September 23, 1998

Faculty Senate Minutes

September 23, 1998

PRESENT: John Alexander, François Amar, Bruce Barber, Paul Bauschatz, Dan Belknap, Mary Ellen Camire, Stewart Smith for Tai Cheng, Steve Cohn, Ted Coladarci, Steve Colburn, George Criner, Chris Cronan, Lee Davis, James Fastook, Ed Ferguson, Ivan Fernandez, Ray Fort, Mac Gray, Michael Grillo, Fred Servillo for Dan Harrison, Knud Hermansen, Peter Hoff, Jim Horan, Fred Irons, Richard Judd, Alan Kimball, Roger King, Irv Kornfield, Janice Kristo, Phil Locke, Cynthia Mahmood, Kathleen March, Kyriacos Markides, Jim McClymer, James McConnon, Lyn McLaughlin, Mary Malone, Henry Metcalf, Scott Morelli, Bruce Nicholson, Harlan Onsrud, Tina Passman, Hemant Pendse, Connie Perry, Eric Peterson, Paula Petrik, Alan Rosenwasser, Steve Sader, Thomas Sandford, Therese Shipps, Jane Smith, Owen Smith, Kristin Sobolik, Hayden Soule, Mary Ellen Symanski, Sydney Thomas, Gloria Vollmers, Charles Watson, Gail Werrbach

ABSENT: Tony Brinkley, Dan Dwyer, Michael Greenwood, Tim Griffin, George Jacobson, Mel Johnson, Leonard Kass, Ione Hunt Vonherbing, Judy Walker, Anatole Wieck

l. Welcome and opening remarks by President Mary Ellen Symanski:

Allow me to make a few opening remarks. The University of Maine is in a critical period of its history. We look forward to guiding the University of Maine into the next century, building it back up after a period of austerity. Faculty members have a great stake in the long term well -being of the University and have a great deal of intellectual resources and energy to help guide it on the right path. The greatness of the University is not a function of the efforts or ideas of any one person; rather it depends upon the quality of the day to day contributions of many people together. The faculty represents the backbone of the institution and each member of the Faculty Senate is a part of the collective bones and brains. I hope the brains will be especially alert and the bones will be as strong as steel. Historically, the Faculty Senate has debated issues and made resolutions, welcomed new people and honored those who have left us. Ultimately, the worth of our efforts will be judged on how strong we choose to be, and how much we care about this University to serve, to persuade, to listen, and to take a stand. Members of this group are challenged to represent their individual ideas, the interests of the College faculty who elected them and yet to always consider the broader good of the University as a whole. This group’s existence is testimony to the fact that we have more service to give than that which we do to enhance our individual careers. It is my hope that we will always be guided by a simple principle – what is the right thing to do for this University – to preserve what is good about it, and make it a better place because of our work here.

Il. The minutes of meeting on April 22, 1998 were unanimously approved as distributed.

Ill. MEMORIAL TRIBUTES

Professor Emeritus Walter “Bud” Schoenberger ( Ken Hayes, Professor Emeritus of Political Science) I have the honor of briefly paying tribute to a former teacher, colleague, friend and political ally, Walter “Bud” Schoenberger. Bud was a wonderfully enthusiastic, optimistic and colorful gift to the University and the state of Maine. His impact is imprinted on the many students and friends that he shared with on his long 34 year career as a political scientist at the University of Maine.

To understand and appreciate Bud Schoenberger, we need to understand that Bud deeply loved his family, his wife Marilyn, and daughter, Karen. He loved being involved in politics…he loved tweaking the ear of the administration…and he loved teaching. In fact, Bud loved most everybody…except Republicans. As you may remember, Bud Schoenberger was very partisan and greatly upset with the Democratic administration during Vietnam while a bit giddy about Republican shortcomings during Watergate. Bud believed that a good teacher could not live in a

Platonic cave, but had an obligation to participate in the politics of the broader community. It is ironic, perhaps, that during the Vietnam era some pro-war advocates even questioned Bud’s loyalty. In fact, Bud Schoenberger, a decorated combat fighter pilot in the Second World War, loved his country so much that he openly questioned and sought to change its policies.

