Present: SEC: Chairman Robert Bley-Vroman, Noel Kent, Bill Lampe, Barry Raleigh, Martha Staff, Jim Tiles and Robert Valliant.
Also present: Chancellor Denise Konan (4:50-), VC Gary Ostrander (4:35-5:10), VC Cathy Cutshaw (4:35-), VC Neal Smatresk (4:40-), Executive Assistant Myrtle Yamada (4:30-).
Senate Secretary Charlotte Mitsutani was present.
The minutes of Oct 17 were approved.
The meeting began with a discussion of 10 points proposed by the Chair to improve functionality, clarify roles and enhance Manoa autonomy. These came from the Sept 26 meeting of the SEC.
reportingto the President
The committee discussed the nature of the relationship between the system and Manoa and how it might be clarified. Should a task force study it and come up with suggestions? Should the President make suggestions? Should the Chancellor make suggestions? How could the SEC ensure that any suggestions or proposals for changes would actually be carried out?
The discussions covered both offices and both upcoming searchs.
During the discussions it became clear that before either search could move forward successfully, changes would have to be made internally in order for the jobs to be described and advertised.
The committee agreed to research hiring, firing, evaulation and similar administrative issues at other campuses. Bley-Vroman would look at the University of Texas system, Lampe at California, Kent at UH benchmark institutions, and Staff at accreditation documents to see what they might say.
In light of the fact that the lawyers have not yet delivered their report on the UARC and that they have discovered what they feel are discrepancies between the contract and what the administration has been saying, Chair Bley-Vroman offered the following options for the scheduled Wednesday Senate meeting:
After discussion, the SEC voted 5-1 to cancel Wednesday's meeting and reschedule it for Wednesday, Nov. 2.
The SEC discussed the Chancellor's Proposed Executive Search
Process
. The committee expressed concern about the role of the
System President in the process, about the need for clarification in
the roles of the Manoa chancellor and the System president, and the
need to ensure that all candidates would be treated equally since the
proposal called for continuous recruitment until the position is
filled.
In the end the committee suggested only a few small changes in wording.
Tiles raised the issue of granting tenure to aliens without green cards. Under current policy, it cannot be done. The Immigration and Naturalization Service is so backlogged that it is not granting green cards. One department has a faculty member from New Zealand that it would like to propose for tenure but cannot. UHPA is currently involved in the issue also.
The SEC decided to refer the issue to CPM. CPM will bring a resolution to the SEC on the matter.
Chair Bley-Vroman left the meeting at 4:00pm to meet with Interim Chancellor Konan and did not return until 4:50, when both arrived.
VC Cutshaw and VC Ostrander began by dealing with the definition of a
trusted agent
. Senator John Madey explained at the Faculty
Congress that if UH became a trusted agent
of the government,
certain types of research could no longer be pursued here.
VC Cutshaw and VC Ostrander explained that usually trusted
agents
were very large companies that acted as consultants to the
government on certain projects. On those projects for which they had
trusted agent
status they could not bid.
Tiles read a query from David Ross in which he expressed concern
about the UARC's status. VC Ostrander explained that the University
would not be named as a trusted agent
. The UARC might
become a trusted agent
on certain contracts, but it was
not necessarily one.
VC Ostrander reiterated that the UARC was not a physical entity. It was a vehicle for moving money. The rules for work for the UARC would be the same was those applied to work for NIH, NSF and other granting agencies.
Tiles asked about possible differences in interpretation of the law since the UARC was a new area and wondered how much risk might be involved. VC Ostrander replied that there was always risk, but that each task order would be evaluated. The university could then decide if it wanted to be involved in areas where there might be risk.
The Interim Chancellor Konan and Chair Bley-Vroman joined the meeting at 4:50pm.
Interim Chancellor Konan explained that she was passing the Supplemental Budget to the committee and that the administration would be happy to give presentations on it to the Faculty Senate or any of its committees. Bley-Vroman suggested that CAB be asked if it wanted a presentation.
Bley-Vroman said that the SEC wanted to suggest new wording for the degree conferral at commencement. Interim Chancellor Konan said that the administration was also looking at new wording.
The Senate wanted to add the words upon recommendation of the
faculty
to the conferral statement. Bley-Vroman cited ample
precedent at other institutions.
The Interim Chancellor and VC Smatresk said that the chancellor had the authority.
It was decided that the wording would be changed to reflect the Senate's suggestion.
Interim Chancellor explained the points of the Proposed Executive
Search Process
. She noted that the deans and directors, Interim
President McClain and the Board of Regents had all signed off on
it. She noted that the BOR had chosen not to participate in the search
process itself. She said that the advertisement would go out shortly
and a committee established.
Tiles said that the SEC wanted clarification of the job description, not just the advertisement.
VC Smatresk pointed out that usual practice called for search firms to help craft a 3--4 page vision statement for executive searches.
Tiles restated the need for clarity and called for changes in the proposal. Lampe pointed out that paragraphs on p. 1 and p. 4 raised questions of the relationship between the chancellor and president.
Interim Chancellor Konan said that minor edits would be fine, but that major changes would mean it would have to go back to the BOR for approval. She said that the chancellor reports to the president not the BOR. The BOR has made it clear that it wants the president to play this role. The changes that the SEC was calling for would lengthen the search process.
Tiles said that the SEC had a few more minor issues.
broadly considered.
The conversation returned to the need for clarity in the roles of
the system president and the Manoa chancellor, does the chancellor
make
policy or recommend
policy?
The Interim Chancellor and VC both explained that the Manoa administration was making policy as needed, and ensuring that it was consistent with BOR and System policies. So long as no policy required BOR approval, the administration would make it. If potential policy required BOR approval, then the Manoa administration must go through the System president. The attitude of the present BOR was that it wanted decision-making at lower levels. It did not want to deal with so much day-to-day detail. They also noted that since the reorganization there had been no systematic effort to collect and codify Manoa policies.
The SEC raised questions about Human Resources and Information Technologies reporting to the System and not to Manoa.
The Interim Chancellor said that she was in continuing conversation with Interim President McClain about these and other issues The conversations were cordial and both sides realized that these issues had to be settled.
By this point it had become obvious that the SEC had changed its
mind. The rectification of names
had become more important than
the chancellor search.
The SEC discussed the System report to WASC and the fact that there had been little time to study it.
The meeting adjourned at 6:05pm.
Faithfully submitted
Robert Valliant
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