General Faculty Meeting
RSC - Shirley Beggs Ballroom
Friday, May 5, 2017, 3:30-5:00PM
Summary of Actions:
1. Accepted -Reaffirmation of Academic Freedom as a core value
2. Accepted - Endorsement of the WSU/WATC Affiliation
I. Call to Order 鈥揤ice President Pulaski called the meeting to order at 3:47PM, Senator Ewing was appointed secretary and Senator Dehner was appointed parliamentarian.
II. Moment of Silence for Deceased Faculty 鈥� the following faculty were recognized:
a. Dharma deSilva, Professor of International Business
b. Gerald McDougall, Professor of Economics
c. Daniel Francis Merriam, Professor of Geology
d. Maurice Jay (Maury) Penner, Professor of Sociology
III. Approval of Minutes 鈥� The minutes of the January 27, 2017 meeting were accepted as presented.
IV. President John Bardo 鈥� State of the University. President Bardo addressed the faculty, congratulated the awardees, thanked faculty for their efforts, and shared the following comments and updates:
a. At this time there is no budget for next year and the legislature may stay in session
until one is finished.
b. The move to the American Athletic Conference (AAC) is less about athletics than
about the position of the institution. The Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) is made
up of very fine schools, but our missions are quite different. The institutions in
the AAC are similar to WSU, many of them are in cities, some are in areas where we
are trying to recruit, and our missions are similar. We could have looked at other
conferences but their institutions are not quite as similar. The deciding factor was
the quality of our academics.
c. Regarding enrollment of the fall our big concerns are international students and
graduate students. Everyone should look at their graduate programs and make sure they
are doing what we need them to do. The political climate is impacting international
students and we are trying to work with our delegation to work on impact. Freshman
and residential students seem to be doing well. We haven't had a chance to fully market
but our residence hall is full with a waiting list.
d. Retention and graduation rates are an important part of the Regents鈥� plan and
our plan. There are things we can do and need to do to enhance the willingness of
students to stay at the university. We are creating a student affairs retention plan
and we have reached a stage in our strategic plan where we are focusing on retention.
You will hear more about it as we move forward. We are still seeing a fair number
of students at the junior and senior level walking away and we are looking at remaking
some of our scholarships.
V. Provost and Senior Vice President Tony Vizzini 鈥� State of Academic Affairs. Provost
Vizzini congratulated the honorees and shared the following college and program updates:
a. The PA and PT programs will be moving to their new location in Old Town.
b. The College of Education is putting forward a program this summer. The TAP program
in western Kansas will provide a program at a market prices for those currently in
education.
c. The LAS (Eliot School) and College of Fine Arts are working together to offer
a degree in applied learning and applied research.
d. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is currently having a dialog regarding
a cluster hire.
e. The College of Engineering is putting forward new programs.
f. The College of Business is moving forward with a Masters in Global Supply Chain
Management.
g. The President鈥檚 Diversity Council is implementing best practices in searching
for a diverse faculty pool. It would be great if we had more lines to hire.
h. The Honors College has 100% placement of their honors baccalaureate degree recipients.
i. Kathy Downes who served as interim dean has been named the Dean of University
Libraries.
j. Most of the Graduate School faculty are working on their GEMs.
k. The Institute for Interdisciplinary Creativity is bringing in students who have
interesting and unique backgrounds.
Provost Vizzini closed by thanking the faculty for moving the university forward. He stated he was looking forward to the next academic year and advancing the university even further.
VI. Faculty Senate President Bayram Yildirim 鈥� State of the Faculty Senate. President
Yildirim thanked faculty for attending the general meeting. He provided the following
update of the Faculty Senate鈥檚 work during the 2016-2017 academic year:
a. A shared governance statement was approved by the senate and supported by the
Administration.
b. The faculty extended the membership of the faculty senate to all employees who
have teaching/library responsibilities of 50% or more.
c. By spring 2018 the faculty senate archives will be digitized and we should have
access to 60 years of faculty senate history.
d. The faculty senate approved a new standing committee - the Council for Former
Senate Presidents
e. Other issues discussed by the senate included: potential budget cuts, weapons
policy, and the evaluation of teaching effectiveness SPTEs
f. We had a successful HLC accreditation visit
g. The Innovation Campus and WSU/WATC Affiliation were discussed.
h. The senate stressed the importance of transparency and communication at WSU, and
a venue for faculty to ask questions, voice concerns and provide feedback was provided
on the Faculty Senate homepage.
i. President Yildirim thanked President Bardo and Provost Vizzini for having an open
door policy. He mentioned that all senates have a joint monthly meeting with the President鈥檚
Executive Team and that the open budget meetings held this year have been very important,
empowering employees to share stories, engage with ideas and further the mission and
strategic goals of the university.
j. President Yildirim listed several unfinished issues: the FAR alignment with the
Uniscope Model, the advancement of teaching faculty, SPTEs, an academic honesty policy
for students and the discussion of department chair/department head.
