USM Logo Text

Council of University System Faculty

General Meeting: Friday, October 12, 2007

Bowie State University, Wiseman Building, Room 102

Present:

Joyce Shirazi (UMUC, Secretary), Deloris James (UMUC), Sharon Fratta-Hill (UMUC), Bill Chapin (UMES), Emmanuel Onyeozili (UMES), Bill Stuart (UMCP, Vice Chair), Joyce Currie Little (TU), Martha Siegel (TU, At-Large), Edyth Wheeler (TU), Dennis Coates (UMBC), Patricia Young (UMBC), Zane Berge (UMBC), John Collins (UMBI, Chair), Meg Johantgen (UMB), Alcott Arthur (CSU, At-Large), Memo Diriker (SU), Dave Parker (SU, Past President), Paul Flexner (SU), Joan Langdon (BSU), Monika Gross (BSU), Rahim Ashkeboussi (FSU), Rodger Harvey (UMCES)

Guests:

Frank Alt (UMCP, MHEC-FAC), Genny Segura (Senior Education Policy Analyst, MHEC, liaison to MHEC-FAC), Irv Goldstein (USM, Senior Vice Chancellor, Office of Academic Affairs)
John Collins called the meeting to order at 10:00am.
Joan Langdon introduced Dr. Mickey L. Burnim, the new President of Bowie State University, who welcomed CUSF to the campus. President Burnim talked about where BSU wants to go in the next 5 to 10 years, the communication challenges, his recent inauguration, and the importance of shared governance.

John Collins started the formal meeting with the introductions of all attendees at the meeting and noted that this was a historic CUSF meeting because of representation from MHEC-FAC. John Collins introduced Genny Segura, a Senior Education Policy Analyst at MHEC, and liaison to MHEC-FAC.

Genny Segura gave a very detailed overview of what MHEC does and its initiatives. The overview was as follows:

MHEC is the State of Maryland's higher education coordinating board responsible for establishing statewide policies for Maryland public and private colleges and universities and for-profit career schools. MHEC also administers state financial aid programs that affect students on a statewide basis.

Some key responsibilities include:

MHEC is involved with numerous interagency initiatives, some of which are mandated by law and others that are voluntary. The following are active initiatives of which Maryland Higher Education Secretary James E. Lyons, Sr. is a member:

BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure)

BRAC's goal is to reshape the Defense Department's infrastructure. As a result of federal and state legislation, Maryland became the recipient of 45,000 potential jobs. The State Legislature passed legislation effective June 1, 2007 establishing a BRAC subcabinet within the Governor's Office. This Sub-Cabinet is chaired by Lt. Governor Anthony G. Brown and includes Secretary Lyons as higher education will play a critical role in ensuring that appropriate education and training is available to fill these new positions.

Commission to Develop the Maryland Model for Funding Higher Education

This commission was created by the Maryland State Legislature in 2006 to determine the most effective funding model for higher education. The commission is chaired by Delegate John L. Bohanan and includes Secretary Lyons as well as a cross-section of members from all sectors of the community. MHEC contracted consultants to write the report “Meeting Maryland's Postsecondary Challenges: A Framework to Guide Maryland's Public Investments in Postsecondary Education in the Coming Decade”.

The Maryland Partnership for Teaching and Learning, PreK-20

The Maryland Partnership for Teaching and Learning, PreK-20 is an alliance of the Maryland State Department of Education, the Maryland Higher Education Commission, and USM. The Chairmanship of the group rotates among the three institution heads. Secretary Lyons is the current chair. This voluntary collaboration is critical to the endeavor to achieve the highest levels of excellence throughout all levels of education and in the workplace. Maryland is one of the first states to establish a PreK-20 Partnership, and is one of the most active partnerships in the entire nation. In fact, it has become a national model. Several subgroups focus on:

Smart Growth

Smart Growth was established in 1997. It enables the state to focus on programs and funding to support established communities and targeted growth areas including conservation of resources, preservation of critical environments, and development of priority areas. This initiative is supported by the Smart Growth Subcabinet, made up of all the state agencies that play a role in State growth decisions. This Subcabinet is chaired by the Department of Planning Secretary Richard E. Hall and includes Secretary Lyons.

