FACULTY COUNCIL MEETING
Call to Order: F. van Hartesveldt called the meeting to
order at
Present: Nickie Alexander, Jennifer Batten, C. Lee
Brown, Lyttron Burris, Mike Campo, Larry Crossman, Katie Danko, Beth Foster, Fred
Garbowitz, Dick Godfrey, Carolyn Grin, Julie Hess, Amy Kerkstra, Bernie Manker,
Bob Monaldo, Brian Morris, Patty Mumaw (for Stacey Heisler), Jeff Neumann, Larry
Pierson (for Wayne Rodgers), Jonathon Russell, Mark Saur, Roland Sherman (for
George Zeeff), Marilyn Smidt, Jeff Spoelman, Joel Swets, Dorothy Terhune (for
Anita Cook), Fred van Hartesveldt, Douglas Wabeke, Fred Zomer (for Kathleen
Owens)
Absent: Marie Burns, Dan Hearn, Robert Long,
Visitors: John Cowles, John Doane, Fred Garbowitz, Keith
Longberg
Agenda: Today’s agenda was approved with the
addition of Constitution Revision to Reflect Name Change.
Approval of Minutes: Minutes of the September 24, 2004, Faculty Council meeting were approved with the following correction: The next RCC meeting is October 18, not October 28; a general substitute for RCC meetings is needed, not just for the next meeting.
F. van Hartesveldt made corrections to faculty counts he previously presented. The full-time faculty count this fall is 253; adjunct faculty, 392.
Faculty Presentations from the Floor. C. Grin announced that Sherri Rhoden, Behavioral Sciences, is on extended medical leave.
Secretary’s
Report. C. L. Brown read two
correspondences: 1) a thank-you card from Renée Rivers (daughter of Fred
Garbowitz) for flowers received following childbirth, and 2) a thank-you letter
from Keith Longberg for allowing his presentation at the
Treasurer’s Report. D. Godfrey distributed the September 2004 treasurer’s report (attached), which documents a September 30 checking account balance of $61,189.70; a money market balance of $52,565.49.
Grievance Report. F. Garbowitz gave the following updates on grievances:
· Grievance #146—Laid off member’s responsibilities given to an employee who isn’t a Faculty Association member. Grievance is scheduled for arbitration December 2.
· Grievance #150—Instructor denied a course in base load for lack of qualifications though the instructor had previously taught the class. Denied at Level 2. Grievance is at Level 3 with a meeting scheduled with Cynthia Singleton in about a week.
· Grievance #151—Faculty taught 400 extra minutes during first summer session 2004 due to error in scheduling. Met at Level 2 and awaiting a response.
· Grievance #152—Faculty denied a 42-week scheduled for lack of sick days and service time. Awaiting meeting with administration.
F. Garbowitz identified several issues that are at Level 1:
· Adjunct seniority rights
· Faculty who missed the normal rotation in assigning classes of a retiree
· Benefits of faculty on sabbatical
President’s Report. F. van Hartesveldt gave the following summaries and updates:
· Press Coverage. GRCC faculty were highlighted in a September 20 Grand Rapids Press insert about the college.
· Board of Trustees. The October 18 Board of Trustees meeting agenda includes contact between the Board and faculty.
·
· Adjunct Health Insurance. The new contract includes a grandfather provision allowing adjunct faculty who used to receive health insurance benefits to opt for continuance of that coverage or to move to the higher pay scale.
· Leave Request Content. In a follow-up on the concern about a dean’s office requiring faculty to include details of class coverage on leave requests, deans indicated that leaves have not been and were never intended to be denied for lack of such details. F. van Hartesveldt was told deans and their secretaries were instructed to cease asking faculty their intentions relative to classes missed.
· Adjunct Communication. Attempts to increase the time adjuncts are in the e-mail system have resulted in a statement of intent from IT to pursue a short-term solution. They caution that security priorities will dictate limitations.
· Students Self-enrolling After Second Class Session. Contacts with the Registrar’s office and Institutional Research about the issue of students self-enrolling after the second class session resulted in a statement of intent to start analyzing the data next week.
· New GRCC Policy. A new conflict of interest policy was issued from Bob Partridge’s office on September 23. F. van Hartesveldt highlighted the following content references: removes progressive discipline; prohibits solicitation of literature; prohibits unauthorized meetings of any kind during work time; prohibits engagement in activities that harm GRCC’s reputation or standing in the community; permits participation in and speaking publicly about matters that do not affect the college. F. van Hartesveldt responded with a verbal rejection of the policy and anticipates further dialogue with administration. Faculty interested in having input regarding the conflict of interest policy are invited to contact F. van Hartesveldt.
· Faculty Evaluations. Faculty who have received letters from the provost alleging that they have not completed evaluations continue to contact F. van Hartesveldt. Members report that they have complied and are willing to comply with evaluation requirements, and they assigning non-compliance to administration. F. van Hartesveldt encouraged faculty to document and keep records of when items are submitted and to whom for their own protection.
·
Committee
Updates.
o Finance. C. Grin stated that the committee met June 21
to spot-check the books and found all to be in order.
o Allocations. The Association is in the process of
restoring faculty involvement with Student Activities staff to ensure that student
groups get funding.
o Ethics.
N. Alexander is the new chair of that committee.
o Scholarship. F. van Hartesveldt contacted Jull Nutt 1½ years
ago about the need to overhaul the committee, but movement has yet to be
made. Reps concerned about scholarships are
invited to contact F. van Hartesveldt.
Discussion/Action
Items
· Constitution Revisions. F. van Hartesveldt noted that since Business and Technical Training was renamed during negotiations this summer, the constitution revisions accepted last spring are already outdated. He suggested two options: 1) Allow the former name to remain in the constitution, and 2) amend the constitution to allow name changes.
MOTION: Allow the constitution to be updated appropriately for name changes without membership vote. M. Saur; second, J. Neumann. Carried with 2/3 vote.
·
Building
Name Change. A poll of the reps for
department response to Keith Longberg’s proposed name change of the
MOTION: Recommend
renaming of the
· Exam Schedule Problems. F. van Hartesveldt polled reps for problems with exam conflicts. Much discussion centered on faculty’s responsibility during exam week with mention made that a policy for such does exist. F. van Hartesveldt requested a copy of the policy from anyone who has it.
· Council Meeting Date. A faculty member has suggested rescheduling Council meetings to another day since so many now have Monday through Thursday class schedules. F. van Hartesveldt noted that all of this year’s meetings are scheduled for Fridays, but that discussion on revising the meeting schedule can continue at a future meeting.
·
Next
Meeting.
Adjournment. Motion to adjourn, M. Saur; second, B. Morris. The meeting was adjourned at
Submitted by C. Lee Brown, Secretary
GRCC Faculty Association
Treasurer’s Report
September 2004
Checking account balance September 1.......................................................... $52,833.42
Deposits: Dues........................................................................................ $9,483.42
Expenses: Donations, flowers, fruit baskets……$ 126.00
Food......................................................... 616.00
Office:
Copies.......................................... 136.78
Telephone....................................... 23.36
RCC-travel............................................... 225.00
Total
expenses: .......................................................... $
1,127.14
Checking account balance September 30....................................................... $ 61,189.70
Money Market Balance September 30............................................................ $52,565.49
Submitted on