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Minutes of the
NIU Board of Trustees
ACADEMIC AFFAIRS, STUDENT AFFAIRS AND PERSONNEL COMMITTEE MEETING
March 7, 1996
CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL
The meeting was called to order by Chair Myles at 12:50 p.m. Recording Secretary Mimms conducted a roll call of Trustees. Members present were Trustees James Myles, Susan Grans, David Raymond, Manuel Sanchez and Willie Fowler. Also present were Committee Liaison Carroll Moody and Board Parliamentarian Ken Davidson.
VERIFICATION OF APPROPRIATE NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING
Confirmation of Open Meetings Act notification compliance was given by Board Parliamentarian Ken Davidson.
MEETING AGENDA APPROVAL
Trustee Moser made a motion for approval of the agenda, seconded by Trustee Grans.
REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING
A motion to approve the minutes of the January 17 meeting was made by Trustee Grans and seconded by Trustee Raymond.
CHAIR'S COMMENTS
Chair Myles welcomed the representatives of the University Advisory Committee, Professors Judy Bischoff and Linda Sons, and asked if they would like to make any comments.
Professor Bischoff commented on the importance of the promotion and tenure and sabbaticals items to faculty and staff and explained the tenure and promotion process.
RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY
Agenda Item 5.a. - Recommendations for Faculty Promotions, Tenure, and Promotions with Tenure
Provost Moody described the three categories of promotions or promotions with tenure being presented for approval: (1) Associate Professor to Professor, (2) Assistant Professor to Associate Professor and (3) Tenure Only.
Trustee Sanchez asked if the promotion and tenure process, as suggested by Judy Bischoff, could be addressed any earlier than March or if, from the provost's office standpoint, that was impractical. Provost Moody agreed that it would be nice but impractical due to the time needed from initiation through completion of the process.
Chair Myles and Trustee Fowler asked whether mentoring was included in the evaluation process. Provost Moody replied that the categories of evaluation are teaching, scholarship and service. Within the service category departments analyze the contributions faculty make, for example, in advising students. He could not speak specifically to mentoring but stated that an increasing number of faculty are involved in mentoring students and that departments are being encouraged to look at a broader range of faculty activities. Chair Myles said that he would like to look into mentoring at NIU to see whether it is a particular problem for minority faculty.
Trustee Sanchez added that the scholarship part of the three-pronged tenure process is sometimes overweighted. This applies to the entire faculty, he said, not just to the minority members. Sanchez said he wanted faculty to know that some of the Trustees see mentoring as a very important component of the whole tenure process and hoped it will be recognized.
Trustee Raymond asked if the appeal process for those not recommended for tenure had been completed on all the candidates. Dr. Moody replied that it had and pointed out that those Professors not asterisked already had tenure.
Chair Myles asked the Committee for its recommendation of the Promotion and Tenure Report to the full Board of Trustees as an action item at its April meeting. Trustee Grans offered the motion and was seconded by Trustee Fowler.
Agenda Item 5.b. - Faculty and Staff Sabbatical Leaves
Provost Moody introduced Agenda Item 5.b., the recommendations on faculty and staff sabbatical leaves. He reminded the Board of their earlier discussion of the application process faculty use to apply for sabbatical leaves and explained the application procedure for faculty on twelve-month contracts (working twelve months a year) as well as the pay schedule, which amounts to one semester's pay, whether the leave is for one or two semesters.
Chair Myles asked for a motion to recommend the report on Faculty and Staff Sabbatical Leaves to the full Board of Trustees for action. Trustee Sanchez moved to recommend the sabbatical leaves as contained in the booklet to the full Board of Trustees, seconded by Trustee Grans.
Trustee Grans asked if the number of faculty members seeking sabbaticals was pretty average or if it might be higher or lower than normal. Provost Moody answered that a fixed number of sabbaticals are made available each year. This year there were fewer applicants than normal. When there are more applicants than available slots, there is a ranked alternate list. There are no alternates this year.
