February 2001

Minutes

Faculty Assembly of the University of North Carolina--115th Meeting

February 16, 2001--UNCGA Building

I. First Plenary Session (10:30 a.m. to noon)

A. Welcome and Call to Order

Chair Howell called the meeting to order at 10:40 a.m. with a warm welcome for everyone present.

B. Announcements and Introductions

Chair Howell asked new members to stand and be recognized. He reviewed the agenda and offered to remind people who may have forgotten their committee assignments.

He encouraged delegates to consider running for one of the positions on the Executive Board.

C. Approval of Minutes of November 17, 2000

Chair Howell decided to postpone action on the minutes of the November 17, 2000 meeting which were not posted on the Faculty Assembly Web site on time for delegates to read them prior to the meeting. They will be approved at the next meeting.

D. Chair’s Report

The Chair began his report by sharing his thought about his tenure as Chair or the Faculty Assembly, with the hope of drawing attention to the significance of the Faculty Assembly. As he reflected, he noted that he was:

· sometimes tired of his work with the Faculty Assembly, e.g., going to the Board of Governors’ meetings. Though he has learned a lot, he had reached his limit.

· tired of going to meetings here at the General Administration, though they were interesting and useful.

· tired of doing all the reading about higher education and keeping up with news about schools in the UNC--it was also losing its appeal.

· planning Faculty Assembly meetings and doing the business of the Assembly and that this work had also lost its appeal.

· receiving a fairly large volume of e-mail from faculty throughout the system, and had also lost interest in getting them, for some time now.

He further noted:

· He has spent considerable amount of time visiting the campuses and this has made him aware of the discrepancies on the campuses. While chairing a search committee in his department at UNCG, he has spent a lot of time thinking about how higher education was not what is was when he started his career. He now realizes that he has missed having the time to focus on his other academic roles--teaching and research.

· Some of the issues that he sees in his department are the same ones that the Assembly is dealing with. For example, two people who were hired on tenure track in his department came with rather weak teaching skills, but with great research skills. They would not have survived without a teaching/learning center, but not all campuses have them. Another has a small child and commutes, another is the primary caretaker for her mother who lives in Virginia. These pressures seem greater than those he was experiencing years ago.

· His unit has lost an excellent researcher to a campus that offered $20,000.00 more. They are now trying to convert a temporary potion to tenure/track because they think it is better for quality assurance.

· The UNC system will need to hire about 600-1000 new faculty, each year. These projections are mainly based on retirements. Many of us, have opportunity to mentor the young people who will become the new professors. They are in our doctoral programs now. The examples that we exhibit for them will have some influence on their decisions.

· These days, interviewees are younger, and they walk in with a disk instead of a pile of handouts. They expect to see the technology that will allow them to use their electronic presentation. UNCG is fortunate to have this technology, but not all campuses do. New hirees into tenure track positions often are younger, and many have small children and a working spouse, and they expect that the university will be able to assist with the employment of the spouse. Several years ago that was not necessary.

· These are all issues that the Assembly deals with everyday. When he questions why the Faculty Assembly should exist, these things remind him of its value and the importance of having us all work hard and help to make the university a better place for those who are here and for the 20 year-old applicants who are knocking on the door.

E. Presentation by President Molly Broad (11:00 a.m. to noon)

Chair Howell extended a warm welcome to President Broad, and asked her to speak with the group.

President Broad started with the bad new--the state’s growing budget deficit and the implications that it holds for the University. She noted that more and more court decisions have been costly for the state. Each week has brought millions and millions of dollar of budget shortfall. Fiscal analysts are anxious that it will keep getting worse. There is a $791m deficit in the current year’s state budget. The Governor has decided to create a $1b escrow fund so we will be prepared.

The President’s Office has been working with the Governor and staff to decide on an appropriate share that the University should provide. The University has been asked to make no position freezes; there are no across-the-board prohibitions. We have taken a 2% of appropriations one-time cut, and each campus has been given the flexibility to decide how to make the cuts, and to do so in such a way that they will bring the least harm to the campus. Campuses can decided if they will cut their repair and renovations budget.

