ACADEMIC SENATE MEETING
MINUTES
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
SEVEN HILLS CONFERENCE CENTER
NOB HILL ROOM
2:00 – 5:00 p.m.
ATTENDANCE:
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Alamilla Boyd, Nan Alvarenga, Gabriela Alvarez, Alvin Azadpur, Mohammad Bettinger, Chris Carleton, Troi Clavier, Sophie Collins, Robert Davis, Patricia Donohue, Patricia Drennan, Marie Ergul, Mehmet Furuse, Tae Ganji, Ahmad Gerber, Nancy Getz, Trevor
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Ginwala, Cyrus Hackenberg, Sara Hammer, Mike Hanley, Lawrence Howard, Pamela Hoxter, Julian Lebuhn, Gretchen Levy, Eileen Lewis, Julia Mendolla, Paul Mitchell, Marilyn Pasion, Sally Pope, Robert Robertson, Bruce
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Rosser, Sue Steier, Saul Stowers, Genie Summit, Jennifer Tomalin, Jo Trogu, Pino Tumbat, Gulnur Watanabe, Maika Wilczak, Cynthia Yee-Melichar, Darlene Yoo, Grace Yoon, Ilmi
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Absences: Bartscher, Patricia (exc); Carabez, Rebecca (abs); Ron Cortez (exc); Davila, Bridgitte (exc); Doan, Therese (exc); Hammer, Mike (exc); Hill, Lorna (exc); Hurley, Timothy (abs); Mays, Chris (exc); Merchant, Zahira (abs); Le, Mai Nhung (abs); Rosegard, Erik (exc); Wong, Les (exc; Zink, Attila (abs)
Visitors: Sacha Bunge, Caitlin Steele, Shawn Whalen, Susan Shimanoff, James Quesada
OPEN FLOOR PERIOD: 2:00 - 2:10 p.m.
The Open Floor Period provides an informal opportunity for faculty members to raise questions or make comments directed to Senate officers or to university administrators. Please arrive promptly at 2:00 p.m.
CALL TO ORDER: 2:10 p.m.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
AGENDA ITEM #1—Approval of the Minutes for November 18 2014
Minutes approved.
AGENDA ITEM #2—Approval of the Minutes for December 9, 2014
Minutes approved.
AGENDA ITEM #3—Approval of the Agenda for February 10, 2015
Agenda approved.
AGENDA ITEM #4—Chair’s Report
1. Welcome back everyone! Thanks for Faculty Retreat, collaboration between Senate and Academic Affairs admin team. Thanks to Troi for her fine work on the retreat!
2. Faculty Trustee Stepanek had a good campus visit. Thanks for that.
3. College Elections materials sent out this week, and elections should be held before Spring break. Senate elections materials will be sent out in early March. There will be several important searches coming up next year, and we need to encourage our colleagues to populate administrative search pools so they can be asked to serve on these search committees.
4. System-wide International Programs Committee- three-year commitment. Contact Trevor directly via email if you’re interested. Any tenure-track faculty member is eligible to serve.
5. Vendor Services Advisory Ad Hoc Committee from ASI needs a faculty representative. Committee will help Student Center select new vendors, food services. Doesn’t have to be Senate member.
6. After today, we’ll be looking at a number of policy issues throughout the semester. Need to make minor revisions to policies coming from Ex Comm, so as to not overburden existing standing committees.
AGENDA ITEM #5—Report: Provost Rosser and AVP Jo Volkert: Summer 2015
Campus needs our help having successful summer semester, as we’re going back to state support for the first time since 2009. Pell Grants from fall and spring will be available to students, who have to enroll in 6 units to receive the SUG. This decision to move to state support should facilitate graduation. Summer schedule will be available March 17th on SFSU website.
Q: Are you thinking there might be demand for more upper division courses? Colleges need to assess what will make a successful summer session and attract the most students, which will vary from college to college. You have to first offer work to TT faculty; then must follow sequence of order of work. GTA’s come before lecturers in order of work.
AGENDA ITEM #6—Report: CSU Senators
See ASCSU Power Point presentation on Senate iLearn site for today’s plenary documents.
ASCSU approved five resolutions- see document.
AGENDA ITEM #7—Report from Caitlin Steele, Director Sustainability and Energy: CA Higher Education Sustainability Conference, July 20-24, 2015—No Later Than 2:52p.m (changed to 3:00PM.