Agenda Item 7 - Other Matters
Chair Myles, speaking to the student leadership at the Committee meeting, said he wanted them to know that the Trustees were there to do the best they could to serve the needs of each of the student groups at NIU. Dr. Henley, Vice President for Student Affairs, introduced Student Association President Mike Leong, who introduced the other student leaders who were present: David Marquez, Minority Relations Advisor for the Student Association; Jaime DeLeon, President of OLAS (Organization of Latin American Students); and Ryan Eggert, Student Political Education and Action Committee Chairman.
Trustee Fowler informed the gathering that Mike Leong, in addition to being the Student Association President, had also been appointed Vice Chair of the Student Trustee Advisory Committee.
Mike Leong said the student leaders are very much interested in the various issues addressed by the Board of Trustees and would like to participate in finding answers to some of those issues. We are here to assist you in ensuring that the university follows its recruitment efforts all the way through to graduation to ensure that this is the best experience students can have at Northern Illinois University.
David Marquez, Minority Relations Advisor for the Student Association, described his organization's study of the retention rate at NIU and its interest in looking at the specific reasons why students leave school and in finding out what parents think. Chair Myles commented on the Board of Regents' Task Force on Minority Concerns, which included a report dealing with retention and containing what he thought were very good recommendations. Trustee Grans said she thought we should not be too hasty to implement a new plan but should take the opportunity to focus on how to improve Northern after reviewing examples of what has or hasn't worked in other communities. Trustee Fowler noted the importance of making sure that all departments around campus are user friendly for students.
Ryan Eggert, Student Political Education and Action Committee Chairman, discussed student representation in decision making, citing recent issues related to the Publication Board decision, the elimination of the Fee Study Committee and the merger of Student Affairs with Academic Affairs.
Provost Moody commented on the merger between Academic Affairs and Student Affairs saying that the merger had been discussed with the parties involved. He said he wanted to make it clear that the merger had the potential for dealing with some of the very questions and issues raised by the student leaders and by Trustee Fowler.
Trustee Sanchez assured Mr. Eggert that the Trustees thought it made sense to combine these two bodies and that the decision was made under the Board's aegis.
Trustee Raymond asked Dr. Moody if he could explain the processes involved in the decisions on the Publication Board and the Fee Study Review Committee. Dr. Moody commented on the Publication Board issue, explaining the role of the University Council and the recommendations made a year ago to eliminate or combine some committees to cut down on the amount of time being spent on committees. In the case of the Northern Star Publication Board, there was a recommendation to reduce the membership by two and to look at some of the functions of the Publication Board. The recommendation about changing some of the Board's obligations caused a great deal of discussion on campus. The issue will be reopened at the next meeting of the University Council, and there will be a revised motion which has been agreed upon by the Northern Star Publication Board.
Dr. Anne Kaplan responded to questions on the Fee Study Committee, describing the earlier process which involved committees at two levels as well as a review by the President and the Chancellor's Office. This was very time consuming and, essentially, provided second- and third-level checks. This year, the President asked the vice presidents responsible for the areas with the various fees for a realistic fee recommendation from the initial committee. Those recommendations were reviewed by him and the student leadership without an intervening committee. There seemed to be a general level of satisfaction with that process and about the fees forwarded to the Board. Trustee Fowler agreed that the process appeared to have been a smooth one and that everyone appeared to be satisfied.
Trustee Myles said he hoped the Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and Personnel Committee meetings would be well attended by students and faculty so that we can have dialogue and have things done more expeditiously.
Trustee Myles congratulated the NIU basketball team and wished them luck on making it to the National Championship Tournament.
Agenda Item 6 - Next Meeting Date
The next meeting of the Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and Personnel Committee was scheduled for Thursday, May 16, at 12:30 p.m.
Agenda Item 7 - Other Matters
Trustee Fowler encouraged the other Trustees to participate in the commencement exercises on Saturday, May 11.
Chair Myles asked for a motion to adjourn. Trustee Sanchez made the motion for adjournment, seconded by Trustee Grans.
The meeting adjourned at 1:56 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Sharon M. Mimms
Recording Secretary
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