Skip to main content

February 26, 2010

Meeting of the General Faculty & the Faculty Council

Friday, February 26, 2010
3:00 p.m.
Hitchcock  Multipurpose Room
Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History

Chancellor Holden Thorp and
Professor McKay Coble, Chair of  the Faculty, presiding

Agenda

3:00 Chancellor’s Remarks and Question Period

  • Chancellor  Holden Thorp

3:10 Provost’s Remarks and Question Period

  • Interim  Provost Bruce Carney

3:20 Committee Report: Administrative Board of the Library

  • Prof.  Reid Barbour, Chair

3:30 Committee Report and Resolution: University Government

3:45 Committee Report: Scholarships & Student Aid

  • Prof. Charles Daye, Chair
  • Ms. Shirley Ort, Associate Provost and Director, Scholarships and Student Aid

4:05 Committee Report: Undergraduate Admissions

  • Prof. Bobbi Owen, Chair
  • Mr. Steve Farmer, Associate Provost and Director of Undergraduate Admission

4:25 The Carolina Covenant Program: An Update

  • Prof. Fred Clark, Academic Coordinator for the Carolina Covenant
  • Ms. Shirley Ort, Associate Provost and Director, Scholarships and Student Aid
  • Dr. Lynn Williford, Assistant Provost for Institutional Research and Assessment

4: 55 Closed Session: Honorary Degrees and Special  Awards Committee Report

  • Faculty Council members click here to view the background document on nominees (Secure area: You will enter your ONYEN and ONYEN password to enter)

5:00 Adjourn

Minutes

The General Faculty and Faculty Council of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill convened at 3:00 p.m. in the Hitchcock Multipurpose Room of the Sonja Haynes Stone Center  for Black Culture and History.

The following 52 members of the Council attended: Aaron, Anderson, Bagnell, Bechtel, Bickford, Blalock, Bloom, Bowdish,  J. Brown, Carlson, Catellier, Cornell, Egan, Fuchs-Lokensgar, Gerber, Gilliland, Greene, Gulledge, Halloran, Hayslett, Heenan, Irons, Janken, Kelly, Koomen, Koroluk, Lee, Lopez, Lothspeich, Maffly-Kipp, Marr, McMillan, Melamut, Morris-Natschke, Morse, New, Owen, Paul, Richardson, Schoenfisch, Shea, Sheldon, Shields, Stearns, Stotts, Sweeney, Sweet, Szypszak, Thrailkill,  Tisdale, Tobin, Verkerk.

The following 29 members were granted excused absences: Andrews, Ashby, Binotti, Blackburn, Blocher, Brice, C. Brown, DeSaix,  Dilworth-Anderson, Earp, Gerhardt, Guskiewicz, Hershey, Mauro, Mieczkowski,  Mumby, Persky, Quinonez, Renner, Rhodes, Rodgers, Stein, Thorp, Towes, Troster, Van Tilburg, Wallace, Williams, Yankaskas.

The following 4 members were absent without excuse: Coleman, Hodges, Papanikolas, Paquette.

Call to Order

Chair of the Faculty McKay Coble called the meeting to order  promptly at 3:00 p.m.

Chancellor’s Remarks and Question Period

Chancellor Holden Thorp began by welcoming Prof. Emeritus Philip Hirsch and Prof. Emeritus Andrew Dobelstein, who are the designated liaisons to the Faculty Council from the Retired Faculty Association.

The Chancellor announced that, after consulting the Advisory  Committee and the Faculty Executive Committee, he has asked the Secretary of the Faculty to draft for consideration by the Faculty Council a resolution establishing the Edward Kidder Graham Faculty Service Award. The recipient of this annual award will be recognized for outstanding service in the spirit of  Edward Kidder Graham’s call “to make the campus co-extensive with the boundaries of the State,” in the context of the University’s modern mission to extend knowledge-based service world-wide. He said that he hopes to be able to make the first award at the 2011 University Day Convocation.

The Chancellor noted that he had recently learned that Carolina is one of six recipients of the Presidential Award in the 2009  President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. Carolina was recognized by the Corporation for National Community Service, which administers this annual award, for the work of students and faculty to improve the lives and futures of the disadvantaged.

Referring to a recent informational email on the budget situation that he had circulated, the Chancellor reiterated his determination to absorb cuts in State budget appropriations without impairing classroom instruction to the maximum possible extent. But, he said, we are now approaching a point when it will be difficult to absorb another 5 percent cut without impacting the classroom. The Chancellor reassured the faculty, however, that faculty tenure decisions will not be affected by budget reductions; those decisions will continue to be made on the basis of normal academic criteria, he said. He emphasized that the University’s top priority in times of economic downturn must be to continue to hire top-notch junior faculty. He said that we are determined not to lose a generation of graduate students because of the economy. Difficult choices may have to be made in order to achieve that goal, and fund-raising efforts in that area may have to be intensified.

Chancellor Thorp noted that last weekend we passed a major milestone in the ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) process when the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid completed its transition to the new system. When all student-related activities have been transitioned, we will turn to functions related to finance and human resources. He said that by cooperating with North Carolina State University in a number of areas, we have been able to reduce by 30 the number of new positions that would otherwise have been needed to fully implement ERP on this campus.

There were no questions or comments.

Provost’s Remarks and Question Period

Interim Provost Bruce Carney reported that the budget  hearings are going well. He said that is has been sobering to see the  consequences of the additional 5 percent State budget cut, but that this has been a good opportunity to reassess long-term goals. He said he has asked the deans to “mine” the Bain Report for ideas of how to effect economies while protecting our core academic mission.

