Oakland University Senate
Thursday, September 10, 1981
First Meeting
128, 129, 130 Oakland Center
MINUTES
Senators Present: Akers, Appleton, Arnold, Bieryla, Boulos, Briggs-Bunting, Brown, Burdick, Champagne, Chipman, Christina, Coppola, Cowlishaw, Dawson, Downing, Eberwein, Eliezer, Feeman, Frampton, L. Gerulaitis, R. Gerulaitis, Ghausi, Gregory, Grossman, Hetenyi, Heubel, Hightower, Hildebrand, Horwitz, Howes, Ketchum, Kleckner, Kurzman, Lambric, Lindell, Mallett, Maloney, Pine, Pino, Rhadigan, Russell, Sakai, Scherer, Schwartz, Sevilla, Somerville, Strauss, Stokes, Swartz, Tripp, Wilson, Witt
Senators Absent: Copenhaver, Eklund, Gardiner, Hammerle, Hershey, Miller, Otto, Pak, Stanovich
President Champagne called the meeting to order at 3:10 p.m., calling for approval of the minutes of the April 16, 1981, meeting. Upon motion of Mr. Hetenyi, seconded by Mr. Strauss, the Senate accepted the minutes without evidence of recent reading. Having thereby complete the work of the previous Senate, the president announced his appointees to this new body: Messrs. Feeman, Eklund and Wilson. He also noted with thanks that Ms. Eberwein has agreed to serve as secretary and Mr. Heubel as parliamentarian.
The first order of business was election of the Steering Committee, presided over by Mr. Witt as chair of the Elections Committee. He reviewed the constitutional specifications for membership and noted that Rhetoric has joined the College of Arts and Sciences. There were eight nominees at the point when Mr. Heubel moved the closing of nominations. As the constitution limits any one school to a maximum of two members of the six-member Steering Committee, the nominees from
Nursing, Performing Arts, Human and Educational Services, and Engineering found themselves unopposed, while a run-off election was necessary to select two members from Arts and Sciences. After counting the ballots, the Elections Committee announced the winners and the Senate unanimously approved the election. (Moved, Ms. Tripp; Seconded, Mr. Hetenyi) Members of the 1981-83 Steering Committee are: Ms. Boulos and Messrs. Akers, Christina, Dawson, Hammerle, and Miller.
Mr. Feeman then offered a procedural motion on behalf of the Steering Committee to update standing committee compositions by revising titles of administrative members to accord with current usage. (Moved, Mr. Hetenyi). He explained the shifts of titles and noted only one major change in function; now that Mr. Pino's responsibility comprehends both the Graduate School and Research Services, Instructional Services revert directly to the Provost's office with obvious implications for the Teaching and Learning Committee. when President Champagne assured Mr. Horwitz that the titles listed in the motion were still in use as of that very moment, the Senate unanimously approved the resolution:
MOVED that the following composition changes be approved for administrative appointments to Senate committees:
a Change "Vice President for Campus and Student Affairs (or his/her designee)" to "Vice President for Student and Urban Affairs (or his/her designee)" in the:
1. Academic and Career Advising Committee
2. Academic Conduct Committee
3. Academic Policy and Planning Committee
4. Academic Standing and Honors Committee
5. Admissions Committee
6. Campus Development and Environment Committee
7. Financial Aid Committee
b. Change "Director of Career Advising and Placement" to "Assistant Provost for Placement and Advising" in the Academic and Career Advising Committee.
c. Change "Director of Research and Instructional Services" to Director of Research Services" in the Academic Computing Committee.
d. Change "Vice President for Business Affairs" to "Vice President for Administrative Affairs" in the Academic Policy and Planning Committee.
e. Change "Assistant to the Controller" to "Controller" in the Financial Aid Committee.
f. Change "Director of Research and Instructional Services" to vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost (or his/ her designee)" in the Teaching and Learning Committee.
