MEMBERS PRESENT: P. Anderson, P. Bagley, E. Bateman, R. Barton, A. Cates, P. Cortez, F. Daniels, X. Du, C. Eikenberry, D. Elmore, J. Emerson, H. Estes, P. Fox, M. Hall, G. Heberer, E. Henderson, B. Hofland, C. Hyslop, L. Hyslop, D. Jones, P. Josey, R. Kampf, J. Kempster, B. Kern, J. King, P. Klem, J. Larson, J. Licht, K. Martin, M. McFarlane, C. McMullen, S. Nielsen, P. O'Hanahan, M. Ports, C. Pyatt, J. Rice, S. Rombough, J. Rosenthal, L. Sanchez-Saenz, K. Schwandt, J. Shaw, R. Siler, G. Skivington, G. Smith, Ja. Smith, Ju. Smith, L. Smith, P. Smith, T. Staley, G. Sundseth, S. Sweetwater, G. Tenney, L. Uhlenkott, P. Warren, J. Williams

OTHERS PRESENT: Vice President for Academic Affairs Betty Elliott, Great Basin Festival Director Marilee Harper-Harrison, SGA President Steven Houk

1. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS: Chair Daniels welcomed everyone to Senate. The following announcements were made:
   1. The following departures among Senate members were noted: Linda Carter, Assistant to the President and Director of Human Resources - Retired; Lisa Costa-Campbell, Winnemucca Branch Campus Director - Resigned; Lisa Frazier, Instructional Development - Leave of Absence; Eric Henderson, Faculty - Resigned as Lead Faculty of the BAIPS program; Leon Hensley, Education; Nicole Kelly, Foundation - Contract Not Renewed; Margaret Puccinelli, Faculty, Lead Faculty for the BSN Program - Resigned; Dr. Joel Shrock, History - Resigned.
   2. The following Senate members are on sabbatical: Marilee Kuhl, Nursing, full year; and Ed Nickel, COT, half year.
   3. The Senate welcomed the following new members and members with new positions: Pablo Cortez, IAV Coordinator; Xunming Du, Math; Diane Elmore, Nursing; Summer Ehrmann, Foundation Managing Director; Heather Estes, Winnemucca Director; Dr. Anna Cates, Ely Education/English; Danny Gonzales, Deputy to the President; Dr. Mike Hall, Education; Dr. Garry Heberer, Institutional Effectiveness; Cindy Hyslop, Instructional Development; Dr. Peter Klem, History; and Mardell Wilkins, Assistant to the President.
   4. As a significant change affecting faculty, it was noted that Janie Moore is now the Assistant to the Vice President for Academic Affairs.
2. CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 1:13 p.m. Eric Bateman declared a quorum present. One proxy vote was noted. The meeting was held at The Hilton Garden Inn in Elko.
3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The minutes of the May 16, 2003, meeting were unanimously approved.
4. SENATE CHAIR REPORT:
   1. Budget Bungling - The budget was eventually approved following a lengthy extended session.
   2. Accreditation Account - The accreditation visit was successful. The college renewed their accredited status with Northwest Accreditation Agency. The full report is available through the GBC Library or Senate Chair Daniels. A follow-up visit by the accreditation agency is expected in one year's time.
   3. RPED - The RPED department is discussing combination of the department with an academic department. One suggestion was to pair it with Education. Department Chairs will discuss the issue at their first meeting of the academic year.
   4. Board of Regents:
      1. Various comments from the Regents were provided for enjoyment. No serious business affecting GBC was noted. The expansion of the student building at UNLV underwent some extensive discussion due to the proposal of instituting an additional tuition fee to fund the building. The measure was subsequently approved the following day with a comment immediately requesting to rescind the business concerning the issue at the next BoR meeting. The outcome of the issue is confusing and questionable.
   5. Summer Summary - Several new positions were filled despite the budget questions. A summary of those hires have been mentioned in the introductions and are clarified in the Personnel Committee report.
