Minutes of the
MEETING OF THE FACULTY SENATE
APPROVED
PRESENT: Bill Bedford,
Judy
ABSENT: Martha Evans,
Fari Towfiq
GUESTS: Monika
Brannick, Shannon Lienhart, Jerry Patton, Susan Snow
CALL TO ORDER: The
meeting was called to order by the president, Steve Spear, at
Proxy Votes: Bonnie
Ann Dowd announced the following proxies:
Sara
Thompson holding a proxy for Martha Evans
Judy
Cater holding a proxy for Fari Towfiq
In
response to a question on whether proxy votes were still being used, Steve
Spear indicated that unless the Senate
takes action on this issue, proxies will continue to be accepted.
Approval of
Minutes: No minutes were
presented.
Announcements: Steve
Spear reminded everyone to vote in tomorrow’s elections.
Administrative
Evaluations: Steve
Spear announced that the Administrative Evaluations will be distributed this
week.
Election
Results: Stan
Levy announced that as a result of the recent Senate elections Doug Key and
Lori Waite were elected ough May, 2005.
President
Amador: Steve Spear reported
that he and Senate Vice President Sara Thompson continue to have their weekly
meetings with
Dr. Amador. Recently they’ve been discussing the presidential selection committee
process and the Student Learning
Outcomes working group. Dr. Amador will be leaving as of July 1, and the
district will hire an interim president.
Governing
Board
Report: Steve
Spear reported that Michelle Barton presented a report on transferring students
at the recent Governing Board
meeting.
Strategic
Planning
Council: Steve Spear
stated that the Strategic Planning Council will take action on the Credit/No Credit issue of
eliminating faculty signatures at its March 2nd meeting. The
group
is also discussing the annual Implementation Plan and the academic calendar.
Student
Services
Planning
Council: Maria
Miller reported that a new position as Manager of the
Administrative
Services
Planning
Council: Judy
Dolan distributed information on the new Equipment Replacement Procedure as well as new board policies on Risk Management,
Injury/Illness Prevention, and the new smoking ordinances. She also reported
that work will begin
this summer on a change to
Email
Addresses for
Part-time
Faculty: Bill
Bedford reported that Perry Snyder is scheduled to meet with Berta Cuaron next week
to discuss the issue of email
addresses for part-time faculty members.
Committee
Appointments:
Motion 1 MSC
Nebelsick-Tagg, Dolan:
Roy Latas (complete term 03-05)
Institutional
Review Committee
Lori Waite
(complete term 02-04)
Technology
Master Plan Task Force
Mark Bealo
Haydn Davis
Steve Crouthamel
Student
Equity Committee
John Valdez
Motion 2 MSC Bedford, Dolan:
Curriculum
Committee
Rosa Antonecchia
(at large term 02-05)
Annette Squires
(at large term 02-05)
Sara Thompson
(at large term 03-06)
Personnel Standards & Practices Committee
Rocco Versaci
(at large term 03-05)
Professional
Development Review Board
Kalyna Lesyna
(02-04 term)
Student Learning Outcomes Task Force
Pam McDonough
Academic
Technology Committee
Monika Brannick
(04-06 term)
Haydn Davis
(03-05 term)
Administrative
Services Planning Committee
Judy Dolan
(through 2004)
Tenure &
Evaluations Review Board Coordinator
Judy Crowe
Senate members thanked
Curriculum: Teresa
Laughlin announced that there is a computer application titled, Curricunet, which will facilitate the curriculum
change and development process. There is a demo for the new program scheduled
for Wednesday, March
31, from
PD Hours
for Attending
Board
Meetings:
Motion 3 MSCU
Dowd, Miller: The
Motion 4 MSCU Dowd, Cater: The
Motion 5 MSCU Dowd, Gowen: The
Credit/No
Credit
Signature: The
current application process for a change of grading basis from A-F grading to CR/NCR requires an instructor’s
signature. Title V section 55752 does not require
an instructor’s permission, as a minimum condition, but allows a student the
option to elect the grading basis within the first 30% of a course.
Consequently, a recommendation
is being made for the removal of the instructor’s signature from the form. If a
student
chooses CR/NC grading, the online class roster will show, like it does now,
that CR/NC grading has been selected
by a student. The Admissions staff will continue to enforce all catalog course
policies where CR/NC is not
an option; no student will be allowed to select CR/NC when it is not available.
