MSU FACULTY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
                           October 24, 2001
                                   
PRESENT:  Young, Sherwood, Engel, Linker, Howard, Stewart, Larsen,
          Jones, Ross, Nehrir, McMahon for Weaver, McClure, Lansverk,
          Levy/Bandyopadhyay, Bogar, Henson, Jelinski, McKinsey for
          Pratt, Lynch, Lynes-Hayes, Butterfield.

ABSENT:   Hatfield, Morrill, White, Anderson, Kommers, Peed, Leech,
          Benham, Mooney, Lefcort, Locke, Idzerda, Fisher, Kempcke,
          Griffith, Carlstrom.

The regularly-scheduled meeting was called to order by Chair John
Sherwood at 4:10 PM.  A quorum was present.  The minutes of the
October 3, 2001, meeting were approved as distributed.

Chair's report - John Sherwood.
     - Joan Henson, the new representative from Microbiology, was
     introduced.
     - Agenda item 5 (Discussion of university priorities developed by
     the university planning committee) will be postponed until next
     week, because the committee has not finished rewriting the paper.
     - Discussion of faculty professional development opportunities
     across campus is continuing.  The President and Provost agreed a
     follow-up task force is a good idea for considering ways to make
     the opportunities more consistent from college to college.
     - The Board of Regents meets in Bozeman November 15-16.
          - It has been suggested the regents be given an opportunity
          to visit classes Friday afternoon.  They would be provided a
          list of classes for which instructors have agreed to having
          regents visit for part of the class period.
          - There appeared to be consensus among Council members that
          this opportunity is a good idea and that many faculty would
          be willing to participate.

University Governance Council Nominating Committee issues.
     - Elaine Peterson, Libraries, has been nominated as Chair of the
     Committee on Grievance Hearings.  The individual elected to this
     position must have served a minimum of two years on the
     Committee.  As there were no further nominations, Jack Jelinski
     moved approval of the nomination.  The motion was seconded and
     carried.
     - A request has been received that a representative of Faculty
     Council be selected to serve on the Space Management Committee.
          - It is the understanding that the individual would not
          necessarily be a Faculty Council member but would bring
          information about the committee's deliberations to the
          Council.
          - The name of the person selected is to be submitted to
          Craig Roloff, Chair of the Committee, by November 1.
          - Nominations will be accepted by Chair Sherwood until the
          October 31 Faculty Council meeting, at which time the
          committee member will be elected.  The UGC Nominating
          Committee is also accepting nominations.
          - Cyd McClure was nominated for the position.

Faculty Affairs Committee report - Ron Larsen.
     - Amendments to Faculty Handbook Section 600 (distributed at the
     October 3 Faculty Council meeting) were discussed.
           - Faculty Handbook Section 602 (Review of Faculty -
          Definitions) is amended to include definitions approved as
          part of the Faculty Workload Policy last spring for
          teaching, research and outreach.  The definitions will now
          be consistent from one university policy to another.
          - Amendments to Faculty Handbook Section 633 (Review of
          Faculty - Demonstration of Effectiveness and Excellence)
          were removed from Section 602 and placed in Section 633,
          because they are procedural rather than definitional.
          - As there was no further discussion, Jack Jelinski moved
          the amendments be approved as distributed.  The motion was
          seconded and carried.
     - The Faculty Affairs Committee continues its discussion of the
     role of an ombudsman and how the position might be used at MSU.
          - Last week, the committee telephoned the ombudsman at
          Washington State University.
               - The position is one-half time, filled by a senior
               faculty member, and the individual usually remains in
               the position two to four years.
               - The ombudsman has an office with a one-half time
               professional person and a full time administrative
               assistant.  The cost is about $92,000 per year, $82,000
               of which is salaries.
               - The number of cases handled each year is 300-400.
               Two-thirds of them are student cases.
          - For MSU, the Faculty Affairs Committee would suggest that
          Student Affairs and Services continue to hear student
          concerns.  If faculty cases only are heard, the cost of an
          ombudsman would be less than at WSU.
          - Next Monday, the committee will telephone the ombudsman at
          the University of Idaho.  U of I has recently started using
          an ombudsman.  The committee will ask why they made the
          change.
          - The use of an ombudsman is popular in Canada and Europe
          and on both coasts of the U.S.
     - The Faculty Affairs Committee proposes moving ahead with some
     kind of campus faculty demographic study, with the outcome  being
     a reasonable retirement strategy for MSU.  After discussion of
     the issue, there was agreement that such a study should be
     undertaken, and faculty should have a role in it.

As there was no further business, the meeting adjourned at 4:45 PM


Joann Amend, Secretary                  John Sherwood, Chair