1995-96 UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA No. 6
UNIVERSITY SENATE MINUTES
MAY 16, 1996
The sixth meeting of the University Senate for 1995-96 was convened in
25 Law Building, Minneapolis campus, on Thursday, May 16, 1996, at 2:25 p.m.
Coordinate campuses were linked by telephone. Checking or signing the roll as
present were 130 voting faculty/academic professional members, 24 voting
student members, 3 ex officio members, and 5 nonmembers. President Nils
Hasselmo presided.
I. INTRODUCTIONS
President Hasselmo introduced Dr. Stephanie Liberman, newly-appointed
Director of the Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Office. After brief
remarks by Dr. Lieberman, the Senate welcomed her to the University with a
warm round of applause.
II. ELECTION OF VICE CHAIR FOR 1996-97
Action
Professor W. Andrew Collins, was elected Vice Chair of the University
Senate for 1996-97.
III. FACULTY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
Code of Conduct
Action
MOTION:
To approve the following Code of Conduct:
CODE OF CONDUCT
RESPONSIBLE UNIVERSITY OFFICER
President
RESPONSIBLE OFFICE
Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
POLICY STATEMENT
All members of the University of Minnesota community are expected to adhere to
the highest ethical standards of professional conduct and integrity. The
values we hold among ourselves to be essential to responsible professional
behavior include: honesty, trustworthiness, respect and fairness in dealing
with other people, a sense of responsibility toward others and loyalty toward
the ethical principles espoused by the institution. Additionally, all members
of the University community are responsible for adherence to University
policies and procedures and are expected to comply with State and Federal
laws. It is important that these values and the tradition of ethical behavior
be consistently demonstrated, and carefully maintained.
The following guidelines relate to activities involved in interacting
professionally with students, colleagues, and members of the public, in
creating scholarly products or works of art, in both acquiring and using data
and in managing finances.
Guidelines for Activities
Members of the University community have the obligation to respect and to be
fair to all members of the community, especially students and those persons
under their supervision, and to foster their intellectual and professional
growth. Members of the University community must not engage in, nor permit,
discrimination and harassment. Intellectual freedom must be supported and
persons must not abuse the authority they have been given. Furthermore, care
must be taken to ensure that any personal relationships do not result in
situations that might interfere with objective judgment.
Work place and educational experiences must impart appropriate standards of
professional conduct through instruction and example. Members of the
University community are expected to conscientiously fulfill their obligations
toward students, toward advisees, toward colleagues and toward performing
their duties as part of the University community.
All members of the University community are expected to understand and comply
with laws and regulations related to their work. Administrators and
supervisors are expected to see that those who report to them are informed
about, understand and comply with regulations such as those for health and
safety in the workplace, including the procedures to assure the ethical
treatment of human subjects and animals and the use of hazardous materials.
Those involved in the maintenance of private personnel and student data have
the obligation to fully comply with the MN Government Data Practices Act.
Authorship
In an academic environment we continually seek after knowledge and
understanding and must transmit our findings faithfully. All authors on a
published work are responsible for the accuracy and fairness of the presented
information. All creators of scholarly products or works of art guarantee
the originality of their work and the provision of credit for the ideas of
others upon whom their work is built.
It is expected that individuals be considered for inclusion as authors on work
submitted for publication if they have contributed substantially
intellectually to the work. Special care must be taken to clarify authorship
with entry level professional persons such as graduate students, post doctoral
fellows and trainees, preferably before the work is begun. It is
inappropriate to include individuals as authors if they contributed only
peripherally to the work, e.g., providing lab space, equipment or funding;
being involved in patient care; providing patient samples; or having a
supervisory position.
Peer Review
Any material received to review for funding or publication is confidential and
the ideas contained therein must not be used in any other manner by the
reviewer unless specifically permitted.
Data Collection and Management
Falsification, fabrication and unacknowledged appropriation of the data of
others is unethical and will not be tolerated. At the outset of any research
project all participants are expected to discuss and agree upon data
management and access and retention procedures including procedures for having
participants join or leave the project. Privacy of collected data and rights
to intellectual property must be protected. Student rights to data are
expected to be clearly specified.
All documentation necessary to reconstruct investigations is expected to be
available and data is to be recorded in a timely and consistent manner.
Fiscal Responsibilities
Members of the University community must not accept money for research or
gifts on behalf of the University or as part of their University activities
except as prescribed by University policy. All funds provided for research
are expected to be spent in ways consistent with the funding documents and in
compliance with the guidelines on allowable costs. The University has the
obligation to provide up-to-date records of financial transactions.
