Members Present: Deborah DeMino, Meredith Dickens, Penny
Edwards, Stacey Frank, Mary Gibson, Pam Goodman, Som Linthicum, Jeremy McCracken,
Robin McFall, Michael Oates, Julia Seligson, James Walker, Gregg Westmoreland,
Derek Williams
Members Absent: Susan Curtis, Justin Herndon, Tracy Kilgore,
Eleanor Leverette, Malisa Looney, Cynthia Swaney, Mia Tensley
Guests:
Presider: Julia Seligson
Julia reminded everyone we agreed to send all changes to minutes to the secretary (Robin) no later than five (5) business days before the next scheduled meeting. Robin stated she already had changes for the February 15 meeting from Penny and Pam and asked others to submit any recommendations so she could have changes made in order for Senate to vote on the minutes at the next meeting.
Julia shared that she, Robin, and Mia had met with Galen about the revision. He had read the entire document (even those sections we have not yet revised) and was in support of everything except a phrase under Faculty Senate Eligibility: "…serving as representatives on College-wide entities such as Academic Leadership Team and President's Advisory Council." He recommended we simply remove that phrase because Faculty Senate President serves on ALT. She asked if there were any objections to removing that phrase. There were no objections.
Old Business:
1. Focus on Article III
Penny asked that we
go back to Section 3 to ensure we have consistency in wording by using the
wording "incoming" when referencing the newly elected president.
Everyone agreed.
Julia then moved us
to Section 4 with a focus on Sections 4.1 and 4.2.
Stacey shared her
thoughts on a president's term being only a single year: one term is not enough
time for a person to truly understand what is needed and become effective in
the role. Meredith stated we are not limiting a person to one term. Indeed, we
are saying faculty can elect someone for a second term if that person is doing
a good job.
Stacey stated she
also believes senators should serve two-year terms. She liked the rotation
schedule recommended by the ad-hoc committee. She stated she thinks that kind
of rotation provides needed continuity. Robin stated we typically do experience
some continuity because senators often do serve longer than one year. Penny
countered by asking if new senators this year feel they understand the role of
Senate. Pam stated she did not because our primary focus has been on revising
the Constitution and Bylaws. Jeremy said he did not feel there was any learning
curve—he felt he was able to be active from the very beginning and that a
person who has interest in serving will jump right in. Julia stated she feels
that those who are truly interested will do a bit of groundwork to be able to
be active in Senate from the first meeting each fall. She continued that she
understands the need for continuity, but she believes enacting a two-year term
for either president or senator would discourage some faculty from serving.
Penny and Stacey
both talked about Faculty Senate becoming a hub for the other committees,
stating Galen had pushed this issue so that there are connections across campus.
Stacey reiterated her belief that we needed more than a one-year term to prevent
having a "full replacement" for a division. Julia stated she felt the
duty is on the senator himself/herself to be reelected for a second term. Meredith
gave her support to Julia's comment. Stacey asked if this idea is something
that should be placed in FAQs or something the president should talk to deans
about during their election processes. Penny cautioned that we need to be
careful of what goes in the Constitution and By-laws and what goes in the FAQs.
For example, do we need something about senators working with deans to be
re-elected in the Constitution and By-laws or in FAQs?
Julia directed us
back to Section 4.1, stating that we need to finish it before we can move
forward to the other sections concerning lengths of service.
Som asked what
happens with the past-president if a president is elected for a second term.
Deborah said we would need to change wording earlier in the document. Julia
said we would need to consider what would happen to the role of parliamentarian
in such a situation. Penny made several possible recommendations for solving
the situation, including using one of the at-large senators in this role.
Meredith asked why we could not have something stating the person would retain
voting privileges in such an event. Jeremy suggested the longest serving
senator not in a leadership position could serve in this role and maintain
voting privileges. After further discussion about the role of the
parliamentarian and our expectations of this role and discussion about Robert's
Rules of Order in general, we ended with the following wording for Section 4.1:
The Faculty Senate President is elected for a one-year term which runs from the beginning of the summer term through the end of the spring term. The President may serve two consecutive one-year terms but cannot be elected for a third consecutive term.
In addition, once the President's term ends, he/she will be expected to serve as Past President and Parliamentarian of Faculty Senate for the year immediately following. He/she serves in this capacity to provide historical context and continuity.
We then
agreed to switch the order of the next two sections and ended with the
following wording for Section 4.2.
The Past President/Parliamentarian will serve a one-year term immediately following the tenure of his/her presidency. The duration of the Past President's position will be the beginning of the summer term through the end of the spring term.
In the event the President is serving a second term, the Past President may also serve an additional year. If the Past President cannot serve a second year, then senators will determine the role of the Parliamentarian based on experience and interest.
Julia
moved to Section 4.3.
Pam asked
if we needed to put any limits on the number of terms a senator can serve.
Robin stated she supported term limits. Meredith stated she thinks this process
happens naturally for senators as faculty leave the college and/or take on
other roles. Penny said senators also change roles inside Senate. Someone may
be elected as a division senator one year or more and then become an at-large
senator for another year. Deborah asked what the longest term a senator had
served was. Penny and Stacey both stated six, but the roles inside Senate had changed.
Meredith reiterated that term limits happen naturally.
Deborah
stated the draft from the ad-hoc group had detailed information about length of
service for the at-large senators and the other officers. Robin responded she
felt we covered all of those positions since they are all senators. Som
suggested we use the wording "all senators."
We ended
with the following wording for Section 4.3
4.3 SenatorsAll senators are elected for a one-year term which runs from the beginning of the summer term through the end of the spring term. However, senators are exempt from service in the summer term if they are not on contract during that period.
Contingent on regular attendance at Faculty Senate meetings and no past disciplinary actions pursuant to Section VIII of this document, senators can serve as long as constituents elect them to office.
Before
moving to another section, Julia brought to everyone's attention that we were
at the time limit for the discussion based on the agenda. Penny made a motion
that we keep working. Som seconded, and all agreed.
Julia
moved to Section 5.
Meredith
asked that we specify one duty of the president is to report back to Senate
about what happens on other committees. Som agreed. All felt adding that duty
would help with more effective communication and continuity of information.
Som asked
if we wanted to expand the duties of the officers slightly to give more of a
"cabinet" feel. Penny and Stacey both agreed. Meredith asked if we
needed a statement earlier about a cabinet or Senate leadership. Gregg stated
we do already have such a statement identifying them as "faculty
officers."
Penny
asked that we bring in other duties from the ad-hoc draft, specifically duties
for graduation ceremonies. She also asked that we add that Senate must approve
the members of an ad-hoc committee.
Robin
clarified there are some committees the president must serve on and then there
are some committees which request the president serve. So, both of those are
listed separately to indicate the differences. Stacey agreed—she stated it is a
bit confusing, but she felt the wording covered what actually happens.
Penny
asked that we combine the duties of developing an agenda and communicating information
about Senate meetings to all faculty into one duty.
We ended
with the following wording for Sections 5 and 5.1:
Section 5 – Duties of Officers and SenatorsThe officers of the Faculty Senate shall consist of the President, Vice President, Secretary, and Past President/Parliamentarian. If an officer is absent from a Faculty Senate meeting, his/her duties will be delegated.
5.1 Duties of the President
A.
Schedule and facilitate Faculty Senate meetings using a
modified version of Robert’s Rules of Order as listed in Appendix I.
B.
Meet with the Senior Vice President to discuss Senate
concerns.
C.
Meet with other Faculty Senate officers for planning
purposes.
D.
Represent Faculty Senate on committees as required by the
College's administration.
E.
Represent Faculty Senate on other committees as requested.
F.
Communicate Faculty Senate issues/concerns to appropriate
Vice President and/or the President of the College.
G.
Communicate to the Faculty Senate issues/concerns on which
the College administration seeks faculty input.
H.
Communicate to Faculty Senate what occurs in entities (such
as Academic Leadership Team) on which he/she represents faculty.
I.
Develop and post a meeting agenda no later than three
business days before a scheduled meeting.
Communicate to College community date, time, location, and agenda of
upcoming Faculty Senate meetings.
J.
Represent the wishes of the full Senate as decided by vote
during the course of official meetings.
K.
Vote only when a tie-break is necessary.
L.
Establish Ad-hoc committees as necessary and appoint
senators to serve on these committees with the approval of a Senate quorum.
M.
In conjunction with Faculty Senate Vice President,
facilitate election processes each spring (for full-time) and fall (for
adjuncts/lecturers) following election information provided in Article III,
section 3.
N.
Work with senators and officers to discern which
concerns/issues should go to full Senate discussion and which should be
directed to the appropriate individual(s) for a quicker resolution.
O.
Lead procession at spring and summer graduation ceremonies,
as well as other college graduations, if requested.
Julia
moved on to Section 5.2.
Deborah
stated the suggested revisions from the ad-hoc group are much more detailed for
the vice presidential duties. Stacey said she felt the duties needed to be
developed, and Penny stated the ad-hoc group felt the duties needed to be
delineated more clearly. Robin asked if we had not given the power to the
officers to decide who would perform what duties in their planning meetings.
Others agreed. Som noted the ad-hoc recommendation to have the vice president
serve as a second representative on ALT. Penny said the ad-hoc group felt
strongly about that. Stacey said the only true faculty voice on ALT is the
Faculty Senate President. Penny stated a major concern to her is that currently,
the vice president does not always know the president will not be able to
attend an ALT meeting, so faculty then have no representation. She said it was
of vital importance to have that representation.
Penny and
Meredith both asked if we could include this wording and make the request of
Galen since we do not have the authority to make a change to ALT. Stacey said
she had already paved the way for having this second voice on ALT. Meredith
suggested including it but highlighting it to ask Galen about approving this
specific duty.
Robin
reminded everyone that we had three minutes left. Som made a motion that we
stay as long as needed to complete the final three sections. The motion was
seconded. It passed unanimously, so we continued to work on the document.
We ended
with the following wording for Section 5.2.
5.2. Duties of the Vice President
A.
Assist Faculty Senate President and other officers with
conducting Faculty Senate business.
B.
Meet with other Faculty Senate officers for planning
purposes.
C.
In the absence of the Faculty Senate President
a.
Schedule and facilitate Faculty Senate meeting.
b.
Represent Faculty Senate on College committees.
c.
Communicate Faculty Senate concerns to appropriate Vice
President and/or the President of the College.
D.
Assume other duties of the Faculty Senate President as
needed.
E.
Serve on College committees as requested.
F.
Serve as an
additional Faculty Senate representative on the Academic Leadership Team.
G.
Assist Faculty Senate President with election processes
each spring (for full-time) and fall (for adjuncts/lecturers) following
election information provided in Article III, section 3.
H.
Assume all duties of Faculty Senate President if he/she is
no longer able to serve (see duties and expectations listed in Section 5.1).
We moved
to Section 5.3.
Penny
asked how the secretary would "record detailed minutes." There were various interpretations of what
the word "record" means—it could mean taking notes by hand, using a
digital recorder, etc. After discussion, we changed the word to
"document."
Penny also noted
that the ad-hoc group had given specific details about timelines for completion
of minutes, responding to the minutes, making corrections to the minutes, etc.
Stacey asked what would be feasible. Robin stated if all changes were sent no
later than five business days, the secretary should be able to have all changes
entered and re-posted no later than two business days before the next meeting.
Then, if we display the minutes for review as we have been doing, everyone can
review one last time before the vote on approval. Penny asked if seven business
days for the development of the minutes were needed. Robin responded that
having two weekends was truly helpful.
Penny asked about
having the minutes posted for public access. Robin responded that two days
should be adequate after the minutes were approved. Stacey also noted we needed
to include posting of Senate membership and scheduled meetings.
Deborah asked what
would happen if officers were not at a meeting to fulfill their duties. She
noted that the ad-hoc recommendation provided for such a situation. Robin asked
if that is not something that would be discussed in a planning meeting. Penny
suggested a statement in the introduction of Section 5 that would cover such an
absence for any officer.
Penny said an idea
from the ad-hoc group was a standardized, consistent message—a sort of
executive summary—for all senators to use to share information with
constituents in a more timely fashion than the approval of minutes allows.
Meredith asked if this is like the talking points discussed last year. After
further discussion, it was determined Senate would create a "summary
statement" for each item at the end of each meeting. Derek suggested the
wording "essential takeaways."
We ended with the following
wording for Section 5.3:
A.
Assist Faculty Senate President and other officers with
conducting Faculty Senate business.
B.
Meet with other Faculty Senate officers for planning
purposes.
C.
Document detailed minutes of Faculty Senate meetings.
If audio recording is desired, a quorum vote must
exist before recording begins. Recordings made are for minute development
purposes only, shall be recorded on a Senate approved standard device, and
shall be deleted after minutes have been developed and approved by the Senate.
D.
Distribute minutes to senators within seven (7) business
days following a Faculty Senate meeting for review. Based on feedback from
senators, update minutes for approval no later than two (2) business days
before the next regularly scheduled meeting.
E.
Submit approved minutes to appropriate contact for public
posting no later than two (2) business days after approval.
F.
Maintain list of current senators and ensure list is
brought to each scheduled meeting for conducting Senate business and inclusion
in Senate meeting minutes. Submit list to appropriate contact for public
posting.
G.
At the end of each Faculty Senate meeting, work with Senate
to create a list of essential takeaways (a consistent message) to share with
constituents.
We moved to Section 5.4.
Penny and Deborah both suggested we use
"modified Robert's Rules of Order."
In addition, we also had discussion as to whether or not we needed to
include the past president should "abstain from voting" since the
position is described as being a non-voting member. Penny stated she thought we
need to add it for clarity.
We ended with the
following wording for Section 5.4:
A. Assist Faculty
Senate President and other officers with conducting Faculty Senate business.
B. Guide meetings
based on Modified Robert's Rules of Order.
C. Answer questions
about Modified Robert's Rules of Order as necessary.
D. Provide historical
context and continuity.
E. Serve as an
advisor to the current President.
F. Abstain from
Senate voting.
We moved to Section 5.5.
We all noted the detail of the ad-hoc draft. It broke down
what should be done to prepare for a meeting, what should be done during a
meeting, and what should be done following a meeting. Penny said the specific
details were given to avoid the ambiguity of what was currently in place. Meredith
suggested just copying and pasting. Robin said she objected to that because she
felt much of what was listed was inherent in being a professional and serving
as a committee member. Penny said that while she agreed, the ad-hoc group felt
this amount of detail was needed, especially for new senators. Stacey said in
the past, senators were not sharing information or communicating simply because
they did not know they were supposed to do so.
Julia asked us to look back at the ad-hoc recommendation to
see what should be included in our draft that is not currently present. Som
brought up the need to inform officers about an absence. Robin said she thought
it was inherent in responding to a meeting request.
Meredith stated again that she liked the way the duties
were laid out from the ad-hoc group. Gregg said he did not like having all the specifics.
He felt it was too delineated and too rigid.
At this point,
Meredith noted that she had to leave, but she announced to Senate that she was
giving Stacey her vote in favor of ratifying all these changes when the vote
was called.
The idea of professionalism and confidentiality was brought
forth to include. After further discussion, we agreed to simply say
"maintain professionalism."
We ended with the following wording for Section 5.5:
A.
Prepare for and attend Senate meetings on a regular basis.
B.
Solicit agenda items from constituents in a timely manner.
C.
Share important information from Faculty Senate with
constituents.
D.
Provide feedback to the Secretary on the minutes no later
than five business days before the next regularly scheduled Senate meeting.
E.
Inform an officer if unable to attend a meeting or if
coming late to a meeting.
F.
Encourage and participate in open dialogue among
constituents concerning Faculty Senate issues.
G.
Maintain professionalism in conducting Senate business.
H.
Share Senate meeting essential takeaways with constituents.
I.
Encourage constituents to share concerns* with the
appropriate chain of command.
a.
If the appropriate chain of command does not resolve the
issue, meet with the constituent and at least one officer to vet the concern.
b.
Bring the concern to Faculty Senate for review if deemed
appropriate.
*In some cases, a
concern may need to go directly to department head, associate dean, dean,
director, the appropriate Vice President, or Human Resources.
We then moved to Section 5.6.
We simplified the duties for the At-large senators to state
they would have all of the duties listed in Section 5.5 and then adding a few
other duties.
We ended with the following wording for section 5.6:
A.
Perform the duties listed above in Section 5.5 for all
senators.
B.
When a senator from another division is absent, ensure that
senator is brought up-to-date with Senate decisions and actions.
C.
Assist with disseminating information to all faculty when
appropriate.
At this point, Penny made a motion that we take a
five-minute break and then return to read all of Article III before voting on
its ratification. Pam seconded. Senate took a quick break.
When we reconvened, we read the entire document
section-by-section to see if any content needed to change. Robin noted that if
the Senate did not object, she would review the entire document for
capitalization and punctuation to try to ensure consistency, but she would not
change any content. No one objected to that review.
We had some discussion about delaying the vote so we all
could take time to review the entire document more thoroughly. However, if we
did so, in all likelihood we would be delayed in getting Galen's support and
then in nominating candidates for 2019-2020 Faculty Senate President. We agreed
to complete the process during the current meeting.
After review, Penny asked that officers clarify to Galen
why we are making the request to add the duty of serving on ALT.
Pam made a motion that we ratify Article III as written and
discussed. Robin seconded. Julia called for the vote. The motion passed
unanimously.
Julia reminded everyone that Faculty Senate would meet on
March 8. Stacey asked that everyone bring nominations for president to the
meeting. Pam asked who would take the document to Galen and who would update
Faculty Senate on his support or recommendations. Julia said it would be the
officers—and any one of the officers might send the information to Senate.
Action
to be taken as a result of discussion, person(s) responsible, and timeline:
Robin will review the ratified version to ensure consistency in capitalization
and punctuation. Mia, Julia, and Robin will send the document to Galen for his
comments/approval. Once he gives his thoughts, Mia, Julia, or Robin will update
Senate. In addition, Robin will post the revision in Teams and insert Article
III into the Constitution and By-laws for posting in Teams as well.
Adjournment
A motion was made and seconded to
adjourn. All approved. The meeting was adjourned at 2:58 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by Robin
McFall
Next Meeting: Friday, March 8 at 12:30 in SSC 205
