Approved 2-24-05

Thursday
February 10, 2005
2:00 p.m.
MA 211K

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

 

PRESENT 
Tamara Chase, Lauren Fowler, Sue Harley, Michelle Heward, Becky Johns - Chair, Wade Kotter, Molly Smith - Vice Chair, Kay Brown - Secretary

EXCUSED 
Bruce Christensen, Bill Clapp, Ann Millner, Mike Vaughan

MINUTES 
The Executive Committee discussed the minutes of the January 13, 2005 Executive Committee meeting that quoted the following statement from the Northwest review:

"There are multiple councils, boards, and committees through which the various constituencies of the university participate in governance. The self-study notes that Weber State has a strong tradition of shared governance, and the evidence bears this out. The faculty as individuals and the Faculty Senate are well-represented within institutional governance structures, both standing and ad hoc. The only anomaly is the absence of a faculty representative on the President’s Council when even students have a seat at the table. Senate leadership indicated that the request for representation was rebuffed by the former president, and has not been raised since the current president took office."

The above statement does not appear in the Northwest Final Report. The Executive Committee discussed with Kathleen Lukken and Monica Mize how and why the statement was eliminated from the final report. The language was removed by the Northwest Accreditation evaluator. It was not removed by Weber State administrators.

Executive Committee members were disappointed that the above language did not appear in the final report as it was the Executive Committee’s input to the document as they met with the Northwest Accreditation representative. However, they understood that the second to the last sentence in the paragraph needed to be removed because it is in error. Students are not represented at President’s Council.

The minutes of January 13, 2005 will be corrected to state that the above statement from the Northwest Review was from the 11-10-04 draft of the Northwest Final Report.

MOTION 
Wade Kotter: Moved to approve the minutes from the January 13, 2005 meeting as amended to state that the 11-10-04 Northwest draft stated "There are multiple . . ."
Second: Molly Smith
Outcome: The motion passed unanimously.

MOTION 
Lauren Fowler: Moved to approve the minutes from the January 20, 2005 Executive Committee meeting.
Second: Tamara Chase
Outcome: The minutes were approved.

MOTION 
Tamara Chase: Moved to approve the minutes from the February 3, 2005 meeting. Editorial changes were made.
Second: Lauren Fowler
Outcome: The minutes were approved.

FACULTY CONCERNS 
Ron Holt has contacted Becky Johns with several concerns. The first concern he discusses is the need to have a faculty member sit in on discussions in President’s Council. However, a resolution needs to be written and submitted to the Executive Committee. The resolution would will be placed on the agenda, discussed at the meeting, and if ready it would go to the Faculty Senate.

The Executive Committee discussed the possibility of structural changes in Senate leadership, i. e. the Senate Chair serving for more than one year, or the Vice Chair automatically becoming the Senate Chair the following year. The possibility of forming a sub committee or an ad hoc committee to look into this item was discussed.

Becky Johns will contact Ron Holt indicating to him that the Executive Committee needs more information and explanation of what he has in mind. We need numbers, facts and documentation. The resolution should be civil. A copy of Becky’s letter to Ron Holt will be sent to Executive Committee members.

SALARY ISSUES 
A memo from Randy Scott discusses salary equity issues for Instructor Specialists. This memo will be sent to John Sillito, Chair of the Salary, Benefits, Budget, and Fiscal Planning Committee as a charge.

MOTION 
Lauren Fowler: Moved to forward to the Salary, Benefits, Budget and Fiscal Planning Committee the memo from Randy Scott discussing equity issues for Instructor Specialists as a committee charge.
Second: Michelle Heward
Outcome: The motion passed unanimously.

SBBFP 
The Salary, Benefits, Budget and Fiscal Planning Committee will be holding college meetings to discuss the supplemental pay policy recommendation. A copy of the draft policy will be distributed to Executive Committee members.

LEGISLATIVE REPORT 
President Millner will give her legislative report to the campus on Thursday, March 3 at 2:00 in the Smith Auditorium. The Executive Committee meeting will be held at 3:00 p.m. that day following her report.

WSU BUDGET 
Executive Committee members would like to have access to the WSU Budget, and feel strongly that it should be made available to them. It is hard to understand why it is so guarded. Discussion will continue with the Provost on this issue.

ACCOMMODATION ISSUE 
Executive Committee members would like to look at the Accommodation Policy being discussed at the University of Utah. A copy of the policy under discussion will be obtained and distributed to Executive Committee members. Faculty members need to be aware of what kind of accommodations need to be made for students, i.e. alternative assignments.

ADJOURN 
The meeting adjourned at 4:20 p.m.