FACULTY COUNCIL MEETING
Call to Order: F. van Hartesveldt called the meeting to
order at
Present: Nickie Alexander, Rick Barnhart, Jennifer
Batten, Mike Campo, Jim Chesla, Frank Conner, Anita Cook, Larry Crossman, Katie
Danko, Beth Foster, Dick Godfrey, Dan Hearn, Brian Keelean, Amy Kerkstra, Robert
Long, Bernie Manker, Bob Monaldo, Brian Morris, Jeff Neumann, Kathleen Owens, Wayne
Rodgers, Jonathon Russell, Mark Saur, Jeff Spoelman, Joel Swets, Fred van
Hartesveldt, Doug Wabeke, George Zeeff
Absent: C. Lee Brown, Marie Burns, Carolyn Grin, Jim
Hayes, Stacey Heisler,
Visitor: Fred Garbowitz
Agenda: Today’s agenda was approved as printed.
Approval of Minutes: Minutes
of the
Secretary’s Report. The
secretary received a thank-you card from Penny Folsom, Preschool, for a fruit
basket following surgery.
President’s Report. F. van Hartesveldt’s report covered the
following items:
· Accretion of Lab Coordinators/Technicians. The administration and Association have agreed that lab coordinators will join the Association. The petition of the lab technicians to join the Association will proceed to hearing with the Michigan Employment Relations Commission.
· Credentials Review. Ten full-time faculty received letters from their deans that their transcripts did not show sufficient graduate level credit in or related to the areas in which they teach. After meetings with the deans, the number of unresolved situations was reduced to four or five. The administration and Association will negotiate the effects of any administrative finding that faculty members’ academic credentials don’t meet administrative expectations. Faculty are encouraged to maintain a file of communications about their credentials.
· Department Meetings. F. van Hartesveldt continues meeting with departments to listen to concerns and point out overlooked contract benefits.
· RCC Update. House Bill 5314 moved quickly out of committee. The bill would prohibit newly hired community college personnel from joining the MPSERS retirement system, thereby forcing them into a defined contribution program and creating two tiers of employees for retirement benefits. Discussion followed about a state-wide organization of community colleges. There is at least one statewide group, but it is not concerned with this bill.
·
Board of
Trustees. F. van Hartesveldt
addressed the board about the increased number of adjunct faculty, who now
outnumber full-time faculty about two-to-one.
He identified how the increasing number of adjunct exacerbates many
issues such as parking, the lack of professional development for adjunct, and
difficulties in providing the time and resources to support them. F. van Hartesveldt is scheduling meetings
with adjunct, the first of which will be November 30,
Negotiations Report. The team had no report, but said today’s JCC meeting was cancelled due to administrative double-booking of their calendars. Administration has been available for only one JCC meeting this year. Much discussion followed about the unavailability of administrators for collaboration with faculty.
Grievance
Report. F. Garbowitz, reported
the following:
·
Grievance #156—Advance training pay for
adjunct. Still in the appeal process.
·
Grievance #157—Adjunct hired for summer class
and subsequently fired. Following a
meeting between the administration and Association attorneys and rejection of a
settlement offer, the grievance is scheduled for hearing with a neutral third
party attorney.
· Grievance #160—Faculty on extended contract denied overload hours. Settled. In a future semester the grievant will teach the hours he was denied.
· Two potential grievances:
· Identification of primary parking sites
·
Paybacks of longevity overpayment
Discussion and Action
Committee Membership. A meeting of the Scholarship Committee has been scheduled for December 2005, and the Ethics Committee reported that they would interview Jud VanderWal who was the last committee chair.
Scheduling of Council Meetings. F. van Hartesveldt received a suggestion that Council meet once a month rather than biweekly. Most reps acknowledged advantages to meeting less often, but felt it is easier to cancel a scheduled meeting than to add one. Many felt it is beneficial to have bi-weekly meetings. It was suggested that more informational material be e-mailed before a meeting to allow more time for discussions during meetings.
NEW BUSINESS
Topics for future meetings should be forwarded to F. van
Hartesveldt.
Next
Meeting.
Adjournment. Motion to adjourn, B. Monaldo; second, W.
Rodgers. Adjournment at
Submitted by C. Lee Brown, Secretary
Recorded by Beth Foster