The first regular Meeting of the Faculty Senate for the academic year 2005-2006 was held September 8, 2005 at 3:30 p.m. in the Business Building University Room (BB 2.06.04) with Dr. Mansour El-Kikhia, Chair, presiding.
Present: Diane Abdo, Mark Allen, Ron Ayers, Robert Bayley, Manuel Berriozábal, Ron Binks, Rajendra Boppana, Lorenzo Brancaleon, Stacey Davis, Mansour El-Kikhia, Daniel Engster, MaryEllen Garcia, Kirsten Gardner, Timothy Goles, Eugene John, Paul LeBlanc, Patrick McDaniel, James McDonald, Jolyn Mikow, Elizabeth Pate, Debajyoti Paul, Dianne Rahm, Robert Renthal, Earle Reybold, Mariela Rodriguez, Ron Rutherford, Ted Skekel, Betty Travis, Raydel Tullous, Judith Walmsley, Karen Williams, Wan Yao
Absent: Ronald Bagley, Thad Bartlett, Mark Blizard, John Byrd, Aaron Cassill (excused), David Hansen, Lars Hansen, Craig Jordan, Kim Keller, John McCray (excused), Michael Ryan (excused), Rocky Shih (excused), Larry Shrum (excused)
Total members present: 32
Total members absent: 13
Dr. El-Kikhia welcomed new and returning members of the Faculty Senate, and asked everyone to participate. He also reminded everyone that the Faculty Senate must be involved in the functioning of the University of Texas at San Antonio. Dr. El-Kikhia reminded all Faculty Senators of the policies and proposals that were brought forth and passed through the Faculty Senate last year. These included the Part-Time Tenure Policy, Ombudsman, Family Leave Policy, Medical Absences and Teaching Continuity, and a Policy regarding Faculty Hiring in Centers and Institutes. He also discussed that the Faculty Section of the Handbook of Operating Procedures is in the process of being re-written in order to give faculty members a position in the Handbook of Operating Procedures . He informed the members of the Faculty Senate that he has discussed establishing a University Wide Policy Committee with Dr. Rosalie Ambrosino.
Dr. McDonald reported that he has been working on the Faculty Senate newsletter which should be available every quarter or semester. This newsletter's primary purposes are to serve as an institutional memory device and to report activities of the Faculty Senate. He also added that the Faculty Governance webpage has been updated. A concern was brought up that each Faculty Senate Newsletter should have a UT System Faculty Advisory Council update. Dr. McDonald agreed.
Ad Hoc Committee on Handbook of Operating Procedures – Dr. Mansour El-Kikhia
Dr. El-Kikhia asked for the Faculty Senate to approve changing the Ad Hoc Committee on Handbook of Operating Procedures to a permanent Faculty Senate Committee. He also sought approval for the name to be changed to the Committee on Operating Procedures. Members of this committee are Dr. Mansour El-Kikhia, Dr. Rubén Martinez, Dr. Betty Travis, Dr. Daniel Engster, Dr. Manuel Berriozábal, and Dr. Sandy Norman. Dr. El-Kikhia also reminded Faculty Senate members that the committee will provide a report of their findings.
Motions made, seconded, and approved.
Forwarded to and approved by President Ricardo Romo and Dr. Guy Bailey on September 25, 2005.
Academic Policy and Requirements Committee – Dr. Robert Renthal
Dr. Renthal presented a policy for Undergraduate Certification Programs. He stated that this was a request to set up requirements for admission in Undergraduate Certification Programs. A motion was made to discuss this policy. The following concerns were raised regarding Undergraduate Certification Programs:
Dr. Renthal responded to these concerns by suggesting that the policy for Undergraduate Certification Programs should be sent back to the Academic Policy and Requirements Committee where it can be discussed further, and that a representative from an appropriate college should be asked to inform the Faculty Senate of this policy at the next meeting.
Motion seconded and approved.
Ad Hoc Committee on Senate Case Review – Dr. Steven Boyd
Dr. Steven Boyd reported on the findings of the Ad Hoc Committee on Senate Case Review in Dr. Rudy Sandoval's absence. He said that the purpose of this committee was to investigate accusations made against Dr. Manuel Berriozábal from the PREP program. Dr. Boyd added that Dr. Berriozábal was accused by a staff member of an illegal series of activities based through the PREP program in October of 2002. The committee concluded in their findings that the accusations were of an erroneous nature. Dr. Boyd suggested that a statement should be added to the Handbook of Operating Procedures outlining activities faculty members may carry out with their required twenty percent service time to the University of Texas at San Antonio so that administrators may be aware of these activities. He also added that the newly created Ombudsman position should be involved in these cases in order to prevent similar accusations from occurring in the future. Lastly, Dr. Boyd recommended that Dr. Berriozábal should be named the Founding Director of the PREP Program complete with all of the authorities and monies appropriate for that position. Dr. El-Kikhia added that he will inform the Faculty Senate the outcome of the Berriozábal report. He also extended a word of gratitude to the Ad Hoc Committee on Senate Case Review for their completion of the Dr. Manuel Berriozábal Report in a professional and timely manner.
