Southeastern
Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes
I. The meeting was called to order at
II. Senator Neuerburg moved to approve
the February 3 minutes; Senator Ramsey seconded. Unanimously approved.
III. Invited Guests
A. Kathy Pittman, Alumni Director, announced this year’s Rock
and Roar celebration will be held on March 20 and invited all departments to
participate in the many planned activities.
The event is purposely held in conjunction with the District Literary
Rally so that University departments have access to the “crème de la crème” of
high school students participating in Rally.
This year, a contest will be held for those departments represented at
Rock and Roar; details soon.
B. Dr. John Crain, Provost, addressed the Senate on two
policies proposed as part of the ongoing preparation for SACS accreditation:
1. Intellectual Property Rights Draft Policy (see Handouts at
end of minutes)
a. Two
years ago, a University Committee was formed, chaired by Dean of the Graduate
School Dr. Mike Kurtz, to draft an Intellectual Property Rights policy
conforming to Louisiana System specifications.
The committee delayed writing a new policy for Southeastern, awaiting
possible changes in the Louisiana System’s policy that might affect any policy
Southeastern proposed. These changes
never occurred, so the committee completed a formal institutional policy for
Southeastern.
b. Dr.
Crain requested the Senate review this draft and offer feedback, as will the
various Department Heads and Deans on campus.
He asked that we keep in mind, however, that our policy cannot be at
odds with the La. System policy.
c. Crain admitted the document is a bit complicated, but it
outlines perimeters by which intellectual property belongs to a faculty member,
to the University, or should be shared by both.
d. Senator
Weaver asked whom we could call for legal advice in this issue. Crain responded it would be best to call Dr.
Kurtz, the Chair of the Intellectual Property Committee.
2. Copyright Draft Policy (See the following links:)
http://www.selu.edu/documents/policies/copyrights_southeastern.pdf
http://www.selu.edu/documents/policies/checklist_fair_use.pdf
a. Dr. Crain
explained that this draft was finalized before the Christmas break, but,
because of its complexity, is still being discussed. The Committee has been working on it for a
long time, even providing a flow chart to help determine whether information is
copyrighted or not. Now that the draft
is completed, it is being sent to the Senate and Department Heads for input.
b. Crain mentioned the issue has many gray areas that the
Committee has tried to interpret as well as possible.
c. Sen. Wyld asked if there is a UL System policy on
copyrights. Crain responded no
System-wide formal policy exists. Sen.
Ply asked if this was part of the Intellectual Property Policy. Crain answered that this is a completely
separate policy.
C. Dr. Michael Kurtz, Dean of the
1. Plagiarism
a. Kurtz admitted that the plagiarism issue came up in a
conversation with Senate President Wyld in which both
men noted increased plagiarism, both on the undergraduate and graduate levels. The problem seems to be escalating with the
advent of more high-tech methods like the use of camera phones and text
messaging on phones. Kurtz decided it
might be something the Senate would want to consider, especially now that there
are subscription services to aid in detecting plagiarism like
turnitin.com. He remarked that the
previous evening’s Channel 6 News ran a story on increased plagiarism on the
Tulane and Loyola campuses. He asked the
issue be put under New Business.
2.
Graduate
Commencement:
a.
Kurtz commented
that the possibility of holding a separate commencement ceremony for the
graduate school, including a hooding ceremony, has been discussed for
years. The
b.
Discussion:
i.
Senator Gillen
asked if the issue of a separate ceremony was strictly because of numbers. Kurtz responded yes, it was, but also it
would be intended to give the graduate students a special type of
recognition. By the time they walk
across the stage now, many parents have already left. Kurtz is hopeful that the doctoral program
will soon be approved, and those graduates deserve special recognition. But definitely, numbers are an issue, too.
ii.
Sen. Ramsey
commented that many graduate students are international students and never get
the opportunity to walk across the stage since they must return home after
summer school. He asked if we might
consider a graduate commencement at the end of the summer session, too. Kurtz admitted it had not been discussed, but
would definitely be something to consider.