With no private resolutions proposed for the good and welfare of the order, President Champagne took the opportunity to report to the Senate on recent developments. He introduced Ms. Lindell as the new Dean of Nursing and mentioned that Mr. Copenhaver, the new Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences was abroad being scholarly but could be expected at subsequent Senate gatherings. He then announced completion of the new administrative organization which has been taking shape over the past several months since the Board approved the basic divisional structure in April. There are four divisions: Academic Affairs, Student and Urban Affairs, Administrative Affairs, and Development, each of which has worked out its pattern of internal organization. With the Board's recent approval of the latest round of names, staffing has been completed except for national searches now in progress to select a Provost and an Assistant Vice President for Computer and Information Systems.
The president then announced his plans to appoint several advisory commissions. An Affirmative Action Advisory Committee will work with Ms. Murphy to advise the president on any aspect of affirmative action pertaining to student programs or employment opportunities, thereby helping the University support its recently reaffirmed commitment to equal opportunity.
The Academic Advisory Committee composed of deans will meet periodically with the president to inform him of program needs and prospects. Other ad hoc committees are contemplated to educate the president about this University�its traditions, hopes, and concerns�in several major aspects of its mission: community service, research, and graduate programs.
To share with the Senate his current perspective on the University, President Champagne read the statement he had presented to the Board of Trustees at its meeting of September 9. Within a framework of allusions to "the best of times...worst of times" in Dickens's Tale of Two Cities, but without threatening revolution, he outlined his concerns about academic development in an uncertain budgetary context. If the state actually imposes a four to five percent budgetary cut, as
threatened last week, Oakland University would lose all benefit from this year's budget indexing, and a subsequent winter cut would be disastrous. Even worse than the specter of diminished funding is the continued uncertainty about allocations. Warning that "we cannot mount an orderly program of institutional and academic enrichment if we do not know i f and how we can get there," the president noted that the University is already overstraining its tuition revenues, faculty teaching loads and administrative resources. He wondered how long we can continue to tread academic water, and he warned that any proposed program expansion in the near future will require a greater than normal justification and may necessitate cutbacks of existing programs. He pledged that he would bring to the Board only requests he believes to serve "the absolute best interest of this institution under the conditions that exist currently." He called upon all members of the University to join him in striving for "selective excellence in those programs we are most capable of providing" and urged careful reassessment of the ways we use our resources to further long-term goals of University quality and survival.
Describing his prepared statement as realistic though somber, Mr. Champagne warned Sat the University cannot maintain its outstanding reputation while spreading itself ever more thinly. He expected the budget-cutting executive order to pass in some form, with higher education necessarily taking the brunt of the losses. He cited, the recent Detroit Free Press series on the plight of higher education in Michigan but found its prediction of central state coordination frightening in view of his
experience with an over controlled system in Texas. Given the uncertainty of state allocations, he has embarked on development programs intended to build a general endowment of private funds on which Oakland University can rely in lean years. Dismal state finances raise no hopes of building authorizations to help us overcome serious space problems, and planning has begun to work out a cost-efficient design to increase the square footage of the library without a full-scale addition.
In the discussion period that followed presidential remarks, Mr. Hetenyi suggested that Florida's current problem of uncoordinating a centralized state system might provide further ammunition for Michigan universities. Questions from Mr. Strauss and Ms. Burdick about Fall 1981 enrollments brought reports from Messrs. Champagne and Kleckner that total enrollment seem almost the same as last year's, with graduate enrollments down and undergraduate up.
Elaborating on informational items in the agenda, Mr. Champagne introduced the new Elections Committee which, having been appointed by the 1979-81 Steering Committee, proceeded to conduct the election of its successor. A calendar of Senate meetings was distributed, prompting criticism from Mr. Horwitz about the scheduling of the October meeting on Yom Kippur. As participation in Senate business hardly counts as a penitential observance, Mr. Kleckner promised that the Steering Committee would discuss possible changes in the schedule. Mr. Feeman distributed six reports from last year's standing committees; five more should circulate next month.
Upon motion of Mr. Hetenyi, seconded by Mr. Gerulaitis, the meeting adjourned at 4:08 p.m.
Respectfully submitted:
Jane D. Eberwein
Secretary to the University Senate