Solutions for Maryland's Future

Solutions for Maryland's Future is a state-wide campaign to develop and communicate compelling messages in support of higher education. The American Council on Education, working with several other national higher education associations, is coordinating the "Solutions for Our Future" campaign, a nationwide effort to develop and communicate a compelling message in support of higher education. Maryland established a "Solutions for Maryland's Future" Steering Committee and Implementation Committee and Implementation Committee to support this national effort and coordinate a State-focused campaign.

There are four statutory advisory councils that were established by law and are to meet periodically for the purpose of reviewing such matters as are referred by the Commission or the Secretary. They may also make reports and recommendations to the Commission. The Commission is given the authority by law to create additional advisory councils to address specific needs. The councils are as follows:

Some of the questions for Genny Segura were as follows:
Bill Stuart- How are the various constituents “prorated”? We do not know if our voices are prorated or not.
Answer – CUSF is represented well by John Collins as CUSF president. Frank Alt added that USM is missing a part-time temporary faculty representative, as well as someone from UMB.

Rahim Ashkeboussi - Is there enough financial aid for all applicants and how is it distributed?
Answer – No, but the Governor is committed to higher education for scholarships, financial aid, grants, etc. Under Governor Erhlich some funding was added and we hope more will be available under Governor O'Malley.

John Collins – Does MHEC regulate “all” post secondary institutions? How do you enforce? Is there a penalty?
Answer: Yes, it coordinates with all. However, MHEC does not directly regulate it unless the institution receives taxpayers' money. State funding could be withdrawn if an institution does not cooperate. Moreover, it would be against the law to not comply.

Next Irv Goldstein gave his USM report as follows:

Budget

It appears that there will be a billion dollar cut by the Governor (proposed), unless it is rescinded by the legislature. However, USM is not included because the Governor believes higher education and transportation are currently very important. There is a proposal to increase the corporate income tax from 7% to 8% with ½ of this increase committed to higher education (½ of 1% equivalent). It is the first time ever for a dedicated source of funds for higher education. This increase is in addition to the USM general services budget, which includes merit, etc. (the cost to open our doors). This is just step one. We also must show why higher education is important and P. J. Hogan, the Associate Vice Chancellor for Government Relations at USM is working on that part--- showing the importance of research, USM graduates, a much more educated community, etc. His advocacy plan includes USM faculty members, alumni contacting their legislators. The Governor has already made many cuts. Now he will work with groups to promote slots, a series of taxes, and other initiatives. Transportation, higher education, and health care are the only groups that will get increased funding. If the corporate tax is approved it would provide $55 million per year in dedicated funding that would be added to the higher education budget in addition to the base budget increase. The Governor would prefer in the early years that these dedicated funds be used to moderate tuition and also for helping resolve some of our capitol needs. The Governor will call for a special session to discuss the budget.

Chancellor's Legacy

There are three major initiatives that the Chancellor would like to champion. They are as follows ... closing the achievement gap, competitiveness (STEM), and the Green Initiative.

For the Closing the Achievement Gap Conference, Under Secretary of Education Sara Martinez Tucker, and Dr. Clifford Adelman, a senior associate at the Institute for Higher Education Policy who worked for 30 years as a senior research analyst at the US Department of Education will be in attendance on November 14. The achievement gap between high income students versus low income students, regardless of ability is an issue. It is important because Maryland is becoming 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 (White, Black, Hispanic), and can not afford to lose these students. The conference outcome will be best practices for financial aid, and other issues, such as how to move the students from high school to college.

Concerning STEM issues, the Chancellor would like something similar to programs in New York and Texas, where there are bonuses for new teachers, etc. Typically if a teacher stays for five years in the school system, he will not leave. Nancy Shapiro, Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at USM, has grants to educate current teachers. USM can give leadership on this. Frank Alt added that University of Georgia has a good program to increase the number of math and science teachers, as well.

