September 2019 Minutes

HCC FACULTY SENATE

September 13, 2019 @ 1:00 pm; Central College LHSB 100

Call to Order: Desmond Lewis
1. The meeting is called to order at 1:04pm.
Guests: Cesar Maldonado, Dr. Janet Wormack, Warren Hurd, and Carin Hutchins
1. Cesar Maldanado, Chancellor
  1. Transition from Transformation to Mosaic (Phase 4 of Transformation) and how this will call for changes to structure and support
    1. Software as a utility: customer relation software (CRM) – HCC has chosen Microsoft Dynamics
    2. CRM will provide qualitative and quantitative data for informed decision-making
  2. Sustainable budget: revenue streams that support our budget – he comments that Janet Wormack will speak more about this.

Access for faculty: no faculty member should be without what is necessary for the job; he encourages us to speak up for this.
1. When he is reminded on the floor that many of us have spoken up, he recognizes this is something HCC will continue to improve.

Q&A
1. Question, Jaime Hernandez
  1. Adjunct Faculty room at Central requires a badge swipe; getting access to this room is a very difficult and involved process. What can we do to facilitate this for adjuncts at our campuses?
    1. The Chancellor comments that, in this case, the system is keeping us from doing our jobs; he will bring this matter up with the campus presidents at a leadership meeting tomorrow, 9/14
    2. Discusses the need for a list of Directly Responsible Individual(s) (DRI) for campus needs. The list could be posted to the HCC website.

Question, Parish Conkling: could you promise that the list of DRIs will be on the website by the end of the semester (Fall 2019)?
1. Chancellor: Yes.

Question, Laurel Lacroix
1. Ad Astra Platinum (AAP) stresses campus growth when scheduling classes. How will we balance that with smaller campuses?
  1. Chancellor: As campuses grow, there will need to be leveling with the new system.
  2. Comment, Steve Levey: AAP looks at enrollment trends, but it will take some level of customization from the Ad Astra staff; they will need to understand our priorities, and trends will need to be adjusted in the system.
2. Question from the floor
  1. How can we encourage a seamless transition from current Department Chairs and Associate Chairs to new ones? These positions can be complex: the ideas of an earlier voting period and more in-depth training are mentioned.
    1. When asked by the Chancellor, Desmond Lewis agrees to investigate early voting. Maldonado thinks HCC can also develop training.
    2. Comment, Mary Lawson: Chair Caucus has discussed the idea of the new Chair having a full teaching release the summer before to work with the outgoing Chair.
      1. Chancellor Maldonado would support such a release.

Comment, Alan Ainsworth: COE group feedback – number of credit hours required for a department chair is too high for some smaller workforce programs
1. Chancellor: Workforce is more of a struggle in terms of growth because these are newer programs—compared to academics // we need to reassess numbers; current number of Chairs and Associate Chairs is based on 2015 data.

Question, Helen Graham
1. We hear about the ultimate student experience, but some locations do not have more than the basics. (Examples: no opens labs due to lack of staff, no libraries) Let your leadership team know that we will be holding them accountable for access and equity.
  1. Chancellor: libraries and scheduling – when use is extremely low, keeping locations becomes a fiscal decision
    1. Comment, Keith Robinson: full-service libraries are open seven days a week; ERC(s) are staffed M-Th and Fridays, but most are closed on weekends. The Missouri City location does not have a dedicated ERC, but Stafford librarians go over a few times each week to provide resources.
    2. Chancellor: we have an MOU with the county library there to provide the missing resources, so perhaps there is an issue with communication.
      1. Keitha Robinson will email Bill Hord for Southwest to check on this; Juanna Shin comments that the MOU never went through.
      2. Chancellor will discuss this with the college presidents at the leadership meeting tomorrow.
    3. Question, Charles LaMendola
      1. At a minimum, adjunct faculty need adequate supplies and secure spaces for storage, etc. Salary and scheduling also remains a concern. What could we do to immediately address these things?
        
        Chancellor: while I don’t doubt your information, my understanding after touring the campuses is that we have the spaces.
        
