University Council

Organization & Administration Committee

2002/2003 Annual Report

The members of the Organization & Administration Committee were Barbara Anthony-Twarog, Casey Collier, Nancy Kinnersley, Tiffany Lopez, Johanna Maska, John Peck, Cindy Pierard (chair), Howard Rytting, and Lloyd Sponholtz. Mark Ezell served as the committee’s representative to FacEx.

The Committee’s responses to its annual charges were as follows:

Charge #1 – Review any change under consideration for the administration and organization of the University and how it relates to the University governance system.

Evaluate the recommendations to create a University Committee on Libraries as proposed in the Provost’s memorandum of 2/7/02.

Following communication with the Senate Library Committee, O&A voted to accept the Provost’s recommendation to change the membership of SLC, and to create an expanded University Committee on Libraries. The recommendation was forwarded to SenEx, and language was drafted to alter the University Senate Code. University Council voted to accept the recommendation.

Charge #2 – Consider any proposals forwarded to the Committee from SenEx for codification into the Senate Code or the Rules and Regulations of the University and Faculty Senate and make recommendations for Council action.

Recommend a name and membership composition for a new committee to deal with issues for retired faculty and staff.

The Faculty Rights, Privileges, and Responsibilities Committee (FRPR) recommended that a new University Senate standing committee be formed to deal with issues for retired faculty, such as medical insurance and other benefits. SenEx concurred with this recommendation and agreed that this new committee should also have representation from the classified and unclassified staff. O&A was asked to recommend a name and membership composition for this proposed committee. Additional information was sought from members of FRPR as well as leaders of the Unclassified Professional Staff Association and Classified Conference. The name “Retirees Rights and Benefits” was suggested for the committee. O&A recommended a composition of two active faculty members, one of whom shall serve as chair; one retired faculty member; one active and one retired unclassified professional staff member; one active and one retired classified staff person; and one student. O&A further recommended that faculty and staff serve three-year terms, and that the student member serve a one-year term. The recommendation was forwarded to University Council, voted upon, and accepted.

Review proposed procedures for program restructuring.

O&A did not complete this charge. We were asked to review procedures for program restructuring that had been recommended by AP&P in 1993 and that were reviewed again this year by the Faculty Rights, Privileges, and Responsibilities Committee (FRPR). Although University Council approved the procedures when they were initially written (in 1993), they were never incorporated into University Senate Rules & Regulations due to various circumstances. Lloyd Sponholtz met with Molly Mulloy to discuss this charge, however, the committee was not able to put forth a recommendation by the time Council concluded its business this spring. O&A recommends this as a charge to next year’s committee.

Charge #3 – Submit to SenEx: 1) the approved minutes of each meeting, 2) recommendations for actions as they are approved by the committee, and 3) a final report by April 1, 2003.

Done.

Charge #4 – Review the University’s organization for long range planning with a focus on the involvement of University governance.

The University Senate Code (Art. XIII, Sec. 7) provides for a "Campus Planning Committee" (see excerpt below) to be appointed by the Provost after consultation with SenEx, however, O&A was told that this committee had not been called together in the last eight years and that the Planning & Resources Committee appeared to be handling the same type of organizational issues. Following consultation with Molly Mulloy and Jim Long, the committee determined that the Planning & Resources Committee covers much of what appeared to be the intended purview of the Campus Master Plan Steering Committee. O&A recommended that references to the Master Plan Steering Committee be deleted from the Senate Code.

Charge #5 – Consider the appropriateness of adding representatives from UPSA and the Classified Senate to the four University Senate Standing Committees that lack such representation (ACTC, Calendar, International Affairs, P&R) and the two Council Committees (O&A and AP&P).

O&A requested additional background information on this charge and learned that members of UPSA and Classified Senate had asked that we review this matter. It was also noted that the standing committees mentioned in the charge were also reviewing the matter. Although a previous O&A committee had voted against the request in 1997, this year’s committee believed that adding representatives from UPSA and Classified Senate would be beneficial to the work of the standing committees, and saw no problems with increasing their representation on these groups. O&A forwarded the recommendation to add representatives of UPSA and Classified Senate to the four committees. Language was drafted for the appropriate sections of the University Code. Members of University Council passed the recommendation.

Charge #6 – Find a mechanism by which standing committees can operate in the summer, possibly with 2-3 continuing members, to respond to special situations.

O&A learned that this request came from Larry Draper, former head of the Calendar Committee, because of decisions that had to be addressed in the summer by both the Calendar Committee and by AP&P. Some concern was expressed that faculty members were being asked to serve at a time when they are not officially on the University payroll and are often pursuing research projects, however, it was also thought that this request could be accommodated fairly reasonably by seeking only a modest number of carryover members on the Calendar and AP&P committees. O&A recommended that a standing charge be added to the charges for the Calendar Committee and AP&P concerning the appointment of several members to serve during the summer.

Charge #7 – Consider whether the membership of the University Judicial Board should be reduced.

This charge concerned reducing the number of members on the University Judicial Board from 58 to 47. O&A believed this would be reasonable proposition since there have not been instances in which that many members have been needed. In addition, University grievance procedures have been revised and this will result in even fewer members being needed in the future. O&A recommended that the number of members be reduced as proposed by Molly Mulloy (from 58 to 47 members). This recommendation was forwarded to SenEx. The Code change was drafted, and the recommendation was voted upon and accepted by University Council.