SENATE OF THE FACULTY, September 12, 1997
The Senate of the Faculty met in the Conner 123
Present: D. Adler, K. Beason, A. Bomba, F.
Coles, C. Cunningham, C. Dale, R. Dorsey, A. Elsherbeni, W. Gardner,
F. Gilbert, R. Gordon, D. Graves, K. Green, F. Gu, A. Fisher-Wirth,
L. Harper, R. Haws, F. Laurenzo, F. Love, J. Mizenko, C. Mullen,
H. Owens, T. Ownby, J. F. Payne L. Pittman, S. Prasad, T. J. Ray,
S. Schreiber, S. Skemp, L. Smith, K. Sufka, M. Tew, M. Van Boening,
K. Wakefield, Jay Watson, R. Westmoreland, M. Wilder, C. Wyandt,
M. Vinson
Absent: B. Barrios (1), N. Bercaw (1), L. Blenman*
(P), D. Cheek (1), J. Johnson (1), T. Marshall* (P), D. Nichols,
J. S. Payne* (P), W. Rayburn (1), J. Reidy (1), S. Rodgers (1),
D. Schlenk (1), N. Schroeder (1), W. Scott (1), E. Sisson (1),
M. Slattery* (P), P. Temple (1), John Watson* (p), J. Williamson*
(p), J. Winkle (1), E. Young-Minor (1)
* = Prior Notification of Absence Given, (x)
= number of absences this session
Chair Karen Green called the meeting to order at 2:05 and introduced Chancellor Khayat.
Chancellor Khayat said that he would prefer this meeting be a conversation rather than a presentation. He thanked the Senate for its letter of support during the discussion of university symbols.
Chancellor Khayat: This is an exciting, positive time. The educational enterprise begins with the faculty, currently 573 persons. Of the 102 million dollar E & G (Education and General) budget 28.5 million is used for faculty salaries, about 55% of the payroll. Faculty achievements are notable. In the past year they have produced 87 books, 754 journal articles, and 957 presentations. There is existing support for research: 10.3 million dollars from E&G funds are supplemented by 9.5 million dollars from research grants. The library acquisition budget has risen about 1 million dollars within the last two years.
In response to a question, Rex Deloach, Interim Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance, stated that the 10.3 million dollars is made up of 4.93 million for research and institutional centers, 1.3 million for individual or project research ("indirect costs" including 522 thousand for operation of the office of research), 3.4 million for release time (12.5% of instructional salary), and 566 thousand for equipment, travel and commodities. Chancellor Khayat observed that relying on indirect costs is dangerous, but these figures represent tangible support for research.
Chancellor Khayat: Within the next month the legislative budget request is going to the legislative budget office. The budget includes a 3% increase in salaries for this year and 4% increase for next year. A separate bond bill will provide 5 - 7 million dollars to continue repair and renovation through the year 2000. Funding for operations is included (the last increase was in 1986). There will be increased funding for equipment and technology. A "base analysis adjustment" is proposed because funding for regional universities is above their peers while funding for comprehensive universities is below their peers. Mississippi State and Southern Mississippi would receive 6 million each, UM 3 million. The budget requests is based on several factors: SREB classification, Carnegie classification, comparison with peer institutions, and a funding model used in 3 other states. Under the model, SREB Doctoral class I institutions will receive $6,250 per FTE student and class II institutions will receive $5,000 per FTE student. The FY '99 operating budget includes $500,000 for "built-in" expenses", $479,000 for institutional priorities, $424,000 for operations and maintenance enhancement, $917,000 for program support, and $673,000 for technology. UM and other institutions believe that funding should not be tied entirely to Student Credit Hours.
Enrollment at UM was 10,181 in 1995, 10,515 in 1996, and is 10,757 in 1997, displaying steady growth. The mean ACT score this year is 23.3, up from 23.1 last year. There are 44 National Merit Finalists and semi-Finalists. About 12% of students are African-American, and about 22% of Mississippi students are African-American. The ASB is preparing a proposal for a campus-wide Honor Code. There is about 70 million dollars of construction work on campus either underway or beginning soon. The draft of the Phi Beta Kappa proposal should be completed by September 22d and the final proposal delivered by October 23rd.
Process re-engineering will provide needed improvements in a number of areas. A "superficial Band-Aid" is not the objective, but a fresh look at the business processes of UM. This is serious, and difficult, but will place UM in a position to lead the region in the area of operations. It is a fundamental redesign of the way we do business and will result in dramatic change, with an increase in productivity, job satisfaction, and compensation.