        Charles LaMendola: perhaps the problem is adjunct faculty don’t know the locations of spaces or procedures for supplies. The list of DRIs could assist with this. (See 2, a, iv, 1)
        
        Salary: Chancellor will follow up with Desmond Lewis and the Senate Compensation Committee. The salary data shows that we are competitive with the two large Houston community colleges, but Warren Hurd will be conducting a compensation study across all areas to ensure this is the case.
      2. Question, Jennifer Vacca:
        
        Adjunct Academy and Adjunct Caucus are the only real options available. Could we develop a taskforce for exploring adjunct issues? As one of the largest community colleges, HCC could set the bar with this.
        
        We cannot achieve our mission without our adjunct professors. Chancellor will leave this up to faculty but will work with Faculty Senate on whatever recommendation brought forward.
        
        Question from the floor
        
        Bookstore hours do not always align with student classes. This creates an issue for student success. Are we going to look at renegotiation when the contract is up to address those concerns?
        
        It’s a five-year contract that is up in 2021, so we will look at that. We want to hold them to a higher level of performance and responsiveness.
        
        Janet Wormack, Senior Vice-Chancellor of Finance and Administration & CFO
        
        Tax adoption approved
        
        Did not recommend a tax increase
        
        Budget surplus
        
        Due to an ultra-conservative stance

Contracts

New hires
Onboarding
1. An adjunct compiled a list of 26 things that HCC should be doing; Wormack forwarded that to Talent Engagement and there should be improvements moving forward.
Universal Design update (UD), Melissa Miller-Waters
1. MMW discusses how UD falls under the Office of Institutional Equity and Title IX; it’s the idea that we should create spaces that are accessible for everyone. However, there are spatial issues and design elements to take into accounts; Facilities is working on a study to see what spaces are being used and how.

Safety and Security
1. Wormack has asked the HCC Police Chief to create a comprehensive safeguarding system that will be fully implemented over the next two to three years.
  1. In the next few weeks, everyone will get a new badge which will allow for better access to certain spaces (See 2, a, iv, 1)
  2. His team will be more visible at the campuses.
  3. We all need to feel secure in our spaces, so he will also be working with campus presidents and campus managers to address areas. We are looking at keeping certain doors closed to the public and ensuring that we know who is using our locations (faculty, staff, students, and visitors)
    1. Guest access for library
    2. Visitor badges and parking

New Parking Decals: a new system for parking (T2 Systems)
1. Wormack comments that we will eventually have to pay to park.
2. Parish Conkling: will there be a committee or forum for discussion?
3. Wormack: there will be a committee, and there will be faculty representation on it.
4. Question, Jaime Hernandez
  1. Couldn’t we further reduce costs by cutting back on senior-level administrative positions?
  2. Wormack defers to Dr. Norma Perez (not present) on this issue.
5. Warren Hurd, Executive Director of Administrative Services and Carin Hutchins, Associate Vice-Chancellor of Finance and Accounting
  1. T&E Card
    1. This works in conjunction with the $2000 in professional development funds. Pre-authorization is required when using this card, but this can alleviate some of the problems from the virtual card. To avoid problems, be sure to request your card well before a trip.
      1. Question, Dae Jan Grigsby
        
        What if you go over the $2000 balance? When you come back, will you be reimbursed?
        
        If after traveling, you have an overage from the authorized $2000 Concur fund, you will have to discuss payment with your department. There is no guarantee that your department will have the funds, though.
        
        Question from the floor
        
        can we use the card for professional fees?
        
        Yes, but you will still need to get pre-authorization. something about per diem
        
        Question, Daniel Dylla
        
        Is the card a requirement?
        
        No—just a convenience. If you want to apply for it, you can go to the Travel & Expense Center on MyHCC.
        
        Question from the floor
        
        Can we put the card in our Uber account?
        
        You can if the trips are listed on your approved expenses.
        
        Questions, Mehmet Argin
        
        Can you come to our campuses to assist with the T&E process? Is the card valid for more than one year?
        
