GEORGE
MASON UNIVERSITY
MINUTES OF THE FACULTY SENATE MEETING
OCTOBER 10, 2012
Robinson
Hall B113, 3:00 - 4:15 p.m.
Senators Present: Dominique Banville, Scott
Bauer, Sheryl Beach, Jim Bennett, Lisa Billingham, Ángel Cabrera, John
Cantiello, Rick Coffinberger, Charlene Douglas, Robert Dudley, Cody Edwards,
Daniel Garrison, Mark Houck, Ghassan Husseinali, Dimitrios Ioannou, Kathryn
Jacobsen, David Kuebrich, Ning Li, Linda Monson, Harold Morowitz, Star Muir,
Elavie Ndura, Peter Pober, Pierre Rodgers, Steven Rose, Mark Rozell, Jim
Sanford, Joe Scimecca, Suzanne Scott, Suzanne Slayden, Bob Smith, June Tangney,
Susan Trencher, Iosif Vaisman, Anand Vidyashankar, Jenice View, Phil Wiest,
Stanley Zoltek.
Senators Absent: Kenneth Ball, Andrea
Bartoli, Alok Berry, Doris Bitler Davis, Jack Censer, Vikas Chandhoke, Lloyd
Cohen, Arie Croitoru, Yvonne Demory, Janos Gertler, Mark Ginsberg, Jorge
Haddock, Bruce Johnsen, Dan Joyce, Jian Lu, Jerry Mayer, Daniel Polsby, Thomas
Prohaska, William Reeder, Earle Reybold, Edward Rhodes, Lesley Smith, Peter
Stearns, Susan Tomasovic, John Zenelis.
Visitors Present: David Anderson, College of
Education and Human Development, Faculty Representative to the Board of
Visitors; Jessica Cain, Employee Relations Specialist, Human Resources/Payroll; Ed
Douthett, School of Management, Faculty Representative to the Board of
Visitors; Kim Eby, Associate Provost
for Faculty Development/Director, Teaching & Faculty Excellence Center; Esther Elstun, Professor emerita, Modern and Classical Languages; Josh Eyler, Associate Director, Center
for Teaching and Faculty Excellence; Gerald
Hanweck, School of Management, Faculty Representative to the Board of Visitors;
Linda Harber, Associate Vice President, Human Resources/Payroll; Robin Herron,
Associate Director, Office of Media and Public Relations; Corey Jackson,
Director, Equity and Diversity Services;
Tricia McKenzie, Librarian, University
Libraries; Janette Muir, Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education; Michael
Nickens, School of Music, Faculty
Representative to the Board of Visitors; Martin Perlin, College of Health and
Human Services, Faculty Representative to the Board of Visitors; Alex Perry, Reporter,
Connect2Mason; Sharon Pitt, Executive Director, Division of Instructional Technology,
Claudia Rector, Assistant Provost for Academic Affairs; Bethany Usher, Directpr, Students as Scholars, OSCAR/Assoc
Director, Center for Teaching and Faculty Excellence.
I.
Call to Order: The meeting
was called to order at 3:01 p.m.
II. Approval
of the Minutes of September 5, 2012: The
minutes were approved as distributed.
III.
Announcements
Chair
June Tangney welcomed President Cabrera to the Faculty Senate. He introduced Professor Sarah Nutter (School
of Management/Presidential Fellow). She
is helping him manage the vision process.
He also introduced Carrie Klein, just recruited to serve as the program
manager for the vision process, to manage logistics etc. He referred to his email (October 9, 2012),
noting his goal to capture as many thoughts as possible and to listen to
leaders outside the university as well. He welcomes opinions about the vision
themes and requested ideas sent to chairs of the working groups (See APPENDIX 1). He stated several goals
of the groups, including a mix of community representation, the need for
listening, and integrating. The product,
he said, must be a concise, one page description of: who we are, how we work,
great type of students, then aspirations on one page. Professor Nutter will be chairing the
steering committee.
Sarah
Nutter: Will form basis for strategic
plan process following BOV meeting on March 22n, lots of points of
access to provide input. Don’t be shy, be involved.
