The first meeting of the University Senate for 1997-98 was convened in 25 Law Building, Minneapolis campus, on Thursday, November 13, 1997, at 2:00 p.m. Coordinate campuses were linked by telephone. Checking or signing the roll as present were 127 voting faculty/academic professional members, 44 voting student members, 8 ex officio member, and 7 nonmembers. President Mark Yudof presided.

Professor Fred Morrison, Senate Parliamentarian, was then asked to provide a briefing on parliamentary procedure. He reminded senators of the three minute limit on speaking, that all items have an established time limit that will be adhered to unless there is a motion to extend debate, that amendments to items in the printed agenda should be submitted in writing to the Clerk of the Senate at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting to allow appropriate distribution, and finally, that items of new business are automatically referred to the Consultative Committee unless the Senate approves a motion to suspend the rules for immediate consideration.

A. Amendment of the Semester Conversion Standards
Approved by the: University Senate on February 20, 1997
Administration on June 16, 1997
Board of Regents -- no action required

B. Amendment of the Semester Conversion Standards
Approved by the: University Senate on April 17, 1997
Administration on June 16, 1997
Board of Regents -- no action required

C. Uniform Grading and Transcript Policy
Adopted as Senate policy by the: University Senate on February 20, 1997
Approved by the: Administration on May 27, 1997
Board of Regents -- no action required

D. Amendment of the Uniform Grading and Transcript Policy
Approved by the: University Senate on April 17, 1997
Administration on May 27, 1997
Board of Regents -- no action required

E. 1999-2000 U of M Calendar
Approved by the: University Senate on February 20, 1997
Administration on June 16, 1997
Board of Regents -- no action required

F. Amendment of 1999-2000 U of M Calendar
Approved by the: University Senate on April 17, 1997
Administration on June 16, 1997
Board of Regents -- no action required

G. Policy on Examination for Credit and Proficiency
Approved by the: University Senate on February 20, 1997
Administration on June 16, 1997
Board of Regents -- no action required

H. Policy on Classes, Schedules, and Final Examinations
Approved by the: University Senate on February 20, 1997
Administration on June 16, 1997
Board of Regents -- no action required

I. Amendment of the Policy on Classes, Schedules and Final Examinations
Approved by the: University Senate on April 17, 1997
Administration on June 16, 1997
Board of Regents -- no action required

J. Policy on Award for Outstanding Contributions to Graduate and Professional Education
Approved by the: University Senate on April 17, 1997
Administration on May 28, 1997
Board of Regents -- no action required

K. Policy on the Transfer of Credit
Approved by the: University Senate on April 17, 1997
Administration on June 16, 1997
Board of Regents -- no action required

L. Policy on Sexual Harassment and Consensual Relationships
Approved by the: University Senate on May 15, 1997
Returned for reconsideration by the: Administration on June 23, 1997
Status: Under revision by a subcommittee of the Faculty Affairs Committee
Action by the: Board of Regents - pending Senate action

MOTION:

To approve the following University Senate committee memberships for 1997-98:

COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS - Faculty/PA: Gary Jahn (chair), Ronald Anderson, James Chelikowsky, Vicki Gaylord, Harold Grotevant, Andy Lopez, Daniel Mooradian, William Peterson. Students: Andy Rotering, Joe Skupniewitz. Ex Officio: Steve Cawley, Donald Riley.

DISABILITIES ISSUES - Faculty/PA: Gary Birnbaum, Deborah Brown, James Carey, Glenice Johnson, Lynn Kyoko Edwards, K. Charles Lakin, Louise Mullan, Deborah Peterson-Pearlman, James Slagle, Barbara Walden, Kimerly Wilcox, 1 to be named and chair to be named. Civil Service: David Lenander, Tim McCluske. Students: Susanna Beying, Amanda Perlman. Ex Officio: Sue Kroeger, Paul Tschida.

EDUCATIONAL POLICY - Faculty/PA: Laura Coffin Koch (chair), Avram Bar-Cohen, Elayne Donahue, Gayle Graham Yates, Gordon Hirsch, Thomas Johnson, Judith Martin, Kathleen Newell, Palmer Rogers, William Van Essendelft. Students: Adam Miller, Kevin Nicholson, Jessie Roos, Tina Rovick, 1 to be named. Ex Officio: Darwin Hendel, Robert Leik, Craig Swan.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY FOR WOMEN - Faculty/PA: Rose Brewer, Ann Burkhart, Marti Gonzales, Marcia Odom, Delane Welsch, 2 to be named, including the chair. Academic Professionals: Judith Gaston, Karla Klinger. Ex Officio: Nancy Barcelo, Stephanie Leiberman.

FACILITIES MANAGEMENT - Faculty/PA: Jane Phillips (chair), Cynthia Gillett, Charles Killian, Gary Malzer, Jean Montgomery, Gail Peterson, Faye Thompson. Civil Service: Kent Rees. Students: Michael Gordon, Joel Welliver. Ex Officio: Michaeleen Fox, Clint Hewitt, Don Kelsey, Eric Kruse, Lorelee Wederstrom.

