Minutes of the Wichita State University Faculty Senate
Monday, March 11, 2013; CH 126
Members Present: Anderson, Baker, Barut, Bergman, Besthorn, Brooks, Bryant, Close, Decker, deSilva,
Horn, Hull, Jacobs, Johnson, Kagd, Klunder, Kreinath, Liu,, Moore-Jansen, Mosack,
Oare, Pulaski, Rillema, Ross, Smih, Solomey, Yildirim
Members Absent: Alexander, , Driessen, Hamdeh, Lu, Mukeerjee,, Toops
Excused Absence: Brooks, Celestin, Lewis, Matveyeva, Rokosz, Yeager
Summary of Action
1. Accepted the proposed revisions to 5.06, Resolution of Internal Disputes.
2. Endorsed the revisions to the WSU Curriculum Change forms as presented by the
Academic Affairs Committee.
I. Call to Order
President Bob Ross called the meeting to order at 3:31 pm
II. Informal Statements and Proposals – None
III. Approval of the Minutes: – Minutes of the February 11, 2013, meeting of the Faculty Senate were approved
with no dissent. https://wichita.edu/?u=facultysenate&p=/m21113/
IV. President's Report: President Ross reported on the following activities since the last meeting:
A. VPAA Search: The search for the new Vice President of Academic Affairs has not been completed
yet, but the announcement should be soon.
B. Faculty Ombudsperson: The University Administration does not appear to oppose the creation of the ombudsperson
position. The person chosen for that position should be provided with training, but
will not be considered to be a trained mediator or arbitrator. The primary responsibility
will be that of providing information and guidance for a faculty member investigating
the grievance option. It is anticipated that the number of grievances would be minimized
by the presence of the Ombudsperson.
C. KBOR
• The Post Tenure Review Policy continues to be a topic of keen interest to the various
constituency groups meeting with the KBOR. All KBOR institutions are developing individual
policies and intend to submit them this semester.
• President Ross asked for a show of hands from the Senate as an indication of the
Senate's support of the Faculty of the Year Award designated by the KBOR. KBOR provided no remuneration for the award. The majority
of those voting supported the option to disregard any further action on the award,
while a substantially smaller number of senators felt that it should be investigated
further.
• President Ross indicated that the Senate Executive Committee would consider the
need for faculty input in the Dean's Evaluation process.
D. President Ross expressed extreme sadness over the loss of Fritz Hemans, Senate President 2010-11. Senators Johnson, Moore-Jansen, and Klunder joined with
President Ross and individually lauded the character and humanity of Fritz Hemans.
The Senate paused for a moment of silence in honor of his life and contributions to
the university.
V. Committee Reports:
A. Rules Committee
• Victoria Mosack, Chair of the Rules Committee, proposed several revisions to the
Resolution of Internal Disputes Policy as amended in the last Senate meeting.
One additional proposed modification to the policy was brought forward from the Rules
Committee. The issue addressed by the modification was that of the proper chain of
action if the complaint is directed against a member of the administration. After
considerable discussion, the steps of the process needed to be altered only if the
Vice President of Academic Affairs was the target of the complaint. The policy was
modified in two locations to accommodate this unique path. The following sentence
was inserted in the second paragraph of I. Introduction: “In the event that the complaint is directed against the Vice President of Academic
Affairs the faculty member is encouraged to seek resolution of the dispute with the
President of the University.” In addition, the following sentence was inserted before the last sentence of the
existing paragraph of IV. Grievance Procedure, G. Decision of the Review Committee:
“In the event that the Vice President of Academic Affairs is the subject of the grievance,
the recommendation will be sent to the President.” Senator Brooks moved to accept the revised Policy (5.06/Resolution of Internal Disputes)
as amended by the Senate and Senator Close seconded the motion. The Senate voted to
accept the motion with no dissenting votes.
• Senator Mosack announced that The University Admissions and Exceptions Committee
was in need of a replacement member for the remainder of the year. She asked for the
support of the Senate to recruit the replacement.
• Senator Mosack had a request from the Academic Operations Council for advice regarding
an existing process to inform faculty and advisors of approved changes in the curriculum,
other than the catalog. If no process is in place, then the request would be that
one be developed.
B. Academic Affairs Committee – Nick Solomey, committee chair, presented the three new WSU Curriculum Change forms to the Senate. These three new forms will replace the current single multiple-purpose
form as soon as possible. The next step is to convert to an electronic version of
these forms. Even though the new forms were presented “for information only” to the
Senate and no approval was required, they appeared to meet with general approval by
the Senate during the discussion that followed. On a side note, the VPAA and Registrar
indicated that an electronic version of the Change-of-Grade form is under development
and should be available for use within six months.
C. Faculty Affairs Committee – Walter Horn, chair of the committee, presented the first reading of the committee's
proposed “Wichita State Post Tenure Review Policy and Procedure.” The committee had worked hard to create a straightforward process that meshed with
current practices at WSU and satisfied the requirements of the KBOR. The Senate was
in broad agreement with the proposed policy and procedure and offered several constructive
editorial suggestions to improve the clarity of the document. Senator Horn agreed
to incorporate these suggested changes, take it back to the committee for approval,
and return the modified document for a second reading at the next Senate meeting.
The Senate thanked the Faculty Affairs Committee for its rapid, but thoughtful response
to the KBOR mandate for Post Tenure Review at all KBOR institutions.
VI. Old Business: None
VII. New Business: None
VIII. As May Arise – None
IX. Adjournment - The meeting of the Faculty Senate was adjourned at 4:55 pm.
Submitted by Walter Horn
Secretary of the Faculty Senate