Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes
September 7, 2006

Senators: Bill Tiernan, Bill McCracken, Jane Arledge, Doug O'Roark, Tim Casey, Esther Broughton (for Reenie Neal), Ellie Baldwin, Steve Werman, Barbara Borst, Judy Goodhart, Josh Butler, Tim Hatten

Guests: Tim Foster, Shannon Robinson, Steven Bradley, Carol Futhey, Cathy Barkley

Minutes Secretary: Jessica Cowden

I. Introductions/Announcements

" The 2006-2007 Mesa State College Faculty Senate roster:

Bill Tiernan - Vice President from Physical Sciences
Bill McCracken - WCCC
Jane Arledge - Mathematics
Doug O'Roark - Board of Trustees Representative
Tim Casey - Secretary from Humanities
Maureen Neal - LLMC
Ellie Baldwin - Teacher Ed
Steve Werman - Biology
Barbara Borst - Library
Judy Goodhart - Nursing
Josh Butler - Art
Keith Fritz - Kinesiology
Shannon Robinson - ASG President

" President Foster addressed the Senate:

1) Last year Mesa State ruled out a number of instructors as not sufficiently qualified to teach in the Fast Track dual enrollment program. Those same instructors, however, have since been hired to teach the same courses at other institutions (such as CU Denver and Western). As a result, we have disgruntled the Delta County Schools and we still have to accept those courses through Guaranteed Transfer.

2) The administrative tree is being reorganized; most notably the position of Dean of Student Affairs will now be a Vice President. The position will be filled by Andy Breckel.

" Vice President Carol Futhey also spoke to the Senate:

1) The Higher Learning Commission will be on campus November 13th and 14th. VP Futhey encouraged the Senators to review the drafts of the report that have been mailed out and to submit their feedback as soon as possible.
Steve Werman was commended for his efforts in chairing the committee.
Casey asked if Futhey anticipated the Commission having any problems with MSC's online courses in light of the recent loss of Mark Kasselhut. Futhey announced that we are fortunate as Kasselhut's replacement is even more qualified and has already begun working.

2) The final eight classes are being submitted for GT Transfer later this month in Denver.

3) The Early Alert program has begun. Early Alert only for freshman enrolled in 12+ credits. Professors can access the Early Alert system through the faculty log in on the website. Photos of all MSC students are available as well.

II. Minutes Approval

The motion was made, seconded, and passed to approve the Faculty Senate minutes from May 4, 2006. (Casey/McCracken)

The Curriculum Committee minutes from August 24, 2006 were tabled as many senators had not yet received them.

III. Recap of Senate Retreat

" The importance of two-way communication was stressed. To that end, Hatten has made a commitment to attend all Trustee meetings and encouraged the senators to share their issues and accomplishments regularly in order to assist him in his role as conduit for the faculty to the administration and Board.
o The idea was also proposed to invite Board members to Senate meetings upon occasion. O'Roark suggested starting with the local members first.

" The proposal was made during the Retreat for Hatten to look into the possibility of having a faculty liaison serve on the Academic Council in order to improve communication between the two parties. The proposal, however, was not well received by President Foster.
The understanding is that it is the Department Heads' responsibility to disseminate the information from the Academic Council meetings to their faculty, but several of the senators feel that the information isn't reaching them. VP Futhey offered to bring the agendas and discuss the Council meetings on a regular basis with the Faculty Senate. She also agreed to speak to the Heads about the Senate's concerns.
Casey also suggested that it would also be helpful to the administrators to have a non-administrative faculty member sit in on the meetings to serve as a witness to support the process and the decisions resulting from the Council's meetings.
IV. Senate Standing Committee Representation

Tiernan reported on the status of the committees:
" The web listings are out of date.
" A few committees are now defunct.

The motion was made, seconded, and passed that we recreate the Sabbatical Committee with one representative from each of the three groups as well as one at-large member. (Casey/Tiernan)

VI. New Senate Business

" Casey suggested that the Senate start recording the Faculty Senate meetings for the benefit of the minutes secretary.

The motion was made, seconded and passed that the Faculty Senate start tape recording the meetings via a microphone to be attached to the minutes secretary's laptop computer. (Casey/McCracken)

" Shannon Robinson stressed the importance of two-way communication between ASG and the Faculty Senate.

" From this point on the Faculty Senate will meet in the Krey/Zeigel Room.

" Werman asked if anyone had been given the opportunity to evaluate their Department Heads last spring. It was suggested that the topic be added to the next agenda.

Meeting adjourned at 5:00 pm

Respectfully submitted,

Jessica Cowden
Minutes Secretary