FINANCE AND PLANNING - Faculty/PA: Fred Morrison (chair), Jean Bauer, Catherine French, Stephen Gudeman, Peter Robinson, Charles Speaks, James Van Alstine, 1 to be named. Civil Service: Gerald Klement, Susan Carlson Weinberg. Students: K. Andrew Hall, J.P. Maier, Adam Miller, Joby Sebastian. Ex Officio: Cynthia Gillett, JoAnne Jackson, Leonard Kuhi, Robert Kvavik, Richard Pfutzenreuter, Jane Phillips, 1 to be named.

LIBRARY - Faculty/PA: Gerhard Weiss (chair), Linda Jorn, Mathur Kannan, Julia Kelly, Barbara Martinson, Robert McMaster, Bruce Moskowitz, James Orf, Phillip Portoghese, Richard Richards, Warren Warwick, Peter Wells. Students: Ari Hoptman, 3 to be named. Ex Officio: Karen Fischer, Joan Howland, Thomas Shaughnessy, Bill Sozansky, Owen Williams, 1 to be named.

RESEARCH - Faculty/PA: Leonard Kuhi (chair), Bianca Conti-Fine, John Finnegan, Burle Gengenbach, Dorothy Hatsukami, Eric Klinger, Scott McConnell, Kathryn Rettig. Civil Service: Phil Norcross. Students: Karl Kistler, Albert Nakano, 1 to be named. Ex Officio: Mark Brenner, Marilyn DeLong, Robin Dittman, 2 to be named.

SOCIAL CONCERNS - Faculty/PA: Gustav Bauer (chair), Lisa Albrecht, Robert Brown, George French, Arthur Geffen, Joel Nelson, Friedrich Srienc. Civil Service: Barbara Nesheim, Jean Niemiec, Ellen Stewart. Alumni: Lori Clark, Carl Maxwell Monacelli, Frank Wood. Students: Thomas Haakenson, Amy Mertl, Mark Ott, Neta Jo Scarpari, 3 to be named. Ex Officio: Clint Hewitt, Stephanie Lieberman, Claudia Wallace-Gardner.

STUDENT AFFAIRS - Faculty/PA: Kathleen Peterson (chair), Patrick Kroll, Ted LaBuza, Maren Mahowald, John Romano, Diane Wartchow. Civil Service: 1 to be named. Alumni: Laura Langer. Students: Sabeen Altaf, Jesse Berglund, Susan Daniels, Katie Dudley, Thomas Haakenson, Brittany Leigh, Jeffrey Olson, Laura Taken, 1 to be named. Ex Officio: Jane Canney.

FOR INFORMATION:

ALL-UNIVERSITY HONORS - Faculty/PA: Wilbert Ahern (chair), Vernon Cardwell, Judith Garrard, Seymour Geisser, V. Rama Murthy, 1 to be named. Alumni: Arnold Bigbee, Mary Lou Christensen, Howard Juni, Les Krogh, Nancy Miller Lindahl. Students: Richard Pennertz, 2 to be named. Ex Officio: Robert Bruininks, Gerald Fischer, Marcia Fluer, Cheryl Jones.

COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES - Faculty/PA: Emily Hoover (chair), James Cotter, Karen Karni, Sally Kohlstedt, Cleon Melsa, V.R. Murthy, 3 to be named. Students: Ryan Falk, Jason Mattson, Jessie Roos, Laura Taken, 3 to be named.

CONSULTATIVE - Faculty: Victor Bloomfield (chair), Carole Bland, Mary Dempsey, Gary Gardner, Virginia Gray, David Hamilton, Russell Hobbie, Michael Korth, Harvey Peterson, Matthew Tirrell. Students: Heather Aagesen, Jesse Berglund, Ryan Falk, Susan Giovengo, Eddie Kalombo, Jason Mattson, Amy Mertl, Kevin Nicholson, 2 to be named. Ex Officio: Gary Davis, M. Janice Hogan, Laura Coffin Koch, Marvin Marshak, Fred Morrison.

EMILY HOOVER, Chair
COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES

DISCUSSION:

The Consent Agenda was approved with no discussion.

APPROVED

MOTION:

To amend the Bylaws to modify the name of and charge to the Computing and Information Systems Committee, as follows: (new language is underlined, language to be deleted is struck out)

SENATE BYLAWS, ARTICLE III. SENATE COMMITTEES

3. COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS COMMITTEE

The Computing and Information Systems Committee represents faculty, academic professional, and student interests in computing and information systems, including telecommunications, at the University.

Membership

The Computing and Information Systems Committee shall be composed of 8 faculty/academic professional members, 2 student members (one undergraduate and one graduate), and ex officio representation as specified by vote of the Senate. Members shall be nominated by the Committee on Committees with the approval of the Senate. Insofar as possible, members shall not rotate off the committee but shall serve at least until the continued existence of the committee is reviewed by the Senate in 1996-97.

