February 3, 2009
Black Hills State University Faculty Senate Minutes
Meier Hall Conference Rm. / Meier Hall 306
Members present: Laura Colmenero-Chilberg (Pres.), Sheng Yang (VP), Bobbi Sago (Secretary), Dan Bergey, David Cremean, Garth Spellman, Jim Hesson, Len Austin, Chris Hahn, Sonya Pagel
3:30pm. Faculty Senate called to order. Agenda approved. Minutes approved with changes. Welcome to Garth Spellman who is standing in for Parthasarathi Nag this semester.
Old business:
• Senate President’s report on January 16th meeting with President Schallenkamp and Dr. Myers
o Administration expects faculty will move forward in incorporating laptops into the classroom. Dr. Kristi Pearce and Warren Wilson are working on a plan to fund the initiative.
o BHSU has a proposal to offer an Executive MBA before the Board of Regents
• Distinguished Faculty Award – nominations are in; candidates have until Saturday February 14th to submit their applications
• BOR Faculty Roundtable held January 27, 2009 – attended by Senate President, Vice President, and Secretary.
o There was much discussion about the time-line change for promotion and tenure in the current COHE contract. At most universities faculty apply for promotion and tenure simultaneously in the sixth year of service. The BOR has agreed to re-examine this matter.
o The budget was another topic of concern. For FY2009, the universities need to revert money back to the General Fund. For FY2010 the universities will need to make $3.5 million in cuts to their budgets. The need for significant cuts is foreseen for FY2011 as well. Promotions will go through with raises this year.
Visitors:
• Dr. Kristi Pearce
o Professional Staff Evaluation (PSE)
Minor modifications have been made to the evaluation form previously referred to as “Appendix F”. Form now asks for a copy of one’s PDP and an indication of what category one falls into. (3yr or 6yr)
o Professional Development Plan (PDP) - Tenure track faculty will be required to create a PDP for either three or six years. The plan should be less than 1,000 words. Guidelines and examples are available. Non-tenured tenure-track faculty will complete a three-year plan and tenured faculty will complete a six-year plan The intention of the PDP is:
To provide a framework for the faculty member and her/his department chair to align activities with what is expected for promotion and tenure. This should be a way to ensure fewer “surprises” at time of promotion or tenure.
To align activities with the missions of the department and university as well as the faculty member’s development and teaching/research objectives.
To help faculty manage commitments by laying out realistic expectations about the focus on service.
o Launch
The University Assessment committee is hosting a launch of the “Assessment and Learning Initiative” on Tuesday February 24th at 2:00 p.m. in the Jacket Legacy Room. Refreshments will be served.
o Dr. Pearce is not involved in faculty evaluation. She is available to help faculty develop PDPs, Promotion and Tenure portfolios, and evaluating and incorporating into classes the IDEA survey data.
New Business:
• Academic Council meeting
o All travel requests need to have a paragraph justifying the need to travel. Faculty Senators suggested that priorities be set for travel to lessen the effect of non-travel on faculty career advancement.
o Faculty members are asked to use caution about what they say in their syllabus about use of electronic equipment in their classroom. Class policies shouldn’t conflict with the laptop initiative.
• Facilities and Safety Committee
o Senate representative to the Facilities and Safety Committee asked senate members if there were any concerns that should be brought to the attention of the Facilities and Safety Committee.
• Faculty Senate will meet on February 17th at 3:30 in Meier Hall Conference Room (306)
5:20 p.m. Senate meeting adjourned
Respectfully submitted by Bobbi Sago
Faculty Senate Secretary