   6. Committee Composition - The committee composition was distributed for approval. Two amendments were brought to the floor: Pat Josey will be placed on Distance Education and removed from Personnel; Cyd McMullen will co-chair Faculty and Administrative Evaluations Committee along with Karen Martin and Richard McNally. It was noted that Christiana Varner is not on campus but does qualify for Faculty Senate membership; it is understood that her attendance or activity on the committee may not be feasible. It was noted that the General Education Committee was renamed the Assessment Committee following an action of last academic year. Garry Heberer will act in an ex-officio capacity on the Assessment Committee. Chair Daniels reported that the attempt was made to give everyone their first choice with few exceptions. The committee assignments were unanimously approved.
5. COMMITTEE REPORTS:
   1. Budget - Oral report; information only. The equipment money was distributed. Departments are reminded that money not spent will be reallocated.
   2. Facilities - Oral report; information only. There were some problems with the relocation of offices following the departure of UNR from McMullen Hall. The committee requests that any new programs or curriculum be conscious of the space needed to accommodate the operation. There is limited space available.
   3. Compensation and Benefits - Oral report; information only. The committee convened a salary variance with regards to a new hire. The decision was accepted and the new faculty member is in place.
   4. Personnel - Oral report; information only. The committee oversaw the hiring of five positions during the summer: Dr. Anna Cates, Dr. Xunming Du, Diana Elmore, Dr. Mike Hall and Dr. Peter Klem.
6. FOUR-YEAR COMMITTEE REPORTS:
   1. BAS - Oral report; information only. The program is moving forward. The committee will meet on Sept. 3, at 3:30 p.m. to consider 25 applications for admission.
   2. BAEE - Oral report; information only. Secondary Ed is becoming a reality through the efforts of Dr. Mike Hall.
   3. Social Work - Oral report; information only. The program is moving forward.
   4. BAIPS - Oral report; information only. Mike McFarlane is interim lead faculty for the program. The program hopes to work closely with the Secondary Education Committee in the development of the program. Items for consideration include workload and program structure which is a cooperative effort among all bachelor programs.
   5. BSN - Oral report; information only. Margaret Puccinelli is no longer with the nursing faculty. Georgeanna Smith will act in the capacity of lead faculty in developing the program. The program was not funded through the legislature; alternative funding sources are being researched.
7. UNFINISHED BUSINESS:
   1. Workload Policy - Serious workload issues have been brought forward. Chair Daniels designated the modification oversight of the outdated policy to the Compensation and Benefits Committee. The System is considering a policy, through an ad-hoc committee, which may be imposed on the faculty without input. This may not be conducive to the unique instructional format of GBC. A majority of the work must be completed by the end of the fall semester.
   2. Bylaws Committee - Chair Daniels will not be serving on the committee; however, the Senate Bylaws constitute the contract between the faculty and administration on shared governance and is essential to the functioning of the institution. Senate Secretary Eric Bateman will chair the committee.
   3. Academic Calendar - Two calendars were distributed to faculty. One is a specific month-by-month breakout of the proposed calendar; the second is the actual proposed schedule. The calendar considers the academic year 2004-2005. GBC does have more work days than any other institution in the system with the date of return for faculty at two weeks prior to the start of semester. The amount of those pre-semester days among other institutions varies from seven to ten days (usually with the institution adding days to the end of the semester). The proposal trims GBC's to a more manageable length. The proposal shows one week prior to the semester in lieu of the normal two weeks. Two days prior to semester start will be set aside as "meeting free" to allow faculty necessary prep time.
      1. Graduation is shown as a week following finals. Faculty requests that graduation take on the Friday or Saturday of final's week, as traditional. The COT department may run into conflicts with this date because of their Saturday class schedule. This will not harm graduation or the submittal of final grades as the students may walk without the input of final grades. A motion was made and unanimously passed to accept the date of graduation before the official end of finals week.
