MSU-BOZEMAN FACULTY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES February 16, 2000 PRESENT: Hatfield, Sherwood, McDermott, Burgess, Kommers, Peed, Neff, Leech, Benham, Howard, Paul for Duncan, Larsen, Mooney, Weaver, Amend, Locke, Levy, Bogar, Bond, Jelinski, Francis, McKinsey, Lynch, Fisher, Prawdzienski, Butterfield, Scott. ABSENT: Ag Econ, O'Neill, Anderson, Jost, Harkin, Nehrir, Lansverk, Griffith, Carlstrom. The meeting was called to order at 4:10 PM by Chair John Amend. It was determined a quorum was present. The minutes of the February 2, 2000, meeting were approved as distributed. Chair's report - John Amend. - President Terry Roark was introduced. There will be opportunity to ask him questions later in the meeting and to visit with him informally after the meeting. - VP for Administration and Finance Tom Stump attended UGC Steering Committee February 10. - There was good general discussion about budget issues. - The point was made that during the past years, faculty salaries have either been frozen or raises delayed to balance budgets. Although the university's financial problems are recognized by the faculty, some strategic planning needs to be done so agreed-upon salary increases are not used for balancing the budget. - President Roark has asked that a VP attend Faculty Council meetings this spring to provide rapid communication between faculty and PEC. John and Ron agreed to this at this morning's meeting with the President. - Vice Provost David Todd will attend Steering Committee tomorrow to discuss Banner and other IT issues. - It has been decided by the administration that the Office of International Programs will not charge departments for preparing materials for hiring foreign teaching, research, and support individuals. - The Strategic Planning and Budget Committee will meet with PEC and Deans' Council on Friday, February 25, at 10:00 a.m. in SUB 275. The location has been changed to allow more people to attend. - The Hewlett Committee, which is working on a new or alternative core curriculum, would like a Faculty Council representative to attend their meetings to provide communication with Faculty Council. Please contact George Tuthill, Chair of the UGC Nominating Committee to volunteer. - Dorothy Bradley, Water Center Director, would like to attend Faculty Council for 15-20 minutes this spring to talk about statement government/university interaction. She is a candidate for Lieutenant Governor. Steering Committee will discuss it tomorrow. - Notification of faculty sabbatical awards have been delayed until mid-March, after there's been opportunity to discuss the FY 2001 budget. Report from the President Search Committee - Ron Larsen. - Deputy Commissioner of Higher Education Joyce Scott and Academic Search and Consultation Services representative Allan Ostar met with the search committee Saturday to discuss procedures. - Concern was expressed for interviewing candidates during the summer. - Although the committee seems large, Dr. Scott put a lot of thought into keeping the group as small as possible and at the same time giving representation to many constituencies on campus and around the state. Faculty Affairs Committee report - Jack Jelinski. - Through an NSF grant, Jeff Adams and Tim Slater are working on guidelines for in-depth assessment of teaching. There'll be more information about it later. Proposed Faculty Handbook Change - will be on next week's agenda. Discussion with President Terry Roark. - Dr. Roark summarized his background and how he came to be at MSU. - He stated he will not be a candidate for the permanent position of President, but in the meantime, he will not be just a caretaker. However, he does not plan to change the course of the university, either, because MSU is moving in a good direction. - The main issue now is balancing the FY 2001 budget. There are over $2 million in expenditures that are not covered in the coming fiscal year. - The President will try to open up the decision-making process to all constituencies. - He will work with the established governance groups. - The institution needs to move forward in a positive way. - In addition, Dr. Roark stated the most important people on campus are the students. Faculty are here for the students, and administration and support staff help the faculty do their work. - The President will look at all other areas for budget reductions before asking employees to defer raises. - Some of the reasons for budget deficits are: - USDA pull-out of the new Ag/Bioscience Building. (An additional $180,000 in operations and maintenance are needed). - Athletics deficit. (Bond debt may be restructured). - Anticipated employee raises. - Faculty sabbaticals ($230,000). - During discussion, it was pointed out by faculty that there currently is a freeze on filling tenure-track positions. (See clarification in February 23 Faculty Council minutes.) The current understanding is that they will not be reopened until after some budget decisions are made, and then not automatically. This can make it difficult to hire faculty for the coming year. - Concern was expressed by faculty that there has been rapid turn-over in the Provost's position. The President stated that MSU's administrative salaries are low, and although good candidates for positions can be recruited, other states find Montana a good place for recruiting administrators because of our low pay. - There seemed to be agreement that it would be helpful for college deans to provide more opportunities for interaction with faculty in the respective colleges. As there was no further business, the meeting adjourned at 4:50 PM for informal conversation with the President. Joann Amend, Secretary