October 2019 Minutes

HCC FACULTY SENATE

October 11, 2019 @ 1:00 pm; Central College LH-100

Call to Order: Desmond Lewis
1. The meeting is called to order at 1:00pm.

Guests: Zandra Henderson, Cydney Peters and Janet May
1. Any questions should be tabled and sent to Desmond Lewis via email.
  1. C. Peters, Bedichek-Orman auction
    1. Friday, November 1 at West Loop campus – proceeds benefit the Bedichek-Orman operating fund // donations can be taken to the West Loop library or any of the other locations until October 25.
      1. Comment, Keitha Robinson: if you drop off items at one of the other library locations, please include the donation form.
      2. Comment, Mary Lawson: sponsored tables are $200 and seat 8 people.
        
        C.Peters: sponsors will also be recognized on screen and in the program.
    2. The auction is a free event but go online to register in advance. You can receive a prize package.
  2. Payroll Deduction
    1. This is an important way to support the Faculty and Staff campaign. You can also make a one-time donation.
      1. A short video about the campaign went out through a recent e-blast.
      2. If you’ve already set this up or have increased your donation, speak to Antrece Baggett or Mary Lawson about getting your HCC button.
  3. Janet May, Women in Leadership program
    1. Concept – women (and champions of women) supporting one another in leadership
      1. Spring and Summer 2019 for research
      2. Fall 2019 for launch
      3. Evelyn Velasquez, Helen Graham, and Antrece Baggett are the faculty that have been involved in the development.
    2. 4 programs
      1. COPA and financial literacy for the two in-person events // two webinars for Fall 2019
      2. Panel discussion of men who champion women for Spring (in development) // webinar about how to recognize abusive behaviors for Spring 2020
    3. Mentoring program (in development)
    4. J. May shares some statistics about women in leadership roles and at HCC. After, she asks for comments and questions.
      1. Comment, Alan Ainsworth
        
        The Women’s Caucus is developing out of Senate.
      2. Question from the floor
        
        Is this open to men who want to be leaders, men who want to help women become leaders, or both?
        
        Focus is on women becoming leaders, but program is open to all—regardless of gender.
      3. Question, Erica Stevens
        
        Statistically, women make up the majority of HCC faculty. But could we see a further breakdown of how many of those are faculty leaders?
        
        Janet May will pull this information.
      4. Question from the floor: are the earlier statistics for full-time only?
        
        Yes. Part-time numbers are not stable.
      5. Question, David White
        
        Will HCC speed up the annual faculty hiring timetable so that we can attract more women and more diverse populations?
        
        Yes; we are working to implement a date for early spring.

Approval of September 2019 Minutes.
1. Laurel Lacroix makes a motion to approve the minutes. David Ross seconds. David Ross calls the question, and it is seconded. The minutes pass as-is.

Standing Committee Reports:

Compensation, Benefits, & Workload: Tod Bisch
1. CE workload
  1. This committee is reconvening.
2. Transparency
  1. List of germane degrees from Mark Tengler
    1. Germane degrees are those that pertain to specific disciplines.
  2. CE workload from department chairs
    1. This information will assist the CE Workload committee.
  3. MFA and JD as terminal
    1. Concerns about the MFA stipend: it does not apply to all MFAs and stipends are not included in retirement funds.
      1. Who was on the committee that made this decision?
        
        Darin Baskin comments that he has that information; Tod Bisch will speak to him later.
      2. Currently, 7 academic / some workforce recognize the JD as terminal degree.
  4. Adjunct Pay Timetable
    1. Alan Ainsworth spoke with Hina Naik in Talent Engagement about speeding this up // the response was that it should possible for fall of next year; the committee will see about pushing this for Spring 2020.
3. Continuing to draft goals
4. Working on a survey for the next meeting dates
  1. There are conflicts as November 1 is Bedichek-Orman and December 6 is graduation.
5. Question, Charles LaMendola: did HCC consider the MFA as terminal degrees at one time?
  1. Yes; this was changed a few years ago; before, the MFA was paid at Ph.D. level.
Finance & Treasurer’s Report: Mary Lawson
1. The October Treasurer’s Report is projected on screen. While there is not much change, some Bedichek-Orman grants have been awarded to adjuncts.
2. The Finance and Fundraising committee will meet the last Monday of each month. If interested in joining this committee, email Mary Lawson.
Professional Development: Mia Taylor
1. Mia Taylor provided a video for her report. However, due to audio issues in LHSB 101, Desmond Lewis will send the video out via email.
Educational Affairs: Nikky Boutte-Heiniluoma – Laurel Lacroix reporting
1. Maxient reporting is improved from last year.
2. Academic Rigor
  1. Dr. Perez is dissatisfied with the current definition of rigor and wants something that focuses more on measurability. Therefore, a committee is convening to look at rigor at HCC.
    1. The committee development is still in progress; at the moment, Nikky Boutte-Heiniluoma and Desmond Lewis will serve.
      1. Multiple delegates also want to ensure there will be strong faculty representation—not just faculty leaders—from different divisions.
3. General concern about faculty morale
4. Ongoing Dual-credit issues
  1. These issues will be discussed with the P-16 directors.
Policies and Procedures: Laurel Lacroix
1. Revisions for the Faculty Handbook
  1. There are still some missing pieces (example: CE), so Policies and Procedures is looking at the handbook and will assist.
    1. Question, David Ross
      1. What is the timeline for revisions?
        
