Summary of Actions Taken

1. Motion to have a Senate Committee look at Standardization of Syllabi passed.
2. Resolution passed by the Senate.

Whereas, The United States of America has suffered a terrible tragedy in the aftermath of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.

Whereas, The United States of America is founded on the principles of freedom, tolerance, justice, and liberty for all people.

Whereas, the University of New Orleans, as an integral part of the United States of America, resolves to maintain the national strength and unity of all people while ensuring that no student, faculty, or staff on our campus is singled out for hatred, prejudice or blame, based on his or her ethnicity, national origin, or religion.

Therefore, be informed, that the University of New Orleans, condemns all acts of intolerance, hate, and prejudice and holds that threats, harassment or acts of hate-motivated violence against individuals or groups of people are unAmerican and therefore, are forcefully condemned.

Be it further resolved, that the University of New Orleans abhors any and all acts of hatred or harassment, targeted toward Arab-Americans, Moslem-Americans, or international students from any background.

Be it still further resolved, that the University of New Orleans pledges to honor our nation's core values of civil liberties, equality, and respect for all individuals and will use every allotted resource to eradicate all acts of unfairness and all forms of intolerance.

Excused: S. Crow, T. Mukherjee, T.Christensen, E. LaMotta, R. Evilia Absent: T. Ryan

1. Call to Order
The meeting was called to order by the Chancellor at 3:11 p.m.

2. Approval of Minutes
Minutes for December 3 meeting not circulated. They will be available at the February 26 meeting.

3. Remarks by the Chancellor
a. As of today enrollment is 16,173. Forty-six students fewer than this time last year.
b. Recognition of Dr. Bobby Eason, Assistant to the Chancellor for University Affairs, back from his medical leave. He is making excellent progress.
c. Liz Williams, President and CEO, UNO Foundation, is to shift her role and will be resigning as President and CEO. She will be taking on specific duties at the Foundation and other roles for the UNO community. The Chancellor praised her for her leadership of the Foundation. The UNO Foundation is starting a search for a new CEO that should be completed by the Spring.
d. The selection of the USDA National Finance Center at Michoud by the Federal Government as one of the new Payroll Processing Centers for the Federal Government. He also thanked the UNO team, Norma Grace and Rachel Kincaid, for their part in the Federal selection process.
e. The 20th anniversary of the Partnership between Innsbrook and UNO was set back a year by the tragedy of 9/11. The anniversary will be recognized with several events during the week of February 17, 2003, and the dedication of a conference room in the Lindy Boggs Conference Center to the University of Innsbrook.
f. Encouraged everyone to look at ways to help Reservists in the Student Body, Faculty and Staff.
g. John Crisp stepped down as Dean, College of Engineering at the end of last semester. Russell Trahan has replaced John Crisp as Interim Dean. The Chancellor praised John Crisp for taking research funding from $30,000 per faculty member to $569, 000 per faculty member during his tenure as dean.
h. Phase II of the Retention effort is underway; chaired by Susan Krantz, and vice-chaired by Ed Johnson.
i. Jim Miller to take over the UNO Athletics Department on January 26, 2003. Recognition was given to Bob Brown and Will Peneguy for all their work and support for the Department. At 3:45 P.M. the Chancellor introduced Jim Miller. Mr. Miller said that he felt that the UNO Athletics Department is a sleeping giant that is about to be woken. Athletics are inclusive, are part of the University Community, and as part of the University Community are dedicated to the UNO community. Should any college or department in the UNO community need help from the UNO Athletics Department, Jim Miller stated, that it would do everything in its power to assist. Mr. Miller ended his introduction by telling the Senate he was excited about being a part of UNO.

4. Report from the Provost
a. The Provost asks that the Colleges work with and offer more consideration to students being called up for service. The Provost's Office will help find ways for students to complete their semester requirements, perhaps by electronic studies. If a student should be called up at the beginning of the semester, the University will return tuition payments. Roberto Diaz Del Valle in Admissions is the key contact for these students. An information page on the UNO website will address this concern and will be up and running by the end of the week per the Provost's directive. Dennis McSeveney, Associate Provost, suggested the University meet with the Major in charge of the National Guard in New Orleans to see how best the University may help in this cause.
b. The Deans' Council has approved the final exam schedule for the summer session and the 3 week session.

