Role Call and Quorum Check (Keith Woodbury)
Approval/Corrections to the Minutes for March 13 (Keith Woodbury)
Ron Rogers visit concerning ACHE viability issues
Action Items
Report from the Strategic Initiative Task Force (Margaret Garner)
President’s Report (Norm Baldwin)
Distance Education recommendation
UA System Technology Committee Appointments
Task Force on Evaluation of Deans and Chairs
Greek Desegregation
Faculty Survey
Vice President’s Report (Steve Miller)
Secretary’s Report (Keith Woodbury)
Reports from Senate Committees
Academic Affairs (Don Desmet and Beth Macauley)
Tuesday due date for final exam grades
Faculty-Student Joint Committee or meeting to look at Student publication of faculty teaching evaluations (Provost suggested this)
Inconsistent tenure and promotion standards between departments and the Administration
Faculty Life
Financial Affairs (Terry Royed and)
Health insurance for graduate students
Joining the Worker’s Rights Consortium (moving from the FLA)
Planning and Operations (Bill Keel and John Mason)
ACHE data presentation (instructional/non-instructional split; TA data)
Environmental Audit—should we do one?
Research and Service (Bing Blewitt)
Library fines and book replacement policy for faculty
Student Affairs (Dexter Gordon and Alvin Winters)
Greek desegregation resolution
Potential rent-gouging of Mallet Assembly members
Senate Operations (Wythe Holt and Steve Miller)
Mediation Document
Ombudsman language for the Bylaws
Implementation of "Shared Governance Document" principles
Clarification of Senate Eligibility and Senate Reapportionment (before next election)
Reports from University Standing and Other Committees
New Business
Old Business
Announcements
There will be no July Steering Committee meeting
senateagendea
May 15, 2001
Charles Nash, Ed.D.
Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
The University of Alabama System
Box 870102
401 Queen City Avenue
Tuscaloosa, AL 35401
Dear Dr. Nash:
The Faculty Senate established the University of Alabama Strategic Planning Initiatives Ad Hoc committee to review the three task force reports released by the System Office to the campuses on January 4, 2001. The committee has met four times and received reports from the Graduate Council, the Undergraduate Programs and Services Committee, the Information Technology Committee as well as a number of individual faculty. On a number of occasions, we have communicated our plan to review this document according to our faculty governance procedures. We are extremely disappointed that your May 9th response to a request made April 16th dismissed our planned efforts to engage and inform faculty about the strategic initiatives.
The University of Alabama has a long-standing and well-developed system of shared governance in which academic policy matters are referred to appropriate standing committees that include faculty representatives and to the Faculty Senate. It is the responsibility of these groups to evaluate new or revised policies. In cases of substantial change or importance, these matters are submitted as referenda to the faculty for approval. The approach employed by the System Office reveals either a lack of awareness of these procedures or a decision to ignore them. In either case, the approach violates due process provisions that are well established and represents an attempt by the System Office to usurp the rights of faculty and campus administrations. As a result, we reject the proposed initiatives because of the process by which they were determined.
The committee expresses its gravest concerns about the process that resulted in the Task Force 1 initiatives. The process was undertaken without the general involvement of the faculty of the University System and violates the rights of faculty to determine academic policies and procedures associated with their programs. The manner in which it was handled appeared clandestine and denied faculty access to proposed changes until the System Office determined those changes. This approach places the System Office in a position of dictating academic policies that have received neither widespread evaluation nor approval by the faculty or administrations of the System campuses.
Further, we reject a majority of the initiatives on their own merits, and especially those in Task Force 1. A primary responsibility of faculty is creating superior academic programs that meet student needs. Faculty are the only ones in position to evaluate these needs and to determine the requirements for meeting them. While collaboration and cooperation are supported in general, only faculty are in a position to determine when interaction with faculty and students in other programs and at other universities will be beneficial. Requiring faculty to have new or current programs reviewed by the other System campuses or to include faculty from the other campuses on thesis and dissertation committees reveals the System Office’s lack of respect for the ability of faculty to make these decisions when they consider them appropriate and leaves faculty vulnerable to the political vagaries of such an approval process. Further, this process will hamper attempts by faculty to create new initiatives that they consider important for maintaining academic quality and competitive advantages. Such a process will place our programs at a competitive disadvantage relative to universities in which such a process is not required. Finally, these requirements will make it even more difficult to attract and retain faculty, department heads, and deans who will have the burden of these responsibilities imposed on them. The Committee believes that decisions about academic programs, the interaction and availability of those programs and faculty with those of other universities, whether inside or outside of the University System, should be made by the faculty of the programs who initiate and instruct these programs.
