year;

...

The directors director of intercollegiate athletics, the director of academic counseling and the director of compliance shall serve as non-voting ex officio members.

...

COMMENT:

No chairs are appointed for three-year terms; committee chairs are always for one year with the possibility of reappointment. It was not intended that the appointment as chair be for three years; this change brings the term of the Advisory Committee Chair into line with the terms of all other chairs.

The other changes are editorial in nature to reflect the structure change in the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and the change in the order of the Bylaws.

DISCUSSION:

With no discussion a vote was taken and the University Senate motions were approved with 146 in favor and none opposed. The Twin Cities Campus Assembly motions were approved with 121 in favor and none opposed.

_______________________________________
END OF MOTION C

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MOTION D – CONSTITUTION CHANGES
Action by All Bodies

Agenda Items 28. through 31. are offered as a one motion to be taken up as a single item with one vote. Any item will be taken up separately at the request of a senator.

As an amendment to the Senate Constitution, a motion requires either a two-thirds majority of all voting members of the Senate (152) at one regular or special meeting, or a majority of all members of the Senate (115) at each of two meetings. As an amendment to the Assembly Constitution, a motion requires either a two-thirds majority of all voting members of the Assembly (131) at one regular or special meeting, or a majority of all members of the Assembly (99) at each of two meetings. This is the first meeting at which these motions are being presented.

To amend Article III, Section 6 of the University Senate Constitution as follows (new language is underlined; language to be deleted is struck out).

ARTICLE III. UNIVERSITY SENATE

...

6. University Senate and Student Senate Officers

a. The president of the University shall chair the University Senate. A vice chair shall be elected by the Senate at its last regularly scheduled meeting in the spring semester of the academic year from among its current members for a term of one year and shall be eligible for re-election. The president, with the consent of the Senate, shall appoint a clerk and a parliamentarian of the Senate (non-members of the Senate), whose duties shall be prescribed in the Senate Bylaws.

...

The Consultative Committee does not believe there is any compelling reason to restrict the choice of Senate or Assembly vice chair from the current members of the Senate or Assembly. The traditional practice for a number of years (although not required by any Senate or Assembly rule) is that the faculty (typically the Faculty Consultative Committee) nominate the vice chair of the Senate and the students (typically the Student Senate Consultative Committee) nominate the vice chair of the Assembly. When the vice chair of the University Senate is a faculty member, that individual has also automatically served as chair of the Faculty Senate (in the event a student were elected vice chair of the University Senate, the Faculty Senate would elect from among its members someone to serve as vice chair). The vice chair of the Senate is a voting member of the Senate and Faculty Consultative Committees (or, if the vice chair of the University Senate were a student, the vice chair of the Faculty Senate would serve as a voting member of the Faculty Consultative Committee).

The Faculty Consultative Committee (FCC), in identifying a nominee to serve as vice chair of the University and Faculty Senates, considers the balance of its membership. To restrict the nominations to current members of the Senate or Assembly restricts the degrees of freedom FCC has to ensure it can adequately represent the interests of faculty from across the University.

The Student Senate Consultative Committee (SSCC), believes this change would provide an opportunity for one more student to become involved in the University and Student Senates. With the small number of student senators compared to the total student population, many student voices and opinions are often left unheard or unknown. If the student elected was a nonmember, one more student prospective would be brought forth, allowing the Student Senate to better represent the student body.

To amend Article II, Section 4 of the Twin Cities Campus Assembly Constitution as follows (new language is underlined; language to be deleted is struck out).

...

4. Assembly Officers

The president of the University shall chair the Assembly. A vice chair shall be elected by the Assembly at its last meeting in the spring semester of the academic year from among its current members for a term of one year and shall be eligible for re-election. The president, with the consent of the Assembly, shall appoint a clerk and a parliamentarian of the Assembly (non-members of the Assembly), whose duties shall be prescribed in the Assembly Bylaws and Rules.

...

COMMENT:

See the comment to the previous motion.

To amend Article VIII and Article IX of the University Senate Constitution as follows (new language is underlined).

