President Gene Atkinson called the meeting to order at 3:30 P.M.
Twenty senators were present or represented. Senators Richard Balderas and Tracy Holtzman were absent.
1. Visit from Campus bookstore representative Traci Broderick
Improvements include ordering requisitions now on-line.
Questions from the floor:
Q. How do you decide on the appropriate number of books to order? A. Somewhat of a guess based on past
Q. Do you do price comparisons to on-line? A. Yes, particularly B&N
Hastings will match Rothers price if lower.
2. Visit from Dwayne Snider - student evaluation form
Paper copy will be ready for review by April meeting
Funds for printing will come out of provosts office
3. Visit from Janet Schmelzer - TFA representative
Faculty Advisory committee has been asked to review two grievances. In one instance, this request was overruled by President McCabe. Dr. Schmelzer reviewed the pertinent Texas statutes as well as TAMU and Tarleton policy regarding grievances policy. Copies are available at the Senate office for review.
Dr. Schmelzer asked the faculty senate for a resolution or letter from the Senate regarding President McCabe's decision in the first instance.
Dr. Steve Field, current chair of the Faculty Advisory Committee (appointed by the Senate), has requested clarification of their role. There are at present no rules or by-laws for this committee to act by.
4. Approval of Minutes
Upon motion by Linda Duncan, the Senate approved the minutes of the February meeting.
5. Treasurer's Report.
The Treasurer reported a balance of $2292.77
6. Arthur Award - Teresa Davidian
Ballots were passed out for selection of the Arthur Award nominees. The three Senate candidates were: Greg Ball, Jerry Weatherby, and Jeremy Curtoys.
A motion was approved to forward the names for consideration.
Colleges caucused and picked their representatives for the Selection committee.
Science and Technology Donna Mitchell
Liberal and Fine Arts Bennie Konvicka
Agriculture and Human Sciences Sandy Johnson
Education Sara Tyler
Business Administration Richard Petronis
7. A. Committee request forms - Gene Atkinson
Forms have been coming in. They are due by March 21.
B. Developmental leave - Linda Duncan
Linda Duncan sent an e-mail to Dr. Alexander asking about this item. There has been no response. With Dr. Alexander's impending retirement, there may be no activity on this item until a new person in hired. It was suggested that consideration of this item be brought up in discussion with potential candidates.
There will be a memo sent to the faculty who had expressed interest in working on this committee outlining what has transpired to date.
C. Replacement senators
Nine of the current senatorial terms are due up this year. Senators Duncan, Balderas, Johnson, Jones, Petronis, Pippin, Robitaille and Walker need to hold elections for replacements. Each full-time faculty member, and part-time faculty member who does not have official administrative responsibilities, holding rank of instructor or higher, except department heads, shall be entitled to vote. No person can be elected to two consecutive full terms of office, however a person who is a mid-term replacement may be re-elected.
Questions arose as to Killeen faculty representation. This will be further discussed by the committee revising the Constitution and By-laws.
A motion was made that for now, Dr. Weissenburger will remain the Killeen representative and department elections will be carried out as before excluding TCT faculty. The motion passed 19-1.
D. Report of Texas Council of Faculty Senates
Gene Atkinson gave handouts to be distributed to departments. In the interest of time, a further report will be given next meeting.
Old Business:
8. Luncheon and workshop arrangements - Linda Duncan
There will be a luncheon on April 11th in honor of Dr. Alexander's retirement. Lunch will be $1.
A workshop on issue regarding faculty workload will be held at 3:15 PM on April 11th in the TTVN room in the Tarleton Center. Please encourage faculty to come and share their concerns.
9. Faculty senate office space
The Faculty Senate is losing its space in the Tarleton Center. A new (temporary?) home has been identified in 139J in the new Science Building.
New Business:
10. Dr. Atkinson was asked to convene a committee for nominating a Regents Professor. Must be a full professor with outstanding credentials. Dr. Atkinson asked for recommendations be sent to the Executive committee by March 27th. Need to make a decision whether to nominate of not by July 5th.
11. Budget meetings
Dr. Atkinson asked for volunteers to attend the budget hearings over the next few weeks.
12. Consideration of gifts for Regents Professor Tom Pilkington and Dr. Alexander
It was recommended that gifts be purchased for these individuals at the discretion of the Senate Executive Board.
13. Marilyn Robitaille brought a resolution before the Senate regarding Distance Education recommending that Dr. Alexander appoint a faculty advisory committee. A motion to approve the resolution was made by Linda Duncan and seconded by Richard Sale. The motion passed unanimously
14. Carol Thompson asked for help in completing the web profiles of the last two award winners.
The meeting adjourned at 5:20 PM.