April 24, 1998
Meeting of the Faculty Council
April 24, 1998, 3:00 p.m.
Assembly Room, 2nd Floor, Wilson Library
Chancellor Michael Hooker will preside. Attendance of elected Council members is required.
Reception, 2:15 p.m., honoring retiring Faculty Council members. Sponsored by the University Woman’s Club and Chancellor Hooker.
Agenda
ACT 3:00 Memorial Resolutions for Ernest Marvin Allen, Jr., Professor Emeritus of Physical Education, and William Henry Peacock, Professor Emeritus of Physical Education. Presented by Professor Ronald W. Hyatt.
INFO 3:10 Presentation of the 1998 Thomas Jefferson Award.
INFO 3:15 Presentation of 1998 Excellence in Advising Awards. Dean Risa Palm.
- Miner Mickel-Shaw Awards
- Class of 1996 Award
INFO 3:25 Chancellor’s Remarks and Question Period.
INFO 3:35 Chair of the Faculty’s Remarks.
ACT 3:45 Resolution 98-6. A Statement on Affirmative Action. Presented by the Executive Committee of the Faculty Council
ACT 4:00 Committee on Educational Policy. Second Report. Prof. Anthony J. Passannante, Chair.
- Resolution 98-7. 1998 Oral Competency Requirement.
- Resolution 98-8. Offering Courses as a Staff Benefit.
INFO 4:15 Intellectual Climate Report: Residential Life Initiative. Cynthia Wolf-Johnson, Student Affairs
INFO 4:25 Faculty Assembly Delegation. Annual Report. Prof. Laura N. Gasaway, Chair of the Faculty Assembly
ACT 4:30 Ph.D. Program in Human Movement Science. Authorization. Prof. Carol Giuliani.
INFO 4:40 Committee on Research. Annual Report. Prof. Arne Kalleberg, Chair
INFO 4:45 University Priorities and Budget Committee. Annual Report. Provost Richard J. Richardson
INFO 4:50 Committee on Community and Diversity. Annual Report. Prof. Gerald Horne, Chair
INFO 4:55 Committee on Established Lectures. Annual Report Prof. Bobbi Owen, Chair
INFO 5:00 1998 Faculty Elections Results. Joseph S. Ferrell, Secretary of the Faculty.
ACT 5:05 CLOSED SESSION. Supplemental Report, Committee on Honorary Degrees and Special Awards (tentative). Joseph S. Ferrell, Secretary of the Faculty.
KEY:
ACT = Action
INFO = Information
DISC = Discussion
Minutes
Attendance
Present (60): Bangdiwala, Barefoot, Beckman, Bluestein, Carl, Clegg, Collins, Conover, Cordeiro-Stone, Cravey, Dalton, Daye, Debreczeny, Eckel, Estroff, Farel, Favorov, Fink, Fletcher, Foshee, Fox, Gasaway, Gatzy, Graves, Harrison, Hattem, Hodges, Hogue, Holmgren, Hyatt, Irene, Jackson, Lachiewicz, Lentz, Loda, Lord, Lubker, Margolis, Marshall, Matson, McNeil, Melchert, Mill, Moreau, Owen, Panter, Passannante, Pfaff, Pielak, Plante, Raper, Schaller, Searles, Shea, Stidham, Tauchen, Tysinger, Weiss, White, Williams.
Excused absences (12): Anderson, Covach, Hattem, Hooper, Pagano, Platin, Rabinowitz, Rosenman, Salgado, Skelly, Strauss, Vevea.
Unexcused absences (10): Bailey, Bose, Brink, Bromberg, Crimmins, Devellis, Haggis, Mandel, Mauriello, Stabler.
Memorial Resolutions
Prof. Ronald Hyatt presented memorial resolutions for William Henry Peacock and Ernest Marvin Allen, Professors Emeriti of Physical Education, Exercise and Sport Science.
Thomas Jefferson Award
The 1998 Thomas Jefferson Award was presented to Professor Stuart Bondurant.
Chancellor’s Remarks
Chancellor Hooker congratulated Executive Vice Chancellor Elson Floyd upon his selection as president of Western Michigan University.