Caitlin Steele announced that we would be hosting the sustainability conference this summer. Main conferences dates are July 21-22, 2015, with pre and post conference workshops. Over 1000 people expected to attend. Call for proposals went up a few days ago- see website: sustain.sfsu.edu. Want people from our campus represented at the conference; proposals due March 1st. Conference theme: Can We Change Fast Enough? Will address climate change and other areas available on the website.
AGENDA ITEM#8—Recommendation from the Strategic Issues Committee—Proposed Revisions to the University Mission Statement, 2nd Reading
Sen. Vasche- moved to second reading.
Discussion:
Sen Hanley, proposed amendment to the proposal: strike lines 1-3; begin mission statement at line 5.
We are in second reading, arguments for or against or amendments to the motion!
Vote on amendment to strike lines 1-3: amendment doesn’t carry.
Sen. Bettinger- proposed amendment that in lines 9-10, “in multiple real world contexts” be struck.
Amendment passed: Those words will be stricken from the policy.
Sen. Drennan- proposed amendment to strike the words “honors roots” in first paragraph.
Motion does not pass.
Sen. Carleton- proposed amendment: would like to see SF State in lines 5, 10, 15, 17 written out as San Francisco State University.
Amendment fails.
Now move to motion to pass Mission Statement as amended:
Vote: Motion passes unanimously and will be sent to the President’s office.
AGENDA ITEM #9—Recommendation from the Curriculum Review & Approval Committee: Proposed Revisions to the MA in Anthropology, 1st Reading—No Later Than 3:10p.m.
[This will come before Item 8, as Jim Quesada has to go teach.]
Sen. Wilczak- moved into first reading. Approved unanimously, two things to point out. One is that revisions were in direct response to last program review; other is to put more emphasis on formal training in writing and research skills.
Quesada- Skill set is new program focus, as is writing. Doesn’t substantially change the program.
Move proposal to second reading. Approved unamimously.
Motion to accept CRAC recommendation approved unanimously.
AGENDA ITEM #10—Recommendation from the Faculty Affairs Committee: Proposed Revisions to Temporary Faculty Range Elevation Policy#S00-211, 1st Reading
Sen. Hackenberg- with the current schedule for implementation of this policy, it is impossible to know who is eligible for range elevation in the previous semester. We have been unable to comply with the policy as currently written, and have been out of compliance with this policy for some time. Changes were made in consultation with HR and CFA, and create a workable schedule.
Line 32- changed Fall to 7th week of spring semester
Line 45- changed date to Week 11
Line 46- changed date to Week 14
Line 49- changed date to Week 17
June 30th deadline for President’s decision
Motion passed unanimously to revise policy.
AGENDA ITEM #11—Recommendation from the Executive Committee: Proposed Extraordinary Assigned Time Committee Policy, 1st Reading
Sen. Wilczak- on behalf of Ex Comm, moved policy to first reading.
Under justification, need to address this policy because it’s part of compliance of 20.37 of CBA. Current estimates on number of awards is 7-8 per year.
Need to read quite carefully; what we wanted to do is make it transparent and involve entire faculty to make it a fair process.
Discussion:
Sen. Steier- we took strong stands in the past not to have merit increases, not encouraging competition among faculty, etc. Not fair for some committee or person to determine what kind of service to students is or is not exceptional, especially when graduate coordinators are not currently receiving assigned time.
Sen. Hanley- this is a disguised form of merit pay; alibi for failure of union’s negotiations in the new contract. Would hate to see the Senate compliant in this process.
Sen. Wilczak- this is required by the CBA, and we are trying to do our best to meet the letter of the contract. Not only do you award based on merit, but every person not awarded has to be told exactly why they were not awarded.
Sen. Gerber- echo same sentiment, no one is thrilled with this. However, it’s past the time to fight against this.
Sen. Hoxter- do we have pressing deadline to pass this? We don’t expect this to go to second reading today, since there are several points that need to be clarified before we go there.
Sen. Bettinger- maybe we should take the 7-8 awards and concentrate them in the promotion of Metro or programs like that?
Sen. Wilczak- targeted awards could be a good compromise.
Sen. Lewis- we have a long history of these kinds of things that don’t work. Is there a way that the committee’s work could be given to an existing committee? Support a way that these awards could be grouped and given to some entity so their impact can be felt more successfully and less competitively.
Discussion ended, and this item will return to the Senate.
AGENDA ITEM #12—Adjournment—no later than 5:00p.m.
Meeting adjourned at 3:56PM.
Submitted by Eileen Levy, Secretary, Academic Senate