The Committee also has strong concerns about Task Force 3 recommendations that again impact the roles and responsibilities of faculty. It has been widely reported that faculty are currently engaging in significant outreach activities into the K-12 community. The only partnerships that have been successful are those that have been funded with full-time individuals in charge to coordinate and maintain activities and roles, a situation impacted by both human and financial resources. Activities must maintain a balance among our tripartite mission of teaching, research and service and are best determined by the program faculty and its division leadership.
While at this point the Committee concurs with the recommendations of Task Force 2, the Committee has other concerns regarding the recent resolution to the April Board of Trustees meeting concerning common administrative computing systems. The Committee and the UA Information Technology Committee are disturbed that this recommendation was put forth with no input from campus administrative and academic units. It is our understanding that the Board modified the resolution to delay the timeline. The Committee asks that no action on this proposal be taken until appropriate campus input can be obtained and that serious consideration be given to the unique needs of each campus as well as the potential financial burdens during this time of proration.
We regret the need to provide such a strong response to the proposals at this time. Unfortunately, our repeated efforts to get the System Office to follow proper procedures for consideration of academic policy matters have been either ignored or rebuffed. If the System Office wishes to propose academic policies to the University for consideration by the faculty, it is welcome to do so. If the System Office wishes to modify the current proposals to make clear that they are recommendations for consideration by faculty, we will be pleased to receive them in this form with a clear understanding that decisions concerning implementation will be made by the faculty and administrations of the campuses. However, we wish to make clear our belief that any attempt by the System Office to implement the proposals in their present form will result in major resistance from the faculty and stands to do irreparable harm to the University System and to the currently strong relationship between the System Office
and the University faculty. The Committee hopes to receive a decision from the System Office that recognizes and appreciates the role of the faculty in endeavors of this significance.
Sincerely,
_______________________________
Professor Margaret P. Garner
Chair, Ad Hoc Committee on
Strategic Planning Initiatives
Faculty Senate President, 1998-99, 1999-2000
Asst. Professor, Department of Family Medicine and Director, Nutrition Education
and Services
________________________________
Dr. Robert G. Batson, P.E.
Professor of Industrial Engineering
________________________________
Dr. Patricia A. Bauch
Faculty Senate President, 2000-01
Professor and Chair
Program in Educational Leadership & Policy Studies
________________________________
Dr. Jennings Bryant
Professor of Communication & Information Sciences
Reagan Chair of Broadcasting
Director, Institute for Communication Research
________________________________
Dr. Sara D. Davis
Chair & Associate Professor of English
________________________________
Dr. John P. Dolly
Chair, Task Force 3
Dean and Professor
College of Education
________________________________
Dr. Rona J. Donahoe
Associate Professor of Geochemistry
Acting Chair, Department of Geological Sciences
2001-2002 Chair of the University Standing
Committee on Resources and Priorities
________________________________
Dr. William W. Dressler
Professor, Department of Anthropology
Professor, School of Social Work
________________________________
Dr. Rob W. Ingram
Ross-Culverhouse Chair
Culverhouse School of Accountancy
Faculty Senate President, 1999-2000
________________________________
Dr. Debra A. Novak, RNC
Associate Professor of Nursing
________________________________
Dr. Ronald Rogers
Vice Chair, UA System Task Force 1
Asst. VP for Academic Affairs
& Dean of the Graduate School
________________________________
Dr. Roy Ann Sherrod
Professor of Nursing
c: Chancellor Tom Meredith
Mr. Sid McDonald, President pro tempore of the Board
Trustees: Mr. Paul W. Bryant, Jr, Angus R. Cooper, Oliver Delchamps, Jr., John England, Jr., Garry Neil Drummond, Joseph C. Espy, Joseph Fine, Sandral Hullett, Olin King, Peter L. Lowe, John McMahon, Cleophus Thomas, John Russell Thomas
Dr. Andrew Sorensen, President
Dr. Nancy Barrett, Provost
Dr. Norman Baldwin, Faculty Senate President
Dr. Frank Franz, UAH President
Dr. Lew Radonovich, UAH Provost
Dr. Joan Williamson, UAH Faculty Senate President
Dr. Ann Reynolds, UAB President
Dr. Arol Augsburker, UAB Provost
Dr. Michael Wyss, UAB Faculty Senate President