Bud was a gifted teacher, articulate, reflective and knowledgeable. He maintained his standards of excellence even as they were being eroded in the institution. His tests were rigorous and his expectations very high. He was exceedingly well read and always on top of world affairs. His study of the decision to drop the A-bomb, “Decision of Destiny” was a Tour de Force of carefully analyzed documents. In 1963, Bud was designated by the students, who at the time made the decision, as the first recipient of the Distinguished Faculty Award.

His office and his home were open to students and university friends who were encouraged to drop by and talk politics with him. These contacts outside the classroom with students resulted in friendships that remained through Bud’s life. I believe that I can honestly say that Bud cared deeply for students and their concerns and that they returned these feelings full measure.

Bud was very active on issues of faculty governance and I am convinced that his assertive style clearly distinguished him from his many more reticent colleagues. One can only imagine how radical this brash, newly minted Ph.D. from the Fletcher School must have seemed to the administration in 1955 and how Bud, in turn, could have viewed the administration as a collectivity of crystallized inertia. What Bud did not understand, I think, was how resilient incompetence can be. Not one to accept the status quo, Bud served four terms on the Council of Colleges, twice as the elected Chair. He also was a member of numerous university committees and advisory councils. During his career, he remained a strong supporter of the American Association of University Professors and was always very proud to be a Professor at the University of Maine.

For Bud Schoenberger, the glass was always half full. He loved people…and today they would probably lock him up for harassment for the hugs he was known to give. For Bud, everyone was interesting. He was a wonderful friend and colleague. He was a unique gift to the University and the community, and his teaching of tolerance, diversity, global responsibility, and compassion for the less fortunate constitute a living will to those who were fortunate enough to have shared his life and his University journey.

Professor of Chemistry Brian Green (Bruce Jensen, former student and colleague) read by Francois Amar, Associate Professor of Chemistry: Dr. Brian Green came to the University of Maine in 1959 after receiving his Ph.D. from of Liverpool, England. Brian worked as a postdoctoral research associate with Professor G.R. Pettit until 1962 when he joined the faculty of the Department of Chemistry. Brian’s research interests included steroids, natural products, and 1,3-dipolar addition chemistry. His many achievements were recognized through a number of prestigious awards. Brian was awarded two Alexander von Humboldt fellowships in 1964 and 1971 for sabbatical research at the University of Bonn and the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry in Munich, Germany. In 1981 he was selected as the recipient of the Ashley S. Campbell Award in recognition of bringing distinguished teaching and service to engineering and science students at the University of Maine. In 1987, he was named the University of Maine’s Distinguished Maine Professor, in recognition of outstanding teaching, research, and public service. Brian was a past president of the Maine chapter of Sigma Xi, a member of Phi Kappa Phi, and a member of the American Chemical Society. At the time of his death, he was the Chair of the Department of Chemistry.

Brian will best be remembered for his love of teaching, dedication to his department, and devotion to his students. He did this through his high standards and vast knowledge, yet never wanted any praise or attention to be brought to himself. His students remember him as a very kind, gentle, and intelligent man who cared deeply for his students. His classes were always stimulating and enhanced with his English wit and humor.

Brian also had many interests outside chemistry. He was a familiar sight in the Orono-Bangor area as he logged more than 10,000 miles per year on his bicycle. He was an avid outdoor person who liked hiking, fishing, and gardening. He was also extremely knowledgeable about classical music and a supporter of the Bangor Symphony.

Brian is survived by his wife, Karen Boucias, and stepson, Jesse Boucias of Orono; and two sons, Dr. Christopher Green of Brunswick and Mr. Jonathan Green of South Portland. In England, he is survived by his mother, Mrs. Gladys N. Green, and two brothers, Mr. Peter Green and Mr. David Green.

Those who wish to donate in Brian’s name may contribute to the Dr. Louis Goodfriend Scholarship at the University of Maine.

Professor Emeritus Albert Klinge ( Hayden Soule, Associate Professor of Bio-Research Engineering): Albert Klinge was born in the small farming town of Dudleytown, Indiana. He graduated from the local school system and was working on the family farm when he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1944. He served in the 87th infantry division and fought in the “Battle of the Bulge” in Belgium, the last big battle of World War II in the European Theater. After leaving the service, Al returned to Indiana and enrolled in Purdue University where he received his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Agricultural Engineering. He and his wife, Catherine, then moved to California where he completed his Ph.D. at UCLA. He joined the faculty of the Agricultural Engineering Department at the University of Maine in 1965 and retained that position until his retirement in 1988. Al was named Emeritus Professor of Agricultural Engineering upon his retirement.

