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DOCUMENTS OF THE GENERAL FACULTY
Following are the minutes of the regular Faculty Council
meeting of January 22, 2001.
<signed>
John R. Durbin, Secretary
The General Faculty
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR FACULTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF
January 22, 2001
The fourth regular meeting of the Faculty Council for
the academic year 2000-2001 was held in Room 212 of the Main Building
on Monday, January 22, 2001, at 2:15 P.M.
ATTENDANCE.
Present: Christopher O. Adejumo, Mark I.
Alpert, Anthony P. Ambler, Effraim P. Armendariz, Neal E. Armstrong, Joyce
L. Banks, Brigitte L. Bauer, Harold W. Billings, David G. Bogard, Dean
A. Bredeson, Richard A. Cherwitz, Michael J. Churgin, Michael B. Clement,
Donald G. Davis, Patrick J. Davis, Desley A. Deacon, John D. Dollard,
Minette E. Drumwright, John R. Durbin, Sheldon Ekland-Olson, Larry R.
Faulkner, Nell H. Gottlieb, Lita A. Guerra, Marvin L. Hackert, Martha
F. Hilley, Sharon D. Horner, Judith A. Jellison, Arlen W. Johnson, Manuel
J. Justiz, Elizabeth L. Keating, Ward W. Keeler, Karrol A. Kitt, Robert
C. Koons, Stefan M. Kostka, David A. Laude, Steven W. Leslie, David R.
Maidment, Glenn Y. Masada, Francis L. Miksa, Gregory R. Murphy, Melvin
E. L. Oakes, Patricia C. Ohlendorf, Alba A. Ortiz,1 Bruce P. Palka, Theodore
E. Pfeifer, William C. Powers, Linda E. Reichl, Elizabeth Richmond-Garza,
Daron K. Roberts, David J. Saltman, Robert N. Schmidt, Cynthia W. Shelmerdine,
Michael P. Starbird, Laura T. Starks, Salomon A. Stavchansky, Paul Randall
(Randy) Thompson, James W. Vick, John W. Walthall, James R. Yates, Katy
B. Zarolia.
Absent: Katherine M. Arens (excused), Victor
L. Arnold, Matthew J. Bailey, Joel W. Barlow, Phillip J. Barrish, Gerard
H. Béhague (excused), Douglas G. Biow, Lynn E. Blais, Daniel A.
Bonevac (excused), Cindy L. Carlson (excused), Richard L. Cleary (excused),
Dana L. Cloud (excused), Patricia L. Clubb, Edwin Dorn, Shelley F. Fishkin,
G. Charles Franklin, Robert Freeman, Dorie J. Gilbert, Von Matthew (Matt)
Hammond, Barbara J. Harlow (excused), Thomas M. Hatfield, James L. Hill
(excused), Sharon H. Justice (excused), Kerry A. Kinney, Richard W. Lariviere,
William S. Livingston, Laura E. Luthy, Katheryn C. Maguire, Margaret
N.
Maxey (excused), Robert G. May (excused), Thomas G. Palaima (excused),
Elmira Popova, Mary Ann R. Rankin, Johnnie D. Ray, Andrew M. Riggsby,
Victoria Rodriguez, Juan M. Sanchez, Dolores Sands, Roberta I. Shaffer,
Joel F. Sherzer, Mark R. V. Southern (excused), Lawrence W. Speck, Ben
G. Streetman, Teresa A. Sullivan, Janice S. Todd (excused), Daniel A.
Updegrove, N. Bruce Walker, Ellen A. Wartella, Barbara W. White (excused).
| Voting Members: |
48
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present, |
27
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absent, |
75
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total. |
| Non-Voting Members: |
11
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present, |
23
|
absent, |
34
|
total. |
| Total Members: |
59
|
present, |
50
|
absent, |
109
|
total.
|
1Attendance record corrected on February 19, 2001.
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I.
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REPORT OF THE SECRETARY.
There were no questions about the written report
(D
1059-1062).
The secretary made an oral report on the
special efforts being made to recognize deceased former colleagues
for whom faculty-written memorial resolutions did not exist.
He
said the goal is to obtain a memorial statement for everyone
who was tenured at the University for a notable part of his or
her
career, and to make all of these available on the web.