An amendment to this Constitution shall be approved either by a two-thirds majority of all voting members of the University Senate at a regular or special meeting, or by a majority of all voting members of the Senate at each of two meetings, the second of which shall be the next regular meeting; and provided the proposed amendment has been distributed, in writing, to the persons and in the manner provided in Article III, Section 7, for distribution of the Senate agenda, at least ten days prior to the date of the vote on the approval of the proposed amendment. An amendment shall be effective following approval by the University Senate and by the Board of Regents.

If a proposed constitutional amendment has received affirmative votes of 80% or more of those present and voting at a meeting of the Senate, but the number of votes cast is insufficient to adopt the amendment (either a two-thirds majority of all voting members at one meeting or a majority of all voting members at the second of two meetings), the amendment may be submitted electronically to all members of the Senate for a second vote. The votes must be cast no later than three working days from the time of adjournment of the Senate meeting at which the item was considered. The number of votes required for electronic approval will be the same as the number required for approval at the meeting.

The University Senate may enact or amend its Bylaws either by a majority of all voting members of the University Senate at a regular or special meeting, or by a majority of all members of the Senate present and voting at each of two meetings, the second of which shall be the next regular meeting, provided the proposed change has been submitted, in writing, to each member of the Senate at least ten days prior to the date of the vote on the approval of the proposed change.

If a proposed bylaw amendment has received affirmative votes of 80% or more of those present and voting at a meeting of the Senate, but the number of votes cast is insufficient to adopt the amendment (either a majority of all voting members at one meeting or a majority those present and voting at the second of two meetings), the amendment may be submitted electronically to all members of the Senate for a second vote. The votes must be cast no later than three working days from the time of adjournment of the Senate meeting at which the item was considered. The number of votes required for electronic approval will be the same as the number required for approval at the meeting.

COMMENT:

There have been repeated occasions over the past several years when constitutional or bylaw amendments have received unanimous or near-unanimous support from the Senate or Assembly but which were nonetheless not adopted because the required absolute majority vote was not obtained simply because there were not enough people present at the meeting. The Senate Consultative Committee recommends that when an item has received the support of at least 80% of those present at a meeting (and most of these items receive 100% support), the Senate office be permitted to submit the item to senators electronically for a vote of all members. If members of the Senate or Assembly fulfill their responsibility and respond to the electronic ballot, most of the proposals could then be adopted promptly and the business of the Senate and Assembly could proceed unimpeded.

To amend Article VI and Article VII of the Twin Cities Campus Assembly Constitution as follows (new language is underlined).

An amendment to this Constitution shall be approved either by a two-thirds majority of all voting members of the Assembly at a meeting, or by a majority of all voting members of the Assembly at each of two meetings; and provided the proposed amendment has been distributed, in writing, to the persons and in the manner provided in Article II, Section 5, for distribution of the Assembly agenda, at least ten days prior to the date of the vote on the approval of the proposed amendment. An amendment shall be effective following approval by the Assembly and the regents.

The Assembly may enact or amend its Bylaws either by majority of all voting members of the Assembly at a regular or special meeting, or by a majority of all members of the Assembly present and voting at each of two meetings, the second of which shall be the next regular meeting, provided the proposed change has been submitted, in writing, to each member of the Assembly at least ten days prior to the date of the vote on the approval of the proposed change.

If a proposed bylaw amendment has received affirmative votes of 80% or more of those present and voting at a meeting of the Assembly, but the number of votes cast is insufficient to adopt the amendment (either a majority of all voting members at one meeting or a majority those present and voting at the second of two meetings), the amendment may be submitted electronically to all members of the Assembly for a second vote. The votes must be cast no later than three working days from the time of adjournment of the Assembly meeting at which the item was considered. The number of votes required for electronic approval will be the same as the number required for approval at the meeting.

COMMENT:

See the comment to the previous motion.

DISCUSSION:

With no discussion, a vote was taken and the University Senate motions were not approved with only 143 votes in favor and none opposed. The Twin Cities Campus Assembly motions were not approved with only 123 votes in favor and none opposed. All motions will be on the next docket for approval.

_______________________________________
END OF MOTION D

_______________________________________
MOTION E – BYLAWS CHANGES
Action by All Bodies

Agenda Items 32. through 38. are offered as a one motion to be taken up as a single item with one vote. Any item will be taken up separately at the request of a senator.