While a faculty member at UMaine, Al taught courses in Soil and Water Engineering and in Agriculture Structures and Environmental Control. He also taught a mathematics service course to non-engineering students in the two-year programs in the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture and created an engineering principles course for the Parks and Recreation program that was an important service course offering of the department for many years.

Al’s research at UMaine included work on the performance of irrigation systems and he was responsible for some of the early research on composting of agricultural wastes, becoming an acknowledged expert on the subject. As a result, Al was in demand for his knowledge as composting became a more important environmental tool.

Al was a hands-on engineer who practiced what he taught, exemplified when he designed his own home and participated in the building process. He was an accomplished wood worker; a skill which served him well while finishing the interior of his home. Al was consulted on the construction of the Wilson Center on College Avenue and was instrumental in the construction of the Redeemer Lutheran Church in Bangor where he was an active member.

Professor Emeritus Harold Young (Ken Allen, Professor Emeritus of Zoology)

Harold was born in Boston, Mass. in 1917. He attended the public schools in that city. Following his graduation from high school, he entered the University of Florida in Miami. During his one year at Florida, he decided on a career in forestry and transferred to the University of Maine. He received his undergraduate degree in forestry from the University of Maine in 1937. For the next few years he worked with the Forest Service. Then like millions of other Americans he joined the Army of the United States. He volunteered for airborne duty and was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division. He fought in Holland, Normandy and France. He was seriously wounded in the Battle of the Bulge. Following his military service, he attended Duke University where he earned the M.S. and Ph.D degrees. He joined the University of Maine Forestry Faculty in 1948. He served that faculty for over 30 years, teaching hundreds of students and producing a great number of research publications. Harold earned an excellent national and international reputation while at the University of Maine for his pioneering work in forest biomass. Such projects as the production of paper from fiber obtained from woody plants like alder, pincherry and blueberry contributed to his later concept of the use of the whole tree. His work was recognized by such diverse groups as the Forest Products Society, which awarded him the Hitchcock Award in 1976 to the Professor Burckhardt Medaille from the University of Gottingen in Germany in 1980. Harold was the first American to receive this recognition from Gottingen. At home he became the leader of the Complete Tree Institute publishing a number of research articles on this topic. In 1965 Harold was President of the World Forestry Conference held in Madrid, Spain. He was a Fulbright Scholar in 1965 in Norway and a Research Fellow at the Australian National University in 1968. He also found time to serve his university in another way and in the 1970’s he was President of the Faculty Council. Following his retirement from professional life was centered in the forest and he became an excellent custodian of the woods.

A moment of silence was observed following the tributes.

It was moved that the tributes be part of the minutes of the meeting and a copy of the minutes distributed to the families. The motion passed.

IV. ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Research & Development bond: Everyone is urged to vote yes. President Symanski requested approval to offer a resolution on the bond under new business. Request accepted. J. Diamond explained there is a vote on Nov. 3, for $20 million, of which $13.5 will be for UMaine. R&D Bond Campaign Committee has been working for several months, to raise money. The campaign goal is to educate the public on the benefits of R&D. The standing advocacy committee for UM met recently to discuss this issue.

Class Books: 1998/99 – Lies My Teacher Told Me (James Loewen)

1999/00 – A Midwife’s Tale (Laura Ulrich)

Remote Access: Jim Patton suggested moving the item to New Business and this was accepted.

Accreditation dates & brief remarks by K. March. The document will be available in hard copy on October 6, the first open forum. It will also be available on the web.

Blue Ribbon Panel open forum will be from 10 -12 tomorrow, 9/24.

V. COMMITTEE REPORTS

Academic Affairs (James Horan, chair): Issues for the year include: double degree diplomas; Faculty handbook; academic standing policy; post-tenure review; faculty development/evaluation; general education requirements; Charter school at Limestone, which would like fee waived so high school students can take courses. UM is being asked to express opinions on this. Horan moved it be placed under new business; motion passed.