He saw no reason not to have such a ceremony, other than economic factors.
iii.
Sen.
Higginbotham recounted that his separate college graduation at the U of Georgia
was the only one he enjoyed, since he could talk with the dean. Other senators added personal anecdotes of
the massiveness of their own graduations and how nice it would be to have a
smaller ceremony to see those graduate students they worked with.
IV. Old
Business
A.
Online
Elections: Constitution and Bylaws
a.
Sen. Gillan presented Resolution 19 to allow online senate
elections but would also allow the option of ballot box voting. (See handouts).
In composing this resolution, the Constitution and Bylaws Committee received
suggestions from Kurt Corbello’s Elections
Committee.
b.
Sen. Wyld instructed senators that we can introduce this issue
at today’s meeting, but since it would change the Constitution, we cannot vote
on the resolution until the April meeting.
Sen. Gillan moved approval; Sen. Boulahanis seconded.
Discussion:
1.
After a
question of whether it was a good idea to eliminate a departmental meeting
about the election of a senator so that candidates in the department can
discuss why they want to represent the department, Sen. Neuerburg
clarified that the resolution eliminates the mandatory nature of the meeting
but does not prevent a meeting if the department chooses to call one.
2.
Sen. Root added
that any candidate who would like to
mention why he or she would like to run for Senate could do
so by email to colleagues.
3.
Sen. Yeargain gave a bit of history on this item in
the Senate Constitution. He added the necessity of a meeting to the
Constitution because he himself lost an election because members of his
department were not aware he wanted the position of senator. The purpose of the departmental meeting,
then, was to clarify the intentions of candidates.
4.
Sen. Ply added
that we can always amend this resolution;
she also noted that the resolution would move the
responsibility of contacting senators who needed to hold an election in their
departments from herself to the Elections Committee.
5.
Sen. Ramsey
thought a departmental meeting should be
held before voting in departments takes place. He moved to defer the issue to the next
meeting; senators unanimously agreed.
B.
Sabbatical
Leave: Sen. Schwab spoke for the Faculty Welfare Committee. The Committee still has to meet on the issue;
the issue was deferred until next month.
C.
Daycare:
Facilities and Planning
1.
Sen.
Gonzalez-Perez said she and Sen. Wyld met with Dr.
Crain, contacted other universities asking how they conducted their daycare,
and will try to have a resolution ready by next month.
2.
Sen. Wyld added that their meeting with Dr. Crain was very
fruitful, and the committee had very good ideas for things to do, including
using a private contractor and establishing an
D.
Multiple
Catalogues: Academic Committee
1. Senator Ramsey presented Resolution 18 (see
handouts) and reported for Sen. Edwards, who did most of the research on the
issue. Ramsey commented that Edwards met
with Dr. Doucette and Mr. Soutillo about these
changes in the catalogue, and though the changes might not seem significant,
they are the result of much negotiation.
2. The Resolution eliminates the repetition of
information about changing from a junior college to a senior college, since
that is covered elsewhere in the catalogue.
3. It also prevents a student who declares a second
major from returning to another catalogue to fulfill his first major. Now, when the student declares a second
major, the student has no recourse to go back to an earlier catalogue.
4. Sen. Ramsey moved the Resolution be accepted; Djamba seconded.
Discussion:
a. Sen. Ply questioned allowing the graduating student
to asking for a second major one week before graduation. Sen. Bancroft suggested we amend the
resolution to say a student must declare a second major before filing for
graduation. Sen. Yeargain
thought that would not work—often students who file for graduation never
graduate. He recommended changing the
word “including” to “except” the semester prior to
graduation.
b. Sen. Wyld asked if that
could be a friendly amendment, but Ply thought the change was too
substantive. Wyld
thought changes should not be made since Sen. Edwards was not here to discuss;
Sen. Yeargain moved to defer the issue to next
month’s meeting. Sen. Ply seconded; unanimously
approved.