        Next month
    2. Comment, Desmond Lewis
      1. Right now, the edits are only grammatical; major things like content issues will come later.
Student Success: Kathy Najafi
1. Initiative for Technology
  1. Ensuring all students have access to Canvas training
    1. The committee will reach out to the librarians to ensure Canvas training in available on weekdays and weekends. Information will also be on orientation / registration websites.
    2. Canvas-savvy faculty may also be options for training.
    3. Student Success wants mandatory training for students taking online courses.
  2. Ensuring all faculty have Canvas shells
    1. Mahmoud Basharat comments department chairs are the ones that control this process; Kathy Najafi will speak to Desmond Lewis and Nikky Boutte-Heiniluoma about how best to approach this.
  3. Canvas training for faculty
    1. Gladys Bel asks about the number of hours required for the Canvas training. Kathy Najafi comments that the answer hinges on a person’s comfort / skill with technology.
    2. Najafi discusses the existing the LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda.com) training thing and the required certification process for online instructors.
      1. Darin Baskin has suggested three levels of training: one for online, one for hybrid, and one for face-to-face. Currently, he believes the existing training is too complex and is not applicable to everyone; there should be new modules that are more user-friendly and less time-consuming.
  4. Student Success meets on the day of Senate in LHSB 117. Email Kathy Najafi for details.
Graduation: Darin Baskin
1. December graduation
  1. Only 400 faculty can attend; 200 have already registered.
  2. Only 68 students have registered, so this could be a much smaller ceremony than the one in May.
    1. Question from the floor
      1. Do all of the advisors know about the ceremony?
        
        This information is communicated from Student Services.
  3. Guest speaker will be the Board of Trustees chair.
2. Graduation committee
  1. The 6 who emailed Darin Baskin are now on the committee.
  2. There will be a meeting soon.
Instructional Technology: Stacey Higdon
1. Campus Technology committee
  1. This committee is convening through Information Technology and will include faculty representation.
2. Service Now
  1. This is a one-stop shop for IT tickets and requests; eventually Talent Engagement and other services will be available here.
  2. The vanity URL is hccs.edu/snow
3. Copying and printing
  1. The Xerox contract has expired and is now month-to-month; IT is currently investigating a different method for printing.
    1. William Carter is working to resolve the faculty copying situation at Spring Branch campus.
Diversity and Inclusion: Helen Graham
1. No report

Special Reports, Committees and Caucuses:

Past Presidents: Melissa Miller-Waters – Darin Baskin reporting
1. Meet-and-Greet events
  1. There will be a meet-and-greet with the candidates for Trustees on October 23. Location and details will follow.
  2. There will be a second forum in November after the election.
Chair Caucus: Nikky Boutte-Heiniluoma – Laurel Lacroix reporting
1. There was a recent meeting with Norma Perez to discuss low enrollment classes and Master Scheduling / Ad Astra issues.
  1. Statistics for low enrollment classes will be pulled.
Adjunct Caucus: Charles LaMendola
1. LaMendola overviews the preliminary survey results; a more complete version of those findings will be available in November or December.
  1. Email Charles LaMendola or Tod Bisch for the raw survey data.
Bedichek-Orman Auction: Linda Graham and Sheryl Ballard
1. October 25is the deadline for donations.
2. Donations (with donation form) and departmental baskets can be dropped off at West Loop library or any of the other library locations.
Faculty Conference: Debra Schultz and Keitha Robinson
1. No report
All-Faculty Retreat: Helen Graham
1. No report
HCC Foundation: Antrece Baggett & Mary Lawson
1. Faculty and Staff campaign
  1. Consider either setting up payroll deduction or increasing your existing payroll deduction. This is an easy way to contribute.
  2. In September, the Foundation had a special meeting to discuss the new campaign.
    1. As of August 1, the Foundation has awarded over $1 billion in scholarships.