      2. A motion was made to accept the amended academic calendar. The motion was unanimously approved.
      3. It was noted that Spring Break is transitory and hard to indicate or predict; however, it usually coordinates with the break of the Elko County School District.
   4. Joel's Legacy - Concerns regarding the evaluation procedure for tenure, which specifically pertain to workload and will be designated to the Compensation and Benefits Committee for review and possible action.
   5. Spring Schedule - The due date for spring semester 2004 course entry is the end of the September. IAV is a priority as the off-campus sites are congested and plan their live sections around the interactive offerings.
   6. UCCSN Code Changes Regarding Tenure - Former Chair Bagley began work on the policy in conjunction with the UCCSN Faculty Senate Chairs last academic year. The draft final of the policy was distributed to department chairs for review and circulation earlier in the week. Chair Daniels opened the floor for discussion.
      1. The policy contains similar language throughout and seems to be a repetition; however, parallel wording is necessary for each section dealing with specific institutions. The changes appear to be minimal clerical or cosmetic changes.
      2. Tenured faculty receiving "unsatisfactory" or "needs improvement" ratings was the most modified. In previous years a faculty member could continue to receive a "needs improvement" and still receive an overall "satisfactory" rating. The change is intended to indicate that a faculty member receiving two "needs improvements" would have had to improve during the subsequent evaluation period or an "unsatisfactory" overall rating will be issued. Two consecutive "unsatisfactory" overall ratings may mean dismissal despite tenured status. Faculty questioned the apparent flaw in the system which allows the issuance of an "unsatisfactory" rating for personal reasons although a hearing procedure is in place. It is worthy to note that the NV Supreme Court stated that personal conflict is grounds for dismissal. Performance evaluations drive the tenure evaluation.
      3. The hiring of personnel with tenure upon hire is permitted by the code. Currently, the options of tenure upon hire must be issued early in the hiring process and must be approved by the BoR. Faculty would like to discuss this issue further to distinguish criteria for use at GBC. The Personnel Committee will review the procedure and author a set of guidelines. GBC has never utilized the opportunity for such an offer.
      4. A motion was made and unanimously approved to table the passage of recommendations until the next Senate meeting wherein further investigation by individual faculty members may be pursued.
8. NEW BUSINESS:
   1. Approval of Senate Vice Chair - Kathy Schwandt was unanimously approved as Vice Chair for the 2003-2004 academic year.
   2. Approval of Senate Secretary - Eric Bateman was unanimously approved as Senate Secretary for the 2003-2004 academic year.
   3. Nomination and Approval of Adjunct Faculty Representatives - Cheryl Pyatt and Susie Sanders were unanimously approved as adjunct faculty representatives to the senate for the 2003-2004 academic year.
   4. Faculty Search Policy - The Senate Personnel Committee will be designated to address specific items concerning search committee procedures for both the academic year and summer hiring policies. Chair Jack Smith welcomes suggestions or comments.
   5. Faculty Policy on Review Texts - The Chancellor has requested that faculty examine the policy on the use of review texts. Faculty in various regions of the country have been accepting money for the adoption of a text for their course. There is no indication that this has occurred or is occurring on the GBC campuses. The Chancellor hopes that this form of compensation is not taking place within the UCCSN nor will it occur, and requests discussion and steps to ensure that ethical guidelines are in place at all the institutions. Faculty noted that athletic coaches may accept payment from a company if their team uses its shoe; therefore, the two policies do not seem agreeable. Various faculty have been approached to serve as members of editorial boards for a text for compensation without providing any actual services to the board other than adopting the text for course use as a test case. Other questions on the basis of conferences and publishers "wining and dining" faculty may need to be considered in the language. Senate requested that Chair Daniels take the sense of the Senate to Chancellor Nichols including the question on forms of compensation for other UCCSN departments outside of academia. This may pertain more to the larger institutions because of the large guaranteed sales. Senate Secretary Bateman will form the language for the sense of the Senate and present it for approval.