Individuals in charge of budgets have an obligation to monitor records of
expenditures for compliance with University policies and procedures and to
allow these records to be viewed by appropriate parties. Departmental files
are the property of the University.
REASON FOR POLICY
To demonstrate the Universityıs commitment to the highest standards of
professional conduct.
WHO SHOULD KNOW THIS POLICY
All members of the University community have the obligation to learn about and
adhere to the principles embodied in this policy while the University has the
obligation to provide the opportunities necessary to assure awareness.
RELATED INFORMATION
Several other University policies are related to this one. These include,
among others: Academic Misconduct, Conflict of Interest, Faculty and Staff-
Grievance Procedure, Sexual Assault, Campus Health and Safety. On-line access
to these policies is provided through the Universityıs web site.
CONTACTS
The main contact is the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs. In
addition information can be obtained from the Office of the General Counsel,
Chancellors, Provosts, Deans, Department Heads, and Directors.
DANIEL FEENEY, Chair
Faculty Affairs Committee
DISCUSSION:
Professor Carl Adams, chair of the Faculty Consultative Committee, and
Professor Daniel Feeney, chair of the Faculty Affairs Committee, presented the
motion to consider the proposed Code of Conduct which they said received
favorable endorsement from both committees. The policy was developed in
response to recent findings by the NIH and to present a unified statement of
expectations with respect to behavior. Related policies include the Academic
Misconduct Policy, Conflict of Interest Policy, Sexual Assault Policy, faculty
and staff grievance policies and procedures, and the Campus Health and Safety
Policy.
No comments or questions about the proposal were forthcoming and the
President moved to the vote. The policy was then approved by a majority of
members present and voting.
APPROVED
IV. PRESIDENT'S REPORT
The President reported on the following:
1) The accreditation team from the North Central Association recently
completed its visit to the University. In preparation for the visit, a
comprehensive report was prepared by the Office of Academic Affairs under the
leadership of Senior Vice President Infante and Professor Thomas Scott, chair
of the accreditation advisory committee. The President said he believes the
visit went well and expects the Association's report in 6-8 weeks.
2) The Board of Regents recently approved the budget for fiscal year
1996-97 which makes the best possible compromise of the available State funds.
While compromises had to be made, the proposal does include some significant
additional investments and provides an all too modest compensation increase
for employees.
3) Discussions of the 1997-99 biennial request are underway. By the
July Board meeting a conceptualized approach is expected to be ready. In
September, the budget will be presented to the Board for review with action
scheduled for October. The President said he expects a proposal to emerge
that will strike the same kind of balance that was sought in the last request.
In other words, a request that includes University self-help, selected tuition
increases, and a request for increased State funding. The University is
operating against a backdrop of House File 1856, which sets budget levels for
1997-99. The University will go forward with an aggressive approach and try
to demonstrate the enormous efforts the faculty, staff, and administrators
have made to become more efficient, use State resources more judiciously, and
save wherever it is possible.
4) Candidates for the position of interim Senior Vice President for
Academic Affairs are being considered and a recommendation is expected to be
made to the Board of Regents in June.
V. QUESTIONS TO THE PRESIDENT
Question: There have been rumors that the fringe benefit rate
for graduate assistants will continue to increase
significantly during the next two years. These high
rates place a serious hardship on research programs.
Please comment on this issue.
Response: President Hasselmo deferred to Senior Vice President
Infante for a response to the question. Vice
President Infante confirmed that the rumors were
correct and cited some of the reasons, including: 1)
a significant decrease in the total base salaries on
which fringe benefits are based, and 2) issues
associated with FICA taxes. The matter is under
review at the present time, particularly how benefits
should be funded.
Question: Would reducing tuition rates for graduate students
solve the problem?
Response: Vice President Infante replied that reducing tuition
would be a form of buy down through the use of
internal funds and would have certain implications on
the nature of tuition at the undergraduate and
graduate levels.
VI. SENATE CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE REPORT
Professor Carl Adams took a brief moment to express appreciation to
members of the Senate Consultative Committee for their dedication and hard
work during the year and to all committee members and chairs who handled the
blizzard of issues ranging from semester conversion to the tenure review, and
finally to senators for their many contributions to the governance process.
VII. OLD BUSINESS
NONE
VIII. NEW BUSINESS
A motion to suspend the rules to consider the following resolution was
approved.
