Faculty Council Minutes

January 18, 2007

West Campus

 

Attending:  Joel Berman, Mark Bollenback, Tom Byrnes, Helen Clarke (guest), Jackie DiMartino, Jean Marie Fuhrman, Bob Gessner, Carin Gordon, Gloria Hines, Ilyse Kusnetz, James Leonard, Graeme Lindbeck, Suzanne Lynch, Lisa Macon, Melissa Pedone, Lana Powell, David Rogers (ex-officio), Michael Shugg, Bill Snider, Myrna Villanueva (guest), Rose Watson, and Chris Wettstein

 

Action Items

 

Minutes:

 

The December minutes were approved with the correction that Bill Snider was not present at the December meeting.

 

Appointments (approved):

 

            Calendar and Scheduling Committee:  Lisa Macon and Patrick Murphy

 

            Curriculum Committee:  Jeffery Donley

 

            Committee for Professional Development Implementation and Oversight:

 

            West:  Jennifer Britton (Communications), Marilyn Curall (Communications), Wendi Dew (Respiratory Care), Pamela Sandy (Dental Hygiene), Allison Sloan (Mathematics), and, as an alternate, Mary Ann Gagen (Nursing)

 

            Osceola:  Soledad Townsend (Counseling), Wendi Bush (Mathematics), and Oscar Cuan (Speech)

 

            East:  Heith Hennel (Information Technology), Yasmeen Qadri (Education), Erich Heintzelman (Librarian), Jim Belcher (Biology), and, as an alternate, Jennifer Lawhon (Mathematics)

 

Professional Development Implementation Plan:

 

After discussion, it was suggested that the document presented be approved as “guidelines” for implementation of the plan and should not be confused with the plan itself.  Tom Byrnes promised to send out the actual Professional Development Plan again to Faculty Council members.  The suggested guidelines and ideas presented in the document reviewed today would be recommended to the committee as a starting point.  The committee would not make any significant changes on its own.  All major clarifications would come to the Council.  A subcommittee consisting of Tom Byrnes, Ilyse Kusnetz, Melissa Pedone, Michael Shugg, and Rose Watson was formed to come up with a charge for the committee. 

 

Discussion Items

 

Ground Rules for Faculty Council Discussions:

 

The group reviewed the ten (10) ground rules for Faculty Council discussions and broke into smaller groups to rank the top three (3) rules.

 

Evaluation Procedures for Tenure-Track Faculty:

 

Discussion took place over Kaye Walter’s suggested changes to the initial proposal approved by Faculty Council and IAC.  The key change is to conduct classroom observations every term of tenure-track employment as opposed to just the first two terms of employment.  The group felt that an evaluation was not necessary the last half of the third year since tenure is usually decided by then.

 

Invitations to the President and CLO to Faculty Council Meetings:

 

Since Dr. Shugart is unable to attend the next meeting at Winter Park Campus, he has offered to have a wine and cheese get-together at his home some time in the near future.  Kaye Walter will be invited to future meetings in the event that there are issues or items she can address.

 

Procedures for Faculty on Committees Who Miss Meetings:

 

The group agreed that if you want involvement, you need representation.  It was suggested that faculty members find a substitute/replacement to attend a meeting if they cannot attend themselves.

 

Information Items

 

6-6-0-0 Update:

 

Due to disagreements between Bill Mullowney, Stan Stone, and Kaye Walter, there is no final decision regarding the 6-6-0-0- policy.  They do agree that using 6-6-0-0 in combination with a supplement could not be carried forward because of inequity in pay.

 

4-8-10 Month Update:

 

There is a task force involving provosts, faculty, and Bill Mullowney looking at changing 4-month contracts to 8- or 10-month contracts.  This would allow the 4-month faculty involved to receive retirement benefits and an extension of their health benefits into the summer.  This, of course, comes at a cost to the College, but they will try to convert as many as possible, as soon as possible.  Joe Livingston of Human Resources will write up the recommended changes. 

 

Update on Student Conduct and Academic Grievance Policies:

 

Joyce Romano and Kaye Walter are currently trying to decide whether such grievances fall under Student Affairs or Academic Affairs.

 

Reports

 

Campus Reports

 

West – None

 

Winter Park – Suzette Dohany wants faculty to be aware of the Learning Evidence essay contest.

 

Osceola – With the addition of Building 4, Osceola is the fastest growing campus.

 

East – Concern was expressed over being able to enter a “WP” in Atlas, but it not being the correct way.

 

Other Reports

 

None

 

Adjournment

 

The meeting was adjourned at 5:10 p.m.

 

The next Faculty Council meeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 15, 2007, beginning at 2:30 pm, at the Winter Park Campus, in Room 143.