Lamar University Faculty Senate Meeting
Wednesday, May 05, 2021, 3:30PM
CICE Building, 113A&B
Faculty Senate Agenda

Call to Order at 3:35 PM
Roll Call (Sign In) - Please complete here: https://forms.office.com/r/74zAQT607s
Guest Speakers: Robert (Bert) Wagner, PhD., Executive Director Campus Operations -Storm Season Basic Guidelines – Cancelled due to other executive meetings
Approval of Minutes – March 03, 2021 (Motion to approve – James Slaydon, second – Jerry Vince Nix, Passed) and April 07, 2021
Faculty Senate President’s Report
Survey responses













SURVEY continued:
• Do we want to extend the climate survey to full faculty?
• Can we get an exemption from the Mass Email policy?
• Jennifer would like to see this in perpetuity.
• Need to consider if we want the survey to stay at full length as well (currently 70 questions).
Presidential Search Committee: Jennifer on Presidential Search committee – 5 faculty total. 5 PM today Committee will receive applications and then they will meet May 12 to discuss. May 24-25 Airport interviews in Houston, TX. James Slaydon recommends we have campus visits for faculty input. Hoping to hire by June 1. Have been asked questions like “how would faculty respond to a non-academic President?”
Faculty Senate Committee Chair Reports
Academic Issues Committee – Melissa Riley
Met April 21 via Teams and discussed measures for teaching assessments, peer reviews, etc. Waiting for a committee member to send a list of some teaching measures they produced. Will share more when she has it.
Faculty Issues Committee – Xenia Fedorchenko
Met April 21 – discussing workload – no update yet
Jennifer – Provost wants to hire an ombudsman quickly to help with faculty complaints – will meet soon re: this position.
Budget and Compensation Committee – Garrick Harden
No updates at this time although they met in April.
Events – Dorothy Sisk
Brenda Nichols suggesting having an event for everyone who has been selected as a distinguished faculty lecturer – Victoria Price is working on a scrapbook from Jeff’s presentation and all bills submitted
Research and Creative Activity – Christopher Martin for John Gossage
Did not meet in April – will be meeting via email this Summer to improve Faculty Development Leave applications and move to all electronic
Joe Kruger – Restructuring Graduate Council: Vote to look at makeup of graduate council – has previously been based on one from each college but two from Arts and Sciences. Voted to instead be based on number of graduate students enrolled in each college, up to 3 representatives for each college – moves each college to 1 except education has 3. Jerry Lin - Allows no inequity in power across colleges. Will try and if it appears to not work will revisit. Deans' council can vote this decision down or College representatives may vote this decision down.
F2.08 – Jim Armacost
Met regarding a statement to be added to the F2.08 form as a reminder to adjust expectations due to COVID restrictions/issues that may affect faculty
Student Success – Pat Heintzelman
Only 27 students responded to the survey – 70 or so finally after advisors sent out – no substantial conclusions. Organizing meetings for SSC.
State: Legislature last week – had hearing on bill to make top 10%? LU (Lamar University) and UT (University of Texas) are low in under-represented faculty, heavily Caucasian
Faculty Handbook – Matt Hoch
University committee met and Matt, Pat, and Ashley were present. Brenda Nichols went over point by point the comments received when Handbook was posted. Had some discussion. Issues re: SACSCOC, one issue is that we are not following our own “rules” (policies and procedures). One rule was that committees cannot serve two consecutive terms without a gap year (suggested we redo certain college elections) unless there is FS (Faculty Senate) President exemptions – Jennifer wrote the Provost that this would be difficult to uphold as we have issues often filling certain positions. Jennifer recommended changing the language to support what typically occurs. Addendum to be added of approved exemptions for this voting cycle in these minutes.
Old Business
Resolution about tolling tenure clock – Provost asked two to toll rather than being faculty initiated but this appears to be a misunderstanding of the resolution on the part of administration
Hector Flores will be replaced as Chief quickly
Locks on doors on campus – Locks “go both ways” - Shooters could lock in as much as you could lock out
Committee makeup -
• Did we want to keep the F2.08 committee? Jim says his committee believes they still have value and should be kept – name change to Performance Evaluation Committee to pull some work out of Faculty Issues committee
• Some restructuring to occur to create/rename committee
Pat Heintzelman / Investigation Committee – did receive some F3.2 (~160); Paul Hemenway was not re-elected as Senator so; do we replace or allow special involvement to continue by Paul? Garrick suggested if no one else wants to serve – Paul could continue
New Business
James Slaydon – COB faculty issues meeting: too much growth with giant class sizes, stipends significantly cut or eliminated, budget (16% growth in students and growth in administration but loss of faculty [almost a quarter lost]/staff), what has happened to monies? We have not had raises, but increase for inflation when we are getting raises; gutted summer classes; COB has lost 80%, 22 to 4 classes; merged college to a single department and a “School”; evaluation issues; etc. John McCollough- Lost administrative assistants (6 to 1 and the one has only been there a few months); James Slaydon - almost no one present most of the time, including the Dean’s office; accounting issues; problems with teaching load (6/6 possible); JM – Dean says, “think of it as the new Industrial Revolution”; 75-90% dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with COB work – Garrick Harden: did you send information re: budget (James Slaydon has a published paper on the topic). James to send to Garrick via email/meet. No line-item budget available from LU admin for years. Similar issues in Budget/Compensation committee.
Vivek Natarajan – run into deadlock – need market adjustment study across University, similar with workload
JP Nelson – Do large classes get assistants? James - Large classes do get instructional assistants but they do not have teaching assistant abilities – being hired via a firm
JP Nelson - Do the IAs have advanced education in business? James – yes but paid poorly.
Christopher Martin – Biology – what was decided re: Biology building is going away with no replacement – Matt Hoch: told that it was more expensive than other buildings and was better to get rid of it and save money on insurance and etc. - part may be due to Department leadership choices re: Sci and Tech building – Christopher – the university is being hit re: space utilization and Bio is one of the oldest on campus – faculty being told to find research and office space someone else – what does this mean for Biology and LU as a whole – Matt: Dept chairs may have been the cause
Xenia Fedorchenko: Study Abroad advisory council to ask for proposal for 2022 and beyond – Coffee available with Dr. Jourdini anytime – Matt Hoch: Is there any discussion about streamlining acceptance process (Xenia – no, but she will bring it up). Office of Study Abroad condensed to a single person.
Kelly Weeks – requests an officer election, Jennifer response – changes re: terms and elections were approved April 2020 bylaws adopted re: officer election – is the bylaw adoption current or for future? Adopted April – makes a motion: follow rules as were written and must be ratified in the Handbook; second motion by James Slayden – Jennifer: our bylaws are passed by 2/3 vote of faculty senate membership and were passed in April 2020; they are an appendix to the Handbook under control of the Faculty Senate by 2/3 vote of faculty. Cheng-Hsien is suggesting motion is not sustainable – and needs to go to Campus council to determine its position – suggests it be tabled until it is determined if it is approved as active or future policy. Dr. Lin can bring it to Executive Council. Item tabled for further investigation.
Motion to Table Jerry Vince Nix, seconded by Dorothy Sisk, passed/carried
Adjourn - motion by James Slaydon, seconded by Dorothy Sisk, adjourned at 5:05 PM