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2000-2001
FACULTY COUNCIL
MINUTES
2000-2001
Meeting #24, Tuesday, April 3, 2001
Present:
McKeever (chair), Smelser (vice-chair),
Bitterwolf, Brunsfeld, Chun, Finnie, Glen, Haggart (w/o vote), Kraut,
McCaffrey, Meier, Nelson, Nielsen, Olson, Norby, Pitcher (w/o vote) Absent:
Foltz, Fritz, Goble, Goodwin, Guilfoyle, Hong, McClure, Thompson, Trivedi Observers:
9
Call
to Order. A quorum being present, Faculty Council
Chair, Professor Kerry McKeever, called the meeting to order at 3:40 p.m. in
the Brink Hall Faculty Lounge.
Minutes.
The council accepted the minutes of the March 13, 2001, meeting as
distributed.
Chair’s
Report. Chair McKeever:
Announced
that Governor Dirk Kempthorne will be visiting the U of Idaho campus
on Monday, April 30th. He wants to meet with members of
the faculty and begin discussions on research projects that could
benefit the state and the U of Idaho. The meeting will be from 9:30 to
11:00 a.m. in the Summit Room of the Idaho Commons. McKeever urged all
of the council members to attend and asked them to "bring 10 of
your friends with you!" The governor will give a brief
presentation, which will be followed by a reception and brunch. She said
student leadership will also be invited to the meeting.
Noted
that she had met with Mike Rush, Administrator of the Idaho Division of
Professional-Technical Education, in connection with his responsibilities
for coordinating educational programs in Idaho’s prison system.
He would like a Faculty Council member to attend a meeting on May 7th
concerning this educational program. Council members who are interested
should contact McKeever.
Noted
that interviews with candidates for the position of Vice President for
Research and Graduate Studies continue during the month of April. She
urged council members to make every effort to meet these candidates.
Attendance by faculty members has been sparse. The Faculty Secretary is
forwarding the interview schedules to the council as soon as they become
available.
Thanked
members of the faculty, staff, and student body for their help in lobbying
for higher education issues during the past legislative session.
Reported
on her meeting with members of the U of Idaho faculty who work at the U of
Idaho Boise Center. She said that she was impressed with both the quality
and quantity of work being done by these faculty members. McKeever also
noted that the Faculty Council must seek ways of making sure that
off-campus U of Idaho faculty members feel more "included"
and think of themselves as members of the U of Idaho faculty.
Provost’s
Report. Provost Brian Pitcher reported that the
Idaho Legislature had approved $11.7 million for renovation of the
University Classroom Center. He noted that the construction schedule
would cause the building to be closed for the entire 2002-2003 academic
year. This closure will present a real challenge to the university to
provide adequate classroom space during that time period. Pitcher also
announced that the annual extension (outreach) conference would be
held this week. At the April 10th council meeting he will give a
full report on the changes to the organization of extension services that
will place emphasis on outreach as a major mission of the U of Idaho’s
strategic plan.
Associated
Students of the University of Idaho (ASUI) Leadership Report.
Chair McKeever introduced ASUI Vice President Jeanine LaMay. LaMay provided
some background information on the ASUI and the projects they were
working on this year. She then introduced the members of the ASUI Senate
in attendance at this meeting. Each senator spoke briefly about projects
that he or she was working on – including the Vandal Taxi Service,
recognition of Native American Tribes on the campus, cooperative programs
with other Idaho schools, service projects, leadership development, a new
Vandal mascot, ASUI Athletics Board, Student Recreation Center Board plans,
communication with off-campus students, and a ride-sharing information web
project. Chair McKeever told the ASUI Senators that the Faculty Council
would like to continue the dialogue between the two groups. She urged the
ASUI leadership to take every opportunity to use the council as consultants
and advisors on issues of mutual concern.
Scholarship
Report. Chair McKeever told the council that many
of the college and departmental by-laws were now available for review at
the Faculty Council web site: http://www.its.uidaho.edu/facultycouncil/bylawsdepartments.htm
Some academic unit by-laws contain statements regarding expectations of the
faculty members with regard to accomplishments in a wide range of
definitions of scholarship. The publication of these by-laws should lead to
a better understanding of the variety of requirements for and recognition of
scholarly activities on the U of Idaho campus.
Vice
Chair Ronald Smelser reported that he had attended an American Association
for Higher Education conference that included a presentation of the "UniSCOPE
2000" model of dealing with the variety of scholarship activities
occurring in a land-grant university. He handed out a booklet (faculty
can check out a copy at the Faculty Secretary’s Office) about the model
that is in use at Pennsylvania State University. This model seeks to answer
the calls from within and outside the academic community to address the
issue of effective and equitable recognition and rewards for all forms of
scholarship. It also addresses the observations of many in academia that the
promotion and tenure process shows preference in rewarding basic research
and resident education over other forms of scholarship, including outreach
education, research applications in the field, creative works, and service
to the public.
Smelser
said that this model defines scholarship as an "event." As
an "event," scholarship becomes something that can be documented
and is also quantifiable. In response to councilors’ questions concerning
this report, Smelser urged the council to carefully examine the
booklet and to share this information with their colleagues. Chair
McKeever would like to have the council discuss this issue at its final
meeting of the semester.
Athletic
Department Proposal. Director of Athletics Mike
Bohn and Councilor James Nelson presented the council with a list
of ideas for activities and promotions that they would like the Faculty
Council to endorse and/or sponsor.
feature
faculty/staff on the radio and television sports networks and in printed
game programs by featuring faculty and staff members with a photo and
story – for instance showcasing winners of teaching, research, and
staff achievement awards
establish
department nights/days at sporting events throughout the year – invite
departments to athletic events as guests and promote the departments
create
a special price ticket package for families – perhaps a $100 family
package that provides admission to all athletic events for family members
use
faculty/staff servers and workers at athletic events in the press box with
special seating and recognition
encourage
student-athletes and professors to engage in productive relationships –
faculty members and their families attending events where students in
their classes participate – students encouraging their teachers to
"watch me play"
encourage
faculty members to become mentors to students – helping them make
environmental and social transitions when coming to the U of Idaho
involve
faculty and staff in student-athlete functions, especially in the
recognition of scholastic achievements by student-athletes
develop
a program that allows faculty and staff members to bring guests who are
visiting Moscow to athletic events
provide
faculty members with lists of athletes enrolled in their courses
The
overall objective is to accentuate the involvement of faculty and
staff in U of Idaho athletic programs. Involvement of the whole university
community in the athletic program is also a significant contributor to the
retention of coaches and athletes.
The
council engaged in a discussion of the relationship between the faculty
and the student-athlete. It was noted that faculty members can offer
meaningful support to athletic programs by simply attending athletic events.
Athletes do take notice of the fact that faculty members are present at
athletic events. There was a feeling that a tutorial center was essential in
providing assistance to athletes. Provost Pitcher noted that employing
coaches who set high standards for on-campus learning and off-campus
behavior is essential. He believes that the U of Idaho is hiring coaches who
will be excellent role models for their players.
It
was moved and seconded (Finnie, Brunsfeld) 1)
that the council chair appoint an ad hoc advisory committee of three council
members to work with the Athletic Department in turning the ideas presented
at this meeting into actual projects, 2) that the council endorse, present,
and/or sponsor these ideas to the faculty in conjunction with the Athletic
Department, and 3) that the ad hoc committee be evaluated in the Spring of
2002. The motion was adopted by unanimous vote.
Adjournment.
Chair McKeever adjourned the meeting at 4:45 pm.
Respectfully
submitted,
Peter A. Haggart
Secretary of the
Faculty Council
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