The University of Iowa
FACULTY SENATE
Tuesday, February 8, 2005
3:30 pm – 5:15 pm
Terrace Room, 166 Iowa Memorial Union

Members Present: Judith Aikin, David Asprey, Susan Birrell, Linda Boyle, Garry Buettner, Micheline Chalhoub-Deville, Jay Christensen-Szalanski, William Clarke, Steve Collins, Virginia Dominguez, Edwin Dove, Sonya Franklin, Richard Fumerton, Jennifer Glass, Thomas Grabowski, Ronald Herman, Julie Hochstrasser, Sheldon Kurtz, Lance Lichtor, Thomas Loew, Mazen Maktabi, Jose Morcuende, Andrew Nugent, Harry Paarsch, Christine Pawley, Beth Pelton, Todd Pettys, Daniel Quinn, Mary Hall Reno, Catherine Ringen, Victoria Sharp, Linda Snetselaar, Shelton Stromquist, Colby Swan, Downing Thomas, Geb Thomas, Steve Thunder-McGuire, Tuong Ton-That, Steve Vincent, Carolyn Wanat, Marcia Ward, John Westefeld

Members Absent:, Michael Cohen, Corey Creekmur, Michael Flanigan, Frederick Goodman, Judith Heggen, William Johnson, Mark Karwal, Michael Kelly, Philip Lutgendorf, Donald MacFarlane, Usha Mallik, Frank Mitros, James Nepola, Thomas O’Dorisio, Bradley Phillips, Gary Russell, William Sharp, Duane Whitaker, Catherine Woodman

Members Excused: Gloria Bulechek, David Drake, Carin Green, Paul Heidger, Sue Moorhead, Richard Randell, Thomas Schmidt, Karin Southard, Janet Specht, Jerold Woodhead,

Faculty Senate Officers in Attendance: Katherine Tachau, President; Richard LeBlond, Vice President; Claibourne Dungy, Secretary; Margaret Raymond, Past President

Guests: Eugene Spaziani (EFC), Christopher Squier (Office of the Provost), Charlotte Westerhaus (EOD), Kathryn Wynes (Office of the Provost), Lee Anna Clark (Office of the Provost), Jan Waterhouse (EOD), Marc Mills (Office of General Counsel), Julie Thatcher (Faculty Senate Office)

I.  Call to Order

Faculty Senate President, Katherine Tachau, called the meeting to order at 3:37pm.

II.  Approvals

   A.   Approval of Minutes

Professor Maktabi moved, second by Professor Ringen, that the minutes of 11/30/04 be approved.  Motion approved by voice vote.

   B.   Recommended Replacements

Senate Vice President LeBlond moved, second by Professor Westerfeld, to accept the replacements to Senate committees recommended by the Committee on Committees.  Richard Hichwa, Radiology will replace Margaret Mills, Russian on the Governmental Relations Committee (2004-05); and John-Mark Stensvaag, Law will fill a vacancy on the Council on Teaching (2004-07).  Motion passed by voice vote.

Professor LeBlond, on behalf of the Committee on Committees, informed the Senate of the upcoming election for charter committees and Faculty Senate committees. He urged Senate members to encourage their colleagues to volunteer for vacant Senate positions or to send names of individuals to him.  He also indicated some committees had special qualifications that needed to be met.                                                                                                                                                                                

III.  Reports:

   A.   Faculty Senate President, Katherine Tachau

Senate President Tachau informed the Senate of the two Board of Regents meetings that have occurred since the Faculty Senate meeting of November 30, 2004.  She stated that the agenda and minutes of Board meetings can be found posted on the Regents website.  One of the larger items on the last two Regents meetings was the issue of consolidation of non-academic business functions of the Regents institutions.  The three areas currently under review are Motor Pool, Internal Audit and Risk Management.  The next area for consideration is faculty and staff benefits.  Professor Tachau raised concerns about the appropriateness of consolidating faculty and staff benefits across the three Regents institutions given the uniqueness of each institution.  She encouraged faculty to become as informed as possible about the proposed consolidation efforts and how these designated non-academic functions might impact the academic mission of the University of Iowa and other Regents institutions.  She stated that the Faculty Senate plays an important role as a conduit between the faculty and university administration and that this area is one that should be watched carefully by the Faculty Senate.

Professor Tachau then discussed the AAUP concerns that post-tenure review is being implemented differently across the Colleges.  She recommended the topic be reviewed by the Senate Committee on Faculty Policy and Compensation.  Finally, Professor Tachau informed the Senate of an addition to the announcement section of the agenda, the addition being notification to the Senate of the Provost’s annual address to be held Thursday, April 14th.  The Government Relations Committee and the League of Women’s Voters will be co-hosting a legislative forum on Saturday, March 26, 2005.  Applications for the Brody Award for Excellence and Service to the University and the State of Iowa are due February 28, 2005. 

Professor Tachau discussed the recent changes in the Board of Regents as a result of the resignation of Regent President Forsyth and Regent Member Neil because of possible conflicts of interest related to their affiliation with the Wellmark Board.  The Governor has named Regent Gartner to replace Regent Neil.  No replacement has yet been named for Regent Forsyth.

