Harper College Faculty Senate

Professional … pragmatic … principled … progressive

 

Executive Board:  Michael Harkins, President; Paul Guymon, Vice President; Jim Edstrom, Secretary; Dan Loprieno, Treasurer; Sue Overland, Grievance Officer; Julie Fleenor, Past President

Summary Minutes for May 5, 2005

(approved   September 1, 2005)

 

I.                   Call to Order at 12:26 P.M.

 

II.                            President’s Report

  • The recent Lobby Day in Springfield was well-attended.
  • The Civic Federation is supporting Governor Blagojevich’s plan to change the state pension system, which would reduce cost-of-living raises for everyone.  House bills 8730 and 8750 would help to solve the funding problem by making changes to income and property tax structures in Illinois.  Everyone is urged to contact the Governor’s office.
  • Michael stopped by the meeting of the statewide Faculty Advisory Council that took place at Harper on Friday, April 29th.  Michael commended Renate von Keudell for her work with this group.
  • The spring luncheon is tomorrow, and the Local 1600 banquet will take place later this month.

 

III.             Consent Agenda

The minutes from the Senate meeting of April 21st were distributed and examined.  Paul Guymon moved that the minutes be approved as amended; Dave Richmond seconded.  The minutes were approved.

 

Michael asked for a motion to amend the agenda to go directly to “New Business—Academic Leadership.”  Rich Johnson made the motion and Paul Guymon seconded.  The motion was approved.

 

IV.             New Business

Marge Skold reported that she met with the Senate Exec earlier this week concerning two initiatives that she would like to pursue in the coming year:

      1)         What would the curriculum look like with a baccalaureate in applied science?

      2)         Why are adult student enrollments declining?

 

Marge wanted to make sure that she keeps the Senate fully informed of these initiatives.  She also reported on the Academic Reorganization Task Force that has been formed with three faculty, three deans and one pro-tech.  This group will act as a clearinghouse for issues that arise from the reorganization process.

 

V.              Officers’ Reports

Jim reported that the complete list of faculty who are eligible for reappointment to committees is being posted.  Faculty should send an e-mail to facultysenate@harperfacultysenate.org to indicate whether or not they wish to be reappointed.  This will enable Jim to compile a complete list of vacancies that will be advertised during the summer, when it is hoped that the slots can be filled.

 

VI. New Business continued

Kevin Perez reviewed the new ERP that is slated to be implemented soon.  It will work in three phases, covering financial, human resources, and students.  Training will be provided.  Kevin went over the guiding principles of the project, and he noted that more information is available at http://hip/it/erp.

 

VII.     Informational

Dianne Batzkall reminded everyone that there will be a ceremony to rededicate trees planted in memory of individual Harper staff on Saturday, May 21st at 2:00 PM.

 

VIII.    Old Business

The climate study was discussed.  Paul Guymon reported that the Senate Exec proposed holding an all-faculty meeting at which Dr. John Gatta could present the study results.  Liz Minicz moved that the meeting be scheduled; Dianne seconded.  The motion was approved.  Michael Harkins indicated that no paper summaries of the results will be given to anyone.  It was asked why the results of the climate study were presented to Dr. Breuder and the President’s Council on the Monday after the last Senate meeting (April 25th), especially given that at that Senate meeting, as the minutes indicated, “There was discussion of the results and of how the information could be disseminated.  The Senate will discuss the issue further before doing anything.”  Michael replied that he had decided to bring the information to that forum in consultation with the Exec; Jim Edstrom, however, replied that he himself had never been consulted on this point, and if he had been asked, Jim would have opposed sharing the information in such a setting without first consulting the Senate.  It was pointed out that some faculty have asked why the President and the Vice Presidents were allowed to see the results before the faculty at large.  The point was also made that this underscores the need for better communication between the Senate and the faculty.

 

The Vice President evaluations were discussed, and draft copies of the evaluation instrument were distributed.  There was a discussion of whether to do the survey now or in the fall; the consensus was to complete it in the fall.

 

It was asked that at future meetings there be a time limit placed on presentations.

 

Renate von Keudell reported on the Faculty Advisory Council meeting recently held at Harper College.  Issues relating to pay and tuition were discussed at that meeting.

 

IX.       New Business (continued)

Michael reported that the Insurance Committee has met to begin discussing changes in insurance.  No data are available as yet.  The faculty representatives on the committee will be Michael Harkins, Dan Loprieno, and Pat O’Leary.

 

Michael welcomed the new members of the Senate.

 

IX. Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 1:35 PM.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Jim Edstrom