As an amendment to the Senate bylaws, a motion requires either a majority of all voting members of the Senate (115) at one regular or special meeting, or a majority of all members of the Senate present and voting at each of two meetings. As an amendment to the Assembly bylaws, a motion requires either a majority of all voting members of the Assembly (99) at one regular or special meeting, or a majority of all members of the Assembly present and voting at each of two meetings. This is the second meeting at which these motions are being presented. These motions received 102 affirmative votes at the April 25, 2002, meeting.

To amend Article III, Section 3 of the University Senate Bylaws as follows (new language is underlined) by adding a new section (i) and renumbering existing sections accordingly.

...

...

...

...

COMMENT:

The Steering Committee/Consultative Committee recommends that the Assembly/Senate authorize it to make changes in Assembly/Senate policies and documents (including the bylaws and constitution) when the ONLY reason for a change is to reflect changes in administrative titles (individuals or units/organizations) to which there might be reference in Senate or Assembly documents. This will eliminate the need to bring to the floor of the Senate or Assembly amendments to bylaws or policies or other documents which are only necessary because a title has changed. (One example is that the Academic Staff Advisory Committee has recently changed its name to the Council of Academic Professionals and Administrators. The Consultative Committee surmised that the Senate is not particularly interested in acting on pages of bylaw changes which incorporated this change, which follow later in this packet.)

If there is any change in the reporting line, or change in office or administrator name that reflects substantive (or substantial) changes in responsibility, the Steering Committee/Consultative Committee will bring the change to the Assembly/Senate.

To amend Article III, Section 8 of the Twin Cities Campus Assembly Bylaws as follows (new language is underlined) by adding a new section (h) and renumbering accordingly.

ARTICLE III. TWIN CITIES CAMPUS ASSEMBLY COMMITTEES

...

8. STEERING COMMITTEES

...

...

...

...

...

COMMENT:

This motion for editorial changes for Assembly policies and documents parallels the previous motion for Senate policies and documents.

To amend Article II of the University Senate Bylaws as follows (new language is underlined; language to be deleted is struck out).

ARTICLE II. RULES FOR COMMITTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY SENATE

...

5. Faculty/academic professional appointments to committees of the Senate normally shall be made for terms of three years with appointments so adjusted that the terms of approximately one third of the members expire each year. Academic professionals eligible to vote may serve on all committees that report to the University Senate except the Consultative Committee Faculty Consultative Committee and the Judicial Committee. Student appointments to committees of the Senate shall be made for terms of one year (see Rules Article III, Section 3, for student eligibility rules).

...

COMMENT:

With the recent change in membership provisions for academic professionals on Senate committees, a proviso was made that the Council of Academic Professionals and Administrators would have a representative on the Senate Consultative Committee. This amendment brings this section of the bylaws into alignment with the amendments passed at the last meeting.

The addition of the Judicial Committee and Faculty Consultative Committee clarifies what is already provided in the membership provision for the committees. Inasmuch as the Judicial Committee hears claims concerning the tenure code, which applies only to faculty, only faculty members may serve on it. The Faculty Consultative Committee, as the name indicates, represents the faculty.

To amend Article II of the Twin Cities Campus Assembly Bylaws as follows (new language is underlined; language to be deleted is struck out).

ARTICLE II. RULES FOR COMMITTEES OF THE TWIN CITIES CAMPUS ASSEMBLY

...

5. Faculty/academic professional appointments to committees of the Assembly shall be made for terms of three years with appointments so adjusted that the terms of approximately one third of the members expire each year. Academic professionals eligible to vote may serve on all committees that report to the Assembly except the Steering Committee Academic Health Center Faculty Consultative Committee, the Faculty Academic Oversight Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics, and the Faculty Steering Committee. Student appointments to committees of the Assembly shall be made for terms of one year (see Rules Article III, Section 3, for student eligibility rules).

...

COMMENT:

This amendment clarifies the membership of certain committees in light of the expanded representation the Assembly granted to academic professionals.

