George Mason University
Approved Minutes of the Executive Committee Meeting
October 30, 2002
Present: J. Bennett, L. Brown, P. Buchanan, R. Coffinberger,
M. De Nys, E. Elstun, D. Kuebrich
Chair Jim Bennett opened the meeting at 12:05 pm.
I. Approval of Minutes
The Minutes of the October 23, 2002 Executive Committee meeting were approved
as amended.
II. Announcement
The AAUP meeting with Rector Meese went very well. Chair Bennett will send a
letter to Rector Meese in appreciation of the meeting and inviting him to speak
at a future Faculty Senate meeting.
III. Old Business
A. Academic Standards Motion
Drs. Buchanan and Kuebrich will write a motion on an Academic Standards Task
Force to be submitted at the next Faculty Senate meeting. They will distribute
the motion by e-mail to Executive Committee members for review and discussion
at the next Executive Committee meeting.
B. Effective Teaching Committee Charge
Grammatical changes were made to the Charge and the addition. The Charges and
the Faculty Senate website will be updated accordingly.
C. Resolution on Shared Governance in Academic Units
Dr. Coffinberger presented the following Resolution for discussion:
Resolution on Shared Governance in Academic Units
WHEREAS shared governance is one of the primary hallmarks of all outstanding
universities, and
WHEREAS shared governance requires open and candid exchanges of views between
faculty and administrators on all aspects of the academic enterprise, and
WHEREAS when administrators chair the faculties of their own academic units
there may be a chilling effect on debate and concern about the agenda-setting
process,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Faculty Senate that all academic units be encouraged to
elect instructional faculty peers to serve as chairs of their respective faculties
and to amend their faculty by-laws as necessary to implement this resolution.
If adopted, the Secretary of the Senate is instructed to forward the resolution
to the President, Provost, Rector, and Deans and Directors of the academic units
throughout the university.
There was vigorous debate on this Resolution concerning issues such as: Is the
Faculty Senate getting involved in unit politics? Will this appear aimed toward
specific units in which the Deans serve as Chairs, and in particular SOM since
it is currently revising its bylaws? Should the Senate table the Resolution
until after the SOM vote on bylaw changes? Would that then be seen as a specific
response to the SOM vote and cause even more hard feelings? Should the Resolution
be submitted on principle, regardless of the politics involved?
It was noted that the concept of shared governance is Faculty Senate business.
It was also pointed out that the verb used is encourage, not a more forceful
word, so that units can ignore the Resolution as they so choose. The debate
continued concerning taking a stand on principle versus timing and the tension
it may cause, and whether the Senate’s moral authority would be more negatively
affected by putting out a Resolution that will be ignored or by not taking a
stand on an important issue of shared governance.
The Executive Committee voted to endorse the resolution.
IV. Reports from Senate Standing Committee Chairs
A. Academic Policies
The Committee will hold a meeting this Friday at 2:00 pm in D109A Mason Hall.
They will have one or two motions to present at the next Faculty Senate meeting.
B. Facilities & Support Services & Library
The Committee is currently working on issues concerning the library.
C. Faculty Matters
The Committee continues to work on revising the instrument for faculty evaluation
of administrators and administrator activity reports.
D. Nominations
No new business.
E. Organization & Operations
The Committee is still trying to resolve the issue of research faculty’s
right of due process. The issue will be continued at next week’s Executive
Committee meeting.
F. Ad Hoc Budget Committee
Dr. Coffinberger reported that the Vice President and Provost held a briefing
on the BOV’s decision concerning a one-time $192 surcharge on Spring 2003
tuition that will generate approximately $3.3 million. They announced that $1.1
million of that will be used to increase course offerings and variety, and decrease
class size. This figure was predicated on using adjunct faculty because of their
cost and flexibility. It was noted that the BOV and the Administration should
be commended for their decision, but they also need to be held accountable in
the use of this money.
The BOV again brought up the idea that the budget crisis could be used to review
GMU’s programs and determine if any can be cut in their entirety. The
Faculty Senate will closely follow any developments on this issue.
The Committee will submit the following Resolution at the next Faculty Senate
meeting:
Resolution of Appreciation to GMU’s Board of Visitors and Administration
WHEREAS at its special meeting on October 24, 2002, the Board of Visitors (BOV)
imposed a $192 surcharge on students enrolling in the Spring 2003 semester,
and
WHEREAS the GMU Administration informed the BOV that $1.1 million of the additional
$3.3 million in revenue generated by this surcharge will be used to provide
academic departments funds to increase the number and variety of course offerings
and to reduce class sizes, and
WHEREAS this commitment by the GMU Administration and the action of the BOV
will enhance the educational experience of GMU students,
BE IT RESOLVED that the Faculty Senate expresses its appreciation to the GMU
Administration and to the BOV for this action and that the Office of the Provost
report to the Senate at its January 2003 meeting on how this initiative has
been implemented by academic department.
If adopted, the Secretary of the Senate is instructed to send this Resolution
to the Rector of the Board of Visitors, the President of GMU, and to the Provost.
The Executive Committee endorsed the resolution. It was agreed
that there must continue to be pressure on the Administration and BOV to share
information and consult the faculty in the budget process. Drs. Kuebrich and
De Nys will write a motion stating that the faculty needs to be consulted on
tuition increases and how the money from those increases will be spent.
V. New Business
It was announced that Laurie Fathe will speak to the Faculty Senate at the 13
November 2002 meeting.
VI. Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 1:30 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Debi Siler
Clerk, Faculty Senate