The University of Iowa
FACULTY SENATE
November 18, 2003
3:30 pm – 5:00 pm
LR1 Van Allen Hall

Members Present: Judith Aikin, David Asprey, Terry Boles, Linda Boyle, Gloria Bulechek, Micheline Chalhoub-Deville, Phyllis Chang, Jay Christensen-Szalanski, Thomas Cook, Kathleen Diffley, Claibourne Dungy, Lois Dusdieker, Sonya Franklin, Carin Green, Debra Haselton, Ronald Herman, Julie Hochstrasser, Keri Hornbuckle, Erin Irish, Diane Jeske, Jean Jew, William Johnson, Michael Kelly, Sheldon Kurtz, Philip Lutgendorf, Donald MacFarlane, Kim Marra, Sue Moorhead, Pamela Nerheim, Lisa Oakes, Harry Paarsch, Bradley Phillips, Craig Porter, Richard Randell, Mary Hall Reno, Jon Ringen, Thomas Schmidt, Gary Segura, Karin Southard, Geb Thomas, Marcia Ward, Robert Weir, Paul Weller, Jerold Woodhead

Members Absent: Garry Buettner, Bernard Fallon, Michael Flanigan, Alfred Hansen, Rebecca Hegeman, Richard LeBlond, Usha Mallik, James Nepola, Andrew Nugent, Thomas O’Dorisio, Todd Pettys, Daniel Quinn, Stephen Rayhill, Linda Snetselaar, Janet Specht, Shelton Stromquist, John Westefeld, Duane Whitaker, Howard Winfield

Members Excused: Corey Creekmur, Virginia Dominguez, Gregory Hamot, Paul Heidger, Patrick Lloyd, Mazen Maktabi, Teresa Mangum, Jose Morcuende, Tuong Ton-That, Carolyn Wanat 

Faculty Senate Officers in Attendance:  Margaret Raymond, President; Katherine Tachau, Vice President; Edwin Dove, Secretary; Jeffrey Cox, Past President

Guests:  Charles Drum (University Relations), Keith Thayer (Emeritus Faculty Council), Steve Collins (Electrical & Computer Engineering), Kathryn Wynes (Office of the Provost), Pat Cain (Provost), Lee Anna Clark (Office of the Provost), Ed Folsom (Presidential Review Committee), Julie Thatcher (Faculty Senate Office), Lola Lopes (Office of the Provost), Seung Min Kim (Daily Iowan)

I.  Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 3:33 PM.

II.  Approvals

  1. Prof. Herman moved (second by Prof. Irish) to adopt the meeting agenda.  The motion was approved on voice vote.
  2. Prof. Tachau moved (second by Prof. Irish) to approve the minutes of the Faculty Senate meeting held October 21, 2003.  The motion was approved on voice vote.
  3. Prof. Kurtz moved (second by Prof. Jew) to accept Prof. Collins as a replacement for Prof. Alvarez on the Faculty Senate, 2003-2005.  The motion passed on voice vote.

III.  Reports

A.   Review of the Office of the President, Ed Folsom

Prof. Folsom presented a report on the review of the office of the president.  Prof. Folsom stated that the major points in the report’s conclusion include the following:

  1. The office is very lean with respect to peer institutions.  This is especially true for work related to external relations. 
  2. It is unclear if the University’s administration chart is still valid.  This is especially so when considering how each vice president interacts with the president.
  3. Few members of the university community have a good idea (or many lack awareness) of what the president actually does, and how his responsibilities are carried out through the offices of the vice presidents and provost.

Prof. Collins stated that the 1991 Rawlings reports also stated that the staff was too lean.  He asked about the possibility of hiring a chief of staff.  He stated that the 1991 report recommended naming a chief of staff.  The Peat Marwick audit recommended hiring a chief of staff.  Prof. Folsom stated that Pres. Skorton did not want a chief of staff, but was considering the possibility of hiring a senior staff person to oversee office staff, and someone to whom faculty can speak in place of the president.

Prof. Raymond thanked the committee for work on behalf of the Faculty Senate.

B.   Prof. Kurtz reported on behalf of the Funded Retirement and Insurance Committee (FRIC).  Prof. Kurtz reminded the Senate members that FRIC is primarily concerned with health, retirement, and disability.

  1. Prof. Kurtz stated that TIAA-CREF is reshaping itself to compete with other mutual fund companies.  As a consequence, TIAA is expanding opportunities for investment, especially through indexed funds.  FRIC has supported these changes. There was an attempt to convert to group contracts, but FRIC did not recommend adoption of this.
  2. The University offers four health care options: UICare, UISelect, Chip II, and Chip III.  In each option there are four groups.  This past year 9 of the 16 groups saw no increase in the cost of their health care.  He also stated that next year’s costs could actually be less than this year’s costs – it depends on which plans are chosen by the individual.  FRIC recommends that each employee yearly choose the appropriate plan.
  3. Prof. Kurtz reported that fringe benefits have been available to same sex couples for a long time.  FRIC recommends that these benefits also be made available to heterosexual committed couples.

Prof. Tachau asked whether FRIC should have a position on TIAA-CREF’s head making $9M plus receiving a $24M severance package.  Prof. Kurtz stated that he is not sure how effective FRIC can be, but he will place this issue on the agenda for a future FRIC meeting.  Prof. Collins inquired as to the percentage of total cost of the health care package that is funded by the University.  Prof. Kurtz stated that for an employee who is single, the percentage is approximately 62%.  The percent contribution for other groups is smaller, but in his opinion the University seems committed to closing (but not eliminating) the gap between the groups.  Prof. Cox asked if FRIC members see any conflict of interest in having a Wellmark officer in the Board of Regents.  Prof. Kurtz stated that others are aware of the potential issues, and others are watching and monitoring.

C.     Faculty Senate President, Margaret Raymond

Prof. Raymond encouraged everyone to be cognizant of the legislative reception scheduled for December 10, 2003.

IV.  New Business

Hate Crime Response.

Prof. Raymond inquired whether or not the Senate wished to sign the Hate Crime notice.

MOTION: Prof. Segura moved (second by Prof. Marra) that “The University Faculty Senate sign the Hate Crime ad to be placed in the Daily Iowan  and the Press Citizen.”  The motion passed on voice vote.

V.  Announcements

  1. Prof. Raymond reviewed the schedule for provost candidate visits.
  2. Prof. Raymond reminded Senate members of the Legislative Reception scheduled for December 10, 2003.
  3. Prof. Raymond announced the dates of the next Senate meeting.

VI.  The meeting was adjourned at 4:36 PM.

 

Submitted by E.L. Dove, Faculty Senate Secretary