President’s Report: Desmond Lewis
1. Answers from last meeting
  1. Desmond Lewis has a list of responses from administration that he reviews for the Senate; these are more complete answers to the questions posed to the Chancellor at the last meeting.
    1. Ad Astra Platinum (AAP)
      1. AAP will focus on trends and degree maps to promote better scheduling and balance scheduling at the larger and smaller campuses.
    2. Directly Responsible Individuals (DRIs)
      1. Warren Hurd is working on this to ensure that people know the correct DRIs. DRIs would be responsible for filling classroom / campus and supply needs.
  2. Faculty workspaces / access to copiers
    1. Jerome Drain and Warren Hurd are working on these issues and are working with IT to ensure everything is in order / that we have access.
      1. As Desmond Lewis learns about new issues at meetings, he brings these to the Vice-Chancellor.
  3. New Department Chairs, seamless transition
    1. Better training is in progress; no details are known at this time as this discussion took place on October 9.
  4. Number of faculty leaders
    1. The data is under review with specific attention to Centers of Excellence with no chairs.
  5. Missouri City, ERC thing
    1. The MOU from Fort Bend County is pending review.
  6. Bookstore hours
    1. HCC and Barnes and Noble are in alignment per contract.
  7. Faculty badges and access
    1. Desmond Lewis met with William Carter about this; Carter has provided D. Lewis with a timeline for fixing problems; Lewis will work with S. Higdon on these points.
2. Comment, Antrece Baggett
  1. Issue with timeline for bookstore and ordering
    1. A student in an 8-week online class has only just gotten her book from the bookstore.
      1. David Ross comments that if a student is on financial aid, she has to get the book from the bookstore. Therefore, if it can be documented that the bookstore cannot deliver the text in a timely manner, it stands to reason that the student should be eligible for a 100% refund.
      2. Desmond Lewis asks Baggett to speak further with him about the issue.

Old (unfinished) Business:
1. Faculty Senate Resolution Regarding Matching District ORP Contributions with that of TRS
  1. Tod Bisch provides the Senate with some context and reads the resolution.
  2. David Ross seconds the resolution; the Senate votes unanimously to approve it.
New Business:
1. Ad-Hoc investigative committee investigating termination
  1. Robin Raborn reporting
    1. This committee would look at the termination of Maria Straus, former Dean of College Readiness.
      1. The idea of such a committee was discussed at a previous meeting. Ad-Hoc committees, though, only exist for one term, so we need to revisit this business. It is now open for discussion.
      2. Question from the floor
        
        Would this committee create a guideline, or would it just look at the termination?
        
        Currently, it would not set a guideline.
      3. Resolution, David Ross
        
        Be it resolved that the Faculty Senate establishes an ad-hoc committee to invest the circumstances of the termination of Dr. Maria Strauss and that this committee will report its finding to the Faculty Senate.
        
        David White seconds the resolution.
      4. Comments, Kathy Najafi
        
        This could become something that is blocked by Human Resources; however, Faculty Senate could bring forward an initiative / suggestion.
        
        Right now, deans can be terminated at-will. At one time, there was an option to go back to faculty, but this was not an option for Straus.
      5. Comment, Steve Levey
        
        The move to faculty was a one-time offer during Phase I of Transformation.
      6. Comment, Alan Ainsworth
        
        But this is inconsistent; there are several examples of this happening on the Student Services side.
      7. Comment, Genny Stevens
        
        We need to sort out what happened in this case; this is not just about Straus.
      8. Comment, Jaime Hernandez
        
        In one case, a faculty leader was given the option to retire; why were things different for Straus?
      9. Comment from the floor
        
        How can this drive the mission of the Senate?
        
        Raborn and others comment that this affects faculty morale and creates an environment where faculty are afraid to speak up.
      10. Question, Daniel Dylla
        
        Is this the type of committee the Senate should create?
        
        Darin Baskin comments the Senate should do this.
      11. Point of Order, Alan Ainsworth
        
        Since this is an ad-hoc committee, couldn’t Desmond Lewis just convene it?
      12. David Ross calls the question in order to end discussion. This is seconded and approved.
      13. Vote for the Ad-hoc committee
        
        The Senate votes by a show of hands. The majority of the Senate votes for the ad-hoc committee // 4 vote against.
      14. Serving on the committee
        
        Speak to Robin Raborn after the meeting, if interested.
Announcements:
1. Stacey Higdon
  1. Robert’s Rules of Order cheat sheet is available on Senate website.
2. Desmond Lewis
  1. A representative is needed for the Campus Technology committee. This person would serve on the committee along with Stacey Higdon. (Please speak to D. Lewis after the meeting, if interested.)
3. Kathy Najafi
  1. Monthly podcast featuring the voices of HCC faculty: each faculty member would discuss a different topic. (Please speak to K. Najafi after the meeting, if interested.)
4. Robin Raborn
  1. The Faculty Senate Diversity and Inclusion committee will host a career-oriented clothing drive the week of November 11. HCC library locations will collect the clothing. More information about the drive will follow via email.

Adjournment (no “second” required)
1. The meeting is adjourned at 3:00pm.

NEXT MEETING: November 8, 2019

1PM at Central’s Learning Hub, Room 100

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