UNH Faculty Senate
Summary Minutes from 22 February 1999
UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
FACULTY SENATE
22 FEBRUARY 1999 MINUTES SUMMARY
I. Roll - The following Faculty Senate members were absent:
de la Torre, McMahon, McNamara, Morris, Naumes, Pugh, Sohl,
Williams, and Zsigray. Excused were Coon, Draper, Hopkins,
and Miller.
II. Communications from the Chair - The governor's response
to the senate's motion on university funding has been placed
on the senate's web site. The senate chair distributed to the
senators the chancellor's response to the Faculty Senate's
motion on funding for the system office, as well as the senate
chair's reply to the chancellor's letter. The chair passed
out a list of some state legislators and their addresses.
Following Governor Shaheen's suggestion that faculty contact
their legislators, the chair asked that faculty write
legislators regarding the university's critical need for both
the five percent increase in the operating budget and an
additional two percent to improve academic technology.
Faculty were asked for their input on the Distinguished Alumni
Event. The chair will contact the senate committee chairs to
schedule their reports and motions for the remaining senate
meetings in this semester.
III. Minutes - The minutes of the last meeting should say
that that senate meeting approved the December 7 minutes.
In item II, the phrase "most of the increase is for
buildings and cannot be converted to salaries" will be
attributed to the president. Also, in item VI, the sentence
referring to the loss of spaces in Lot B will be changed to
"Several lots on the main campus would be eliminated". The
minutes of the last Faculty Senate meeting were approved
unanimously as amended.
IV. Report on General Education - The Academic Affairs
Committee considered the history, development, financing and
goals of the current General Education Program and compared
our program with that of other institutions. Half of all
general education seats are in Liberal Arts, and general
education has recently been changed by the addition of the
writing requirement. Some other institutions have a general
education plan with a thematic structure. The Academic
Affairs Committee does not suggest specific changes in the
program now, but the committee moves that:
the Faculty Senate establish a General Education
Study Committee composed of faculty
representatives from every school and college.
The committee's membership is not limited to
senators, but its members will be appointed by the
Agenda Committee of the Faculty Senate, in
consultation with the Academic Affairs Committee.
The responsibility of the GESC would be to
undertake the activities described in the
recommendations section of the document as well as
other activities the GESC may deem appropriate.
The chair of the GESC would be expected to be
given a minimum of a one-course reduction in
teaching load for each year of service. The GESC
will report to the Faculty Senate once each
semester, as long as the GESC exists.
Faculty expressed concern about the current reliance on
part-time faculty and the low budget priority for general
education. The study committee will need to examine the
funding and get assurance that funding will be there,
especially in the decentralized budgeting system. Permanent
funding for general education will need to be built into the
revenue stream. We need to build a campus-wide
understanding that general education is important in all
colleges. The General Education Study Committee will need
to come back to the Faculty Senate for periodic infusions of
academic vitality, so that it can keep the ability to get
funding for general education. General education courses in
Liberal Arts and CEPS seem to be valued at different rates
in the new budgeting system. It is very important to
maintain clear academic standards on general education
courses.
The General Education Study Committee would consult with
students. A professor also suggested that, although the
committee members would be faculty, there should be a
specific liaison person in the administration. The General
Education Study Committee chair would receive a reduction of
one course for each year, and this would come out of the
university's Academic Affairs budget. A faculty member said
that his department is forced by budget considerations to
give large lecture courses to students who need individual
instruction in mathematics. The motion passed with one nay
and three abstentions. The university-wide General
Education committee has sent a letter agreeing with the
motion.
V. Update on the Provost Search - The Provost Search
Committee has considered over one hundred applicants and has
chosen eleven semi-finalists for preliminary interviews in
Boston. Confidentiality will be maintained until the
finalists are chosen. Just after spring break a few
finalists will come to campus and participate in open fora
during common exam times. The search committee chair will
send a letter asking all members of the university community
to come to these fora to meet and question the candidates.
Finally, the Provost Search Committee will recommend to the
president candidates who have strong evidence of
scholarship, artistry, research, teaching, good values, an
ability to deal with the budget, good communication skills,
and the ability to work well with faculty, staff and
students.
VI. Open Mike - Appreciation was expressed for the hard
work of the Academic Affairs Committee members and their
chair. The senate's Finance and Administration Committee
chair said that he has forwarded to the Faculty Senate chair
a number of questions that the committee would like to pose
to the president. The budget has assumed a five percent
operating budget increase plus an additional two percent for
academic technology. The budget also assumed a certain
level of tuition and enrollment and that the collective
bargaining issue will be resolved at a certain level.
VII. Adjournment - Today's meeting was adjourned.