   6. Sexual Harassment Policies - The UCCSN Senate Chairs would like faculty to monitor the depth of the sexual harassment policy. Specific instances of vague content for an accusation or intrusion of policy on academic instruction are being sought. Such noted instances will be compiled and reported to the System Senate at the end of the academic year.
   7. Tenure Approval Policy - Senate Chairs proposed a short (perhaps 100-word) paragraph to be submitted to the BoR for consideration of approval of tenure in lieu of a complete vita. Action on this item is not brought forward for consideration at this time.
9. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS:
   1. Faculty Senate Meeting Schedule - The meeting schedule was distributed to Senate members. It was noted that the April meeting will be held on April 2 and not February 2 as indicated.
   2. Senate Goodies - Chair Daniels would like to continue providing refreshments to the Senate. GBC Faculty Senate does not have a host budget which is contrary to the other Senates in the System. VP Elliott and Scott Nielson will look into providing some money toward a host account. In the meantime, Professor Patty Fox volunteered to provide refreshments for the September meeting.
   3. Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program - This is a cultural exchange; the exchange of professors from college to college. It need not be a full exchange. It could be a good way to bring in visiting professors and international students to GBC. A similar opportunity is provided through USAC through a consortium with UNR.
   4. Replacement Search for the Vice President of Academic Affairs - VP Elliott will be leaving her administrative role effective June 30, 2004. Faculty will be involved in the replacement process. President Killpatrick would like to get the process underway as quickly as possible so that the individual is available immediately upon VP Elliott's departure.
   5. Curtis Stiger Concert - Curtis Stiger will be performing at the GBC Amphitheatre on Saturday, August 23. Tickets are available in the Controller's Office. This is his third year performing at the campus and is quickly becoming and old friend and a favorite of the Elko audience.
   6. Chair of Chairs - Department Chairs will meet briefly following the Senate meeting to elect a Chair of Chairs following the change in position of Heather Estes, who had agreed to the position of Chair of Chairs at the beginning of summer prior to her hire as the Winnemucca Branch Campus Director. Faculty will be notified of the decision.
   7. Senate Round Table - The faculty request a round table seating format for future Senate meetings.
   8. Orientation - The Saturday, 8/23, section of INT 100 GBC Orientation approximately 108 students. Faculty are requested to be available for advising.
   9. Elko Balloon Festival - A drawing will be held to choose a faculty member to receive tickets to the Elko Balloon Festival. This is among a campus-wide opportunity for each facet of the college: faculty, classified staff, etc. Faculty members who are interested should write their name on a slip of paper and place it in the designated drawing box. President Killpatrick will draw the name.
   10. Governor Guinn - Gov. Kenny Guinn will be on the GBC campus Wednesday, August 27, at 4:00 p.m. for the dedication of the House that Tom and Jack Built at the Mark H. Dawson Child Center, honoring the generosity of Tom and Jack Revigilio and the Dorothy Gallagher Health and Science Building honoring the dedicated service of former GBC Regent Dorothy Gallagher. All are welcomed to attend.
   11. Great Basin Festival: Festival Coordinator/Director Marilee Harper-Harrison distributed updated copies of the festival program. Marilee is the former Director of the campus Child Center. After a short time away from Elko, she decided to return and was quickly recruited to head this annual event. The short presentation was provided out of order, at the beginning of Senate, to accommodate a flight schedule. The festival is scheduled for September 16-20 on the GBC campus. Marilee asks for assistance in spreading the word about the festival and its events. Marilee may be reached on campus at extension 2178. Part of the program includes an on-campus visit by 500-700 fourth graders (September 8-12) learning to make Basque neckerchiefs and Basque flags.
10. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 2:37 p.m. Senate will convene on September 12, 2003, on the GBC campus.