Faculty Council Meeting
Fall 2007
8-20-07
Executive Board: Bradley A. Nies, President; Linda Bow, Vice President; Kevin Patrick, Secretary.
Minutes taken by Kevin Patrick, Secretary
The Meeting was called to order at 2:44pm on August 20, 2007, in the MRW Studio Theatre of the O’Donnell Performing Arts Center on the Brenham Campus.
In attendance:
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Lois Brokenbourgh |
Assoc. Degree Nursing |
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Brian Hanks |
Biology |
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John Holman |
Biology |
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Steve Rathbone |
Chemistry |
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Vicki Hoffman |
Dev. Reading |
Brenham |
|
Robert Grande |
Dev. Studies |
Brenham |
|
Courtney O’Banion |
English |
Brenham |
|
Linda Bow |
English |
|
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Cathy Brockman |
Fine Arts |
Brenham |
|
Tracy Sommerlatte |
Fine Arts |
Brenham |
|
Sonia M Gangotena |
Fine Arts |
|
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Cheryl l |
Geology |
|
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Charisse Richarz |
Humanities |
Brenham |
|
Brad Meyer |
Library |
Brenham |
|
Robin Chaney |
Library |
Brenham |
|
Mary Castle |
Library |
|
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Julie Menard |
Library |
|
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Brian Carpenter |
Library |
|
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Jason Bontrage |
Library |
|
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Karen Anglin |
Math |
Brenham |
|
Stan Kubicek |
Mathematics |
Brenham |
|
Marvin Lee |
Mathematics |
Brenham |
|
Angela Lawrenz |
Mathematics |
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Abby Baumgardner |
Mathematics |
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Kristen Stoley |
Mathematics |
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Bill Sweet |
Mathematics |
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Charles Heller |
Natural Science |
Brenham |
|
William Smith |
Parallel Studies |
Brenham |
|
Pam Frank |
Parallel Studies |
Brenham |
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Essie Childers |
Parallel Studies |
|
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Wes Whitman |
Physics |
Brenham |
|
Grady Hendricks |
Physics |
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Kris Byboth |
Physics |
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Terry Honan |
Physics |
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Larry Watson |
Social Science |
Brenham |
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Thomas R. Stephens |
Social Science |
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Nilsa Ehresman |
Spanish |
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Kevin Patrick |
Theatre Arts |
Brenham |
|
Bradley A. Nies |
Theatre Arts |
Brenham |
Brad Nies, Faculty Council President, commenced with opening
remarks. H. F. Poehlmann has resigned
from the position of Secretary because of other
The most recent formal proposal, dated March 2005, was read and partially summarized to the council by K. Patrick. Discussion followed, and several talking points were raised: Why the desire for the title change? Have the faculty earned the titles “professor” simply through longevity rather than an administrative and peer review process as in the four-year institutions? What titles do other two-year colleges use? Does the title ‘professor’ indicate a need for a salary raise? Do we need to correlate our titles with comparable positions at Texas A&M?
(The March 2005 proposal should be available on the Faculty Council website for perusal)
A motion was made and amended to include the following changes to the March 2005 proposal:
· Change “Part-Time Faculty” to “Adjunct Faculty”
· Change “Assistant Professor” to “Associate Professor”
A call for a secret ballot was honored and counted by Kevin Patrick with the following results:
To the motion that the March 2005 proposal to change faculty titles be resubmitted to the Administrative Council with the amendments, Yea – 29, Nay – 8, Abstain – 4.
Brad Nies will see that the changes are made and submit the amended proposal at the next Administrative Council meeting.
Several safety issues were brought up and discussed concerning campus safety.
· A campus-wide siren or announcement system for emergency use
· Accessible security phones on each floor of each campus building
· Request for more clarity in safety procedures
· The Civility Statement in practice
o Are students leaving the classroom when asked?
o Are students expelled from campus as disciplinary action?
o Do we know the statistics of disciplined students and its effectiveness in changing behavior?
Brad Nies appointed a Security Committee to report on these and related issues as they arise by October 1st.
