Council of University System Faculty

CUSF Meeting of December 16, 2005

MINUTES

CUSF Meeting

December 16, 2005

UMCP

Present: Martha Siegel (Chair, TU); Lee Richardson (Past Chair, UB); Joan Langdon (BSU); Alcott Arthur (CSU); Rahim Ashkeboussi (FSU); R. Michael Garner (SU); Paul Flexner (SU); David Parker (SU); Harry Womack (SU, alternate); Patricia Alt (TU); Joyce Currie Little (TU); Douglas Pryor (TU); Stephanie Gibson (UB); Stephen Jacobs (UMB); Zane Berge (UMBC) Elizabeth Mulroy (UMB); Joyce Tenney (UMBC); Dennis Coates (UMBC); Patricia Young (UMBC, alternate); John Collins (Secretary, UMBI); Rosemary Jagus (UMBI); J. Court Stevenson (UMCES); Frank Alt (UMCP); Vincent Brannigan (At-Large, UMCP); Denny Gulick (UMCP); William Stuart (UMCP); E. William Chapin (Vice Chair, UMES); John Gustafson (UMUC); Joyce Shirazi (UMUC); A. Deloris James (UMUC).

Not Present: Marymal Holmes (BSU); John McMullen (At-Large, FSU); Kim Rotruck (FSU); Robert Scott (FSU, alternate); Memo Diriker (SU, on leave); Jay Zimmerman (TU, alternate); Paul Thut (UMB); Frank Robb (UMBI, alternate); H. Rodger Harvey (UMCES); Raymond Morgan (UMCES, alternate); Emmanuel Onyeozili (UMES); Adelaide Lagnese (UMUC).

Honored Guests: William Destler (Provost, UMCP); Irwin Goldstein (VCAA, USM); Lee Preston (Ombuds Officer, UMCP).

Dr. F. Alt made brief introductory remarks, thanking UMCP President Mote's assistant for the local arrangements. All present agreed they were good. He introduced UMCP Provost William Destler, who welcomed the group and told us that faculty governance is very strong at UMCP. Drs. Destler and Siegel talked about the shortage of nominees for the Regent's Faculty Awards.

Dr. Siegel called the meeting to order at 10:10. The minutes of the December 16, 2005 CUSF meeting were approved unanimously, without changes.

System report: Dr. Goldstein said that the USM Office is anxiously awaiting the Governor's budget announcement. He said that the budget needs to be released within the next few days so that it can be approved by the BOR and then submitted to the General Assembly. Campus mission statements for UB, TU and UMUC have changed to reflect new programs, while other campus mission statements are not much changed. He gave an update on the OCR agreement, expressing hope that it will end. Hearings will be held the following Monday and Tuesday. Dr. Goldstein talked about the recent BOR retreat. The Regents discussed long-term budget plans, E&E, dual admissions of System campuses and community colleges, academic initiatives from the campuses, electronic billing, on-line courses, and other matters.

Chair's report: Dr. Siegel reminded everyone about joining committees, asking them to check the CUSF web site for the list of committees. She said that Senator Mikulski was a speaker at the last BOR meeting. The expansion of Aberdeen and Fort Meade will bring 10,000 new people to Maryland. This will lead to increased enrollment, etc. A "dashboard indicators" document was circulated.

Dr. Siegel called on Lee Preston, Ombuds Officer for UMCP. He is also a professor emeritus at the business school. He asked for CUSF help in writing an article about conflict resolution on campuses. He asked for the names of contact persons on each campus. National training programs exist for ombuds officers.

At 11:12am, Dr. Chapin reported that the previously planned CUSF meeting with both Senate Chairs and Department Chairs cannot be held due to space limitations. The Senate Chairs and the Chancellor will meet with CUSF on April 18 at UMUC. The January 20 CUSF meeting will coincide with the Department Chairs Workshop at USM. Dr. Siegel said there had been a big response to this Department Chairs Workshop.

At 11:18, Dr. Stuart reported briefly on the K-16 committee. He circulated a written summary.

Dr. Gulick talked about math and science education. A discussion followed.

Ms. Tenney reported that plans for the February 15-16, 11am-4pm Student Research Days in Annapolis are on track. CUSF needs to reevaluate this program, especially if it has no effect on the legislature. Should we continue to have this?

Dr. P. Alt reported that there were too few nominations for Regents Faculty Awards this year. Many nominations came from administrators, not faculty committees.

Dr. F. Alt reported that the December MHEC-FAC December meeting was canceled. The same old issues are still pending there.

Dr. Brannigan passed out copies of his proposal for clarification of Emeritus faculty status. The matter was set aside pending review by Dr. Goldstein.

Dr. F. Alt led a discussion of benefits inequities between the ORP and state retirement plans. State contributions to ORP are very low (7.25%) compared to other institutions. A proposed plan is to require higher contributions (8.25%, then 9% a year later) from System, plus a required 1% (2% a year later) contribution from the employee. The funding for this will have to come from the System budget, not the state. A discussion followed.

The meeting broke for lunch and committee meetings at 12:05pm, and reconvened at 12:48pm.

Dr. Brannigan's emeritus proposal was discussed. A motion was made to forward the proposal to the Attorney General for review. By state law, only campus presidents can make a faculty appointment, including emeritus appointments. After a discussion and minor modification, the motion was unanimously approved.

At 1:05pm, Dr. Parker reported on the status of full-time, no-benefits faculty (FTNBFs) and other matters being considered by the Faculty Affairs Committee. A printed report was distributed. There was a lengthy discussion of the status of FTNBFs.

At 1:40pm, Dr. Siegel once again urged everybody to make regents faculty award nominations a faculty responsibility (e.g., campus Senates should get involved). A discussion followed.

The meeting adjourned at approximately 2:00pm.