UTMB Faculty Senate
Senators in Attendance: S. Ayachi, C. Baker, M. Boyars, V. Braciale,
B. Buderlmann, K. Calhoun, B Cammune, N. Holcomb, R. Lederman, S. Lemon
(ex-officio) R. Leonard, J. Leonard, S. Mitra, L. Primeau, N. Rubin, V.
Sierpina, A. Speer, J. Stobo (ex-officio), D. Traber, C. Watson, C. Wigg, C.
Wisnewski.
I.
Call to
order.
·
Dr. Taglialatela
is out of the country – unable to chair meeting. Meeting chaired by Regina
Lederman, Chair-elect.
II.
Comments from
the President. – J. Stobo
·
Budget – the Governor has called for a 7% reduction of
state funds for the remainder of this fiscal year.
·
There will be no
overall hiring freeze; no across the board cuts. Academic programs will be
reviewed before any further budget cuts are made.
·
The leadership
of the university (President, Deans, Hospital COO) worked together
smoothly to prepare the budget decrease.
The amount of decrease was smaller this time; thus, a lower number of
FTE’s were affected.
·
In addition,
Service lines are under review for cost effectiveness/program quality.
·
Options are
being explored to increase revenue (i.e., introducing a possible Medicaid pilot
program focusing on the younger population (25-38 years old). Our expertise in
this field would be valuable.
·
Indigent care
funds were not immediately affected.
·
The Senate’s
role: be a steady/calming influence;
solicit input from peers; be a conduit of information for faculty at large.
·
·
UTMB has an
ongoing collaboration with
·
The data shows
that the quality of program content is comparable to ours; students have often
rated it higher.
·
A potential M.D.
to PhD. Program is being considered. Our
programs/facilities compliment each other (i.e., UT-Austin does not have an
academic health center or medical school).
·
It is to our
advantage; we have no program in Biomedical Engineering, whereas UT-Austin
does.
III.
Chair-Elect
Report – R. Lederman
·
The Faculty
Satisfaction Survey has been distributed by Digital Research, Inc., a private
evaluation company. They will circulate
the survey to all UT System faculty. The surveys are returned to them with a
personal ID#; the process assures faculty complete confidentiality. A 70-80% response is needed for a
representative survey. When last poled
by UTMB, the Faculty Satisfaction Survey yielded a 74% response rate.
·
Senators need to
encourage faculty participation.
·
Announcement
regarding the importance of an adequate survey response will be published in
the Senate Newsletter and in Daily Announcements.
·
Dr. Stobo and
the Deans were requested to endorse the survey.
·
Must use caution
in surveying – too many discourage participation.
·
Faculty will be
contacted three times with reminders for survey completion.
·
The senate
inquired what changes have been made since the last survey, if any. Dr. Stobo will address this issue in a letter
·
The Senate Executive
Committee met with Dr. Stobo re: planning a Faculty Diversity Conference. Dr. Stobo is assembled a Committee to
facilitate the conference. The goal is
to provide a model for increasing faculty diversity and resources
·
The call for
faculty interested in Health Disparities research netted 22 volunteers—name of
interested faculty have been forwarded to President Stobo.
IV.
Past-Chair
Report – V. Sierpina
·
Re: Faculty
Club: For budgetary reasons progress on the proposed faculty club in Old Red
have been curtailed; the club is not a top priority.
·
Re: Yacht Club
membership: It was suggested that a reduced fee or dues arrangement be worked
out with the Yacht club. If this is arranged, adding the Yacht Club to the
shuttle route should also be negotiated.
·
Dr’s Stobo,
Perachio, Garges, Marx and Sierpina’s visit to the Texas College Chiropractics
was favorable; they are working on a collaborative effort. Dr. Perachio will be meeting with them next
month.
V. Authorship policies – C. Watson
·
The Academic and
Administrative Affairs Committee met and reviewed the Authorship
Guidelines. Their findings
included: adding an additional paragraph
(see handout). There is a Scientific Integrity Committee (SIC) here on campus –
the AAAC felt this is a more appropriate task for that committee. The
guidelines they have published appear adequate compared to other universities.
·
The committee
noted they felt this should not have been our charge, that it was a duplication
of effort.
·
Dr. Lemon noted
the SIC committee only meets when they have a charge/activity.
·
Report submitted
and approved by Senate.
VI.
Upward
evaluation on President – N. Rubin
·
The Faculty
Quality Committee was charged with determining if the president should have a
360-degree evaluation in response to a request from the UT System. The committee recommended that all faculty be evaluated in the same manner.
·
The evaluation
tools vary from one school to another at UTMB.
·
Report submitted
and approved by the Senate
Suggestions:
· The senators emphasized that it is extremely helpful to send information for Senate meetings in advance to allow for review prior to meetings.
·
Invite Kathy Shingleton to discuss 360-degree
reviews.
·
Governance Committee - wanted further discussion
on process of what/who gets issues to the senate and assigned to committees.
·
Invite Walter Meyer (Scientific Integrity
Committee) to give an overview of that committee
VII. Motion to adjourn made and seconded.