University Governance
FACULTY SENATE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
December 2, 2008
Provost’s Conference Room – 3:00 p.m.
Approved January 27, 2009
PRESENT: Mary Berry, Nancy Kinnersley, Liz Kowalchuk, Lisa Wolf-Wendel, Ben Eggleston John Staniunas, John Stratton, Lisa Friis
ALSO PRESENT: Kathy Reed, Paul Farran, Dennis Constance
FacEx chair Nancy Kinnersley called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m.
MINUTES for October 28, 2008 were approved.
REPORT OF THE FACULTY SENATE PRESIDENT
Nancy Kinnersley reported that the Secretary of Administration/Budget Director Duane Goossen provided an update at the November BOR meeting on the current budget outlook as it relates to State General Fund receipts and expenditures. He noted that the overall picture has worsened since his report to the Board.
COFSP is looking at the 60-day waiting period before new employees can sign up for health insurance. The provost has also investigated this issue, as it is a determent for hiring.
Townsend Peterson had contacted Kinnersley regarding moving back the due date on one of the Research committee charges. Nancy advised him the last meeting before spring break is March 10, and FacEx would need to consider any actions items at that meeting in order to forward to the full senate.
REPORT OF THE UNIVERSITY SENATE PRESIDENT
Mary Berry noted that she and Kinnersley had received a list with due dates of University and Faculty Senate committees action items. They will be reviewing and contacting chairs for updates.
CLOSED SESSION
Motion to move to closed session for the purpose of nominating faculty to the Student Awards Committee. The motion carried.
Motion to move that the meeting return to open session. Passed.
NEW BUSINESS
Football Seating
Jerry Bailey, Faculty Representative to the Athletic Dept., Jim Marchiony, Associate Athletic Directory, and Charlette Blubaugh, Assistant Athletics Director of Ticket Operations, were guests, to discuss Faculty/Staff Football seating.
Kinnersley started the meeting noting that she had requested from Jerry Bailey a tentative proposal. Bailey reported that the goal of today’s meeting was first to see if Athletics and faculty governance wanted to explore the possibility of having a Faculty/Staff seating plan similar to what was done with the Men’s Basketball seating. Bailey also suggested that if there was interest, that a smaller group be pulled together to work on the actual details, which would then be brought back to the full body.
Kinnersley asked what would happen if the faculty decided not to move on this. Marchiony stated that if the faculty chose not to go forward then Athletics would continue to do what they are doing now. Charlette Blubaugh explained that currently there is not a policy governing football seating for Faculty /Staff other than the 20% discount. The problem is that Athletics continues to expand the public and donor seating, and there is nothing in place to protect F/S seats.
Currently there are approximate 600 seats sold to F/S as season tickets. These do not include tickets sold to F/S under the Family Plan. (Two adults, two children, tickets for a reduced price, seats are in the general admission). The family plan sold out this year.
Athletics would like to look at two or three sections comparable to where F/S are seated now. Athletics did receive complaints this year as to why F/S years of service were not taken into consideration when seating. The Athletic Department has no policy regarding these seats. When Athletics allocates the seats for F/S they do not have any specific order they follow, though it is usually done by order date.
This year donor seating expanded by almost 1200 full season seats, which does not take into consideration public seating. For an idea of increase in sales, this year total season tickets which includes F/S, Donor, public, Family Plan, students, was approximately 39,000; last year that number was 31,000 and the year before that was 27,000.
Lisa Wolf-Wendel suggested that a smaller committee be formed to look at number of items; for instance, numbers of seats, locations, participating in select a seat etc., then let the committee work with Athletics and hammer out the details. What is presented to SenEx/FacEx would be a policy that Athletics has also agreed to.
Lisa Wolf-Wendel also asked if it would be possible to split the seasons the way they do Basketball. Charlette Blubaugh explained due to the amount of games, there are only 6 or 7 games per season and the way seasons are set up in football there isn’t a fair way to split a package.
Liz Kowalchuk asked about F/S having access to purchase bowl tickets and NCAA tournament games. Blubaugh explained that those who currently purchase season tickets are notified about tournament games and bowl games.
Lisa Friis asked about purchasing tickets through both the donor and F/S. Blubaugh explained in football there is m ore flexibility because there are more seats. If there are donors who are also F/S, they can purchase 2 tickets at the discounted rate and 2 at the regular price and be seated in either a reduced donor seating or take all four in the F/S area. These things would need to be spelled out in the policy.
Discussion began about how the committee should be formed. A motion was made to form a three-person committee, with John Staniunas as the FacEx Representative. The committee is charged with forming a plan for seating of Faculty/Staff (& Retirees) Football season tickets holders. Some of the issues to look at:
· Seating Locations
· Number of Seats
· Possible family plan seating for f/s,
· Ability to select seats
· Seating by years of service.
Motion passed.
No further business.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathy Reed