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MINUTES UMKC FACULTY SENATE

September 2, 1997


(Approved 9/16/97)

3:00 PM Kathy Loncar called the meeting to order.

3:05 Minutes of September 2, 1997 were approved with minor corrections.

Charles Robinson of the Conservatory of Music came to thank the Faculty Senate for endorsing the new verses of the UMKC Alma Mater The verses will be officially used for the first time on September 19th at commencement. Dr. Robinson was accompanied by a choral group from the Conservatory under the direction of Kevin Johnson. The group performed the Alma Mater for the Senate.

Kathy Loncar explained that Jean Braun had resigned as Chair of the Faculty Senate effective May 30, 1997, in order to devote more time to her duties in the School of Nursing. The Collected Rules and Regulations state that the Vice Chair will assume the chair for the remainder of the term and a new Vice Chair may be elected. The Chair asked that the senators consider the issue, and be prepared to make a decision at the September 16th business meeting.

Senate Discussion

1. New Senate Office: The Faculty Senate has a spacious new office on the second floor of the Administrative Center (Room 233). The phone number is 235-1027. The office is furnished with a small conference table so committee meetings can be held there. Nancy Stancel, the Senate's secretary will be able to borrow a desktop computer from the Law School for use in the Senate office. The Senate now has a real presence in the Administrative Center. All faculty are invited to drop by and visit the new office.
2. Committee Chairs: Ed Mills has agreed to chair the Academic Issues committee for this year. Rich Hamilton is willing to continue as chair of the Faculty Welfare Committee if he is re-elected as a senator. Barbara Glesner-Fines is currently chairing the Administrative Issues committee but would like someone else to take over as chair for this year.
3. Honorary Degree: The honorary degree which the senate approved last April has been approved by President Pacheco and will be awarded at the mid-year commencement in December. 4. Senate Organization Issues:

a.) The Chair asked the senators to consider seating two senators from the Coordinated Engineering Program. The faculty of the CEP are not represented on the Columbia campus. They are members of our faculty and should be seated on the UMKC Senate. This will be on the agenda for the Sept. 16th business meeting.
b.) The By-Laws for the UMKC Faculty Senate require that we have one meeting of the full faculty each semester. The senators were asked to consider trying an "electronic town hall meeting" to see how well that works for the faculty.
c.) Agendas for each senate meeting should be discussed at the close of business at the previous meeting.

5. Summer Activities on Campus:

The Chair briefly discussed some of the activities that have taken place on campus over the summer. Much construction has occurred on campus including repaving of street by the city, laying of cables and pipelines, dormitory renovations, the start of construction on the Science and Tech building, the beginning of renovation on Haag Hall and the Geosciences building, and the moving of student services offices from 4825 Troost to the Administrative Center. It was noted that the faculty and students of the College of Arts and Sciences are more affected by many of the construction projects than those in other units and other areas of campus. Four departments of the College have been moved into temporary offices and classrooms in the 4825 Troost building and the Annex on 51st Street while renovations are going on this year. Understanding and patience will be required by all parties while adjustments are made and renovations completed. Parking in particular will continue to be an issue for students and faculty, especially at the 4825 Troost building.

Discussion with Chancellor Schwartz

1. Mission Enhancement

The mission enhancement program was created by the Coordinating Board for Higher Education several years ago after Proposition B failed in Missouri. The program is designed to give extra funding to state funded institutions of higher education in order to provide extra support for programs and activities that are specific to the mission of the particular institution. The university system was the last to begin the four year mission enhancement funding cycle. The first year of funding will be included in the 1999 budget. Chancellor Schwartz, in determining what programs would benefit from mission enhancement, drew on the campus's strategic plan. The Chancellor determined that UMKC's overall theme for the funding should focus on graduate education and research in an effort to expand the interdisciplinary programs and strengthen the libraries. By supporting these two areas, all academic programs will benefits especially the Ed.D. and the Masters of Social Work which are new programs. Some of the support will be targeted for more graduate teaching assistants and doctoral fellows. The Chancellor's mission enhancement strategy is designed to balance the distribution of the extra funding so that all units benefit from it. As yet it is not known what the final amount of money for each campus will be for this first year of funding. President Pacheco will be meeting with Commissioner Kala Stroup next week to share a draft of the university system's enhancement plan. The individual campuses will get feedback after the draft has been reviewed by CBHE.