To amend Article III, Section 3 of the Twin Cities Campus Assembly Bylaws as follows (new language is underlined; language to be deleted is struck out).

ARTICLE III. TWIN CITIES CAMPUS ASSEMBLY COMMITTEES

...

3. COUNCIL ON LIBERAL EDUCATION

...

Membership

The Council on Liberal Education shall be composed of faculty and student representatives (both undergraduate and graduate/professional); members of the academic staff may also be appointed. Three-quarters of the members of the Council shall be regular faculty members. ["Regular" as defined in Faculty Tenure]. The faculty members shall be appointed by the Provost, in consultation with the deans and with the faculty members of the Assembly Steering Committee, and shall be drawn from among the colleges and schools of the Twin Cities campus, including the professional schools. The student members shall be appointed by the Provost in consultation with the student members of the Assembly Steering Committee. Academic staff members shall be appointed by the Provost in consultation with the Academic Staff Advisory Committee Council of Academic Professionals and Administrators. The chair of the Council shall be designated by the Provost and shall be a faculty member.

...

COMMENT:

This amendment is an editorial change to reflect the new title of a committee.

To amend Article III, Section 6 of the Twin Cities Campus Assembly Bylaws as follows (new language is underlined; language to be deleted is struck out).

ARTICLE III. TWIN CITIES CAMPUS ASSEMBLY COMMITTEES

...

6. NOMINATING COMMITTEE

...

Membership

...

The Faculty Steering Committee shall nominate and certify as available twice as many tenured or tenure-track faculty members as there are faculty seats available seats on the Nominating Committee. The Academic Staff Advisory Committee Council of Academic Professionals and Administrators shall nominate and certify as available twice as many academic professional staff members as there are academic professional seats available on the Nominating Committee. The nominations will be presented at the first Assembly meeting of spring semester. Additional nominations, certified as available, may be made by: (1) petition of 12 voting members of the faculty (for faculty members) or 12 voting members of the academic professional staff (for the academic professional members), provided that the petition is in the hands of the clerk of the Assembly the day before the Assembly meeting; (2) nomination on the floor of the Assembly. In the event there are additional nominations, the Assembly shall by vote reduce the slate to twice the number to be elected, and shall forward the results to the clerk of the Assembly.

...

Duties and Responsibilities

a. The faculty members of the Nominating Committee shall nominate and certify as available twice as many faculty candidates as are to be elected each year from the Twin Cities campus and from those faculty from the Duluth campus eligible to vote in Senate elections to the University Senate Consultative Committee. These candidates shall be announced in the Twin Cities Campus Assembly docket for the first meeting of the spring semester. Additional nominations, certified as available, may be made by: (1) petition of 12 voting members of the faculties, provided that the petition is in the hands of the clerk of the Assembly the day before the Assembly meeting; (2) nomination on the floor of the Assembly. The faculty representatives of the Assembly shall by vote reduce the slate to twice the number to be elected and shall forward the results to the clerk of the University Senate. Election procedures shall be in accordance with Article III, Section 4 3, of the University Senate Bylaws.

...

COMMENT:

This amendment makes two editorial changes; one to reflect the new title of a committee and the second to change the reference to a specific section of the University Senate Bylaws.

To amend Article III, Section 7 of the University Senate Bylaws as follows (new language is underlined; language to be deleted is struck out).

ARTICLE III. SENATE COMMITTEES

...

7. FACULTY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

...

Duties and Responsibilities

...

g. Interact with the Academic Staff Advisory Committee (ASAC) Council of Academic Professionals and Administrators (CAPA) on all items that jointly impact academic staff and faculty, such as benefits and retirement.

...

COMMENT:

This amendment is an editorial change to reflect the new title of a committee.

DISCUSSION:

With no discussion, a vote was taken and the motions were approved by a majority vote.

_______________________________________
END OF MOTION E

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MOTION F – BYLAWS CHANGES
Action by All Bodies

Agenda Items 39. through 41. are offered as a one motion to be taken up as a single item with one vote. Any item will be taken up separately at the request of a senator.