Security Committee members: Chair: Tracy Sommerlatte. Members: Abby Baumgardner, Lois Brokenbourgh, Charles Heller
(Post Meeting Note: www.blinn.edu/Faculty%20Information/safety_manual.pdf)
The discussion was initiated, but sidelined by dissimilar information from several members. The truth about what the current policy is and what it should be was hazy, and Brad Nies appointed a committee to explore the current policy and make recommendations for support for or changes to that policy. They will report their findings to Brad by October 1.
Campus Tobacco Use Committee: Terry Honan, Lois Brokenbourgh, Cathy Brockman, Jason Bontrager
(Post
Meeting Note: http://www.blinn.edu/facultyhandbook/facHandbook3.htm#3.1.2.3_Non-Smoking_Policy)
A summary of the Faculty Council was presented to new faculty and staff, as well as a description of the WebCT discussion board and how to gain access through Kristen Stoley.
The Faculty Council exists to represent the faculty before the Administration and Administrative Council. The Faculty Council meets at least twice a year following the general faculty meeting before each semester, but special meetings can be called at any time throughout the year.
Refer
to www.blinn.edu/FacultyCouncil/index.htm
The first old-business issue has to do with faculty overload pay being raised to the same amount as part-time pay for the same workload. A report was given by Courtney O'Banion who explained that many other two-year and four-year colleges follow a similar proportional rather than equivalent pay scale. Further explanation (and perhaps a written report detailing findings) was requested because, as was discussed, the report doesn’t reflect the faculty’s desires.
A committee was formed to further explore the issue, and especially look at NHMCCD and other two-year colleges that Blinn is frequently compared with.
Courtney O’Banion, Chair; with members Brad Meyer, Sonia Gangotena.
(Post
Meeting Note: https://employment.blinn.edu/userfiles/static/customers/157/FSS2007.pdf)
Terry Honan brought up this old issue and wishes to see the Administrative Council reconsider the issue. Points for consideration: lab time is currently paid for at about one-third part-time pay; lab time is not respected by Blinn. The previous motion supported raising lab hour pay to two-thirds or three-quarters part-time pay. Cathy Brockman requested that the proposal consider or mention Art studio hours and take care to not focus on science courses.
Terry Honan will resubmit the proposal to Brad Nies after consultation with Cathy Brockman, and Brad will submit the proposal to the next Administrative Council.
Bill Sweet brought forward the following: “As a professional courtesy and for professional development, faculty should be allowed to audit other Blinn courses in any division free of charge.” A motion by Bill Sweet and seconded by Kristen Stoley was approved by acclimation. A formal proposal will be submitted by Bill to Brad Nies by October 1, and it will subsequently be brought before the Administrative Council
(Post Meeting Note: www.blinn.edu/facultyhandbook/facHandbook3.htm#Auditing)
Steve Rathbone brought forward the following: “The Blinn policy concerning dependent book money should increase the allowance to $100 per course per semester.” The motion was made by Steve Rathbone, Seconded by Tom Stephens, and approved by acclimation.
(Post Meeting Note: $50 book voucher mentioned on Blinn Benefits Brochure: http://www.blinn.edu/personnel/Insurance/Blinn_Benefits_Brochure.pdf)
Kristen Stoley brought forward several concerns that seem to reflect a general disrespect by Blinn Administration for summer school:
· The summer school calendar was such that students graduated from Texas A&M on Saturday, then returned the following Monday to take their Blinn final exam.
· The advertising of Friday classes for summer school was poorly worded, the faculty response was misunderstood, and the administration’s solution to remove Friday classes extended each class meeting time resulting in fewer class offerings during the week.
· The grade distribution for each course is on a Blinn webpage for the Fall and Spring semesters, and it should include ALL courses taught during EVERY semester.
Additional discussion and clarification was brought forward, and eventually the formal motion was made by Kristen Stoley: that the Calendar Committee re-look at the summer schedule with the understanding that the Faculty Council was not opposed to Friday classes but only at how the class schedule was presented to the students; that student services be open and available during all class times; and that we consider the Texas A&M graduation schedule when planning our finals. The motion was seconded by Terry Honan and approved by acclimation. A formal proposal will be forwarded to Brad Nies by October 1st.
Courtney O’Banion brought forth for
consideration that
Bill Sweet moved that “All vehicle permits, for automobiles and motorcycles, be issued at the same time” rather than the current timeline which issues motorcycle permits after automobiles. The motion carried by acclimation.
The Faculty Council was adjourned at 4:41pm.