Minutes of the March 3, 2005
Faculty Meeting

President Thomforde called the meeting to order at 11:30 a.m. Pastor Benson led the devotions, a prayer that we might be faithful “watchers”—vigil keepers and custodians—during the long, difficult month of March.

Approval of the February 10, 2005 minutes

Moved and approved.

RPC

Robert Hanson moved RPC 04/05-2, proposing revisions to the Faculty Manual relating to joint appointments. The original proposal was amended as follows by friendly amendments:

  • Some grammatical errors were corrected: In FM 4.VI.D.3 “are” was changed to “is” and in FM 4.XI.4.j “their” was changed to “its.”
  • In FM 4.XI.7.b the following phrase was added for consistency: “and the joint statement of expectations for each joint appointment candidate.”
  • All inappropriately singular nouns were amended to the form noun(s).

The original proposal was amended substantially by a separate motion and vote as follows:

  • Proposed changes to FM 4.XI.12 were deleted from the proposal.
  • The word “shall” was changed to “may” in FM 4.XI.4.m

After discussion, the amended proposal was put to a vote. Since special rules apply to proposed changes to the Faculty Manual (they must be approved by 60% of a quorum at a faculty meeting), a head count was taken to ascertain whether there was a quorum: 97 people were present, more than sufficient. The proposal as amended was unanimously approved (97-0). RPC and Robert Hanson were thanked for their efforts by a round of applause.

CEPC

After requesting and obtaining a waiver of the 7-day rule, David Booth moved CEPC 04/05-5 proposing revisions to the Spanish major. This was approved. He then moved CEPC 04/05-6, a proposal to allow 0.5 credit academic internships. This also was approved.

Report from the Faculty Observer to the Board of Regents

In the interest of time, Dolores Peters offered to make a written version of her report available electronically. There will be an opportunity to ask about the Regents’ Meeting at the April Faculty Meeting.

President’s Remarks

President Thomforde noted that the strategic plan approved by the Board in December 2003 calls for enhancing the academic program of the college as a whole by strengthening facilities available to science and math faculty and students. The Oversight Committee has been working to implement this. However, two circumstances have slowed progress. First, the cost of building materials—especially steel-- has escalated rapidly. Second, due to promotions and two resignations, the Advancement Office is not at full strength to move ahead with the original plan. The Oversight Committee worked hard to address these problems in a proposal which was approved by the Board at their February meeting. President Thomforde then called on David Van Wylen, Associate Dean for Natural Sciences and Mathematics, to present a report on the options considered, and the proposal presented and approved at the February Board of Regents’ Meeting.

Report on Revised Plans for the Science Complex

David Van Wylen presented a brief history of the original plans for a new science complex, and discussed the current impediments to their implementation. Options considered by the Oversight Committee included delaying implementation until fundraising is complete; maintaining the original vision, but implementing it in phases; scaling back the project so that it could be completed in a single phase. The option chosen was the second, to implement the current vision in phases. He then described the separate phases, and the timetable for their completion. The remainder of the meeting was devoted to questions and answers concerning plans for the new science complex.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:34 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Vicki Lynn Harper