05-02-01SenateMinutes

The President of the University, Senate Chairperson, Senate Secretary and Student Body President are also members of the Executive Committee.

Election to Foundation Board

The Senate unanimously elected Senator Khalid Razaki for a three-year term (2001-2004) as the Senate representative on the ISU Foundation Board.

Election to Campus Communications Committee

Senator Razaki was unanimously elected by the Senate for a two-year term (2001-2003) on the Campus Communications Committee.

Election to Council for Teacher Education

The Senate unanimously elected Senator Vicky Morgan as the Senate representative on the Council for Teacher Education for a three-year term (2001-2004).

Approval of Minutes of April 18, 2001

Motion XXXII-132: by Senator Chang, second by Senator Fowles, to approve the Senate minutes of April 18, 2001. The minutes were unanimously approved.

Campus Master Plan Overview: Richard Runner, Director of Facilities Planning

Richard Runner: We update the Campus Master Plan about every five years. The 14-member Master Plan Steering Committee includes representatives from each of the vice presidential areas and representatives from the President's office. Curt White is also a member of that committee representing the Academic Senate.

Everything that we do in the Campus Master Plan ties into the values and concepts identified in Educating Illinois. One of the core issues that has come out of Educating Illinois that we believe symbolizes what we want the campus to be is a university with large course offerings and a small college campus feel. We have spent considerable time as a steering team asking people what that means and how that translates into the development of the campus.

An overview of the plan is as follows:

Create a pedestrian-friendly campus and campus neighborhoods.
Upgrade utility distribution systems.
Establish a stronger physical connection between the campus and the Town of Normal.
Reroute US 51 at the intersection of College and Main Streets to remove the physical barrier that separates major parts of the campus.
Create new exterior signs to identify the campus.
Develop a campus transportation system.
Create additional quads through the careful placement of buildings, as well as devote resources to upgrade the green spaces that currently exist.
Undertake facility initiatives, i.e. a wellness center, renovation of the Fine Arts Center and Horton Field House.

After the initial draft is completed this summer, it will put on a web site. We will then come back to meet with a variety of campus groups in preparation for meeting with the Board of Trustees at their October meeting. Our overall timeframe for completion of the master planning process is by February 2002. That is a brief overview of what we have been doing over the last six months.

Senator Borg: I now represent the department that is probably in more buildings than any other department on campus. Have you considered creating a diagonal path from the pergola to the new arts center so that we do not have to walk across the lawn anymore?

Mr. Runner: We will be addressing those academic programs that are in essentially substandard space or that are spread across a number of facilities. We will be looking at ways to relocate those departments.

Senator Kurtz: I want to compliment you on your presentation. Not only was it exceedingly clear, it was exceedingly exciting as well. How far along are you in terms of developing time lines for the various aspects of this plan?

Mr. Runner: Our timeframe is for a 15 to 20-year planning horizon. So, when this Master Plan is finalized, some things will be completed in the first five years, second five years, etc. It will go into an implementation phase, very similar to what is happening with Educating Illinois where the recommendations are handed off to implementation groups.

Senator Pollack: Thank you for your presentation. How is student input being gathered and utilized on this committee?

Mr. Runner: The former student trustee has been on the committee and now we will be looking for input from the new student trustee. We have also gone out to approximately five student groups, which include the Student Government Association and the Residence Halls Association. We have also conducted two public forums that were publicized in the Vidette and the ISU Report.

Senator Pitre: Has the committee considered placing certain landmarks on the quad so that certain student organizations could feel more identified with the University?

Mr. Runner: That is probably more detail than would be included in the Master Plan. We have talked in a broad sense about the need for landmarks or icons for the institution.

Senator Wright: Have you considered redesigning the quad so that it would be more accessible to individuals with disabilities?

Mr. Runner: We have talked at great length about the value of the quad and the design and that is our identity at this point. We have not talked about reconfiguring the terrain in a substantial way.

Senator Reid: If there were ways of breaking up the quad somewhat so that you could have inner neighborhoods within the quad, I think it would give the University a much more small-college feeling.

Mr. Runner: We certainly could look at the potential to create spaces that are more on a human scale. What we have looked at within the quad are community-seating areas that would not interrupt the vista, but would be welcoming to gather at.

Senator Wheeler: We were talking about breaking the quad up into smaller spaces, but I say keep in mind that there are benefits of having the large open space. People go out there and play Frisbee and have picnics on the quad. It would be fine if there were a few small areas, but it is nice to have the big open, grassy area.