2. Capital Funds Campaign

The Office of University Advancement is currently working on a capital funds campaign. The Chancellor suggested that the Senate might want to invite Vice Chancellor Bill French to a meeting so the Senate can be updated on this effort. Consultants are working with the Advancement Office to plan a feasibility study. The various units on campus have collectively requested over $400 million. The campaign goal will probably be set at approximately $200 million.

3. North Central Accreditation

Joan Gallos is preparing the accreditation self study report. The site visit for our campus is scheduled for April 5-7, 1999. Committees are being formed for the self study. Each unit will be asked to name a coordinator for the study. Input from both administration and faculty is critical. Many on campus do not yet know that the accreditation study is scheduled so it is important that the senators help inform their units so they can begin preparing for this critical study. The Faculty Senate will be actively involved in this process. Faculty members from all across campus will participate in the process of developing the self study.

4. Enrollment Goals

UMKC enrollment is up this fall, although the community colleges are down slightly. In Fall Semester 1996 our enrollment was just over 10,000, this fall our head count is up by about 180 students. Our student credit hours are up to about $104,000. The Computer Science Telecommunications Program has seen a great rise in enrollment this year because they actively recruited and have enrolled may highly qualified students. The Chancellor suggested that the Senate might like to invite Associate Vice Chancellor Larry Dietz to share updated information on enrollment management. The increase in enrollment may be the result of increased marketing efforts.

5. Parking on Campus

The Chancellor is very aware of how difficult parking is on our campus. UMKC is considering building more parking garages and adding more levels to existing garages. If the campus bought more land for parking it would probably be south of campus and would be to far for students to walk. As on all state supported campuses, parking must be self-supporting. Monies for new parking must come from parking fees collected from employees and students. there is a Parking and Traffic Safety Committee which advises the Chancellor on parking and traffic issues on campus. The Senate will send a representative to this committee. Senators made several suggestions about parking policies and procedures. The Chancellor also mentioned that safety concerns about traveling to the 4825 Troost building are being address with increased shuttle service.

6. Informational Technology Executive Council (ITEC)

This is a new committee, appointed by the Chancellor the summer. It will meet for the first time on Sept. 4th. This group is charged with the responsibility to develop a master plan for technology for this campus by late November. Deans, faculty, and staff will be invited to contribute to the discussions and the development of the plan. Many units on campus already have a technology advisory group and these groups will be used also. Marvin Querry suggested that if a unit does not already have such a group, they should form one, since they will be important sources of information and ideas for the ITEC. The chair of the senate serves as the faculty representative on ITEC. Lee Bolman from the Bloch School is serving as the facilitator for ITEC. Members of the ITEC recently toured all of the technology facilities on campus.

7. President's Visit

President Manuel Pacheco visited our campus twice in August. He was given a tour of the campus, met with the editorial board of the Kansas City Star, attended a reception in his honor, a breakfast with the UKC Trustees, and a luncheon hosted by the Chamber of Commerce. President Pacheco is very focused on student and faculty needs and interests and has been very involved in discussions with both groups on all four campuses.

8. New Education Dean

Benard Oliver accepted the position of Dean of the School of Education and assumed his duties on September 1, 1997.

9. Campus Development and Construction

a.) Negotiations for the Twin Oaks apartment buildings are continuing. The Board of Curators gave UMKC an approval to make another offer on the property.
b.) Chancellor Schwartz was asked what would happen to the SSB classrooms after the departments temporarily housed there have moved back to main campus. The Chancellor responded that those classrooms will probably be needed for quite a long time due to space needs on campus.
c.) It was pointed out again that there has been much construction on campus this summer. All of this progress will continue to challenge the faculty, staff, and students this year.

Present:Greg Arling, Valerie Blanco,Les Chafetz,Ray Coveney,Alfred Esser,Raphael Espejo-Saavedra, William Fredrickson, Barbara Glesner Fines, Bob Groene, Rich Hamilton, Steve Krantz, Kathy Loncar, Tony Manzo, Janet McKinney, Ed Mills, Jerry Place, Dennis Pyszczynski, Jan Russell, Khosrow Sohraby, Nancy Stancel, Hans Uffelmann, Jakob Waterborg

Excused: Julie Cheslik, Robert Cleary

Respectfully Submitted,

Nancy D. Stancel
Secretary, UMKC Faculty Senate

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