Members Present:

Members Absent:

Guests:

The special meeting of the University Senate was called to order by Chair Harrison at 3:15 p.m., Tuesday, May 19, 1998 in Phillips Hall 007.

1. Minutes of May 12, 1998 were approved as distributed
   
   
2. Chair's Report - Chair Harrison
   • Senate office will be open on a limited basis this summer
   • Remember to turn in the Senator Survey
   • Four Year Graduation Contracts
     • Much discussion about contract generated on campus since debate of last meeting
     • Response of Senates of sister institutions given in chair's report
       • Similar concerns at River Falls
       • Stout presented package to the Senate for informational purposes only
     • At UWEC unfortunate the issue forwarded at end of semester
       • Unintentional
       • Action of last week could be amended by motion, second, and two-thirds vote
       • Required by UW-System to offer four-year contract, University Senate has right to approve details of the proposal and the role advisers and departments will play in the contract
       • Recommend review proposal in the fall of 1998 with intent of fine-tuning plan
         
         
3. Report on Information and Technology Management - William Smethells
   • ITM Plans - summer 1998
     • General Access Labs through Computing and Networking Services - Four Major Improvements for next year
       • HSS227
         • New lab with 11 Windows NT PCs and 8 Macintosh G3s
       • HHH104
         • Need for up-to-date Mac lab heard from faculty
         • Macintosh G3s will replace 31 existing computers in this lab
       • SSS109
         • SSS210 highly popular with students and faculty
         • Overflow down to 109
         • 25 Pentium II PCs will replace existing computers
         • Video data projector to be available for teaching purposes
       • Library 4011
         • 14 new Pentium II PCs to be purchased
         • Adding CD-Rom players on computers in library to alleviate serious shortage
       • Few other labs up to NT and other minor adjustments as necessary
     • Classroom Modernization through Media Development Center
       • Work with building chairs and then begin prioritization
       • List for buildings from those conversations
       • Much demand for video data projectors
     • Library Notes
       • Director interviews continue
       • East entrance will be closed beginning May 26
       • New computers in Center for Reserve and Instructional Media to solve problem of having computers to read CD-Rom
       • New online library system
         • Evaluation and demonstration of three top contenders system-wide to take place in June and July
         • System-wide project
   • Communication and Planning
     • ITM would like to expand the classroom moderization conversations with building chairs to include other technology issues, such as computer labs
   • Questions
     • Both 286s and 386s are available
     • Continuing concern about lack of ample resources for the library
       • System-wide problem, hopefully to be addressed in system-wide way in next biennium
       • UWEC has been able to hold or even increase figures
       • Own decision to increase other budgets at expense of library
         
         
4. Report on the Budget Process
   • David Gessner - Associate Director of Business Services
   • Few highlights of the 1999 operations budget
     • Faculty and Academic Staff salary increases - $1.3 million
     • Classified Staff increases - $0.25 million
     • Technology Improvement (new resources) - $338 thousand
     • Base Budget Adjustment - $83 thousand
     • Additional Differential Tuition Funding - $50 thousand
     • Total Increase from 1998 budget - $1.994 million
   • Technology Improvement and Enhancement
     • System administration, Regents and state government have high regard for technology enhancement
     • Resources have been allocated, beyond our control at the campus level, into technology
     • State government created a new fund (appropriation 115) just for technology to monitor spending
     • Has affected library resource materials
   • Questions
     • Only directed remarks at increases, host of decisions made regarding distribution of continuing budget
     • At campus level, budget is decentralized at division level
       • Each of colleges, ITM, Chancellor, and Vice Chancellor are major divisions
       • Tentative allocations based upon previous years budget
       • Within divisions opportunity to reallocate internally
       • New resources can be reallocated to different division by administration
       • Library as example, resources have been relatively constant with some increases over last 10 years
         • Here increased funding has not been sufficient to meet inflationary demand
         • Cannot make significant changes without taking away from other areas
   • Fred Waedt - Chair of University Senate Budget Committee
     • Answers to senator questions in response to email are in handout
     • Impression from questions that is feeling that money is being transferred from one budget to another, specifically from places like library to technology
       • Has not happened
       • Money state made available for technology growing more rapidly than money available for salaries, library resources, and other things
     • Budget Committee considered by many people to be "rubber stamp" committee
     • Open Book Management (OBM) strategy brought to Budget Committee
       • Part of true shared governance
       • Need to become involved in budgeting at the local level is you want to have impact on the budget
       • OBM requires four things
         • Everyone in organization has complete and total access to financial records of the institution
         • Everyone understand, trained if necessary, the financial documents
         • Each person on campus have some understanding of how what they do impacts resources available, and use of those resources (critical numbers)
         • Each person rewarded financially for how well drive their critical numbers
       • Budget seen as administrations job
       • Suggest that each and every department and unit on campus create a budget committee to work with department chair or unit head to develop the budget
       • General feeling of suspicion of hidden dollars at next level and can politick for those dollars
     • Questions
       • Members of these budget committees would need some sort of workshop
       • Need to train people to do that
       • Talked about decision made about budget in departments and schools, but nothing about decisions made before to department/unit or school
         • Those decisions made elsewhere independent of process describing
         • Have great deal to do with problems such as equipment replacement and maintaining library
       • Budget Committee makes recommendation annually to decide size of the planning reserve at the University level managed by the chancellor, and the size of planning reserve for each of the divisions
       • Budget Committee is charged with policy decisions, not local budget decisions
       • At times Budget Committee has decided to protect the library and instructional areas
       • Request at legislative level for increases in library budgets was rejected
       • Could internally decide to reallocate resources to library but did not come up

   Motion 34-US-8

   Moved by Senator Davidson and seconded that the University Senate recommend that each and every department and unit establish a budget committee to help the department or unit head create the department or unit budget and that there be sufficient inservice training provided to allow the committee to function.