Motions made, seconded, and approved .
Forwarded to President Ricardo Romo and Dr. Guy Bailey on September 13, 2005. Recommendation still pending.
Nominating, Elections, and Procedures Committee – Dr. Robert Bayley
POST ELECTION RESULTS (* indicates new members elected at the September 8, 2005 Faculty Senate meeting)
| Officers and Executive Committee | |
|---|---|
| Mansour El-Kikhia | Chair |
| *Daniel Engster | Vice Chair |
| James McDonald | Secretary of the General Faculty |
| *Diane Abdo | Secretary |
| *Raydel Tullous | Parliamentarian |
| Karen Williams | College of Business |
| Robert Bayley | College of Education and Human Development |
| Rocky Shih | College of Engineering |
| Bill Mullen | College of Liberal and Fine Arts |
| Dianne Rahm | College of Public Policy |
| Betty Travis | College of Sciences |
| *Kenneth Masden | School of Architecture |
| Ted Skekel Chair | Graduate Council |
| Academic Freedom and Tenure Committee | |
| Thad Bartlett | CoLFA |
| Fred Bonner | CoEHD |
| Alyson Ponomarenko | CoS |
| Nestor Sanchez | CoE |
| Rudy Sandoval | CoB |
| *Alan R. Shoho | CoEHD |
| *Sandy Norman | CoS |
| *MaryEllen Garcia | CoLFA |
| *Patrick McDaniel | CoEHD |
| Academic Policy and Requirements Committee | |
| Ron Ayers | CoB |
| Chun Jiang Qian | CoE |
| Robert Renthal | CoS |
| *Francisco Durand | CoLFA |
| *Gelu Popescu | CoS |
| *Robert Hard | CoLFA |
| *Albert Arroyo | CoE |
| Budget Committee | |
| Stephan Bach | Cos |
| Ron Binks | CoLFA |
| Marc Giaccardo | SoA |
| Dianne Robinson | CoEHD |
| Rudy Sandoval | CoB |
| *Lalatendu Misra | CoB |
| *Chia Shih | CoE |
| *Rubén Martinez | CoPP |
| *Betty Travis | CoS |
| Evaluations, Merit, Rewards, and Workload Committee | |
| Ronald Bagley | CoE |
| Stacey Davis | CoLFA |
| Daniel Engster | CoLFA |
| Lars Hansen | CoE |
| Frank Pino | CoLFA |
| Dianne Robinson | CoEHD |
| Deanna White | FI |
| *Rebecca Vela | CoPP |
| *Robert Renthal | CoS |
| *John Pete Blair | CoPP |
| *Amir Karimi | CoE |
| *Yesh Singh | CoE |
| *Rupali Datta | CoS |
| Nominating, Elections, and Procedures Committee | |
| Robert Bayley | CoEHD |
| Eugene John | CoE |
| Shelly Roff | SoA |
| Michael Ryan | CoLFA |
| Paul LeBlanc | CoLFA |
| *Michael Gilbert | CoPP |
| *Albert Arroyo | CoE |
| *Rajendra Boppana | CoS |
| University Curriculum Committee | |
| Manuel Berriozábal | CoS |
| Steven Boyd | CoLFA |
| Felecia Briscoe | CoEHD |
| *Warner F. Fassnidge | CoB |
| *Debajyoti Paul | CoS |
| *Patricia McGee | CoEHD |
| *James D. Calder | CoLFA |
| *Robert Hard | CoLFA |
| *Jerrell D. Coggburn | CoPP |
| *Rita Linard | CoLFA |
| *Roxanne Henkin | CoEHD |
Dr. Rosalie Ambrosino reminded the Faculty Senate that she is working with Dr. Guy Bailey in order to ensure a smooth transition as Interim Provost so that current processes will not be lost. She also stated that a search committee for the new Provost has come together. She said that she regards the Faculty Senate as a critical part of The University of Texas at San Antonio, and that she would like to continue to be a part of the Faculty Senate. The following concerns were raised to Dr. Ambrosino by several Faculty Senate members:
Dr. Ambrosino responded to these concerns as follows:
None
Dr. Mansour El-Kikhia asked each tenured/tenure track faculty member of the Faculty Senate to choose another faculty member from their own department to serve on the Grievance Panel. These appointments need to be sent to Jennifer Milner via e-mail as soon as possible.
Ms. Diane Abdo suggested to the Faculty Senate that a resolution should be passed in order to show support for the students who have relocated to The University of Texas at San Antonio from New Orleans. The resolution states that the faculty of UTSA welcomes and supports all students who are victims of Hurricane Katrina and have relocated to the University of Texas at San Antonio. Once approved by the President's Office, this resolution should be sent to the Student Government Association, Student Affairs Office, and all of the administration at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Motions made, seconded, and approved.
Comments or questions to jennifer.milner@utsa.edu
Last updated November 23, 2005