FACULTY SENATE MEETING
September 26, 1997

PRESENT: J. Allison, R. Barton, E. Bateman, J. Blach, L. Brown-Wilson, J. Copenhaver, G. Corderman, J. Cox, J. Emerson, M. Fenger, P. Fox, G. Goicoechea, D. Hoem, L. Horton, C. Hyslop, L. Hyslop, P. Josey, M. Kuhl, K. Martin, C. McMullen, L. Owens, S. Popeck, M. Ports, J. Rice, K. Schwandt, R. Siler, S. Sweetwater, B. Tenney, G. Tenney, M. Van de Ven

ABSENT: G. Avent, P. Bagley, D. Borino, R. Byram, P. Collins, F. Daniels, K. Dimick, V. Easterly, A. Emerson, C. Ferry, S. Garcia, M. Harper-Harrison, S. Hawkins, R. Jahns, R. Kampf, J. Karr, F. King, J. Licht, L. Mahlberg, E. McCombs, M. McFarlane, R. McNally, B. Murphy, M. Myrhow, E. Nickel, P. Normandie, J. Pryor, L. Reber, N. Remington, B. Sanford, J. Shaw, G. Smith, J. Smith, P. Smith, J. Stringfield, M. Swetich, P. Warren, J. Williams,

OTHERS PRESENT: Susanna Dorr, System Computing Services

  1. ATTENDANCE: Silent roll was taken. Chair Marilee Kuhl declared a quorum present.

  2. CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 1:20 p.m.

  3. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS: Chair Marilee Kuhl welcomed everyone to the meeting.
    1. E-Mail has been used for the distribution of the agenda, meeting minutes, etc. This seems to be the preferred method of distribution; therefore, the planned elimination of paper copy is set for December except for those items not distributed prior to meeting.

  4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The minutes of the August 28, 1997, meeting were unanimously approved.

  5. SENATE CHAIR REPORT: Chair Marilee Kuhl reported the following:
    1. Board of Regents Meeting, September 4-5, TMCC -
      1. Chair Jill Derby announced her three-fold agenda for UCCSN: Communication, Access, and Accountability. Stressed the need for individual committees to meet with the regular council on the scheduled dates.
      2. Academic Research and Student Affairs Committee - Regent Dorothy Gallagher chairs the committee addressing the academic plan which includes articulation and transfer, the developmental plan, tracking programs, and relationships among high schools and the college system. Jill Derby expresses interest in such issues which directly effect the community colleges within the System.
      3. Campus Environment Committee - Howard Rosenberg chairs the committee addressing activities which occur on the campuses. He emphasizes civility between individuals and addressing potential problems before they occur. Agenda items for the committee include sexual harassment, cultural diversity of minorities, status of women, gender equity, etc. UNLV shared their plan entitled the Just Community Model which is their firm policy on such issues.
      4. Chancellor Jarvis -
        1. Introduced the Legislative Summary Packet which is available for review upon request.
        2. Legislative attitude toward UCCSN is very positive with the system receiving 28% of the legislative budget. Of this, GBC received a 23.7% increase in budget. In addition, the estate tax increase contributed substantially to the amount of funds available for use by the system.
    2. Academic Master Plan - Betty Elliott will present the plan to the Board of Regents in December. She will be contacting faculty prior to this date to reevaluate the goals and needs of the institution.
    3. Critical Skills Laboratory - An open meeting has been set on Monday, October 6 at 9:00 AM in the College Community Center Social Room to discuss the future of the lab. Faculty is asked to attend to address the issues which are fundamental to its place within the college.
    4. Policies and Procedures - The campus is in the process of updating the Policies and Procedures Manual and the Bylaws. The format will not change; however, Vice President Elliott asks that faculty review the Administrative Manual from Truckee Meadows for possible additions to the GBC policies which are currently in place. Portions of both manuals which pertain to the individual faculty committees will be distributed for review and recommendation with final approval by Senate. Copies of the updated manual will be distributed to each division for final review prior to the November 6 meeting. These changes will be reviewed by Vice President Elliott. Upon approval, they will be forwarded to Laura Gallegos for implementation into the final working manual.

  6. COMMITTEE REPORTS:
    1. Academic Standards- None
    2. Budget - Written report submitted containing the recommendations by department for allotment of the one-shot equipment money. The figures are based on the allotments for last academic year. There was money allotted to certain departments from other sources, therefore reducing their needs substantially. These excess monies were redistributed. Theatre Arts department was increased by $5000, and Diesel Technology was increased by $10,000. There is $25,000 on hold for Ely until a final decision is made on the award of funds for which the center previously applied through another entity. The Senate unanimously approved the recommendations as outlined.
    3. Compensation and Benefits - Written report submitted; unanimously approved.
    4. Curriculum and Articulation - Written report submitted; Lynn Mahlberg requested that the last line of the report be amended to read that changes to the catalog should be ready for review through the Articulation and Curriculum Committee. Please do not forward these to Joyce Shaw at this time, she has other priorities. The Committee also emphasizes that "B" designated courses do count toward the AGS and AAS degrees even though they do not transfer and therefore require a fully developed syllabus. The report was unanimously approved as submitted.
    5. Distance Education - No written report submitted; the committee decided to divide into three groups, each group analyzing one of the three modes of distance education currently on campus (interactive video, online, and telecourses) to develop ideas for the future use of these mediums for education.
    6. Facilities - None
    7. Faculty and Administrative Evaluations - None
    8. Personnel - No written report submitted; the committee reminded faculty that they will be meeting soon to review applications for sabbatical leave for the next academic year. Applications are due by October 1.
    9. Scholarship and Awards - No written report submitted; the committee will be meeting soon to re-award scholarships. The committee has placed posters around campus to alert students of this opportunity. The committee asks faculty to make this known to their students.
    10. Student Relations - None; the committee has not yet met.
      1. ASB - Student elections have been completed. Everyone is thanked for their participation in the Taco Feed for the Senator speeches. The ASB will be holding their retreat September 26 - 27 at Sarah Sweetwater's cabin in Lamoille. The ASB Constitution was approved and will be forwarded to the Board of Regents.
      2. Fitness Center - Hours have been increased with further expansion once the program assistant is in place in approximately three weeks. Requests or suggestions for the Fitness Center are still being accepted. The use of the gym is less than what was anticipated; use should increase with the installation of the basketball hoops and with the changing of the weather. The workout room receives moderate use.
    11. Four-year Degrees - None