Finance & Institutional Planning (Henry Metcalf, chair): Issues for the year include: usual financial aspects of institutional planning and issues surrounding the drop-out date for students receiving financial aid appropriation

Research & Public Service (Kristin Sobolik, chair): Issues for year include: follow through on changes to research at UM; workers’ comp and liability.

University Environment (Alan Rosenwasser, chair): One meeting held on 9/11.

Issues for year include: parking and recent student government resolution for non-hierarchical parking decals; academic climate survey from last spring; faculty club location.

Constitution & Bylaws (Gloria Vollmers, chair): No current issues.

Committee on Committees (Constance Perry, chair): Some committees still in need of members, including Athletic Advisory Board, Student Conduct Code, Administrative Appeals.

Library Advisory Committee ( Michael Grillo, chair): Met with Elaine Albright; several points discussed: collection; physical plant; paper vs electronic medium; funding – will look at models of other NE land-grants; technological access and union’s expansion into the area of study space.

BOT representative Ivan Fernandez: June 10 meeting – Chancellor had conference to discuss community college proposal that is emerging in response to legislature discussion on issue of these colleges. There is not a desire to create a third system. July 13 – summer BOT meeting; in terms of R&D support Maine is low in comparison to other states; also talked about fee structure for universities, streamlining the fees; announcement of BOT professorship program – intent to provide resources for faculty, liberating Libra professorships to attract outside faculty. We will have 3 when increased (currently we have 1). Biennial budget has 3.4% increase. July 23 – meeting of task force to make UMS more equitably accessible to all of the campuses; also dealt with some of the movement of money by campuses from distance education students.

VI. Old Business (none)

VII. New Business

R&D Bond: (motion text “The Faculty Senate of the U of Maine endorses passage of the R&D bond issue (Question #1 on the November 3rd ballot.”). Discussion: Horan spoke
strongly of need to support this actively, even though there is no organized opposition. In Southern Maine there is opposition, eg because of the money for agriculture & forestry. $4 million goes to ME Science & Tech Foundation, plus some for challenge grants; $2 million for research facility for Portland Aquarium. President Hoff noted natural inclination to vote without ad campaign is low. Vote for bond endorsement was unanimous.

Remote Access – Jim Patton (following text was read) From: Gerry Dube, Director, UNET Technology Services and Jim Patton, Interim Director, IT
Based on a need to provide additional time to prepare for remote access billing, UNET Technology Services (formerly CAPS) and IT have decided to delay billing for remote access until January 1, 1999. As indicated in a previous email message, billing was to begin October 1. Consolidation of the modem pools will proceed as previously indicated. There were several common questions we would like to answer: the billing period is by the month;l only telephone dial-up service is affected.

Only those previously dialing 581 phone numbers will need to dial 990-0737 beginning immediately. If you have both a UNET remote access account and an IT remote access account, you should use your UNET id to gain access to the new combined modem pool. If you currently have an IT account and do not have a UNET account, you should visit the UNET computing center on the first floor of Neville Hall (west entrance) to obtain one. (NOTE: This is also a modification of the original email announcement. We have determined the easiest way to migrate IT users to the new modem pool is to create new UNET accounts. IT users should ask specifically for a “remote access” account since there is more than one type of account available from UNET.) UM users should begin dialing the 990-0737 number immediately.

Beginning in January, most students will pre-authorize additional hours by applying funds to their MaineCards at the MaineCard office in the Student Union. Most faculty and staff will be pre-authorized by their chairs. Chairs will submit a web-based authorization form (with telephone confirmation) that will become available before January. Chairs will be notified by email that the form is available. Faculty and staff may also pre-authorize by applying funds to their MaineCards.

Student forums will be initiated by Chris Barstow, President of the UM Off Campus Board to discuss the parameters of the system (i.e. 30 hours free usage per month and $.01 per minute thereafter). It is possible (probable) these parameters will change based on these discussions. Please try to attend. An announcement will be forthcoming in the next week or so.

Prior to the initiation of billing, UM applications for special situations or extreme hardship will be made available. These forms will be made available on the Web. Please send an email to patton@eece.maine.edu to ensure you receive an application if you haven’t done so already. (Please do NOT reply to all the conference recipients of this email message.)

