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DOCUMENTS OF THE GENERAL FACULTY
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE GENERAL FACULTY
FOR 2002-2003
Following are the minutes of the General Faculty meeting of
October 15, 2002.
<signed>
John R. Durbin, Secretary
The General Faculty
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE
GENERAL FACULTY FOR 2002-2003
The regular meeting of the General Faculty for the academic year 2002-2003
was held on Tuesday, October 15, 2002, at 4:00 P.M. in Calhoun Hall,
Room 100. President Larry R. Faulkner presided.
I.
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APPROVAL OF MINUTES.
Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the General Faculty for 2001-2002,
September 17, 2001, were approved (D
1546-1553).
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II.
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ANNUAL REPORT OF THE FACULTY COUNCIL, 2001-2002.
This report was published as D
2047-2068.
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III.
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DISCUSSION OF ANNUAL REPORT — None.
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IV.
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COMMENTS BY AND QUESTIONS TO THE PRESIDENT.
President Faulkner began with a question from Dr. Patrick Burkart (lecturer,
radio-television-film), which was submitted before the meeting: “The
Daily Texan recently updated the campus community with information
that faculty and staff are still being denied health and other benefits
for their domestic partners, despite non-discrimination policy covering
sexual orientation at UT. What is your office doing to address this
critical situation?”
The president said that benefits are governed in the first instance
by state law; in the second instance they are controlled by the UT
System. He added, “I personally am sympathetic to the notion
that people who work for the University earn a right to cover people
who they may care for, but this is not a matter for me to define.” Later
in the question period, Dr. Burkart pressed the question by asking
what the president’s office was doing about the problem. President
Faulkner said he could not lobby, under state law, but he would convey
any proposal for change to the chancellor. Kyle Cavanaugh, associate
vice president for human resources, said that the issue is under discussion
by the Faculty Welfare Committee and the Staff Council.
The president reiterated some of the points made in his State of the
University Address on September 18, which appears on D
2163-2169.
The president then encouraged further questions. Professor John C.
Gilbert (chemistry and biochemistry) asked about the University’s
commitment to the newly-proposed charter school in Austin. The president
said the goal was to create a demonstration school, with eventually
around 300 students, to try some of the programs the University had
already developed, especially in reading and mathematics and beginning
in the early grades. He said that members of the Board of
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Regents were interested in seeing if the University’s
ideas would really address some of the existing problems,
especially in less affluent neighborhoods.
Professor Gilbert then asked about efforts to standardize curricula
in two- and four-year institutions in the state. The president said
there were legitimate interests in this issue, to facilitate transfer
for undergraduates. On the other hand, it is very important for higher
education institutions to have the ability to let programs evolve,
and this could only be done in a reasonable atmosphere of freedom.
He said all this would obviously create tension, which would come from
the needs of four-year institutions to innovate with curricula and
of two-year institutions and families and citizens to have a reasonably
efficient transfer process. He said that tension is creative, and that
this is a place where it is essential.
Professor Daniela Bini (French and Italian) asked the president for
his opinion on flat rate tuition, introduced this fall in liberal arts
and natural sciences. She said she could really not see its educational
advantages. The president said that before flat rate tuition was introduced,
forty percent of the students were taking exactly twelve hours per
semester, which was ridiculously low for such a large number of students.
He said that was not in the best interests of the students, the students’ families,
or the University, leading as it does to overpopulation of the campus.
He said the main reason was to encourage student progress and to open
up possibilities for other students. Professor Bini said all that depends
on what one means by “progress.” She believed students
should have time to experiment; rushing to get through and find a job
represented “a corporate mentality.” In the end, the president
acknowledged that he and Professor Bini “may disagree on this
issue.”
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| V. |
UNFINISHED BUSINESS — None.
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| VI. |
REPORTS OF THE GENERAL FACULTY, COLLEGES AND SCHOOLS,
AND COMMITTEES.
| A. |
Committee to Nominate a Candidate
for Secretary of the General Faculty.
Professor Michael Granof (accounting), chair of the Faculty Council,
said he had appointed a committee to nominate a secretary, and
the choice was Professor John R. Durbin (mathematics), the current
secretary.
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| VII. |
NEW BUSINESS.
| A. |
Election of the Secretary of the General Faculty.
Professor Durbin was elected to serve for the calendar year 2003.
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| VIII. |
REMAINING QUESTIONS TO THE PRESIDENT – None.
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| IX. |
AJOURNMENT.
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The meeting adjourned at 4:27 P.M.
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