Duties and Responsibilities

a. To make recommendations to the Senate on matters concerned with policies and administration of computing, telecommunications, and information systems.

b. To monitor the working of existing policies, advise the president and senior academic officers, and propose new initiatives in these matters.

c. To coordinate such matters with the appropriate Senate committees, especially the Library Committee and Research Committee.

d. To prepare for the Senate Consultative Committee by the spring of 1992 a recommendation regarding the continued existence of the committee.

e. To recommend to the Senate Consultative Committee such actions or policies as it deems appropriate.

f. To submit an annual report to the Senate.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES COMMITTEES

The Information Technologies Committee represents faculty, academic professional and student interests in the development, implementation, and distribution of information technologies at the University. Information technologies include information systems (including their associated hardware and software) and the electronic exchange of information among faculty, staff and students.

Membership

The Information Technologies Committee shall be composed of 10 faculty/academic professional members (with at least 7 of these members being regular teaching/research faculty) and 3 student members (with at least one undergraduate and one graduate student). The membership shall be selected to represent the University broadly, including the colleges, coordinate campuses or research institutes. The Chief Information Officer, or his/her designate, shall serve in an ex-officio capacity. Other designated representatives of University departments or agencies with strong information technology interests are also encouraged to participate. These include equivalent committees at the college or campus level, the University Librarian, and the directors of distance education and administrative systems. Members shall be nominated by the Committee on Committees with the approval of the Senate. The terms of members shall be staggered so as to provide continuity in the activities of the committee.

Duties and Responsibilities

a. To make recommendations to the Senate on matters concerned with policies and administration of information technologies.

b. To monitor the working of existing policies, advise the president, vice presidents and chief information officer, review major initiatives and propose new initiatives for the deployment and advancement of information technologies.

c. To coordinate recommendations with the appropriate Senate and non-Senate committees, especially the Distance Education Council, the High Performance Computing Committee and the Senate Library, Faculty Affairs and Educational Policy Committees.

d. To recommend to the Senate Consultative Committee such actions or policies as it deems appropriate.

e. To submit an annual report to the Senate

COMMENT:

Last year's Computing and Information Systems Committee unanimously proposed the changes presented here. There are two main changes in the proposed revision of the committee's charge. The first is a change in the name of the committee from the "Senate Computing and Information Systems Committee" to "Information Technologies Committee." This change is sought to reflect both current terminology and the committee's belief that its purview should include the entire range of the relevant research and instructional technology, not just computing. The committee further believes that, since information technology has now pervaded the research and instructional activities of nearly all departments on all campuses, the time is right to increase the size of the committee's faculty/staff membership to provide a broader representation of the affected constituencies.

At its May 21, 1997, meeting, the Senate Committee on Committees unanimously approved the amendments to the proposed amendments.

EMILY HOOVER, Chair
COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES

GARY JAHN, Chair
COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS COMMITTEE

DISCUSSION:

Professor V. Rama Murthy, Committee on Committees' member, presented this item. He said that the bylaw changes represent the change in focus for information technology today, and include not only a change in the name of the committee but also a revised charge and membership.

With no further discussion, the motion was approved on a vote of 133 in favor, 0 opposed, and 0 abstentions.

APPROVED

Professor Laura Koch, chair of the Educational Policy Committee (SCEP), reviewed for new senators the action taken at the May 1997 Senate meeting that supported the optional use of student evaluations of teaching data as a tool in student course selection decision making and directed SCEP to bring to the Senate a proposal for the implementation of the May 1, 1997, report of its subcommittee on teaching evaluation. Professor Koch called on Dr. Darwin Hendel, chair of the subcommittee, and Ms. Jessie Roos, student member of the subcommittee, to provide an update on this issue.

Dr. Hendel said that since May the subcommittee has studied systems in place at other institutions and has started formulating an additional set of questions it believes would be helpful in student course selection. A tentative set of 17 questions has been developed and the subcommittee will seek wide-spread input from faculty and students on the appropriateness of the questions. To accomplish this, a web site has been set up at www.opa.pres.umn.edu/stueval. Ads have also been placed in the Minnesota Daily and a letter was recently sent to deans inviting faculty and staff to respond.

Ms. Roos added that MSA has sent a survey to 2000 students that includes the 17 proposed questions. The surveys should be collected within the next two weeks and then the summary statistics will be tabulated and forwarded to SCEP and the subcommittee. Students are also being asked whether they believe the information will be useful in selecting classes and, if so, what would be the preferable means of access.

A senator asked whether developing additional questions was really an effective way to deal with the broader issue of teaching evaluation. Dr. Hendel responded that the subcommittee is primarily addressing the questions that should appear on the evaluation, but that the question raised is an important issue in the broader context of student evaluations of teaching.

President Yudof told senators he had given an extensive report at his Inauguration, copies of which are available in his office, and that he would focus his remarks on several items he believes are of particular interest to the University Senate.

Funding for the Award for Outstanding Contributions to Graduate and Professional Education--The President said he supports this award, which was developed by the Senate last spring, and understands that the Educational Policy Committee, in conjunction with central administration, is working on obtaining funding that would be comparable to that provided for the Morse-Alumni Awards.

Health Plans--A task force has been jointly established by the Faculty Affairs Committee, Faculty Consultative Committee, and AAUP to develop possible long term solutions to the current health benefits problem. The president said he is making his staff available to the task force and expects a report by mid-February.

Task Force on Academic Appointments--Through the governance structure, another task force has been established to consider the balance between tenured and tenure-track/term/P&A positions. The task force is just beginning its work and is expected to provide recommendations by the end of the academic year.