President
Cabrera: Not too worried about that
(with this group). Update about the
Board (BOV) meeting:
1. Korea:
knows the Faculty Senate endorsed initiative provided some guarantees
and warnings about money/finances and enrollment. Those suggestions were part of discussion of
Board. The Chief of Staff and I traveled
to Korea with Anne Schiller (Vice President, Global and International
Strategies) and Min Park (Executive Director of Proposed Korea Campus
Operations in the Office of Global and International Strategies, and assistant
professor in School of Recreation, Health, and Tourism) and had interviews with the government of Korea (two ministers),
attorneys, friends, influential Koreans, and the mayor of Incheon. “I was absolutely blown away by investment
the Korean government has made,” including reclaimed land and billions of
dollars. President Cabrera said he came back convinced this endeavor could be a
great thing for Mason, with two caveats/cautions: overhead costs, and that this
initiative serves the state of Virginia.
As structured, this will allow many of our students (opportunity for)
global study while paying in-state tuition. Whether our faculty qualify to have
(receive) research grants from the government of Korea not decided yet. Now we are executing the deal, hoping to make
it happen.
President
Cabrera said he continues to meet with people all over northern Virginia
explaining why people should invest in us.
Discussion/Questions
A
Senator inquired is there another way to contact the steering committees other
than by email mail? One of the committee
chairs does not reliably read email.
President
Cabrera did not know about that, and suggested the Senator contact Sarah or
Carrie; also to contact steering committees via website.
A Senator inquired “How many students are interested in going to
Korea from the existing student body?”
Professor
Min Park: Students from Economics, the
School of Management, and a new minor in Northern Pacific Studies.
President
Cabrera noted financial projections do not rely on huge number of students;
hopefully we will get more students.
Senator
Follow Up: The School of Management has a very structured
curriculum here – many students may not want to go. Not a good thing if all students come from
only one college.
A Senator:
An email sent to faculty referenced the “new fundraising campaign”. The campaign is so quiet that no one knows
what is going on, the senator noted, and applauds President Cabrera for
recognizing and publicizing the fact our endowment is “pathetic.”
President Cabrera: Intrigued by
nomenclature of “silent” campaign; rather, it is semi-silent. Fundraising professionals recognize you don’t
make too much noise about goals until you’re near to reaching it.
Follow
up: What is in the pot already?
President Cabrera: $40 million; this
year’s goal is $50 million, depends on giving momentum during Presidential
transition. (Rate has) not slowed down,
indications are good.
A
Senator: In chatting with colleagues in CEHD, questions
asked why the CEHD leadership is not prominently represented in new leadership
process? To what extent will you include
(schools?)
President
Cabrera: Not leadership groups, working
groups. Integrations of others, to be as
diversified across the university as possible. Analysis: only two deans as chairs, some chairs are
faculty members, tried to have broad representation. Also members of committees to let them know,
we’ve tried our best. If you believe
some perspectives not adequately represented, just let me know.
A
Senator: Could the Faculty Senate
collectively review the statement?
President
Cabrera: Will bring it personally to the
Faculty Senate.
Chair
Tangney thanked President Cabrera. One
other development out of the BOV meeting last week .we have faculty representation on three of the
four standing groups (committees), and will now have faculty representatives on
a new research committee and the development committee; announcement will be
distributed soon.
The
Special Faculty Senate Meeting with Senator Barbara Favola and Delegate David
Bulova will take place on Wednesday, October 24th 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.,
Founders Hall room 466, Arlington Campus.
Cody
Edwards (COS) was appointed to serve as Faculty Senate Representative to the
Student Senate. Pierre Rodgers (CEHD)
was appointed to serve as Faculty Senate Representative to the Staff Senate. We are delighted to have representatives from
each of these bodies.
IV.
New Business - Committee Reports
A. Senate Standing Committees
Executive Committee – no
report.
Academic Policies – Suzanne Scott, Chair
Proposed Changes to
Policy for Permission to Study Elsewhere
·
The
most substantive change is in that “Current Policy,” paragraph A, which
requires a change in the signature authority from the academic dean in the student’s college to an academic dean in the college where
the course is being credited.
·
An
additional paragraph was added, paragraph B, to address the major arguments
that students make in order to study elsewhere.
