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FACULTY SENATE MEETING JANUARY 21, 2003 – 3:30 PM – FERGUSON FORUM CORRECTED MINUTES Roll call ABSENT: Steve Miller, Keith Woodbury, Jeff Richetto, Joshua Rothman, Karen Burgess The December 10, 2002, Faculty Senate meeting minutes were approved. A copy of an article concerning Presidential Candidate Robert Witt, published in the Dallas-Fort Worth Star Telegram, was handed out to the Senate. There will be a meeting with Dr. Witt on The University of Alabama campus in Sellers Auditorium in Bryant Conference Center on Wednesday, January 22, at 10:30 AM. This is a one-hour meeting open to everyone with a reception afterward. The response letter to Dr. Mason concerning budget reallocation was discussed item-by-item. The Salaries, Enhancement and Reallocation report by the Financial Affairs Committee was adopted by the Senate in December. This document can be found on the Faculty Senate website. The Financial Affairs Committee was applauded for an excellent job and the members of the Budget Reallocation Committee, Bob Sigler, Harry Price and John Mason, were commended for their responsiveness and diligence in serving on this important committee. The recommendation of the Steering Committee to the Senate was to focus on a few critical issues and keep the response very concentrated. It was felt that the proposed post-tenure review (Item #12) would bring about a redefinition of faculty workload. The Senate is opposed to post-tenure review and accepted "as is" in the letter. Item # 15 addressed across-the-board percentage costs being exacted from each academic division. The suggestion was made that administration cuts should be considered. Administrator-per-student ratio ranks UA in the top six of the SUG. Faculty salaries are rated in the middle of the SUG. After discussion, it was proposed to amend the resolution with the addition of the following: "Whereas the University is currently at the top in terms of numbers of administrators relative to student size, six of thirty-one, and whereas the faculty is paid at the bottom of the SUG average, thirty-one out of thirty-one, we believe that the administration should be subject to study for possible reduction in costs." The Senate voted: 20 For, 15 Opposed and 4 Abstentions. The proposed "Scholarship Enhancement Fee" (Item #4) on tickets sold to all public events held on campus was supported with an objection to the title of the fee. A motion was made to change the name to "Salary Enhancement Fee" but the motion was defeated. Concern was expressed that the money would not be used for scholarships and that this amount would not increase. The amount of the fee possibly would be a percentage and concern was expressed about the effect this fee would have on dance and theater tickets. The addition of the phrase "uniform rate" was suggested, however, the opinion was to leave this area open would be best and this suggestion was withdrawn. The suggestion to change "could" on line three and four to "would" was accepted. The motion to accepted Item #4 with the amendment was passed by vote of the Senate. The early retirement for faculty proposal received partial support and partial objections. Concerns expressed were that it would take three to five years to realize any real monies from early retirement, that the faculty should be given the choice of early retirement and that this would bring about the loss of excellent faculty members. Some departments were especially adversely affected by the last early retirement offer. There was also concern that early retirement would be mandatory. Retirement cannot be forced on an employee. There was a motion made to strike this item from the letter. "Early retirement buy-out" is the phrase used in the report. The vote to delete this item from the letter was: 26 Favor, 6 Opposed. The proposed increase in parking fees for faculty, the reduction of state allocations to professional staff, the elimination of the CQI office, and lowering maximum full-time student credit hours for billing purposes was opposed. Discussion of continuing the CQI office included the points that this would only eliminate one person’s salary and that this office will be needed in the future for accreditation. There was a motion to eliminate the reference to the office of CQI from this paragraph and the motion did not carry. There were no comments about Item #10 referring to parking fees for faculty. There was a motion and seconded to accept the letter as amended. The Senate voted to accept with one "no" vote. The "Resolution Supporting the Regulation of Hours That Alcohol Can Be Sold on Premises in the Local Community" was presented for discussion. The points were made that passing this resolution would support Dr. Mason and University efforts to reverse the "party school image", enhance the academic environment, it is the right thing to do, UA is the only SEC school that does not have these measures in place and that this will positively impact the health and safety of students, faculty and the community. Even with the restriction on bar hours, there will be 17 ˝ to 18 ˝ hours that the bars will be open. The SGA has joined in support of these bar hour restrictions. Discussion included the