16 October 2003
Loyola Marymount University
Faculty Senate Minutes
October 16, 2003
McIntosh
2:45 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
Present: Matt Dillon, Omar Es-Said, Victoria
Graf, Lily Khadjavi, Chun Lee, Edmundo Litton, Marc Lony, Suzanne
O’Brien, Edward Park, K.J. Peters, Damon Rago, James Roe,
Susan Scheibler, Thomas Zachariah
Excused: Marta Baltodano, Jok Madut Jok,
Patricia Oliver, Leland Swenson, Walter Walker
and Patricia Walsh
President Roe called the meeting to order at
2:55 p.m. A reflection was read followed by a moment of
silence.
The minutes of the meeting on September 18,
2003 were approved unanimously.
I. Presentation by Sodexho on LMU food
service
Larry Alcorn and Gerard Turbush from Sodexho
gave the presentation. They discussed the changes in the food
service that occurred over the summer. Sodexho used focus groups to
determine the changes in the variety of food options.
While there have not been any price increases
over the past 4 years, prices this fall have increased
approximately 8.1%. The factors related to the increase in prices
included the cost of food and labor. Sodexho reported that wages
and benefits for its staff were increased resulting in a cost of
over $200,000. The commitment of Sodexho is to set prices at or
below market value using a tiered pricing strategy.
Q. Why are the prices for Sodehxo catering so
high?
A. Sodexho is currently evaluating the
catering policies and prices.
Q. Why are faculty and staff not allowed to
bring outside catering companies on campus for events?
A. Sodexho and LMU have a contract that gives
Sodexho the exclusive right to catering on campus. The
reason for this policy is related to insurance and health
issues.
The Faculty Senate will invite the Vice
President for Business and Finance, Tom Fleming, and the Assistant
Vice President for Business Affairs, Dan Forgeron, to come to a
Senate meeting to discuss the catering contract.
Q. How do you collect feedback about the
Sodexho services and what is the feedback?
A. Sodexho conducts a satisfaction survey in
the fall semester and during busy meal times the managerial staff
walks through the dining hall to make sure everything is running
smoothly. The feedback has included concerns about the
increase in prices in addition to positive comments about the
foodservice.
II. A Report by the Ad Hoc Committee on Merit
Reform
The Chair of the Merit Evaluation Committee,
Scott Wright, and the Faculty Senate Representative, Connie Weeks,
presented the Committee’s proposal for merit evaluation.
-Senators
asked questions regarding various components of the proposal.
A motion was made and seconded which was
unanimously approved to thank the Merit Reform Committee for their
work.
The proposal will be discussed further in the
upcoming Faculty Senate meetings. The Faculty Senate will then vote
on the proposal before it is presented to the entire Faculty.
III. Discussion on the Sodexho
Presentation
-Many Senators felt that the presentation was
insufficient.
-There is a need to be sure that the workers
are being taken care of and to determine if lowering the prices
will affect their salaries or benefits.
-The LMU prices need to be compared to prices
at other universities to see if there is a significant
difference.
-Omar Es-Said and Damon Rago will write a
resolution regarding food service prices and will present it at the
next Faculty Senate meeting.
IV. Announcements by the Senate President
-President Roe attended the recent Board of
Trustees Meeting. He reported to the
Trustees about the concern related to the
increased enrollment.
- President Roe, Vicki Graf and Bob Caro met
with a WASC team member regarding the implementation of the service
of faith and promotion of justice component of the University
mission statement.
- A consulting firm is coming to LMU to
conduct a faculty compensation study. President Roe will be meeting
with two consultants to determine how to involve the Economic
Status of the Faculty (ESOF) Committee and the Faculty Senate in
the planning of the study.
- President Roe reported on his meeting with
Fr. Lawton.
-A proposal is
being developed to evaluate administrators including the Deans and
Vice Presidents.
-Two Ad Hoc
Committees are being formed. The first committee will investigate
the feasibility of implementing 4 credit courses. The
committee has been formed but still needs a Chair. Following a
mandate from the President and the Cabinet, a committee has been
formed to develop a Faculty and Staff dating policy. James Roe and
Patricia Oliver will be members of the committee.
- President Roe
informed the President about the two resolutions passed during the
September Faculty Senate meeting. The Academic Vice
President, Dr. Jabbra, the Academic Grants Office, and Research
Committee were also informed about the resolutions, as
appropriate. The resolutions are also posted on the Faculty
Senate website.
V. Reports of the Senators
-Handbook Revisions by Matt Dillon
A sample format
for revising the Faculty Handbook was distributed. Most of
the
initial changes
involve renaming titles or redefining positions such as the Dean
rather than Director of the School of Education.
-Homework for the
next Faculty Senate meeting is to begin correcting Section 4 and to
report any changes on Blackboard.
-Special Elections by Thomas Zachariah
-A proposed
schedule was handed out to all the Senators. The dates listed
propose that nominations, voting, and tallying would all take place
before next month’s Faculty Senate meeting so that the new
Senators can be announced.
-Update from Suzanne O’Brien about her
investigation regarding the money from the over enrollment.
-She is gathering
information. It appears that the process of estimating the
approximate number of students each year is more of a science than
an art.
-Suzanne will give
the Faculty Senate a report once she has gathered the data.
President Roe
reported that Father Lawton said that the money will be held until
next semester to see how many students have enrolled in the spring
semester.
-ESOF by Edward Park
-The
Chair of the ESOF Committee is Professor of Psychology, Michael
Mills.
-The Committee
was concerned that the mission statement in the Faculty Handbook is
vague
-The Committee is
planning on developing a more detailed statement. The Faculty
Senate agreed that the mission statement might be able to be
changed but the current statement is sufficient. It was
recommended that ESOF could make adjustments and present them to
the Faculty Senate meeting next month.
VI. Resolution
The following resolution addressing the need
for a full-time racial/sexual harassment compliance advisor was
introduced.
Be it resolved that the University hire a
qualified person to oversee and implement University policies on
racial and sexual harassment. This person should also be
prepared to provide essential education on racial and sexual
harassment for students, faculty and staff with a goal to challenge
the patterns and practices of racial and sexual harassment and
prevent or limit the number of occurrences at Loyola Marymount
University.
While the scope and responsibilities for this
proposed position will be determined through consultation with
leaders within the campus community, the fact is that racial and
sexual harassment has the potential to keep us from fully realizing
the mission of Loyola Marymount University. Your affirmative
response to the inclusion of this position in this year’s
budget cycle would be greatly respected by the community.
Moved and seconded. Discussion followed
regarding the need for the position.
Call for the question – 10 in favor, 0
opposed, 2 abstentions
Motion was passed.
The Faculty Senate will discuss the
University’s position on giving benefits to domestic partners
and ESOF’s position regarding this topic. Edmundo
Litton offered to write an exploratory proposal to initiate the
discussion.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 p.m.
Next meeting: November 20, 2003
2:45
p.m.–5:00 p.m.
McIntosh
Submitted by: Victoria Graf
Prepared by: Amber Hager