MOTION:
To approve the following Resolution:
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Ettore Infante has
resigned from this position effective July 1, 1996; and
WHEREAS, An interim Vice President for Academic Affairs will be appointed for
a period that might well continue into at least the first year of the next
President's administration; and
WHEREAS, The University of Minnesota students, faculty, staff, administration,
and Regents are arguably engaged in the most important debate about its
structure and future in the modern history of the University; and
WHEREAS, This debate and the resultant decisions and actions require
articulate and energetic leadership by this chief academic officer of the
University; and
WHEREAS, It is of the utmost importance that those who are represented by this
Senate have the highest level of confidence in the leadership, knowledge and
experience of the interim Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs; and
WHEREAS, This interim appointment provides the opportunity to strengthen and
re-invigorate the partnership between the faculty, administration and Board of
Regents, and to unite us in a common goal to preserve the University during a
year that could decisively determine its future;
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED THAT the Senate recommends that President Nils
Hasselmo appoint an Interim Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs:
Who has a distinguished record of research and scholarship;
Who has a distinguished record of teaching and involvement with student
affairs;
Who is highly respected by faculty, students and staff; and
Who has a distinguished record of service to the University and to the
community.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT this appointment be announced as soon as possible
in order that this opportunity to assure and enhance the partnership between
the constituents of this Senate and the administration may benefit from the
visible involvement of the Interim Senior Vice President designate.
DISCUSSION:
The Resolution was approved by a majority of members present and voting
after several "friendly" amendments were accepted by the presenters of the
motion.
APPROVED
IX. TRIBUTE TO DECEASED MEMBERS OF THE UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY
FACULTY
Jean L. Johnson
1932-1996
J. Morris Blair
1919-1996
J. Morris Blair, Professor Emeritus with the School of Physics and
Astronomy, died March 18, 1996. Morris joined the physics faculty at
Minnesota in 1950, retired in 1989 and continued work in his basement office
until his death. While a graduate student, Morris worked on the Manhattan
Project in 1946 at Los Alamos National Laboratory and witnessed the first
atomic bomb test. He received his Ph.D. degree from the University of
Minnesota in 1946 and held postdoctoral positions at Argonne National
Laboratories and Minnesota. Morris was an expert designer of equipment. He
upgraded the University's 4MV Van de Graaff accelerator. He designed the
University's John H. Williams Laboratory for Nuclear Physics, where he oversaw
the installation of a tandem Van de Graaff. Morris was extensively involved
in undergraduate education and for years was Director of Physics Undergraduate
Teaching Laboratories where he developed many new experiments for
undergraduate students and taught sophomore laboratory courses. Morris is
survived by his wife, Kay; sons, John of Oakdale and Carl of St. Paul;
daughter-in-law, Kim; a sister, Ann Blair of Harrisonburg, VA; and one
grandson.
A. Dean Hendrickson
1927-1996
Dr. A. Dean Hendrickson had a 45-year career in Minnesota teaching
mathematics to both K-12 and university students. Dr. Hendrickson was
employed at the University of Minnesota, Duluth (UMD) from September 1966
until his retirement September 1, 1994. He was a nationally known scholar in
mathematics education, received several grants from the National Science
Foundation for innovative work in teaching mathematics, and played a
leadership role in the development of the new standards for the National
Council for Teachers of Mathematics.
Professor Hendrickson died March 14, 1996 from cancer. A memorial fund for
prospective mathematics teachers has been established at UMD to further his
goal of assisting exemplary young people who plan to become teachers of
mathematics.
William Paradise
1939-1996
Professor William Paradise began his employment with the University of
Minnesota, Crookston (UMC) in September of 1967 as a member of the Business
Division accounting faculty. He was the first person hired to teach
accounting as that was the beginning of the transition of the Crookston campus
from a high school to a two year college. Professor Paradise taught the
beginning and advanced accounting courses for nearly 30 years at UMC. He
served as an academic advisor to numerous students and served on several
campus committees. The past two years he served as chair of the UMC Faculty
Consultative Committee. As a professional, he attended many conferences over
the years to keep current in accounting and was one of the first faculty to
incorporate the use of computers into his instruction. He was an extremely
knowledgeable and thoughtful person who challenged his students to achieve to
their potential. The UMC students, faculty, and administration and Crookston
community appreciate his contributions and will miss him.
X. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 2:50 p.m.
Martha Kvanbeck
Abstractor