University of North Carolina

Minutes of the Hundred and First Meeting

April 18, 1997

The hundred and first meeting of the Faculty Assembly of the University of North Carolina was held in the Board Room of the General Administration Building in Chapel Hill on April 18, 1997. The meeting was called to order by Chair Peter Petschauer at 1:10 with 44 delegates in attendance.

The first item of business was Dr. Petschauer's presentation of a Resolution Honoring President C. D. Spangler, Jr. for his service to the University of North Carolina System. (A copy of Resolution 96-15 is attached.) The motion passed and there was a standing ovation for President Spangler.

In a second item of business, Dr. Laura Gasaway presented Resolution 96-16, Resolution for President-elect Molly Corbett Broad. (A copy of Resolution 96-16 is attached.) The motion passed unanimously.

President Spangler's Report.

President Spangler thanked the Assembly and noted that he has listened carefully over the years and tried to do those actions that the resolution recognized. He spoke of the uniqueness of the System, the role of the Assembly, and continued with his updates of legislative activity and progress of the resolutions. (A copy of Mr. Spangler's remarks is attached.)

Questions and Answers.

Q. Michael Pearson(UNCC): Is the 1/2% award for teaching separate from the percentage raises quoted in the legislative budgets?

A. Spangler: It is separate and it should be in the budget.

Q. Jane Brown(UNCCH): We wish to thank President Spangler for his leadership in promoting the role of women in higher education.

A. Spangler: It has always been my belief that opportunity should be open to all qualified people and that no organization can afford to exclude the contribution of 50% of the population.

Q. Gilbert Smith(NCSU): Would it be possible to instruct the director of the state health insurance programs to cooperate in setting a fiscal year that would be consistent with the other programs?

A. Spangler: While it might be possible to instruct him, that may not have any influence on his decision. It is not the purview of the President of the University to set procedures for that body.

Q. Donald Sexauer(ECU): Would it be premature to develop policies for post-tenure review?

A. Spangler: There should be discussion on a conceptual basis.

Dr. Carroll noted that the Committee had not yet recommended it, so the Board of Governors had not had a chance to act on it.

Q. Charles Tisdale(UNCG): What are the Board of Governor's concerns in regard to Post-Tenure Review?

A. Spangler: They are much the same as the general public's concern.

A. Carroll: They hope that the process will be an opportunity to preserve and maintain faculty vitality. There is every intent to make it a review of performance, not a review of tenure.

Q. George Wahl(NCSU): Is there a long range procedure for establishing and supporting teaching centers on campuses?

A. Spangler: It will take some time to work out all the details. The General Administration must keep working to educate the Assembly on the waves of the future.

Q. Sexauer: Is the "half-time" work described in the work on Phased-in Retirement in conflict with State Retirement Policy regarding increases in merit and the cost of living?

A. Spangler: There will have to be some work to make sure that the incentives are put in the right place. The legal aspects of the recommendations will be carefully reviewed.

The question and answer period was closed. Vice Chair Pamela Hunter rose and read Resolution 96-17, Resolution Honoring Peter Petschauer, Chair, The Faculty Assembly, The University of North Carolina. It passed by acclamation. (A copy of Resolution 96-17 is attached.) She then presented him with the gift of a gavel.

Chair's Report

Dr. Petschauer urged that in the discussion of the measures of faculty/student interaction, we must develop a different conceptualization. The focus should be on learning.

Work patterns in higher education have changed. Narrow definitions have become far more fluid. There are more part-time teachers, more faculty who do administrative work and administrators who teach. The Faculty Assembly must look not only at major categories, but look at new fluidity. Academic freedom must be defended on new terms.

All too many articles on tenure are attacks on tenure or even attacks on faculty. Too many think we are privileged, inefficient and ineffective. When we took jobs we were known as professors, now we are scarcely known. We need to persuade and demonstrate the relevance of what we are doing and our effectiveness in doing it.

Politicians are our bankers and, as such, can have a major impact on our actions. Recent discussions in one of our major cities about arts funding have shown how funding bodies can interfere with the functioning of those they fund. We must raise the quality of discussion.

