THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE AT CHATTANOOGA
FACULTY COUNCIL MINUTES

September 19, 1996
Signal Mountain Room
University Center

Elected Members Present: Ralph Anderson, Mary Brabston, Martha Butterfield, Prakash Damshala, Joe Dumas, Fritz Efaw, Marvin Ernst, Gene Ezell, Leroy Fanning, Jim Hiestand, Bruce Hutchinson, Tom Kozubowski, Renee Lorraine, Deborah McAllister, Bob Marlowe, Gail Meyer, Judy Miler, John Phillips, Verbie Prevost, Bill Prince, Farhad Raiszadeh, Barbara Ray, Mike Russell, David Shepherd, Joyce Smith, Jim Stroud, Larry Tillman, Joe Trahan, John Trimpey, Margaret Trimpey, Shela Van Ness, Bruce Wallace

Elected Members Absent: Tatiana Bilgildeyeva, Gerald Dauer, Robert Duffy, Kristin Switala

Ex-Officio Members Present: Fred Obear, Charles Renneisen, George Ross, Tim Summerlin

Among the Guests Present: Richard Brown, Herb Burhenn, Terry Carney, Carolyn Mitchell

Important Announcements

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*Seventy-five copies of curriculum proposals and twenty copies of information items are required for submission to the Curriculum Committee and Faculty Council. Signed undergraduate proposals and information items should now be sent to Associate Provost Jane Harbaugh's office (Race 108) for copying; signed graduate proposals and information items should be sent to Assistant Provost Deborah Arken's office (Race 114) for copying.
*The deadline for submissions for next year's Catalog is the first Thursday of Spring semester.
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Processional clarinet music was provided by music major Sam Merciers.

Call to Order

President Gene Ezell called the meeting to order at 3:16 p. m.

Approval of Minutes

Secretary Renee Lorraine announced that the Faculty Council minutes of September 5 were sent out early in order to meet Faculty Handbook distribution deadlines. The minutes were not duplicated in Faculty Council packets in order to save expenses and trees. Professor Lorraine will have a few extra copies of minutes and agendas available at future meetings. Professor Joyce Smith indicated that she did not receive the minutes because part-time faculty do not receive full-faculty mailings. Secretary Lorraine assured that Professor Smith would receive all future minutes. The Executive Committee has decided to meet earlier in the week, so the agenda and minutes may arrive together in the future. Council members or other faculty and staff who do not receive minutes or other relevant items may contact Mrs. Elizabeth Baily at 755-4515 for copies. Professor Lorraine noted that in Ken Carson's Committee on Committee's report on page three of the September 5 minutes, the reference to the new Committee on Committees chair (line four) should read "Professor Verbie Prevost" instead of "Professor Gail Meyer." In the discussion concerning student evaluation of faculty, (page 2), Professor Larry Tillman, and not Assistant Vice Chancellor Ralph Moser, reported that an outside consultant had questioned the validity of the new student evaluation forms. Professor Lorraine also announced that Professor Joe Dumas was omitted from the list of those present at the last meeting. George Ross's title is Vice Chancellor.

Corrections from the floor were that Professor Jim Macomber is no longer a member of the Council, and that Professor K. Smith's first name should be spelled "Kathie," not Kathy. The minutes were approved as corrected.

Committee Reports

Executive Committee
President Gene Ezell announced that the Executive Committee will prepare a survey for the faculty on their needs, concerns, and aspirations. The survey should be completed by the end of the semester; if approved by the Council, it will be distributed next semester. He also reported concerns about the high number and type of grade appeals that have been submitted to the administration and Grade Appeals Committee. In a "Charge to the Grade Appeals Committee," President Ezell relayed the suggestion that the Committee consider having department and/or division level committees assess appeals before those appeals are sent to University levels. Professor Martha Butterfield suggested that the Committee might also want to re-examine the grade appeals procedure and find some means to ensure that proper procedure is being followed. Professor Mike Russell wondered why a committee would be needed at the department level when the Head is already charged with attempting to resolve the appeal at that level. Professor Terry Carney added that inter-departmental strife could result from faculty members feeling compelled to vote against their departmental colleagues. Having relatively disinterested individuals on a committee, in contrast, would be in the best interest of the student involved. He suggested that the grade appeals process may not be in need of repair.

Finally, President Ezell reminded committee chairs that a final report is due to the Council in April. He also reported problems with the protocol of committees that must meet in the summer. Quorums are usually reduced during the summer, but some committees still have trouble meeting their summer quorums. (He noted that Executive Committee members may be asked to fill in on summer committee meetings if needed.) Letters are already sent to committee chairs about final reports to the Council and summer quorums, but Handbook Chair Gail Meyer agreed to have the Handbook Committee consider the possibility of further emphases or clarifications. President Ezell encouraged committee chairs to consult the Handbook on these matters.