        Question, Gladys Bel
        
        what is the deadline for using travel money for 9- and 10.5-month contracts?
        
        Before the card, it was July, but we may need to adjust that for faculty traveling while on-contract; we will need to establish guidelines.
        
        Since those off-contract typically need to use departmental funds that might not be available, we might need to look at establishing earlier dates for summer travel requests.

Approval of August 2019 Minutes
1. David Ross moves to approve the August 2019 minutes; many delegates immediately second this. The minutes are approved as-is.
2. David Ross moves that we move immediately to Old Business. Many delegates immediately second this. The question is called, and the motion is approved.

Old (unfinished) Business:
1. Faculty Senate President Election for 2020-2021
  1. Alan Ainsworth questions Kathy Najafi’s nomination from last meeting and requests that she be nominated again. (Re: her initial nomination could be deemed invalid as she was nominated as a candidate before she was elected in the special At-Large election)
    1. President-Elect candidate Daniel Dylla immediately nominates Kathy Najafi; this is seconded on the floor.
  2. Mohamad Tlass nominated Pamela Bilton-Beard by email; David Ross and others second her nomination. Bilton-Beard accepts the nomination.

David Ross moves that nominations for President-Elect be closed. This is seconded. After a vote, nominations are closed.

Desmond Lewis recognizes that there will be 3-minute speeches from each candidate. No questions are allowed.
1. Mahmoud Basharat requests that we be allowed to ask questions to the candidates.
2. David Ross urges that we not do allow questions as this would not be fair to the new candidate, Pamela Bilton-Beard.
3. Point of Order, Laurel Lacroix – any question(s) asked must be the same for each candidate. However, question(s) would need to be approved by Senate in advance of the September meeting.
4. Nathan Smith calls the question. The Senate votes by a show of hands: 5 for questions // the rest of the delegates present vote against.
5. Russell Davis will keep time for the candidates’ speeches.
Candidate speeches: one-by-one, candidates enter to give a speech to the delegates and after, leave the room to wait in the hall.
After the candidates have finished speeches:
1. Point of order, David White: we have four candidates, and it could be that a simple majority wins. But what about in the event of a run-off?
  1. There is much discussion about the number of candidates for this election and what this could mean.
2. Point of Order, Nathan Smith: we still have a question on the floor – how do we deal with the idea of the run-off?
3. Point of Order, David Ross: if there is a tie for top three, we have a run-off. Then, we will have a run-off for top two.
4. Point of Order, Stacey Higdon: in the absence of the Vice-President, the Secretary runs the election.
  1. Higdon, then, calls for an official roll call.
  2. Higdon calls names of current delegates and recognizes official proxies. Laurel LaCroix and David Ross distribute numbered ballots as names are called.
  3. After voting, Laurel Lacroix and Darin Baskin count the ballots.
5. The candidates are invited back into the room, and Desmond Lewis announces the winner to the Senate floor.
  1. Daniel Dylla is the new President-Elect.
6. David Ross moves that Senate return to the regular order of the meeting. Many delegates immediately second this. The motion is approved.

Standing Committee Reports:
Compensation, Benefits, & Workload: Tod Bisch – Stacey Higdon reporting
1. Continued exploration of goals for the current academic year
  1. Continued discussion for full transparency
  2. Credentialing standards

Stipends: external chart

Salary equity for terminal degrees
ORP funds
1. Specifically, the discrepancy regarding the recent boost for TRS funds but not ORP. There will be a resolution presented under New Business.
Adjunct pay period
1. The waiting period until the end of September seems like it could be resolved.
Finance & Treasurer’s Report: Mary Lawson
1. Lawson shows the Treasurer’s Report on screen and discusses the numbers.
  1. 1119, the Bedichek-Orman Endowment currently lists no money for spending; this is due to a dip in the market.
    1. Question from the floor
      1. There is no Bedichek-Orman money?
        