·
Rationale for the changes:
o
The
“Current Policy” paragraph is the only
statement that currently appears in the catalogue regarding study elsewhere.
o
Course
credits elsewhere from each college far exceeded the number of students in the
college who were taking courses elsewhere (See Appendix B)
§ COS the most obvious example, with 611
course credits taken elsewhere; only 150 students in COS taking courses
elsewhere.
o
Individual
colleges have policies and procedures, but the practices have varied
substantially from college to college.
§ Nowhere in the current policy was the
50-mile radius mentioned, although that was a generally understood rule.
o
The
goal is to have a uniform policy that is fair for everyone in the University.
§ Each college, however, is able to fill
gaps as they see fit (as indicated in the additional paragraph).
Paragraph A
(Current Policy)*proposed
changes/additions in bold
Students who apply for admission to Mason
usually do not seek simultaneous enrollment at another collegiate institution.
In those unique situations when a student does seek concurrent enrollment, the
student must obtain advance written approval from an academic dean. This
process permits a student to enroll elsewhere in a suitable course unavailable
at Mason or through the Consortium
of Universities of the Washington
Metropolitan Area. Catalog numbers and
descriptions of courses to be taken elsewhere must be submitted with the
request for approval. Students must submit an official transcript for all such
course work to the Office of the University Registrar. Note that while credit
may be approved for transfer and a minimum grade must be achieved, grades
themselves do not compute into any Mason GPA. Students who enroll elsewhere
without advance written permission while enrolled at Mason will not receive transfer credit for course work taken at other
institutions unless they re-apply for admission to Mason as
transfer applicants and meet all priority deadlines. Re-admission is not
guaranteed and transfer credit is awarded based upon course equivalencies in
effect at the time of re-admission. The Permission to Study
Elsewhere form can be found at registrar.gmu.edu.
Paragraph B (Proposed Addition to the Study Elsewhere Policy)
Special instructions for
undergraduates: Freshmen and transfer students in their first semester at Mason are not
permitted to study elsewhere. Courses previously attempted at Mason (including
withdrawals) cannot be taken elsewhere. Once enrolled in degree status at
Mason, students may request permission to take a limited number of credits at
another regionally accredited institution. Students must be in good standing
with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.00 in their Mason courses and obtain
advance, written approval from their advisor and the academic dean of the college,
school, or institute that offers the course(s) at Mason. Individual
colleges/schools/institutes determine restrictions
on the number, type, mode of delivery,
location and offering patterns of courses that can be taken elsewhere. Students must also meet the minimum 30-hour residency
requirement at Mason.
Senator Scott also displayed a chart which displayed financial impact of
the policy changes. (See Appendix 2)
A motion was made and seconded to
approve the policy. The policy was
approved unanimously.
Budget &
Resources – Phil Wiest, Chair
The committee will meet today to
discuss one issue.
Faculty Matters – Jim Sanford, Chair
The
Parental Leave motion was originally presented last spring, but with no vote as
funding unavailable at that time. The Faculty
Matters Committee decided to be proactive upon learning funding has been
proposed for the 2014 budget, contingent upon receipt of proposed funding.
Parental Leave Motion
Full time tenured, tenure track, and contract faculty who
have been employed at Mason for at least one academic year (both men and women
who become parents through either birth or adoption) are granted a half time
teaching reduction. The reduction can be
taken by teaching no courses during the semester of the birth or arrival of the
child or during the semester following this event, or it can be taken by
teaching half time for two consecutive semesters (selected depending on
circumstances/timing from the semester of the birth or arrival and the
following two semesters). The faculty
member continues to receive full pay and benefits during the semester(s) of
reduced teaching. Parental leave is
automatic provided that the faculty member notifies in writing the department
chair or the dean/director of the college, school or institute in which the
faculty member serves. Faculty members
must take leave that is legally permitted under the Family Medical Leave Act
(FMLA) simultaneous with parental leave as defined in this motion, i.e., leave
granted under FMLA cannot be added to Mason’s parental leave. Service is not required unless agreed to by
the faculty member. Research
requirements are not affected, but they have been addressed previously by the
stoppage of the tenure clock for a new parent (see Section 2.7.3.1 of the Faculty Handbook).
Rationale
At present, the only leave guaranteed new parents is
prescribed by the federal Family Medical Leave Act. According to this act, an employee is allowed
twelve weeks of job protection. However,
it is unpaid. This is often a non-option
for faculty, given the low salaries of most young faculty, the high cost of
living in the area, and the escalating costs of beginning a family.
