Text Only

VSU Directory

Select a VSU Department Academic Affairs Access Office Accounting & Finance Admissions Adult & Career Education Advancement Services Advancement, University African American Studies Air Force ROTC Alcohol & Other Drug Education Alumni Relations Art Arts & Sciences, College of Arts, College of the Athletics Auxiliary Services Biology BlazeFM: WVVS (90.9 FM) BlazeNet Board of Regents Bookstore Bursary (Tuition Cost & Fee    Payment) Business Admin. Grad Programs Business Admin., Langdale College    of Business Services Campus Activities Board Campus Alert System Campus Recreation Campus Wellness Career Services Catalogs, Undergraduate &    Graduate Center for Economic Education Chemistry Commencement Communication Arts Communication Disorders Communications Unit Continuing Education Cooperative Education Council on Staff Affairs Council on Undergraduate Research Counseling Center Crime Stats Criminal Justice Curriculum & Instructional    Technology Curriculum, Leadership, and    Technology Department Dance Dean of Students Debate Team Dining Services Disability Services Distance Learning Early Childhood & Special    Education eCore Education, College of Educational Leadership Employee and Organizational    Development Employee Self Service Engineering Engineering Transfer to Georgia    Tech (RETP) English English Language Institute Enterprise Application Services Environmental and Occupational    Safety Environmental Issues Committee Equal Opportunity Programs &    Multicultural Affairs European Council Evening Program Event Services Faculty Development Grants Faculty Research Grants Faculty Senate Finance and Administration Financial Aid Financial Services Food Services Foundation Freshmen Year Experience General Studies Governor's Honors Program Graduate School Graduation Grants & Contracts Greek Life HallNet Health Promotions Health Services Helpdesk, Information Technology HIPAA Policy History Honors Program Hotline Housing & Residence Life HUB Learning Cooperative Human Resources Information Technology Institutional Planning Committee Institutional Review Board for the    Protection of Human    Subjects Internal Audits International Programs International Students Journalism Kinesiology & Physical    Education Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base Leadership Programs Legal Affairs Management Marketing & Economics Marriage & Family Therapy Mass Media Master of Library & Info    Science Master of Social Work Program Mathematics & Computer Science Media Center Middle Grades Education Modern & Classical Languages Music Network Services Nursing, College of OASIS Odum Library Off-Campus Credit Program Info One Card Services Organization & Mission Orientation Parent Resource Center Parking & Transportation Peach State Summer Theatre Perspectives Philosophy and Religious Studies Physics, Astronomy, &    Geosciences Planned Giving Planning, Strategic Plant Operations Police Department Political Science President's Office Presidential Search Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) Psychology & Counseling Public Administration Public Services Publication and Design Services Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) Records Policy Registrar Religious Studies SACS Accreditation Satellite Services Science Seminar Small Business Development Center Social Work, Division of Sociology, Anthropology, Criminal    Justice South Georgia College Entry Program South Georgia Institute Special Education Special Events Spectator Strategic Planning Strategic Planning Database Strategic Research & Analysis Student Affairs Student Conduct Office Student Development Organization Student Employment Student Government Association Student Handbook Student Life Student Organizations Student Success Center Tech Shop Telecommunications Testing Theatre Training and Development University Advancement University Assessment Committee University System of Georgia Valdosta Educators Credit Union Vending Services Veteran's Affairs VSU Foundation VSU TV VSU TV Live VSU Undergrad & Grad Catalogs WebCT Wireless Internet for VSU Women's and Gender Studies WVVS 90.9

Prospective Students | Current Students | Faculty & Staff | Alumni & Friends | Parents & Visitors | BlazeNet

Home > Faculty Senate > Meeting Documentation > Faculty Senate Minutes > April 22, 1999

April 22, 1999

Chairman	Vice Chairman	Executive Secretary	Parliamentarian
President H. C. Bailey	Vice-Pres. L. Benjamin	Dr. David Boyd	Dr. Robert Hull

