April 2, 2008

Faculty Senate Minutes

APRIL 2, 2008

Present: Andrei Alyokhin, Edward Ashworth, Barbara Beers, Richard Blanke, Emmanuel Boss, Fei Chai, Dorothy Croall, Robert Dana, Lisa Daniel, Patrick Devanney, Catherine Elliott, Sue Estler, Per Garder, Jim Gilbert, Michael Grillo, Christine Hockensmith, Dianne Hoff, Sue Hunter, Cary Jenson, Mel Johnson, Robert Kennedy, Michael Kinnison, David Lambert, Kathleen March, James McClymer, Harlan Onsrud, Tina Passman, Eric Rolfson, Joyce Rumery, Kathryn Slott, Claire Strickland, Shihfen Tu, Edna Szymanski, Roy Turner, Janet Waldron, Beth Wiemann, David Wihry.

Absent: Daniel Belknap, Carla Billitteri, Douglas Bousfield, Thomas Brann, Tony Brinkley, Rodney Bushway, Hsiang-Tai Cheng, Alan Cobo-Lewis, Steve Cohn, Marcia Davidson, Raphael DiLuzio, Alaric Faulkner, Jacques Ferland, Saundra Gardner, William Halteman, Duane Hanselman, Scott Johnson, Deborah Killam, Dorothy Klimis-Zacas, Irv Kornfield, Karl Kreutz, Larry Latour, Ngo Vinh Long, Anja Nohe, Howard Patterson, Gregory Porter, Allan Smith, Touradj Solouki, Stephanie Welcomer.

Barbara Beers, Vice President for Development and Eric Rolfson, Associate Vice President for Development, gave a presentation on the activities and fund raising progress in the Development Office.

The Meeting opened at 4:15 p.m.

The minutes of the previous senate meeting were approved with the change that Senator Passman be noted as having been present, not absent.

President Gilbert thanked everyone for their thoughts during his operation and recovery.

BOT – Robert Rice

The report was attached to the minutes.

Academic Affairs – Beth Wiemann

The committee has met on: the Foundations Program, gen ed assessment, search for CTE. Director.

Research & Scholarship

A report from the floor was made regarding the survey on research promotion. People were urged to complete it if they have not done so already.

Finance & Institutional Planning – Suzanne Estler

The committee will continue to work with Janet Waldron and to watch the budget especially for the next year.

Library Advisory – Emmanuel Boss

There is a motion on the floor from the committee (see new Business).

Service & Outreach – Kathleen March

The committee has been working on the Carnegie elective classification of community engagement. It has also been working on the RFP for service-learning mini-grants. There will be a Problem-Based Service-Learning workshop on June 2 and 3.

Committee on Commitees – no report

Constitution & By-Laws – no report

PCRRC – David Wihry

President Gilbert reported for Senator Wihry that the next meetings of senate have been changed to accommodate the process for evaluating SPIA’s proposal.

Shared Governance – Dianne Hoff/Robert Rice

Senator Hoff noted that they continue to work on the document for shared governance.

University Environment – no report

Other announcements:

Senator Hoff is still looking for candidates for her slate.

Questions for Administrators

Senator McClymer asked about the $14 million to be returned to UMaine and if its use would be discussed with the campus. President Kennedy indicated it had been discussed with the senate executive committee and graduate board. President Gilbert noted that shared governance will help track these types of items better.

Old Business:

There were three motions on the agenda.

Announcement of a Proposed Amendment to the Bylaws to the Constitution of the Faculty Senate:

Officially Designating “Past President”

The President of Faculty Senate serves for a one-year term, after which many go off the Senate. The loss of the past president to the Senate hinders ongoing momentum, leaving the new president to serve without the benefit of the former president’s institutional memory and experience.

In order to create a more seamless transition from one Faculty Senate president to the next, the Constitution and Bylaws Committee is suggesting the following be added to the ByLaws, Article IV, Section 1B.

Section 1B:

The immediate past president of the Senate will hold, for a period of one year, the designation “Past President” and will serve as a non-voting member of the Senate Executive Committee and hold a seat at Senate meetings.

The motion was made, seconded. A vote was called. Motion passed unanimously.

The second motion:

Announcement of a Proposed Amendment of the Bylaws to the Constitution

of the Faculty Senate: Additional Areas of Responsibility for the

University Environment Committee

The Senate routinely is asked to review and make recommendations on items that relate to the natural environment on campus and to family and gender issues; however, there is nowhere in the charge to the Standing Committees that includes these important roles.

The Constitution and Bylaws Committee, in conjunction with the University Environment Committee, is suggesting the following be added to Article IV, Section 3A of the Bylaws: (The proposed additions are underlined.)

Section 3. UNIVERSITY ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE

A. Function. The Committee on the University Environment reviews and makes recommendations to the Senate in matters relating to the academic and physical environment of the university including cultural programs; free speech and assembly; athletics; public relations; residential life; conduct; safety; facilities; recycling, energy and resource conservation; and family and gender issues.

Motion was made, seconded. A vote was called, motion passed unanimously.

Third motion:

Motion of the Support for the University of Maine’s Mission Statement

Preamble

In 2007, a Committee of the Administration was formed to review and update the University’s Mission Statement. The committee consisted of six faculty members, one from each College and one from Cooperative Extension, including Pat Burns (Liberal Arts and Sciences), Catherine Elliott (Cooperative Extension); Dianne Hoff (Education and Human Development), Scott Johnson (Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture), Michael Peterson, chairperson (Engineering), and Robert Strong (Business, Public Policy, and Health). Four of the six faculty members also served on the Faculty Senate, including the chairperson. Dan Sandweiss (Dean and Associate Provost for Graduate Studies) also served on the committee, and Len Kass coordinated our efforts within the broader context of the NEASC self-study.

The committee worked collaboratively to analyze the existing Mission Statement, explore models used by other campuses, and brainstorm key points for a revised version. Over 50 drafts of a new mission statement were written and circulated among the committee in an iterative process over four months.

In December 2007 a preliminary draft was distributed at the Faculty Senate and Provost for comment. Although it is impossible to incorporate every person’s specific suggestions, the committee considered all input and made further revisions, which are incorporated in the version below. If the Senate endorses this Mission Statement, it will next go to the President for approval and will be incorporated into the NEASC Self-Study, under Standard One, “Mission and Purpose.” (All 11 NEASC standards will be available for review by the faculty and community at large later this spring.) Once all campus approvals have been obtained, the Mission Statement will be sent to the Board of Trustees for final approval. It will then become the official Mission Statement of the University of Maine.

Motion

The Faculty Senate of the University of Maine endorses the 2008 revision of the University Mission Statement, and encourages the committee to move the document to the President and the Board of Trustees for approval.

There was some discussion regarding the mission statement, with one person suggesting that it be re-worded to be more upbeat.

The Motion was tabled.

New Business:

There was discussion of an action plan for creating an Institutional Repository (IR) for Fogler Library and UMaine.

The motion’s preamble (not included) is substantially longer. The motion as put forth by senator Onsrud reads:

MOTION

The proposed actions above are approved in concept by the University of Maine Faculty Senate. The Library Advisory Committee of the Faculty Senate is charged by the Faculty Senate to pursue, in collaboration with the University Maine library, the implementation of an institutional repository on the UMaine campus. In doing so, it should investigate and pursue with other appropriate committees and authorities on and off the University of Maine campus the items labeled above as actions.

This was moved, seconded, and passed.

There was no further new business.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:46 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

Kathleen March,

Secretary