December 14, 2006
Loyola Marymount University
Faculty Senate Minutes
December 14, 2006
Collins Center
3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Present: Cynthia Becht, Charles Erven, Sonny Espinoza, Rudy Fleck Vicki Graf, Gary Kuleck, Yvette Lapayese, Chun I. Lee, Blake Mellor, Mel Mendelson, Ed Mosteig, Liz Murray, Jennifer Offenberg, K. J. Peters, Ralph Quiñones, Damon Rago, Jonathan Rothchild, Rhonda Rosen, Sue Scheibler and Seth Thompson
Excused: Najwa Al-Qattan, Jeffrey Davis, Omar Es-Said, Paul Harris, Nina Reich and James Roe
President Graf called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. She began the meeting with the Universal Prayer for Peace.
I. Approval of November Minutes – President Graf
It was moved and seconded to adopt and approve the minutes of November 30. The minutes were approved unanimously.
II. Matt Dillon – Update on Pat Oliver’s Case and the Faculty Handbook
Pat Oliver Case.
- Final hearings on the Pat Oliver Case concluded on November 21.
- The legal briefs of the case will be handed to the members of the Grievance Board.
- Rebuttals to the briefs will be drafted and the Grievance Board will make a recommendation in March 2007. An outcome is not expected until April 2007.
Faculty Handbook.
- Matt is working on an interactive Table of Contents to add to the PDF file.
II. Conversation with Tom Fleming, Chief Financial Officer and Ernie Rose, Chief Academic Officer
CFO Fleming and CAO Rose were invited to discuss how LMU’s financial planning is linked with learning outcomes, specifically in regards to faculty, quality of life and financial resources for research.
CFO Fleming discussed the following topics:
- WASC. The learning outcomes linkage that WASC is asking for is not a simple process. A committee currently is working on determining the appropriate culture of evidence. He defined the role of Business and Finance as supporting the education of LMU students
- Compensation and benefits. There’s recognition that ESOF needs to participate in the process of improving faculty quality of life in terms of compensation and benefits. Human Resources determines the comparability.
- Housing. CFO Fleming acknowledged the complexity of the issue. Some changes have been made to the loan policy, for example the faculty compensation cap was eliminated. The current policy is not the ideal answer. Faculty are encouraged to submit suggestions and to continue dialogue on the topic.
CAO Rose elaborated on the following topics:
- WASC. The budgeting process linked with WASC is pushing LMU to make the budget process more transparent. Committees are working to develop a better communication structure so that the Cabinet receives more information about how the encouragement of learning needs to be supported by the budget.
- Housing. Possible options for housing really need to be explored. Other kinds of subsidy should be looked at in order to enable faculty to live closer to campus.
Q. ESOF recently met with Human Resources and Maria Cano, Budget Manager-Academic Affairs. Should someone else in the CFO’s office be meeting with ESOF as well?
A. CAO Rose stated that it would make sense to have Lori Hussein meet with Human Resources and Maria Cano so that issues in one division or another can be recognized.
A. CFO Fleming added that Lori Hussein would be able to model ESOF’s recommendations to show potential calculations and how the budget is affected by possible percentage shifts. The total impact on the budget could be discussed with ESOF.
Q. The Children’s Center is an issue of extreme concern. Could you both respond to the current status?
A. CFO Fleming stated that the university is currently doing a 360˚ Review and a best practices review of Business and Finance. The Children’s Center is one area being looking at. A second general meeting will be held at the Children’s Center tonight at 5:00 p.m. and everyone is welcomed to attend.
- Limits are established with the first three classes filled with children of LMU faculty and staff only. Non-LMU people have lowest priority now that the need of faculty and staff at LMU has built up. It is anticipated that the Children’s Center will eventually accept only LMU applicants. The challenge will be to figure out how to increase the number of children accepted with the current footprint.
- The LMU faculty/staff cost for child care is 25% lower than the community cost. As LMU participation increases, the university needs to look at subsidization. That is being evaluated.
- A survey is being created and will be available to all parents by the end of this week or early next week. Responses will be discussed at the Board Meeting in January.
The Senate continued to discuss the issue of the Children’s Center with CAO Rose and CFO Fleming. Concerns and experiences with the Center were described, including the restrictively high cost of child care at LMU and cases of negligence. Some faculty members have had to pull their children out of the Center to seek alternative child care. Senators expressed that they felt the university is lacking a sense of urgency in handling these pressing issues.
A. CAO Rose stated that Fr. Lawton is aware of the Children Center’s issues and has been supported the decision to conduct research in this matter as quickly as possible. It is important to conduct research thoroughly, which may take some time in order to determine what the appropriate solutions should be. Nevertheless, the university expects to have these issues resolved this academic year.
The Senate discussed their concerns about the housing issues. It was pointed out that the current housing assistance program may work for faculty members new in their career but not for mid-career faculty members. Recommendations were made for housing payments to be correlated to faculty salaries and to make possible options to buy rental property. The Senate was interested in knowing how other institutions have handled these similar issues and if LMU has talked with other institutions.
A. CAO Rose indicated that LMU has reviewed the housing plans of Pepperdine and USC but needs to investigate further. He will discuss the housing issue with the AJCU finance officers when they meet and suggested that faculty email him with any solutions or thoughts they may have with respect to this matter. In the interim, administration has asked Human Resources to engage in this investigation as well.
A. CFO Fleming informed the Senate that LMU owns a total of nine houses rented at market rate, of which six are occupied by LMU faculty. The non-LMU renters have been long-time renters. There’s no formal waiting list for these houses since renters are not termed out. From time to time, LMU has attempted to acquire additional houses that are for sale near the university.
III. Faculty Handbook conversation with Drew Bridges, University Attorney and Ernie Rose, Chief Academic Officer
Counsel Bridges was invited to explain the role the Faculty Handbook plays in university legal issues and the process for its revision. In the discussion, he made the following points:
- As stated in its preamble, the Faculty Handbook is meant to reflect the university policy on the date it was recorded. The Handbook is a “snapshot” of stated policy. Policy change is collaborative, but not formal. Policies are either directly, or in conjunction with, the responsibility of the Trustees. Policies are dynamic. Changes to policy can by made by Administration, they can arise from faculty or be made
by the Board of Trustees on their own initiative.
- The most current version of the Handbook is always the one to refer to in any matter. Current policies not yet outlined in the Handbook are still policies to which faculty are subject and should be made known by the university.
- Although LMU is guided by principles of AAUP, it has not adopted them. The AAUP, which recognizes handbooks as extensions of formal contracts, is not accepted by California Law. However California Law does not prohibit general reference to policy. - Faculty should pay attention to the Handbook as it is a reference guide to policy. The most comprehensive statement of current university policy is the web format of the Faculty Handbook.
- While the Trustees ultimately decide all policy changes, change can take place from the collective voice of the faculty speaking to the university.
On behalf of the Senate, President Graf thanked Counsel Bridges for engaging in conversation with the Senate about the Faculty Handbook.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 p.m.
Submitted by: Cynthia Becht
Prepared by: Rosa Calderon