As an amendment to the Senate bylaws, a motion requires either a majority of all voting members of the Senate (115) at one regular or special meeting, or a majority of all members of the Senate present and voting at each of two meetings. As an amendment to the Assembly bylaws, a motion requires either a majority of all voting members of the Assembly (99) at one regular or special meeting, or a majority of all members of the Assembly present and voting at each of two meetings. This is the second meeting at which these motions are being presented. These motions received 108 affirmative votes at the April 25, 2002, meeting.

To delete Article III, Section 7 of the Twin Cities Campus Assembly Bylaws and add a new Section 1 as follows (new language is underlined; language to be deleted is struck out), renumbering existing sections accordingly.

ARTICLE III. TWIN CITIES CAMPUS ASSEMBLY COMMITTEES

...

7. PROVOSTAL FACULTY CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEES

There shall be a Provostal Faculty Consultative Committee (PFCC) within each of the provostries on the Twin Cities campus. Each PFCC shall represent the faculty at large of its respective provostry and not the individual institutes, colleges, schools, or departments within the provostry.

Membership

The Provostal Faculty Consultative Committees shall be composed as follows:

Academic Health Center: 8 faculty members [2 from the Medical School and 1 each from Dentistry, Nursing, Pharmacy, Public Health, Veterinary Medicine, and the UMD School of Medicine].

Arts, Sciences, and Engineering: 6 faculty members [2 each from the College of Liberal Arts and the Institute of Technology and 1 each from the College of Biological Sciences and General College].

Professional Studies: 9 faculty members [1 each from Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Sciences; Architecture and Landscape Architecture; Education and Human Development; Human Ecology; Law; Management; University of Minnesota Extension Service; Natural Resources; and Public Affairs].

Members shall be nominated in accordance with procedures established for the Faculty Consultative Committee election and elected by college. Terms of office shall be three years with terms beginning July 1 and terminating June 30. no member is eligible to serve more than two consecutive full terms. Elections shall be adjusted so that the terms of approximately one third of the members shall expire each year.

In case of a faculty vacancy, the remaining members of the Provostal Faculty Consultative Committee by majority vote shall fill the vacancy by interim appointment until the next general election. In the event of changes in collegiate structure, the Faculty Assembly Steering Committee shall be authorized to redistribute the membership within the appropriate PFCC.

Each Provostal Faculty Consultative Committee shall elect its chair from amongst its members for a one-year term of office. The chair shall be eligible for re-election to that position.

Duties and Responsibilities

a. To meet at least monthly to discuss matters of concern to the faculty.

b. To meet regularly with the provost and other academic officers to represent the viewpoints of the faculty.

c. The chair of each Provostal Faculty Consultative Committee shall meet each semester with the chair of the respective Provostal Student Consultative Committee to discuss issues of concern to both faculty and students, and the two committees shall meet jointly as deemed necessary by the chairs.

d. To meet periodically with Faculty Senate/Assembly members from the respective provostry to facilitate communication with the faculty.

e. To meet with the Faculty Consultative Committee/Twin Cities Campus Faculty Assembly Steering Committee at least annually.

f. To report to the Faculty Assembly Steering Committee.

g. To submit an annual report to the Faculty Assembly Steering Committee.

...

When the Twin Cities campus was divided administratively into three provostries, the Assembly established three provostal faculty consultative committees to meet with the provosts. When President Yudof was appointed, he eliminated the three provostries and replaced them with the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost (but retained the "provost" for the Academic Health Center, renaming the position the Senior Vice President for the Health Sciences). The two provostal faculty consultative committees proposed for dissolution have not met since President Yudof was appointed.

This motion (1) disestablishes the two provostal faculty consultative committees for which there is no longer an administrative officer, and (2) continues the Academic Health Center Faculty Consultative Committee.

It is the view of the Faculty Steering Committee that if the Executive Vice President and Provost is going to meet regularly with a consultative committee, in his or her capacity as Provost of the Twin Cities Campus, it should be the Faculty Steering Committee (the Twin Cities members of the Faculty Consultative Committee), not a group that represents a subset of the Twin Cities campus.

To delete Article III, Section 6 of the Twin Cities Campus Assembly Bylaws as follows (new language is underlined).

ARTICLE III. TWIN CITIES CAMPUS ASSEMBLY COMMITTEES

...

