Faculty Senate Minutes August 29, 2019

August 29, 2019
Faculty Reception Room

Present: T. Moretti (Chair), D. DeFino (Secretary), M. Bard, A. Bishop, M. Draeger, A. Howerton-Fox, M. Hughes, J. Kaalund, A. Kelso, E. Mariola, C. Martins, M. Nadel, H, Park, S. Petrovic, M. Veyvoda
Excused: R. Jantzen, C. Tsai
Invited: D. Brophy
Vacancies: 2 A&S, 2 LaPenta, 1 Adjunct

D. DeFino called the meeting to order at 3:36 p.m. Quorum was met.

Approval of Minutes

• Minutes to the 4/25/19 Faculty Senate meeting were approved via e-mail on 6/10/19

Announcements

• A call for self-nominations has gone out for faculty representatives on the Search Committee for the Dean of the LaPenta School of Business

Action Item: Vacancies on Elected Committees

• The following policy was unanimously approved for filling faculty vacancies on elected committees:
  • In cases where routine elections yield insufficient candidates to fill requisite positions, the Senate will send out a second solicitation for self-nominations, and hold a second election specific to the vacant seats
  • In cases where seats are vacated prior to the completion of normal terms of service, the Senate will appoint faculty to serve on an interim basis
• Item closed

Action Item: Senate Liaisons for Major Committees

• The Senate Chair will reach out to the chairs of the Committee on Academic Affairs, the Committee on Budget, the Committee on Human Resources and Compensation, and the Committee on Rank, Tenure and Awards, and identify a member of the Senate who would serve as the point of contact, through which to communicate any important committee matters that might be germane to Senate deliberations. 
• The following senators volunteered to serve as Senate liaisons: CAA: M. Bard; Budget: A. Howerton-Fox; HR&C: D. DeFino; RTA: M. Nadel
• Item remains open

Action Item: Board of Trustees Committee on Facilities

• The Senate voted unanimously to reappoint A. Eodice as faculty representative on this committee
• Item closed

Action Item: J. Nyre Memo on the Faculty Handbook

• T. Moretti sought comments on a memo he received on 6/28 from J. Nyre, where the outgoing president outlined three changes he would recommend to the Board of Trustees above and beyond those already vetted by the Senate. 
• The first of these changes raised concerns among the Senate:

  • Clinical Faculty (1.4). Removal of the sentence, “No more than 5% of Iona’s full-time faculty can hold the position at any one time.”  Rationale: This provision is too restrictive in a time when flexibility is important.  Rather that a rigid percentage, the wording “a limited number” at the beginning of 1.4 is sufficient.  We recognize that full-time faculty have more time to be engaged with students that adjunct professors, which enhances the student experience.  Further, the new Strategic Plan, under Academic Excellence, Item 3, recommends the College “Enhance faculty scholarship and creative works by reassessing workload giving faculty greater opportunities to teach at a reduced (3/3 or ¾) course load, while increasing the number of clinical lines to raise the number of student credit hours taught by full-time faculty.”

• The Senate offered the following response, which T. Moretti will communicate to S. Carey and D. Wheeler:

  • While the Senate agrees that 5% is too low a number (as a matter of necessity, the College regularly operates above 5% of clinical faculty), it feels strongly that “a limited number” is far too broad a descriptor, and recommends that the College survey existing clinical demands, and arrives upon a percentage based on projected need.  The Senate also stresses that this percentage should be understood as part of the entire full-time faculty, not individual departments, since some programs would have substantial need for clinical faculty, where others would have none.

• Item remains open

Action Item: Faculty Compensation Plan and Performance-Based Pay Metrics

• T. Moretti reported that he would be discussing next steps with S. Carey and D. Wheeler, and sought Senate comments.  Several concerns were raised:
  • Regarding the Compensation Plan, senators asked whether data was available comparing compensation by race, gender, and sexual identification; requested faculty access to salary ranges used to determine 25th and 50th percentile within discipline and rank; and expressed particular concern about limiting the following policy to a “one-time event”:
    • Phase 2 of implementation of the Mercer Compensation Study: Any faculty member in all ranks that have been in their respective rank for six or more years will be brought to the 50th percentile based on the 2017-18 CUPA data for the Mercer comparative group, subject to funding.  This is a one-time event.
  • Regarding Performance-Based Pay Metrics, the Senate expressed concerns about the advisability of using such specific, granular criteria across disciplines, the effects of what amounts to salary competition among faculty to faculty morale, and the potential ramifications of having chairs participate in an evaluation process that would have a direct impact on individual salaries
• In hopes of addressing these concerns, the Senate will invite members of the Compensation Working Group to a future Senate meeting
• Item remains open

There being no other business, T. Moretti adjourned the Faculty Senate meeting at 5:23 p.m. The next Senate meeting will be held on 10/3/19 at 3:30 p.m. in the Faculty Reception Room