Minutes of 30 July 2007 SACUA Meeting

Present: Fraser, Friedman, Frier, Potter, Riles, Smith (chair), Stark, Thouless; Schneider, Carr, Arents

4. Management Advisory Memorandum from William Martin and Phillip Hanlon to Carol Senneff, Sherry Cogsworth, and Sundra Meads, dated 18 July 2007

5. Electronic mail from Barbara MacAdam to Bruce Frier regarding the draft resolution on authors' rights, dated 25 July 2007

6. "Principles of Faculty Involvement in Institutional and Academic Unit Governance at the University of Michigan, 2d ed." Draft – NOT FOR CIRCULATION

7. Contribution form for the University of Michigan Faculty Undergraduate Scholarships

1. Chair Smith reminded SACUA members of the retirement and congratulations banquet for Marvin Krislov later in the afternoon. So that SACUA members are able to attend, the meeting will end immediately after the visit of the Provost, which is scheduled to conclude at 4:00 p.m.

2. The latest report of the contributions to the University of Michigan Faculty Undergraduate Scholarships fund does not include any contributors who are SACUA members. This Scholarship is significant, as it is the only scholarship under complete control of the University faculty. The President has committed to matching amounts raised.

The current balance of the fund is $31,419. Although this is a fair start, the Scholarship goal for December 31 is $125,000. Each SACUA member has been provided with 5 contribution forms to remedy this concern. There is no limit (maximum or minimum) for contributions. Chair Smith strongly encouraged SACUA members to consider contributing to the Scholarship.

3. Chair Smith announced that he and Professor Potter met with the Provost on 26 July. Provost Sullivan will report on the status of the selection of the new ombudsperson. She has asked that this discussion is held in Executive Session.
The Provost will also report on the status of the Shared Governance Task Force book. Professor Riles noted that the critical issue is the question of requiring SACUA's consultation before decisions are taken to the Regents.

4. Chair Smith announced that SACUA has been asked by Provost Sullivan to nominate faculty to serve on a new Recreational Sports Task Force, which will be co-convened by Vice President for Student Affairs Harper and the Provost. The Task Force is charged with solving the issue of the declining facilities for recreational sports.

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Professor Potter moved that SACUA offer Professor Stark, Professor Doug Kahn of the Law School, and himself to serve on the new Recreational Sports Task Force. (Frier seconded).

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ADVISORY BOARD ON INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS
Provost Sullivan shared with SACUA a letter declaring that a recent University audit has determined that faculty members on the Advisory Board on Intercollegiate Athletics should not be guests of the Department of Athletics to the annual bowl game, as there is a conflict of interest. SACUA members discussed this decision, and there was consensus that the appearance of propriety is most important; although it is unlikely that eligibility decisions have been made to ensure bowl tickets. Some SACUA members wondered whether this decision might be extended to disallow faculty from being involved in any aspect of the Athletics Department.

Professor Thouless asked about the composition of the Academic Progress Committee (APC) of the Department of Athletics. The APC is comprised of four faculty appointed by SACUA (ultimately determined by the President), two alumni, and two faculty appointed by the Athletic Director. There was general discussion of the relationship between University faculty and the Athletics Department.

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Professor Frier moved that SACUA support the notion of the review contained in the Management Advisory Memorandum of 18 July 2007 (Stark seconded).

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Professor Potter reported that the Provost has indicated that she will proceed to full-scale revision of the University grievance rules, and will make an attempt to involve all interested parties, including SACUA, the deans, and other "subject area experts." Chair Smith noted that although it is unclear whether the Provost will accept the grievance report submitted by the Senate Assembly last year, it is his hope that the document will help shape discussion.

Provost Sullivan plans to convene a joint committee to revise the current policy, and has asked SACUA to submit suggestions for members.

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Chair Smith moved that SACUA offer Professors John Lehman, Tom Moore, Galip Ulsoy and himself as nominees for the Provost's Grievance Procedures Review Committee (Frier seconded).

