Taylor Hall 306

November 4, 2004

1. &nb= sp; Faculty Marshall, Oris Griffin, called the meeting to order at 3:30. Members present included:

Aashir Nasim, Psyc= hology;

April Roth, Communication Studies;

Bill Knorpp, Philo= sophy and Religion;

Bob Jerome, Econom= ics;

Bob Lembright, His= tory;

Brian Miller, Management;

Brooks Marshall, F= inance and Business Law;

Carmenza Kline, Foreign Languages and Literatures;

Charles Runyan (for Rory DePaolis), Communicati= on Sciences and Disorders;

Claudia O’Neill<= /b>, Nursing;

Cynthia Gilliatt, = English;

David Bernstein, C= omputer Science;

Dietrich Maune, Me= dia Arts and Design;

Edgar Parker, Math= ematics and Statistics;

Elizabeth Cole, Accounting;

George Wynn, Marketing;

Jason Haney, School of Music;

Jennifer McCabe, Libraries;

Jim Ruff, English;

Joe Rudmin, Physics,

John Gilje, Chem= istry;

John Wolf, Military Science;

Karen Ford, Soci= al Work;

Karen Santos, Educ= ation;

Kenneth G. Lewis, Senate Treasurer, ISAT;

Kent Zimmerman, Senate Speaker, Management;

Jennifer McCabe, Libraries;
Mark Rooker, Art a= nd Art History;

Mary Fitzgerald, Political Science;

Michael Smilowitz, Communication Studies;

Mike Saunders, (for John Singer), Kinesiology &= amp; Recreation Studies;

Nikitah Imani, (for Laura Lewis), Sociology/Ant= hropology;

Oris Griffin, Education;

Roberta Mitchell, C.L.A.S.S.;

Scott Eaton, Geology;

Sharon Babcock, Bi= ology;

Solange A. Lopes-Murph= y, Senate Secretary, Education

Stephanie Chisolm<= /b>, Health Science;

Thomas Wood, Computer Info Systems;

Traci Pipkins, Writing Program;

&= nbsp;

Guests: Doug Brown, Provost; Andrew Boryan, Honor Council; and= Maggie Evans, Honor Council.

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2.  &n= bsp;      Approval of Minutes: Solange Lopes-Mur= phy asked for approval of the minutes of October 7.

Item 7C on the October 7 minutes should be Students Concerns Committee instead of Faculty Concerns Committee.&nbs= p; With correction, minutes were approved.

3.         Treasurer’s Report: Ken Lewis reported that the ending balance as of October 7, 2004 was $1,871.01. The beginning balance as of November 4, 2004 was $1,304.01.

4.    &= nbsp;    Doug Brown’s Report:

   &= nbsp;

§      =    Ne= xt legislature section will start in December. Governor has pledged to put Higher= Education on the top of his priority list.

§      =    Th= ere is a desire of leading a legacy through the development of a new institution i= n the Danville area (16% unemployment) through retraining facilities targeted to adult learners= so that those with academic distress have more access to education.

§      =    Co= nstruction projects –

§         New library is in planning stages. It is scheduled to go on the east side of campus. It is designed to be twice the siz= e of current library. Ralph Alberi= co has expanded the library materials significantly.

§         Harrison renovation will be completed in May 2005.&= nbsp; Renovation of Roop will follow.&nbs= p; Then, Miller Hall, once sciences move to ACA and modular building. Center for the Arts has been planned. It should start with= in the next two years. Renovations on Keezel Hall will happen once the already planned renovations are finalized.=

§      =    Th= e hospital is going to sell the building to move outside the community into a bigger facility. JMU is looking at t= he property to see if it is appropriate to be added to the university. The goal would be for the State to= purchase it to become part of the institution. Decisions on whether this would be a good investment for JMU is still being discussed. The site cou= ld be feasible for student dorms. T= he hospital will not be sold for 4 years.&nbs= p; This is a long range plan – at least 7 years from now.