Employees may use
their accumulated sick leave to receive pay for a portion of their absence.
However, new parenthood is not an illness, and use of sick leave should not be
required if faculty want or need to be paid for parental leave. Furthermore, requiring faculty to use sick
leave for this event reduces sick leave balance and could cause difficulty if
later illness or injury prevents the individual from working.
Under the Family Medical Leave Act, instructional faculty
who become new parents during a semester will usually require their colleagues
or adjunct faculty members to cover their classes during part, but not all, of
a semester. This creates a burden for
both their students, who are presented uneven instruction, as instructors are
changed at least once, and department chairs/program directors, who must fill
the positions temporarily.
According to colleagues in Human Resources and Payroll
(HRP), the practice in recent years has been to work with any faculty member
who is about to become a new parent and who contacts the office. HRP attempts to develop an arrangement that benefits
the faculty member. Faculty members have
also been encouraged to work with their department chairs or program
directors. The unofficial practice,
although not policy, has been to release faculty from their work commitments
during the current semester or the semester following the qualifying
event. However, an informal poll of
tenure line faculty has found that some of them are reluctant to use the
available leave when it is not a stated policy to grant it. These faculty report feeling that their
motivation and professional dedication may be questioned, threatening their
likelihood of achieving tenure.
Therefore, the motion makes parental leave automatic if requested in
writing. The wording in this part of the
motion parallels that of the Faculty Handbook in the sections that guarantee
extension of the tenure clock for new parents, serious illness, and military
service.
We applaud and appreciate the work of HRP in facilitating
parental leave. We also thank the
members of HRP who suggested modifications to the motion and to the rationale
for it.
If approved, the parental leave proposal will formalize and
slightly extend the current informal practice at George Mason of releasing
faculty from their work commitments for the semester in which they become new
parents or the semester following that event.
Costs to the university will be minor, as some of the expenditures for
wages required from hiring extra adjunct faculty will be counterbalanced by the
likelihood that tenure track faculty who become new parents will defer their
tenure decisions (and resulting increase in salary) for a year. This policy should also increase morale among
young faculty and increase Mason’s ability to attract the best and brightest
scholars.
The motion was approved unanimously.
Criminal Background Check Policy: to defer discussion to our next meeting
(November 7th).
Organization &
Operations – Star Muir, Chair
Senator Muir introduced the motion
noting that Mason’s Responsible Use of Computing Policy (University Policy
1031) says staff and employees have no expectation of privacy. He also noted that some Virginia institutions
have very specific controls regarding when and how can access/release data.
Email and Research Privacy Task Force
Motion for the creation of a Task Force to investigate
policies concerning faculty and staff e-mail privacy and the protections
afforded to faculty research data.
A. Unless otherwise
indicated by the Faculty Senate, this Task Force will operate for the 2012-2013
academic year, and will issue a report for the consideration of the Faculty
Senate by the first week of April, 2013.
B. The ERP Task Force
will consist of five members, of which at least one is a Faculty Senator, and
will be staffed from University faculty, staff and elected members of the
Faculty Senate. The Provost’s
Office will be asked to appoint an
additional ex-officio non-voting member to ensure clear communication on
relevant issues.
C. The Task Force has
the following direct charge:
1.
Clarify George Mason University’s policies and current practice
regarding access to and use of faculty and staff e-mail, archived information
(electronic or otherwise) and access to and use of faculty research data.
2.
Investigate relevant policies from institutions of higher education
within the Commonwealth of Virginia, within George Mason University’s set of
peer institutions, and perhaps others that have taken the lead on this issue.
3.
Gather information relevant to these issues from involved organizations
such as the American Association of University Professors.
4.
Identify procedures, constraints, and relevant implications of the
Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
5. Provide specific recommendations for amending existing policies or creating new policies that offer substantive protection of faculty and staff e-mails and faculty research data, including but not limited to situations, criteria and processes for justifying and informing faculty and staff about internal administrative or supervisor access, law enforcement access, and access by external agencies or individuals.
Discussion:
A Senator asked if the Task Force
will address the kinds of emails released from UVA (recent BOV actions to oust
President of UVA) and the Attorney General’s Office?