UM can be "one of America's great public universities." It is up to UM faculty to define what this means. Currently we have a sound budget with adequate operations, but we are not really efficient. Arthur Andersen was the clear winner in the proposal competition and will work with the leading education administration consultant in the U.S. during this process. The goals are: 1) deliver the best service at optimal cost, 2) to be more responsive to the student learning experience, and 3) create better, more challenging, higher paying jobs. On September 22d UM's senior leadership, both academic and administrative, and two facilitators will gather at Old Waverly for a 3-day retreat to develop a plan for moving through the process re-engineering. The Faculty Senate is invited to provide faculty representation. Phase I will begin on October 1st and take 3 months reviewing current processes and setting priorities. Implementation of newly designed systems will begin in January and be completed by July 1, 1999.
In response to questions, Rex Deloach pointed out that the planning was with respect to the business systems and not the academic domain. He has spoken to the Staff Council and the process includes retraining for displaced staff. No other universities have embarked on a project of this magnitude. The closest to us is Rhodes, but their change was completed 10 years ago. Senator: "The line between academic support and the academic mission may not be as sharp as implied." Rex Deloach: The Provost and the Deans are a part of the planning process. Senator: "Will the process accommodate to academics or vice-versa?" Rex Deloach: The role of the administration is to provide support. Faculty and students are the "customers" of the administration. Senator: We should not be bound by the current status, but driven by our aspirations and should pursue processes and resources to support attaining those goals. Chancellor Khayat: We believe that in the end this will release funds for academic support. He then cited several examples (such as finding that utilities for the supercomputer had been coming from the university budget and have now been picked up by appropriations) which combine to save the university more than $250,000. Senator: Will this involve downsizing? Rex Deloach: No. There probably will be fewer jobs. Displaced staff will work on the re-engineering team and, in most cases, find new positions. Normal attrition is expected to account for the reduction in positions. Senator: Phase I is very short. Will the faculty have an opportunity to provide feedback? Rex Deloach: It is intentionally short. An operating group from the Provost's Office and other vice chancellors will review proposed changes, and faculty participation is invited there. A large part of the 2400 hours of Phase I work will be spent in gathering information.
Regarding the Croft Institute, Croft Industries has created a support foundation to operate the business and dispense the profits. As the primary beneficiary, UM will receive at least 35% of C.I.'s profits. This is the equivalent of a 60 million dollar endowment. Phase I restoration of the "Y" building will take about 3.5 million dollars. The Croft Institute will focus on Asian, European, and Latin American studies and provide 40 significant scholarships and 16 funded faculty positions. There will soon be a national search for a director. Liberal Arts, Business, Accountancy, and Law are all involved. John Winkle and Glenn Hopkins are chairing the committee.
In response to a question about the Office of Research, Chancellor Khayat stated that bringing discipline to the budget process instead of incremental funding is the first step. Secondly, as we increase revenue, more funds will become available internally. Rex Deloach: The financial aspects of existing research are under control. We must be careful before making a commitment that would siphon funds. For example, a new building was recently stopped. Chancellor Khayat: The goal is get the Research Office on "hard dollars" from the state.
Senator: Does process re-engineering include the processes by which such decisions are made? Rex Deloach: Not specifically. Karen Green: A major topic of the October meeting is how decisions are made and we expect recommendations to be forwarded.
The Senate thanked Chancellor Khayat and Interim
Vice-Chancellor Deloach for their participation.
The Senate considered the recommendation of the General Academic Affairs committee regarding tenure and promotion guidelines (m, Cunningham; 2d, Fisher-Worth). The proposal was amended so that the Senate recommends that Item 7 not be implemented (m, Watson; 2d, Bomba; accepted by GAA committee), and the wording of Item 9 was changed. The amended proposals (attached) were passed by voice vote of the senate.
The Senate next considered the proposed policy on extraordinary teaching assignments. During the discussion it was pointed out that such assignments usually fall on junior untenured faculty and do not, in general, provide opportunities to advance their career. The Senate response is that the proposed policy is not acceptable without a broader policy that addresses how decisions to add extraordinary classes are made, and that faculty should have a voice in the decision making process.
The Faculty committee on the Office of Research will forward recommendations at the October meeting.
The meeting was adjourned at 3:45. The next
meeting of the Senate is Friday, October, 11th at 2
PM.