V. New Business
A. Intellectual Property Rights Draft Policy
(See handouts)
1. Sen. Ply moved, Yeargain
seconded, that the draft presented by Dr. Crain be approved to consider for New
Business. Wyld
sent the draft to the Professional Rights and Responsibilities for study.
2. Dr. Crain commented that Sen. Joe Burns was also on
the Intellectual Property Committee that drafted the policy, so suggested the
committee might ask him for help.
3. Sen. Burns added that he put together the form a
faculty member would fill out if he or she acquired a patent. The question also arose about writing or
editing a book if the work was done some time at school on a school
computer. Some universities specify a
percentage the faculty member can receive up to the first $100,000, for
example, then another percentage past that.
But Burns said the two or three forms so far submitted by faculty that
the committee has looked at have all been passed through.
B.
Copyright Draft
Policy: Sen. Wyld
also sent this to the Professional Rights and Responsibilities Committee to
study the Copyright Draft Policy presented by Dr. Crain. The links to this document and checklist are
below:
http://www.selu.edu/documents/policies/copyrights_southeastern.pdf
http://www.selu.edu/documents/policies/checklist_fair_use.pdf
C. Commencement
Changes: Senator Wyld mentioned he has received
emails
asking what kind of changes would be considered. The bottom line for faculty would be only one
graduation attendance necessary except for those on the platform. Also the question arose of adding a summer
graduation to help ease the numbers.
1. Sen. Yeargain moved to
send the issue to committee. He also
wondered if he could move to eliminate the Commencement Speaker. He commented he has never remembered any
commencement address. Wyld added that Mr. Soutillo said
no commencement speaker is a trend in universities.
2. Several senators offered personal anecdotes on
“memorable” commencement speakers, suggesting we avoid politicians using the
podium to gain votes and philanthropists from whom we want large donations.
3. Sen. Schwab asked if attendance at graduation is
mandatory for graduates; the response was no.
4. Sen. Mitchell commented that it would be an
excellent idea to have a separate graduate school ceremony, since the
ceremonies she has attended in the last 12 years have become less “ceremonial,”
with air horns blasting and people leaving in the middle of the event. Anything we can do to return dignity to the
ceremony would be good.
5. An Education senator agreed that the hooding
ceremony means a great deal to their graduate students.
6. The senate approved sending the issue to the Faculty
Welfare Committee.
C. Combating Plagiarism and High-Tech Cheating:
1. Sen. Wyld commented that
just today in his department, a faculty member was stunned when one of his
students showed him just what he could do during a test with his camera phone
in 10 seconds. Wyld
suggested we formally take up the issue of high-tech cheating.
2. Sen. Yeargain moved to
send the issue to committee; Sen. Ply seconded.
Discussion:
a. Sen. Dassau offered that
students do cheat, but not everyone understands what plagiarism really is. She cited a personal anecdote as example
b. Another senator was shocked at students “working
together” on a paper or test and not thinking it wrong.
c. Sen. Rossano thought that
plagiarism was covered in English 101.
Sen. Mitchell countered that this would assume the students were paying
attention.
d. Sen. Root mentioned that the problem is not only in
undergraduate students—foreign students also have a problem understanding the
concept of plagiarism.
e. Sen. Stuart thought the library presentation her
class receives when she takes them to the library for instruction has been very
helpful.
f.
Sen. Yeargain mentioned that services like turnitin.com require
a fee but then the entire faculty could use it.
He urged the committee that discusses this issue to recommend we
subscribe.
g. Wyld added the study should include the use of camera
phones and other special methods.
h. Ramsey said high tech advances are the biggest
issue.
i.
Senator
Higginbotham recounted a student who turned in work Higginbotham himself had
written previously. After reading his
own work, Higginbotham decided to flunk himself.
j.