Senator Muir: Yes, this would address public access to
emails from faculty and staff. True that
emails in public institutions are not protected as private sector, can look at
employee email. To make much clearer how
this would be process and reviewed before email released; process to be
delineated vs. present “no expectation of privacy.”
Sharon Pitt, Executive Director, Division of Instructional
Technology, noted that a new Faculty/Staff Email system to be implemented would
have capacity to respond to requests. It
is not known when the system will be implemented, it requires resources/support
for training to do this. The new system
involves changes to calendering not as
straightforward as email. Senator
Stanley Zoltek, Chair of the Technology Policy Committee, noted that the (new)
archiving system will keep copies of your emails whether you delete them or
not, a final decision has not been made
yet. (See Appendix 3 for more
information about the proposed email system from Mason E-Files, October 15,
2012 ).
The motion was approved
unanimously.
Nominations – Jim Bennett, Chair
Three candidates are nominated to
fill a vacancy on the Minority and Diversity Issues Committee:
Harold Geller (COS), Carlos Ramirez
(CHSS), Suzanne Scott (CHSS). Paper ballots
were distributed. Congratulations to
Suzanne Scott on her election to the committee.
Linda Schwartzstein
(CHSS) is nominated to fill a vacancy on the Admissions Committee Wayne Sigler (Vice President, Enrollment
Services) will serve as Dean of Admissions appointee to the Admissions
Committee.
Priscilla Regan (CHSS), Zachary
Schrag (CHSS), and Stanley Zoltek (COS) are nominated to serve on the Email and Research Privacy Task Force. The Staff Senate has appointed Susan Brionez
to serve as its representative to the Task Force. Susan Trencher (CHSS)
is nominated to fill a vacancy on the Budget and Resources Committee.
The
nominations were approved.
B. Other Committees/Faculty Representatives
Faculty Representatives to the
Board of Visitors
Chair Tangney was delighted to introduce the faculty representatives to
tbe Board of Visitors:
David Anderson (CEHD) and Gerald Hanweck (SOM) serve as faculty
representatives to the Finance and Land Use Committee. Michael Nickens (CVPA) and Martin Perlin
(CHHS) serve as faculty representatives to the Academic Policies, University
Community, and Diversity Committee (APDUC), and Ed Douthett (SOM) serves as
faculty representative to the Audit Committee. She also introduced Janette Muir, who has also
served as Faculty Representative to the APDUC Committee. Their presentation is posted on the Faculty
Senate website at http://www3.gmu.edu/resources/facstaff/senate/MINUTES_FS_2012-13/BOVOverviewShort_Oct10_2012.pptx
.
The Faculty Representatives want to know what issues you may have, to
keep a dialogue with faculty.
A Senator: The BOV have no idea what faculty do, do not understand what
we are trying to do. [We need] to
educate BOV about us. Corporate models are
not applicable for educational institution.
One of the faculty representatives said dialogue outside meeting would
be helpful if they provided us with assignments so that we can go to the
faculty and get feedback.
A Senator who serves as faculty representative to the space committee …that
our funding scientific 200-300K research space on campus than we have. We need more research space, current
restricts against growing portfolio.
Another Senator : It is great to
have faculty representatives come to us.
We need a systemic way to tell you what the Faculty Senate wants.
A Senator asked : Engaging BOV members before or after meetings, are you
allowed to ask questions at meetings?
Professor Anderson: We are
allowed to ask questions. They have a
very tight agenda, a lot of pre-work.
(Where) three BOV members are present, must declare a public meeting.
Professor Perlin: I have taken opportunities to raise hand and
participate. Never told not to, sometimes
BOV members ask what we think. He wants
to represent what you want us to represent to the BOV.
Professor Anderson: An assignment
from us …an evolving relationship both with the BOV Committees and the
Board. A leap of faith by them, we’re
raising our right and trust to be more vocal.
A Senator observed he does not recall seeing announcements of Board
meeting. We will post Board (and BOV
Committee) Agendas on Faculty Senate website as well as BOV meeting schedule
and update as necessary.
Professor Janette Muir commented Board meetings are open to everyone,
and encouraged faculty to attend to see the larger picture. The role of the Faculty Senate Chair as
non-voting representative to the BOV is valuable. The Faculty Senate is well represented by
Senate chairs.
