Council of University System Faculty

General Meeting: Tuesday, September 11, 2007

UMCP, Crist Board Room, Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center

Present:

Joyce Shirazi (UMUC, Secretary), Deloris James (UMUC), Sharon Fratta-Hill (UMUC), Bill Chapin (UMES), Emmanuel Onyeozili (UMES), Bill Stuart (UMCP, Vice Chair), Patti Cossard (UMCP), Joyce Currie Little (TU), Edyth Wheeler (TU), Joyce Tenney (UMBC), Zane Berge (UMBC), Frank Robb (UMBI), John Collins (UMBI, Chair), Meg Johantgen (UMB), Alcott Arthur (CSU, At-Large), Bobbi Adams (SU), Joan Langdon (BSU), Rahim Ashkeboussi (FSU)

Guests:

Laura Moore (UMCP, President, Graduate Student Association), Devin Ellis (USCP, Chair, USM Student Council), Teri Hollander (USM, Associate Vice Chancellor, Office of Academic Affairs)
Bill Stuart introduced Professor Ellin K. Scholnick, Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs, who welcomed CUSF to the campus. John Collins called the meeting to order at approximately 10:15am.
Teri Hollander began her USM report at approximately 10:35am. Much of her report was devoted to information and discussions concerning the annual AAAC retreat which was held on August 29-30, 2007 at the UMCES Chesapeake Biological Laboratory in Solomons. Approximately 20 people were in attendance including Chief Academics Officers (primarily Provosts) for USM institutions, as well as Chancellor Brit Kirwan, Vice Chancellor Irv Goldstein, and CUSF Chair John Collins.

She noted that the Chancellor's presentation the AAAC retreat consisted of three budget scenarios for FY2009, as follows:

  1. Maintenance of the status quo
  2. A 4% general fund increase and a 4% tuition increase
  3. An 8% budget reduction (worst case scenario)

USM is developing a prioritized list of proposed enhancements if we actually had the money. Other aspects of the Chancellor's presentation to the AAAC were as follows:

  1. Commission to Develop the Maryland Model for Funding Higher Education
  • An announcement that PJ Hogan left Senate and is now the Associate Vice Chancellor for Government Relations at USM.
  • He was replaced by Edward Kasemeyer on the Educational Committee in the State Senate.
  • The new Chair of the House Appropriations Committee is John is Bohannan.
  • A report from the commission will be completed in September, in which the Chancellor is also a member.
  1. Chancellor's Personal Goals for his remaining time in office
  • Decrease achievement gap
  • Increase competitiveness. We are not reaping the benefits in Maryland of the money spent on research in Maryland.
  • Climate change

Teri Hollander mentioned that on November 14, 2007 there will be a System-wide conference on closing the achievement gap at the University of Baltimore. The keynote speaker will be Under Secretary of Education Dr. Martinez Tucker. Provosts, VPs of Student Affairs, Deans, Directors of Financial Aid, etc., are invited to attend from USM institutions. No more than 10 people can attend from each institution. The purpose is to understand why there is a gap, and where the gaps exist (e.g., gender, race, etc.). Ultimately there will be a formal System plan with goals and institutional plans.

Questions/issues were raised from CUSF members regarding faculty salaries, concerns about unnecessary delays of tenure, community outreach, Metro access to campus, and parking. In particular, Joyce Currie Little noted the details of the transportation concerns. In response Teri Hollander stated that BRAC is a part of the services and transportation issue, and that the severity of the budget affects many areas.

Teri Hollander also noted that the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has not responded to the final report submitted to the State. We have therefore not been “released” from the Partnership Agreement. One note on program proposals, despite MSU's objection to the UMES Engineering program, it has been allowed by MHEC.

MHEC is currently reviewing the regulations regarding new programs and the approval process. Larry Leak (Acting UMUC Provost) and Teri Hollander are on the review committee. Other members on the committee are from institutions such as Johns Hopkins University, St. Mary's College, and community colleges.

