Minutes of October 8, 1996 Senate Meeting
The Academic Senate was called to order by Chair Hollis Matson at 2:10 p.m.
Senate Members Present: Sanjoy Banerjee, Patricia Bartscher,
Sally Berlowitz, Marian Bernstein, Mark Blank, Yu-Charn Chen, Michelle Cheng,
Robert Cherny, Jerry Duke, Ken Fehrman, Helen Gillotte, Helen Goldsmith, Gary
Hammerstrom, Jennifer Hammett, Caroline Harnly, Mary Ann Haw, David Hemphill,
Marlon Hom, William Hopkins, Rick Houlberg, Todd Imahori, Dane Johnson, Thomas
La Belle, Wanda Lee, Hollis Matson, Eunice McKinney-Aaron, Eugene Michaels,
Ken Monteiro, Mohsen Naser-Tavakolian, Mark Phillips, Elisabeth Prinz, Don Scoble,
Anita Silvers, Peggy Smith, Lee Sprague, Dawn Terrell, Lana Thomson, Thaddeus
Usowicz, Marilyn Verhey, Patricia Wade, Mary Ann Warren, Penelope Warren, Nancy
Wilkinson, Alfred Wong, George Woo, Darlene Yee.
Senate Members Absent: Mario Rivas(exc.), Jay Schrock, Bonnie
Homan(exc.), Roberto Rivera(exc.), Ann Hallum(exc.), Lois Lyles(exc.), Hamid
Shahnasser, Peter Haikalis(exc.), Will Flowers, James Kelley(exc.), Robert Corrigan(exc.),
Eric Hammer.
Senate Interns Present: Jaymee Sagisi.
Parliamentarian: --
Guests: M. Kasdan, G. Whitaker, G. West, J. Torres, C. Anderson,
S. McClear.
Announcements and Report
Chair's Report
Chair Phillips reported that:
- The deadline for reservations for the Asilomar Conference in January is
past but there are still some choice rooms available. Please contact Lana
Thomson on EXT. 7105 to reserve.
- The Asilomar Program Committee will be meeting in a couple of weeks. If
you are still writing your proposal, please forward it to Lana Thomson in
the Academic Senate Office soon.
- An important clerical omission was made to the PSSI policy you received
last week. Under Section III, Standards and Criteria, please add a final paragraph
as follows: "The period of review will be the five years preceding the
deadline for submission of applications/
nominations, or the time since the last PSSI application/nomination which
resulted in the awarding of a PSSI."
Agenda Item #1 - Approval of Agenda for Meeting of October 8, 1996
The agenda was approved as printed.
Agenda Item #2 - Approval of Minutes for Meeting of September 24, 1996
The minutes were approved with two minor corrections: the final "Respectfully
submitted,... Faculty" should be deleted, and on p. 3, second paragraph
from the bottom, "Mary Anne" should be added between "Usowicz/"
and "Warren."
Agenda Item #3 - Report from Vice President La Belle
Vice President La Belle reported that
- Over 200 faculty have responded to La Belles' invitation to meet. He is
beginning to put together group meetings, but believes that it will be well
into the Spring semester before he has an opportunity to meet with everyone
who has expressed an interest;
- A number of faculty have received the recognition of our graduating seniors,
who have identified them as "inspiring General Education teachers"
or "inspiring advisors." He has sent a letter congratulating
these 101 inspirational teachers and 98 advisors for making our students'
'Honor Roll.' Nine of these faculty were identified by students as being both
inspiring teachers and inspiring advisors;
- The College of Creative Arts has elected five faculty and a staff
representative to the search committee for a new dean. La Belle expects to
call the first meeting of the search committee soon;
- One of the initiatives that the Academic Affairs Office is working on involves
the additional support and development of department chairs. Dean Gerald West
has called together a representative steering committee of chairs nominated
by the College deans, for the purpose of developing a series of department
chair workshops on topics of their interest and concern. They have come up
with at list of 23 topics on matters such as management, leadership, budgeting,
problem-solving, class scheduling, and personnel issues. After further discussion,
prioritization, and clarification, they plan on putting together a short list
of the five most critical concerns and issues;
- SFSU continues to receive national recognition for its research. A recent
publication of University Research by the National Association of State
Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC) singled out SFSU as one of
the top 86 universities for its research, featuring Ralf Hotchkiss'
(College of Science and Engineering) research on low-cost wheelchairs and
Jeff Marcy's (Physics and Astronomy) and Paul Butler's research
which led to the discovery of several new planets;
- We have been named one of seven schools nationally to receive a major NIH
Research Infrastructure in Minority Institutions Program (RIMI) grant.