5. 2. SACS Update: Dr. Bruce King, Director of Instructional Effectiveness
Institutional Effectiveness is of the highest importance and the Institutional Effectiveness process needs to be running through a full cycle. Official transcripts for all faculty, including visiting, adjunct, and part-time faculty must be on file. Each college will be notified shortly of all official transcripts that are not on file. There are no longer large review groups but the reaffirmation process will be headed by a Leadership Team. SACS requires that the team include the Chancellor (who heads the team), the Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs, the individual in charge of strategic planning (Bobby Dupont), the liaison person between UNO and SACS (Dennis McSeveney), and a faculty member (Bruce King).

All syllabi for 4000 level courses must include the extra work a graduate student must do and all syllabi must include student learning objectives. Sandra Eason, Assistant Dean, Graduate School, stated that the Graduate Council is reviewing syllabi for 4000 levels to make sure they meet the qualifications for graduate course level work. Each syllabus must also include a statement about Academic Dishonesty and an attendance policy. Janice Lyn, Associate Dean, Judicial & Student Assistance, will review Academic Dishonesty statements for standardization. Nancy Hunt, Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, will help the colleges in framing objectives and something will be offered online to help with the framing of objective process.

Motion made by Dr. Bruce King to have a Senate Committee look at Standardization of Syllabi and was seconded by Kathy Plante, Registrar.

The taking of regular attendance for 1000 level and 2000 level courses is mandatory and Dr. Bruce King's class, PSYC 1520, Human Sexual Behavior, has shown with required attendance for fulltime freshmen, there is a dramatic increase in grades and retention. Dr. King will have a formal report written and circulated to the University Community when completed.

6. 5. Policy Committee Report: Dr. Diana Hulse-Killacky, Chair
a. Update on Post Tenure Review Oversight Committee: The committee is being formed and the Policy Committee chair will meet with members to designate terms and elect a chair.
b. Update on Deans' review: All procedures and timelines are in place to commence the review of Deans' Ryan and King. The Policy Committee expects the review to be completed by April, 2003.
c. Policy Committee statement on the on-line catalogue issue: Since September, the Policy Committee has been reviewing the administration's decision to eliminate the full printed undergraduate/graduate catalogue in favor of an online catalogue. We've heard and discussed the concerns raised by faculty members, administrators and counselors across campus and, having waited to look over the new Programs and Courses Guide to see how it would compare, have unanimously concluded that the full printed catalogue should be reinstated by fall of 2003. Our concerns include the following:
1. The online version of the catalogue is only available off campus to those who have computers and internet access. This is a matter of equity. Many students and potential students in our area do not have the means to consult the catalogue unless they are on campus or someplace else where they can get internet access. If the system is down for any reason, it should also be noted, this vital information is not available to anyone.
2. Many students and potential students are not skilled enough to successfully make use of an online catalogue. Faculty members and counselors have also expressed frustration at using an online catalogue and their strong preference for a printed one.
3. Department Chairs have expressed dismay at not having a printed catalogue to use in recruiting new faculty.
4. Since other colleges in Louisiana are still using printed catalogues, our not having one puts us at a disadvantage in recruiting high school students and in assisting their counselors who will now need to go online to answer student questions and may not have the necessary equipment or the skills to do so effectively.

Prospective out-of-state students who are used to consulting print catalogues need to be sent something more substantial and appealing than the Programs and Courses Guide.

While we recognize that printed catalogues may one day be obsolete, and we strongly support the efforts of the administration to create an online version, we need to continue publishing a printed catalogue for the foreseeable future. In order for it to serve its function as a recruiting tool that serves as a symbol of our institution, this publication must have the look and feel of the 2001-2002 edition.

The Chancellor responded by committing that UNO would produce a printed catalog for the next academic year.

7. Faculty Representative to LSU Board of Supervisors: Dr. Diana Hulse-Killacky (See Appendix A)

8. Comments, questions and suggestions:

9. Questions for Administrators
1. "When will the additional faculty parking promised to us for October 2002, contingent on release of money from the Wellness Center, be constructed?"
Norma Grace, Vice Chancellor, Property & Facilities Development, responded: Facility Planning and Control in Baton Rouge has not yet released the facility to UNO. UNO agreed, however, to front the money for the design and construction, and UNO will be paid back from the project funds, once the State releases the building. The bid for construction of the lot is out. Bid date is early February. Construction should take 60 days from bid opening.

