University of Minnesota, Morris

Campus Assembly Minutes

 

September 20, 2010

 

 

 

 

I.               Chancellor's Remarks.

 

Chancellor Johnson announced the new practice of time limits as noted on the agenda and presented the following remarks:

 

  1. We start the fall semester with lots of good news—enrollment is up; numbers are strong; residence halls are near capacity even with Blakely back on line.  This is just what we wanted and weÕve almost got enough to call it a trend.
  2. The Presidential search continues—we have one faculty member and two alumni on the search committee.
  3. There are plans to reconvene the Blue Ribbon Task Force one last time to revisit major conclusions from the work last year—expect a report subsequent to that meeting with ÒassignmentsÓ to various governance and administrative units.  There are plans to solicit feed back from the ChancellorÕs Advisory Council based on the preliminary work of the Blue Ribbon group last year.
  4. She is looking forward to working the FAC and MASA regarding conducting a salary study as the basis for presentation at the spring compact meeting with two goals:

a.     To improve faculty and P&A salaries at UMM in relation to some agreed upon comparison group and over some agreed upon period of time,

b.     To have in hand a Òsalary planÓ that is embraced by faculty and P&S that can be presented to system administrators at the annual budget/compact meeting as a means to accomplishing the first goal.

  1. At the request of the Consultative Committee, she is pursuing multiple venues to update the campus community on the outcomes and impact of the campus reorganization that was undertaken two years ago—likely a summary report, a community meeting, and hopefully a lively conversation about meaning measures of institutional assessment.
  2. There are many events connected with UMMÕs 50th anniversary this weekend including the screening of the documentary; a campus history panel, a dance on the mall; a community meal; demonstration of native dance and song, the Welcome Center dedication and a formal program on Sunday.

 

Jenny Nellis talked about shared governance and that the importance of having a hand in our governance is what attracted her to stay here.  She encouraged everyone to take part in campus assembly and in governance.

 

II.             For Action.  From the Executive Committee.  Minutes from 5/5/10 Campus Assembly meeting approved as presented. 

 

III.           For Information.  From the Executive Committee.  History of proposed Constitution.

 

Michelle Page reported that the Executive Committee have been the stewards of the proposed Constitution.   There were not enough votes last time to determine a clear conclusion as the will of the people.  The EC asked for permission to bring this back for another round of feedback and voting.  The feedback was excellent and the EC brings the proposed Constitution back to assembly today.

 

IV.           For Action.  From the Executive Committee.  Resolution concerning the ratification process of the proposed constitution was approved as presented.

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Approval of ratification process for Morris Campus Constitution:

 

1.      The proposed constitution will be introduced for discussion at the first Campus Assembly of 2010-2011.  One additional open meeting or forum will be held for purposes of discussion.

2.      The final discussion of the constitution will occur during the October 26, 2010 campus assembly.  If not already posted, the most current version of the proposed constitution document will be posted on the constitution web page within one week of the campus assembly.

 

3.      After a two-week waiting period (as required by Article XI of the constitution), voting on the proposed constitution will commence.  Voting is electronic.  All members of the Campus Assembly are eligible to vote.  The voting period will be one week (7 days).  Daily electronic reminders will be sent to Assembly members who have not yet voted.

4.      The proposed constitution shall be considered ratified when a two-thirds majority of Campus Assembly members in a confidential ballot approves of its adoption as per Article XI of the current constitution, with the proposed constitution serving as an Òamendment of the whole.Ó

(*Note:  Since the UMM constitution provides no guidelines for ratification or implementation of a new constitution, the ratification procedures outlined in this resolution comply with the amendment procedures outlined in Article XI of the current Constitution.   The Executive Committee suggests that the proposed Constitution as a whole be considered as an amendment to the existing constitution, thus the 2/3 majority and the two week Òconsideration periodÓ are honored.)

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V.             For Discussion.  From the Executive Committee.  Substance of the proposed Constitution.

 

Michelle Page addressed some of the key changes in the proposed Constitution as outlined below.

 

 

Key Changes to Constitution[1]

 

Proposed Constitution

Current Constitution

Updated titles, office names, policies

Contains outmoded policies, old titles and office names from prior to the 2009 unit reorganization

 

Amendment requires 2/3 majority of Campus Assembly members who choose to vote : lower bar

Amendment requires 2/3 majority of all Campus Assembly members : higher bar

 

Increased student representation:  90-1 ratio

Student representation at 100-1 ratio

 

Increased USA representation:  25-1 ratio

USA representation at 50-1 ratio

 

Removal for neglect clause (members may be removed from assembly for non-participation, must request to be reinstated—all reinstatement requests will be honored)

 

No clause related to removal or nonparticipation

Rules of Campus Assembly clarified

No articulation of Campus Assembly rules

 

Reporting lines clarified (who appoints Division Chairs, role of administrators, etc.)