As for the Green Initiative, USM at Shady Grove has a new green building and has won the gold medal standard for non-use of energy. All USM campuses will redo strategies to include green initiatives. The initiatives will include programs for all students on campus, even for art majors, for example.

Task Force on BRAC

MHEC sits on the BRAC task force. UMUC and TU are already involved in Aberdeen.

Graduate Student Union

The Graduate Student Union has become a hot topic. They are not allowed to unionize and they are trying to push a bill to do so because they are not happy about working hours, etc. The students at UMCP are very active. If the legislature passes a bill allowing this, then it is out of USM hands. There are both pros and cons, i.e. taxes, more tension between faculty and students, graduate and undergraduates, sometimes RA vs. TA could also be a problem of unionization.

Other

Morgan State University protested the UMES Engineering program. However, MHEC denied the protest. The board approved the UMES Engineering proposal.

The Governor filed an executive order to change the PreK-16 committee to become PreK-20. The Governor will chair this MHEC committee, which will include among others the Chancellor, Maryland Secretary of Labor, State Superintendent Grasmick, and Secretary Lyons. The committee is a voluntary group, but listed in the executive order is what the Governor wants to come out of it. The committee meets 3 to 4 times per year

Questions

Irv Goldstein finished his formal report at 11am. There were several questions that followed. Some of the questions were as follows:

Bill Stuart- Are there hostilities from universities because of STEM?
Answer – There is no conflict. Mathematics is stressed with STEM rather than reading and writing. It is a complete systems problem. Algebra 2 in high school is very important if students are going to succeed in College Math. Without STEM teachers, we can never address the problem.

Martha Siegel – It is a mistake to pass over the state mandated test. Going around the testing is not the answer. The test is very minimal.
Answer - The people in the trenches know the problem. We need a resolution. Genny Segura added that there was a conference by Bill and Melinda Gates and many out-of-the-box ideas were discussed, i.e. not graduating high school students until they have completed 2 years of college.

Next Frank Alt discussed overlapping MHEC-FAC and CUSF initiatives. Highlights were as follows:

Frank Alt thanked CUSF for the hospitality, and John Collins followed with a vote on the September CUSF minutes. The September 2007 minutes were approved at 11:40 am.

John Collins reiterated the advocacy of PJ Hogan. John Collins mentioned the handout of PJ Hogan and urged us to become advocates. Bill Stuart added that we rank as 27th in our financial commitment to higher education, but we are one of the wealthiest states. John Collins noted that we need to invite PJ Hogan to the November 14 meeting

John Collins asked CUSF members about their choices of CUSF committees. Joyce Tenney volunteered via email to chair the Recognition Committee. Committee members include Joyce Shirazi, John Collins, Arthur Alcott, and Deloris James. Joan Langdon volunteered to chair the Student Research Day and Bill Stuart volunteered to help. It was noted that CUSF would like to include more graduate student projects but undergraduate projects are better for visibility and legislators' understanding of projects. Student Research Day will be held in January and CUSF will need to start coordinating it immediately. John Collins noted that John Wolfe sent out requests for nomination of Regents Faculty Awards, which is also a subcommittee of the Recognition Committee.

John Collins asked CUSF members what they thought about the possibility of a joint CUSF-CUSS meeting. Comments included the following:

From approximately noon until 12:45 pm the discussions discontinued for a lunch break. After lunch, John Collins addressed a variety of issues. He noted that we will have until Monday to volunteer for CUSF committees and that the CUSF committee heads must be CUSF members. However, one does not have to be a member of CUSF to be on a CUSF committee. John Collins noted that the New Chairs' workshop, if held, will be held in conjunction with one of our meetings in the spring. Deloris James volunteered to chair the New Chairs' Workshop. Other CUSF committee volunteers/comments were as follows:

Legislative Affairs

Membership and Rules

Academic Affairs

Administrative and Fiscal Affairs

Faculty Affairs

The meeting adjourned at 1:00 pm.

University System of Maryland
3300 Metzerott Road
Adelphi, MD 20783-1690, USA
301.445.2740