Minutes of the Faculty Handbook Revision Committee

March 27, 2006

Mason Hall, rm. D5; 3:00 – 4:30 p.m.

Present: Kevin Avruch, Professor of Conflict Resolution and Anthropology, ICAR; Lorraine Brown, Professor of English (CAS) and President of the AAUP Chapter of George Mason University; Rick Coffinberger, Associate Professor of Business and Legal Studies, School of Management, Chair; Martin Ford, Senior Associate Dean, College of Education and Human Development; Dave Harr, Senior Associate Dean, School of Management; Marilyn Mobley, Associate Provost for Education Programs; Suzanne Slayden, Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

Absent: David Rossell, Associate Provost for Personnel and Budget, ex-officio.

Approval of the Minutes of February 27, 2006: Changes suggested by the committee will be resubmitted for review.

Open Forums March 6, 2006 and March 8, 2006: The minutes are in production and should be forthcoming by the end of this week. About 12 people attended the Arlington forum – a good morning attendance. The forum in Prince William County was lightly attended; the campus is developing in terms of size of faculty.

Communication with Administrators/BOV/Other Committees within the University:

Rick will meet with Rector Dewberry soon to ascertain how the BOV wishes to be informed of our progress. A committee to study “University Professor” designation is in progress; we will monitor the results of their deliberations and invite a member of this committee to a future Handbook committee meeting in which faculty ranks will be examined.

Need to define procedure for faculty representation on committees which make decisions affecting faculty: The establishment of the Faculty Housing Task Force, in which faculty were not initially represented before the decision was reached to construct housing units constitutes an example of this problem. The Research Council, which contains faculty representatives, does not have a representative/liaison to communicate with the Faculty Senate as they develop proposed policy changes.

3.3. Summer Salary: A packet of materials was distributed to committee members as follows:

-1- Current Faculty Handbook text of Section 3.3.

-2- Memorandum to All Faculty Members from Peter Stearns, Provost and Don Boileau, Chair, The Faculty Senate: Subject: Interpretation of the 1994 Faculty Handbook Sec. 3.3; Date: 2 March 2000

-3- Motion on Summer Session Compensation for Full-Time Faculty Teaching a Second Course adopted by the Faculty Senate 6 October 2004

-4- Report of the Subcommittee on Summer Session Compensation, (?Fall) 2000

-5- Summer Salary (Faculty Information Guide)

-6- Interoffice Memorandum from David Rossell, Associate Provost for Personnel and Budget; Subject: PART-TIME FACULTY SALARY MATRIX (effective Spring Semester 2001) Date: October 16, 2000

-7- Academic Year Appointments (9 Months) (Faculty Information Guide)

-8- Educational Leave with Full or Partial Pay (Faculty Information Guide)

Among the ideas and views expressed in a review of these documents were:

· Summer 2005: Provost set aside $50,000 to facilitate financing for full-time faculty who wished to teach a second course, no complaints received that any faculty who wished to teach a second course were unable to do so.

· Dedication of surplus revenue from Summer School to 10% guaranteed salary for teaching second summer course.

· Variations in budget practices among schools, as well as amounts allocated to schools for summer courses; use of adjunct faculty as a budget tool; lack of connection between allocation and revenue produced.

· Some faculty unqualified to teach at graduate level; need to offer graduate level classes for cohort base.

· Earlier summer sessions preferred to later sessions by some faculty.

· Sufficient enrollment to offer course; class size assignment may differ between summer and academic year; need to offer same quality of educational experience.

· Inclusion of non-instructional expenses into summer school budget as of two years ago; still surplus monies remain; tuition increase/faculty salary increase.

· No mention of 10% salary for first summer course in Summer Salary (Faculty Information Guide).

· Compensation for laboratory courses low in terms of work generated; credit-hours/compensation best determined at local level; prior to 2 March 2000 Memorandum of Agreement, faculty received 10% for summer laboratory courses for many years.

· Administration willing to listen to specific cases as idiosyncratic within certain set parameters.

· What are origins of percentiles defined in Summer Salary (Faculty Information Guide):.2564 (10/39ths); .3333 (13/39ths)? To prevent overload?

· Pressure on tenure-track faculty to work and provide service which may interfere with research they may wish to do over the summer.

Kevin Avruch will submit a draft revision for 3.3. Summer Salaries for consideration at our next meeting, Monday April 10, 2006 in Mason Hall, room D5, 3:00 – 4:30 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Meg Caniano

Clerk, Faculty Senate