§      =    Me= rit Pay recommendations. Faculty Handbook needs to be followed and implemented consistently. If there are issues with individual departments, to be brought to the Provost.= The state has put 2% aside for faculty promotion. JMU is hoping to increase that. There is a variance in procedures regarding the merit pay across campus – at the discretion of that college. There are prospects = to bring the various colleges faculty salaries into line.

5.         = Speaker’s Report:

Reported the document he presented at t= he Board of Visitors on Oct. 8 meeting. # of part time people and the kinds of challenges it causes the university – Dr. Rose reported the faculty/ratio is currently 15.6 to 1. He was happy to see that r= atio, but we should do that ratio done with full time faculty instead of part-time personnel.

6. &nbs= p;       Committee Reports:

   &= nbsp;

A.        Nominations and Elections: Oris Griffin reported that she would select someone from the College of Business= to serve on the committee. and will let the person who will serve in the committe= e know.

B.        Academic Policies: David Bernstein discussed the need for increased presence of academics in the orientation, increase visibility of student initiatives th= at involve faculty, and dissemination of scholarly and academic events on the calendar.

C.&n= bsp;            = ;    Faculty Concerns: Cynthia Gilliatt announced tha= t a speaker to talk about academic frededom has been identified. She also brought the issue of R= 20;Tuition Reduction for Faculty Dependents” forth. It was suggested Dr. Rose works wi= th other presidents to change the current law regarding this issue. Kent Zimmerman suggested approachi= ng tuition reduction from the retention angle. Joe Rudmin said that tuition reduc= tion may not be a good idea as it may prevent faculty from requesting salary adjustm= ent while kids are at a college age. Faculty senators briefly discussed how that opportunity should be open to both facu= lty and staff.

D.&n= bsp;            = ;   Student Concerns – The committee brought people from the Honor Council and provided a summary of the Honor System Procedures so that senators could ask questions directly to the Honor Council members. Stephanie Chisolm reported the Hon= or Council support on developing a tutorial for students to take on the Honor = Code to become part of their files. Regarding the dissemination of the Honor Code, it was suggested that= faculty create a preamble to include in exams to remind students on the Honor Code.

Joe Rudmin complimented Ho= nor Council group on the summary they provided on the Honor System Procedures.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'>

Honor Council Report - According to Maggie Evans, there has bee= n an increase in the reporting of honor cases by faculty. She emphasized it is now part of f= aculty orientation and that the Council is available to attend departmental meetin= gs to help answer questions and learn about the Honor Code.

Nikitah Imani inquired abo= ut the consequences of violating the Honor Code.&= nbsp; Dr. Imani – reported a case in w= hich student was sanctioned to continue in class. There was then discussion on how t= hat violation should be reported in the student’s transcript. Suggestions were given on developi= ng a sanction on the code to include a process F and not an Academic F.

Maggie explained about a w= indow between academic semesters where students have not been identified as a violator.

Joe suggested alternatives= on getting the violation marks off of students’ file. Senators discussed the 3-year leng= th period for a violation check to be removed from the student’s transcript or = the requirement of a particular course to get that removed.

UVa reinforces their honor= code by getting the student expelled from the institution. VMI follows a similar procedure.
JMU no longer has a single sanction system – expulsion. Professors were afraid of the harsh repercussions if they reported cases.    Kent Zimme= rman reported a violation case he was involved in as a committee member on a case of a student faking the advisor’s signature. The result of this case was expuls= ion. Committee discussed ideas on ways = to deal with punishment to the violation of the Honor Code and appeal process. In the past 4 years,= there have been 4 cases in which there was a reversal decision or a reduction on = the penalty in favor of the student. Michael Smilowitz has complimented the Honor Council on the work that has been done.

Maggi= e also answered Greg Wynn’s question on cases in which students are caught t= he second time. The Honor Council would contact and notify the faculty. The Honor Council would follow the regular procedure. – minimal suspension.&n= bsp; There is a 60-day window between the violation and reporting it.

