Minutes Faculty Senate Meeting

January 8, 2004

Thursday - 1:30 PM

Upper Deck

 

Members Present:

Members Absent:

Fred Bakenhus

Carlos Campos

Jenny Garland

Lester Hall

Herman Hauschildt

Mary Hays

Dee Joseph

Donna Laird

Sean Nighbert

Sylvia Phillips

Ken Poff

Eleanor Seiferth    

Sandra Snavely

Emily Staats 

David Weaver

George Johnson

Michelle Martinez

Van Lopez

    

 

 

Guests:

 

Larry Duron, Allied Health; Leonard Flores, Automotive Technology; Nicole Ford, BIS; Gaynell Gainer, Allied Health; Luis Lopez, BIS; Tom Milligan, BIS; Jean Nettelfield, BIS; Arthur Porter, ACT/AC&R; Richard Teitz, Institutional Advancement; Lillie Turner, Learning Resource Center

 

 

 

 


Call To Order

 

  • After a thirty (30)-minute reception, the business meeting was called to order at 2:00 pm.

 

Electorate to be Heard

 

  • Early Retirement

·         A member of the electorate wanted information about the status of an early retirement package. 

·         Dr. Kelly is in the process of determining the feasibility of offering early retirement.  If offered now, forty (40)% of employees and St. Philip's and San Antonio College would be eligible.

·         The Super Senate is in full support of early retirement.

 

SPC Community to be Heard

 

  • No one asked to be heard.

 

Approval and Correction of Minutes

 

·         Minutes of November 6, 2003

  • Donna Laird asked that in the statement "The estimated cost of the Chancellor’s Reception is $390," the dollar figure be changed to $290.

·         Minutes of December 4, 2003

  • Sandra Snavely said that the current dollar figure in the treasury needs to be changed to $1262.08

·         The minutes are approved pending these corrections.

 

Treasurer’s Report

 

  • There is currently $1262.08 in the treasury.

 

Old Business

 

Committee Reports

 

Constitution Committee

 

  • The following revisions are recommended for consideration:
    • Faculty Senators who have been absent from more than three Senate meetings could be asked to step down from the Senate.
    • Senator nominations are to be submitted after spring break.
    • Senators may be elected by full-time, tenure-track faculty through secret ballot or through email submissions.
    • Create a position called "Faculty Senate President Emeritus" so that new Faculty Senate administrations do not lose momentum.

 

  Promotion Appeals Committee

 

  • Problem With a Faculty Member Who Was Denied Promotion
    • A faculty member was denied promotion and not granted retroactive pay.  The problem may have occurred because our Faculty Senate Promotion Appeals Committee was told to wait before proceeding with the case until administrators told them to continue.  In the future, we must continue with our decision making until we have reached a decision and not stop and wait for the administration.  The Faculty Senate is doing everything possible to help the faculty member receive retroactive pay.

 

  Teaching Loads Committee

 

  • Applied Sciences faculty are concerned about being required to teach courses exceeding the recommended 15-hour teaching load.

 

  Status of Step Increases

 

  • It seems that where raises, step increases, and benefits are concerned, it will now be incumbent upon the faculty to request these each year.  These will no longer be granted automatically.
  • The Super Senate is planning to meet with Chancellor Kelly face-to-face about this issue.

 

  January Newsletter

 

  • If we have any information for the January Faculty Senate newsletter, we should contact Jenny Garland at 210-531-4716.

 

  Letter to Chairs and Managers Announcing Faculty Senate Official Meeting Time

 

  • In an effort to improve administrative support for faculty to attend and Faculty Senate meetings, we have proposed to write a letter to department chairs and administrators announcing that from now on, all Faculty Senate meetings will be held at said time each month.  We will also request support from the District Chair Council.

 

Higher Cost of Color Copies

 

  • We have been informed that the district can produce color copies at 79 cents per page and, depending on the volume, 38 cents per page. 
  • Instead of faculty needing to use petty cash to make color copies, we can use district printing services and reduce costs.  The district will offer competitive prices.

 

New Business

 

  Emphasis of Tenure, Promotion, Election of Chair Policies and Dates

 

  • In our newsletter and through email, we should include dates of important faculty-related deadlines, such as those pertaining to tenure, promotion, and election of department chairs.
  • Faculty should be made aware that department chairs are to be elected by secret ballot.

 

Webmaster Position

 

  • Ken Poff has agreed to become the new webmaster pending completion of certain responsibilities as webmaster of the English department web page.  Sylvia Phillips will continue as interim webmaster.

 

  Unit Plan

 

  • Unit plan initiatives include the completion of a faculty survey, possible payment of dues by all faculty to support the costs for lobbyists and lawyers, faculty training, and guest speakers.

·         Regarding dues payment, Faculty Senators, while not necessarily opposed to the idea, expressed concern that other faculty would feel more vested in our decisions and might gripe more if initiatives, such as the step increase, did not succeed.  The Faculty Senate would be held to a higher level of accountability.

·         Regarding the faculty survey, the Faculty Senate has been tasked with establishing a committee to prepare, distribute, and compile the findings of a survey to assess faculty desires for the campus and its governance.  Committee members include Sandra Snavely (chair), Jenny Garland, Sylvia Phillips, and Ellie Seiferth.

  • Copies of the unit plan will be emailed by request.

 

  Use of SPCFTFAC Listserve

 

·         A faculty member has asked if the Faculty Senate listserve can be used to announce a class.  The Faculty Senate will allow faculty to use SPCFTFAC on a trial basis.

 

  Termination of Faculty Member

 

·         A nursing faculty member who was placed on two months of sick leave was terminated. 

·         The Faculty Senate is concerned that the faculty member did not solicit our assistance.

·         On a similar note, a member of the electorate stated that if we ever write a resignation letter and submit it to the ACCD board, we cannot change our minds about resigning.  Before deciding to resign, we need to think about such a decision very carefully.

 

   Assessment of Last Semester

 

·         The Faculty Senate will seek increased opportunities to participate in shared governance through memberships on committees such as textbook selection, student testing, and the instructional unit planning review, to name a few. 

·         A member of the electorate noted that in the past, for example, a member of the Faculty Senate was invited to serve on the beautification committee.

 

Adjournment