Chair Tangney thanked the Faculty Representatives for the tremendous job
they’ve done in building relationships with the Board. The amount of respect says a lot about
relationships the faculty have had with the Board over the years.
Faculty Handbook Revision
Committee – Suzanne Slayden, Chair
Members of the Faculty Senate, in
anticipation of a Provost search committee being formed in the near future,
have requested a revision to Section 1.2.5 to insure greater faculty
participation in the search committee for the Provost, as well as the
President.
Although in the past few years
the proposed revisions to the Faculty Handbook have been presented and
considered as one package at a Special Meeting in the Spring semester, this
year the committee will submit a proposal for consideration at the November 7,
2012 Faculty Senate meeting.
By this report, we hope to give Faculty Senators and the
General Faculty ample time to read and discuss the proposal before the Nov. 7th
meeting. If there are any questions or comments, they can be voiced at the
Faculty Senate meeting on October 10th or communicated to the
Faculty Handbook Revision Committee.
When the agenda for the Nov. 7th meeting is
circulated, the motion to approve the revisions will include the stipulation
that there are to be no further revisions at the meeting other than those
necessary to correct typographical or grammatical errors. This procedure is the
same as used for consideration of past revisions.
If the revision is approved by
the Faculty Senate, it will be submitted to the Board of Visitors for its
approval at their Dec. 5th meeting.
Faculty Handbook Revision Committee:
Lloyd Cohen (LAW), Kevin Curtin
(COS), Suzanne Slayden (COS, Chair).
Proposed Revisions to Faculty Handbook Section 1.2.5
Left Side: 2012 Handbook Text with Proposed Revisions using Tracked changes in Word.
New text is underlined and deleted text appears with strike through.
Right
Side: Handbook as it will appear if the changes on the left side are
approved.
Discussion
A Senator: In the most recent presidential search
process, a meeting with the general faculty did not happen. Last minute invitation sent to Faculty Senators,
to ask for a few days’ advance notice would be nice.
Another Senator: Ask the attorney for the university – only
the elements of Faculty Handbook in our contracts to be paid attention to – not
knowing what entire status of the Faculty Handbook is-
(A resolution on the binding nature
of the Faculty Handbook follows).
A Senator observed proportional
representation by academic units could be gigantic, so many of them.
A Senator observed the last Presidential
Search Committee membership was unusually low in sense of faculty
representation, supports 60% faculty membership. The BOV will get plenty of time to meet
faculty with variety of perspectives – suggests at least 60%.
Another Senator agrees, but not
feasible. Would like to see expanded
event to provide opportunity for other faculty to meet with finalists, e.g., 25
faculty pre-selected.
Chair Tangney has checked with
folks who do a lot of these searches nationally; 25% is asking a lot; given
great number of constituencies represented.
Senator Slayden encouraged faculty
to send comment to the committee.
VI.
Other New Business
Request for Exception for Emeritus Status Attachment A
After some discussion, a
motion was made and seconded to approve the request. The motion was approved.
Resolution on the Binding Nature of the Faculty Handbook -
Star Muir
Senator Muir introduced
the resolution by recalling Rector Volgenau’s request asking the University
Counsel to define which parts of the Faculty Handbook are contractual and which
parts are aspirational (Faculty Senate Meeting February 29, 2012 , p. 3)
Resolution on the
Binding Nature of the Faculty Handbook
Whereas the Faculty Handbook of George Mason University, as
noted in the Preface and adopted by the Board of Visitors, is incorporated in
employment contracts with the University and is binding on the University:
The
GMU Faculty Handbook defines and describes the conditions of full-time
instructional, research, and clinical faculty employment; the structures and
processes through which the faculty participates in institutional
decision-making and governance; and the academic policies of the University as
established by its Board of Visitors.