Central Administrations Interaction with Colleges--The President said he has been asked how the colleges will interact with the administration under the new administrative structure, particularly with respect to the compacts and decision-making process. The compact process is an ongoing conversation with the colleges primarily focusing on collegiate issues, priorities, and ideas that move both the college and the University forward. There will be a series of planning meetings with each college, to give colleges an extended amount of time to bring forward and discuss with relevant administrators the major issues facing the unit. The process is intended to develop a greater spirit of cooperative planning and discussion, and to develop better ways to integrate planning in budgeting in a more seamless annual and bi-annual process. The compacts themselves will be agreements that delineate directions, respective responsibilities, investments, and mutual expectations for accountability. They will also contain a collegiate profile with quantitative and qualitative indicators to further the discussion. These will be public documents, so all agreements will be available to all members of the University community. Finally, the development of the compacts anticipates broad faculty involvement. Deans are expected to consult with department chairs, and department chairs to consult faculty members. The process is designed to foster a shared definition and understanding of unit issues and priorities.

Budgetary Shortfall--Another area of concern is the projected budgetary shortfall and its impact on faculty compensation. President Yudof said he will be making a presentation to the Board of Regents, but it will not have a specific plan. Instead it will lay out what the University has for resources and what commitments or aspirations were relayed by the Board. It will then set forth what the administration believes are the available income streams and assets to draw on and will conclude with a list of possible changes to bring the budget into balance. No decisions will be made for a number of months. The President hopes that the faculty and Board of Regents will take an informed look and make some recommendations, out of which will come a budget proposal. There are two primary problems with the budget. First, at the last minute, the Legislature made a decision to change a large percentage of recurring funds to non-recurring. Second, money was not escrowed for the second year of faculty raises. In a technical sense there is no deficit, but once all the commitments are added up, it totals more more than is available. The President emphasized that college units will not be retrenched to balance the budget.

Improving the University's External Relations--President Yudof said his administration is working to improve the University's external relations and has enlisted faculty involvement in these efforts. In this regard, the President has spent considerable time touring the State. He believes it is essential that the Capital Bonding and Supplemental Requests for University appropriations, which includes money for faculty and staff raises, be passed. People need to stick together on this, he said, and recognize that this package is in the best interests of the State as a whole. One theme being emphasized is the maintenance and restoration of historical University buildings. Seventy percent of the money requested would go toward maintaining existing buildings and 30% for new buildings. This is the exact opposite of the last ten years. Another theme is the notion of investing in the future and many faculty are actively working on this element already. The last theme is creating a University friendly community by removing asbestos, having better student access to buildings, and renovating 120 classrooms. Communication plans have been developed that include pancake breakfasts at Eastcliff; meetings with the newspaper, radio, and television editorial boards; and meetings with labor and business groups. Also important is faculty participation, one component of which is Professor Marshak, the faculty legislative liaison, working with the Office of State Relations to keep the faculty informed. Other ideas being discussed are receptions that include faculty and legislators, asking people to contact their legislators, teams of faculty visiting high schools across the state, and the restoration of the Faculty Speakers Bureau. President Yudof concluded by saying that this is one of the best times in recent history to put forth a request of this magnitude.

Question: Many faculty have not heard about the compacts. How are you conceiving the compacts in terms of the new Incentives for Managed Growth (IMG) performance standards?

Response: IMG and the U2000 statistics are considered background material for the discussions between the provost and deans. The compacts are designed to be simple, short documents to focus on the major concerns of the college, with input from the faculty.

Question: Last spring, the University Senate approved the Policy on Sexual Harassment and Consensual Relationships. It was then returned for reconsideration by the administration on June 23, 1997. What were the reasons for this?

Response: President Hasselmo decided that the sexual harassment section should go forward to the Board of Regents but that the more controversial part dealing with consensual relationships, and what penalties should be enforced in a relationship between people in differential power positions, should be reviewed. Professor Bloomfield felt that the policy should not be split, but instead the whole policy should be returned to the University Senate for reconsideration. A small working group established by the Faculty Affairs Committee is preparing amended language for the Senate's consideration winter quarter.

Question: What is the present status of the writing requirement that was adopted for the Twin Cities campus as part of the liberal education requirements?

Response: Craig Swan, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, responded that there are concerns about the proposal recommended by the Council on Liberal Education. Of greatest concern is the magnitude of its cost. The University wants to ensure that it is using its resources to maximize the benefit to students. Vice Provost Swan said that with the move to semesters, there is a commitment to a strong writing component. Discussions of this issue are ongoing and involve large portions of the University community.

Professor Victor Bloomfield, chair of the Senate Consultative Committee (SCC), said the SCC, which includes both faculty and students, has met only once this year. At that meeting, the students were asked to voice their concerns which included: the loss of consultation with the provosts, student access to professor evaluations, the ARAMARK food contract, transportation and the U Pass, Twin Cites campus housing, faculty involvement in student advising, and the semester conversion. All of these items are being addressed in some form and will continue to be discussed throughout the year.

