UNH Faculty Senate
Summary Minutes from 1 May, 2000
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UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
1999/2000 FACULTY SENATE
MAY 1, 2000 - MINUTES SUMMARY
I. Roll - The following Faculty Senate members were absent: de la Torre, Draper, Hiller, Kaen, Lamb, Macieski,
and Nordgren. Absent as work to rule were Barretto, Carr, Echt, Garland, McConnell, Planalp, Reardon, Roh, Stine
and Williams. Excused were Ashwell and VonDamm.
II. Communications with the president - The president said that the university celebrated Ben Thompson's birthday
this weekend. Enrollment deposits for incoming students are due today, and enrollments this year are expected to
exceed those of last year, both in quantity and quality. The publications which will be used for next year's admissions
effort seem well designed. We do not have final word on the state allocation, due to the controversy over funding
for the Claremont decision. If the state allocation were to be reduced for UNH, tuition for in-state-students is
expected to go up. The alumni advocacy network is working well now.
A professor said that the trustees refused the faculty request for a forum and cited the need to bargain only at
the bargaining table, whereas faculty had indicated that the forum would be simply to exchange information and
not to bargain. The president responded that Pedro de Alba had made clear that the forum was to be a communication
tool, but the trustees feel that communication also should occur at the bargaining table.
III. University wordmark and symbol - Phyllis Bennett said that ten years ago the university developed a graphic
identity by creating a wordmark which shows how "University of New Hampshire" should appear in print.
All stationery and business cards, for example, were to use this wordmark. Now the typeface of the wordmark has
been strengthened, and a logo has been added, which is a symbol of the Thompson Hall tower. This symbol has won
a national award and has been used successfully for the capital campaign. The university seal should only be used
for diplomas and other such official documents. The wordmark and the logo of the tower would be used on all letterhead
stationery and university business cards, phased in as new supplies are ordered through Printing Services.
In response to faculty requests, the proposed stationery has been adjusted so that the area available for use is
the same size as in the past. Business cards now need to contain so much information that fitting it all in the
space is difficult. The university symbol will be on the university's web site. Professors said that some people
are not comfortable with the proposed tower logo and that there should be a choice to use the logo or not. Also,
some departments do all correspondence on computer-generated stationery.
IV. Minutes - The minutes of the last meeting were approved.
V. Membership of the University Curriculum and Academic Policies Committee - The senate chair said that the proposed
UCAPC slate is John Rogers, Robert Connors and Gregg McMahon from Liberal Arts; Michael Carter and Matt Davis from
CEPS; Raelene Shippee-Rice and Stephen Hardy from SHHS; Tom Pistole and Tom Foxall from COLSA; Roger Grinde from
WSBE; and one professor from UNH-M. Some of the faculty named above have said that they would participate only
after a contract settlement. UNH-Manchester faculty are currently discussing who their representative should be.
A professor asked that more consideration be given to women when filling such positions, so that the number of
women on this important committee would be proportional to the number of women in the pool of potential faculty
committee members. She said that there should be three women on this committee, but the senate chair responded
that he had asked many women who had declined to be on the committee. The slate was voted on and passed with fifteen
ayes and thirteen nays.
VI. Motion on academic review and approval - James Farrell moved and Daniel Beller-McKenna seconded that all UNH
courses not taught by full-time UNH faculty members must be subject to review and approval by the appropriate academic
department before such courses will count within that department's major curriculum or for general education credit.
In addition, all instructors hired by the university to teach credit courses on a per-course basis, including summer
courses, should be reviewed and approved by the chairperson in the appropriate academic department. Departments
may refuse to accept courses, including summer courses, taught by unapproved instructors for their major or minor
programs.
Would instructors who have taught for us before be required to get new approval under this motion? A friendly amendment
was proposed to change the first sentence to "All UNH courses not taught by full-time UNH faculty members
must have been subject to review..." and to change the second sentence to "...should at some point have
been reviewed and approved by the chairperson in the appropriate academic department." This idea was not accepted
by the person who made the motion, because an instructor who has taught before might not be qualified to teach
a different course, might no longer be qualified to teach the same course if course requirements have changed,
or might have taught poorly and thus not be suitable for rehire. Concern was expressed that this motion may be
construed as simply an attempt to enforce the summer school boycott. A professor replied that only an expert in
a given field can tell who is up to date and adequately prepared to teach a course in that field. Departments cannot
adequately screen teaching appointments for other departments, nor can administrators do so. Each department should
approve its own major, minor and general education courses. A friendly amendment was made and accepted to change
the first sentence of the motion to "...approval by the academic department offering the course..." and
the second sentence to "...approved by the chairperson in the academic department offering the course."