Sen. Wyld referred the issue to the Academic Committee.
D.
Withdrawal
Date: Sen. Yeargain had requested feedback from
departments on whether they would prefer an earlier withdrawal date. Because he only received Nursing and English
comments, so he thought there was not enough interest to send the issue to
committee.
Other senators offered
comments from their colleagues, but when a vote was taken, the senate voted not
to send the issue on.
IV.
Announcements:
A.
Update on
Academic Affairs Actions: Sen. Wyld informed senators that
the 2 resolutions recently sent to the Administration
on the Appeal and Change of Grade Policy and the Academic Dishonesty Policy did
have an effect. Both changes were
approved, and because of Sen. Ramsey’s stand on the perjorative
term “Dishonesty,” the policy was changed to “Academic Integrity.”
B.
SGA Report:
Karen Lew was unable to attend but sent a report to
Sen.
Wyld. She informed the Senate of free pizza and
drinks (for students only) at the Monday, March 8 men’s basketball game at
C.
BOS/FAC Report:
Louise Bostick reviewed the report (see handouts)
D.
Chef’s Evening:
Sen. Yeargain reminded everyone of the upcoming
Chef’s Evening, an
opportunity to have all the gourmet food and wine one could want, and still
claim a tax break for the ticket.
E.
Senate
Elections: Sen. Ply passed out a list of senators whose terms are
expiring (See
handouts). She will be contacting members
of departments who need elections. She
reminded senators that the deadline to submit their names for Senate Officer is
March 29, so they must be reelected by then.
She suggested anyone wanting to run for Senate Officer should email Kurt
Corbello or David Wyld.
F. Sen. Wyld
mentioned he recently attended a meeting of the University Art and Cultural
Committee, and they were discussing artwork that could be incorporated in the
Columbia Theatre. Any suggestions for
the type of artwork to be used can be sent to Wyld
and he will forward them to Donna Gay Anderson and Roy Blackwood, in charge of
the project.
G. The meeting adjourned at
Respectfully submitted,
Joan Faust, Recording Secretary
Handouts
D R A F T -
Southeastern
5.
To ensure that the educational mission of the University is
reinforced.
This policy is intended to support faculty, staff, and students in identifying and protecting Intellectual property, defining the rights and responsibilities of all involved, administering intellectual property matters, and establishing support offices to provide the required assistance. It also stipulates how much income generated should be distributed to the creators or developers and to the University.
INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY DEFINITIONS
Applicable
Intellectual Property - Any intellectual property developed with University
resources, other than traditional academic copyrightable works, for which
assignment to the University is required by law or by a written contract to
which the Creator has previously agreed; or, for which the Creator seeks
University assistance in commercial development (including protecting,
marketing, assigning, or licensing).
1. Copyright protection subsists, in accordance with this title, in original works of authorship
fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device. Works of authorship include the following categories:
a. literary works;
b. musical works, including any
accompanying words;
c. dramatic works, including any
accompanying music;
d. pantomimes and choreographic works;
e. pictorial, graphic, and sculptural
works;
f. motion pictures and other audiovisual
works;
g. sound recordings; and
h. architectural works.
Computer
Software (as defined in System policy) - Shall include one or more
computer programs existing in any form or any associated operational
procedures, manuals, or other documentation, whether protectable
or protected by patent or copyright.
Creator (as
defined in System policy) - An individual or group of individuals
who make, conceive, reduce to practice, author, or otherwise make a substantive
intellectual contribution to the creation of intellectual property. “Creator” shall include, but not be limited
to, faculty, professional staff, administrative and support staff, and
students. “Creator” shall also include the definition of “inventor” as used in
the
Institution
Resources Usually and Customarily Provided (as defined in System policy) - Shall include
such support as office space, library facilities, ordinary access to computers
and networks, or salary and shall be described in the policy as either
“incidental” or “significant.” The phrase does not include use of students or
employees as support staff to develop the work, or substantial use of
specialized or unique facilities and equipment, or other special subventions
provided by the institution unless approved as an exception.