   Discussion:

   • Establishment of budget committee is not an assumption of acceptance of Open Book Management
   • University Senate can only recommend departments set up committees

   Friendly amendment that the committee and department/unit members be provided with a copy of the department/unit budget

   Vote on Motion 34-US-8: Motion PASSED

5. Report of the Academic Policies Committee - Senator Lozar

   Motion 34-AP-15:

   Moved and seconded by committee by a vote of 10-0-0 that the University Senate forward a request for Preliminary Entitlement to Plan a Proposal for a New Academic Program: Mass Communication Major, with (existing) emphases in Advertising, Electronic Media, and Public Relations.

   Discussion:

   • Departments of Communication Arts and Journalism merged a few years ago
   • Last review recommended department find way to integrate programs better
   • This new academic program part of that effort
   • There will be no new courses needed for this program
   • Taking existing courses and moving them under a new heading
   • No implications for budget

   Vote on Motion 34-AP-15: Motion PASSED unanimously by University Faculty Senators

6. Report of the Senate Executive Committee - Senator Leutwiler

   Motion 34-SE-19

   Moved and seconded by committee that the bylaws concerning a quorum for University Faculty and quorum for University Academic Staff meetings be changed to allow those in attendance to constitute a quorum at regular meetings.

   Discussion:

   • Spring meetings have had difficulty attracting a quorum of faculty and academic staff
   • Senate Executive Committee looked at options of continuing to function outside the rules and hope no one presses the issue, attempt to bring more people to meeting, or change the quorum and work to attract more people
   • Have been told faculty and academic staff have never had a quorum for spring meetings; at fall meeting it is the opening session and there is always a quorum there
   • Past spring meetings, barely 10% of body there

   Senator Davidson asked the chair as a point of order if a quorum was present to consider the question.
   Chair Harrison indicated there were 30 senators present, not an official quorum.
   Senator Davidson called a quorum.
   Chair Harrison indicated discussion could continue, but no official action could be taken.
   Continued Discussion:

   • While ten percent may be high, would hate to see one person make the decision
   • Could put in an actual minimum number to overcome danger of too small of group making a decision that impacts others
   • Unlikely to be important policy issue with only limited number present because of open meeting publication requirements
   • Possibility to take up this issue at fall faculty meeting
   • University Senate has image of not being representative of faculty opinion on campus
   • Lowering people required for quorum would exacerbate this perception
     
     
7. Revisiting the recommendation that the proposed Four-Year Graduation Agreement Protocol be approved
   • Senators felt rushed at last meeting as trying to leave because of the sirens, vote was hurried
   • At this time vote stands and no action can be taken without a quorum but the issue can be discussed
   Discussion:
   • Some "no" votes not in disagreement with the principal but with the specifics thereof
   • There may be some changes from what was voted on
   • Recommend to Provost to bring back to Academic Policies Committee in fall to have a more reasonable amount of time to look at the whole thing and give Senate a reasonable amount of time
   • At any time the Senate as a whole could request the Academic Policies Committee to look at it
   • Remain concerned about relationship with Board of Regents
   • Play the image game to look good for Board of Regents
   • Accept a mandate and then reduce it to a non-issue
   • Think we ought to tell the Board of Regents we see issue this way
   • Need to voice concerns and complaints to regents and legislature
   • Could also make it optional for departments
   • Will be in place in the 1998-99 academic year, can learn about and revisit in spring
   • Maybe should continue to function outside the rules and hope no one notices
   • Apparently required to have procedure, not required to implement it
   • Do need time to sample the faculty on larger issues like this
   • Can send copy of concerns when motion forwarded
   • Interim Provost has heard the discussion and aware of issues
   • Quorum was present for original vote on issue
   • Board of Regents or legislative requirements for this, that, or other thing
   • Need to broaden beyond four-year contract
   • Continually remind System, Regents, and legislators of all the stuff we are doing and no one remembers why we are doing it anymore
   • Takes lot of time could be spent more profitably on other things
   • What will be said this summer at orientation about this issue is not known
   • Will pursue this next year
     
     
8. Senator Recognition - Chair Harrison
   • Thank you for hard work and accomplishments this year
   • Senators terms expiring
     David Backstrom, Public Safety
     Thomas Bergmann, Management and Marketing
     R. Dale Dick, Psychology
     Sandra Kottke, Family Health Nursing
     Stephen Kurth, School of Education
     Barbara Lozar, Psychology
     Ivar Lunde, Music and Theatre Arts
     Owen Marshall, Biology
     Mark Olsen, Academic and Career Services
     Cleo Powers, Library
     Walter Reid, Mathematics
     Sandra Seefeldt, Health Services
     Steve Tallant, Social Work
     Roger Thiede, Geography
     Michael Wick, Computer Science
   • Senators retiring or resigning
     Victor Cvancara, Biology
     J. Kenneth Davidson, Sociology and Anthropology
     Douglas Hallatt, Foundations of Education
     Nancy Shoemaker, History
     Sylvia Sipress, Political Science
     Richard St. Germaine, Foundations of Education
     Ron Warloski, History
     
     
9. New Business
   Call for a hand for the leadership of the chairman and administration of our affairs this year
   
   
10. General Announcements
    • Executive Committee will meet in August with Dr. Mash
    • Next Senate meeting will probably be September 22^nd for the elections
      • With restructuring of Senate accomplished this year, hope to be more proactive next year on issues facing UWEC

Without objection, University Senate adjourned at 4:34 p.m.