   B.   Faculty Senate Elections Committee

President Tachau informed the Senate that the Chair of the Elections Committee has stepped down.  Professor Sponsler has agreed to chair the committee for the remainder of the year.  Professor Tachau then gave the elections reports.  Professor Tachau reviewed the Faculty Senate and Council tally sheet.  As a result of change in faculty numbers in the Colleges of Medicine, Liberal Arts and Engineering, each has one less Senate member while Pharmacy gained a Senate member.  Professor Ringen questioned whether changes in the Liberal Arts group assignments would affect the number of senators and councilors allocated to groups one, two and three.  After some discussion it appeared these changes may alter the group assignments and the tally sheet will be reviewed and corrected as needed.  Professor Herman moved, second by Professor Kurtz, that the tally sheet be approved, including any necessary adjustments to the liberal arts groups.  Motion approved by voice vote.

IV.  Unfinished Business 

Associate Provost Lee Anna Clark informed the Senate of proposed changes made to the procedures for tenure and promotion decision-making at the University of Iowa.  New wording indicates that each College would specify the level at which collegiate-level faculty administrators other than the Dean would participate and that provost-level faculty administrators will participate in the Provost’s Office, except in rare and special circumstances.  In response to the intent of the proposed change to have administrators participating at the highest level, Professor Aikin expressed concerns for need of a clear statement for Colleges.  She stated she was opposed to the proposal because of concerns that it would lead to perception that the process was unfair.  She stated there may be the perception that faculty with someone in the Provost's Office from their unit may have an unfair advantage.  There was a also a concern that there was a perception of faculty that it was a matter of chance of who might be in the Provost’s Office at any given time.  Professor Fumerton expressed concern that someone will have more of a say than others, while Professor Maktabi added that there was a potential for conflict of interest with known colleagues.  Professor Aikin moved, second by Professor Kurtz, that in the current document under General Principles, second to last line, “in the Provost’s Office” be replaced with “in promotion and tenure decisions for candidates from their own unit solely at the level of the Department; or, in the case of non-departmentalized colleges, at the level of the College…”.  The final result would be the sentence reading as “Provost-level faculty administrators shall participate in promotion and tenure decisions for candidates from their own unit solely at the level of the Department; or, in the case of non-departmentalized colleges, at the level of the College, except in rare and special circumstances at the discretion of the Provost.”  There was discussion on how this amendment would be implemented in large Colleges with assistant and associate deans involved in the promotion process.  Associate Provost Clark felt the details of that would need to be explored.  Motion was passed by a hand vote, 33 voting yes, 3 voting no, to move to insert parallel wording in the clinical track document.  This motion was approved by voice vote.  Associate Provost Clark said she hoped the new policy would be in place by fall semester, 2005.

V.  New Business

   A.   Revised Policy on Sexual Harrassment, Charlotte Westerhaus

Charlotte Westerhaus, Director of the Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity, updated the Senate on the sexual harassment policy including review of three major U. S. Supreme Court decisions on sexual harassment in the workplace, former UI President Coleman’s appointment of a Dispute Review Committee and the implementation of the current policy in 2002.  She stated the policy is now well-integrated into the fabric of the university and is used by academic advisors.  Director Westerhaus indicated changes to the policy that will clarify which faculty are not academic or administrative officers and will make clear referral sources available to all parties on campus.  The new policy also clarifies the obligations of those faculty who may, because of their job responsibilities, have both administrative and faculty roles.  Professor Kurtz moved, second by Professor Aikin, to endorse the policy dated February 1, 2005.  Motion was unanimously approved by voice vote.

   B.   Proposed P&S Position Announcement Requirement

Director Westerhaus discussed changes in the position announcement requirement for pay grade 12 and above to include language that the candidate show experience with and commitment to diversity.  Professor Kurtz moved, second by Professor Glass, to adopt the bolded material in attachment 5.  Motion was unanimously approved by voice vote.

VI.  From the Floor

Professor Kurtz proposed changes to the University Policy Manual to include intellectual perspective to the existing human rights policy.  Professor Aikin countered that this is already covered under academic freedom and is not pertinent under human rights.  Professor Stromquist expressed concerns that the proposed policy would not allow him to sanction an individual who embraced and practiced plagiarism.  Moved and second to table the discussion on the proposed motion.

VII.  Announcements

  • Faculty Senate Meeting, March 8, 3:30-5:15, Terrace Room, 166 IMU
  • Provost’s annual address to be held Thursday, April 14th
  • Government Relations Committee and the League of Women’s Voters will be co-hosting a legislative forum on Saturday, March 26, 2005
  • Applications for the Brody Award for Excellence and Service to the University and the State of Iowa are due February 28, 2005

VIII.  Adjournment

Meeting was adjourned at 5:36pm.

 

Respectfully submitted,

______________________________________
Claibourne I. Dungy, MD, MPH
Secretary, Faculty Senate