Continuing challenges include:

· preparing for increased enrollment,

· faculty salaries not measuring up at a time when we need to do much hiring,

· continued concern by the legislative leaders about what the next year will be. It will not be until April before we see what the budget picture will be like. Bob Samors will talk more about our agenda with the Federal Government. There will be even greater need to access Federal dollars to support UNC programs.

Other updates:

· Last week a search was launched for a Chancellor for WSSU and two new Chancellors have been installed at ECU and NC Central. Both bring tremendous experience to their positions.

· The General Administration has been very hard at work since November 7, 2000 to manage the bond program--the most ambitious ever undertaken in higher education in this country. There is need to make sure that the over 300 projects will be managed well and that time schedules will be met.

· The General Administration is committed to doing everything necessary to bring in the bond program on time and within budget. So far, they have been successful in getting the Building Commission’s support for special consideration. The first 30 projects have been exempt from the traditional bidding process for sub-contractors. Instead, a construction manager will work with subcontractors to bring in the projects on time. $129m in projects have already signed contracts and some have been started. Most of these projects have come in under budget.

· The Board of Governors has given its support to a new initiative to improve and sustain minority presence in the University system. The initiative requires each of the sixteen campuses to include in its strategic plan, strategies to ensure a welcoming climate, as well as racial and ethnic parity in measures like retention and graduation.

· Each campus needs to manage enrollment and retention to ensure that minority students will enter and graduate from their institutions. Each campus is required to develop a strategic plan, stating its programs and it how it will implement these programs to achieve this goal.

· Need to work more effectively with high schools and community colleges, to improve access to financial aid, etc. They have received funding for Pathways, and will soon begin reaching out to middle school students, to help them decided on jobs in which they are interested, and what courses to take to be prepared for entry to the UNC system. They have also received a Gear Up grant to work with school districts that have at least 50% of their children on a federal lunch program. The grant will provide recruitment and mentoring to help these students prepare for higher education. Need-based financial aid will be a critical part of achieving access goals.

· The Institute for Coastal Studies will be set up at Roanoke Island. The Board of Governors has given approval for planning. An expert group worked with the five campuses that have marine science programs. This institute will help the University of North Carolina to secure federal funds to support marine science.

· Campuses will now be fully funded to bring their infrastructure to functionality. More than 50 support services have been identified--advising, registration, financial aid, etc., that students need. Some services are now available on the Web, in some areas; the goal is to have all services integrated over the Web. They will be implemented in phases, and phase two will be available by June 2001.

Questions

· Delegate Joe Ferrell, UNCCH asked whether discretionary funding is at risk. He had not read that, but had read something about zero-based funding. The response was that we have to wait and see how that plays out. It would be very discouraging news after the flexibility we have had, to use resources to respond to our varying needs.

· Delegate Fleming Bell, UNCCH, asked whether there was a chance that there would be a reduction, temporarily, of state contributions to retirement benefits. The response was that it is unlikely that that will happen. Ken Grogan noted that the reduction in contributions to retirement contributions will not affect the optional plans.

· Delegate Jose D’Arruda, UNCP, asked whether projected positions for enrollment increases will be affected. When can we start advertising for new position? When will the money be coming to the campuses so we can start recruitment? The response was that the money for current enrollment increases are already at the campuses. Funds will continue to flow to the campuses based on the increases, if enrollment growth is fully funded. The expectation is that it will be fully funded.

· Delegate Jeff Passe, UNCC asked about the role of the Faculty Assembly and how we can contribute to the governance of the University. President Broad responded that the Faculty Assembly’s role is very important, but that she needs to think more about it and talk to Faculty Assembly leaders. There is need to see the Assembly more active in identifying important policy issues and their impact on our campuses.

· Delegate Carl Hughes, FSU, asked about the role of faculty in the selection of Chancellors. President Broad responded that, by statute, faculty, are required to serve on the committee. She encourages Search Committee chairs to include people who are broadly representative of their campuses while ensuring that committees are balanced in gender, disciplines, etc. The role of faculty is absolutely essential. Faculty usually discuss the requirements for academic leadership as the position statement is being prepared.