Dr. Petschauer then turned to the business of election of officers. Laura Gasaway(UNCCH) was elected Chair, Pamela Hunter(NCA&T) was elected Vice Chair, and Maceo Smith(FSU) was elected Secretary. All these were by acclamation.

The Afternoon Session was adjourned at 2:20 and delegates attended the committee meetings in the customary locations.

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EVENING PLENARY SESSION

The session was called to order at 7:15 PM with 42 delegates in attendance.

The Minutes of the February 21, 1997 meeting of the Faculty Assembly were approved as circulated.

The following were elected to chair the standing committees: Don Sexauer(ECU), Academic Freedom and Tenure; Bruce Larson(UNCA), Budget; Michael Pearson(UNCC), Professional Development; Ken Gurganus(UNCW), Faculty Governance; Dan Caton(ASU), Planning and Program; William Siegfried(UNCC), Faculty Welfare.

STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS

Budget(Laura Gasaway)

The 1997-99 Biennial Budget is still before the Senate Appropriations Committee. The current Senate options are $12 million better than the Governor's budget. The Senate budget bill should be introduced on April 25. The House has begun its background work on the budget and will begin its formal review on the 25th.

Last year the General Assembly mandated a funding equity study which was completed by Dr. Don Caughill last year. There has been funding for equity and $21 million is requested for next year. GA is currently developing a funding model that will apply only to enrollment changes. There is no thought that any institution is overfunded or that there will be any reallocations of existing funds. Dr. Caughill will address the Faculty Assembly in February and discuss the new funding model.

The Budget Committee was asked to investigate whether it was necessary to treat outside speakers as if they were state employees. In some institutions, speaker's honoraria have both federal and state taxes withheld. Members were asked to contact the Budget Committee to report whether this is the case on their campus. This will help formulate the inquiry that GA can initiate.

Planning and Program(Dan Noland)

Vice-President Pulley reported that the Long-range Plans are due to General Administration from each campus by May 2. She also reported that there are now seven significant distance learning programs being offered by UNC constituents. Furthermore, the Board of Governors did not recommend the Incentive Funding Plan to the General Assembly. Finally, she reported that the consultant who did a system-wide study of the University libraries found that each of our libraries is in excellent funding shape when compared to other institutions nationally.

The Committee presented Resolution 96-18, Resolution to Change the Wording of Chapter 6 "Academic Freedom and Tenure," Section 600 "Freedom and Responsibility in the University Community, "Article (1)(p.19) of The Code, 1988 concerning the addition of "creative activities" to categories of productivity. The resolution passed. (A copy of Resolution 96-18 is attached.)

The Committee presented a second resolution concerning non-economic contributions of the University. Resolution 96-19, Emphasizing All Aspects of the University of North Carolina's Contributions passed. (A copy of Resolution 96-19 is attached.)

Next year's agenda: 1) Discussion of the impacts of quantitative measurements on educational quality. 2) Environmental impacts of the system's constituent institutions.

Faculty Governance(Gordon Mercer)

The Committee on Faculty Governance discussed the area of administrative review. A survey indicated many campuses of the University of North Carolina do not have accountable systems of professional review of administrators that include faculty involvement. It was noted that the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools requires the periodic review of the effectiveness of administrative leaders. The Committee agreed that such an evaluation should occur annually as with faculty reviews, with an intensive review conducted at least every five years. There should be substantial faculty involvement in planning and carrying out such an evaluation. The Assembly passed as Resolution 96-20, Review of the Professional Performance of Administrators.

A second area of discussion was faculty senate chair involvement in board of trustees meetings. There is considerable variation across campuses of the University of North Carolina System. Some campuses provide opportunities for Senate Chairs to speak in open meetings of the Board of Trustee and with others, the Senate Chair simply observes. Since, under The Code, it is provided that faculty have the opportunity to give advice on questions of academic policy, the Committee on Faculty Governance thought it would be appropriate to provide Senate chairs with an active role at the opening session of the Board of Trustee meetings. Resolution 96-21, Faculty Chair Involvement at Board of Trustee Meetings passed. (A copy of Resolution 96-21 is attached.)

