MSU-BOZEMAN FACULTY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
                           January 30, 2002
                                   
PRESENT:  Young, Morrill, Sherwood, McDermott for Engel, Kommers,
          Leech, Benham, Howard, Stewart, Jones, Ross, Weaver, Locke,
          Lansverk, Levy/Bandyopadhyay, Bogar, Jelinski, Idzerda,
          McKinsey for Pratt, Lynch, Fisher, Lynes-Hayes, Butterfield,
          Wojtowicz for Kempcke.

ABSENT:   Hatfield, White, Anderson, Peed, Linker, Larsen, Nehrir,
          Mooney, Lefcort, McClure, Henson, 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
January 23, 2002, were approved as distributed.

University Governance Council Nominating Committee report.
     - Sharon Eversman, Department of Ecology, has been nominated for
     a three-year faculty position on the Salary Review Committee.  As
     there were no further nominations, Jack Jelinski moved approval
     of the nomination.  The motion was seconded and carried.  The
     nomination will be forwarded to the Provost for approval.

Chair's report - John Sherwood.
     - University Governance Council Steering Committee and
     President's Executive Council will meet at noon on January 31.
          - Topics to be discussed include university planning,
          financial health of the university, budgeting, benefits
          (retirement, tuition scholarships, and faculty salary
          structure).
          - "Salary structure" will include discussion of raises that
          are tied to promotion and are consistent across the
          university.  It will be proposed that these increases, as
          well as any equity and salary compression increases, be in
          addition to the 4% raise.
          - Competitiveness of salaries across campus and with other
          institutions will also be a discussion topic.
     - Earlier this year Faculty Council discussed faculty development
     opportunities across campus.  A committee is being established to
     consider possibilities.  John Sherwood and Dean Greg Weisenstein
     will co-chair it.  Please contact John is you are interested in
     serving on the committee or know of someone who is.
          - During discussion of some of the "faculty development"
          issues, Doug Young pointed out that credit for time spent on
          a sabbatical can be given to an individual, if the
          individual requests the credit upon return from the
          sabbatical.
     - Dean of Student Affairs Courtney Stryker has requested the
     names of faculty willing to serve on student conduct hearings.
     Please contact Chair Sherwood or Courtney Stryker if you are
     willing to do so.

Faculty Affairs Committee report.
     - Ron Larsen has been selected as the head of the Department of
     Chemical Engineering.  A new Faculty Affairs Committee Chair will
     be appointed to take his place.

Follow-up on IT Policy.
     - Revisions are found at the web site   Comments about the policy
     may be made at that web site, also.
     - There may be enough policy covering misuse of internet
     resources in the Faculty Handbook so that a separate IT policy is
     not needed for faculty.  It was suggested this be proposed to the
     Board of Regents.
     - If internet resources are being misused by faculty members, it
     seems it will show up in the individual's productivity, affecting
     annual reviews.
     - The overriding issue, perhaps, is how the policy will be
     monitored.  What are some of the current campus internet policies
     that influence monitoring?  How long does the university store
     e-mails?  Who has access to the e-mails of an individual?  How
     much would it cost to monitor everyone's computer and internet
     use?  What are the penalties for non-compliance with the policy?
     - Is MSU currently covered by the state internet policy?
     - A separate student policy is being developed.  Might it be
     appropriate to develop one for faculty, it there's need for one?
     If work in a position is well-defined, as it is for  classified
     employees, it may be possible to apply policies.  However, the
     work of faculty positions is not well-defined and it is difficult
     to define the workplace and hours of work.
     - The motivation for the policy may be to protect the state and
     the university system from legal action.

Benefits Survey.
     - Concerns raised in the College of Nursing include the small
     contribution by the state to TIAA-CREF, the lack of tuition
     support for families of employees, and  the small contribution by
     the state to employee health benefits.
     - Retirement benefits are a legislative issue.  There's a need to
     bring it up there and lobby for improvements.  It was proposed
     that the message be taken to those who lobby the legislature
     (including President Gamble) that retirement benefits are an
     issue with faculty.
     - There is a possibility that tuition scholarships could be
               handled as an MSU-Bozeman benefit.
     - There is a proposal before the Teachers' Retirement System
     Board that if the TRS fund is able to do so, an increase of up to
     3% per year after the first three years of retirement may be
     granted.  However, there is question of whether this is a
     possibility at this time.

As there was no further business, the meeting adjourned at 5:00 PM.



Joann Amend, Secretary             John Sherwood, Chair