There are issues of confidentiality--discussions are confidential, in the room, so candid discussions can occur. Protecting individuals who we have been recruited into the process--prospects or nominees. As the committee enters final phase, the Committee must decide whether it will bring finalists to the campus or keep them confidential to the very end. There is need to decide early enough to be able to tell candidates what it will look like at the back end.

Follow-up question: If the administration appoints the faculty, can they be representative. The response was that the administration does not make the appointment, the Board of Trustees does, in consultation with the Faculty Senate.

One delegate noted that faculty input to search committees is often futile, because the committee has made up its mind and nothing is fed back to faculty. There should be criteria for who goes on committee and whether input obtained at public meeting are in fact used.

President Broad noted that feedback comes in the form of the leadership statement and position description. She would be loathed to give guidance about who should participate; this should be a campus decision, not to be set by the President’s Office.

The President was commended for her handling of a Chancellor search. The delegate noted that he had participated in providing testimony for the search and he and his colleagues felt that their views were considered and included.

· Delegate Philip Bromberg, UNCCH, asked how will the marine center work in terms of funding, governance, and other existing facilities. “What is this new overarching center and how will it coexist with the other centers, and how will it be funded?”

The project will be funded by Federal and state support, will have resident and visiting faculty; it will be a collaborative center, attached to the President’s Office. Administrative support will come from ECU.

Senior VP Bataille noted that Chapel Hill has been involved in developing the proposal for this inter-institutional center. It is a way to leverage what we are now doing, not to compromise what is being done on each campus.

· One delegate asked whether the mention of tourism as part of the marine center reflects a new focus on economics. There is an increased reliance on the University to participate in economic development.

Delegate Sue Estroff, UNCCH noted that the study of tourism is a large, active, and multidisciplinary academic area. One of the visiting staff from the General Administration agreed, noting that this is exactly right; the significant academic value was the focus, not the commercial value.

· Delegate Gill Harp, WSSU, noted that it is good that we can go without the traditional bidding process for the first buildings. If this goes well, can we do it for the others? President Broad agreed; “yes.”

F. New Academic Affairs Staff (Senior VP Gretchen Bataille)

· Snr. VP Bataille referred to a new organization chart and introduced the following staffers:

- Betsy Brown, Assoc. Vice President, Faculty Support.

- Bobby Kanoy, Assoc. Vice President, Access & Research.

- Larry Mayes, Asst. Vice President, Program Assessment.

She invited delegates to meet and talk with these new members of her staff.

· She briefly reviewed the Doctoral and First Professional Program guidelines, of January 2001. A handout was provided to delegates. Snr. VP Bataille stated that she would welcome comments on the guidelines.

· She also reviewed the Revisions in Minority Presence Plan, memorandum of December 21, 2000.

· She also noted that Memorandum 409 (Intellectual Property) and Memorandum 410 (Long-range Planning) are on the Web.

Questions/Answers

· Chair Howell noted that seven campuses were focus growth institutions, and asked how the growth has been and to what is it attributed. The response was that it is attributed mostly to consultants and money. Fayetteville State University did not see an increase in enrollment; Pembroke saw a 20% increase in its freshman class.

· Another delegate asked whether faculty will have input in buildings and how much input will we have? The response was that there probably will be a building committee, including crucial faculty. It is very important that faculty be involved at the beginning. We could invite facilities people to attend senate meetings to talk about what is being done.

· One delegate suggested that we might have an ad hoc committee on surviving the building boom. At UNC-Chapel Hill, they have the facilities people on their senate agenda at each meeting, and it will continue to be there in the future.

· Delegate Neufeld of Appalachian State noted that building people often think they know how to do it, so it is important to assign someone, with release time, to monitor them. They did not have one at Appalachian State during a science building construction and it caused all kinds of problems. Delegate Bell, UNCCH, also emphasized the need to do this.

