Report of the Vice Chair

1. Report of the Vice Chair October 8th, 2008

2. Textbooks • Discussion with Jeff Kline – SGA President • Textbook costs and availability remain concerns for students • SGA working on a sales tax exemption for textbooks • Latest edition really needed? • Information on textbook requirements in time for students to search for best price • Grants for library reserve texts • Ad-hoc committee being formed

3. Update on the Hurricane Evacuation Shelter • President Bataille presented a report provided by Risk Management • 358 evacuees utilized UNT’s services • Lessons learned from Gustav provided for smoother set up for the Ike evacuees. Improvements will be added to the Emergency Operations Plan • 141 on-site and behind the scenes people were involved, 9 UNT departments, 25 external organizations, 20 American Red Cross volunteers, and over 300 students. • Recreational sports, children’s programming, library services, computer services and other activities were provided for evacuees. • Costs to UNT will be reimbursed by FEMA ($49,000) • The President was extremely pleased by the student and staff reactions to the needs of the evacuees. Students were buying gift cards and other supplies, and showed up en mass when a call went out at 2 am for 20 volunteers to set up cots after Gustav.

4. We Mean Green Efforts • Hiring a sustainability coordinator to serve as a liaison with the community concerning sustainable practices at UNT. • Sustainability Council will provide an initial report to the President shortly • Students are enthusiastically participating in programs such as using refillable water bottles and paper recycling • Between 250 and 500 bicycle spaces will be added this year. There was a discussion about creating special bike paths to reduce chances of pedestrian injuries.

5. UNT a smoke-free campus? • The EC had been asked by several people to raise this question • The President reported that there have not been formal discussions about this and any actions will need to be considered carefully • There were points made about enforcing the 20 foot rule, moving ashtrays away from buildings, and working with the Staff Council and SGA if any formal discussions will be undertaken • A question concerning the availability of smoking cessation programs on campus was raised • This is just a question – not an official action by FS

6. New Buildings on Campus • UNT is generally allowed one new building every two years through a tuition revenue bond. • Decisions are based on number of classes taught, number of students, classroom needs, and other data • Potential donors are made aware of building needs also • Deans and faculty/staff need to be strong advocates for new buildings • Student study space was raised as an issue by EC members

7. Other Topics with the President • External funding has significantly increased. We are currently at 28 million, an increase of 15.4% from last year • SECC is beginning the annual campaign. We hope to raise $190,000 this year. Last year $189,000 was raised.

8. Periodic Review of College/School Charters • With the implementation of several new polices and revisions to established policies, the Provost has asked the Faculty Senate EC to establish a Senate committee to review college/school charters in terms of ensuring that they are in compliance with the new policies. • An ad hoc group will be put together soon with the intent to make it a standing committee • The Faculty Handbook Committee will be active this year revising the handbook to incorporate the new and revised policies

9. Non-academic Appointments at Assistant and Associate Dean Level • The Provost had gathered a list of these positions. She noted that usually these are reserved for administrative positions, such as finance officers, and that there was no expectation that these positions would be involved in academic matters • Senior faculty should be involved in managing departments • There is a concern with junior faculty taking on duties more suited to senior faculty and this is being discussed • People should be put into positions based on responsibilities of the position and skill set needed • Short discussions on how lecturers might fit in as well as whether other position titles should be created.

10. Adoption of the Lecturer Policy • All but one college/school have approved lecturer policies • A few lecturers have been appointed under the new policy • Schools/colleges should now be defining the roles of lecturers, establishing the process for promotion reviews etc. These should be college-based decisions related to their own needs and processes

11. Exceptions to the Revised Dead Week Policy • This was raised in case of possible exceptions • The Provost noted that the academic calendar has been set for the next 3 years and, other than a possible conflict with commencement, there did not seem to be problems

12. Interdisciplinary Hires • This is not widely done at UNT • The Provost asked the EC to begin thinking about this issue and what could be done to encourage joint/interdisciplinary hires