...

...

The Faculty Steering Committee shall nominate and certify as available twice as many tenured or tenure-track faculty members as there are faculty seats available seats on the Nominating Committee. The Academic Staff Advisory Committee shall nominate and certify as available twice as many academic professional staff members as there are academic professional seats available on the Nominating Committee. The nominations will be presented at the first Assembly meeting of spring semester. Additional nominations, certified as available, may be made by: (1) petition of 12 voting members of the faculty (for faculty members) or 12 voting members of the academic professional staff (for the academic professional members), provided that the petition is in the hands of the clerk of the Assembly the day before the Assembly meeting; (2) nomination on the floor of the Assembly. In the event there are additional nominations, the Assembly shall by vote reduce the slate to twice the number to be elected, and shall forward the results to the clerk of the Assembly.

...

...

b. Both the faculty and academic professional members of the Nominating Committee shall nominate and certify as available twice as many faculty/academic professional candidates for the Committee on Committees as are to be elected each year. These candidates shall be announced in the Assembly docket for the last meeting of the academic year. Additional nominations, certified as available, may be made by: (1) petition of 12 voting members of the faculty or academic professional staff eligible to serve in the Assembly, provided that the petition is in the hands of the clerk of the Assembly the day before the Assembly meeting; (2) nomination on the floor of the Assembly. At the last Assembly meeting of the year, the faculty/academic professional representatives of the Assembly shall elect by secret ballot members of the Committee on Committees for three-year terms. No faculty/academic professional member is eligible to serve more than two consecutive full terms. In the case of a tie, the chair of the Assembly shall cast the deciding vote.

...

d. To report to the Faculty Steering Committee any issues or problems it encounters which require the attention of the Assembly.

...

This is a joint recommendation from the Faculty Steering Committee and the Nominating Committee, made under the provision of (d), above. The Faculty Steering Committee (the Twin Cities member of the Faculty Consultative Committee), which nominates candidates for the Nominating Committee (the body that identifies Twin Cities candidates for FCC and for the Committee on Committees), determined that two of the incumbent members of the Nominating Committee were willing to continue their service.

This is the first year that the Nominating Committee has existed and performed the tasks assigned to it. In order to establish a rotation in membership terms, two of the seven faculty appointed last year were given one-year terms. (Three were given two-year terms and three were given three-year terms.)

The two individuals who were given one-year terms, Professor Charles Campbell (Institute of Technology) and Professor Carol Wells (Medical School), have said they were willing to continue to serve. Both individuals have been conscientious, thoughtful, and contributing members of the Nominating Committee who bring a campus-wide perspective to their work of identifying candidates.

The Faculty Steering Committee concluded that it would be better to propose the bylaw amendment above (under the "Membership" paragraphs) rather than set up an election in which two willing and able colleagues would be forced to "run" in an election against two other able colleagues. This seemed to the Steering Committee a pointless exercise. Rather than pit two individuals against each other, both of whom are willing to serve the University through its governance system, it seemed more sensible to ask those individuals on the Nominating Committee if they would agree to reappointment, and ask others to serve in other capacities.

The same logic applies to the work of the Nominating Committee in identifying members of the Committee on Committees (under "Duties and Responsibilities" section (b)): when incumbent members of the Committee on Committees who have been thoughtful and productive members agree to serve a second term, it seemed pointless to have to set up an election where one of our colleagues would lose.

Obviously, in those cases when someone does not wish to serve another term, or is no longer eligible, there would be an election by the Assembly. It should also be noted that this option of reappointment rather than election does NOT include the members of the Faculty Consultative Committee itself; for those positions there would continue to be elections irrespective of whether or not an incumbent candidate is willing to serve a second term.

To amend Article III, Section 2 of the University Senate Bylaws as follows (new language is underlined).

ARTICLE III. SENATE COMMITTEES

...

2. COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES

Of the undergraduate student members, 3 shall be elected from the Twin Cities campus, and one each from the Crookston, Duluth, and Morris campuses. The Twin Cities undergraduate members shall be elected by the Twin Cities undergraduate Student Senate members from among their number. The graduate/professional student shall be elected by the graduate and professional Student Senate members from among their number. Crookston, Duluth, and Morris members shall be elected by their campus assemblies. Elections shall be held during spring semester. Terms of membership shall be for one year. Any student committee position that cannot be filled by October 1 will become a Student Senate at-large position and may be filled by the Student Senate Consultative Committee on an interim basis until the next general election. Student vacancies shall be filled in accordance with the preceding procedures for the balance of any unexpired term until the next general election.

...

COMMENT:

There is currently no provision for filling Student Committee on Committees’ vacancies arising after the initial elections. This amendment corrects the problem.

DISCUSSION:

With no discussion, a vote was taken and the motions were approved by a majority vote.

_______________________________________
END OF MOTION F

As an amendment to the Assembly bylaws, a motion requires either a majority of all voting members of the Assembly (99) at one regular or special meeting, or a majority of all members of the Assembly present and voting at each of two meetings. This is the second meeting at which these motions are being presented. These motions received 28 affirmative votes at the April 25, 2002, meeting.

To amend Article III, Section 8 of the Twin Cities Campus Assembly Bylaws as follows (new language is underlined).

ARTICLE III. TWIN CITIES CAMPUS ASSEMBLY COMMITTEES

...

8. STEERING COMMITTEES

...

Assembly Steering Committee

Membership

The Assembly Steering Committee shall be composed of 7 (or possibly 8) elected members of the faculty, 1 elected academic professional member, 5 elected undergraduate and graduate/professional students, and the vice chair of the Assembly. The numbers of undergraduate and graduate/professional students on the Student Steering Committee shall be as follows:

In 1998-99, and every other year thereafter, there shall be three undergraduate students and two graduate/professional students. In 1999-2000, and every other year thereafter, there shall be four undergraduate students and one graduate/professional student.

The faculty representatives shall serve as the Faculty Steering Committee; the student representatives and the chair of the Student Assembly, unless the chair is from another campus, shall serve as the Student Steering Committee.

...

COMMENT:

The recent changes in the membership of various Senate and Assembly committees adding P&A staff to some of them included an agreement that there would be one P&A staff member on the Senate Consultative Committee (but not the Faculty Consultative Committee) and Assembly Steering Committee (but not the Faculty Steering Committee). The amendment to include the P&A representative on the Assembly Steering Committee was inadvertently omitted from the original package of amendments regarding P&A staff.

DISCUSSION:

With no discussion, a vote was taken and the motion was approved with 110 in favor and none opposed.

As an amendment to the Senate Constitution, a motion requires either a two-thirds majority of all voting members of the Senate (152) at one regular or special meeting, or a majority of all members of the Senate (115) at each of two meetings. This is the third meeting at which this motion is being presented. The motion received 119 votes in favor at the March 28, 2002, meeting and was withdrawn from the April 25, 2002, meeting.

MOTION:

To amend the Senate Constitution, Article III (3), as follows (new language is underlined):

3. Allocation of Functions and Powers

...

d. In general, functions allocated to the Faculty Senate shall include but not be limited to accreditation, designation and granting of University honors, policies concerning faculty appointment and tenure, and matters within the jurisdiction of the Faculty Affairs and Judicial Committees. Only those members of the Faculty Senate who hold probationary or tenured faculty appointments may vote on changes in the "Regulations Concerning Faculty Tenure," any matters related to tenure, or any matters related to the Judicial Committee.

...

COMMENT:

As part of a package of bylaw revisions establishing positions on some Senate and Assembly committees for academic professional members, the Faculty Consultative Committee and the Council on Academic Professionals and Administrators agreed that academic professional members of the Faculty Senate should not be voting on tenure or Judicial Committee matters, which are issues of concern exclusively to the faculty.

DISCUSSION:

With no discussion, a vote was taken and the motion was not approved with only 137 votes in favor. The motion will be on the next docket for approval.

It is an honor in my 35^th year at the University of Minnesota, to serve as Interim President of this great institution. Succeeding Mark Yudof is a daunting task, but, from serving as Executive Vice President and Provost for five years, I can tell you that the vision he and I shared for the University remains the touchstone for my work here. Mark deserves our thanks, and I think the University community did a good job of recognizing his many contributions in the weeks leading up to his and Judy’s departure.