Chair Howell introduced Peter Petschauer from Appalachian State University, former Chair of the Faculty Assembly, who was attending the meeting, as an alternate. We then broke for lunch.

II. Lunch and Presentation on UNC’s Washington Office, Robert Samors, Assoc. VP Public Relations (Noon to 1:15 p.m., Boardroom)

During lunch, Associate VP of Public Relations, Robert Samors, talked about services that are available to UNC researchers (pursuing funded projects), through the Washington, D.C. Office. He shared his contact information, as follows:

Available services include:

· Office space when visiting Washington, D.C.

· Help in scheduling meetings for researchers visiting the capital.

· Information on opportunities in Washington.

· Assistance in raising the profile of our institutions.

Opportunities in Washington include:

· Increases in Federal support for research and development

· Budget surpluses

· Agency HBCU/MSI programs

· New Administration/New Congress

Challenges include:

· Tax cuts

· The economy

· New priorities

· The profile of our institutions

His handout included the UNC 2000 Federal Agenda (updated on January 31, 2001) as well as the 2001 Federal Agenda.

III. Standing Committee Meetings (1:30 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.)

Chair Howell gave a short break after which the committees went directly into their meetings.

There was a slight change to the agenda. The Faculty Benefits and Welfare Committee and the Academic Freedom and Tenure Committee decided to meet in the Board Room--combined meeting with Senior VP Gretchen Bataille.

IV. Second Plenary Session (3:15 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.)

A. Presentation on Faculty Benefit Issues by Ron Penny, VP Human Resources (3:15 to 4:00)

Chair Howell called the meeting to order at 3:22 p.m. He introduced VP Penny and thanked him for coming to speak with the Faculty Assembly.

( 38 delegates seated)

VP Ron Penny’s Comments

He has visited thirteen of the sixteen campuses and he thanked everyone for their hospitality to him during his visits. He noted that he is keenly aware of the contribution that faculty make to the state of North Carolina.

His presentation focused on faculty benefits:

· Benefits need to be portable and relevant to the needs of the people being served.

· WellPath’s latest announcement, that they are discontinuing service to several counties is of significant concern to many of our campuses. Announced that they are leaving 13 counties in the state and will impact some of our campuses. Their very abrupt decision to withdraw by March 12 as now extended to March 31, 2001. The state’s legal posture is that:

1. There has been a breach of contract, so they pursued the case in superior court. However, the Judge decided that they should go through an Administrative Legal Hearing, which tends to move slowly. There will be several payroll deadlines between now and March 31 and payroll needs to know what deductions to make. The State is still exploring appropriate responses to WellPath.

2. There have been violations of regulations of the Department of Insurance. WellPath left the 13 counties, dropping only state employees, while keeping business groups. Typically, 180 day notice is needed prior to pulling out of a coverage area--Federal and state law.

Immediate impact on employees:

· Employees will be transferred to the State Health Plan or other options (all employees will be covered)

· Deductible year starts when employees are transferred, without credit for funds spent. New deductible year is July 1. Money spent in WellPath will not be a part of the deductible for the State Plan. Therefore employees will start a deductible year in April, and then another in July.

· Special cases formerly reviewed by WellPath might be reconsidered by State Health Plan, in light of plan coverage. Present WellPath doctor may not be a costwise provider, so may cost more than employee expected to pay.

VP Penny asked delegates to send him their stories, noting that it helps when he can tell the story of people who have to pay more money because of this drastic change. It also helps him to talk with the State Plan, citing real life situations. They provide him real opportunities to advocate for employees. Stories can be sent to rpenny@northcarolina.edu.

Questions/Comments

· Delegate Neufeld thinks the state should be obligated to pick up any extra costs that result from this break in coverage.

VP Penny noted some problems with the State Health Plan and indicated there is expected to be about a 22% increase in premium, plus other changes that will negatively impact state employees.

VP Penny noted that VALIC has discontinued some of its funds and that notices have gone out to ORP participants who have those funds.

Because of the budget emergency, during February to June, employer contributions to the state retirement plan are being placed in a reserve account. This will not impact defined retirement benefits. Emergency provisions do not apply to ORPs.