Incidental Use
-
Usage that has little or no impact on the usage of institution resources by
other persons at the University and results in minimal additional expenses for
the University.
Significant
Use -
Usage that has a noticeable impact on the usage of institution resources by
other persons at the University, and/or which results in additional expenses
for the University.
Intellectual
Property (as defined in System policy) - Inventions, discoveries,
know-how, show-how, processes, unique materials, copyrightable works, original
data, and other creative or artistic works that have value. Intellectual
property includes that which is protectable by
statute or legislation, such as patents, copyrights, trademarks, service marks,
trade secrets, mask works, and plant variety protection certificates. It also
includes physical embodiments of intellectual effort; for example, models,
machines, devices, apparatus, instrumentation, circuits, computer programs and
visualizations, biological materials, chemicals, other compositions of matter,
plants, and records of research.
Inventor – One who
creates inventions patentable.
Inventions
Patentable (as defined in Title 35 USC sect. 101) – Whoever
invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or
composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a
patent therefor, subject to the conditions and
requirements of this title.
Net Income - Funds raised
from the commercialization of applicable intellectual property that remain
after the University and the Creator(s) have been reimbursed for resources
expended in the creation, procuring, maintaining, and marketing of the
intellectual property.
3. Contributions to Collective Works -Copyright
in each separate contribution to a collective work is
distinct from copyright in the collective work as a whole, and vests initially
in the author of the contribution. In the absence of an express transfer of the
copyright or of any rights under it, the owner of copyright in the collective
work is presumed to have acquired only the privilege of reproducing and
distributing the contribution as part of that particular collective work, any
revision of that collective work, and any later collective work in the same
series.
Scholarly
Works (as defined in System policy) -
Shall include all intellectual properties not covered in Technical Works
that are of an artistic, scholarly, instructional, or entertainment nature.
System - Unless
otherwise indicated, “System” or “the System” refers to the
Technical
Works -
(as defined in System policy) -Shall include intellectual properties that are
of a scientific, engineering, or technical nature such as patentable or unpatentable inventions (including biological materials),
computer software, and institution collections.
Technology
Transfer
-The dissemination of intellectual property through commercialization or other
means.
Traditional
Academic Copyrightable Works (as defined in System policy) - A subset of
copyrightable works created independently and at the creator’s initiative for
traditional academic purposes. Examples include class notes; books, theses and
dissertations; articles; non-fiction, fiction, and poems; musical works;
dramatic works including any accompanying music; pantomimes and choreographic
works; pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works; or other works of artistic
imagination that are not created as an institutional initiative.
University - Unless
otherwise indicated, “University” or “the University” refers to
Works Made for
Hire (as defined in Title 17 USC sect. 101) - A “work made
for hire” is-
1.
a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or
her employment; or
2. a work
specially ordered or commissioned for use as a contribution to a collective
work, as a part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, as a translation,
as a supplementary work, as a compilation, as an instructional text, as a test,
as answer material for a test, or as an atlas, if the parties expressly agree
in a written instrument signed by them that the work shall be considered a work
made for hire. For the purpose of the foregoing sentence, a “supplementary
work” is a work prepared for publication as a secondary adjunct to a work by
another author for the purpose of introducing, concluding, illustrating,
explaining, revising, commenting upon, or assisting in the use of the other
work, such as forewords, afterwords, pictorial
illustrations, maps, charts, tables, editorial notes, musical arrangements,
answer material for tests, bibliographies, appendixes, and indexes, and an
“instructional text” is a literary, pictorial, or graphic work prepared for
publication and with the purpose of use in systematic instructional activities.
1. The rights of
2. Southeastern
a.
When an employee is acting within the scope of his or her
employment or in official association with the University,
b.
When an employee is hired or commissioned to create a
specific work,