Personnel Policies Committee
Minutes: September 2, 1997
Sociology 102

Persons Present: Roger Fisher, Paul Hertzel, David McBeth, Jim Fieser, Robert Self, Stephanie Kolitsch, Steve Rogers, Ted Comstock, Kendall Blanchard, Linda Ramsey, Jerald Ogg

1. Chair Roger Fisher called the meeting to order and reviewed the minutes of the August 14 meeting. The minutes were approved.
   
2. The issue of the evaluation of administrators was put on the floor for discussion by Linda Ramsey. A recent survey suggests that there is little interest among faculty for pursuing this issue further. Later, Steve Rogers suggested that before the Committee take any action on this matter that Phil Miller be invited to meet with the Committee and discuss the issue in greater detail. A motion to this effect was made and carried.
   
3. Jerald Ogg and Linda Ramsey raised the issue of the dates for the general faculty meetings. This fall, for example, the dates fall during midterm week and at a time when both Ogg and Ramsey are to be out of town. The policy in the Faculty Handbook was reviewed and it was moved that the language be changed to give the Faculty Senate Executive Committee greater flexibility in setting the dates for these meetings each semester.
   
   The Faculty Handbook currently reads:
   2.10.1 GENERAL FACULTY MEETING
   
   An official meeting of the faculty occurs annually before the opening of the fall semester. There shall be one additional regular meeting of the faculty in the fall semester and one in the spring semester. The fall meeting will be on Thursday of the second full week in October at 3:15 p.m. The spring meeting will be on Thursday of the week preceding Spring Break at 3:15 p.m. Notice of these meetings will be sent a week in advance by the Secretary of the Senate. The President of the Senate will preside at the meetings.
   

   A motion was made to delete from "The fall meeting" through "a week in advance" and change the wording to "The general faculty meetings for the following year will be scheduled by the Executive Committee during its final meeting in the spring semester. The fall meeting will be scheduled during the month of October and the spring meeting will be scheduled in March. Notice to the faculty of the scheduled meetings will be given two weeks in advance."
   
   The motion carried.
   

4. Kendall Blanchard suggested that rather than looking specifically at the criteria for promotion this year, that the Committee focus on the issue of scholarship and the role it plays in the promotion process. He asked that the Committee participate in the planned series of panel discussions about scholarship with the possibility that some suggestions for policy changes or clarification might come out of those discussions. No action was taken.
   
5. Blanchard also suggested that the Committee give attention to the matter of a faculty member's obligations to his or her colleagues. The Faculty Handbook suggests that this is a part of a faculty member's responsibility, but it is not clear what those obligations are. After some discussion, it was suggested that Blanchard prepare a statement for the Committee that targets the problem and the areas of the Faculty Handbook where the issue arises and where it might require further clarification. A motion was made and carried.
   
6. Chair Fisher noted that the VCAA was the official minutes-taker for the Committee and that in his absence the Associate VCAA would attend the meeting and keep the minutes. However, Fisher recognizes that in the case that the office of Academic Affairs was not represented, someone else would need to fill in. Stephanie Kolitsch volunteered and was endorsed with a resounding expression of affirmation and gratitude.
   

The meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully Submitted:
Kendall Blanchard