2. "There are rumors about how the CERM building (Center for Energy Resources Management) was poorly designed for energy conservation. There were no window blinds to block sunlight. The situation is especially worse in offices facing south. Some sunburned tenants were told that they would have to pay about $6,000 to have a state contractor to install mini-blinds in one office. Has anything been done to help tenants improve the working conditions in CERM and reduce the cost of installing mini-blinds? Should CERM install mini-blinds free of charge? "

Norma Grace, Vice Chancellor, Property & Facilities Development, responded: The funding for the CERM Building came about in 1990. The CERM building was designed as an energy efficient building by the standards of 10 years ago, and by those standards, the "awnings" on the building façade were supposed to take care of the glare by offering overhang shading. Because the funding did not increase, the third floor was not completed. Fund were borrowed from the Research and Technology Foundation to complete the building.

Shaun Lewis, Associate Vice Chancellor for Facilities, has gotten a State contract that will allow individual units to get blinds under the State pricing. Once the build out is completed perhaps there will be funding available for blinds, but the chances are slim for this. There are alternate methods for shading that could be looked into and there could be group pricing for shades.

3. "Can the Chancellor provide to the Senate a list of all the properties in the metropolitan area that have the UNO name on them, indicating who actually is the owner (i.e., UNO or which of its foundations), and what the annual commitment is to each property from the general fund?"
Norma Grace, Vice Chancellor, Property & Facilities Development, responded: The owned UNO properties are the UNO Stennis Space Center at Stennis; the UNO Jefferson Center at 330 N. Causeway; and the UNO Slidell Campus at 2050 First Street. UNO leases its campus facilities at UNO Downtown Center and the Stennis Space Center. Revenue from classes at these sites goes into the general fund, and the general fund pays for these for the facilities. Off-campus fees also off-set certain property costs. Eileen Byrne ,Chief Financial Officer, UNO Foundation, responded: The list of properties owned by the UNO Foundation are the UNO Technology Enterprise Center at 1600 Canal Street; the Taylor Library at 615 Andrew Higgins Dr.; the UNO Studio Center at 800 Distributors Row; the UNO/Chevron Geology Lab at 172 Harbor Dr. The UNO Research and Technology Foundation owns the UNO/Avondale Maritime Technology Center of Excellence at the Avondale Campus. The UNO Downtown Theater at 619 Carondelet is leased by the UNO Foundation The UNO Studio Center and the UNO/Avondale Maritime Technology Center of Excellence receive appropriations from the State. The Technology Enterprise Center and the UNO Downtown Theater are operated with revenues form tenants. The UNO Foundation pays the operating expenses of the UNO/Chevron Geology Lab. The Taylor Library is not complete.

4. " What was the rental fee to the 'Runaway Jury' company for the UNO movie studio in Harahan, and how much of this fee went into the general fund?"
Eileen Byrne ,Chief Financial Officer, UNO Foundation, responded: There was no rental fee for the filming of Runaway Jury collected. There were $60,000 for renovation improvements to the studio paid for by the State and any utilities used were reimbursed. Dozens of UNO students were involved in the filming process and as staff for the production; the whole process was a wonderful teaching tool for our students.

5. "The grounds crew seems to have been completely replaced by a private company. How many UNO employees were let go to accomplish this? How many of those who were let go had enough years in to retire with a pension? How many were within five years of retirement? How much is the grounds keeping contract costing UNO, and what is the annual saving to the university for this?"
Donald Pekarek, Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs University Relations and Campus Services, responded: There were no University employees let go during the privatization process to a private grounds crew company. As University grounds crew employees left the system the jobs were simply not refilled. The new grounds contract is a movable contract and can cost $9,000 to $20,000 depending on need. The University no longer has the worries of maintaining grounds equipment, and the daily supervision and administration of a grounds crew. Because of this there is a savings both monetarily and administratively for the University on an annual basis.

6. "Is the recycling program for paper still functioning and if not why?"
Linda Robison, Vice Chancellor, Financial Services, responded: Yes, the program for recycling paper is still functioning. Legacy Recycling Co., is the company used for the program, which has been in effect since 1991. The company does this service for the University at no charge. Every other Thursday is pickup from the recycling bins which are located on the bottom floor of every building.