The Chancellor introduced several students who have won prestigious scholarships this year. Eric Tytell, Class of 1998, has won one of ten Churchill Scholarships for a year of graduate work at Churchill College, Cambridge University. Mr. Tytell, a biology and physics major, will study the biomechanics of insect flight. Brian Kwan Hwa Yen and Sendhil Cheran, both Class of 1999, have been awarded Goldwater Scholarships. David Moricca, Alexis Slagle, and Barry Wyner, all of the Class of 1998, have won places on the USA Today college academic teams. Mr. Moricca was chosen as one of twenty first-team members for a documentary film describing middle school education in Zimbabwe. Ms. Slagle was named to the third team for establishing an organization that develops awareness of gender barriers within educational institutions in emerging nations. Mr. Wyner won honorable mention for a musical entitled “Sugarplum.” Proceeds from ticket sales went to the Chapel Hill Interfaith Council Homeless Shelter.
Chancellor Hooker announced that he has appointed a task force headed by Provost Richardson to address the issue of whether to increase our enrollment in response to a projected 50,000 increase in the number of North Carolina high school graduates between now and the year 2006. The task force will develop recommendations for consideration by the faculty and the Board of Trustees next fall.
Prof. Richard Pfaff (History) called attention to the recent rankings of the Association of Research Libraries that place our library far down the list in most categories. He questioned how we can achieve our goal of becoming the premier public university if our library’s reputation is not improved substantially. Chancellor Hooker replied that he has been working closely with President Broad to de-couple our librarian salary schedules from the state personnel classification system, which is a necessary step to enable us to compete in a national labor pool. Increased funding for other items in the library budget is sorely needed, but he does not think the prospect for major increases in state budget support for libraries is likely in the near future. On the other hand, net profit from the Carolina Inn, all of which goes to the library, has been very good this year.
Prof. Leon Fink (History) asked where we stand at this time on the matter of using our licensing agreements with private businesses as a means of encouraging improvement of labor conditions abroad. The Chancellor replied that he is working with President Keohane of Duke University to lead an effort by ACC schools to establish with Collegiate Licensing, the organization that represents most institutions in this regard, a code of conduct that will have workable enforcement mechanisms.
1998 Excellence in Advising Awards
Associate Dean Darryl Gless, acting for Dean Risa Palm, presented the 1998 Mickel-Shaw Advising Awards to Dorothy C. Bernholz (General College), James R. Kessler (Arts & Sciences), and Sherry Salyer (General College). The Class of 1996 Award for Advising Excellence went to Anthony Locklear (General College) and Sharon Sessoms (Biology).
Chair of the Faculty’s Remarks
Prof. Andrews thanked the University Woman’s Club for their kindness in offering the reception for the Faculty Council today. He then recognized members of the Faculty Council and members of standing committees of the faculty who are concluding their terms at the end of this academic year.
Prof. Andrews called attention to several items.
The Employee Forum has established a Task Force on Intellectual Climate chaired by Elizabeth Evans. The have conducted a survey of University staff members, which has yielded a wide range of interesting and helpful ideas.
Prof. Laurie McNeil and several colleagues have also been working on recommendations for establishing an Academy of Distinguished Teaching Scholars. Those recommendations are expected to be presented to the Council next fall.
The Board of Governors has approved the change in our tenure regulations recently requested by the Council in Resolution 97-13.
In response to Resolution 98-3, which recommended that the Carolina Course Review no longer be used as an official instrument of faculty personnel evaluation, the Advisory Committee has asked the Provost to establish a task force to identify appropriate ways to evaluate teaching. In the meantime, current instruments of teaching evaluation should continue to be used.
Chancellor Hooker has asked Prof. Andrews to coordinate faculty input to a study of tuition policy that is being conducted this summer by General Administration.
Resolution 98-6. Faculty Statement On Principles of Service, Diversity and Freedom of Inquiry
Prof. Charles Daye (Law) presented Resolution 98-6 and moved its adoption. The purpose of this resolution, he said, is to add the voice of the faculty to the many voices that are being heard on the issues of non-discrimination, affirmative action, and diversity. Little of the public debate on these issues has addressed basic educational policy. The first paragraph of the resolution is anchored in the mission statement adopted by the Board of Trustees in 1986. The second paragraph affirms the principle that diverse backgrounds and wide varieties of perspectives and life experiences are essential to educational excellence and are necessary to achievement of the university’s mission. The third paragraph attempts to identify some of the salient factors that are appropriately considered as aspects of diversity. Finally, the last paragraph assets that the university, through the administration and the faculty, is charged with special professional and educational responsibilities to make judgments about the operation of the university that should not be supplanted by outside forces.
Prof. Leon Fink thought that sections 1 and 2 strike the right chord but had reservations about sections 3 and 4. He suggested that section 3 lacks proper emphasis on the need to reject invidious discrimination and to base admission, promotion, and other educational decisions strictly on merit. Instead, section 3 underplays the important of merit “by running down a kind of flagpole of diversity.” As for section 4, he found it unclear.