(NO-ATTACHMENT VERSION)*

Minutes of the April 22, 1999 Faculty Senate Meeting The Valdosta State University Faculty Senate meeting convened at 3:30 p.m. in Powell Hall Auditorium. Members present were: President and Chair - Hugh C. Bailey(out of town); Vice President, Academic Affairs - L. Benjamin; Executive Secretary - D. Boyd; Parliamentarian - R. Hull(absent) ; Ex-officio Senators - J. Brignati, K. Ferrell(absent), L. Milbrandt, T. Dasher, K. Stanley(absent), F.D. Toth(absent), M.A. Reichenbach(absent), E. Clark(absent), G. Gaumond, P. Cleveland(absent); College of the Arts: V. Pennington, C. Edwards, M. Harbin, T.Harding, D. Farwell(absent), J. Wheeler; College of Arts and Sciences; S. Goel, J. Hiers, D. Bogyo, S. Childs(absent), B. Derrick, L. Hanes, M. Hardin, A. Lazari, B. Bergstrom, D. Boyd, B. Brown, J. Elza, B. Evans, T. Meyers, V. Soady(absent), B. Adler(absent), H. Harper, S. Seyfarth; College of Business Administration: A. Reddy(absent), H. Ray(absent), F. Ware, M. Holland; College of Education: C. Backes, J. D. Thomerson, R. McClung, M. Garber, B. Gerber, F. Smith(proxy B. Gerber), J. Hummel, P. Anderson, S. Andrews, J. Dorminey, T. Root-Sirmans, A. Gibbs, E. Gillis, K. Wells, R. Hull, M. Venn; College of Nursing: D. Ebron, D. Roush; Division of Social Work: R. Vodde; Division of Learning Support :J. Wilkinson ; Odum Library: S. Crawford( proxy George Gaumond); Pres. Of SGA: Jake Golden(absent)

1. The meeting was called to order by Dr. Benjamin.
2. The minutes of the March 18, 1999 Faculty Senate were approved with the correction being made to amend the report of the Faculty Development and Research Committee by R. McClung under numeral 8. section i. The amended sentence should read: " D. Bogyo asked if there were still funds available for faculty development research."
3. Unfinished Business
4. New Business
   1. Concerning the Master Plan, Dr. Benjamin stated that the Regents were very clear regarding the need of the Master Plan to be more general than specific in order not to have an effect on the economic balance of Valdosta. He stated that it was to Mr. Blake Ellis's credit and those who work with him that they did, in the course of their study and through numerous graphs digest a lot of material. Dr. Benjamin reminded the senate that there was a copy of the Plan in the library for interested parties' perusal. He stated that the presentation of which an abbreviated version would be presented at this faculty senate meeting had been presented to the Institutional Planning Committee, to the Deans, the cross-team of the Board of Regents and to various representatives of the Faculty Senate. To be certain that there is good communication between the University and its faculty, Mr. Ellis had agreed to present an overview of the plan to the Senate at this meeting.
      Mr. Ellis stated that he appreciated the opportunity to be able to present the Master Plan and said that although he was not accustomed to being vague, the Regents wanted the University to be able to adapt to changes concerning future planning. He stated that he anticipated that the University would eventually acquire all of the property from Georgia Avenue south and closing Georgia to develop a faculty parking lot. This would lead to Blazer Boulevard extending from Georgia Avenue to the library and becoming the main pedestrian thoroughfare for the University. As the campus expands to the south, Mr. Ellis noted the direction of expansion shown by the Master Plan to the East and West, including the land by the cemetery, which should be easy to acquire. He stated that Valdosta State University was a very land-poor university. He stated that the area by Three-Mile Branch could not be built upon because it falls within the 100-year flood plain. The Master Plan, he stated, was developed by doing an inventory of all the buildings, structures, and land and then determining the needs and how to meet those needs. The goals, while meeting these needs, are to expand the campus in its current architectural style, to allow growth into the areas around the campus, to maintain the existing greenspace and to eventually acquire more land for building. He stated that the next step was to present the plan to the Board of Regents. The Master Plan that has been chosen by the administration to be presented is the less specific of the two. At this time, Mr. Ellis asked for any question from the Senate.
      D. Bogyo asked for clarification on which plan would be presented to the Board of Regents. Mr. Ellis stated that the less specific plan would be. He said that by presenting a plan that was vague, it would allow the University more leeway in its building in the future.
      B. Bergstrom asked if a topographic survey had been done in other areas of the creek besides the section by the library. Mr. Ellis stated that he was not sure if the current survey was an accurate one. Mr. Brignati stated that the University was currently attempting to contract for that survey, but he was not able to give a timeline of when the survey might occur.
      Dr. Dasher asked if any development had been planned for the North Campus. Mr. Ellis stated that the warehouse on North Campus was slated to be demolished, but the athletic fields would stay.
      B. Derrick stated that there had been some discussion concerning the section of the stream in the flood plain area becoming an educational area for studying in the science education areas. Mr. Ellis stated that the flood situation could be helped in the creek by developing a series of ponds along the creek. He said that this would alter the state of the creek, but that it is hardly in its natural state now, with all the concrete and rubble in the creek and the erosion along the banks. He said that the ponds would be set up in the creek so that when one filled, it would overflow into the next pond farther down the creek. B. Derrick stated that the educational area she was speaking of was discussed as being developed farther west of the area Mr. Ellis was speaking of. Mr. Ellis stated that the educational area had not been discussed. B. Derrick asked if the educational area might be discussed at a later time. Mr. Ellis stated that the city had discussed developing a bike path from Remerton, along the creek, and through the campus, but nothing had been resolved concerning this.
      B. Derrick asked is most of the future parking plans for the University concerned satellite parking. Mr. Ellis stated that he had discovered that Valdosta State University did not have a parking problem, but a parking problem where most people wanted to park. He stated that if people were willing to walk, there was parking for them. He stated that parking had been planned for the Georgia Avenue area at the end of Blazer Boulevard. Also, the possibility of double-decking the parking lot on Oak Street as well as satellite parking had been discussed.
      Dr. Benjamin thanked Mr. Ellis for his presentation and T. Archibald for his assistance in the presentation.
      