Senator Mitchell: If one had questions or suggestions, how would they contact you?

Mr. Runner: You can contact me by phone (438-2143) or by email (rcrunne@ilstu.edu). I am at 302 Hovey Hall.

Senator White: As there are no further questions, we thank you for your presentation. I was the unofficial, self-designated Senate representative on the Master Planning Committee this year. Now that we have a Planning and Finance Committee, one of the first things that the committee should do is determine who is going to be the representative(s) from that body to serve on the committee.

Chairperson's Remarks

Senator White: I want to congratulate two senators, Senators Chang and El-Zanati, who received their citizenship papers today. I had a meeting today with Thomas Hustoles, an attorney who specializes in educational law. He is going to serve as a consultant on revising our ethics and grievance and academic freedom documents and make sure that they work well with our ASPT documents and the University constitution. He will create recommendations for the Rules Committee over the summer and then bring them to the committee early in the fall. As you can see, we are an enhanced body now and I think it would be useful if we were all conscientious about letting the Senate office know when you are going to be absent.

Vice Chairperson/Student Government Association President's Remarks

Senator Kording: At 6:00 p.m. tonight, the student government held a special meeting and made substantial revisions to the student fee review process. In addition, we succeeded in ensuring that we had at least one student senator representing the six academic colleges with the appointment of the 20^th SGA senator tonight.

Administrators' Remarks:

· President Vic Boschini: In the last Senate, members asked that we regularly report on the comprehensive campaign. I have recently received written confirmation of a gift in excess of 2½ million dollars. We will receive a portion of the funding up front because the donor is very eager to establish an endowed chair now. The Provost is working on the details relative to the establishment of that chair and we will bring you that information as soon as possible. Tomorrow at 7:30 a.m., we will have our Legislative Breakfast in Springfield. We invite legislators and other decision makers to this annual breakfast. The next Board of Trustees' meeting is Friday, May 11, at 8:00 a.m. in the Bone Student Center. They will have the discussion hour at 8:00 a.m. and the meeting begins at 9:00 a.m.

· Provost Al Goldfarb: The Budget Committee made a recommendation to me about the Academic Impact Fund in terms of increasing instructional capacity dollars for non-tenure track faculty to $28,800. I am pleased to announce that we are going to actually go to $29,000. I have been meeting with the Illinois Board of Higher Education to deal with issues of non-tenure track faculty and part-time faculty around the state. We are in the midst of developing a survey to discover what kind of policies and procedures exist on campuses. Illinois State is well ahead of this process and I want to thank Senator El-Zanati for allowing me to share, for example, the survey we did with our department chairs on this issue. Jan Shane has been appointed Assistant to the Provost. She will begin July 1. Dean Paul Schollaert will be leaving ISU to serve as Provost at Eastern Michigan University. I have, therefore, requested from the faculty and staff in the College of Arts and Sciences names of either nominees or volunteers who might be willing to serve for one year as acting dean as we began to put into place the process for hiring a permanent replacement.

· Vice President of Student Affairs: Excused Absence

· Vice President of Finance and Planning:

Senator Bragg: The President, the Provost and I testified before the House Appropriations Committee on April 26. We had previously testified before the Senate Appropriations Committee about a month earlier. That hearing went very well. Our staff is working diligently with Springfield on budget appropriations. We are hopeful that the appropriation for Schroeder Hall will come this year.

IBHE-FAC Report

Senator Crothers: For those of you who do not know, I serve on the Faculty Advisory Committee, a subcommittee of the Illinois Board of Higher Education. All of higher education in Illinois is technically governed by this one central board. On the Faculty Advisory Committee, the twelve Illinois public universities are permanently represented. A portion of the community college campuses is represented on a rotating basis as are the private universities. The Faculty Advisory Committee meets once a month. At our last meeting, the primary topic was assessment. I did have a thought that I wanted to share with those people engaged in assessment issues and that is many of the current assessment procedures turn out to be just one more thing on the backs of faculty. I think as we develop these questions of assessment, it is important to keep that consideration in mind and try to make them as faculty friendly and as faculty useful as possible. I say this particularly in light of coming shortages nationwide of faculty and difficulties in recruiting young faculty.

Senator Crothers' entire report can be found on the Senate web site at: http://www.academicsenate.ilstu.edu. Click "Committee Sites" and go to the IBHE section on that page.

