Southeastern Louisiana University Faculty Senate

Meeting Minutes

Wednesday, August 29, 2005

Alumni Center

I. Senate President Laverne Simoneaux called the meeting to order at 3:02 p.m. in the Alumni Center. Membership Secretary Mary Sue Ply called roll. Senators absent were: Davis, Holt-Ochsner, Lewallen, Mark, McCalman, Nelson, Neuerburg, Saeki, Schulte, Valentino.

II. Minutes from the May 4, 2005 meeting were unanimously approved.

III. New Business:

A. President Simoneaux welcomed all senators to the new academic year.

She then asked all senators to introduce themselves. Outgoing Senate

President David Wyld was thanked for his service and given a gift by

President Simoneaux. She then showed the Senate members the hook

which she says she intends to use to help enforce the “5-minute rule” for

invited speakers. There was applause.

B. The Southeastern Ladies Tennis Team and its coach Jason Lee were brought forward. Members of the team introduced themselves. President Simoneaux read Senate Resolution 2005-2006-01 congratulating the team on their achievements in 2004-2005 (see Addendum A). Applause indicated unanimous approval of the resolution.

C. Ms. Simoneaux then called attention to President Moffett’s responses to the Senate Resolutions of 2004-05. The Administration responded favorably to everything except the resolution on cell phone decorum. The response was that the Provost’s “Blue Memo” sufficiently addresses this issue for now (see Addendum B).

D. Ms. Simoneaux called attention to the list of Committee Assignments (see Addendum C). Chairs and members were assigned in the order that President Simoneaux received the requests. Facilities, Safety, and Security has no chair. Ms. Simoneaux asked for a volunteer. No one responded. She pointed out that the Senate also needs an Online Voting Coordinator. Anna Kleiner is the Senate Liaison to SGA, but there should be two Senators in this position so that they can alternate weekly attendance at SGA meetings. A Senator can come off of another committee to fill this position.

E. Requirements for FAC Member and Alternate. Senator Yeargain said that he did not think it was appropriate to discuss any changes in these requirements at present since there will an election for FAC in two weeks.

F. Ex-Officio member of Nominations and Elections. Senator Ply explained that as Membership Secretary she has been helping to coordinate Senate elections, but this is not a specified part of her duties. For legal purposes, she said that the Membership Secretary should be made an ex-officio member of Nominations and Elections, and that requires Senate approval for a change to Constitution and Bylaws. Motion was made to send this to Constitution and Bylaws. Senator Ramsey asked for further explanation. Senator Titard (chair of Nominations and Elections) said that he receives invaluable assistance with the elections process from the Membership Secretary and would like to see this continue so it needs to be in the rules. Senator Ramsey said that this would “institutionalize” the duties and prevent future problems. Motion to send the request to Constitution and Bylaws was approved.

IV. Announcements:

A. Senator Titard announced that ballots will be ready for the election of

FAC alternate at the next meeting. There are 4 nominations. Senator

Yeargain asked if the four nominees should be invited to make brief

speeches to introduce themselves before the election. President

Simoneaux said that she will extend the invitations to the candidates.

B. Senator Ply announced that she will ask all Department Heads for new

numbers on full-time faculty in order to determine membership numbers

and representation on Tenure/Promotion, University Planning, and

Faculty Grievance.

C. Senator Ply said that DVickers is unbearably hot and asked if any other

buildings were experiencing cooling problems. White Hall and KHS

were also mentioned as being inadequately cooled. Senator Ply said that

the “chilling unit” in DVIC is always shut off on weekends so it is

impossible to be in the building to work. And there is the additional

problem that Monday mornings are very hot since it takes a day or more

for the building to cool. Senator Weaver said that Senator Ply should

contact Facility Planning

D. Senator Stahr from the Library is assisting with the University’s move to

use Turnitin.com this semester. She will be holding a training session

on September 22. She will set up individual accounts for faculty users

and can meet with faculty members if they contact her. Senator Stahr

said Turnitin.com should not be seen as the solution to all plagiarism

problems. It can be presented to students as a research tool, a way for

them to check their own work. There are links to Turnitin.com through

the By-Lion and Faculty Excellence sites. Senator Burns said that he

will post a link through the Faculty Senate page. Everyone should tell

their faculties about this. All faculty members should add the notice on

Turnitin.com that was included in the Provost’s “Blue Memo” to their

course information. Senator Stahr said that this is necessary so students

are notified that their intellectual property may be stored in the

Turnitin.com database.

E. Senator Yeargain said that he will issue a new copy of the Bylaws. The

Senate webpage has a link to the Constitution, which is about 25 pages

long and can be printed. Senators can also go to that site for Proxy

Appointment forms.

F. President Simoneaux congratulated Senator Joe Burns and his wife on the adoption of their child.

G. The meeting was adjourned at 3:35 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled

for September 7, 2005.

Respectfully submitted,

Rebecca Hite

Recording Secretary