Motion 6 MSC Dowd, Cater: The
Motion 7 MSC Dowd, Dolan: To
extend the meeting until
Committee
on
Committees
Report:
The
Committee on Committees was asked to determine how and why the term of one
faculty member, Wendy Metzger,
on the Administrative Services Planning Council (ASPC), was apparently changed from 02-04 to 03-05. In order to
understand the issue, the committee communicated with the past chair of
Committee on Committees, communicated
with another faculty member, Judy Dolan on Administrative Services Planning
Council, and read the
emails from both Shannon Lienhart from 08/26/03 and Wendy Metzger from
08/26/03. The Senate minutes were read
from 12/02 to 05/03, and all the Administrative Services Planning Council minutes
were read from fall 02 to spring 03. This
is what was used as the group’s source of information.
Understanding the chronology, in
August of 2002 there were no faculty members on Administrative Services
Planning Council (ASPC) because it was a new planning committee. There were
three 02-04 openings. They
should have been staggered when it started and they weren’t, with one of them
being 01-03. In September
when the council was first developed, the volunteers were Jerry Houser and
Wendy Metzger and they were
confirmed on ASPC. One term was left vacant throughout fall 2002. Wendy was on
sabbatical during spring 2003
so she resigned from the committee leaving Jerry as the sole faculty member and
then there were two openings left
for 02-04. The call for volunteers went out in the early spring to fill those
committee slots that had been
left open by the resignations and no faculty members volunteered for ASPC.
According to the Senate minutes, on
The Committee on Committees
recommendations are as follows:
That Judy Dolan be confirmed to ASPC
as she has been attending the meetings since 03/03
No changes should be made in the
current ASPC membership.
In the future, terms should not be
changed before they expire even when they’re vacant. Even though faculty members may
prefer to volunteer for two year terms, those changes can cause confusion about
the terms.
1.
All
committees are to be examined for appropriate staggering before the spring
solicitation begins.
2.
When
questions regarding committee membership or appointments and terms are
expressed by any faculty member, that those concerns should be addressed by the
Committee on Committees as soon as is reasonably possible.
3.
The
new solicitation guidelines require that the Committee on Committees publish
the terms of committee appointments on the solicitation materials.
4.
When
volunteers are either confirmed or elected to a committee, they will again be
notified of the term they are serving.
These practices should reduce any
confusion on the part of faculty members.
Motion 8 MSC
Kelber, Gowen: The
Bookstore
Committee: Jerry Patton provided an update
on the recent reorganization of the Bookstore. Administrative Services will
retain fiscal
watch over the operation but actual oversight of the processes and procedures
in the bookstore have been shifted
to Bruce Bishop under Joe Madrigal.
·
The
Senate has expressed concern about the precedent setting move of the “Nike
affair.”
Jerry indicated that he has not and will not approve
that arrangement, although he has been asked to do so. If they choose, they will finance it without any funds from the
district.
·
The
status of the new contract with Follett.
Jerry stated that the current contract expires in
November, and we will be able to utilize the current 5-year extension in its current terms or have to put out
an RFP.
·
Can
input or changes occur to the contract during that 5-year extension?
Jerry stated that the members of the Bookstore
Advisory Committee, along with the Bookstore Manager are open to changes brought forth by
students and staff.
·
What
is Joe Madrigal’s role?
Jerry indicated that Bruce Bishop doesn’t report to
him but is under Joe Madrigal. Bruce, as Director of Student Affairs, is more familiar with the
day-to-day activities of the students are as well as what their needs might be.
Senate members also expressed concern
to Jerry that the meeting time for the Bookstore Advisory Committee was changed without
discussing it with the membership. Not only was there a change in the chair of
the committee, but
committee members are not being made aware of changes that are being made
without their input.
When asked about simplifying the
procedure for instructors ordering textbooks, Jerry Patton indicated that there
has been
discussion about providing the service online but it is not available yet.
TERB Procedures: There
was a suggestion made that the Senate holds a joint meeting with the Tenure
& Evaluations Review Board. This would
provide an opportunity for some dialogue between the two groups and an
opportunity to clarify each group’s
responsibilities and relationship.