The committee as a whole developed the following list of issues for consideration this year: attracting and retaining good faculty, recruiting a first-class student body, attracting and retaining high-quality non-faculty colleagues and support staff, providing good quality infrastructure to support productive work, providing for faculty growth and renewal, developing mechanisms for appropriate evolution of academic programs, establishing positive internal and external climates which encourage good leadership and high self-esteem, and developing appropriate relations with other systems of higher education. These all seem obvious, but they are not easy to do. In conclusion, Professor Bloomfield said the SCC is considering holding a quarterly forum for faculty and students to discuss broad issues of concern to the University.

1. The All-University Honors Committee will have held three regular meetings by the end of this academic year. At the first two meetings, the Committee approved four honorary degrees, 15 Outstanding Achievement Awards, and one Alumni Service Award. Several additional nominations for similar awards will be discussed at our final meeting on June 3, 1997.

2. This committee also reviews and makes recommendations concerning naming of buildings or building spaces throughout the University that cost more than $500,000. Naming of 4 spaces was approved by the Committee this year.

3. Committee staff advertised and collected materials in support of nominations for a new award, the President's Award for Outstanding Service, to be presented for the first time in June 1997. A Selection Committee was chaired by Professor Hartup; other members were Professor Wilbert Ahern (also a member of the All-University Honors Committee), and Professor Sara Evans. Recommendations have been forwarded to the President.

4. A new awards, the Josie R. Johnson Human Rights and Social Justice Award, was approved by the Committee. This award will honor individuals within the University community who have made outstanding contributions to the promotion of human rights and social justice. The establishment of the award is now pending before the Board of Regents.

5. Special Conflict of Interest Committees (required by Regents' policy) were named to approve awards for two former Regents:

• a. The Conference Center at the University of Minnesota, Crookston to be named for Dr. Stanley D. Sahlstrom.

• b. Residence Hall at the University of Minnesota, Duluth to be named for Judge Gerald Heaney.

7. Being concerned about the decline in number of nominations received this year for honorary degrees, the Committee chair met with the President's Executive Council and the three Provostal Councils to discuss the matter. This has produced a significant increase of interest in these degrees and the Committee hopes that this will be reflected in an increased number of nominations next year.

8. The Committee chair, together with the to-be-appointed chair for 1997-98, will meet in July to discuss award activities with President-designate Mark Yudof.

9. The Committee wishes to express its greatest enthusiasm for the administrative assistance provided during the years by Ms. Vickie Courtney.

Willard W. Hartup, Chair

The University of Minnesota Grievance Policy (UGP) is an internal University process for the good faith review and resolution of employment grievances filed by employees of the University, including faculty, academic professional and administrative staff, civil service staff, and student employees. (The policy does not cover employees in bargaining units represented by labor organizations.)

The process consists of four phases, two informal and two formal:

I - Informal, mediated meeting of discussion and negotiation between the parties;
II - Informal, mediated meeting between the grievant and a University administrative representative;
III - Internal evidentiary hearing by a three person panel;
IV - Voluntary, binding arbitration by a three person panel.

Staff

During 1996-97, the Grievance Office functioned primarily with 2.0 FTE staff: the University Grievance Officer (1.0) and the Executive Assistant (1.0). An additional University staff member served in an "on call" capacity as Deputy University Grievance Officer -- to administer the grievance process in cases in which the University Grievance Officer could not serve.

Caseload

The "caseload" of the Grievance Office comprises a variety of situations and/or circumstances, including inquiry meetings, complaints accepted as grievances, complaints either not accepted as grievances or accepted and challenged by respondents (jurisdiction of Grievance Policy), informal meetings at Phases I and II of the grievance process, panel hearings, and arbitration hearings.

Inquiry Meetings

Many employees who inquire about the grievance process want assistance with a "problem" in their work environment, but do not know, for example, whether they have a "valid" grievance or whether they want to file a grievance at all. Consequently, a major function of the Grievance Office, both in terms of time and importance, lies in what might be termed "advising/counseling" about individual employment situations.

If they can develop strategies for resolving their employment problems in their work setting, most visitors to the Grievance Office would prefer to avoid filing a formal grievance. By way of illustration, of the 106 employee/clients who requested inquiry meetings during 1996-97, 82 (77%) decided not to file a grievance.

Number of Grievances Filed

The following data describe the number of grievances filed during the last three academic years, by employee category:

Jurisdiction of Grievance Policy

The Grievance Policy provides, in part, that the Grievance Officer will:

"Review each complaint to make an advisory determination whether the complaining party is covered by this policy, and whether the complaint is a grievance within the scope of the University Grievance Policy."

In two cases, a University respondent challenged the jurisdiction of the Grievance Policy regarding a complaint that the Grievance Officer had accepted as a grievance. In each case, a panel was appointed to review the advisory determination and to make a decision regarding the jurisdiction of the Grievance Policy. In both cases, the panel upheld the Grievance Officer's initial determination that the complaint in question was a grievance within the scope of the Grievance Policy.

In three cases, a complainant challenged the Grievance Officer's advisory determination that a complaint was not a grievance within the scope of the Grievance Policy. In two cases the panel upheld the Grievance Officer's advisory determination, and in one case the panel reversed the advisory determination.