Because other UMS campuses will begin billing October 1, UM students accessing the modem pools at other campuses between October 1 and January 1 will be limited to 30 hours per month from these modem pools. Please call either the UNET Help Desk (581-3524) or the IT Help Center (581-2506) for help with other questions.

A small number of users keep others out. Some have been simultaneously logged in from several campuses. Should we be in the RA business? We should provide maximum access at minimal cost. Propose 30 free hours/month, with $.01/minute thereafter.

Much disagreement. Question as to why this service in particular chosen. Southern Maine did trials with Roadrunner. We will seek a similar arrangement with FrontierVision. The plan alleviates modem pool problem.

Billing was to start Oct. 1, but now have date for Jan. 1, 1999 in order to accommodate the discussion. Authorizations can come from chairs of faculty units or by Maine Card holders to their cards. Purpose is not to make money for UNET or IT, but to create responsible usage of internet.

G. Werrbach requested the statement be put on FC. This will be done soon.

Question as to what most universities do. Patton says UM is in minority to still be offering remote access. Trend is definitely to outsourcing.

College credit for AP courses at Limestone School: Vice-Provost Gelinas
Credit could be awarded either by examination or another method which faculty would devise. This year there were advanced placement scholarships, which gave $75 of AP credit for every credit taken. This may be an incentive for more ME students to stay in state. Amar: It is good to induce students to come here, but not all AP courses qualify. Gelinas: we could give them our own development exam. O. Smith: With in-house teaching, we have greater control. J. Beacon: We might want to reexamine if we’re giving credit for the minimum. President Hoff spoke to Belknap’s point: Awarding credit is faculty right, but no academic institution should ask people to pay for knowledge which they already have. C. Rock: This can provide a chance for closer relationship with schools around state. L. McLaughlin: Noted she took 5 AP classes and got credit at Harvard, but not at UMaine.

Horan moved that UM award credit for AP courses. Motion failed for lack of a second. Issue is returned to committee.

Improved teaching by faculty – John Alexander.
Offered background on his perspective and the issue and the process so far. We all agree that quality teaching, research, and public service must be maintained to have a quality university. Teaching here is of high quality for the most part. We celebrate excellence in teaching by a number of campus awards for faculty. There are college awards and we send out letters. In spite of this, we all agree we ought to do better. We are responsible for the quality– this is written into the early contracts. Another important aspect of that is mentoring new or untenured faculty members. Last year Provost Alexander talked with chairs and this summer with deans and the President and chair of Academic Affairs of Senate. It was envisioned that a few chairs and a few faculty members would quietly be assisted in improvement. The Provost encourages us to continue to talk about how to modify the plan. Institutional Studies was asked to study 5 semesters of teaching evaluations and identify persons with more than 2 semesters of 2 points below the mean. 180 courses out of 6,000 identified; 94 faculty members, most with just 1 course on the list. Of this list, 13 were selected. Letters were written to deans, asking them to go to chairs and directing the chairs to convey the message to the identified faculty members. It was expected that chairs would offer constructive suggestions for improvement of teaching. Each letter had 3 – 4 names, 13 total for the 5 colleges.

O. Smith: As teaching faculty, it is fundamental that we support and recognize the excellence in classrooms here. What about faculty members who don’t show up or who read from textbook: are these the ones identified? J. Alexander : 1.7/1.8 is average level of student evaluations. About 3% had 2 standard deviations from this and 13 out of 600 faculty members is 2%. O. Smith: Which areas indicate lack of success? J. Alexander: Poor treatment of students or not being prepared for class. Student evaluations are not a perfect measure; he encourages departments to use other means. High class work load does not signal low evaluations. The Provost hopes that students will appreciate that we care about doing a good job. Belknap: We need to foster campuswide feeling that we are welcome in each others’ classes. Petrik: Why wasn’t the matter given to us for our review? Shipps remarked on measurement error. Grillo: How will this process effect the peer review process? J. Alexander hopes this will strengthen the process, and expressed willingness to work with everybody.

Meeting adjourned at 5:15 pm. Kathleen March, Secretary