Motion 9 MS Kelber,
Gowen: That the Tenure & Evaluations Review Board evaluate the Coordinator. The Coordinator should
be evaluated based on the time in which they served under her.
Sara
Thompson read the following letter from TERB Coordinator Anne Voth:
To: Sara Thompson, Vice
President,
From:
Anne Voth
I formally request that Barb
Kelber, Rocco Versaci, and Bonnie Dowd recuse themselves from any debate held
in the
Barb Kelber indicated that
she would recuse herself because she was asked to do so, and asked that the
Senate once
again address the issue of a recusal policy on its next agenda.
Bonnie Dowd indicated that
she would recuse herself as well, and added that the
Discussion followed on the
current climate on campus and whether it is appropriate for some Senators to be
requested
to recuse themselves when there is no current policy
in place. Barbara and Bonnie were asked
to reconsider
their earlier statement that they would recuse themselves as requested by Anne
Voth. At this time, Information
Item V. G. Academic Due Process was brought up and it was agreed that there
needed to be more discussion
and confirmation of the existing process. Mary Ann asked that the Recusal Policy be
brought back for
an Action item for next Senate meeting. Bonnie said that given the discussion
about a lack of current recusal policy
she would not recuse herself but would instead abstain from any action taken
today regarding the current
TERB Coordinator. She also stated that
it was ironic that she, Barb and Rocco are being personally singled
out by Anne Voth, who is clearly making her statement as a personal attack, given
that Anne has criticized the
Senate about personnel attacks against her.
Also, given that Anne has refused to recuse herself in the past when requested
by several Senators to do so.
Barb
Kelber read the following, an email which she had sent to the Faculty Council
following the previous Senate meeting
on February 23. She expressed her hope
that it would allow all members of the
Senate to consider the irony
of Anne Voth’s request that she recuse herself from
any votes on TERB matters, etc.:
Please give me a few more
minutes of your time to read and consider this, and then I’ll simply defer to
the will of the Council.
Months ago I argued in the Senate
for a recusal policy, with an
emphasis on policy rather than personality. Truly, in my mind
that policy was meant to create a route around the personal, offering a clear
way out of a muddy situation. It was during
that discussion in the Senate, though, that I was aggressively shouted down and
gaveled into silence. I believe a constructive
policy decision was prevented that day.
Before that discussion, I had
made a straightforward request directly to the TERB coordinator, asking that she
recuse herself, “certainly
and at least” in the two cases in which she had filed a grievance against
faculty members. What could be more
plain or more obvious? It wasn’t personal; it was about seeking a policy that
would protect not only our process but the
participants on both sides. The response came in the form of an openly
threatening letter, which was extremely personal.
In itself, that letter should be grounds for a request that the TERB
coordinator recuse herself from any access to my
own peer review/student evaluation materials, which were in process at that
time. Perhaps I should have gone directly to
Maria and Teresa, my fellow Senators and members of the Board. Would they have
felt able to advocate for a meeting to hear my “problems, complaints
and concerns,” as the faculty manual suggests the Board should do?
Did I feel afraid? Yes.
Vulnerable? Absolutely. I still feel the same. At that time, I asked a
probationary faculty member, whose
tenure review committee I chair, whether she felt she
might need to reconstitute her committee in order to separate
herself from me. I worried that
I had put her at risk by taking a risk myself. Perception or reality? It
doesn’t matter. I can’t accept
the arrogance that would argue that point.
Forgive
me, then, if I wonder at the interest in fairness and protection that comes
through in our exchanges about how the Senate
should proceed.
So, a final request in this
matter: please add an agenda item, “recusal policy,” to be placed on the Senate
agenda and voted upon
at the earliest possible date. Perhaps, in returning to that ground, we can
look at how we got to this place from that one,
and we can agree to go together in an
entirely different direction.
Rocco
Versaci requested that the following letter be read to Senators:
Dear
Senators,
By all accounts, TERB is
meant to be an impartial body that guarantees fair and equal treatment to all
faculty members. I believe
that our current TERB Coordinator, Anne Voth, has violated this guarantee,
acting neither fairly nor impartially with
regards to certain faculty members. I believe that two administrators, Jack
Miyamoto and Michael Rourke, have also acted
unfairly and impartially towards certain faculty members. In an open and public
manner, I have put forth my best case
to reveal this situation, and I have made clear what I think needs to be done.
