Members Present: Mary Lou Arugeta, Andy DeGrove, Nancy Dillard, Tori Ellison, Bill Haggard, Jane Hall, Fred Hinson, Casey Hurley, Don Livingston, Carolyn Parris, Will Peebles, John Ritchie, Linda Sutton, Dave Whitaker, and Kathy Wright.
Members Absent: Robert Blankenship, Lisa Bloom, Dianne Cook, Joe Cowan, Jeanine Knowles (Meeting conflict), Bob Orr (Meeting conflict), JJ Rowe, and Roger Turk (Meeting conflict)
The meeting was called to order by Casey at 10:08 a.m. Jane reported that the meeting on May 9 at 5 in the Mary Will Mitchell Room. There will be a short break between the meeting and dinner. The room will have 4 tables of 6 and Fred reported that the room would hold 40 people with no difficulty.
After approval of the minutes, the discussion of the group began to steer itself toward selection of officers and committee chairs. John believed that it would be more prudent to wait until discussion had been concluded about the UAC document being approved or altered before selecting officers.
As an aside, Nancy voiced concern about getting enough feedback. She noted that while there were members from all groups on the UAC, forming schedules that will the maximum number of members seems like a vital component to ensure adequate discussion and inclusion of University matters.
The Ten Standards of Good Governance were debated and were approved as submitted by the UACTF and the TFUG. Kathy was concerned that Item 8, which included feedback and communication of that material, needed to be as all conclusive and timely as possible. Jane and Andy mentioned that there was no closure until there was feedback from the Chancellor. Dave reported that since no parliamentary language was present or necessary to accept a Standard, Casey stated that these Standards would be accepted as written. Kathy was satisfied to leave Standard 8 as it was as long as special attention was paid to that section. Don mentioned that if feedback was not given to the Council's satisfaction, we could initiate that feedback of our own volition.
The next item entailed the discussion of the Overview of the UAC's Purpose and Structure. Don mentioned an omission in stating that there were only 3 constituencies instead of 4. The correction was noted and has been corrected. Casey asked for feedback on paragraphs 5 and 6.
Dave mentioned that there was a lack of understanding concerning the University and its operations. It would be helpful to define dynamics, The Code and its function, the administrative structure of WCU, etc. There was mention that this conflict may also exist among other groups, like the Staff and Administration. Casey summarized that the students were in a unique position because they did not really understand the operation of the University. Do students need an orientation to become fully functioning members of the UAC? Nancy offered a suggestion to allow students to attend open meetings to gage their function, and perhaps form a group to orient students to the functions of the University. Bill mentioned that this function would be part of the Leadership and Communication Committee.
Andy followed up on Bill's point by stating that the purpose of members is to represent the University wide perspective, and not their own constituency group. Casey mentioned it would be very helpful to speak your mind and Andy agreed by stating that, in the end, what was good for the university would be good for each of the constituent groups.
Dave tried to articulate how students may see their place in this framework. Andy agreed and mentioned that whatever the issue is, this was the place for people to make their voices heard. Casey talked for a moment about the consensus model and that our purpose was to offer advice and guidance, but not to vote or make policy.
Looking at the final recommendation, Casey instructed the group to read for comments. John raised the comment about the terms/calendar year being from August to August or January to January. Nancy offered comments and support to form the calendar to August to August, and discussion agreed that the Faculty Senate is structured the same way. Fred mentioned that there would be no activity from the Faculty or Students, but that the Staff would do their own thing.
After additional discussion, Casey began to lay out a preliminary view of the calendar for next year. Most items that this group considered would be enacted at the beginning of the following academic year. Terms for members were also discussed and each constituent group had its own criteria for selection and length of service. Dave mentioned leaving out the quantitative language and simply state that length of term would be left to the individual groups.
Another question posed was the possibility of term limits for officers or committee members and their chairpersons. After additional discussion, it was decided that all appointments will be for one year terms. Members may be re-elected for an unlimited number of terms after their first term is over. There will be no proxy votes or proxy language in the bylaws or mission statement. It was also mentioned that it would be helpful to have job descriptions for officers and Committee Chairs.
Carolyn voiced concerns about the lack of a vehicle for getting information to groups. She has been associated with the university for many years but had no idea of some of the functions of it. She also mentioned that there are members of the staff who cannot read or write. She suggested that there must be some way to distribute information to all members of our community. Jane suggested that the Communication Committee analyze ways to construct an outreach component to the council in order to reach all our citizens.
Jane, Bill and Casey agreed that they would, as a group, construct a memorandum to the Chancellor concerning the possibility of forming a budget for the UAC. Those folks will report at the next meeting.
Election of officers and Committee Chairs will occur at our next meeting. Casey asked that everyone bring their tentative Fall schedules so a date can be chosen for our first meeting next year.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:25 AM.
Respectfully submitted,
David A. Whitaker
Acting Secretary |