points that this is a social problem, underage students are not legally allowed in the bars, the students will move to "party houses" in residential areas after the bars close and the University should address the problems within its own policies. The cities of Tuscaloosa and Northport will make the decision to implement the hour restrictions and the Senate is only supporting this policy. This resolution passed by a vote of 20 For, 9 Opposed and 10 Abstentions. The "Resolution on Electing Members to Reallocation Committees" was presented with the Senate approving this resolution by a majority vote. A change in by-laws to add a non-voting seat for a representative of the Black Faculty and Staff Association was approved by the Senate by a majority vote. It was proposed to have the Senate Operations committee develop a plan of consistency for representation in the Senate. The changed by-law will read:
A motion was made to suspend the rules to allow consideration and discussion of the "Resolution on Tuition." The Faculty Senate passed a resolution last year recommending a 15% increase in tuition to be applied to faculty salary enhancement and the Board of Trustees recommended an 8% increase over three years. With the University and state facing a budget crisis this year and next year (200 to 500 million dollar deficit) making budget cuts a certainty. The proposed tuition increase would not place the University outside the regional average and would possibly avoid cuts in academics. Other institutions within the state have increased tuition by double digits. This resolution would be forwarded to the Chancellor, Dr. Mason, Provost Barrett and the Board of Trustees. This resolution would extend the 2001 Tuition Resolution by two more years. Concern was expressed that with this increase many students would not be financially situated to attend the University, this would decrease diversity, students living in the north and south parts of the state would not attend the University and sincere concern was expressed about available scholarship money. UAB has a higher tuition than the University. The financial forecast for the University is based on a 3% increase over six years in state appropriations per year and will not be forthcoming next year. UA is ranked 22nd of 31 SUG institutions. Tuition increase is one of very few options for funding. This resolution passed by the majority with two "no’s" and 5 Abstentions. Academic Affairs – (Beth Macauley & Garry Warren) No report. Faculty Life – (Wythe Holt & Nick Stinnett) A sizable number of responses have been received to the question posed to the faculty with a reminder to be emailed on Wednesday to respond before Friday’s deadline. Planning & Operations – (John Mason & Mathew Winston) The proposed merger and reorganization of Resources and Priorities Committee into the Faculty Senate is now going before the Deans. The discussion concerning changing summer semesters to two four-week terms is continuing. Research & Service – (Subhabrata Chakraborti & Jim Eddy) No report. Senate Operations – (Frannie James & Harry Price) No report. Student Affairs – (Clark Midkiff & Jeff Richetto) No report. Legislative Agenda Committee – (Margaret Garner) Higher Education Day will be March 13 in Montgomery. Everyone was urged to participate, become members and to be sensitive to students wishing to participate. There will be a Legislative Forum for opportunities to determine the important political agenda for the coming session. Ad Hoc Faculty Leadership Review Committee (Norm Baldwin) This committee is in the process of analyzing the data collected and will be in touch with the Deans for their input. Meeting adjourned 5:05 PM January 22, 2003 Dr. Barry Mason, Interim President Dear Dr. Mason, The Faculty Senate, after vigorous and focused discussion here presents our view of budget reallocation at The University of Alabama, including a response to the Budget Reallocation Committee report. We unanimously adopt, in reiteration, the recent Salaries, Enhancementand Reallocation report from the Senate’s Financial Affairs Committee,as agreed to by the whole Senate, a copy of which I include. We believe this document is a definitive response on reallocation from the University faculty as represented by its Faculty Senate, and we stand by it. Our reaction to the Budget Reallocation Committee report is as follows, the first two items being ones the Faculty Senate feels most passionately about: Item #12: The Faculty Senate is absolutely and unanimously opposed to post-tenure review. It has nothing to do with budget reallocation. We presently have annual faculty reviews tied to merit raises. Item #15: We are strongly opposed to across-the-board percentage costs being exacted from each academic division. This would be business as usual and contrary to rational processes for reallocation. Whereas the University is currently at the top in terms of numbers of administrators relative to student size, six of thirty-one, and whereas the faculty is paid at the bottom of the SUG average, thirty-one of thirty-one, we believe that the administration should be subject to study for possible reduction in costs. then Item #4: We strongly support adding "scholarship enhancement fee" on