        There are Bedichek-Orman funds available; you can still apply for those.
      2. 1605, the Rita Kelly Memorial Scholarship Endowed Fund and 1180, Janice Sutton Memorial Scholarship Endowed Fund are at zero dollars for spending because the money for the term was used; this means all funds were distributed.

The Finance Committee needs to begin meeting again; if interested, please send Mary Lawson an email.

Professional Development: Mia Taylor – no report
Educational Affairs: Nikky Boutte-Heiniluoma – David White reporting
1. Desmond Lewis gave the charge for seeking scholarships; Lewis will discuss the details in his report.
  1. David Ross suggests that this charge could be a collaboration with Student Success.
2. Academic rigor, the use of Maxient as a reporting tool, academic integrity
  1. Maxient reporting has tripled.
3. Meetings are held the Wednesdays before Senate at 2pm in SJAC .
Policies and Procedures: Laurel Lacroix
1. We intend to work on the Faculty Handbook’s erroneous/missing information; the CE portion is still blank.
2. Meetings are held the second Thursday at West Loop in C141-B. Email Laurel Lacroix for more information about the committee.
Student Success: Kathy Najafi
1. Mehmet Argin: mandatory student orientation is now in place
2. Email Kathy Najafi for more information about the committee.
Graduation: Darin Baskin
1. Two graduation ceremonies: one on December 6 and one on May 15 at UH
2. Change to format: the move will be to have a student speaker; larger role for faculty
3. Questions, Mahmoud Basharat and David White
  1. Will we be required to attend both? Is there a limit as to how many faculty can attend each ceremony?
    1. You only have to attend one. And, yes, there is a limit.
  2. Parking will likely be free for the event.
  3. The center can only hold 1100 or so on the floor, so faculty will have to sit above the floor (i.e. bleacher-style seating)
  4. Question, Mehmet Argin
    1. How many graduates did we have?
      1. This past year, we had close to 3700.
    2. Email Darin Baskin for more information about the committee.
  5. Instructional Technology: Stacey Higdon
    1. Goal for the year: to foster a sense of belonging. Desmond Lewis gave a charge for an HCC radio station; he will give more details in his report.
    2. Continued exploration of goals for the current academic year
    3. Outdated links and information on the HCC site
    4. Integration of Peoplesoft and Canvas for grades
    5. Discussion of Faculty Senate website
      1. New domain—but still separate from HCC
    6. Diversity and Inclusion: Helen Graham
      1. Meetings are held the first Monday of the month at 3pm in SJAC.
      2. Email Helen Graham for more information about the committee.

Special Reports, Committees and Caucuses:
Past Presidents: Melissa Miller-Waters – Darin Baskin reporting
1. In the process of putting together a forum for the new trustee candidates. Currently, there are 5 running for 2 seats. This would be a meet-and-greet the last week of September of the first week of October.
Chair Caucus: Nikky Boutte-Heiniluoma – no report
Adjunct Caucus: Charles LaMendola
1. We meet the day of Senate in LHSB 306 at Central Campus. Email Charles LaMendola for more information.
2. Encourage adjunct faculty to complete the survey.
Bedichek-Orman Auction: Linda Graham and Sheryl Ballard
1. Auction will be November 1 at West Loop campus
2. A meeting will be this coming Thursday.
3. Gently used items for the rummage sale; sponsored tables; donations
Faculty Conference: Debra Schultz and Keitha Robinson
1. Volunteers needed; see the sign-up sheet in front.
All-Faculty Retreat: Helen Graham – no report
HCC Foundation: Antrece Baggett & Mary Lawson
1. Mary Lawson: the goal is $25,000, and we are already halfway there // two ways to help are by increasing payroll deduction or purchasing one of the new HCC license plates. The plates cost $30 with $22 going back to scholarships.