Issues Grieved

By definition of the Grievance Policy, "a grievance must allege a violation of a specific University rule, regulation, policy or practice pertaining to the employment relationship between the grievant and the University. This includes the terms of the grievant's employment contract, alleged violations of this grievance policy, and discipline." Under this definition, the types of complaints vary widely. During the last academic year, the most common grievances involved rules application, contractual issues, or discipline.

The following table shows the types of issues grieved in 1996-97, listed by employee category.

(Please note: Because some grievances involve more than one issue, the number of issues is greater than the number of grievances filed.)

Informal Meetings

The Grievance Policy provides two opportunities for informal resolution of a grievance: Phase I - informal meeting between the parties, and Phase II - meeting with administrator. The purpose of these meetings is to facilitate grievance resolution through informal discussion and negotiation between the parties and/or between the grievant and University administration. The Grievance Officer chairs such meetings, serves as a mediator in a settlement facilitating role, and may make settlement recommendations as appropriate.

Both Phase I and Phase II can, and often do, require more than one meeting, which occurs only with the express mutual consent of the parties. During 1996-97, the Grievance Office held 46 informal meetings -- 31 at Phase I, and 15 at Phase II.

Of the 42 grievances filed during 1996-97, 32 (76%) were resolved informally at Phase I or Phase II. Two others (5%) had good promise for being resolved informally. Eight others (19%) either had a panel hearing, were in the process of being scheduled for a hearing, or were very likely to require a hearing. Overall, these results indicate that 81% of all grievances filed either were resolved or were likely to be resolved at the informal level. The following table shows a summary of informal resolutions and anticipated informal resolutions, by employee classification:

Faculty
Number of grievances: 14
Informal resolutions: 7
Probable informal resolutions: 2
Anticipated percent resolved: 64%

P & A
Number of grievances: 10
Informal resolutions: 10
Probable informal resolutions: 0
Anticipated percent resolved: 100%

Civil Service
Number of grievances: 8
Informal resolutions: 6
Probable informal resolutions: 0
Anticipated percent resolved: 75%

Students
Number of grievances: 10
Informal resolutions: 9
Probable informal resolutions: 0
Anticipated percent resolved: 90%

TOTAL
Number of grievances: 42
Informal resolutions: 32
Probable informal resolutions: 2
Anticipated percent resolved: 81%

Panel Hearings

Phase III of the grievance process is a hearing before a three-person panel. The hearing panel consists of one member of the University Grievance Board chosen by the grievant, one designee of the senior administrator of the unit in which the grievant is employed, and one hearing officer from the Hearing Officers' Panel. Members of both the University Grievance Board and the Hearing Officers' Panel are appointed by committees that represent the several employee constituencies; that is, the Senate Committee on Faculty Affairs, the Academic Staff Advisory Committee, the Civil Service Committee, and the Student Senate Committee on Committees.

The role of the hearing panel is to conduct an internal evidentiary hearing. After the hearing, the panel prepares a written decision/recommendation, which is distributed to the parties and to the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs for acceptance or non-acceptance by University administration.

In 1996-97, thirteen panel hearings were held -- eight evidentiary hearings on the merits of the grievance, and five panels which met to review challenges to the jurisdiction of the Grievance Policy. Four of the full evidentiary hearings produced results that were "favorable" to the grievant, and four outcomes were "favorable" to the University. Three of the five validity hearings were "favorable" to the grievant. The Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs accepted the decision/recommendation of the hearing panel in 10 of the 13 grievances.

The following table shows a summary of panel hearings, including employee classifications, the related issues(s), and the action taken by University administration in relation to the decision/recommendation of the respective hearing panel.

Employee Classification - Issue(s) - Action by Administration on Decision/Recommendation of Panel

Arbitration

Phase IV of the grievance process provides an opportunity for the parties to engage voluntarily in final and binding arbitration by a three person panel, chaired by an arbitrator selected by the parties from a list provided by the Minnesota Bureau of Mediation Services. Under the Grievance Policy, grievants who choose to proceed to arbitration must sign an acknowledgment of their voluntary choice to proceed to binding arbitration, and must waive and release their right to pursue substantially the same claim in any other forum. The grievant and the University are each responsible for one-half of the arbitrator's fees and expenses.

During 1996-97, two grievances were addressed by arbitration panels; one involved a termination, and the other involved non-renewal of a contract. One outcome was "favorable" to the grievant, and the other was "favorable" to the University.

Nicholas Barbatsis, Grievance Officer

Jean Congdon, Associate Professor of Theatre Arts and Dance, died of cancer at her home in St. Paul in August 1997 at the age of 71. She was born in Detroit and received her BA from Wayne State University in 1947 and her MA in 1948. After teaching for a year at Wayne State she moved to Minnesota where she taught at Macalester College from 1960-1966. She began teaching and working on her Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota in 1966 and received the degree in 1971.