E.     &nb= sp;   Budget Priorities – Elizabeth Cole reported that last year the Budget Priorities committee examined the JMU budget trend over the years in compar= ison to other Virginia Universities. They found that in general JMU was= doing a pretty good job keeping funding aimed towards instruction, and that stude= nt satisfaction remained high. H= owever, they also found that there was potential concern about admitting lower qual= ity students, and there appears to be a “brain drain” at the associ= ate professor level.

This year the Budget Priori= ties committee re-examined the data and determined that while a lower quality student was of potential concern it is probably due to the large growth of = the university. Therefore the com= mittee decided to concentrate on the problem of losing associate professors.

Problem defined:

JMU has tenured roughly 50%= of its tenure track faculty,&= nbsp; 40% of JMU faculty has been at JMU for less than 5 years. The percentage of full professors has increased from 30% to 31% since 1986, whi= le the percentage of associates has decreased from 36% to 18% since 1986.   National averages are 36% fu= ll professor, 32% assistant and associate.

Turnover has decreased in e= arly years of employment, and increased following tenure.

Salaries approached the university goal of 60% of its peer group in 99 and has been falling since.

The problem seems to vary w= idely by college.

This years plan:

1) Define Problem

a) Compare JMU salaries by = college, discipline and rank to peer group institutions (institutional research).

b) Identify turnover by col= lege, discipline and rank (institutional research).

c) Determine why faculty are leaving (exit survey, program survey)

2) Identify potential solut= ions

a) Examine the instructiona= l budget to determine if some funds could be used more efficiently.

b) Possibility of surcharge= s or limits on colleges where faculty salaries are at premiums.

c) Potential for tuition br= eaks as a means to attract and keep faculty.

Elizabeth passed around a sheet so that= senators would enter suggestions. It w= as recommended that Faculty Senate would recommend faculty in their department= to serve in the committee with the approval of the Speaker and the Steering Committee.

Old Business:

Calendar committee ̵= 1; Bob Jerome removed the resolution from = the table. He expressed his senti= ment in having a calendar committee. It was suggested if the calendar committee should be part of other committees. Doug stated that = the committee already exists. The= idea would be to increase faculty representation on the committee. Faculty Senate could appoint three= faculty members to serve on the calendar committee. All Senators were in favor.

Current faculty senate constitution wil= l be put on the website.



David Bernstein introduced the resolution on college reorganization.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> The three main points he brought f= orth is the need for more time to work on the reorganization, more ideas, and th= e development of policies for the creation of the new college structure. The item to be resolved deals with= the creation of a policy of new schools and colleges.

Resolution was moved and seconded.

Michael Smilowitz suggested taking the “2 last whereas” out. Doug Brown clarified tha= t the BOV made some decisions on the creation of colleges. SCHEV needs to approve a new college. They would be recept= ive to faculty input. The BOV has ad= opted a concept, but no college has been created at this point. No vote has taken place with the formation of any particular unit and no vote will take place until the CAL gives input = and recommendations come from the administration. Faculty needs to bring forth innov= ative ideas. One should look thorou= ghly in universities across the country.

Joe Rudmin suggested adding “such as, for example” on the resolution prior to Policy 6150.

There was motion to table the amended resolution until next meeting.<= o:p>

New Business –

Oris Griffin announced that Bob Jerome was the senator selected to serve on the Nominations committee.

Nikitah Imani expressed the concern about the lack of a Student Cente= r that is able to host student activities and gatherings at JMU. He discussed the possible cr= eation of one which is present in a number of other colleges and universities. Kent= referred that to the Student Concern Committee.

Lack of Parking - Faculty in Communication Studies has had parking difficulties in the Harrison Hall area. One possible solution would = be to monitor parking for faculty. Doug Brown mentioned the new parking garages that will be built which will alleviate the parking situation in that area.

9. =         The meeting was adjourned at 5:0= 1 PM

Respectfully submitted,

Solange A. Lopes-Murphy, Secretary