 

Less detail about roles and reporting

Faculty and P&A have separate committee appointments (dedicated P&A committee slots)

Utilizes category ÒFPAÓ for committee representation (either faculty or P&A can fill the slot).

 

Steering Committee and Membership Committee (instead of current Executive Committee).  Both committees are elected by Campus Assembly.  The Steering Committee sets Campus Assembly agendas.  The Membership Committee staffs all committees of the Assembly and monitors elections.

 

Executive Committee is elected, deals with Campus Assembly agendas, committee assignments, and other issues as requested by campus or chancellor

Planning Committee and Finance Committee take the place of current Campus Resources and Planning Committee (CRPC).  The Planning Committee will focus on long-terms issues and planning while the Finance Committee will focus on budgets and finances.

 

Campus Resources and Planning Committee (CRPC) deals with many broad issues, including finance and budgets, physical resources (buildings and grounds, etc.), long term campus planning of various sorts.

Removal of subcommittees, all committees report to Campus Assembly

Some committees exist that are labeled ÒsubcommitteesÓ of a larger committee (such as the Curriculum Committee, for example) but the membership is different and the committees function independently.

 

Standing committees have increased terms of three years of membership

 

Core committees have two-year membership terms

Overall committee memberships (not including Division Chairs, ex-officio members or administrators):

Faculty:  57                       FPA total:  75 (increase

P&A:  18                                   from P&A slots)

Staff:  19

Students:  42 (-2 slots from Teacher Ed committee that no longer exists; +1 slot on Finance and Planning—total of 5 students  on these two committees versus 4 on current CRPC; +2 slots on Membership and Steering committees—total of 4, 2 on each committee versus 2 on current Executive Committee; -1 on Student Services Committee; -2 from Grievance Committee that no longer exists)

Overall committee memberships (not including Division Chairs, ex-officio members or administrators):

FPA (no dedicated P&A slots):  67

Staff:  14

Students:  44

 

[1] Much of this material was adapted from a report entitled ÒBrief Overview of the Proposed New ConstitutionÓ, authored by David Roberts with feedback from others.

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Additional questions from assembly members included:  is the FAC in the proposed constitution; how many committees are in the proposed constitution; will classifications of committees change; when is the open forum.  Michelle answers the questions and said the forum would be scheduled within the next two weeks and the EC plans to publicize the meetings in a variety of ways.  It was suggested that non-assembly members will also benefit from the meetings since the constitution affects us all (e.g. students and staff who are not assembly members).  The meetings will be open to all, not just assembly members.

 

VI.           For Action.  From the EC.  2010-11 Committee replacements were approved as presented with one correction:

 

Cyrus Bina replaces Katherine Benson on Assessment of Student Learning

Katherine Benson replaces Jacqueline Julien on Faculty Development

Brittany Kill replaces Michele Lubbers on Functions & Awards

 

VII.         Campus Committee Reports.

 

Mary Elizabeth Bezanson has been elected as chair of the Faculty Affairs Committee.   Feel free to contact her if there are issues you feel should be addressed.

 

Dorothy DeJager reminded assembly members that committee minutes will be posted to the new ummcampusassembly listserve.

 

VIII.       All University Reports.

 

Benefits Advisory Committee

 

Michael OÕReilly reported the termination of allowing deductions from the Flexible Saving Account for over the counter medical expenses applies only to pharmaceuticals obtained without a prescription.  Expenses for other items such as eye classes may still be deducted.

 

Senate Committee for Equity, Access, and Diversity

 

Michelle Page said the committee is pondering an equitable sliding pay scale in case salary reductions are necessary in the future.   In cooperation with the social concerns committee, there has been some discussion about Securian using funds to support political candidates.

 

Faculty Consultative Committee

 

Nancy Carpenter said the committee will be voting on the conflict of interest policy that has been worked on the last two years.  This is primarily coming out of the Academic Center and worries about pharmaceutical companies giving gifts.

 

IX.           Old Business.

 

None.

 

X.             New Business.

 

Mary Elizabeth Bezanson asked if there was any intention to update the UMM website.  She thought the intention was to broaden and include all disciplines on campus.

 

Chancellor Johnson announced the plan to print the phone directory every other year.

 

 

Adjourned at 5:35 p.m.