Bruce Macher/Chemistry, is the project director of this $3,000,000,
five-year award to enhance biomedical research; thirty faculty from six departments
in the Colleges of Science & Engineering and Health & Human Services
will be paired on three collaborative projects with partners from participating
UC campuses;
- Erna Smith, Journalism Chair, announces two new extra-mural awards:
a $500,000 grant from the Ford Foundation for a two-year research project
on mainstream news coverage of people of color, gays, and lesbians and a three-year,
$75,000 grant from the Gerbode Foundation for the Journalism Department's
proposed Community Press Consortium which will provide support mechanisms
and training for community journalists, and strengthen connections between
ethnic publications working in different communities;
- Twenty-two faculty representing six colleges have received individual
research grants this past month.
Agenda Item #4 - Report from Committee on Committees
Committee on Committees Chair William Hopkins introduced the other
members of the Committee: Penelope Warren, Rick Houlberg, Hollis Matson, Mario
Rivas, and Mark Phillips. Hopkins indicated that the report from the Professional
Development Council had been received and will be reported on in a supplemental
Committee on Committees report.
Agenda Item #5 - CUSP Up-date
The Academic Senate resolution supporting the establishment of CUSP specified
that CUSP up-dates would be presented to the Senate in a timely manner. At this
meeting Senators Hollis Matson and Penelope Warren reported on recent CUSP activities.
Matson reported on a letter from Richard Giardina and Anita Silvers and on President
Corrigan's statement in First Monday. She stated that these materials
reflected the beginning discussion of the report, not implementation. Penelope
Warren indicated that CUSP was beginning its discussion with the report and
recommendations related to combating discrimination and is soliciting input
from everyone. The Senate Executive Committee will review the CUSP documents
and flag any issues that the Senate should address. Silvers suggested that senators
and faculty generally should focus on the recommendations themselves, without
considering their resource implications.
Agenda Item #6 - Discussion of the Potential Implications of Proposition
209, the California Civil Rights Initiative, on San Francisco State University
Chair Phillips provided a brief background for this agenda item. He
indicated that the matter was discussed at length by the Executive Committee
with a decision to invite University Counsel Patricia Bartscher and University
Affirmative Action Director Joe Torres to make brief presentations regarding
their perceptions of Proposition 209.
Bartscher commented that the Senate can discuss Proposition 209 if
the purpose is to inform voters, and if the discussion and information provided
is balanced in style, time, etc. In short, state employees do not relinquish
their rights to the first amendment (freedom of speech). She then discussed
possible implications to SFSU should the proposition be approved by the voters.
Much will depend on judicial interpretation--whose law applies to what programs.
She indicated that there no doubt will be impact on minority scholarship, admissions,
and financial aid programs. Discrimination is, and will continue to be illegal;
it will just become harder to prove.
Torres indicated that current admissions practices can be maintained;
however, no one can be sure how the courts will interpret--especially on the
matter of preferences. He commented on the possible impact on the University's
reputation as a leader of multi-cultural endeavors. He also suggested that this
is only the latest in a long series of simple-minded answers to complex problems.
Following Torres' presentation, a number of senators commented on the matter
from their perspectives. P. Warren commented on the impact the proposition
is having on students in the Residence Halls. Associated Students President
Sprague commented on the impact on federal funds for financial aid.
Monteiro/Hammerstrom moved the attached resolution and spoke to it.
Monteiro offered a number of observations regarding how his personal and professional
life has been affected by affirmative action. Hammerstrom commented that
for over thirty-five years SFSU and the CSU have been mandated to have a student
body that reflects the demographics of the State. This resolution directly affects
higher education and equity. He also distributed that resolution which was approved
by the Statewide Academic Senate at its last meeting.
Chair Phillips yielded the gavel to Vice Chair Houlberg and stated
that he strongly opposed Proposition 209 even as he decried those instances
in which the spirit of affirmative action has been violated and reverse discrimination
has occurred. He maintained that Proposition 209 cleverly and effectively scuttles
affirmative action rather than attempting to modestly address problems in its
implementation. Its modest wording disguises its reactionary spirit and goals.
Matson/Hopkins moved the matter to second reading. This passed. Gail
Whitaker and Gerald West provided personal insights into how affirmative
action has affected them.
Houlberg/Gillotte moved to close debate. This passed and the resolution
was approved by a vote of 40-1-1 on a written ballot.
Cherny then commented on the changes in the Senate's discussion of
this matter contrasted to its discussion of the Briggs amendment eighteen years
ago (which would have banned gay/lesbian teachers from California classrooms).
The Senate then waited until the time certain of 3:40 p.m. for Gustavo Calderon,
presenter of the next agenda item. When he had not arrived by 3:42, the Senate
was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
William Hopkins
Secretary to the Faculty