Wichita State University Faculty Senate meeting Monday, November 13, 2006

MEMBERS PRESENT: Acker, Billings, Brooks, Byrum, Celestin, Close, Coufal, Decker, deSilva, Dooley, Forlaw, Hathaway, Jarnagin, Lancaster, Liera-Schwichtenberg, Markovich, C. Moore-Jansen,. P. Moore-Jansen, Myers, Myose, Owens, Rillema, Rogers, Rokosz, Ross, Roussel, Schneegurt, Shelly, Spurgeon, Turk, Uhing, Vanderburgh

MEMBERS ABSENT: Craig-Moreland, Elder, Hamdeh, Jarnagin, Manske, Proctor, Riordan, Siginer, Taher, Weheba

MEMBERS EXCUSED: Carruthers, Hershfield, Yeager
 

EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS:  VPAAR Miller

Summary of Action:

    

I.       Call of the Meeting to Order:     

 President Roussel called the meeting to order at 3:30 P.M.

II.      Informal Statements and Proposals:

a.       As a follow up to Senator Owens' question regarding the number of full-time administrators and faculty at WSU, he asked if we have the numbers which show trends over the past few years in the numbers of administrators. President Roussel asked VPAAR Miller if he could provide those.

b.      With regard to the question raised by Senator Myose about conflict of interest,  President Roussel told the senators she had made an inquiry to the deans and noted that four of  the seven deans who responded  stated that there was an explicit statement in their College Tenure & Promotion Guidelines stating that  no one who is to be considered for tenure or promotion can be a member during the year they are considered. 

c.       President Roussel said that the following listings are issues that Senator Liera-Schwichtenberg received, and the Executive Committee agreed, for the senate to work on:

·                     Tuition assistance for faculty and staff (a plan is being developed)

·                     Protection of faculty parking lots at the start of school

·                     A faculty pass for sporting events, except men’s basketball and baseball          

III.  Approval of the Minutes -- Minutes of the meeting Monday, October 23, 2006, accepted as presented.

III.  President's Report
 

IV. Committee Reports
 

a.       Tuition Assistance ad hoc committee --  Senators Brooks and Lancaster reported:   Senator Brooks checked with other Board of Regents schools, and with some out of state public universities.  The most liberal plan that he encountered was at Old Dominion where they allowed faculty, staff, and families to take up to 15 credits per academic year either free or at a reduced rate. They still charge fees. This is approximately half of a student’s load.  If something like this can be coupled with the Sedgwick County scholarships that cover six hours of tuition, it would be an attractive package.  The University of Kansas pushed hard for tuition assistance in 2004, and the Lawrence daily paper conducted a poll in which 70% of the respondents were against KU granting faculty and staff tuition assistance.   

          It seems appropriate to ascertain how many WSU employees might take advantage of such a program. It would also be advantageous to make sure that people    who are in the tuition assistance program would also be eligible for the Sedgwick County scholarships.  A major question is how to fund such a program. One suggestion is through the revenue generated by “blue card” courses. The question   however is whether academic units can live without the revenue generated by “blue card” courses.  

      Senator Lancaster reported that the University of Kansas program that is  now in existence is funded through private money (Coca-Cola scholarship) as is the program at Kansas State.  Senator Lancaster suggested that Wichita Sate should encourage private funding for such a program, but it is hard to raise money for that purpose.  

      President Roussel indicated that because of the amount of work involved in this project it may be necessary to expand the ad hoc committee. A further report will be made at a future Senate meeting.

V.  Old Business - none

     VI.  New Business

            A.  VPAAR Gary L. Miller presented  information on the re-organization which is taking place in his office. 
                1.  Dianne Coleman has assumed the title of Assistant Vice President overseeing all academic affairs related to budgetary responsibility. By moving the budget responsibility from Vice President Lowe’s office to Vice President Miller’s office the budgetary process is more streamlined. Vice President Lowe is in agreement with this restructuring. 
                2.  Associate Vice President for Academic Programs and Services -- This position is currently occupied by Nancy Snyder who at the conclusion of this academic year will return to the faculty.  An internal search will be conducted to name a replacement. 
                3.  Associate Vice President for Executive Affairs and Planning  --  This position is filled by Marty Shawver. The position provides the interface between Miller’s office and external constituencies and interactions with President Beggs as well as with the Board of Regents.  
                4.   Associate Vice President and Chief Information Officer -- This position is filled by Ravi Pendse and oversees the IT aspects of academic affairs. 
                5.  Associate Vice President and Director ORA   --  This position is filled by David McDonald, and one of the position’s major function's to supervise NIAR. 
                6.   Three directors report to Vice President Miller: Co-op Education, Continuing Education, and Institutional Research

        B.  VPAAR Gary L. Miller showed the Senators the powerpoint  presentation he gave at the Board of Regents regarding WSU's Global Programs and Initiatives.

        C.  AVPAAR Nancy MaCarthey Snyder --   AVPAAR Snyder presented an update of WSU’s  preparations for the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) next year.  The self-study draft is now done.  We now need campus discussion and feedback on  strengths and challenges
                She noted that among WSU’s strengths summarized in the self study are:

Among WSU’s strengths summarized in the self study are:

·         Teaching and support for learning

·         A diverse campus

·         A strong academic program

·         A research university with growing external funding

·         A growing level of public support ( Through the WSU foundation)

·         An urban serving university

·         Employment of new technologies for academic/administrative needs

·         A wide range of co-op and internship programs

                        Challenges:

·         Competition for students

·         Funding is increasingly dependent on tuition revenue

·         The need to continue to enrich Wichita and it’s surrounding area with WSU’s academic expertise, to influence socio/economic     activities

·         Preparing students for new careers, given shifting work force needs, and social life in a global community

·         WSU needs to develop processes to continue to assess their progress in these issues

·         A need to continue to increase the level of research, discovery, and creativity

·         A need to instill a passion for life long learning

                        During the ensuing discussion several  ideas emerged:

·         Need to assure continued faculty governance of academic   programs

·         Need to assure adequate resources are provided to the Library

·         Need to develop ways to deliver education using new approaches and technologies while maintaining quality

·         Need for more aggressive strategic planning for the use of   technology

VII.  As May Arise  -- none

The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 pm

Respectfully Submitted
Robert Ross, Secretary