GEORGE MASON
UNIVERSITY
MINUTES OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING
OF THE FACULTY
SENATE
JANUARY 19,
2005
Members Present: Jim Bennett, Lorraine Brown, Rick Coffinberger, David Kuebrich,
James Sanford, Peter Stearns, Cliff Sutton
Member Absent: Michael Ferri
I. Call to Order: Chair Jim Bennett called the
meeting to order at 9:35 a.m.
II. Approval of Minutes The minutes of the Executive
Committee Meeting of November 10, 2004 were approved as distributed.
III. Announcements
Jim Bennett distributed draft copies of his report
"University Fundraising: Some
Observations and Comparisons". We
are spending considerable resources on fundraising at the University. As faculty are evaluated on their
performance, should not fundraising entities also be held accountable for their
performance? This question is not
raised in a confrontational spirit, rather in a manner similar to studies of
salaries among local teachers. The
comparative study highlights data among twelve SCHEV "peer"
universities' foundations. Input from
all Executive Committee members is solicited.
Registrar Susan Jones expects to provide data
regarding force ad slips which will enable us to write a report on
uncompensated instruction and publish it on the web. She hopes to provide the data approximately two weeks after the
Drop/Add deadline for the spring term.
Provost Peter Stearns reported that President Merten
has suggested that an emeritus
observer be appointed to the Executive
Committee. An agreement has been
reached on the establishment of a campus in the United Arab Emirates subject to
the approval of the Board of Visitors.
Plans to formalize and expand somewhat university programs in Loudoun
County are underway. Nursing Education
is already located there as is CIT; a possible undergraduate major and MBA
program may also be located there. The
current plan involves the rental of space in the Xerox building out on Route
7. Janelia Farms, also located in
Loudoun County, remains very desirable as a potential site.
Regarding the proposed revision of the Faculty Handbook, the Provost conveys
from President Merten the nomination of an initial committee comprised of three
members of the Faculty Senate and three members of the Administration to hold a
series of meetings to first identify issues to be addressed; the committee
could change in form as issues are identified.
The President hopes the review would be completed by the spring term
2006. Jim Bennett has requested a
meeting with the President and the Executive Committee to discuss the revision
process (subsequently scheduled for January 31, 2005). The current Handbook contains ambiguities which have led to many
misunderstandings. Dr. Bennett suggests
a thoroughgoing de novo review; one
year is not enough time in which to complete this task. Meg is compiling and printing copies of the
faculty handbooks of
doctoral-granting state institutions in Virginia. The suggestion was made to add a liaison from the Board of
Visitors to the revision process.
Dave Kuebrich raised the issue of Phased Retirement
as a growing trend at other schools. It
is an attractive tool for recruiting faculty; a cost-saving measure - once a
retiring faculty member goes to half-time, a new assistant professor to be
hired would not be paid as much. Peter
Stearns responded that he was not aware of any discussion of this issue in the
last two to three years.
V. Reports of Senate Standing Committees
A meeting with
representatives of the Law School to discuss the three plus three proposal
will be scheduled soon; hopefully some motions will be ready to present at our
February or March meeting. So far the
joint program between James Madison University and George Mason University has
not attracted many people. In its
present form, the undergraduate major department would have to agree to accept
coursework also required by the Law School.
It was a popular program some years ago and may be experiencing a
comeback. Concern was expressed about
the lack of maturity of younger students entering law school such a program may be better suited to older
students.
1.
Salary
Increases: Rick attended a meeting of
the University Budget Planning Committee about two weeks ago. At the state level, salary increases will be
funded at three percent. An amendment
has been proposed to increase raises an additional two percent for a net gain
of a five percent increase. Should the
amendment not pass, the University expects to allocate sufficient funds to
effect a one-and-one-half percent increase in order to establish a net salary
increase of four-and-one-half percent.
2.
Salary
Report: The updated salary report was
received just before Christmas. The
data were incomplete and Rick is working with Human Resources to update it.
3.
Alternative
Severance Option: A follow-up meeting
is scheduled with David Rossell and Jim Sanford. Peter Stearns noted this is a very limited plan our concerns
would be inconsistencies.
Our next
meeting will be held on Monday. Two
items are on the agenda:
1.
Faculty
Evaluation of Administrators: Peter
Stearns has requested input from the Deans to ensure their website information
is updated by the end of January. A
meeting will be scheduled with the Office of Institutional Assessment to review
procedures.
2.
Office
of Sponsored Programs: on-going review.
1. General Education Committee: Marilyn Mobley has requested a replacement for Peter Black (who is retiring). A discussion of potential candidates took place.
2.
In
response to a question about whether the finalists identified by the Search
Committee for the position of Vice President for Research had experience in the
humanities or sciences, Peter Stearns responded that two of the candidates
hailed from federal agencies and one from a medical school, noting that the
Office has more to do with funding and research. The first candidate will be interviewed on Friday.
B. Scheduling of Executive Committee Meetings
for the Spring Term
Our meetings for the spring term will be changed from Wednesday to Monday mornings at 9:30 a.m. The location was later changed to Mason Hall, room D109.
Our revised schedule is:
. Monday, February 7, 2005
Monday, March 14, 2005
Monday, April 4, 2005
Monday, April 25, 2005
C.
Task Force on University Privacy Policy David Kuebrich The Privacy Task Force is
currently investigating how various universities have responded to the Patriot
Act. The American Library Association
(ALA) has published a lengthy draft resolution to protect civil liberties in
light of the Patriot Act. The Task Force
suggests a joint meeting of the Faculty Senate and the George Mason University
chapter of the AAUP in which we invite speakers from the ALA, AAUP, and ACLU to
briefly state why we should adopt the ALA draft resolution. Copies of the resolution will be sent to
members of the Executive Committee for review.
It was considered an excellent idea; especially in light of the upcoming
publication of a six-hundred-page regulation Patriot Act II.
VII: Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 10:20 a.m.
Respectfully
submitted,
Meg
Caniano
Clerk,
Faculty Senate