Until her retirement June 15, 1991, Jean taught courses in oral interpretation of fiction and drama, stage direction, and the humanities. She wrote and directed several Theatre of the Word productions for the University Theatre and others, among them Victorian Voices, Everyman, and Bread and Circuses (commissioned by and performed at the Kennedy Center). She was Director of Undergraduate Studies and Honors advisor in the department for several years and served on numerous college and University committees, notably the CLA Assembly and Consultative Committee, the University Senate, Judicial Review Committee and University ROTC Relationships Committee. She was a member of the Speech Association of Minnesota, Central States Speech Associates, and Speech/Communication Association of America. She served as an adjudicator for innumerable Minnesota State High School League One-Act Play Festivals at all levels and various speech and forensics festivals and tournaments throughout her career.

Jean directed several productions for the University Theatre throughout her faculty tenure at Minnesota, among them Picnic (1988), The Rivals (1985), Fabulous Fables (wrote and directed for the last Peppermint Tent production in 1982), Love's Labor's Lost (1978), Medea (1976), and A Doll's House (Scott Hall 1972). She was persuaded out of retirement in 1995 to play one of the fascinating characters in Les Belles Soeurs for the University Theatre to the delight of audiences and fellow cast members alike.

As one of the founders of Theatre in the Round, Jean was able to pursue her strong interest in community theatre. Here she both directed and acted with her husband Parker and several other lifelong friends in The Confidential Clerk and The Misanthrope (1975), You Never Can Tell (1973), Long Day's Journey Into Night (1970), An Enemy of the People (1965), and Mary, Mary (1966), among others.

Jean is survived by her husband and long-time collaborator Parker, her sister Evelyn Kolodsick and niece Pamela Jean Sawicki of Detroit.

Cassius Marcellus Clay Ellis III, M.D., longtime clinical professor of surgery and assistant dean of the Medical School, died on May 15 at age 60.

Ellis was born in Frankfort, Kentucky, on December 21, 1936. (He was named after a fellow Kentuckian, Cassius Marcellus Clay, a well-known abolitionist and minister to Russia in the mid-nineteenth century.) Ellis earned his bachelor of science degree at Kentucky State University in 1958 and his medical degree at Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tennessee, in 1962. After interning at Homer G. Phillips Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, he served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps in West Germany from 1963 to 1965, receiving a medal of commendation. He was a surgical resident at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center and the University of Minnesota from 1965 to 1970.

A general and vascular surgeon, Ellis entered private practice in 1970, but always remained active in teaching. A member of the clinical faculty of the University of Minnesota's Department of Surgery for nearly three decades, he directed the surgical residency program first at Mount Sinai Hospital in south Minneapolis, then at Medical Center in downtown Minneapolis, and most recently at North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale.

Ellis was also the first assistant dean for minority students at the University of Minnesota's Medical School. "In that capacity," as Dr. John Najarian (Department of Surgery chairman from 1967 to 1993) noted at the memorial service on May 20, "he unselfishly spent many hours tutoring some minority students so they could compete in a level plane with other medical students who had enjoyed educational advantages not often available to all minorities. Cass never forgot his roots and was the standard that black students could look up to as a role model."

In 1985, he received the Wangensteen Award for Excellence in Teaching (voted on by Department of Surgery residents, based on their experiences on rotations at various Twin Cites hospitals). His many other honors included the Gender Equity Award from the American Medical Women's Association; selection as one of the 100 outstanding graduates of Kentucky State University during its Centennial Celebration in 1986; and an award for outstanding service to the community from Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity (Omicron Blue) in 1994.

Ellis was a contributing author to A Century of Black Surgeons, the U.S.A. Experience. He shared his talents with numerous charitable and civic organizations and professional groups, serving as president of the Minnesota Board of Medical Examiners and the Minneapolis Surgical Society.

He is survived by his wife, Phyllis Hannah Ellis; four children, Lynn, Susan, Thomas, and Clay; father, James Scott Ellis, Jr.; sister, Rose Anna Brown; and half-sister, Sandra Davis.

The Department of French and Italian deeply regrets the death of Professor Emeritus Arshi Pipa, our colleague and friend of many years. Professor Pipa was a witty, warm-hearted professor whose scholarship and reputation brought visibility to the Department of French and Italian over many decades. He received the Medaglia d'Oro for patriotism from the President of the Albanian Republic in 1992, and had been elected president of and American Albanian organization, Vatra, that was instrumental in bringing about the fall of the Albanian dictatorship.

Arshi Pipa died in Washington, D. C. on July 20, 1997. Born and educated in Scutari, Albania, he completed his doctoral studies in Florence, Italy. Returning home to teach, his views soon clashed with those of the group that was to seize power in 1945. After spending a decade in prison, Arshi made his way to America where he taught at Georgetown, Columbia, and Berkeley before being appointed in 1966 to our University's Department of romance Languages. The time spent at the University of Florence, and in confinement in Albania, gave him a strong-minded Weltanschauung, firm views not however impervious to facts and the arguments of others. Critical and aesthetic analysis in his courses regularly found themselves situated in the holistic complexity of the real world. His many scholarly papers and publications -composed either in English or French or Italian- bore the imprint of an enlightened thinker not bound by systems or ideologies. Arshi loved America and remained attracted to western Europe but his heart never deserted his unique native tongue and a culture that flourished before Rome grew great. In the last decade of his career he devoted renewed attention to the homeland. This is reflected in his scholarship which sought to illuminate after decades of darkness contemplated renascence of his motherland.