At 11:00 am, John Collins introduced student, Devin Ellis, Chair of the USM Student Council, who then introduced fellow student Laura Moore, President of the UMCP Graduate Student Association. Laura noted her concerns about the quality of life for graduate students. She discussed how students cannot financially afford to live in this area. Devin Ellis added that he would like to work with CUSF on reducing the prices of textbooks, which have become unbearable. He stated that the state legislators do not realize that students are having problems, despite the State of Maryland's status as #1 in relative wealth. He recommended, among other things, that professors should only require textbooks and not the accompanying CD's which greatly increase the prices of books. Emmanuel Onyeozili suggested that students should look for old versions of the required textbooks to save money. Devin Ellis stated that students should be able to find and follow the correct pages, which will not be the case with old versions of a textbook. Bobbi Adams noted that some old books can be dated and useless, i.e. political science, etc.

John Collins asked Devin Ellis about the Green Initiative, and he stated that the Student Regent, Richard Scott of Frostburg State University, is very enthusiastic about the Green Initiative. The agenda of the initiative includes each USM president signing an agreement to make changes, both financial and structural to use green fuels, reduce overall emissions, and use green construction practices in capital growth, including transportation.

In continuation of the CUSF agenda, John Collins' previously distributed list of suggested dates for the 2007-2008 CUSF meetings was briefly discussed. John Collins stated that the April, November, and December meetings will remain the same as noted on the current CUSF schedule. The dates will not change, despite possible conflicts with other meetings, such as the November 14, 2007 achievement gap meeting. Joyce Shirazi noted that at this late date it will be almost impossible to find a room large enough for the joint CUSF-CUSS meeting at UMUC, if the date is pushed back a few days. She also stated that the President of UMUC agreed back in May to open the November 14, 2007 CUSF meeting.

Regarding the New Chairs' Workshop, which usually coincides with the January CUSF meeting at USM, John Collins noted that it seems that USM does not want to have it. Teri Hollander stated that it was cancelled last year because of poor responses to the request for attendance. The thought now is to move it to August, to avoid conflicts with administrative duties that occur in the spring, based on comments from previous attendees. This will have to be discussed with the Council, Provosts, etc. Scheduling of the joint Faculty Senate Chairs and CUSF Executive Committee meetings will be based on the availability of the Chancellor. The joint MHEC Faculty Advisory Committee (MHEC-FAC) and CUSF meeting will be held next month at Bowie State University. The Secretary of Higher Education was also invited to that meeting, but he had a prior commitment.

Patti Cossard, the CUSF representative to MHEC-FAC discussed the following librarian issues:

  1. A System-wide progress report on faculty status for librarians
  2. Regents' policy II-1.25: develop comparable "Policy on Workload and Responsibilities for Faculty Members Engaged Exclusively or Primarily in Library Services".
  3. Coordinate with USMAI (USM and Affiliated Institutions) Executive Council and/or USMAI Council of Library Directors to address funding shortfalls for library resources adequate to support curriculum and academic achievement.

Patti Cossard is the Vice Chair of the Librarian Assembly and next year she will be the Chair. She stated that librarians were given faculty status in 2000 at UMCP, but she does not know the status of librarians at the other USM institutions. Librarian matters are critical for faculty due to budget cuts. Impact has been such that now core journals are no longer funded. She stated that at UMCP, librarians are not competitive with peers in other institutions, and that librarians are beginning to struggle with work load and responsibilities. She proposes a separate work policy for librarians, for buy outs, etc., because there are ABET issues, etc. She also wanted know where they can go with these concerns, since library faculty members are not eligible for many things that teaching faculty members are.

From 12:05 pm to 1:00 pm the discussions discontinued for a lunch break. After lunch, John Collins addressed a variety of issues. He noted that USM and MHEC-FAC are interested in building stronger ties. Bill Stuart asked, “What is academic about the green issue?” Teri Hollander responded that research on climate change, education, inventory of the degree programs, and introductory courses for even non-green majors are all a part of the academics of the green issue. It was also noted that UC Berkeley has received $125 million from DOE and BP for green research. Illinois is also receiving funding from BP. Patti Cossard noted that the UMCP School of Architecture is heavily involved in an environmental project in which a completely green house is built, in competition with other institutions. Joyce Currie Little noted that ISPs, which are energy driven, negatively affect the environment, as well. John Collins noted other priorities that CUSF will have to address at the next meeting, which include the Regents Faculty Awards, Student Research Day, and CUSF committee memberships. CUSF committee choices should be emailed to the CUSF secretary at jshirazi@umuc.edu .

The meeting adjourned at approximately 1:30 p.m.