tickets sold to all public events held on campus. The funds realized would immediately replace state dollars allocated for scholarships, andthose state dollars would then be put into salary raises for faculty and staff. We support the position of the Budget Reallocation Committee on Item 6b in opposing lowering the maximum full-time student credit hours for billing purposes, and the Committee’s position on Item 8a in continuing the office of Continuous Quality Improvement, as well as the Committee’s vote on Item 13 against reduction of state allocations to the professional staff. Item #10: An increase in parking costs for faculty or staff is a salary eduction. We therefore oppose this item, but believe it is worth studying the idea of increasing parking fees for students as a way of raising money and discouraging the epidemic of vehicles on campus. Much of the prioritizing now needs to be done by the president of the university. We have given you our thoughts about what is most important to this faculty, though there is a strong sense that more faculty participation earlier on in the process would have resulted in a more satisfying process. We hope this brings some clarity to the near future while helping guide this institution in creating a vision for the future. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to call. Sincerely, Steve Miller President, Faculty Senate Whereas, The University has committed to bring faculty salaries to the 50th percentile of the SUG, and Whereas, the specter of proration in the present academic year threatens to compound the challenge of the Budget Reallocation process [to satisfy current faculty and staff salary needs], and Whereas, the Faculty Senate did resolve on Apr 17, 2001 that The University of Alabama should raise its tuition by 15% each year for three years, and Whereas, tuition increases since that time have averaged about 9% [per year], and Whereas, many SUG schools did impose double digit percentage increases in their tuition from 2001-02 to 2002-03 (Auburn 12%, Southern Mississippi 10%, North Carolina 19.8%, South Carolina 22.6%, Texas A&M 27.6%, SUG average 9.4%), and Whereas, recent SUG data show that the University of Alabama ranks 22 out of 31 in the amount of tuition charged to Resident Undergraduates,and Whereas, the Board of Trustees, the administration, and the faculty remain committed to having an inclusive student body, so that scholarships have risen and will continue to rise with tuition increases, thereby allowing those without sufficient means to attend The University of Alabama; and Whereas, recent experience at UA indicates that increased tuition will not have a short-term adverse effect on enrollment, therefore, Be it resolved, that the Faculty Senate recommends that The University of Alabama increase tuition by 15% each year for each of the next three years and continue tuition increases until Resident Undergraduate tuition is at the 75th percentile of the SUG, while increasing and maintaining adequate scholarship funding for applicants in financial need. January 21, 2003 Whereas alcohol abuse among college-age students is a nationwide problem being addressed by universities throughout the United States, and Whereas The University of Alabama through its Division of Student Affairs is committed to alcohol awareness programs, alcohol management programs, and the Healthy Campus 2010 initiative in order to address this problem, and Whereas the faculty at The University of Alabama desire to enhance and sustain a safe and healthy living environment for students and local citizens, and Whereas the faculty would like to reduce the party image of the University that has affected the recruitment of some students and that detracts from the academic accomplishments and reputation of the University, and Whereas, except for the prohibition on the sale of alcohol on Sunday, the hours in which alcohol can be sold on premises in the local community are not regulated and are the most liberal of all of the communities in which Southeastern Athletic Conference (SEC) universities are located, and Whereas such liberal hours increase the consumption of alcohol by students, enhance drinking-related accidents and health problems, and detract from the preeminence of the academic mission of the University, Therefore be it resolved that the Faculty Senate at The University of Alabama supports and applauds University President Barry Mason’s and University Vice President Sybil Todd’s endorsement of city ordinances for Tuscaloosa and Northport that will structure the hours for on-premise sales of alcoholic beverages so that they begin no earlier than 6:30 a.m. and end no later than 12:00 midnight Monday through Thursday and so that they begin no earlier than 6:30 a.m. and end no later than 1:00 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Adopted by Faculty Senate January 21, 2003 Resolution on Electing Members to Reallocation Committees Be it resolved that, if reallocation takes place in any way within academic divisions, then reallocation within each division will be dealt with by a committee of which a majority of the members will be faculty elected by the faculty in that division.
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