Arshi Pipa was an outstanding teacher. A former student remembers him as a gentleman and humanitarian: "His sincere admiration for the property of Dante, Petrarca, Leopardi, Pascoli, Ungareti and Montale influenced all his students. His analytical method didn't have a label, nor did it need one. It was born of his intelligence, education and passion for poetry. his insightful criticism of my work, though often acute and sever, remains, even today, very valuable. I treasure most the respect he paid to my parents when my brother died."

The Department of French and Italian remembers with fondness the many years Professor Pipa spent at the University of Minnesota and his unwavering support for literature and the humanities.

Dr. William B. Rathbun, associate professor of ophthalmology at the University of Minnesota, passed away on September 16, 1997, after a one-year battle with cancer. He was 65 years old.

Dr. Rathbun was born in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, on June 20, 1932. He received his Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Zoology and Endocrinology at the University of Wisconsin in Madison in 1954 and 1955, respectively. He served in the U.S. Army in a medical nutrition laboratory in Denver from 1995-56 and reserve duty in Research and Development in St. Paul from 1957-60. In 1963, he received a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Minnesota. This was followed by a post-doctoral fellowship a dual appointment in the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine.

It was while a student of biochemistry that Dr. Rathbun first became interested in the tripcptide, glutathione, which is composed of the amino acids glutamate, cysteine and glycine and is present in all forms of life. The fascination with this molecule continued throughout Dr. Rathbun's career in lens research, where he studied the two enzymes that synthesize glutathione, as well as other enzymes of the [gamma]-glutamyl cycle. Clutathione is required to maintain lens clarity, as a significant loss of glutathione invariably results in the formation of cataracts. Low concentrations of glutathione are characteristic of all non-reversible cataracts. The main focus of Dr. Rathbun's research career was the search for ways to slow or even reverse the decrease in glutathione that comes with age, thereby preventing cataract formation. Within the last few years, this quest focused on pharmacological intervention as a means of maintaining glutathione levels. Through collaboration with a medicinal chemist, Dr. Rathbun recently investigated a number of procysteine compounds in vivo and in vitro. These studies, published in 1996, identified several prodrugs that were able to maintain or increase glutathione levels in the cultured lens. When tested in vivo, these same compounds actually prevented the formation of two types of experimental cataracts. It is both a triumph and a tragedy that toward the end of his career, Dr. Rathbun was able to achieve what he set out to do over 30 years ago; a triumph in that he realized his dream of preventing cataract formation and a tragedy because his success in this endeavor opened many new possibilities that Dr. Rathbun hoped to explore.

Dr. Rathbun's NIH grant entitled 'Glutathione Metabolism in Ocular Tissues' was funded continuously for over 20 years. In addition to this, he received numerous other grants and monetary awards during his research career. His scientific memberships included the American Chemical Society, the Nation Eye Institute Cooperative Cataract Research Group, the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, the International Society for Eye Research, the Association for Eye Research, and the Society for Lens and Ocular Toxicology. In 1993, he was the recipient of the Senior Scientific Investigator Award from Research to Prevent Blindness, Inc.

Dr. Rathbun was a very cheerful, friendly and optimistic person whose zest for life was obvious to anyone who met him. This enthusiasm was reflected in the incredible diversity of his hobbies and interests outside the workplace, which included nature photography, orchid growing, canoeing, kayaking, hiking, mountain climbing, reading, creative writing, history, gardening, travel, woodworking, and architecture. In fact, his love of designing and creating were so great that he frequently stated that if he hadn't chosen a career in science, he would have become an architect.

Dr. Rathbun is survived by his wife, Joan, two stepdaughters, three grandchildren, one brother and one sister. His contribution to the world of science was great and the enthusiasm he exhibited was an inspiration to all who knew him. He will be deeply missed, not only by his family but also by a host of friends and colleagues all over the world. In his memory, the Department of Ophthalmology has established the William B. Rathbun Lectureship for the purpose of furthering research in ophthalmology through invited guest lecturers.

It is with great sadness that the Department of German, Scandinavian and Dutch reports the death of Professor Wolfgang Taraba. Taraba, who joined the Department in 1963 and served as its chair from 1970-1976, retired from the University in 1996. He subsequently had moved to California and, during the summer of 1997, was traveling with his wife in Europe. He died, quite unexpectedly, on August 16, while staying with friends in Werne, Germany, his hometown. He was buried in the local cemetery at the family grave-site. Wolfgang Taraba is survived by his wife, Dr. Anne-Sophie Taraba, his daughter Susan and his son Frederic, and his former wife Marilyn, and a sister in Germany.

Taraba was born in Germany in 1927. After a short service in the German navy, he began his studies at the University of Munster, where he received his "Dr. phil." degree in 1953. Before coming to Minnesota, he taught at Princeton, Duke, and Wesleyan Universities. His research concentrated on 19th and 20th century German literature, with special emphasis on lyric poetry and on Nietzsche. He was much beloved as a teacher of undergraduate and graduate classes, both in German and in the Humanities Program. In 1989 he was honored with the CEE Distinguished Teaching Award.

He is sorely missed.

The meeting was adjourned at 3:20 p.m.

Martha Kvanbeck
Abstractor