|
UWA FACULTY SENATE MINUTES
Tuesday, March 18, 2003 - 3:30 p.m.
Wise Conference Room - Wallace Hall 213
I.
Roll Call
Dr. Janis Beaird called the meeting to order at 3:30
p.m. Members present were Dr. Richard Schellhammer, Dr. Tina Jones, Dr. R.T.
Floyd, Dr. Lesa Shaul, Mr. Bill Lenning (for Jim Shelton) Mr. Mark Brothers, Dr.
Mark Griffith, Dr. Tom Gonzalez, Ms. Ann Ketcham, Dr. Betty Cowan, Dr. Dwayne
Massey, Dr. Richard Buckner, Dr. Nancy Kudlawiec, Dr. Dianne Richardson (for
Dr. Louis Smith) , Dr. Bill Ward and Mr. Jim Todd.
II. Approval of February 18, 2003 Minutes
A motion was made to approve the February 18, 2003
minutes by Dr. Mark Griffith. The motion was seconded by Dr. Betty Cowan. The
minutes passed unanimously.
III. Old Business
-
Higher Education Day/ACUFP Meeting – Dr. R.T. Floyd
Dr. Floyd distributed an update from ACUFP and the
State Plan for Alabama Higher Education 2003-08. Dr. Floyd was invited to
attend the Presidents’ Council meeting the day before Higher Education Day in
Montgomery on March 13. The plan distributed to the Senate is a draft plan.
Dr. Floyd is interested in receiving feedback by March 31, so that he can get
his comments to ACHE by April 1. He encouraged the representatives to share the
plan with their faculty members. As a group, ACUFP approved a tax reform
resolution, similar to the one passed by the Senate on Feb. 18, 2003.
Dr. Floyd noted that the biggest concern that ACUFP
has is getting the citizens to approve tax reform. He also distributed a handout
listing the leadership in the Alabama Senate and House and committee members of
the State Finance and Taxation Education Committee and House Education Finance
and Appropriations Committee. In addition, he distributed tips on making
legislative contact.
The ACUFP feels it is important to get all the
university to create a petition to encourage supporting Alabama Tax Reform. He
said what he would like to get the petitions circulated, signed, and back to the
legislature by April 10. When the petitions are completed they can be sent to
Dr. Floyd. He encouraged the faculty to take the petitions to their classes and
have Alabama students to sign.
Dr. Floyd said a big message of Higher Education Day
was that Higher Education drives economic development.
IV. New Business
-
State of the University – Dr. Richard Holland
Dr. Holland began by addressing enrollment.
Currently, we have sixty-five more applications for Fall than last year at
this time. Dr. Holland said his goal is to have at least 100 more freshmen
for next year. He also added that the CSU program is continuing to grow.
Dr. Holland reminded the Senate that this year UWA
received a line item in its budget that could only be used for economic
development. UWA has now created a center for community and economic
development in the West Alabama region. A director for this center is currently
being sought. Applications are being reviewed at this time. At the moment, ten
applications are being reviewed. Dr. Holland distributed a press release on the
center and a job description for the director’s position. According to Dr.
Holland, the center will be a help to UWA’s outreach.
Dr. Holland also addressed remedial courses. He
noted that of the students taking remedial courses seventy percent took one
course. These students brought in a half million dollars in tuition. There is
a current proposal before the Governor that all remedial courses be removed to
community colleges. Dr. Holland noted that the two research universities in our
state are pushing this proposal. These same universities claim not to have
remedial courses; however the courses are simply not named remedial. Dr.
Johnson of the community college system has been invited to our campus.
The research institutions have also proposed that
the 50-mile out-of-state tuition waiver be removed. That means that the seven
counties in Mississippi who currently pay in-state tuition would have to pay
out-of-state tuition. Dr. Holland said the regional state institutions are
meeting the first week in April to discuss this issue. The research
institutions claim such a move would save the state money. However, it would
hurt regional institutions. Currently this would affect 163 students on our
campus.
