Academic Senate Youngstown State University Youngstown, Ohio  44555

November 5, 2003

Note 1:  Please submit agenda items and cover sheets for the next Senate meeting to Bob Hogue by noon on Monday, November 24, at the latest.  Provide both a hard copy and a disk or electronic copy of your report and cover sheet in Word or rich text format.  A downloadable cover sheet is available at the Academic Senate web site [hit "cancel" if asked for a password]:

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Major topics presented/discussed and reports attached: 

Senate Executive Committee report; Ohio Faculty Council report; Report on the College of Arts & Sciences; Announcement of results of October elections; Report on investigation of Board of Trustees policy on searches; Report from Center for International Studies and Programs; Report on possible outsourcing of YSU Bookstore.

• Establishment of a committee to investigate Board of Trustees policies regarding hiring of senior administrators or vice-presidents without a search.

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Tom Shipka, chair of the Academic Senate, called the Senate to order at 4:06 p.m.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting:

Minutes of the October 1, 2003, meeting were approved as posted.  To view the October minutes, go to <http://www.www.ysu.edu/acad-senate/minoct03.htm>. 

Senate Executive Committee (SEC) / Report from the Chair:  Tom Shipka, chair of the Senate, reported:

At the invitation of President Sweet, I made a nomination to him in my capacity as chair of the Senate as to the NCAA faculty representative. I nominated Dr. Jane E. Kestner, Professor of Psychology and Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences, for this position. She is eligible for this appointment by NCAA standards.

The Senate Curriculum Committee has been slow to start up this year and I have had several inquiries about its status from faculty and administrators with an interest in curricular proposals that require this committee's action. I assume that this committee is up and running.

Dr. Dennis Henneman, a member of the Senate Executive Committee from Fine and Performing Arts, will present a report to the Senate today under old business based on his study of the new Board of Trustees policy on "Selection of Administrative and Executive Officers of the University."

Dr. Noah Midamba, Interim Administrator, Center for International Studies & Programs, will present a report to the Senate today on behalf of the Joint City of Youngstown/Youngstown State University Sister City International Committee. President Sweet has appointed me to an ad hoc committee on alcohol consumption in university tailgate lots in conjunction with football games. The committee includes eleven members and is co-chaired by Dr. Cyndy Anderson, Vice President for Student Affairs, and Ron Strollo, Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics. (I regret that the President did not appoint one additional member so that we could be called "The Twelve Pack.") The president requests a preliminary report from this group by next Monday, November 10, and a final report by the end of the year. The first meeting is tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m. in Tod Hall.

 

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Ohio Faculty Council (OFC):   Tom Shipka reported:

The Ohio Faculty Council held its first meeting of the year in Columbus on Friday, October 10. At this meeting it elected officers: I was reelected chair, Dan Sheffer from the University of Akron was elected vice-chair, and Rodger Govea from Cleveland State was reelected secretary. Dan Sheffer was recently featured in a lead story in the Chronicle of Higher Education on sweeping, unexpected changes in institutional governance undertaken by the Board of Trustees at the University of Akron following unionization of the faculty last spring.

The OFC heard a report from Dr. Dennis Leone, Superintendent of Schools in Chillicothe, Ohio, on the State Teachers Retirement System. I made available to you today at the sign in desk a summary of Dr. Leone's report to the OFC.

The OFC also heard a report from Attorney Jim McCollum, Executive Director of the Inter-University Council, the organization of public university and medical school presidents in Ohio. Jim, a former YSU employee, was very informative about the Governor's Commission on Higher Education and the Economy, The Governor's Third Frontier Initiative, which was narrowly defeated at the polls yesterday, and other political developments in Columbus.

At the October meeting I recommended to the OFC and won support for the creation of two standing committees, one on legislation, the other on health benefits and retirement. Among the members of the legislative committee is Dr. Paul Sracic of YSU.

The next meeting of the OFC is Friday, November 14, at which time our guest is Attorney Richard Pogue from Cleveland, who is chair of the Governor's Commission on Higher Education and the Economy. He will be accompanied by Dr. Katherine Canada, the Commission's Project Director. In preparation for this meeting, I have asked all campuses to prepare a list of collaborative activities with other campuses as well as a list of programs and degrees that have been discontinued in recent years at the institutional level. I am doing this because some Commission members seem to assume that there is no collaboration or cooperation among Ohio's public universities, that they occupy a Hobbesian State of War, that they duplicate graduate programs willy-nilly, and that they have no stomach to shut down a weak or marginal program. I expect that November 14 will be an especially interesting meeting

College of Arts & Sciences:   Dean Robert Bolla reported on developments and news from the College:

The Arts & Sciences student head count is down about 90, probably due to large graduations. The College still has 58% of FTE's at the University and is still the service college. Priorities of the College include excellence in teaching, scholarship, service, and working with graduate and undergraduate students. Approximately $13 million in grant requests have been submitted, and several large grants were recently approved. Publication continues by faculty member including books and research publications. A goal of Arts & Sciences is to develop and support new programs, and along those lines: (a) a new Bachelor of General Studies degree is being proposed; (b) a Master's in American Studies is being prepared for submission; (c) a Certificate in Forensic Anthropology is being explored; (d) a Graduate program in Liberal Studies is under discussion; (e) other programs under study include a Master's in Biology Education and a program in Working Class Studies.  The College hopes to increase external funding via grants and endowments. We also hope to start a center for cultures and languages, with Hispanic studies next on the list. Wants to get faculty involved in intellectual property and patents. We want to work to increase undergraduate participation in research. The College is also trying to refresh and renovate labs for faculty and students. We would like to expand participation in Quest and to increase partnerships with community, including investigating the Early College High School program. Problems in Arts & Sciences include faculty staffing levels (presently there is about 55% part-time coverage of FTE).

Charter & Bylaws Committee: No report. 

Elections & Balloting Committee:

Jane Reid reported that she and Renee Eggers counted votes from last month's election. Tom Shipka was re-elected Chairperson, and Chet Cooper will be Vice-Chairperson. Four members were elected to the Charter and Bylaws committee:  Richard Walker, Christopher Bache, and Eleanor Congdon.  Sunil Ahuja was selected as a replacement for the Arts & Sciences representative on the Executive Committee

Unfinished Business:   

Dennis Henneman submitted a report (See Attachment 1) dated October 23, as requested by Dr. Shipka at October 1 meeting. Dr. Henneman made the following motion:

I move that the Executive Committee of the YSU Academic Senate appoint a committee composed of current Academic Senate members (with a mix of Faculty and Administrative representation) and a representative from the YSU-OEA to do a more complete investigation of these policies and practices and report back to the YSU Academic Senate with a recommendation regarding the following

1. Make a comprehensive recommendation regarding search policies and procedures and policies for waivers of such policies or procedures or parts thereof for:

   a. Administrative Assistants
   b. Administrators
   c. Tenure Track Faculty Positions
   d. Full-time Temporary Faculty Positions
   e. Term Faculty Positions
   f. Adjunct Faculty Positions.

2. Where provisions for possible waivers of such policies or procedures seem warranted, include:
   a. Reasons for such waivers
   b. Specific procedures for waivers
   c. Designated person, office, or committee for approval of waiver.

3. Designate to whom this recommendation should be sent for official action or response.

4. Make additional inquiries and recommendations as deemed necessary by the investigation.

This resolution could be made as a joint Academic Senate/YSU-OEA resolution, separate resolutions by the Academic Senate and/or YSU-OEA, or a single resolution by the Academic Senate.

I would request that this appointed committee report back with their recommendations to the YSU Academic Senate no later than the March, 2004 meeting.

The motion was seconded, and discussion was invited.

Gabriel Palmer-Fernandez asked for clarification as to which positions would be covered. A friendly amendment was approved to change "Administrators" to "Administrators at the level of Dean and above" in the language of the motion.

Cynthia Hirtzel asked if this is just for Academic Affairs or would it also cover, for example, Student Affairs. Dennis Henneman said that the last line would allow the committee to include other divisions. Cynthia Hirtzel recommended that it also include other divisions. Adam Vukovic suggested that representation from students is important and moved to amend the motion to include one or more student senators in the committee. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

A vote on the main motion was taken, and the motion passed unanimously.

 

New business:

(1) Dr. Noah Midamba, Interim Administrator, Center for International Studies & Programs, presented a report on behalf of the Joint City of Youngstown/Youngstown State University Sister City International Committee.  His report is contained in Attachment 2.

Regarding the report, Thelma Silver asked about the reference to a city in Palestine in Part G of the report, noting that she was unaware of any country so named. Dr. Midamba replied that it is correct that Palestine is not a country, but the reference to this alliance was included because it was one of four such relationships that had been set up in the past with the City of Youngstown.

(2)  Chet Cooper announced that Student Government will bring forward an issue regarding the Bookstore situation, and it is an issue is of grave concern to university community.

Adam Vukovic, 1st Vice President of Student Government Association, reported: A group from Student Government met recently with administrators and presented a petition of about 1700 signatures (more are still being collected) asking to keep the university bookstore the way it is rather than outsourcing it. The students felt that they were not being taken seriously. He noted that students are one of the main reasons that the University exists and asked for support from Senate in their effort. A sit-in is planned for Thursday at 4:00 p.m. at the Board of Trustees committee meeting. Those interested in supporting the effort can still sign the petition.

Question from audience: Why should we keep the bookstore? Adam Vukovic replied that the profit margin would likely decrease after turning it over to one of the companies interested in running it.

Cynthia Hirtzel: Engineering students are very concerned about this. Also, students are not just one of the main reasons we are here, they are the only reason we are here.

Sarah Krivenki: There are some reports that book scholarships might go away if we outsource. Is that correct?  Adam Vukovic: No, the scholarships should remain in effect.

 

Adjournment:  The Academic Senate adjourned at 4:51 p.m.