VII. New Business
a. Endorsement of WSU/WATC Affiliation - President Bardo made the following comments
regarding the WSU/WATC Affiliation and then President Bardo, President Utash and Provost
Vizzini responded to questions.
i. Presidents Bardo stated that we are seeing major changes in higher education.
This affiliation agreement would allow WSU to have the opportunity to address what
comes down the road. There are new expectations which are crucial to our survival
and these were at the root of the affiliation agreement, it is a long term development
managing in a very difficult environment. Volatility is one word that describes the
future and we need to make sure that we have the resources to manage volatility.
ii. Question: Is there one transcript or two transcripts? Response: There are two
transcripts. Think of this as a branch campus and the transcripts are separate.
iii. Question: What are the benefits to WSU? Response: If you look at how students
enter college, a lot of first generation and minority students are coming in through
technical schools and/or community colleges. This will become part of who we are.
Our students will have access to things we don't currently have access to - for example
sculpture student will get access to good welding equipment. It will make transferring
easier. There are going to be some degree structures that are going to be quite different,
I am thinking of possibilities such as hospitality - a part of which is culinary,
which is not part of a research institution, but at technical branch it would be part
of what you could teach. We would plan together and approve together. Provost Vizzini
commented: We understand the full spectrum and we are seen as a university of the
21st century, allowing students to approach us without intimidation, they can be a
Shocker, remediate and earn a pathway that exists and one they can benefit from.
iv. Question: Will courses be treated as transfer courses? Response: They will have
a separate transcript, if the student comes over they will be treated the way transfers
currently are.
v. Comment and question: Concerned about courses we both teach, for example, textbooks,
are there plans in the works for us to work together鈥� Response: The intent is the
faculty should meet regularly, there is not a difference what they teach today. What
is the quality of the student鈥檚 experience, it is better if we work together. HLC
requires teaching faculty hold a master鈥檚 degree.
vi. Comment: I am curious about the cost. Response: Our side doesn't change at all,
but there will be changes on their side. President Utash commented: The cost has been
estimated into the budget for next year. Remember in the beginning of all of this
we could not lose any funding or this could not happen.
vii. Question: Is there any extra cost to the library or personnel? Response: No.
viii. Question: Will you talk about benefits to WSU and WATC? President Utash鈥檚 Response:
We need to think what is the best thing for students and businesses in the community.
The benefits for our students: we don't have residential living, applied learning
will be enhanced, and there will be greater engagement with business and industry.
It will be a beginning career path and is important for the community, students, and
business and industry. Our faculty and staff are feeling pretty good about where we
are at and where we are headed. We will work with you to create a university that
is important and viable, and move our community to a higher level. We as an institution
are very excited about the opportunity. We can all be very proud that we are making
a model for the higher education in the state of Kansas.
ix. Question: Will WATC student become part of our head count, and services we have?
Response: Their head count does count as part of the overall WSU numbers. The access
to services will depend on whether they choose to pay the fees for the services. They
do have the opportunity to live in the residence halls (out of state, out of country),
and will pay full fees.
x. Question: Will our students have WATC access? Response: It would be paid fee for
the course or the use of the technology.
xi. Question: What if WATC falls on hard times? Response: Nothing, they would have
to manage it with the budget of the branch. There is no obligation for WSU to take
on responsibility for the branch.
xii. Question: Does this impact our HLC Accreditation? Response: They have a different
HLC accreditation.
xiii. Comment: Our graduate students teach a lot of college algebra. Response: This
doesn't change. It could have an impact, but it is still a different entity.
xiv. Question: What happens on the advising end? Response: If students are being
advised to go there it is not an advantage to the student or institution. What we
are trying to work through is how to enhance the student experience. If advisors are
doing that we need to know so that we can intervene. President Utash commented: We
will have open access as we have today. President Bardo noted that there few of the
WATC faculty have doctorates and there is a chance their faculty could possibly enter
our programs. If a student becomes qualified and takes courses on the main campus
they can take courses from you and from their campus as well. It opens up a lot of
opportunities. We have a tradition of having people on this university campus who
did not come from the traditional route. To me this is about the opportunity for people
who now have a chance to be something they never thought they could. t is about being
able to access people who would never think about us. It gives them an opportunity
to think bigger than they might have. Does it negatively hurt us? No. Does it provide
opportunities? Yes.
b. Chair of Philosophy, Dr. Jeff Hershfield made the following motion: The faculty reaffirms the paramount importance of academic freedom as a core value of Wichita State University and it affiliated institution. Motion accepted. ??
c. Faculty voted on the Endorsement of the WSU/WATC Affiliation. Motion accepted, 64 Yes, 31 No. ??
VIII. As May Arise 鈥� None
IX. Adjournment 鈥� at 5:00PM