Minutes: October 22, 1999
Meeting came to order at 1:15 PM
Minutes from the previous meeting of September 24 were approved.
Presidents Report:
1) DCB and the lost key fine - Arthur Best mentioned recent discussions with Dean Griesemer of DCB concerning the $1,000 fine if a faculty member lost a DCB multimedia closet key. The fine will not be rescinded. They are considering replacing the keyed locks with combination locks. As it currently stands, this rule will not be suspended.
Questions arose concerning the required classroom training session before any faculty member can teach in DCB's new building. Some members of the faculty felt that this was unnecessary. A faculty member from DCB explained that it was a short (roughly 10-15 minute) session to explain how to turn on and off the lights, where the overhead projector is, etc. and that it is a necessary training session before faculty members can teach in the new building.
2) NCA Accreditation - Drafts of the accreditation document will be shared with the Faculty Senate, and we will get an opportunity to comment.
***************
Invited Speaker: Dianne Murphy, Director of Athletics & Recreation.
Gave 3 free hockey tickets to Arthur Best for the Friday evening game vs. Alaska-Anchorage. He accepted the gift and offered the tickets to anyone on the Senate.
Ms. Murphy has been with DU for over a year and a lot has happened with the department. Gave a synopsis of accomplishments for the last year including:
She discussed the new and innovative Student-Athlete Support Services Center. The coordinator of the Center is Heather L. Weems.
Talked about the Women's 25th Intercollegiate Athletic Anniversary Lecture Series. She invited all to attend the November 2 lectures. They are, "Race, Representation and Female Athletes: The Women of the WNBA," by Sheila Schroeder, lecturer in mass communications, and "The Female Athlete: Images and Perceptions," by psychology Prof. Susan Harter. The presentation begins at 5:30 p.m. in the DuPont Room of Mary Reed Building.
The Department of Athletics & Recreation is also gearing up for NCAA review. They are in the process of doing a self-study.
Gave statistics for the numbers and demographics of the people signed up for memberships in the Ritchie Wellness Center Fitness Club.
Working with Carol Farnsworth, the Department of Athletics & Recreation has been engaged in an aggressive marketing campaign.
Goals for the future -
Questions -
Q. One faculty member was not initially allowed to walk across the hallway of the Ritchie Wellness Center while a hockey game was in session. The staff at the hockey game advised her to walk very far out of her way to get back to a parking lot. What is the Department doing to address such logistical problems?
A. Ms. Murphy acknowledged that there are some logistic problems that had not been foreseen with the new building. She and her staff are aware of the problem and they are working on solutions.
Q. Where are the Mid-Quarter reports on the athletes?
A. The department is behind on its reports, and it should be ready soon.
Q. Last year, faculty members had requested that they receive athletic schedules of their students ahead of time so those faculty members could be aware of scheduling conflicts. But, this request did not come to fruition, why not?
A. It is the individual students' responsibility to hand in their athletic schedule ahead of time to the professor. There is no "all faculty" mailing with all of the athletic and practice schedules. Apparently, some teams and individuals had done a good job of telling their instructors of their athletic schedule, while others did not do such a good job of communicating their athletic schedules.
Q. Some season ticket holders for hockey did not get their tickets for the first game. Why did this lapse in service happen?
A. The ticket office was simply swamped with requests, and they could not get the mailing done in time. The ticket office will be better prepared in the future.
Q. What are the projects on the finances? Projections for ticket sales?
A. Most tickets sales are very good, except they did not quite meet their goals for women's volleyball. Can't yet predict basketball revenues. Revenues and expenses are right online with estimates. They are doing well with sponsorships and advertising revenue. Students are becoming more engaged and excited about DU with the sports teams. For example, the student section at a recent hockey game had 571 cheering fans.
***************
New Business:
Proposed Motion -
Was presented by Deborah Howard of the Personnel Committee. It is a motion recommending Senate concurrence in the establishment of an "Adjunct Faculty Teaching Award."
The Committee has obtained support (and a funding commitment) from the Provost for an adjunct faculty award that could be given annually along with the four current awards for full-time faculty. The description of the award is:
This award is given in recognition of excellence in teaching by an adjunct faculty member. The nomination should emphasize the degree to which a person's teaching has constructively influenced his or her students. Nominees must teach at least one course a year for the University in a degree-granting program, and should have taught consecutively for a period of at least three years. Courses need not have been taught in a single department or unit. This award will be presented at the Fall Convocation.
Q. Who would nominate? A. Chairs or Deans of Departments should know all of their teaching adjunct faculty.
Q. Does it have to be the most recent three years? A. Not necessarily. The requirements for the award are vague so as to allow more candidates to come forward.
Due to a procedural error, a premature vote was taken on the motion. We will wait till next month's meeting to take an official vote, so that there can be full consideration.
***************
Arthur Best is planning on calling a "General Faculty Meeting" so that the entire body of faculty can discuss important issues and directions that the University is taking. Perhaps the suggestions for future directions given by Chancellor Ritchie at his recent convocation speech (http://www.du.edu/news/release/conspchdan.html) could be a starting point for the discussion. Please email or call Arthur Best for suggestions and ideas for more agenda items.
***************
The faculty Senate is forming an ad-hoc committee on "Faculty Development and Review", also called Post-Tenure Review. Two senators, Jan Laitos and Gordon von Stroh have volunteered to be on this committee. Contact Arthur Best if you or a colleague would like to work on this important committee.
***************
The University Calendar Committee is considering closing the University from Christmas day till new years next year. Please let the Registrar Dennis Becker know if you have any concerns with this proposal.
***************
Committee Reports -
Academic Planning They are concentrating on the Honor Code. They will make a report concerning the Honor Code next meeting, Nov. 19.
Financial Planning No report.
Student Relations Met this morning. Talked about our goals for the year. Met with a student representative from AUSA, Molly Lawson.
Personnel
Nominations, Credentials & Rules No report. Will meet later this week.
***************
Other Announcements -
It was announced that the Graduate School of Social Work has a new Senator Antonio (Tony) Ledesma.
***************
Meeting adjourned, 1:15 PM
Next meeting is scheduled for 12:00 Noon on Friday, November 19.
Respectfully submitted: Joe Kraus, 11/4/99