Lamar University Faculty Senate
February 7, 2018
Attending: Arts and Sciences: Tom Sowers, Robert Worley (for Garrick Harden), Stacey Knight, Gretchen Johnson, Pat Heintzelman, Michael Beard, Yasuko Sato, J.P. Nelson, Ozge Gunaydin-Sen, Jennifer Daniel, Joseph Kruger, Martha Rinker, Cheng-Hsien Lin, Ted Mahavier Business: Tim McCoy, James Slaydon, Purnendu Mandall, Karyn Neuhauser, Seokyon Hwang, Vivek Natarajan Education: Connie Ruiz, Anna Nguyen, Ken Young, Dorothy Sisk, Vanessa Villate, Israel Msengi, Belinda Lopez Engineering: Mien Jao, John Gossage, Gleb Tcheslavski, Xuejun Fan Fine Arts and Communication: Zanthia Smith, Bryan Proksch, Nicki Michalski, Sherry Freyermuth, Cherie Acosta College Readiness: Melissa Riley Lamar State College Port Arthur: Mavis Treibel
Absent: Arts and Sciences: Judy Smith, Cristian Bahrim, Kami Makki, Sanaz Alasti, Gina Hale, Lisa Donnelly, George Irwin, Maryam Vasefi Education: Janice Kimmons Engineering: James Curry Fine Arts and Communication: Nandu Radhakirshnan, Vinaya Manchaiah Library: Michael Saar, Mark Asteris
Call to Order: 3:33 p.m.
Guest Speaker Kumar Das, Office of Undergraduate Research and Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, spoke about the Research Enhancement Grants and the University Scholar award. Use the Competition Space online to submit applications by March 2, 2018. Dr. Das also discussed the Summer Undergraduate Research Fund awards, the Faculty Mentor award and the Undergraduate Expo.
Approval of Minutes with Corrections: motion made by James Slaydon, seconded by Tom Sowers. The motion passed.
President’s Report: Guest speakers for March (Joe Nordgren) and April (James Marquart) are invited.
Regarding the upcoming election: the executive committee members will serve as election chairs in their colleges. Elections should be held after spring break.
Topics of discussion at the TCFS and TSUS meeting in Austin included: budgets will be tight next year, the Chancellor seems generally happy with how things are going, there is a shared services proposal for the Lamar schools, the evaluation process for administrators, the ORP vs TRS equity issue and the use of the Christmas Lands donated property.
The equity document we approved should be going into the handbook this month.
The administration has our F2.08 document and will discuss it with the executive committee.
Committee Reports:
Faculty Issues: we are hoping to begin using Competition Space for Piper nominations and other such awards. The administration does not seem very interested in pursuing a faculty wellness initiative. Jennifer met with Joe Nordgren to discuss the ombudsman issue. At the next committee meeting a list of questions will be drawn up for seeking information from someone currently serving as an ombudsman at another school.
Academic Issues: Melissa and Nicki will review current issues and contact the committee to schedule a meeting.
Budget and Compensation: Funding for faculty research travel will be discussed at the next meeting.
Distinguished Faculty Lecture: The call for nominees has been sent. Before nominating somebody, please check and make sure they are willing to undertake the lecture.
Research and Development: The committee is working on the faculty developmental leave submission process.
Emerging and Strategic Issues: The committee is discussing campus security, technology issues, image building, strengthening global recruiting, faculty salary equity and decreased parking availability.
New Business: There is a faculty concern about having to pay to replace lost or stolen laptops. The issue has been referred to the faculty issues committee. We will follow up with the Provost about the timelines for reviewing Deans and Chairs. The process was derailed by Hurricane Harvey. The dean searches are progressing, there are some VP searches coming up. The 2% raise should be on your February check.
Motion to Adjourn: Motion was made by Tom Sowers, seconded by James Slaydon. The meeting was adjourned at 4:13 p.m.