Committee on Committees
Committee on Committees Chair Verbie Prevost distributed a list of changes in the Faculty Council Committee list and a list of student members for Faculty Council committees. (See attached.) Professor Prevost moved approval of the list of students recommended for Faculty Council committees. Professor Larry Tillman wanted to know how students were chosen for the committees. Dean Renneisen responded that vacancies are announced and applications from students are then submitted to the Office of Student Affairs and passed by the Student Government Association. The motion to accept the list of students for Faculty Council committees was approved by voice vote.

Curriculum Committee
Curriculum Committee Chair Gene Schlereth distributed the 1996 Guidelines for Curriculum Proposals. (See attached). Professor Schlereth stated that cover sheets for curriculum proposals were available at 108 Race. Seventy-five copies of a proposal and twenty copies of an information item are needed. He also stated that the deadline for submissions for next year's Catalog is the first Thursday of Spring semester. Professor Mike Russell lamented that with dwindling Xeroxing budgets, producing seventy-five copies of a proposal was a financial hardship for most departments. Professor Joe Trahan asked if proposals could be sent by e-mail. Professor Jim Hiestand suggested that we send the master copy of a proposal to Graphic Services and have the University somehow absorb the cost. Professor Martha Butterfield pointed out that Associate Provost Jane Harbaugh's office is charged for copying various Faculty Council documents, and wondered if her office could absorb costs for curriculum copies as well. Chancellor Fred Obear, noting that Associate Provost Harbaugh was not in attendance, thought Professor Butterfield's idea was an excellent one. He added that Graduate proposals would best be charged to the Graduate Studies office. Professor Schlereth announced that the guidelines he had just distributed were suddenly obsolete and would be amended to account for these changes. In parting, he promised to visit the Council frequently.

Administrative Report and Old Business

Dean Charles Renneisen reported that the Gender Equity Report sent to the NCAA was available in his office to anyone within or outside the UTC community who wanted to examine it.

There was no old business.

New Business

President Ezell announced that he had been contacted by Professor Sarah Kuhn, Faculty Senate President at Chattanooga State University. President Kuhn seeks to organize area colleges and Universities in order to finance a project for Habitat for Humanity. She hopes to raise $30,000. Anyone interested in contributing time or making a donation to this project may contact President Ezell.

Announcements

Professor Jim Hiestand was pleased to announce that the recent US News and World Report survey mentioned at the last meeting ranked the UTC Engineering department first in the south and eighth in the nation among non-PhD-granting state institutions. The announcement was applauded by the Council. Professor Hiestand also wished to make an observation. He was word-processing the previous day and typed in the word "Obear." His spell-check did not accept the word "Obear," and suggested four alternatives: "bear," "abbr." "obeyer, " and "obeah," the last of which is a form of sorcery. President Ezell announced that he had no comment about Professor Hiestand's observation. Sorcerer Obeah expressed hope that he could turn the last alternative to our advantage in the process of mascot identification.

Professor Bruce Wallace expressed a concern of some Fine Arts faculty about the smoking in the main lobby of the Fine Arts Center. Some individuals are unable to enter the building through the lobby due to congestion and poor visibility. The smoke also filters into departments adjacent to the lobby. President Ezell asked Assistant Vice Chancellor Richard Brown what the procedure was for registering such complaints. Mr. Brown answered that any concerned party may write him a letter, and that the letters will be responded to and addressed whenever possible. All buildings must by law have an inside smoking area, but there is no stipulation as to where the area must be. Anyone who wishes to suggest in writing an alternative smoking area for the Fine Arts Center is welcome to do so, and Mr. Brown's Office will consider alternatives as well. Professor Verbie Prevost pointed out that while the door to the smoking area in Holt Hall is supposed to remain closed, the door is usually open and contaminates the entire first floor of the building. Mr. Brown indicated that security officers have been instructed to close that door at every opportunity, and that others are invited to assist security in this charge. [Beware all ye who enter there.]

Professor Bill Prince expressed a concern that some illegal parkers in Lot 12 are blocking legal parking areas in the lot after 5:00 P.M. Assistant Vice Chancellor Brown said he would gladly address this problem. Chancellor Obear was pleased by the prospect of the increased revenues that will result from Mr. Brown's solution.

President Ezell announced that the attempt to elect a Faculty Council replacement for Professor Ken Carson was once again unsuccessful. The Behavioral Sciences Division will continue to work diligently to find a successor for Professor Carson. The Faculty Council list and Faculty Council Committee list will be distributed as soon as elections are successful and appointees are procured.

Having conducted the proceedings with efficiency and grace, President Ezell adjourned the meeting at 4:38 P. M.

Respectfully submitted,

Renee Cox Lorraine, Secretary (Renee-Lorraine@utc.edu)