Provost Carney said that he has received a proposal from Dean Karen Gil for establishment of a three-tiered ranking system for fixed-term faculty appointments in the College of Arts and Sciences. This proposal originated with the work of a task force chaired by Senior Assoc. Dean William Andrews. Provost Carney said that discussions continue as to exact nomenclature, but he is confident these details can be worked out. He said that  he plans to consult the Faculty Executive Committee on how best to proceed, but  that he is firmly in support of a three-rank career track for lecturers in the College.

Annual Report of the Administrative Board of the Library

Prof. Reid Barbour, Chair of the Administrative Board of the Library, presented the Board’s annual report by title. He thanked Provost  Carney for his continuing support of the library’s collections, and expressed the hope that annual infusions of additional one-time funding might become permanent.

There were no questions or comments.

Resolution 2010-1. On Amending the Faculty  Code to Change the Composition of the Administrative Board of the Library

Prof. Vincas Steponaitis, Chair of the Committee on  University Government, laid before the General Faculty a resolution amending Section 12-1 of the Faculty Code of University Government to restructure the Administrative Board of the Library. He pointed out that the Board currently  has 22 members, 14 elected and eight appointed. He said that it has become  increasingly difficult constitute a board of that size, and that the Committee  on University Government thinks the constituencies now represented on the board can be adequately served by somewhat fewer members. He said that the proposal before the General Faculty would reduce the number of members to 14, with seven elected and seven appointed.

There were no questions or debate. The resolution was adopted unanimously on first reading and remains on the calendar.

Annual Report of the Committee on Scholarships and Student Aid

Prof. Charles Daye, Chair of the Committee on Scholarships  and Student Aid, presented both a PowerPoint slide show and a number of charts and graphs analyzing student scholarship grants and loans over the past several years. Links to this  material are below:

  • Letter of Transmittal [pdf]
  • Policy Questions regarding Scholarships and Student Financial Aid, Academic Year 2009-10 [pdf]
  • Ten Year Comparison of Scholarship and Financial Aid Awards to All Students (Undergraduates, Graduate/Professional)  from Academic Year 1999-2000 to Academic Year 2008-2009 [pdf]
  • 2008-09   Scholarships and Financial Aid Awards Reports [Excel]
  • 2008-09   Scholarships and Financial Aid Awards Charts [Excel]

Prof. Steven Bachenheimer asked for comment on the federal  government’s plans to eliminate banks as middle-men in federal student aid. Ms. Shirley Ort, Director of Scholarships and Student Aid, replied that the new policy will be good for the nation at large, but not for North Carolina. She said that we have been committed to the College Foundation of North Carolina, which has done a splendid job serving students in our state. She said that as of today it appears that we will continue to have the Foundation for one more year.

Prof. Bachenheimer asked about the consequences for students of removing banks from the picture. Ms. Ort said that students would receive aid directly from the federal government; she did not anticipate that they will be adversely affected.

Prof. Susan Bickford congratulated Ms. Ort on keeping our  students’ debt loads reasonably low. Ms. Ort gave the credit to the General Assembly for increasing funding for student aid, and the Board of Trustees for  deciding to devote a substantial portion of tuition increases to student aid.

Annual Report of the Committee on Undergraduate Admissions

Senior Assoc. Dean Bobbi Owen presented the annual report of the Committee on Undergraduate Admissions. She noted that for the third year running, SAT scores presented by entering students have continued to rise, and that women continue to outnumber men in the entering class by about 60/40, which exactly mirrors to applicant pool.

Dean Owen gave special mention to two initiatives. The C-Step  Program is designed for students transferring to Carolina from community  colleges. For the past three years the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation has funded cooperative efforts with Alamance Community College, Durham Technical Community  College, and Wake Technical Community College. She said that students who have  completed the C-Step Program have been very successful at Carolina. The Carolina College Advising Corps works with high school students to assist them  in choosing colleges and filling out admissions applications. This year 53  North Carolina high schools are participating in Corps programs. This work is beginning to show results for students applying to college. She noted that  while graduate students choose an institution with reference to the faculty  under whom they will study, undergraduates tend to choose a college with  reference to the student body.

Prof. Ed Halloran pointed out that for the second year  running, the percentage of North Carolina applications who are African-American  mirrors the State population, but enrollment yield falls short. Mr. Steve Farmer, Director of Admissions, replied that for the past several years Carolina has had the best enrollment yield nationally for African-American admissions. For North Carolina residents, he said that the yield is approximately 70 percent and for out-of-state students about 30 percent. Dean Owen added that the faculty can help to recruit outstanding African-American applicants by contacting the applicants and their parents.

Prof. Bachenheimer asked about trends in yield rates by SAT  score or by particularly outstanding high schools. Mr. Framer replied that  trends in these areas continue to rise. Dean Owen pointed to statistics showing  a steady increase in the quality of students gaining admissions to Carolina.

Prof. Tom Egan remarked that it is not surprising to see a steady rise in average Grade Point Average as the quality of the student body continues to improve.

Carolina Covenant Update

Ms. Shirley Ort, Dr. Lynn Williford, and Prof. Fred Clark briefed the Council on the Carolina Covenant Program. Their PowerPoint presentation will be available here soon.

Special Report, Committee on Honorary Degrees and Special Awards

On motion of Prof. Ferrell, the Council went into closed session to receive a report from the Committee on Honorary Degrees and Special Awards nominating persons for honorary degrees to be awarded at Commencement  2011.

Prof. Ferrell presented four nominees. Each was approved.

On motion of Prof. Ferrell, the Council returned to open session.

Adjournment

Its business having been completed, the Council adjourned at  4:23 p.m.

Joseph S. Ferrell
Secretary of the Faculty

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Office of Faculty Governance
Henry Owl Building

230 E. Cameron Avenue
Campus Box 9170
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-9170

919-962-2146 (main)