Faculty Senate Meeting

November 6, 2000, 3:00 p.m., DBH 216

Dr. Hugh Floyd, presiding

Senators present: P. Blanchard, S. Chew, J. Dohoney, S. Epley, G. Frost, J. Hiles, S. Willis, J. Boockholdt, F. Hendon, B. Raabe, K. Mathews, D. Little, R. King, T. Tibbs, J. Bourrand, G. McDaniel, R. Warr, K. Benner, R. DeHart, C. Steil, B. Hutto, E. Wells

Committee chair present: D. Clark

Senator absent with notification:  M. Ponder, R. Richardson

Senators absent without notification: B. Atkinson, D. Sandley, D. Shipley, L. Drummond, T. Berg, A. Bolla, A. Brewer, D. Young, R. Lander

Visitors: B. Matthews, M. Gavin, B. Dobbins, J. Lewis

The meeting was opened with prayer by Steven Epley.

1.  Committee on University Curriculum

The committee met but had no report.  A question was raised about whether the faculty had input in approving the Ph.D. program in education.  The committee reported that an Ed.D. program was approved by the committee (not a Ph.D. program).  The committee was asked by the chair to determine whether the proper procedure was followed for approving the program.

2.  Committee on Academic Affairs

Steven Epley reported that the committee has received and will be ranking faculty development grant requests this month as well as continuing work on the academic integrity request.  Steven said he hopes to have the amended policy on academic integrity ready for the December Faculty Senate meeting.

3.  Committee on University Learning Resources -- There was no report.

4.  Committee on Elections -- There was no report.

5.  Committee on Athletics

Bill Raabe (for Ed Felton) reported that NCAA certification will take place next year, so faculty representation on certification committees will be requested.  Ed Felton will also request that the athletic department look at the effect of Thursday evening games on academics.

6.  Committee on Students Affairs, Religious Life, and University Relations  -- There was no report.

7.  Committee on University Writing

Steven Epley (for David Dedo) reported that the deadline for submission of approval of writing-intensive courses has passed, and the committee is considering the current requests.

8.  Committee on Business Affairs and Faculty Welfare

Tuition benefit exchange -- David Little reported on a tuition exchange program for children and other family members of faculty and staff members.  This program is an undergraduate scholarship program with over 480 participating institutions.  Dr. Joe Lewis previously referred the proposal to the committee, which endorsed it without reservation.  Acceptance of a family member to a participating institution requires the school to have an opening and the prospective student to meet the entry criteria.  Dr. Lewis estimated that 5-10 slots would be open at Samford.  A motion for endorsement of the proposal was made and seconded.  The motion was passed unanimously.

1.  Family Care Leave policy

Betsy Dobbins (chair of an ad hoc committee on family care leave) reported that family leave benefits were not addressed in the Faculty Handbook.  The ad hoc committee asked that faculty get up to one semester of paid leave in order to maintain employee morale and to recruit and retain employees.  The proposal may also prevent future lawsuits.  Family-friendly benefits have been shown to contribute to increased productivity, reduced turnover and absenteeism, and an increased commitment to business.  Also, Samford is hosting a conference on family-friendly businesses, and adoption of this policy would lend even more credibility to Samford’s reputation in this respect.

Betsy also reported that a large amount of time and money were invested in searching for high quality employees, so a policy that increases employee retention would ultimately pay for itself.  Inequities in the current policy include inconsistencies between schools, lack of benefits for adoption, and a lack of an explicit policy on family medical leave.  Comparison of BACHE schools and selected peer institutions revealed a variety of policies, including unpaid leave and paid leave up to one semester, and institutions that have individually negotiated leave policies.  Schools with paid leave often have no accrual of sick days, though sick days are frequently handled on an ad hoc basis.  Betsy characterized the proposed Samford policy as generous but not out of line with other institutions. 

A question was raised as to whether there were low cost insurance policies that could be offered to faculty and staff for such purposes.  Marylyn Gavin added that adoption of this policy would necessitate a change in other University policies.  Another question was raised about whether some aspects of the proposed policy would be covered by workmen’s compensation.  Betsy stated that the committee took care to allow workmen’s compensation to pay employees whenever possible.  A question was raised as to whether there should be a single leave policy for both faculty and staff.   Betsy stated the ad hoc committee felt that both faculty and staff should be covered by a single, generous policy.  Dr. Lewis suggested that the proposal would be included in the Faculty Handbook with references to staff excised; Samford administration would then be in charge of implementation of the policy.  A motion was made to endorse the policy (amended in part 1.b.2 as rate of 1 day per month instead of 4 hours per month) and was seconded; the motion passed unanimously.  The Faculty Senate thanked the ad hoc committee for its hard work.

2.  Update on provost search

Dr. Lewis reported that Dr. Corts has selected a professional search firm to identify candidates for provost.  Dr. Corts has requested that Dr. Lewis appoint faculty members as a liaison committee to the search firm.  Dr. Lewis stated that he would name several Faculty Senate members and the chair of the Faculty Senate to the liaison committee as well as other faculty members and deans.  Dr. Lewis said that the criteria announced last spring for the position have not changed and that the Senate would be notified of the makeup of the committee.

3.  Parking proposal

A proposal was introduced to move the responsibility of parking policy from Student Affairs to a committee consisting of Campus Safety members, faculty, staff, and students.  The proposal was referred to the Business Affairs committee for consideration.

Paul Blanchard reported that department chairs have been instructed to numerically rate faculty members on a 1 to 5 scale for the purpose of getting raises or promotions.  This policy replaces one that ranked faculty members on how deserving they are of raises and promotions.  A question was raised as to whether this policy is (or should be) in the Faculty Handbook.  The criteria for promotion are listed in the Handbook, but the specific policy is not.  Dr. Lewis stated that the current policy is his, and that the purpose of the policy is to have contracts ready to submit to faculty by April 1.  The deans were asked to make recommendations for faculty raises based on merit, and the current policy was introduced to facilitate that process in the absence of a currently budgeted amount of money.  When the exact amount of money for raises is known, the deans then have a means of distributing it equitably.

An invitation to Homecoming events was issued to all faculty and staff members by Monty Hogewood (by proxy).

December 1, 2000, DBH 216, 3:00 p.m.

December 7, 2000, DBH Brock Forum (Auditorium), 3:00 p.m.