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SACUA members reviewed the draft resolution developed by Professors MacAdam and Frier. Professor Frier made two grammatical suggestions.

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Dr. Fraser moved that SACUA endorses the following resolution on authors' rights, and commends it to the Senate Assembly (Thouless seconded):

Recognizing how important it is that the University of Michigan maintain a copyright policy that serves the best interests of both the University and its faculty authors, Senate Assembly endorses in principle the "Addendum to Publication Agreements for CIC Authors" and the University Library's additional efforts on behalf of University authors' rights in the Library's negotiations with publishers. At the same time, Senate Assembly further recommends that the University's current copyright policy be reviewed and rewritten in order to clarify and strengthen the ownership rights of faculty in the instructional and scholarly works that they create. To that end, the Senate Assembly endorses the establishment of a joint faculty and administration committee to draft a new policy.

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Professor Thouless asked what action will follow this resolution. Chair Smith said that SACUA would take the lead in the effort, and would negotiate with the Provost and the University General Counsel in the formation of a Copyright Revision Committee.

Professor Thouless commented that in the current year, College of Engineering faculty are being asked to complete the COI/COC document used by the Medical School, and wondered what the experiences of faculty in other units were.

Chair Smith thanked the Provost for her recent contribution to the Faculty Undergraduate Scholarships.

Chair Smith notified the Provost that SACUA had just passed a resolution in support of the CIC authorship addendum, and supporting the idea of a reworking of University copyright policy. Provost Sullivan asked if changes to the copyright policy would require changes to the Standard Practice Guide (SPG). Professor Frier replied that Regental Bylaws are involved, but not necessarily changes to the SPG.

Chair Smith asked the Provost about the status of the revisions of the shared governance policy that SACUA submitted in May. The Provost reported that although decisions have not yet been made, the document is close to finished. She agreed to contact SACUA directly when the process is complete.

Professor Riles asked if there were any particular sections of the document that she wanted to discuss. He highlighted the circumstances for which SACUA would be consulted in decision-making: the model proposed by SACUA was that SACUA would be consulted on decisions before they are presented to the Regents. The Provost responded that she is only able to consult with SACUA on academic affairs, as that is her scope of authority.

Budget: Provost Sullivan reported that the Regents recently passed the budget for the coming year. The budget includes a 7.4 percent increase in tuition for Michigan residents and non-residents, and a 5 percent increase in tuition for most graduate programs. The Provost reported that the budget is based on the assumption of sustained flat funding from the state, which is worrisome, as not all institutions in Michigan have made the same assumption. The Faculty Budget Advisory Committee has held its first meeting, and will convene again at the end of August.

Recreational Sports: The Provost reported that the current condition of recreational facilities on campus has become very problematic. The source seems to be a flawed business model: because facilities are in decline, faculty and staff withdraw memberships, which decreases funding to improve facilities. The new Recreational Sports Task Force will be charged with finding a solution to the immediate crisis, as well as determining the most appropriate reporting line for the Department of Recreational Sports. The Department currently reports to the Office of the Provost.

Professor Stark reported that the recent structure change in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) Department requires approval of the faculty. Although there were many discussions within the unit, the final product was a model that was not discussed or approved by faculty. The Provost said that the change does not require Regental approval, and is currently being enacted. The change is an experimental model, and has not been attempted in the past. Professor Stark reported that the dual Co-Chair positions have negatively affected the unit, as issues of territory have begun to be introduced. The Provost advised that Professor Stark take up the issue with the Dean.

The meeting entered executive session with the Provost at 3:27 PM to discuss the nomination of an ombuds and a faculty grievance issue.

In each school, college, or degree granting division of the University, including those at the University of Michigan-Dearborn and at the University of Michigan-Flint, the governing faculty shall be in charge of the affairs of the school, college, or division, except as delegated to the executive committee, if any, and except that in the School of Graduate Studies the governing board shall be the executive board, and in the Medical School shall be the executive faculty.