Harper College Faculty Senate

Professional … pragmatic … principled … progressive

 

Summary Minutes for March 2, 2006

(approved  March  16, 2006)

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

 

Present:  Sue Bajt, Carole Bomba, David Braunschweig, David Clydesdale, James Edstrom, Patti Ferguson, Kim Fournier, Mary Gawienowski, Paul Guymon, Michael Harkins, Richard Johnson, Sunil Koswatta, Kurt Neumann, Kathi Nevels, Kris Piepenburg, Christine Poziemski, David Richmond, and Andrew Wilson.

Absent:  Pat Beach, Geoff Durian, Julie Fleenor, Kathleen Hock, Daniel Loprieno, Susan Overland, and Renee Zellner.

Guests:  Tom Dowd, Paul Holdaway, John Kiener, Seema Kurup, Xilao Li.

 

I.          Call to Order at 12:24 P.M.

 

II.        President’s Report

  • Michael had words of praise for the recent faculty retreat.
  • The new Academic and Student Affairs Committee has been appointed.  The members include Dave Braunschweig, Rich Johnson, Cathy Albergo, Andrew Wilson and Travaris Harris.
  • Appointments are being made to the Photocopying Committee
  • The Senate Exec had their monthly luncheon with the President’s Council on Monday.
  • The Board of Trustees passed a motion to increase tuition at their last meeting by a vote of 5-2.
  • The deadline for application for the status of Professor Emeritus has been extended.
  • Michael proposed that the Senate write a “white paper” covering issues of importance to the faculty.  He asked that the committee be composed of 3 Senators and 2 at-large faculty.  Dave Richmond so moved; Patti Ferguson seconded.  The motion was approved.

 

III.       Officers’ Reports

  • Paul Guymon reported that the College SWOTs recently came before the College Assembly, which approved them. He also noted that faculty membership in Local 1600 is almost 100%.
  • Michael noted that Dan is absent due to attendance at national wrestling championships.  He congratulated the wrestling team for winning the national championship.

 

IV.       Consent Agenda

·        Patti Ferguson from the Forms Committee briefed the Senate on the committee’s work.  There was some discussion as to what constitutes a form, one definition being any form that is needed to implement the contract.  Patti asked anyone having copies of older versions of forms to send them to her.

·        Kim Fournier from the Climate Study Committee reported on their work.  The committee has reviewed its information and would like to set up an all-faculty meeting to share it with them and provide a forum for discussion.  Jim Edstrom moved that such a meeting be scheduled; Sue Bajt seconded.  The motion was approved.

 

VI.       Old Business

  • Dave Richmond from the Negotiations Team provided an update on their work.  Negotiations should be starting very soon; the team has met with the Exec to discuss the process.
  • Kim Fournier and John Kiener provided an update on the work of the Institutional Planning Committee.  The Assembly has approved SWOTs sent through by the IPC.  The IPC has discussed Senate concerns and will respond to the Senate accordingly.  They will invite faculty to provide more input., emphasizing the need for prioritization.  The IPC did not ultimately incorporate the proposals that the Senate approved and forwarded.  In the ensuing discussion it was noted that there is a substantial learning curve for newer faculty to understand SWOTs and the IPC process.
  • Andrew Wilson presented a memo from the Sabbaticals Committee on the issue of sabbatical requirements being applied to the Canterbury ICISP program.  The memo concluded that Canterbury applicants be treated as before—i.e., without having to apply for sabbaticals.  The Senate discussed possible ways to approach the issue.  Rich Johnson volunteered to check with other institutions to determine their practices in such situations.

VII.     New Business

·        Sunil Koswatta presented a memo from the Physical Sciences Department expressing their concerns that the Advanced Technology Resource Center (ATRC) has been closed effective 2/28/06, apparently out of concern over costs.  It was noted that no faculty were contacted for their input, nor was any announcement made prior to its closing.  Given the importance of this facility, the Physical Sciences Department asked the Senate to investigate the situation and find a resolution that would enable these services to continue.  Sunil Koswatta, Kurt Neumann and Jim Edstrom volunteered to look into the issue with both IT and the Instructional Technology Committee.

VIII.    Adjournment

Dave Richmond moved to adjourn; Dave Braunschweig seconded.  The meeting was adjourned at 1:34 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Jim Edstrom