In fact, President Yudof finished up his work here on a day that I was out of town, so he used the office I recently moved into. When I came back, I found notes posted from Mark on my wife’s picture, my bookshelf and my favorite trophy:

For my part, I want to thank the many interconnected communities here at the University, and particularly our academic community, for the support they’ve given to me and to my administration.

Susan and I have had to do some adjusting to these new titles and responsibilities. I’ve been cleared to tell you that she recently introduced herself as the “interim wife of the president.”—still sorting out this new title.

While this may be a time of transition, both in university leadership and in the state budget climate, I want to assure you that leadership of this great university is fully committed to maintaining an upward trajectory, to fulfilling the promises we’ve made to the University community and to the state of Minnesota. We have an excellent team of senior leaders in place—perhaps the best leadership team assembled here at the University. And we are governed by a dedicated group of Regents as well as the wise faculty and staff with us here today.

In our research, in the caliber of students we are attracting and in the quality experience they get on our campuses, we cannot afford to slow down. We are an institution with a century and a half legacy of learning and innovation. At the same time, we are in an increasingly competitive environment—for the best faculty and staff, for the best students, for limited state dollars, for sponsored research funding, and for private gifts. Truly, to mark time is to lose ground in higher education today.

II. University successes:
You can see a lot at the University of Minnesota today that exemplifies our strength and vitality.

For our students, faculty, staff and alumni, the campus renaissance we have experienced on our campuses for the past several years is slowly moving from jackhammers to genomics, from dust and detours to digital technology and design. It is a great source of pride for me to see the dozens of projects that are either finished or well underway, including:

Regarding our students, both our applications and our enrollments continue to rise.

As Art Rolnick, a graduate and a senior vice president of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank, has said, “The University’s product—the gold it produces—is its well educated students and its...research.”^[1] And that research enterprise continues to grow.

The University’s strength and excellence extends beyond the Twin Cities campus.

On our Duluth campus, in addition to new buildings, an amazing enrollment of 9,800 students, and a second consecutive national championship in the NCAA Women’s Frozen Four, great things are happening:

Moving south, our University of Minnesota, Rochester Branch signed a new agreement with MnSCU. Provost David Carl has been working hard to expand new academic programs in a variety of fields to address the education and workforce needs of Southeast Minnesota.

Zooming back up North and West, our Morris campus continues to win accolades for its unique brand of liberal arts education on a small public campus. One study ranked UMM number four among all the nation’s public liberal arts colleges and moved Morris into the third tier of the “national liberal arts” institutions, making it one of the very few public institutions in that elite category.

Further north and west, in Crookston, where many of us were warmly hosted by the community during last month’s Regents meeting, UMC is marking its tenth year as a baccalaureate institution. In addition to winning a national award for “Ubiquitous Computing,” UMC has also had a banner year for development, receiving the largest gift ever made to the campus and surpassing its Campaign Minnesota Goal by more than a million dollars!

And Speaking of Campaign Minnesota, our staff, faculty, volunteers, and donors deserve great accolades for exceeding our overall campaign goal of $1.3 billion as we begin our last year of this fundraising effort.

Finally, throughout the 87 counties of Minnesota, our Extension service has reorganized in order to take better advantage of new technology and to provide more specialized expertise and clearer connections to the university’s faculty and research.

This has been a very limited summary that defines the proud achievements, qualities and extraordinary impacts of the University of Minnesota. Overall, the state of the University is better than the Minnesota “pretty good;” it is truly strong and getting stronger.

III. Context, and the Case for the U
This year, more than ever, we will have to make the case for the University and for higher education. To me, it is unacceptable that only 3 percent of Minnesotans believe that higher education is a priority in addressing the state’s budget challenges.

In the broadest context, we face a challenge to the long-held consensus that higher education is a public good.

In the short-term, as far as the state’s economy goes, I believe this is the most challenging year we have faced in the past 15 to 20 years.

Fortunately, the case for funding the University remains strong, and there are many benefits that accumulate to the public from funding research universities like ours.

But: