The Faculty Senate was called to order by Professor Connie Dillon, Chair.

PRESENT: Albert, Badhwar, Beasley, Benson, Blank, Dillon, Durica, Edwards, Egle, Eliason, Elisens, Emery, Engel, Friedrich, Fung, Gabert, Gilje, Greene, Gronlund, Gupta, Harper, Hillyer, Hobbs, Holmes, Joyce, Konopak, Laird, Lancaster, Livesey, Murphy, Norwood, Okediji, Pailes, Palmer, Patten, Patterson, Rasmussen, Ratliff, Reynolds, Robertson, Scherman, Shaughnessy, Sipes, St.John, Stoltenberg, Thulasiraman, VanGundy, Vieux, Wahl, Warner, Watts

Provost's office representative: Mergler

PSA representatives: Elder, Pyle

UOSA representatives: Heaton

ABSENT: Butler, Schwarzkopf

__________________________________________________________________________

Senate Chair's Report: orientation 1

Announcements:

Senate members for 1997-98 and schedule of meetings 2

Faculty Senate and General Faculty parliamentarian 2

1996-97 annual council reports 2

Appointments to councils, committees, boards 2

Disposition by administration of Senate actions for 1996-97 2

Resources in Faculty Senate office 2

Search committees, Fine Arts dean and Architecture dean 2

Barnes & Noble booksellers 2

Employee obligations to University 2

Adopt-a-faculty program 2

Post-tenure review 3

Revisions in Continuing Education & Public Service Council charge 5

Election, councils/committees/boards 5

Remarks by President David Boren 6

__________________________________________________________________________

Senate Chair's Report: orientation

In lieu of a chair's report, Prof. Connie Dillon presented a brief orientation of the Faculty Senate. Copies of the handouts are available from the Senate office.

APPROVAL OF JOURNAL

The Senate Journal for the regular session of May 5, 1997, was approved.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

A list of the Faculty Senate members is attached (Appendix I). The new members were introduced at the meeting.

The regular meetings of the Faculty Senate for 1997-98 will be held at 3:30 p.m. on the following Mondays in Jacobson Faculty Hall 102: September 8, October 13, November 10, December 8, January 12, February 9, March 16, April 13, and May 4.

The Senate Executive Committee elected Prof. Ruth Gana Okediji (Law) as parliamentarian of the Faculty Senate and General Faculty.

The compilation of the 1996-97 annual reports of University councils was mailed August27 to the Faculty Senate members and to chairs/directors and deans to make available to the general faculty. Copies are available from the Senate office.

The 1997-98 listing of faculty appointments to committees was mailed to the general faculty August 21.

The summary record of the disposition by the administration of Faculty Senate actions for September 1996 to August 1997 is attached (Appendix II).

The Chronicle of Higher Education, Academe, and the University Budget are available in the Senate office.

Prof. Louis Ederington (Finance) was selected from nominations submitted by the Faculty Senate Executive Committee for the faculty-at-large position on the College of Fine Arts dean search committee. Professors Barbara Hillyer (Human Relations) and Victor Youritzin (Art) were selected for the College of Architecture dean search committee.

Barnes & Noble Booksellers in Norman would like to stock books of professors who have current books in print. Faculty should have received a form to fill out and return to Barnes & Noble. For further information, contact Sandy See or Tina Greene at 579-8800.

At their June meeting, the OU regents approved the following policy statement addressing the collection of employee obligations to the University. This statement was developed by an ad hoc committee, which included Faculty Senate representation (see 9/96 Senate Journal, p. 2 and 2/95 Senate Journal, p. 2).

Faculty, staff, and student employees of The University of Oklahoma shall be required to pay all outstanding financial obligations due The University of Oklahoma in accordance with the due dates established for such obligations. Faculty, staff, and student employees who do not pay their past due financial obligations as indicated on the billing statement will be subject to the University's collection processes. The administration is directed to establish procedures at the Norman Campus and the Health Sciences Center to provide the means for the University to gain access to the funds to which it is entitled.

For information on the adopt-a-faculty program, call Nanette Shadid at 325-2895.

Senators were reminded to turn in issues and concerns to the Faculty Senate office.

Recommendations of the post-tenure review task force

Draft 4.1 of the Post-Tenure Review Policy was distributed to all faculty September 12 and is available from the Senate office. Dean Paul Bell (Arts and Sciences) explained that the proposal was developed over the summer by a task force that he chaired and that included Prof. Susan Vehik (Anthropology), Prof. Roger Rideout (Music), Dean Richard Cosier (Business Administration), and Dean John Snow (Geosciences). Post-tenure review is intended to provide periodic review of faculty performance. The task force looked at what other institutions do and were guided by the American Association for Higher Education (AAHE) publication, which gives a good review of the issues. The general approach was to build upon existing policy by using the existing annual faculty evaluation and adding a formative review. In intervals of five years, faculty who have achieved tenure will review their performance and talk about professional development in the coming years.

Prof. Van Gundy asked what the stimulus was for post-tenure review and whether it was the provost's perception that career development was not being done in annual reviews. Provost Mergler said units were having trouble moving from annual reviews to developing and growing the faculty. A second reason is many campuses are being mandated externally to have post-tenure reviews. Her choice is to self govern and develop wise policies prior to any mandate. The result is a culmination of practices that might be useful here and will avoid adding another layer.

Dean Bell said the task force chose to focus on faculty development as the primary motive. For most faculty, it will be a formative evaluation. That is not happening in some units. For a very small percentage of faculty who are performing in the unacceptable category, the policy will lead to a mandatory professional development plan. If a faculty member is rated as unacceptable two years in a row, then the mandatory review is supposed to help him get his annual evaluation up to acceptable levels. If the 5-year average rating is unacceptable, then the faculty member, Committee A and Chair develop a plan to bring performance up to acceptable. If she does not bring her performance up to acceptable, then the institution can take whatever action it deems necessary, which could be to initiate the abrogation of tenure policy. This proposal does not affect the current abrogation of tenure policy. It does not change the university's need to demonstrate cause. Dean Bell asked the senators to discuss the proposal with their colleagues and e-mail questions to him.

Prof. Egle clarified that the proposal affects faculty in the lowest two categories. Dean Bell said that was correct; the composite would have to be a 2.0 or less, which would include the marginal and unacceptable categories.

Prof. Norwood raised the question of teaching versus research and the measures used in evaluation. Dean Bell said the task force chose to focus on the composite because it allows faculty to differentiate their effort. The University of Nebraska looks at all categories. Prof. Gilje asked whether the committee considered putting in a reward system for people who do exceptional work. Dean Bell said the committee tried to avoid penalty and reward. Reward is built into the annual evaluation policy and promotion policy. The only penalty in this policy is a professional development plan, and that is only after consistently poor performance. However, some institutions have built in rewards.

Prof. Albert asked about the mandatory plan. Dean Bell explained that faculty whose rating is 2.0 or less two years in a row or whose five-year average is 2.0 or less must participate in a development plan. Prof. Albert asked what would happen if they chose not to participate. Dean Bell answered that the administration can decide what it wants to do.

Prof. Beesley commented that we should have a reward plan like the federal government or like the automatic increases for promotion. Dean Bell noted that the universities that have a built-in reward also have a built-in penalty. He pointed out that the proposal also offers the option of a voluntary faculty development plan.

Prof. Friedrich asked about rewarding faculty whose rating is in the highest category five years in a row. Dean Bell said the committee tried to write a policy that would require minimal time, was built on the annual evaluation process, and would provide a formative look in the future. For some faculty, it will be a very short meeting with Committee A and the Chair.

Prof. Patten asked what would happen if the Faculty Senate decided to reject the proposal. He wondered whether the administration would ask the legislature to force OU to accept something. Dean Bell said he could not predict that. Prof. Laird questioned whether the task force reviewed policies of other institutions and considered the effect on race and gender relations. Dean Bell said the task force looked at the AAHE document, which is a good compilation of other policies, and tried to find a policy that did not create a lot of extra paperwork. Prof. Palmer asked whether there was an appeal process. Dean Bell answered that the appeal would be at the college level and would be between the faculty member, chair, committee A, and dean. Prof. Dillon added that faculty can appeal anywhere along the process.

Prof. Egle asked how evaluations are handled when a faculty member is in the professional development plan. Dean Bell said the plan works out to be a period of about 2.5 years. Annual evaluation would measure performance during that time, and at the end of the 2.5 years, the expectation is the faculty would be performing better than 2.0. Prof. Egle asked about the rationale for selecting 2.0. Dean Bell said the committee looked at the previous two years of evaluations and chose a number that would pick up those people who really were having difficulty. Prof. Egle asked why the committee did not opt for the bottom 5%. Dean Bell said it was based on the current evaluation process. If a faculty member's performance is unacceptable or marginal, then he could use some help. There are very few faculty with those ratings.

Prof. Ratliff asked for an interpretation of what would happen if someone's composite was above 2.0 but teaching was below that. Dean Bell answered, "Then the plan doesn't happen." The committee could have written the policy to apply to faculty who were below 2.0 in any category but chose to focus on the composite instead. Prof. Ratliff asked why we do not care about helping that person. Dean Bell responded that he would hope the chair and committee A would be interested in helping; however, the task force wanted to focus on the overall performance. Prof. Ratliff asked what percentage is below 2.0 now. Dean Bell replied, "It is relatively small." Prof. Engel observed that some units do not provide guidance, and composite numbers vary between units. Provost Mergler commented that the units have been given the numbers for 1995, and she will deliver the 1996 numbers to the Senate soon. Prof. Sipes remarked that if the net is catching such a small number, that might not fulfill the public idea of what this is intended to do. Dean Bell said the intent was to look at faculty as whole individuals rather than single out one component.

Prof. Livesey asked whether the review cycle could be amended to coincide with the promotion process in order to avoid redundancy. Dean Bell explained that annual evaluation and promotion are separate processes here. The review for someone recently promoted probably would not be as lengthy. The task force did not want to build in exceptions. Prof. Dillon announced that a copy of the AAHE document is available in the Faculty Senate office, and other articles are on the Faculty Senate web page.

Revisions in Continuing Education and Public Service Council charge

Prof. Dillon explained that the Continuing Education and Public Service Council had proposed some revisions in its charge and membership that would remove public service from its charge and eliminate the two outside members (proposal available from the Senate office). The recommendations will be discussed at the next meeting. The council's past chair, Irv Wagner (Music), and current chair, Avi Scherman (Educational Psychology), will be present then.

ELECTION, COUNCILS/COMMITTEES/BOARDS

The Senate approved the following Senate Committee on Committees' nominations to fill vacancies on University and Campus Councils, Committees and Boards.

Academic Regulations Committee: Susan Marcus-Mendoza (Human Relations)

to replace Karen Hayes-Thumann, 1996-99 term

Campus Planning Council: Nick Harm (Architecture)

to replace Eleanor Weinel, 1995-98 term

Commencement Committee: Steve Curtis (Music)

to replace Carol Beesley, 1996-98 term

Council on Campus Life: Pam Fry (Instr. Lead. & Acad. Curr.)

to replace Sally Beach, 1996-99 term

Parking Violations Appeals Committee: John Chiodo (Instr. Lead. & Acad. Curr.)

to replace Richard Resco, 1997-00 term

Research Council: Paul Gilje (History)

to replace Mary Margaret Holt, 1996-99 term--humanities

Rita Lottinville Prize for Freshmen Committee: Andy Miller (Mathematics)

to replace Ara Basmajian, 1996-99 term

Patent Advisory Committee: Bill Patten (Aerospace and Mechanical Engr.)

to replace Mark Gillett, 1995-98 term

University Copyright Committee: Peter Kutner (Law)

to replace Jayne Fleener, 1996-00 term

University Libraries Committee: Richard Pailes (Anthropology)

to replace Michael Havener, 1996-99 term

Remarks by President David Boren

President Boren said he had just been in Tulsa working on the higher education situation. He remarked that the state cannot afford another free-standing comprehensive university. A constructive solution may be coming about.

We made some progress this year. Research expenditures on the Norman and HSC campuses went up 8-9%, which is about triple the national average; we will pass the $119 million mark this year. He is trying to create more funds for research and creative activity. The graduate fellowship program will be continued this year. The increase in research has created some space problems. Vice President for Research Eddie Smith is assessing the research and lab needs, so if we have an opportunity for a bond issue, we will know what to ask for. We had a good year in the legislature. The average faculty increase for this year was 5.5%. For the last two years, faculty salaries have increased 10.5%, double the Big 12 increase. Faculty salaries and fringe benefits have moved up to sixth position in the Big 12, even without the cost of living factor. The percentage of the state budget going to higher education had been declining the past 15 years. We were above 16% but had fallen to 14.9%. In the last two fiscal years, we climbed to 15.5%. The president hopes to continue to get this kind of support from the state legislature. Efforts to cut administrative costs are continuing. Last year, we were the lowest in the state system by 2%. We have lowered costs again from 6.5% to 6.1% and will keep moving in that direction. Any savings will be put into the educational mission.

Three more years are left in the fund-raising campaign. We raised about $185 million in the first two years. We have a good chance to exceed our $250 million goal. Most of the funds will go into the educational mission. Many endowed professorships are in the queue waiting for the match from the state regents. The regents agreed to give us the interest and to fill the positions before the match money is transferred.

About 25 F.T.E. faculty were added in the last two years, and another 10-15 F.T.E. will be added this year. In five years, we hope to have added 50-70 faculty and improved our student/faculty ratio. We did extremely well in student enrollment in terms of quality and numbers. The test score spread between OU and OSU is growing. Our goal is to level off traditional freshmen at 3000 and emphasize quality. We went up about 8%; we are at about 2900 now. OSU has about 2200 freshmen.

President Boren then discussed the challenges this year. Administrative salaries have been frozen three years. We will have to make some adjustments this year to retain administrators. Another critical area of concern is the library. Costs are escalating 20-25%. The library was given $1.1 million this year to avoid cuts in serials and monographs, and $1 million from the Affinity credit card program will go to the library endowment. We are exploring electronic subscriptions to save money, but electronic costs are starting to escalate. A committee composed of Susan Caldwell (Art), Roger Frech (Chemistry & Biochemistry), Wayne Morgan (History), Dan Wren (Management), Dean Sul Lee (Library), and the vice presidents was formed to try to solve the library budget problems. Just as the regents adopted the goal of bringing faculty salaries up to the average of Big 12, so are they receptive to setting goals for the library. They agreed to the goal of passing Kansas with regard to library expenditures and acquisitions.

He said he really wants faculty to have a strong role in determining what post-tenure review should be, to allow enough time for input, and to have a post-tenure review that is effective. It remains to be seen if this will give evidence of greater accountability. The Senate has also been asked to consider some proposed revisions in the patent and copyright policies and will be allowed as much time as needed. We must have policies that give our faculty greater incentives in patents and copyrights.

The governor has appointed a task force to look at the retirement system situation. OU's representatives are Lex Holmes (Economics), who will serve as chair, and Russ Driver (Administrative Affairs). OU will look at buying out of OTRS and replacing it with the defined contribution, although a shift is not likely this year. For new hires, OU has guaranteed that the defined contribution will not go below 8% for at least another two years. The OTRS caps are in place for three more years, but the caps are rising.

Growth and revenue are up in the state, which will give us a chance for another good appropriation from the legislature. Salary increases are at the top of the priority list. There is strong interest in a higher education bond issue this year of $100-150 million, which would mean $15-20 million for OU. Several areas, all relating to academic programs, need funding, like the Nielsen Hall addition, completion of Holmberg Hall, and the Law library. President Boren thanked those who called legislators and helped with fund-raising activities.

Prof. Palmer asked what was going to happen with the Connections building. President Boren said the University bought Connections and Logan apartments to protect OU. We will also buy the white building at Boyd and Elm and the duplex across from the stadium. OU wanted control over the use because of the proximity to campus. For now, we will move Fine Arts costuming to Connections for very little cost. Logan is more problematic because it could contain asbestos.

Prof. Fung asked about the decision to have University hospital taken over by Columbia HCA in view of Columbia's recent problems. President Boren explained that we were losing $25 million. We failed to get other hospitals to join or to get any commitment from the legislature. We have not signed the final agreement yet. Columbia changed its leadership and some of its policies. Under the agreement, we have the right to buy them out and to veto any decision. Columbia has to guarantee a floor on the number of faculty/staff and indigent care expenditures.

We are continuing to monitor the Athletic Department budget problem. Athletic Director Steve Owens has adopted an open policy. He and Associate Athletic Director Bob King are trying to get their arms around the numbers. The department is doing a good job on the revenue side.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 5:30 p.m. The next regular session of the Senate will be held at 3:30p.m. on Monday, October 13, 1997, in Jacobson Faculty Hall 102.

____________________________________

Trent Gabert, Secretary

____________________________________

Sonya Fallgatter, Administrative Coordinator

Senators	Representing	Term
Dillon, Connie (Educ. Lead. & Policy St.)	Chair	1997-98
Holmes, Alexander (Economics)	Chair-Elect	1997-98
Gabert, Trent (Health & Sport Sciences)	Secretary	1997-98
Sipes, James (Landscape Architecture)	Architecture	1995-98
Wahl, Iver (Architecture)	Architecture	1996-99
Albert, John (Mathematics)	Arts & Sciences	1996-99
Badhwar, Neera (Philosophy)	Arts & Sciences	1997-00
Benson, Hugh (Philosophy)	Arts & Sciences	1995-98
Blank, C. LeRoy (Chemistry & Biochem.)	Arts & Sciences	1996-99
Butler, Charles (Human Relations)	Arts & Sciences	1997-00
Durica, David (Zoology)	Arts & Sciences	1995-98
Eliason, Stan (Mathematics)	Arts & Sciences	1997-00
Elisens, Wayne (Botany & Microbiology)	Arts & Sciences	1995-98
Friedrich, Gus (Communication)	Arts & Sciences	1997-00
Fung, Bing (Chemistry & Biochem.)	Arts & Sciences	1995-98
Gilje, Paul (History)	Arts & Sciences	1995-98
Gronlund, Scott (Psychology)	Arts & Sciences	1997-98
Hillyer, Barbara (Human Relations)	Arts & Sciences	1995-98
Hobbs, Catherine (English)	Arts & Sciences	1996-99
Lancaster, John (Botany & Microbiology)	Arts & Sciences	1996-99
Livesey, Steven (History of Science)	Arts & Sciences	1997-00
Murphy, Sheena (Physics & Astronomy)	Arts & Sciences	1995-98
Norwood, Stephen (History)	Arts & Sciences	1996-99
Pailes, Richard (Anthropology)	Arts & Sciences	1997-00
Patterson, Lotsee (Library & Info. St.)	Arts & Sciences	1997-00
Ratliff, Ronald (Health & Sport Sciences)	Arts & Sciences	1997-99
St. John, Craig (Sociology)	Arts & Sciences	1996-99
Van Gundy, Andy (Communication)	Arts & Sciences	1996-98
Emery, Gary (Finance)	Business Administration	1996-99
Robertson, Terry (Finance)	Business Administration	1997-00
Schwarzkopf, Al (Management)	Business Administration	1997-00
Greene, Barbara (Educ. Psychology)	Education	1996-99
Konopak, Bonnie (Instr. Lead. & Acad. Cr.)	Education	1995-98
Laird, Susan (Educ. Lead. & Policy St.)	Education	1997-00
Egle, Davis (AME)	Engineering	1995-98
Gupta, Anuj (PGE)	Engineering	1995-98
Patten, William (Aerosp. & Mech. Engr.)	Engineering	1996-99
Rasmussen, Maurice (Aerosp. & Mech. Engr.)	Engineering	1997-00
Thulasiraman, K. (Computer Science)	Engineering	1995-98
Vieux, Baxter (Civil Engr. & Env. Sci.)	Engineering	1997-99
Edwards, Donn (Dance)	Fine Arts	1997-00
Palmer, Allison (Art)	Fine Arts	1995-98
Shaughnessy, Susan (Drama)	Fine Arts	1995-98
Watts, Valerie (Music)	Fine Arts	1997-00
Beasley, William (Meteorology)	Geosciences	1997-00
Engel, Michael (Geology & Geophysics)	Geosciences	1997-00
Harper, Charles (Geology & Geophysics)	Geosciences	1997-98
Stoltenberg, Cal (Educ. Psychology)	Graduate College	1995-98
Okediji, Ruth Gana (Law)	Law	1997-00
Reynolds, Osborne (Law)	Law	1996-98
Scherman, Avraham (Educ. Psychology)	Liberal Studies	1997-99
Joyce, Beverly (University Libraries)	Provost Direct-Library	1996-99
Warner, Bob (Aerospace Studies)	Provost Direct-ROTC	1997-00

	Date	Item	Origin	Disposition
1	09-09-96	Arts & Sciences dean search committee	President	Appointed
2	09-09-96	Faculty replacements, councils/committees	Faculty Senate	Appointed
3	09-09-96	Revisions in Environmental Concerns Committee charge	Environmental Concerns Com.	Approved with Faculty Senate changes; 10-17-96
4	09-09-96	Internet newsgroup policy	Task force	Approved dual news feed; 10-28-96
5	09-09-96	Conflict of interest policy	Provost	Approved until 12/96; 12-12-96
6	10-14-96	Elimination of Fac. Adv. Com. to Pres., Strat. Plan. Com., Univ. Dev. Council	Faculty Senate	Under review
7	11-11-96	Resolution recognizing Staff Senate's 25th anniversary	Faculty Senate	Acknowledged; 12-2-96
8	12-09-96	Faculty replacements, councils/committees	Faculty Senate	Appointed; 1-2-97
9	12-09-96	Faculty evaluation scale changes	Faculty develop-ment task force	Approved with revisions; 1-2-97
10	12-09-96	Pre-finals week policy revisions	Provost	Approved with Faculty Senate changes; 1-2-97
11	12-09-96	Campus network rights and responsibilities guidelines	Information Technology Council	Under review
12	01-13-97	Revisions in Goddard Health Center Advisory Board charge	Goddard Board	Under review
13	01-13-97	Optional mission statement on business cards	Faculty Senate	Approved verbally; 2-6-97
14	03-17-97	Course syllabus requirement	Faculty Senate	Approved; 4-11-97
15	03-17-97	G.A. health insurance subsidy	Graduate Student Senate	.5 FTE G.A.s will receive a 50% insurance subsidy
16	03-17-97	Faculty compensation survey results	Faculty Compensation Com.	5% average raise given for FY98; 7-31-97
17	05-05-97	Revisions in Athl. Coun., Bud. Coun., Cam. Disc. Coun., Coun. on Cam. Life, Equal Oppor. Com., Film Rev. Com., Recr. Serv. Adv. Com.	Faculty Senate	Under review
18	05-05-97	Student jury duty, Faculty Handbook revisions	Provost	Under review
19	05-05-97	Child care center policy revisions	Faculty Welfare Com.	Under review
20	05-05-97	Faculty replacements, councils/committees	Faculty Senate	Appointed; 7-31-97