December 9, 2011

3:55  Discussion and Vote: Resolution 2011-8. On Revising the Grounds for Grade Appeals

• Prof. Andrea Biddle

4:00  Faculty Assembly Delegation Annual Report

• Prof. Steve Bachenheimer

4:10 Faculty Executive Committee Annual Report

• Prof. Jan Boxill

4:20 Chancellor’s Advisory Committee Annual Report

• Prof. Joy Renner

4:25 Invited Guest

• Dr. Gerri Williams, McNair Scholars Program
  Handout: McNair Scholars Program, Presentation: McNair Scholars Program

4:35  Questions and Other Topics

4:40  Closed Session: Vote: Edward Kidder Graham Award nominee (Faculty Council members log in with ONYEN and password)

• Prof. Joseph Ferrell, on behalf of the Honorary Degrees and Special Awards Committee

4:45  Adjourn

Minutes

JOURNAL OF PROCEEDINGS OF THE FACULTY COUNCIL

December 9, 2011

The Faculty Council of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill convened December 9, 2011, at 3:00 p.m. in the Hitchcock Multipurpose Room of the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History. The following 63 members attended:  Anderson, Bachenheimer, Bagnell, Balaban, Boulton, Boxill, Cavin, Chambers, Champagne, Chapman, Cohen , Copenhaver, Eaker-Rich, Engel, Gilland, Giovanello, Grabowski, Hodges, Howes, Irons, Ives, Janken, Jones, Kim, Koomen, Lastra, Lee, Leonard, Linden, Lothspeich, Mcmillan, Miller, Miller, Morse, Nelson, New, Parreiras, Reiter, Schoenbach, Spagnoli, Swogger, Thorp , Thrailkill, Tisdale, You, Earp, Friga, Fuchs Lokensgar, Gallippi, Gerhardt, Grinias, Heenan, Hess, Lund, Maffly-Kipp, Moracco, O’Shaughnessey, Parise, Persky, Powers, Toews, Troster, and Rusyn.

Call to Order

Chancellor Holden Thorp called the Council to order at 3:00p.m.

Chancellor’s Remarks and Question Period

Chancellor Thorp announced the appointment today of a new football coach, Mr. Larry Fedora, previously head coach at the University of Southern Mississippi. He complimented the new Director of Athletics, Bubba Cunningham, on conducting a superb search for the position. The chancellor said that he had consulted his counterparts at Southern Mississippi and other institutions where Mr. Fedora has worked and is confident of Fedora’s commitment to the university’s academic mission.

Chancellor Thorp responded to several questions that had been posed in advance by members of the Council.

Q. How does the hiring of a new football coach advance Carolina’s mission?

A. We need athletics to draw the community together.

Q. How can Carolina maintain academic integrity while competing at the highest level in intercollegiate athletics?

A. I believe this can be done. Stanford University is a prime example of how to do it. And commitment to academic integrity on the part of the coaches is critical. I am convinced Larry Fedora has that commitment.

Q. How does professionalism of athletics and corporate sponsorships square with our institutional values?

A. The stronger our “brand,” the more successful we will be in having an athletics department that is self-supporting and does not require financial support that would otherwise go to support academics.

Q. Please comment on the segregation of student athletes from the rest of the study body.

A. This is an important issue and one that concerns me greatly. We need to work hard to see that student athletes have the opportunity to experience Carolina in the same way as their classmates.

Q. Please comment on fallout from the recent scandal in the football program.

A. We have come a very long way and are getting to the other side of this.

Chancellor Thorp concluded by speaking of a visit he and other university leaders had recently had with at the White House with President Obama, who called the group together to talk about the affordability of a college education. President Obama believes that growing student indebtedness is one of our biggest national issues, he said. Chancellor Thorp said that he is proud of the job Carolina is doing to hold down student debt. Adjusted for inflation, he said that student debt has actually decreased over the past several years. “We are not moving toward being a high tuition, high student aid school,” he said. The chancellor noted that research indicates that “sticker shock” of very high tuition discourages some families from applying for admission, even though student aid would bring the actual cost down to affordable levels. Chancellor Thorp said that he had told President Obama that Carolina is the only one of our peer institutions that meets 100% of the need for student aid. “It was a great day for our University and a great day for me,” he said in conclusion.

Prof. Vin Steponaitis (Anthropology & Archaeology) asked for comment on a recent meeting of college presidents that addressed issues in intercollegiate athletics. Chancellor Thorp said that he was part of a working group on student athlete well-being. The group recommended increasing grants-in-aid by $2,000, noting that student athletes actually get less aid than other students receiving aid. Furthermore, student athletes cannot hold down part-time jobs. As a result, universities need to try to equalize spending money available to student athletes. Chancellor Thorp said he also endorsed the recommendations of a working group on academics. He said that the next proposal in the pipeline is a reduction in the number of scholarships in football and women’s basketball. This would lower the overall cost of those programs. Another issue is simplifying the NCAA rule book. Some of the rules are costly to enforce and yield little benefit, he said.