Information Items:

03.26.01.03 Request for Name Change and School Status for HPER (Former Administrative Affairs and Budget Committees)

Senator Kurtz: We received a proposal for a name change and school status from the Health, Physical Education and Recreation Department. HPER is requesting to change its name to the School of Kinesiology and Recreation. The Administrative Affairs Committee had no objections to the proposal.

Senator Razaki: I do not understand the need for school designation. How many departments such as HPER have school designations?

Professor Lacy, HPER Chairperson: There are approximately 20 to 25 schools in our discipline. The University of Illinois, to my knowledge, does not have one. That was part of our rationale for wanting to do this given that we thought it would provide a recruiting advantage and would provide distinctiveness for our department.

Senator Armstrong: These kinds of changes may sound innocuous, but they can open the floodgate and set a precedent for a number of other changes. While it may be understood to us that a school is actually a department, it might be confusing after awhile.

Senator Landau: I have been reacting in the same way as Senator Armstrong with all similar requests for school status. Under what conditions might the Provost oppose such a request or what criteria exists to help him respond favorably to such a request? Also, I continue to be concerned about the implications for future budgetary requests. An academic unit that enjoys school status may make a more compelling request than a unit with department status. I have raised these issues each time a request such as this has been made.

Senator Goldfarb: As I indicated when we approved the school policy last year, things I would look at are: the national norms in the discipline, what the issues are for the department, how it ranks in stature nationally, would the department be affected in terms of its ability to recruit and what kind of stature might it bring back to the overall institution. Those were outlined in the original school document that was passed by the Administrative Affairs Committee, Budget Committee and Senate. Like many things, it is a judgment call of what would be best for the program. In terms of budget requests, again, my response is that the budget process stays in place within a college.

Senator Walker: Could you give us a profile of a department that should be called a school in terms of complexity and size?

Professor Lacy: Indiana State University has the School of Health and Human Performance, which has four departments. Our programs here in recreation are even broader than those at Indiana State. Our sequences in physical education all have in excess of 125 majors in each of them, some as many as 250.

Senator Reid: Are you thinking of dividing yourself into departments once you become a school; and to Senator Goldfarb, is that an option?

Professor Lacy: I have given no thought to that and it is my understanding that that is not an option. I will say that whether we become a school or remain a department, I do expect that the three primary sequences under the physical education program will come forward to request that they become stand-alone majors. That will happen whether we are a department or school.

Senator Goldfarb: Becoming a school with separate departments is not an option. Any changes in majors will have to go through the curricular process.

Senator Kurtz: The Administrative Affairs Committee took at its word the document passed by the Senate last semester that departments given school status were still to operate as departments with no budgetary implications. I, however, would like to see these questions filtered in some way through a master planning process so that there could be some discussion about what the implications are for ISU having so many departments achieving school status.

Senator Goldfarb: This might be a good project for the new Planning and Finance Committee.

Senator Kurtz: It also might be fruitful to bring together the Planning and Finance Committee with an Educating Illinois implementation team. This might be an opportunity to bring together shared governance and the academic planning of the institution.

Senator Pollack: What benefits are there for students if the department becomes a school?

Professor Lacy: I do not think it is going to change the way we operate internally. We will continue to try to offer the best programs we can regardless of what our name is. It might be advantageous in recruiting students.

11.28.00.04 Term Paper Sales Policy Review (Former Faculty Affairs and Student Affairs Committees)

Senator Thomas: There were three basic changes to the policy. The first was to update the appropriate Illinois statute. Additionally, under item #1, "administrative professional" was not included in the previous policy so that was added. The third change was to include in the footnote "electronic format", which is now very common but was not in the previous policy.

Senator Deutsch: Does the supporting statute for this policy preclude the students from purchasing term papers as opposed to only selling them?

Senator Boschini: As I recall, the statute prohibits you from selling them, not from purchasing them.

Senator Borg: Can we prevent the purchase under the Student Code of Conduct?

Senator McNaught: Could we just add to the policy "the sale or purchase" of term papers?

Senator Howard: I believe the purchase is addressed in Academic Integrity as well as in the Code of Conduct.

Senator Goldfarb: I will ask Senator Mamarchev to find out if the Student Code of Conduct prohibits the purchase and then report back on that.

Vice Chairperson Kording welcomed new Senate members to the Senate.

The following faculty members were elected to the Senate in elections held in each college in February 2001. The terms are for 2001-2004 unless otherwise specified.

College of Arts and Sciences

College of Business

College of Education

College of Fine Arts