February 25, 2002

Present: Robert Grainger, Michael Smith, Kathryn Neeley, Robert O'Connell, Houston Wood, III, George Cohen, Michael Levenson, Julian Connolly, Susan Perry, Robert Davis

Guests: · Leonard W. Sandridge, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer

· Nancy Rivers, Executive Assistant to the Vice President for Management and Budget

· James G. Clawson, Past Chair of the Faculty Grievance Committee

Robert Grainger, Chair of the Faculty Senate, called the meeting to order.

Discussion of House Bill 538 This bill would mandate all Virginia universities and colleges to put a faculty member on their boards of visitors. The bill has failed. Mr. Grainger asked for the Executive Council's reaction. Houston Wood commented that, generally, the faculty in the School of Engineering is wondering why the University of Virginia did not join other universities in favor of such a bill. Michael Levenson commented that the fact that the University did not get on board with this initiative made the Faculty Senate look bad. He said he is in favor of a faculty member being on the Board of Visitors. It was decided that the issue would be addressed with the full Senate at the meeting on February 28, 2002, and offer a resolution in favor of this bill.

Comments on the Legislative Session - Leonard W. Sandridge and Nancy Rivers Mr. Sandridge said new information is constantly becoming available . Mr. Sandridge gave an update on where the University stands regarding both the House and the Senate bills regarding State funding. He said that the Senate's bill is more favorable for the University than that of the House. The University is at 96% of their base budget guidelines, Mr. Sandridge said. Budget reductions would be partially made up through tuition increases - 6% in-State undergraduate (House bill), and 5% in-State undergraduate (Senate bill). The budget reduction for the first biennium is 4% and 3% for the second biennium, after all variables are applied, etc., tuition, Mr. Sandridge said. Mr. Sandridge explained the House and Senate bills regarding salary increases for 2003. The House bill proposes a 2.7% across the board salary increase for faculty and staff in December 2002, providing there is no downward projection of revenue adjustments. The Senate bill includes a pool of money equal to 2.5% of faculty base salary for fiscal year 2002-03 and 2% for fiscal year 2003-04. This salary increase would not be built into the base salary, and must be in the form of bonuses. For classified employees, the salary increase would be in the form of a bonus, or a choice of taking 10 days off each of the two years, instead of taking a bonus. Mr. Sandridge said research and public service centers, the Equipment Trust Fund, and maintenance facilities will all have substantial budget cuts. The administration is trying to sort through the University's long-term budget issues and address special/unusual budget issues. Mr. Wood asked how the budget cuts would affect the issue of tuition differentials. Mr. Grainger said this is a very important concern, and it will be addressed at another meeting, because of time restraints.

Faculty Discipline and Grievance Procedures - Mr. Grainger distributed two handouts - the faculty discipline guidelines and the revisions to the Faculty Senate Faculty Grievance Policies and Procedures. In Year 2000, the Faculty Grievance Committee, chaired by James Clawson, worked on the revisions to the Faculty Grievance Policies and Procedures. A Subcommittee drafted the faculty discipline guidelines. The members of that subcommittee are Rob Grainger, David Brautigan, Michael Smith, Gene Block, and Paul Forsch. The Council members discussed the faculty discipline policy and the revisions to the Grievance Committee's Policies and Procedures. Mr. Grainger will distribute the two documents to the full Senate in advance of the meeting on February 28. The adoption of the policy and the revisions to the Grievance Policies and Procedures will be voted on at the Faculty Senate meeting.

The meeting adjourned at 5:25 p.m.

Submitted by Kathryn A. Neeley, Secretary of the Faculty Senate