   2. Report of the Academic Committee - The report of the March 8, 1999 meeting of the Academic Committee was presented by Dr. Benjamin and approved.
   3. Report of the Committee on Committees – M. Holland presented the report for S. Crawford. He stated that at the April 8th meeting of the committee, D. Roush reported the results of the tallied Grievance ballots. Brian Adler, Ginger Macheski , and Richard Saeger were elected to fill the three vacant 1999-2002 terms on the Grievance Committee. At that meeting, COCO also reviewed the Standing Committee leadership and selected chair-elects from the incoming senators. The balance of senators on each committee was taken into consideration, trying to ensure all units were represented. It was reported that work on the roster would continue through the next scheduled meeting on Thursday, April 29th. He added that data from the "Requests for Committee Assignments" was currently being examined and prepared for entry into an Access file, so that all the detail would be accessible when making Standing Committee appointments. He stated that the roster should be completed by May 20th to insure its distribution in the June Senate agenda.
   4. Report of the Institutional Planning Committee – V. Pennington stated that the committee would be holding their last meeting of the year on April 28th, where they would celebrate the passing of the Strategic Goals and the passing of the chairmanship to Charles Backes.
   5. Report of the Faculty Affairs Committee – The Faculty Affairs Committee had no report.
   6. Report of the Faculty Grievance Committee – The Faculty Grievance Committee had no report.
   7. Report of the Senate Executive Secretary