President’s Report: Desmond Lewis
1. Instructional Day and other meetings for adjuncts
  1. There will be coordination at the dean/department chair level to ensure better scheduling of events.
2. Board action for Gulfton Center
  1. Nothing will move forward until at least January 2020
3. District II Trustee
  1. Maxine Lane-Seals has replaced Dave Wilson
4. Seeking HCC Alumni for 50th anniversary
5. Canvas to Peoplesoft grade integration
  1. Possible date of Spring 2020
6. HCC helpline
  1. Pressing the option for faculty grants priority; the helpline is also working to ensure adequate coverage
7. Ad Astra Platinum
  1. Moving forward, this will allow for granular data for scheduling classes
8. Facilities
  1. Poor facilities will be addressed.
9. Strategic Plan for the Senate
  1. Policies & Procedures: committee charge of a Memorial Wall for faculty that recognizes start dates
  2. Instructional Technology: committee charge of building a sense of belonging // HCC online radio
    1. Desmond Lewis had already met with many of the campus presidents and with Todd Duplantis, the director of HCCTV Communications. An online station would be a low cost and would allow for access to information.

Compensation: no committee charge currently

Diversity & Inclusion: committee charge that focuses on Cultural Awareness, Puente, Reading Culture, and Women Empowerment / Women in Leadership
Educational Affairs: committee charge to work with the Foundation and locate 50 kindergarten students to give full scholarships to HCC.
Student Success: committee charge of “Bring a Friend to Class” initiative
1. This is to bring someone to campus—not into the classroom.
2. Desmond Lewis is working out the details.

Professional Development
1. Desmond Lewis has met with Kurt Ewen to discuss undergraduate research and working to make travel to museums easier
  1. One of two grant applications will request money for undergraduate research

Promoting ideas for businesses // partnership with the Center for Entrepreneurship

Seed funding and earmarking money for adjuncts

New Business:
1. David White, Perceptions of Senate by the faculty as a whole
  1. Only 75 applied to be in Senate during the call for initial nominations, requiring a special election to bring the Senate to full strength. This was unprecedented.
  2. Perception that Senate no longer represents the faculty—that leadership is in it only to get to better administrative positions.
    1. Point of Order, Alan Ainsworth: where is this going?
    2. David White: do we need a code for officers and members to follow?
      1. Mary Lawson: the perception may be out there, but there was an issue with ballots going out to faculty.
      2. Karen Yip: there was also an issue with the election timeline.
      3. Question from the floor
        
        Are people complaining that people go forward to other positions?
        
        David White: 4 of the 5 past presidents have gone on to work at 3100. The perception exists.
        
        Darin Baskin to David White: I do not take offense; however, why can’t a faculty member move forward to leadership?
        
        Point of Order, Alan Ainsworth: we must make a motion or drop this discussion. It is getting us nowhere.
        
        David White formally makes a motion that we refer this to Policies and Procedures.
        
        David Ross questions the “this” // we can’t change perception, but we can work with an actual proposal.
        
        There is much discussion on the floor.
        
        Point of Order, Daniel Dylla: was the motion seconded? Can there be discussion?
        
        Someone confirms it was seconded; Dylla withdraws his statement.
        
        Nathan Smith: if a Senate President’s goal is to get to administration, this could be a valid criticism.
        
        Parish Conkling reminds delegates that Senate is open to anyone; Marlinda Karo discusses the idea of livestreaming the meetings.
        
        David White yields the issue.
        
        Desmond Lewis requests we table the discussion for now and revisit it if it requires further investigation. He also states that he takes offense with this issue, believing it to be a misperception.
        
        ORP resolution
        
        David Ross moves that we table this resolution until next meeting. (re: the meeting is already past the 3-hour mark, and it will not get the necessary attention.) Many delegates immediately second this, and the motion is approved.
        
        Announcements:
        
        Women’s Caucus, Dae Jan Grigsby
        
        This aligns with the current work of Women in Leadership. This would be an opportunity for women to network or mentor. We also want this to be open to more than just faculty, too. If interested, there is a sign-up sheet.
        
        Question, Robin Raborn: is this affiliated with AWA?
        
        No, but we have similar goals.
        
        Adjournment (no “second” required)
        
        The meeting is adjourned at 4:21pm

NEXT MEETING: October 11, 2019

1PM at Central’s Learning Hub, Room 100

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