University of Louisville
Faculty Senate Meeting
November 2, 2011
The regular meeting of the Faculty Senate was held on November 2, 2011 at 3:00 P.M. in Room 130 in the School of dentistry, on the Health Sciences Campus, Robert Staat presiding.
Senators Registering Attendance
A&S – Beth Bradley, Jasmine Farrier, Dennis Hall, John McLeod CoB – Ben Foster, Bruce Kemelgor DENTISTRY – Don DeMuth, Robert Staat EDUCATION – Roger Buskill, Marion Hambrick, Daya Sandhar KENT – Sharon Bowland LAW – David Ensign, Kurt Metzmeier, Enid Trucios-Haynes LIBRARIES – Gail Gilbert, Margo Smith MEDICINE – Forest Arnold, Richard Downs, Pamela Feldhoff, Lawrence Hunt, Saeed Jortani, Sham Kakar, Brad Keller, Steven Myers, Steven Nakajima, Jeannie Roberts NURSING – Diane Chlebowy PART-TIME – Charlie Baker, Susan Peacock PUBLIC HEALTH – Ray Austin
Also Attending -
Ex Officio: James Ramsey, Shirley Willihnganz, Brent Fryrear
Others: Edward Halperin, Beth Boehm, Tracy Eells, Melissa Laning, Bob Stenger Gretchen Henry, recording secretary
Press: Janene Zaccone (U of L Today)
Senators Not Registering Attendance -
A&S – Annette Allen, Elizabeth Grossi, Ron Sahoo, Elaine Wise, Wendy Yoder CoB – Robert Barker, Robert Myers DENTISTRY – Ricardo Caicedo, Dave Willis EDUCATION – Marion Hambrick, Daya Sandhar, Tom Simmons KENT – Seana Golder, Wanda Lott Collins LIBRARIES -Terri Holtze MEDICINE – Moataz El-Ghamry, Nobuyuki Kuwabara MUSIC – Ansyn Banks, Daniel weeks, Krista Wallace-Boaz NURSING – Sandra Holmes, Celeste Shawler PART-TIME – Brian Barnes, Joe Gutmann, Rose Mills, Dana Seay PUBLIC HEALTH – Ruth Carrico SPEED – Suraj Alexander, Bruce Alphenaar, Nagashwar Bhaskar, Roger Bradshaw
ACTION: Consideration of the Minutes
The minutes of the October 5, 2011 meeting were unanimously approved as distributed.
REPORT: Student Government Association – Jody Heil
No student report was made.
REPORT: Staff Senate – Brent Fryrear
The Staff Senate’s Executive Committee met last week and is interested in reviewing information on the state of the staff from Human Resources. The new performance tool is ready for implementation and training will begin next month.
ACTION ITEM: First reading of the Dental School Bylaws – Trucios-Haynes
The first reading of the Dental School bylaws took place. Discussion of the changes will take place at the second reading at the December meeting.
REPORT: Hospital Merger – Dean Edward Halperin
Dean Halperin attended today’s meeting to address senators’ concerns regarding the pending hospital merger. He began the discussion by rhetorically asking what would happen if we did not merge and the poor and underserved populations were not cared for. Not merging would have an impact on the social safety net of the, roughly, 20-25% of patients who cannot pay for services. If the hospital was turned over to a for-profit chain, it would not serve these patients, as it has to answer to stockholders. Dean Halperin said merging health institutions is not unique to Louisville; it is a national trend, and gave several examples. Addressing academic concerns related to merging a teaching hospital with a faith-based hospital system, he said that many U.S. medical schools train medical students and residents in faith-based hospitals in compliance with accreditation standards. Further, he said there would be no changes in the performance of women’s and reproductive health services. The only change will be that tubal ligations will be performed at Baptist East Hospital. If a patient cannot afford transportation, it will be provided for them. Medically Indicated abortions will continue. By law, we are not allowed to perform Pregnancy Ending abortions on University property. Dean Halperin reported that he had interviewed many others who had gone through this process. A brief discussion took place on the consolidation of services and how it will most likely happen.
REPORT: University Provost – Dr. Shirley Willihnganz
The Provost began her report with an update on staff changes in her office. Beth Boehm will serve as the Vice Provost for Graduate Affairs and Tracy Eells will replace Dr. Boehm as Vice Provost for Faculty Personnel. This transition should be complete by the end of the year. Regarding the A+ Initiative, Dr. Willihnganz said she is going to revisit the issue and see what can be worked out to address the students’ concerns. Then, the Provost reported on the new SACS requirement calling for 15 weeks of instruction, in order to distinguish between for-profit schools and institutions of higher education. Several solutions are being studied.
REPORT: University President – Dr. James Ramsey
President Ramsey began his report with a brief update on the state budget situation. He said the growth rate is going downward over the next 2 biennia. There is a structural imbalance as more money is being spent than is coming in. Because it is an election year, nothing will be done before the end of the year and any cuts will be coming after the inauguration. He thinks the CPE will make a good budget request to the new administration and he hopes to see funding returned to the base instead of tied to performance. A brief discussion of the changes going on in various athletic conferences took place. He said we want the Big East to be successful, and to be so will require some rebuilding in football. Though we had been invited to submit our information to the Big 12 Conference, we were not selected to join. Updating on the Capital Campaign, Dr. Ramsey reported that we are behind where we were last year, but, that major gifts coming in next year will help greatly. They are: $300 million generated by the hospital merger; and, an individual gift of $25 million. Regarding the merger, he said there will be a public forum for discussion and we are waiting on the governor to sign the land lease but politics are holding this back.
Committee Reports
Academic Programs Committee (APC) - This report was available online.
Committee on Committees and Credentials (CCC) - No report was made this month.
Libraries Committee (FSCOL) - No report was made this month.
Part-time Faculty Committee (PTFC) - This report was available online.
Planning & Budget Committee (P&B) - This report was available online.
Redbook & Bylaws Committee (RB) - First reading next month.
Executive Committee (XC) - This report was available online.
Other Reports
Academic Technology Committee (ATC) – This report was available online.
Bookstore Advisory Committee – This report was made last month.
Commission on the Status of Women (COSW) – This report was available online. The next ElderCare series is on November 22nd.
Dining Services Committee – This report was available online.
Employee Assistance Program (EAP) – This committee still needs a faculty representative.
Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR) – This report was available online.
Human Resources Advisory Committee (HRAC) – This report was available online.
Parking Advisory Committee (PAC) – No report was made this month.
Student Care Team – No report was made this month.
Chair’s Report – Robert Staat
The Chair’s Report was available online.
Old Business
New Business
Announcements
Senators were reminded to sign the attendance sheet.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 4:15 P.M.
Gretchen Stein Henry
Faculty Senate Secretary