The
provisions of the Faculty Handbook are incorporated by reference in all full
time instructional, research, and clinical faculty employment contracts. These
provisions are binding on the University and on individual faculty members. The
Faculty Handbook governs the employment relationship of individual faculty
members, and sets forth the rights, privileges, and responsibilities of faculty
members and of the University. (http://www3.gmu.edu/resources/facstaff/handbook/GMU_Faculty_Handbook_7-1-12_FINAL.pdf,
Page 6 of 61); and
Whereas, the Faculty Handbook supersedes all inconsistent policies and procedures when adopted by
the Board of Visitors:
As
of the date of the adoption of this edition of the Handbook, all prior policies
with respect to matters covered therein are superseded. With the exception of
the bylaws governing the University’s Board of Visitors, the provisions of this
Handbook supersede all inconsistent bylaws, policies and procedures in effect
at the time of its adoption by the Board of Visitors (including, if applicable,
custom and usage) of any officer, person, body, or unit of the University,
including but not limited to the President or other officer of the University
and any college, school, institute, department or other faculty organization.
(Preface
to the George Mason University Faculty Handbook - July 1, 2012, Page 7 of 61);
and
Whereas the Administration and the University Counsel of
George Mason University have been unable to provide any specific delineation of
which parts of the Faculty Handbook are “contractual” and which parts are
“aspirational”;
Therefore be it resolved:
That the Faculty Handbook of George Mason University is a contractual
agreement that is legally binding on all parties within the University
Discussion:
A motion was made and
seconded to extend the meeting five additional minutes. The motion was approved.
A Senator liked the
sentiment, but does it have any force? Senator
Muir responded “It has greater force than inaction.” After some discussion, a motion was made and
seconded to amend the penultimate paragraph of the resolution by delete “have
been unable to provide” replacing with “have
not provided, after repeated requests,”
in bold; as appears below:
“Whereas the
Administration and the University Counsel of George Mason University have been unable to provide
have not provided, after repeated requests, any specific delineation of which parts
of the Faculty Handbook are “contractual” and which parts are “aspirational”;
The motion as amended was approved unanimously.
VII.
Remarks for the Good of the General Faculty
Linda Harber, Vice President
for Human Resources, reminded faculty they should come to HR to make
arrangements if you would like to tax defer your bonus.
A Senator requested
teleconferencing the next meeting of the
Faculty Senate in Research Hall room 163.
If we expect our students to use technology…we will take this under advisement.
VIII.
Adjournment:
The meeting
was adjourned at 4:22 p.m.
Respectfully
submitted,
Earle
Reybold
Secretary
.ATTACHMENT
A
Request for Exception to Emeritus
Status
----- Original Message -----
From: Gary Kreps <[email protected]>
Date: Sunday, August 19, 2012 12:11 pm
Subject: Request to Provide Steve Klein with Emeritus Status
Dear
Jack,
As we discussed earlier I am formally requesting that Steve Klein be
recommended for Emeritus status after his retirement from Mason at the end of
the Fall, 2012 semester in recognition of his long and distinguished service to
the University. Steve has served on the faculty of the Department of
Communication for 14 years, and has been instrumental in building a vibrant,
innovative, and well-respected journalism program at Mason (with very limited
resources). He has championed a major focus on electronic journalism at
Mason back when most journalism programs were still focusing solely on print
journalism. Steve currently serves as a Term Instructor and Coordinator
of our Journalism Program. He also serves as Director of minor degree
programs in Electronic Journalism and Sport Communication (in collaboration
with the College of Education and Human Development). I am requesting an
appointment for him as an Emeritus Instructor upon his retirement.
Steve is a most passionate and involved educator who has promoted a very high
level of professionalism among our journalism students, and has fostered
enhanced media literacy for all of our students, not just the journalism
majors. He encourages our students to fully participate in democratic
society through active examination of the news from multiple sources. He
has recruited outstanding journalism professionals from leading media outlets
to work with us and teach for our journalism program (including from the
Washington Post, the Voice of America, USA Today, NBC News Channel 4, United
Press International, the Gannet Corporation, the Knight Foundation, and many
other news organizations). Steve is an outstanding and motivating
instructor, who has placed many of his students in professional positions at
major media outlets across the nation. He came to Mason after a
distinguished career as a reporter and editor, including serving as the online
Sports Editor for USA today. He has maintained strong relations with members of
the fourth estate (journalism community) and established an innovative
educational partnership with C-SPAN, where Mason hosted a televised public
events course that enabled our students to interact with world leaders and
media luminaries. He has also strongly supported active media internship
opportunities for our students. In addition, Steve has been an active member of
Faculty Senate Committees on Technology and Athletics for many years.