      1. 1999-2000 Faculty Senate Calendar – D. Boyd referred to the calendar, included in the agenda. He stated that Senate meetings would be held on the third Thursdays of September, October, and November for the Fall Semester, February, March, and April for the spring semester, and June for the Summer term. After asking for any discussion, and having none, the calendar was approved as presented. (The calendar is furnished herein as Attachment #1).
      2. Policy and Procedures on Scholarly Misconduct-R. McClung presented the document on behalf of the Faculty Development and Research Committee. B. Derrick stated that on page 2 of the document under the heading Interim aministrative Action in the last sentence of the first paragraph, the concern she raised came from the fact that who the appeal would go to in this case was not obvious at all. The sentence reads: The respondent will be given the reasons for any temporary interim administrative action and afforded the opportunity to appeal such action. She elaborated by stating that if there are allegations of some sort of misconduct, eventually the Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA) would make the decision that something was being alleged sufficiently that some sort of official investigation should take place. The VPAA, having made that decision, directs the Dean of the appropriate college to proceed with the process of setting something in motion. She asked that that a faculty member is told that there is a problem and is excused from working at the University. If the faculty member believes they have been wrongly accused and they are removed from their research and the classroom and their reputation is ruined. The statement, as it reads now, in the document, states that one should appeal along the administrative line, at least as far as the VPAA. However, the VPAA would have been the person who in the first place began the investigation because they thought there was enough happening to merit it. She stated that faculty could not appeal to the President because the faculty member would put their possibility for a grievance hearing at some point in jeopardy. She stated that their needs to be an appeal here, but she had a problem with suggesting there exists a route of appeal, when in fact there does not. She stated that this is further complicated by the fact that this document covers not only faculty but students and staff members as well and the grievance committee might be a possibility for a faculty member because the Statutes state that the Grievance Committee has the authority to conduct inquiries into grievances by faculty members who have exhausted the colleges appellate chains. She stated that the Grievance Committee does not, however, handle staff or student grievances, and that there needed to be the analogous route that staff members or students appeal to. She stated that left as is, the document leads one to believe they have an appeals process when they do not.
         J. Elza stated that as far as she understood, the only appeal students could make was to the Judiciary Comm8ittee in anything unless they were going up the line administratively. She stated that she did not think that staff members had any grievance procedure at all.
         Dr. Benjamin asked if there was not a tradition in some case of appeal that the President formed an AdHoc Committee as an advisory group. He wondered, given t the mix of students, staff, and faculty, the ability to move rather quickly and form such a committee would work. B. Derrick stated that in something as serious as this is, she thought that the appropriate appeal for a faculty member would be the Grievance Committee unless some sort of mediation would solve the grievance. She stated that she was aw3are that some faculty members had served on appeals committees for staff in the past and for students, but that she was uncomfortable having such an informal route of appeal due to the seriousness of the issue. She stated that if the present process was working, the Senate should include it in this document.
         J. Elza stated that the informal committee Dr. Benjamin referred to, she thought, according to the BOR policy, would be the committee that would be conducting the investigation, and faculty members could not appeal to the committee that conducts the investigation.
         She made the motion to amend the sentence to include the grievance committee as an appeal process for faculty members and to send the document back to the Faculty Development and Research Committee to include staff members and students.
         B. Derrick stated that she hoped that the committee would also see that dispute resolution would be included in the document for staff and students. She also stated that she wanted to be sure that this would be included in the document.
         Dr. Benjamin asked if the sentence should read The respondent will be given the reasons for any temporary interim administrative action and afforded the opportunity for mediation or appeal such action to...
         A.Lazari stated that he thought that the Grievance Committee looked at the evidence and then reported to the VPAA on whether or not the intervention should be taken.
         B. Derrick stated that that at various points along the way the person who is being investigated should be able to appeal certain actions. At this point, when an interim administrative action is going on, there needs to be a way to appeal an action. She stated that she sees the investigation coming from the investigation committee that is being set up and persons need a right of appeal again.
         D. Bogyo agreed with B. Derrick that the Grievance Committee was a faculty member's last chance for appeal. To engage the Grievance Committee at an earlier point would tie up the committee with a lot of situations they have not voted on in the past to undertake. D. Boyd clarified D. Bogyo's statement by asking if D. Bogyo meant that since the Grievance Committee is set up as a last resort for appeal, if it would be appropriate to involve the committee at the interim level. D. Bogyo agreed and stated that he also wanted to add in the document the availability of Alternate Dispute Resolution to make sure that anyone involved in a grievance procedure knew that this opportunity was available to them.
         B. Derrick added that D. Bogyo pointed out that, if the Grievance Committee was engaged early in the appeals process, this might cause persons serving on the committee to have a conflict of interest later on. She stated that if this situation comes about, that it was very important that the administration does not appoint persons who are on the grievance committee to any of the prior appeals committees while decisions are being made. She stated that, in the past, during grievance procedures, committee members have felt that had to recuse themselves because they had been part of the earlier decision-making process.
         D. Bogyo stated that the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution would have to be agreed upon by both parties. If that is not the case, then it could not be used.
         T. Dasher called the question and asked that the issue be clarified and sent back to the committee with the additional clarification on page 5 of the document that staff and students are included in the appeals process.
         The Policy and Procedures on Scholarly Misconduct was remanded back to the Faculty and Research Committee for modification.
      3. Reports from Standing Committees