Prof. Kay Lund (Cell & Molecular Physiology) asked whether the matter of graduate and professional student debt had been discussed at the White House conference. Chancellor Thorp replied that this is an important issue. He noted that graduate students are eligible for student aid, and that we are trying to keep fees down. But, he said, we need to be asking how many graduate students we are able to accept. He noted that reduced funding from both NIH and NFS is anticipated in the near future. Provost Carney added that Carolina is near the bottom of the list in indebtedness of medical students.

Provost’s Remarks and Question Period

Provost Bruce Carney noted that today is the deadline for submission of revised promotion and tenure guidelines. He said that he is not yet ready to announce appointment of the new vice provost for diversity.

Chair of the Faculty’s Remarks

Chair of the Faculty Jan Boxill reported that much of her time in the past month has been spent in work on the honor system and the academic plan. The newly appointed Task Force on the Honor System and the reconstituted Honor Court Advisory Committee are hard at work. She said that she has learned that a great deal of work on these issues is already going on, and that she has received a very helpful report from the Undergraduate Attorney General. Prof. Boxill said that she has devoted much time to investigating and evaluating plagiarism detection software. She concluded by reporting that the Office of Faculty Governance is working on developing a website forum through which faculty members can pose questions and get a referral for an answer.

H₂O Carolina: Water in Our World

Prof. Boxill laid before the Council a resolution submitted by the Agenda Committee endorsing the proposal for a two-year campus-wide them on water in our world. The resolution was adopted without dissent. See Appendix A.

Special Report of the Educational Policy Committee

Prof. Andrea Biddle, Chair of the Educational Policy Committee, submitted to the Council a resolution revising the grounds for grade appeals. She said that University Counsel advises that the current language of the Grade Appeals policy is not consistent with the wording of the University’s Policy on Prohibited Harassment and Discrimination. It is recommended that the two policies should be congruent, and that the change be made effective for the upcoming final examination period. The resolution was adopted without dissent. See Appendix B.

Annual Report of the Faculty Assembly Delegation

Prof. Steven Bachenheimer, Chair of the Faculty Assembly Delegation, presented the delegation’s annual report. Prof. Tom Linden Journalism & Mass Communication) asked whether the Assembly thinks that President Ross is doing all he can to educate the public about the importance of the University System and, if not, is the Assembly counseling him? Prof. Bachenheimer replied “right now, we’re still in the honeymoon period.” Prof. Lloyd Kramer (History), a member of the Delegation, said that he has been
impressed with President Ross’ understanding of the problems stemming from reduced aid to graduate students. He also thinks that President Ross has clearly articulated the need for faculty salary increases, and that he tirelessly advocates for the important of a liberal arts education. Chancellor Thorp added that Ross is the only System president he has known who has argued in favor of graduate student tuition remission.

Annual Report of the Faculty Executive Committee

Prof. Boxill presented the Annual Report of the Faculty Executive Committee. There were no questions or comment.

Annual Report of the Advisory Committee

Prof. Joy Renner, acting for Prof. James Ketch, Chair of the Advisory Committee, presented the committee’s annual report. There were no questions or comment.

McNair Scholars Program

Dr. Gerri Williams, Director of the Office of TRiO Programs, gave a presentation on the McNair Scholars Program.

Closed Session: Special Report of the Committee on Honorary Degrees and Special Awards

Prof. Joseph Ferrell, Secretary of the Faculty, moved that the Council go into closed session to receive a special report from the Committee on Honorary Degrees and Special Awards. The motion was adopted. Prof. Ferrell laid before the Council the committee’s nominee for the 2013 Edward Kidder Graham Faculty Service Award. The nominee was approved.

Prof. Ferrell moved that the Council return to open session. The motion was adopted.

Adjournment

Its business having concluded, the Council adjourned at 4:45 p.m.

Respectfully submitted

Joseph S. Ferrell

Secretary of the Faculty

 

Appendix A

Resolution 2011-7. On stablishing a Campus-Wide Two-Year Theme: H2O Carolina.

The Faculty Council resolves:

The Council endorses a proposal to establish a campus-wide two-year theme for 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 to be known as H2O Carolina: Water in Our World, as proposed by the Global Research Institute, UNC Global, the Institute for the Environment, the Carolina Global Water Institute, and the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, and requests the Provost and the Chair of the Faculty to take appropriate steps to bring the proposal to fruition.

Appendix B

Resolution 2011-8. On Revising the Grounds for Grade Appeals

The Faculty Council enacts:

The first paragraph of the regulation on Grade Appeals, as published in the 2011-12 Undergraduate Bulletin, is amended as follows:

“The grades of H, HP, P, LP, L, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, PS, F, FA, F*, and numerical grades in the Law School are considered to be permanent grades. Once reported, the instructor’s grade report may not be changed except under certain conditions. For a grade change to be considered, it must be based upon one or more of the following grounds and upon allegation that the ground or grounds cited influenced the grade assignment to the student’s detriment:

1. Arithmetic or clerical error
2. Arbitrariness, possibly including discrimination or harassment based on race, sex, religion, or national origin the race, color, gender, national origin, age, religion, creed, disability, veteran’s status, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression of the student
3. Personal malice
4. Student conduct cognizable under the Instrument of Student Judicial Governance

A grade appeal must be made no later than the last day of classes for the succeeding fall or spring semester.”