In some cases it has been sufficient to
encourage or provide assistance to an existing committee. However,
in many cases a committee was never appointed or it is too late
to expect a report. For each of these, the office is attempting
to produce a biographical sketch including date and place of birth,
degrees, employment, career achievements, and sources for further
information. These biographical sketches are necessarily more
limited than the best faculty-written memorials, which can include
personal comments as well as a professional perspective on an
individual’s career. He said there are now over 700 completed
memorials, including more than 160 biographical sketches. The
latter include six of the original (1883) faculty members of
the
University. The secretary expressed his gratitude to Teresa Acosta,
who has written most of the biographical sketches, and to Chris
Marcin and Debbie Roberts of the Office of the General Faculty.
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II.
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APPROVAL OF MINUTES.
The minutes of the Regular Faculty Council meeting of November
20, 2000 (D
1055-1058), were approved by voice vote.
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III.
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COMMUNICATION WITH THE PRESIDENT.
| A. |
Comments by the President.
President Faulkner alerted members to budget
problems created by new energy costs for the University.
He said it is estimated that over a two-year period the campus
will experience a $40 million increase in the amount it pays
for natural gas. This is certain to restrict the University's
ability to address salary problems, add new faculty, and
support
new programs. Steps are already being taken to reduce costs.
More will be heard about this over the coming months.
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| B. |
Questions to the President.
The president answered questions about Governor
Perry's higher education initiative, the board of regents
accountability initiative, and the administration's current
study of policy on tenured and non-tenured faculty.
Faulkner said the governor's commission
was appointed to take a broad view of higher education and
its future in the state. He said it is still in the early
stages of its work, and he then spoke specifically about
proposals for a voucher or grants program for students.
He felt that this could be a good idea but that it would
deal primarily with undergraduate education; graduate and
research programs would have to be funded in some other
way.
He said that with the accountability initiative,
the regents were seeking a common basis for evaluation that
would help them plan for the future. He said he had no problem
with this initiative; the question is simply one of how
to address the issues in a way that will be cost effective
and will actually be useful in measuring the quality of
what is taking place.
Faulkner said that he and Provost Ekland-Olson
had appointed a committee, chaired by Judith Langlois (psychology),
to develop a clear definition of what tenure means and a
picture of the
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role of the various non-tenured faculty
positions on the campus. This deals with a national problem,
he said. The president expressed hope that the University
could take a lead in addressing it. He said he strongly supports
tenure, and it is obvious that "a large number of non-tenure-track
members invest whole careers here and play absolutely critical
roles in the educational and overall academic life of the
institution."
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IV.
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REPORT OF THE CHAIR.
Chair Patrick Davis (pharmacy) reported on work of the UT System
Faculty Advisory Council. He also told members about a new web site,
www.utadvocates.org, run
by UT Advocates for Higher Education, which will provide information
on action in the legislature that could affect the University.
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V.
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REPORT OF THE CHAIR ELECT.
Chair elect Bruce Palka (mathematics) talked briefly
about the annual meeting of the Council with the Texas A&M
Faculty Senate, which is scheduled for March 26 in Austin.
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VI.
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SPECIAL ORDERS – None.
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VII.
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PETITIONS – None.
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VIII.
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS – None.
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IX.
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REPORTS OF THE GENERAL FACULTY, COLLEGES AND
SCHOOLS, AND COMMITTEES – None.
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X.
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NEW BUSINESS.
The University's Policy on Compliance.
Lon Heuer* (associate vice president
for institutional compliance and director of internal audits),
Linda Sorber (assistant director for institutional compliance),
and Dyan Hudson* (assistant director for internal audits)
informed members of the Council about a System-wide initiative
designed to assure the highest ethical standards and compliance
with all applicable laws, policies, rules, and regulations.
Managers and individuals are not responsible for
knowing all of the laws and rules that govern the University,
but they must be familiar with the laws and rules that are applicable
to their own area of employment. The compliance office has developed
an extensive on-line program as well as training classes. All
employees will hear about this in the near future.
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XI.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS AND COMMENTS – None.
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XII.
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QUESTIONS TO THE CHAIR – None.
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XIII.
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ADJOURNMENT.
The meeting adjourned at 3:50 p.m.
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Distributed through the Faculty Council web site (www.utexas.edu/faculty/council/)
on February 13, 2001. Copies are available on request from the Office
of the General Faculty, FAC 22, F9500.
* Spelling of name corrected on February 19, 2001.
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