However, I realize that I am
but one voice among several, so I will follow whatever course the Senate, in
its collective wisdom,
wishes to set concerning this matter. At a minimum, I hope that this Senate
sees fit to voice what should be an obvious
truth: the unfair treatment of targeted faculty members is intolerable. I also
hope that this Senate sees fit to dedicate
itself to creating policy and procedures that ensure fair treatment for ALL
faculty and not just for those of us who are
least critical of each other or of the administration. I will participate in
these endeavors both energetically and collegially.
I
respectfully submit this entire statement for inclusion into our Senate minutes
of
Rocco
Versaci
Faculty Vice President
Motion 9 amended MSC Kelber, Gowen: That the Tenure &
Evaluations Review Board conduct an evaluation of their Coordinator based
on the time in which they served under her. The
A
roll call vote was requested:
Drinan, MaryAnn:
Aye
Kelber, Barb
Neault: Recuse
Key, Doug: Aye
Spear, Steve:
Present
Towfiq, Fari:
Aye (by proxy)
Townsend-
Waite, Lori: Aye
Senators Bill Bedford,
Teresa Laughlin, Stan Levy, Maria Miller, and Rocco Versaci had left the meeting.
It was pointed
out that although Barb Kelber agreed to recuse herself from voting on the
motion, the request for recusal was made after the motion was made.
Motion 10 MSC
Townsend-Merino, Waite: To extend the meeting until
Motion 11 MSC
Townsend-Merino, Hohman: The
A
roll call vote was requested:
Drinan, MaryAnn:
Aye
Kelber, Barb Neault:Present
Key, Doug: Aye
Spear, Steve:
Present
Towfiq, Fari:
Present (by proxy)
Townsend-
Waite, Lori: Aye
Senators Bill Bedford,
Judy Dolan, Brent Gowen, Teresa Laughlin, Stan Levy, Maria Miller, and Rocco Versaci had left the meeting.
Student Learning
Outcomes: The
Learning Outcomes will develop a college-wide system for the assessment of
learning, consistent with the Principles
of Assessment. The committee’s role and function will be refined and modified
as the institutional initiative
for the assessment of learning development. The Learning Outcomes Committee has
the responsibility for
performing the following duties as well as identifying additional tasks which
will enhance and improve student learning
and success.
Duties:
1.
Create
on-going dialogue and encourage engagement of faculty and staff in the
assessment of student learning.
2.
Develop
and implement systems for identifying learning outcomes at the course, program,
and institutional level.
3.
Develop
and implement assessment processes.
4.
Establish
and implement a process for the collection, analysis, and distribution of
assessment data.
5.
Based
on evidence and feedback, implement plans and strategies for improvement in
student learning.
6.
Based
on evidence and feedback, engage in ongoing review and revision of the
institutional process for assessment.
7.
Develop
and implement institutional celebrations of learning successes.
Learning Outcomes
Committee Members:
Seven Faculty Members
representing divisions appointed by
Five Faculty
Coordinators* to include
-
-
Curriculum
Committee representative
-
Co-Chair
appointed by the
Faculty Professional
Development representative – faculty only
Faculty Institutional
Review representative* - faculty only
President
Vice President for
Instruction/Co-Chair*
Vice President for
Student Services*
One Instructional Dean
Student
Services Dean
Director
of Institutional Research and Planning*
One
Confidential and Supervisory Team Member appointed by
One
Administrative Association Member appointed by Administrative Association
One
Classified Unit Employee appointed by CCE/AFT
Supervisor,
Evaluations and Records
Two
* Members of the
Coordinating Council
Barb
Kelber indicated that our Accreditation Draft Report for the interim is due in
the spring of next year. In order for us to
have an opportunity to act on this, we need to work with it in the fall semester.
Brief
discussion followed on the membership. This item will be brought back for
Senate action on March 8.
Draft Instructional
Hiring Forms: Steve Spear indicated that the
Draft of Instructional Hiring Forms will be presented for Action on March
8.
ADJOURNMENT: The
meeting was adjourned at
Respectfully
submitted,
Bonnie
Ann Dowd, Secretary