The Governor has proposed budget cuts of $374,705
for UWA. The average cut from the education budget was 6%. UWA’s amount
represents a 3.8% cut. To do this we would have to cut DOE, five faculty
positions currently being advertised would not be filled, seven staff members in
housekeeping would be released, the snack bar would be closed, and one
secretarial position would not be filled.
To maintain what we have without removing these
positions, UWA would have to raise tuition 10 –15% and faculty would have to
begin to pay part of their insurance.
Dr. Holland distributed handouts to the Senate
explaining what the proposed budge cuts would mean in specific areas such as
technology, maintenance, salaries, health insurance etc.
Dr. Holland entertained questions from the Senate.
Dr. Holland said that we are dealing with a paradox in the legislature. On the
one hand the Governor’s office questioned the efforts being taken to recruit
international students, specifically South American students, while the same
offices appear to not see the value of out-of-state students. Dr. Holland
reminded everyone that UWA gets a lot of support from the Meridian area.
Dr. Schellhammer asked what effects the proposed
budget cuts would have on athletics. According to Dr. Holland, the effects on
both athletics and academics would be equal.
Dr. Holland spoke of the regional institutes that he
wishes to start. He cited Alabama Southern and their Writers’ Symposium as an
example. Alabama Southern has already inquired about acquiring the Ruby Pickens
Tartt, Julia Tutwiler, and Geneva Mercer papers. According to Dr. Holland, UWA
has to find resources to mine the resources it has or others will take it from
UWA. He added there are people interested in locating a national forest in this
area. The forest will deal with the prairies and forests of this area. Another
area for a possible regional institute would be the development of a Technology
Center.
Following this information, Dr. Holland distributed
material given to the Governor’s Office, the legislative financial office and
Campaign for Alabama (a branch of the Alabama Business Council) to show how UWA
fits in the state and the role UWA plays in the state. These groups wanted to
know about the history of the institution and the mission statement. They also
wanted to know types of accreditation, and peaks of excellence (programs that
have a regional or nationally ranking), our promotion of economic growth,
promotion of technology in the region, and educational outreach.
Finally, Dr. Holland said that UWA has to bring in
more money from outside sources. He would like to bring in a grants writer to
help faculty and staff. Other regional institutions use only about 30% of state
monies. UWA uses 50% of the monies.
-
NCAA Requirements – Mr. Micky Smith
Micky Smith, chairperson of the Athletic Committee,
distributed a handout outlining some of the issues in the GSC. This is Smith’s
third year as faculty representative for athletics. He commented that UWA is
fortunate to have Clarence Egbert and Dee Outlaw. He noted that he has seen a
great push in the academic arena. Incoming freshmen must have completed 13 core
courses in high school and a minimum SAT score of 868. Very few of Division II
students go on to a professional career; therefore it is important to develop
the person as well as the athlete. All coaches must pass the GSC test and
before they can go off campus and recruit they have to pass the NCAA exam
yearly. One of Smith’s duties is to administer that exam. The exam is graded
in Birmingham.
According to Smith, the GSC is one of the premier
conferences in Division II. It is a very competitive conference. UWA’s student
athlete population is around 15%. UWA has 8 sports on campus. The Athletic
Committee is currently looking at two other sports. They are looking into men’s
and women’s soccer or men’s and women’s tennis or men’s and women’s golf. The
NCAA is recommending that one have 10 sports to be considered a Division II
school. Smith noted that Division III already requires 10 sports. Each week
the coaches have to turn in a schedule of activities to Smith weekly. The
students cannot practice or participate in sports more than 20 hours per week.
This is a NCAA requirement.
He pointed out that the NCAA puts a cap on the
number of scholarships distributed. In football for example, UWA can only have
36 scholarships. We currently have 30.3 scholarships. In most of these
categories UWA falls in the lower third of these. He also directed the Senate’s
attention to the last page of the handout which listed the teams’ GPA, and
student athletes with 4.0 averages and 3.5 GPA’s or higher.
V. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 4: 50 p.m. with a
motion by Dr. Nancy Kudlawiec and seconded by Dr. Mark Griffith.
|