Prof. Daye replied that the members of the committee that drafted the resolution took the principle of non-discrimination as a given. The problem is that the vestiges of past discrimination inhibit the degree of diversity that otherwise would come about by the operation of merit-based decisions or even pure chance. The drafting committee intentionally avoided use of the term “affirmative action.” With respect to the issue of merit-based decisions, Prof. Daye said that one his colleagues defines merit as “a structured set of preferences.” He does not necessarily agree with that definition, but it does demonstrate that the concept of merit is not simple to elucidate. The drafting committee thought that the phrase “quantifiable data and qualitative information regarding educational preparation” in section 3 adequately captures the idea of merit-based decision-making in admissions and employment.
Several speakers said that they found section 4 difficult to understand. Prof. Daye said that the committee was trying to make the point that the resolution is consistent with the law of the state and nation as it now stands and that the faculty are not urging the administration or the Board of Trustees to take actions that would subject them to personal or corporate liability. The resolution takes the position that the faculty’s educational and professional judgments should sway the debate on what constitutes the educational value that we are ascribing to diversity.
Prof. Paul Farel (Physiology) noted that none of those who spoke on the resolution objected to its primary thrust. He was concerned that an extended discussion focused on specific wording would leave the wrong impression. He suggested that the Council might give its assent to the spirit of the document and ask the Executive Committee to work on precise wording in the light of the Council’s discussion.
Prof. Craig Melchert (Linguistics) objected to delaying a vote on the resolution. He moved the previous question and the call was sustained.
Debate having been terminated, Resolution 98-6 was put to a vote and was adopted by vote of 27 Aye, 21 No.
Ph.D. Program in Human Movement Science
The Council approved a proposal to establish a new Ph.D. program in Human Movement Science.
Resolution 98-7. 1998 Oral Competency Requirement
Prof. Anthony Passannante, chair of the Educational Policy Committee, presented Resolution 98-7 and moved its adoption. Effective for the fall semester 1998, the resolution requires all first-year undergraduate students (regardless of major) who are exempted from taking English 11 and English 12 (Composition and Rhetoric) to pass with a letter grade a one-hour course entitled Oral Communication (Comm 09).
Prof. Melody Harrison (Medical Allied Health) asked whether this requirement would apply to students with communication disabilities, such as hearing impairment. Prof. Bobbi Owen, Assoc. Dean of Arts & Sciences, said that the College already has in place procedures for exempting students with documented disabilities from certain requirements.
In response to a question from Prof. Stephen Weiss (Computer Science), Dean Gless said that the number of students who would be affected by the resolution is between 300 and 400. The new requirement will require about $70,000 in new money against a rather fragile part of the College’s budget. He hopes to renew a discussion about the requirement with the Educational Policy Committee next year.
Prof. Leon Fink moved that the requirement expire after one year unless renewed. That motion was defeated. Resolution 98-7, as amended, was then adopted by voice vote.
Resolution 98-8. Offering Courses as a Staff Benefit
Prof. Passannante presented Resolution 98-8 and moved its adoption. He reported that the resolution as currently drafted is consistent with current university policy. The resolution was adopted unanimously by voice vote.
Intellectual Climate Report: Residential Life Initiative
Ms. Cynthia Wolf-Johnson (Student Affairs) reported to the Council on activities being undertaken in response to the residential life recommendations of the Task Force on Intellectual Climate.
Annual Reports of Standing Committees
Research Committee.
Prof. Arne Kalleberg (Sociology) reported briefly on the work of the Research Committee.
Faculty Assembly Delegation.
Prof. Laura Gasaway (Law) presented the 1998 report of the Faculty Assembly Delegation. Prof. Gasaway, who is Chair of the Faculty Assembly this year, also reported briefly on the work that the Assembly has in view for the upcoming academic year.
University Priorities and Budget Committee.
The annual report of the University Priorities and Budget Committee was received without questions or comment.
Committee on Community and Diversity.
The annual report of the Committee on Community and Diversity was received without questions or comment.
Committee on Established Lectures.
The annual report of the Committee on Established Lectures was received without questions or comment.
1998 Faculty Elections Results
Prof. Ferrell presented a written report of the results of the 1998 faculty elections.
Honorary Degrees and Special Awards
On motion of Prof. Ferrell, the Council went into closed session to consider a report from the Committee on Honorary Degrees and Special Awards for an additional nomination for a Distinguished Alumnus Award to be presented at University Day 1999. The committee’s nomination was approved.
Adjournment.
Upon conclusion of the closed session, the Council returned to open session. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