  7. OLD BUSINESS:
    1. Workload Policy - The policy was approved as amended by Dr. Remington and Vice President Elliott. The updated policy will be forwarded via E-mail to all faculty members.
    2. Senate Web Site - Progress is still being made to place the Senate Bylaws, Workload Policy, agendas, minutes, etc., on the web. Chris Mitchell is currently taking a web page class to learn the mechanics of the process.
    3. Part-time Senate Representatives - Of those individuals suggested at the last senate meeting, Ann Wright was the only part-time instructor available to act as representative. Cheryl Pyatt was again nominated for representative. The Senate unanimously approved the nominations. The instructors will be contacted to verify their appointments.
    4. Winnemucca Master Plan - The Executive Committee met and discussed the plan with the overall feeling that the plan appears to correlate greatly to Elko's programs. Although the two cities have many similarities in regards to industry, the committee suggested that Winnemucca develop specialty programs for their area rather than develop programs already established on the Elko campus. Gary Corderman would like to take the suggestions back to Winnemucca for review by their committee. Upon possible revision and approval, the plan will then be brought back to senate for official approval.
    5. Ice Cream Social - The event was a big success. Everyone had a lovely time. There are still three gallons of strawberry ice cream and some toppings left. It was suggested that another social be held. Details will follow.
    6. UNR Trailers - Senate proposes a de-commission of the trailers once UNR is relocated to McMullen Hall. The trailers were said to be temporary office space approximately 15 years ago. The buildings has served their purpose wonderfully. Senate asks people to help with the event/ceremony.

  8. NEW BUSINESS:
    1. Foundation Update
      1. The annual audit has been completed and is ready for distribution. Copies are available upon request. Over the past six years, the Foundation has brought in $7,471,746 which includes $549,130 for Winnemucca, and $1,597,946 for Ely. The money listed does not include federal or state monies.
      2. Jody Copenhaver, New Foundation Planned Giving Officer - Purpose is to solicit donations for the college through estate planning. Contributors are urged to plan for their family and loved ones first when preparing their last will and testament, then donate a portion of their estate to the college. The money, when collected, is unrestricted on use. This position is strategic in obtaining the Foundation's goal of an unrestricted endowment of $25 million by the year 2017.
        1. Personal Background - Has resided is Elko for approximately 20 years working as a substitute teacher and part-time employee for her husband's law firm. Her and her husband have two children; Amy, age 20, currently attending the University of Nevada, Reno, and Todd, a freshman at the University of Southern California. Jody will be in training under Jeanne for the next six months.
    2. Faculty Senate Representatives - The Bylaws state that Senate must have one representative for every two faculty members present at the meetings. Most divisions have been contacted; however representatives are still needed for the Humanities Division and the Ely Center. Occupational Education will have instructors attend as they are available.
    3. Classroom Web Use - Susanna Dorr presented ideas for use of the web with individual classes. Working with UCCSN System Computing Services, Susanna has come to the college and the Elko County School District on a permanent basis to provide the technical support received regularly at the other institutions. Her suggestions include:
      1. The wide use of online classes for those individuals unable to attend regular classes because of shift work.
      2. Initiation of Bulletin Boards allowing students to communicate with each other. This actually allows the students to hold discussions without meeting in a classroom and are very simple to set up.
      3. Availability of Chat Rooms also allowing students to communicate with each other without meeting. The one draw back is that they must set an appointment in order to access each other.
      4. E-mail is another alternative; however, the system has the ability to become bogged down.
    4. Computer Services is discussing the possibility of setting up our own GBC web address. This would make the institution more accessible to users and could speed the system as we would no longer have to access through Reno. More investigation and discussion is necessary befoe action is taken.
    5. Outstanding Faculty, Students, and Staff
      1. Georgeanna Smith and Val Easterly were nominated for Outstanding Faculty.
      2. Rebecca Barton and Brian Dankowski were nominated for Outstanding Student.
      3. Lisa Robinson was nominated for Outstanding Staff.

  9. PUBLIC COMMENT:
    1. Class Meeting Times - Student Services wishes to change the Monday through Thursday course start times to 7:30 AM and schedule 1:15 blocks from that point. Faculty must be made aware of the situation since course submissions are due October 9.
    2. Agenda Item - It was requested that the Computer Use Fee be an agenda item for discussion for the next Senate meeting.
    3. Classified Staff Potluck - The cookbook premier will be held Saturday, September 27, 6:30 PM at Sarah Sweetwater's home. Everyone is invited to attend.

  10. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 2:26 PM.