A professor said that, although this motion just reaffirms past policy, deans are now hiring faculty for summer
courses and so this threat to the faculty purview has already begun. Another professor added that this motion would
protect students and prevent an attack on the academic integrity of the university. A faculty member said that
he expects department chairs to judge new appointments on their merits and that he would be very concerned if this
did not happen due to strict adherence to a boycott. A professor suggested that a department should have to show
cause if a prospective instructor is rejected. Some courses are not taught by academic departments. Examples are
ROTC courses, honors courses, and classes on international studies; and such courses are approved by a committee
of faculty. A friendly amendment was made and accepted to add an asterisk to the first sentence, after "academic
department", and to say at the end of the motion that "* If the course is not offered through an academic
department, the faculty group that normally governs the course will render the approval."
Curt Givan said that the Joint Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities was "jointly formulated
by the American Association of University Professors, the American Council on Education, and the Association of
Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges.... In November 1966, the Executive Committee of the AGB took action
by which that organization also ‘recognizes the Statement as a significant step forward in the clarification of
the respective roles of governing boards, faculties, and administrations' and ‘commends it to the governing boards
which are members of the Association'". This statement says in part that "Faculty status and related
matters are primarily a faculty responsibility; this area includes appointments, reappointments, decisions not
to reappoint, promotions, the granting of tenure, and dismissal. The primary responsibility of the faculty for
such matters is based upon the fact that its judgment is central to general education policy. Furthermore, scholars
in a particular field or activity have the chief competence for judging the work of their colleagues; in such competence
it is implicit that responsibility exists for both adverse and favorable judgments. Likewise there is the more
general competence of experienced faculty personnel committees having a broader charge. Determinations in these
matters should first be by faculty action through established procedures, reviewed by the chief academic officers
with the concurrence of the board. The governing board and president should, on questions of faculty status, as
in other matters where the faculty has primary responsibility, concur with the faculty judgment except in rare
instances and for compelling reasons which should be stated in detail."
A friendly amendment was made and accepted to change the first sentence to "...count within that department's
major or minor curriculum or for general education credit." Another friendly amendment was made and accepted
to add as appendices the preamble of the Faculty Senate Constitution and the parts of the Joint Statement on Government
of Colleges and Universities which were quoted above. A professor suggested that the motion be postponed to the
fall so that a senate committee could review the motion and make a recommendation on it, but other faculty responded
that the motion needs to be passed before a precedent is set. The motion as amended (see attached) passed with
twenty-four ayes, one nay, and three abstentions.
VII. Thanks to the chair - Bob Connors expressed the thanks of the senate to Pedro de Alba, the outgoing chair,
and presented him with an engraved gavel.
VIII. Adjournment - Today's meeting was adjourned.
UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
2000/01 FACULTY SENATE
MAY 1, 2000 - MINUTES SUMMARY
I. Roll - The following Faculty Senate members were absent: Denis, Draper, Fletcher, Hall, Halstead, Henke, Hinson,
Macieski, New, Russell, Schiller, Simpson, Smith, and Trowbridge. Absent as work to rule were Carr, Planalp, and
Stine. Excused were Ashwell, Hiller, Stone and VonDamm.
II. Election of officers - The slate presented by the Agenda Committee was passed by acclamation. The officers
for the 2000/01 Faculty Senate will be Robert Connors as chair, Jerry Finn as vice chair, and the following professors
as at-large members of the Agenda Committee: Daniel Beller-McKenna, Shelley Mulligan and Guy Petty.
III. Communications from the chair - Bob Connors said that he looks forward to working with the 2000/01 faculty
senators. The Agenda Committee will meet during the summer and will work on setting up the senate committees for
the coming year. The motion passed today will be distributed to the appropriate people as quickly as possible.
IV. Adjournment - The meeting was adjourned.
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Click HERE to return to the main Faculty Senate Minutes page.
Click HERE to see the motion on academic approval.