General Faculty Meeting                May 9, 2006                                 RSC Ballroom 

Pursuant to call, a meeting of the faculty of Wichita State University was held May 9, 2006. 

I. Call of the Meeting to Order:  Faculty Senate Vice President Patricia Dooley called the meeting of the General Faculty of WSU to order immediately following the Faculty Awards Ceremony. 
 

II. Appointment of the Parliamentarian and Election of the Secretary:  Brian Withrow was appointed as Parliamentarian for the meeting.  Nan Myers was elected as Secretary for the meeting. 
 

III. Moment of Silence for Deceased Faculty:  Names of faculty deceased during the past year were read as the attendees observed a respectful time of silence. 
 

IV. Approval of the Minutes:  The minutes of the General Faculty Meeting on May 10, 2005 were approved as distributed. 
 

V. State of the Senate:  Past President of the Faculty Senate, Christopher Brooks, deferred his report to New Business. 
 

VI. State of the University:  President Beggs had another obligation and was unable to deliver this report. 
 

VII. Old Business:  None 
 

VIII. New Business

A.    Department Administration – Electorate, including a review of the “Electorate” section from section 1.51 of the Faculty Handbook, a discussion of “Phased Retirees” and a discussion of 1.0 EFT Instructors with Faculty Status.  The following was presented to the faculty for approval:
The department electorate shall, as a minimum, include all those serving as full-time (1.0 EFT) professors, associate professors, assistant professors, and tenured instructors, who provide at least 50 percent of their University duties within the department/library.  This group may, by majority vote, establish as a policy the extension of the electorate to (but no further than) visiting professors and all those in the department enfranchised to vote under the Faculty Senate Constitution (http://webs.wichita.edu/senate/handbook/FSConstitution-rev-1-05.html). 
Administrators, as defined by the Faculty Senate Constitution, http://webs.wichita.edu/senate/handbook/FSConstitution-rev-1-05.html  are excluded from the department electorate.  A faculty member who has resigned or who is serving in the last year of a terminal appointment shall also be excluded from the electorate.  
The Faculty Senate on April 24, 2006, approved the following amendments to 1.51 to be submitted to the General Faculty 
1.  This group may, by majority vote, establish as a policy the extension of the electorate to those on phased retirement  
2.  This group may, by majority vote, establish as a policy the extension of the electorate to full-time (1.0 EFT) instructors with faculty status who provide at least 50 percent of their University duties within the department/library.

    Faculty Senate Past President Christopher Brooks reviewed the history of the issues about the faculty electorate.  He also provided an explanation of the “electorate” definition as approved by the Faculty Senate on April 24, 2006,  and as it now appears in the Handbook for Faculty, 1.521, Chair Policies & Procedures.  The proposed definition of “electorate” for Department Administration is a compromise hammered out by the Senate Executive Committee after three months of discussion in the Senate.   Brooks emphasized that the need for a definition of “Electorate” was noted after the Rules Committee turned to WSU Legal Counsel for assistance in resolving grievances on electorate issues, because there was no definition provided for “electorate” in the Handbook for Faculty. 

        Two voting issues were presented to the General Faculty Meeting: 

1.  This group may, by majority vote, establish as a policy the extension of the electorate to those on phased retirement. 

      2.  This group may, by majority vote, establish as a policy the extension of the electorate to full-time (1.0 EFT) instructors with faculty status, who provide at least 50 percent of their University duties within the department/library.

                    Much discussion ensued.  There were many comments about the importance of departmental autonomy.  There was a motion from Linnea Glenmaye, (Dottie Billings-                2nd), to table item number 2 (1.0 EFT issue) until the issue could be studied further.  The motion failed.  Dan Close called the question on the voting issues.  There was a secret ballot vote on both issues.  Both issues passed.  The vote count on issue 1 (phased retirement) was 51 yes, and 4 no.  The vote count on issue 2 (1.0 EFT) was 45 yes and 13 no. 
 

IX. As May Arise:  None 
 

X. Adjournment:  The meeting was adjourned at 4:45 pm, following a motion from Dan Close, (Brian Withrow-2nd)