7. When will the UCC get the problems with the slowness of email delivery and access to the Library holdings? I thought we were told several senate meetings ago that these problems were taken care of with the increase in bandwidth, and they seem to be worse than ever.
John Bryan, Assistant Vice Chancellor University Computing and Communications, and Sharon Mader, Dean, Earl K. Long Library, responded: UCC monitors performance on email and the campus network continuously. Performance logs indicate that there is usually no wait time to send and receive email to PMDF and Exchange servers from PC clients running Netscape, Outlook, Eudora, etc. During peak email hours, worst case PMDF send/receive time is typically no more than 2 minutes and Exchange send/receive time is no more than 2 seconds. Slow access to email only occurs when using web browsers--Mailman for PMDF and Outlook Web Access for Exchange. Web browsers are usually slow; however, Mailman appears to be unusually slow when replying or forwarding with large mailboxes. UCC is investigating a resolution of this issue with the vendor. Access to Library holding is only slow when using the Sirsi I-Link server in Baton Rouge. The I-Link server in Baton Rouge has a wait time of 10 to 15 seconds for an initial load. UNO library holdings load in less than 1 second.

6. Committee Assignments

Committee A: No assignment
Committee B: No assignment
Committee C: Look into the issue of academic dishonesty, specifically to examine the nature and extent of the academic dishonesty problem at UNO and to recommend procedures and practices which faculty can use to educate themselves and their students for minimizing cheating, plagiarism and other behaviors related to academic dishonesty. Further, any procedures related to the student judiciary process that need modification should be addressed as well. John Stewart - Savage Associate Professor, Biology, responded: No progress to date.
Committee D: Assigned the motion to make recommendations for a set of standardized items on the syllabus to be in accordance with SACS guidelines.

7. Other Reports
a. Association of Louisiana Faculty Senates: Dr. Ray Sweany (See Appendix B)
b. UNO Staff Council: Mr. David Richardson, President Annual Holiday Food Drive was a success. Over 1,020 lbs. of food were collected which made 816 meals possible.
c. Student Government: Mr. Jared Munster, President N/A
d. Alumni Association: Dr. Sandra Harris Eason, Senate Representative
1. The Homer Hitt Alumni and Visitor Center will become a reality this spring. An early April date has been set to move in with the Grand Opening scheduled for May 16.
2. The Association is calling for nominations for the 2003 University of New Orleans Homer L. Hitt Distinguished Alumna/us of the Year and the Early Career Achievement Awards. The deadline is January 31. Selection criteria include:
(a) distinguished in his/her field or work so as to reflect honors and credit upon UNO;
(b) service to his/her community and UNO; and
(c)outstanding accomplishments in his/her chosen field or other areas of endeavor.
3. Importantly, two new local alumni chapters are being formed.
(a) The Charter Chapter for UNO alumni from the classes of 1962, 1963, and 1964. More classes will be invited as they celebrate their 40th reunion.
(b) The University Chapter for UNO faculty and staff alumni. They will hold their first event on March 11, 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. in the Flambeau Room.

e. UNO Athletics Council: Ms. Sybil Boudreaux, Chair
The Athletic Council met on Monday, January 13. Newly hired Athletic Director, Mr. Jim Miller was introduced by Interim AD Will Peneguy. Special Guest Vice Chancellor and Dean Dr. Bobby Dupont, presented the Council with information on strategic budgetary considerations for UNO's Athletics Program. Senior Woman's Administrator, Dr. Kathy Keene reviewed the process we use for student-athlete exit interviews which are conducted once an athlete has exhausted his/her eligibility. The Athletic Department also presented a draft of an updated version of our Gender Equity Plan. This plan updated the status of items, actions, and timelines in the previous plan. Athletics also presented the Council with a list, by sport, of missed class days for student-athletes due to competition. The Council reviewed the current Athletic Department's mission and goals statement that was developed as part of our Institutional Effectiveness process. We discussed the need to include clear statements relating to gender equity, minority opportunity, sportsmanship, and ethical conduct that are required by the NCAA's Operating Principles currently under review as part of our NCAA Self-Study. The Council will make recommendations to the Administration at following its February meeting.

NCAA Self-Study Update:
The NCAA Self Study Steering Committee met on December 11 and 18 to review the first drafts of reports from each of the Self-Study Subcommittees: Governance and Commitment to Rules Compliance; Academic Integrity; Fiscal Integrity; and Equity, Welfare, and Sportsmanship. The Subcommittees and the Steering Committee will be working diligently throughout the Spring Semester to complete an initial draft of the Self-Study. An electronic version will be made available for review during the summer, open hearings will be held in September of 2003, and the Peer Reviewers will visit campus either the week of February 9 or March 16, 2004.

8. Old Business
N/A

New Business
N/A

Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 5:07 p.m.