I encourage you to support my recommendation for Emeritus status for Steve
Klein.
--
Wishing
you the very best,
Gary
Gary L. Kreps, Ph.D., FAAHB
University Distinguished Professor and Chair, Department of Communication
http://communication.gmu.edu/
Director, Center for Health and Risk Communication
http://chrc.gmu.edu/
George Mason University
4400 University Drive, MS 3D6
Robinson
Hall A307
Fairfax, VA 22030-4444
(703) 993-1094, FAX (703) 993-1096
[email protected]
ENDORSEMENT BY DEAN CENSER:
From: Jack Censer [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Sunday, August 19, 2012 1:27 PM
To: Gary Kreps
Cc: June Tangney
Subject: Re: Request to Provide Steve Klein with Emeritus Status
Dear Gary,
I wholeheartedly support your request. Because my intellectual interests
overlap with Steve's, I know him quite well. His commitment is
extraordinary. I can endorse everything in your letter.
As you know from our correspondence some months ago, this will require a
variance from the faculty senate. So, June, please let us know what, if
anything, we need to do to go forward.
Regards,
Jack
Jack R. Censer, Dean
College of Humanities and Social Sciences George Mason University Fairfax,
Virginia 22030
703.993.8720
|
APPENDIX 1 |
|
Email
distribution Tuesday October 9, 2012 from Office of the President Subject: Message from President Ángel
Cabrera Dear
Colleague,
Each of these groups will analyze internal and
external reports and will reach out to various constituencies inside and
outside the University. We are currently setting up a website (please
check http://next.gmu.edu within a
week or so) which will be used to post updates from each of the groups and
the overall process, and which will include a mechanism for broad
participation by members of our community. I encourage you to
participate in this process and provide your input to the working groups by
writing to the chairs or by submitting your ideas through the website. |
APPENDIX
2
Academic
Policies Committee Presentation:
Proposed
Policy Changes to Permission to Study Elsewhere
Financial Impact of Current Policy
Summer 2011 Total Course Elsewhere Credits 1,194
|
|
Credits
Taken Elsewhere by Students in College where Course is Taught |
Credits
Taken Elsewhere Approved
by Students’ own Disciplines/Colleges |
Enrollment/FTE
$ Going Elsewhere |
|
CHSS |
276 |
348 |
$116,000 |
|
COS |
150 |
611 |
$203,667 |
|
VSE |
344 |
117 |
$39,000 |
|
SOM |
133 |
33 |
$11,000 |
|
CVPA |
53 |
48 |
$16,000 |
|
CEHD/RHT |
131 |
12 |
$4,000 |
|
CHHS |
91 |
15 |
$5,000 |
|
SCAR |
0 |
6 |
$2,000 |
|
UNDE |
3 |
15 |
$5,000 |
Example of Financial Impact: During the summer of 2011 students in COS received permission from COS to enroll in 150 credits from other universities. However, students in other colleges around the university received permission from their deans to enroll in a total of 611 COS courses as study elsewhere credits.
APPENDIX 3
From
Mason E-Files Announcements – October 15, 2012
Mason Selects a New Integrated Email and Calendaring System
The University has selected Microsoft Office 365 as its new integrated email and calendaring system replacing MEMO email system and Oracle Calendar.
Mason is partnering with B2B Technologies of Atlanta, Georgia, to assist in the deployment and migration process. B2B Technologies was selected through the RFP process after a year-long requirements development phase.
The new system, hosted in the cloud by Microsoft, has been adopted by numerous colleges and universities throughout the country. Microsoft Office 365 is an enhancement of Microsoft Live@edu, which is the system currently used by Mason students. Eventually, Mason students will also be migrated to the new Microsoft Office 365. Having all faculty, staff, and students on a single messaging platform is highly desirable and will enhance collaboration opportunities.
The benefits to the university by deploying this system include larger mailbox quotas (25 GB), integrated email and calendar, enhanced mobile device support, delegated e-discovery, legal holds and email archiving. Archiving will allow Mason to retain email records in accordance with policies established by the Virginia Public Records Act and the Library of Virginia.
Additional information will be released as soon as the information becomes available.
For more information, contact David Robinson, [email protected], Technology Systems Division, Information Technology Unit.