Academic Freedom and Tenure(Ken Chambers)

The Academic Freedom and Tenure Committee opened with an update on the fifth draft of the Post-Tenure Review by Judith Stillion, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs. She and Roy Carroll gave a workshop for members of the Personnel and Tenure Committee of the Board of Governors, some of whom did not know how the tenure system operates. The Committee requested a workshop for the Board. Dr. Stillion anticipated that the draft will be approved at the BOG meeting, May 16, 1997, and that implementation will take about a year.

On the question of using the term "permanent tenure", the Academic Freedom and Tenure Committee stood fast on the belief that the language of The Code should not be tampered with; therefore, "permanent tenure" should be used in the draft.

The issue of the source of the time and labor to perform the post tenure reviews is being discussed, but is unresolved. Stillion noted that all documents related to PTR are on the web.

The Committee agreed to table the discussion of full-time and part-time faculty by campus and full-time and tenured faculty by campus until next session after they obtain more information.

The Committee agreed to request information from individual campuses related to the number of faculty involved in developing guidelines to accommodate individual's due process during times of program and economic shifts. This request deals with the issue of denial of tenure because of institutional needs.

The Committee recommended that the Assembly invite President-elect Broad to discuss her perspective on faculty issues, such as academic freedom and tenure in the changing academy.

The Committee further recommends that individual campuses should begin identifying and developing definitions for work loads.

Professional Development(Michael Pearson for Bonnie Kelley)

The Professional Development Committee discussed issues involved in ensuring that materials relating to post-tenure review be made available for distribution by means of Web sites and hard copies. The Committee wrote a resolution on this issue, but the Assembly determined after discussion it was more appropriate to request that the General Administration take this step than to pass a resolution. The Committee made such a request.

A fuller discussion ensued on the UNC-GA document titled "UNC Intercampus Dialogue on Peer Review of Teaching Results and Recommendations" (dated 4/8/97). The Committee agreed that the report should be made available to all campuses for use as a starting point for analysis and discussion of this issue. The General Administration is requested to make this available.

Resolution 96-22, Resolution on Peer Review was passed. (A copy of Resolution 96-22 is attached.)

Faculty Welfare(Jim Nicholl)

Richard Robinson, Senior Legal Counsel to GA, reported on the status of the Open Meetings Law and the continuing conflict between the UNC System and the NC Press Association over its interpretation. Presently House Bill 898 reflects the changes that the System would support. Encourage your legislators to support this bill.

Richard Robinson also reported on the policies of the campuses regarding discrimination based on sexual orientation. Five campuses do not have policies. The Committee proposed Resolution 96-23 which was passed with the names of the specific campuses removed. (A copy of Resolution to Require All Campuses of the University of North Carolina to Include a Prohibition against Discrimination on the Basis of Sexual Orientation is attached.) Continued discussion about the above resolution led to Resolution 96-24 encouraging the President to ask the Board of Governors to amend Section 103 of The Code to include sexual orientation discrimination, which also passed. (A copy of Resolution 96-24 is attached.)

Kitty McCollum, Assistant Vice President and Benefits Officer, reported on the campuses which had domestic partner benefits and what they were. This generated Resolution 96-25 regarding extending campus benefits to domestic partners. The resolution passed. (A copy of Resolution 96-25 is attached.)

The Committee unanimously approved a resolution of appreciation to Kitty McCollum for her work for and with the committee during this past year. Copies of the committee's resolution will go to both Kitty and to President Spangler.

There was discussion on the President's report in response to Resolution 96-9 regarding the lack of concern for a change in the health benefit enrollment period by the director of the state health plan. The Committee asked McCollum to obtain details of the SEANC's legislative agenda to support the data for a change in the enrollment date from October 1 to January 1. Chairman Peter Petschauer agreed to ask Faculty Senates to discuss the Resolution 96-9 CHANGES OF ENROLLMENT DATES FOR THE STATE HEALTH PLANS passed on 2-21-97. The UNC-Greensboro Faculty Senate has already endorsed this change.

Items to be discussed or considered by the 1997-1998 Committee include: Report on outsourcing throughout the UNC campuses. The status of proposed change in the Open Meeting Law. Progress on the implementation of the phased retirement system. Employment practices and benefits for fixed term teaching employees.

There was no further business and the meeting was adjourned at 10:25.

Respectfully Submitted

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Linda L. Nelms

Secretary of Faculty