         1. Report of the Academic Honors & Scholarship Committee - Dr. Stan Andrews - reported that his committee had met throughout the year as needed to assist with the First Year and Presidential Scholars program, Honors Day preparations, selection of the Georgia Legislative Day Award Winner, selection of the Annie Powe Hopper Award winner, and make recommendations to the faculty senate on academic honors and scholarship matters. The committee has two items of business pending to decide whether an adjustment needs to be made in the GPA necessary for "Dean's List" status (Remanded by the senate), and a permanent committee assignment to the AH&S committee to assist with ceremonies. (The report is furnished herein as Attachment # 2).
         2. Report of the Academic Scheduling and Procedures Committee – Prof. Tracy Meyers reported that during the year, the committee met and discussed several recommendations concerning commencement exercise, final exam schedules and class schedules. (The report is furnished herein as Attachment # 3).
         3. Report of the Athletic Committee – Dr. Mike Holland reported on the activities of the committee, an oversight committee functioning in an advisory capacity to both the Senate and Director of Athletics. (The report is furnished herein as Attachment # 4).
         4. Report of the Educational Policies Committee – Prof. Donna Ebron reported that during the first meeting of the year for the committee, the bylaws were reviewed without changes and goals were set for the year. The committee addressed several issues concerning intellectual property, faculty workloads, and registration. (The report is furnished herein as Attachment # 5).
         5. Report of the Environmental Issues Committee – Dr. Dennis Bogyo reported on the activities of the committee for the year, which included old growth tree areas, sections of One-Mile Branch, recycling on campus, reserved parking, and campus beautification. (The report is furnished herein as Attachment # 6).
         6. Report of the Student Activities Committee – Dr. Bob Evans reported that the committee reviewed its charges at the beginning of the year and requested that documentation of policies governing each charge be compiled and reviewed by the committee. Although a quorum was not present during the meetings, the committee continued efforts to coordinate the efforts of different campus groups presenting programs related to Human Sexuality issues. The committee is also working to develop referral services on campus and the mission of Minority Affairs. (The report is furnished herein as Attachment # 7).
         
         

         Dr. Boyd mentioned that the Administrative Evaluations had been distributed and encouraged Senators to fill out and return the forms to Dr. Michael Crowe's office.

5. General Discussion

   L. Benjamin thanked the standing committees for their hard work during the year. He then discussed the contingency of three that traveled to China for ten days. They traveled to a University to formally sign a partnership agreement with the University and Valdosta State. About four or five months ago, a delegation from that university traveled to several institutions throughout the state. The delegation decided that Valdosta State was the most hospitable and compatible with their institution. L. Benjamin attended a ceremony to seal the agreement between the universities, which included an exchange through the College of Education in Kinesiology, where a faculty member trained in martial arts will travel to Valdosta. Another exchange would include an English faculty member traveling to China to aid in the teaching of language to their students. Our university has proposed to send a group, possibly a jazz ensemble to their university and have arranged for a group of Valdosta State students to travel during a summer term as well. L. Benjamin reported that the stipend for international exchanges had been increased from $2,000 to $4,000 to encourage faculty members to participate in the program.

   C. Backes made the motion that the Senate officially send their appreciation to secretaries and staff members of the University for the fine job they do on behalf of students, faculty, and the entire institution. B. Derrick added that perhaps the Senate should extend thanks to the Senate secretary as well. Senators agreed and provided the secretary with applause (thank you). L. Benjamin thanked the Senate for such a sensitive motion and asked for any further discussion.

   A. Lazari questioned the policy of sheriff deputies disrupting his class to apprehend students in his classroom. He asked if the department head or secretary should be notified beforehand and the student should be taken into custody before or after class. L. Benjamin stated that if it is not clear what the policy is, it needs to be made clear. L. Levy stated that if there is no immediate danger of fire or something of that nature, he was not sure that there was a procedure in place. L. Benjamin said that he would check into the matter. B. Derrick stated that other faculty members had discussed this intrusion and expressed her opinion that this occurrence be avoided. L. Levy stated that Public Safety should be involved and the student should be notified before or after class instead of invading the classroom. L. Benjamin stated that he would take the comments into consideration.

   There being no further discussion, the meeting adjourned at 4:45 PM.