· Delegate Morrison noted that HMOs pulling out is affecting faculty and staff. He asked whether the state can do anything to stem this tide. The response was that the General Administration is considering some options. There is need to encourage the legislature to put more money into health plans and have more cafeteria style program.

· Delegate D’Arruda noted that a few years ago a committee of the Faculty Assembly asked that the sate put more money into health benefits for families. He wanted to know what had happened to that request? The response was that it is still on the table; still being worked on.

· Delegate Passe wondered what will faculty raises look like next year? The response was that the General Administration is asking for six percent, plus additional funds to bring some employees up to par. But, this might not be a good year. Other benefits being pursued include immediate vesting, and expanding optional retirement systems.

· One delegate noted that faculty, staff and state employees are all on the same plans, and asked whether we are working together on the problems we face. The response was that we are all saying the same thing, but have not met yet--still working as separate voices as some have more enemies.

· One delegate asked whether we should try to be a separate group. The response was that it may not be good, as we may have more risk--members are older and more knowledgeable about health care issues.

B. Committee Reports (4:00-5:45)

The presentation of committee reports started at 4:07 p.m. Chair Howell asked presenters to help us stay on time. He reminded us that we needed to elect a nominations committee, and encouraged everyone to consider participation, both on the nominations committee and also for service next year.

1. Budget (Carl Hughes, FSU)

Committee Chair Hughes started by drawing the meeting’s attention to the slide presentation handout, Management Flexibility. A copy of report was given to the Secretary and Chair.

Items discuss:

· Lack of Web master is affecting the committee’s ability to share information and many of the pages still have errors, even in people’s names.

Snr. VP Bataille asked that information for the Web be sent to her or to Lisa Adamson, including the minutes of meetings. She asked that corrections be sent to her and she will see that they are made.

· Ken Grogan, Assoc. Vice President for Finance participated in the committee.

He reinforced and expanded on Presidents Broad’s earlier discussion regarding the UNC budget requests before the Joint Appropriations Committee of the NC General Assembly. The current estimate of UNC’s share of the $791 million shortfall is $32 million. No hiring freeze is planned. In the 1990-91 budget year UNC lost approximately 400 faculty positions and about 1200 SPA positions.

· Previous attempts to initiate “zero-based budgeting” have not materialized. The meaning and impact of a “modified zero-based budget,” proposed by the Chair of the NC Senate and the House Budget Committee are not clear.

· Efforts will be made to retain the budget flexibility that began in 1991. If retained, this would assist greatly in making up for the $32 million reversion.

· Governor Easley is to outline his legislative agenda in his State of the State speech on Monday night, February 19, 2001. His budget recommendations will be presented to the lawmakers the first week in March.

· There was some brief discussion regarding fringe benefits for faculty, especially in relation to retirement benefits and the economy.

2. Faculty Development (Richard Swanson, UNCG)

Delegate Hanson presented the committee report.

· The committee is reviewing sabbatical across the country, for peer institutions. This project is still in progress, but there is a statute about sabbatical leave, on the UNC site. The committee will explore what the system should pay for such leave, and whether sabbaticals should go to only tenured people, etc.

· Alternate delegate Petschauer updated the group about the Professional Development Advisory Committee (PDAC).

· Delegate Venable updated the group on efforts to share seminar speakers with all UNC campuses. Technology-related issues will be passed on to the Technology Committee.

· Dr. Peter Petschauer, Appalachian State University is hosting a Chair Workshop on March 23-24, 2001. It will involve department chairs from Appalachian State University, University of North Carolina Greensboro, and North Carolina A&T State University.

3. Planning and Programs (Ali Kahn, ECSU)

Delegate Rosenburg gave the committee report. For part of the committee meeting, the group joined the Academic Freedom and Tenure committee and the Faculty Benefits and Welfare committee in meeting with Snr. VP Bataille.

· Associate Vice President Donna Benson discussed long range planning. The Faculty Assembly will be involved in the planning process. This discussion will continue at the April meeting.