• GFO Bylaws
• Officials, Councils and Committees
• People »
  • Members
  • GFO Chairs
  • Founding Faculty
• Minutes
• Awards
• Documents »
  • Program Planning Policy
  • Faculty Governance Primer
  • The Lower Division Task Force Draft Report
  • Planning Parameters for a Lower Division Program
  • Good Teaching at UW Bothell
  • First UW Bothell Job Satisfaction Survey Report
• Annual Reports
• GFO Newsletters
• Blackboard

General Faculty Organization: 04/21/2008

General Faculty Organization Meeting

April 21, 2008, 3:30 am, UW1 220

Chair:  Mike Stiber

Present: Mary Baroni, Constantin Behler, Bruce Burgett, Colin Danby, Munehiro Fukuda, Diane Gillespie, Michael Goldberg, Cinnamon Hillyard, Dan Jacoby, Dan Jaffe, Mark Kochanski, Gray Kochhar-Lindgren, Andrea Kovalesky, Kari Lerum, Nancy Place, Becca Price, Bill Seaburg, Gowri Shankar, Suzanne Sikma, Kelvin Sung, Elizabeth Thomas, Wadiya Udell, Linda Watts, Alan Wood.

2007-08 UWB Faculty Survey results - Dan Jacoby

Dan Jacoby updated the GFO on the 2007-08 UWB Faculty Survey.  The survey gathered data on campus planning and priorities; sources of job satisfaction and frustration; the SIS/North Campus and tenure and promotion.  He received a good response, producing meaningful results.  A summary of the data reveals:

Campus planning and priorities

• Expansion of program offerings                       
• Facilitate and Strengthen Research

Job Satisfactions and Frustrations.

• Areas in which faculty gain greatest satisfactions involve teaching, student and collegial interactions, control over career, ability to pursue personal goals, and to a lesser extent professional support.  Areas that produce the greatest frustrations involve research and institutional service.

SIS/North Campus

• Nearly 70% of the faculty either strongly agreed or agreed that UWB affiliation with a North campus involves opportunities that should be encouraged.

Tenure and Promotion.

• A little better than half of all faculty express satisfaction that the criteria for promotion at UWB are clear.

GFO discussion

• How should UWB evolve as a campus, seamless with UWS, integrated or independent?  UC  campuses are one model we could study, campuses are independent of each other.
• What defines interdisciplinary at UWB?
• UWB is more mainstream than 15 years ago, we have a younger student body, is the focus on non-traditional students changing?
• The faculty support of a North Campus indicates they see opportunities that could benefit us.  Some UWB programs are offering classes off campus at this time and others are planning off site programs.
• The STEM mission could expand to a Polytechnic campus.
• Job frustrations are still centered around workloads.  Job satisfaction is slightly up in the area of salaries.  Research issues remain a significant issue.
• Promotion and tenure concerns are greatest in the smaller programs.  Ambiguity is high on what is valued, service vs. research. 

Strategic Planning for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics - Mike Stiber

            Mike reviewed the STEM Task Force report with the GFO, the committee was asked to provide a short list of initial majors that can be developed at UWB in a phased approach, a realistic timeline for the development of new majors and a list of resources needed to accomplish this; and recommendations regarding the optimal institutional structure for support of STEM growth.

Task Force Members:
Warren Buck, IAS, UWB
Chris Byrne, Cascadia Community College
Frank Cioch, CSS, UWB
Bill Erdly, CSS, UWB
Rob Estes, Libraries, UWB
Warren Gold, IAS, UWB
Martha Groom, IAS, UWB
Debbie Jung, ADVANCE Program, UWS
Gray Kochhar-Lindgren, Director, CUSP, UWB
Kevin Laverty, Business, UWB
Dina Meske, CSS, UWB
Robin Rider, Education, UWB
Suzanne Sikma, Nursing, UWB
Mike Stiber, CSS, UWB
David Stokes, IAS, UWB

List of Majors:

• Biology/Biological Science with possible options in Health, Ecology and Conservation, Biology Education, Biotechnology or other high demand subfields. 
• Mathematics Education and Science Education 
• Mechanical Engineering (ME) and Electrical Engineering (EE) 
• Environmental Science and Environmental Studies 
• Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics 
• Sustainable Business 

It is recommended that core competencies be identified and embedded throughout the curriculum.  This emphasis is consistent with the core values of the UWB campus and will help further guide strategic planning and development of new curricula.

A 30-day comment period provides multiple opportunities to engage the campus community in responding to this report.  After the completion of these discussions and the 30-day comment period, the EC will have the opportunity to vote formally on the task force recommendations.

GFO discussion

• The list of majors is not prioritized on the report
• Biology and Biological Sciences will support a Public Health program, pre-med and health studies.
• ME and EE were considered top priorities, regional demand and synergies across programs supported this decision.
• The list of majors were decided based on high demand, regionally and to meet the legislative mandates to offer these degrees.
• Core competencies could be developed in partnership with Cascadia Community College and other community colleges.
• Collaborations with our community college partners as well as UWS is important.
• Careful consideration must be given to building UWB's lower division and developing a comprehensive program here.
• UWB will also work closely with UWS toward a Public Health program.

Options:

• Option 1: all STEM-related programs are housed, together with Computing and Software Systems (CSS) in a single unit .
• Option 2: Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Environmental Science and at least some of Mathematics are housed as units within Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences (IAS) that have a degree of autonomy in matters relating to curricula, faculty recruitment, tenure and promotion comparable to that of departments housed in colleges. Engineering and Technology are housed in a new unit that also includes CSS.

• Option 3: Two new STEM units are created: one housing Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Environmental Science and at least some of Mathematics and the other housing Engineering and Technology and also including CSS.

GFO discussion

• New units should have authority equivalent to a department - have a seat at the table for budget issues.
• Faculty associated with a particular degree program need to have autonomy, similar to a department in hiring.
• All 3 options must have cross programmatic strengths, bridges that link across programs.

Management Structures:

The growth of STEM degree programs and core competencies at UWB will require a level of autonomy in developing curriculum, faculty hiring and tenure and promotion.

GFO discussion

• Autonomy must be embedded structurally in whatever approach we use.
• We need to build a strong program to bring underrepresented groups into the sciences, both faculty and students.
• The implementation phase will deal with diversity issues.
• What is our growth model?  How do we implement STEM and other programs - social sciences?
• Strategic planning without a growth model is not good.
• A sound management theory does not automatically map onto these structures.

Next steps:

• Faculty participation in the 30-day comment period.
• Examine the strengths and weaknesses of each option.
• EC recommendation to the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs.
• Consider RECP issues. 

Proposed UWB GFO Bylaws changes - Mike Stiber

            Mike reviewed the proposed GFO Bylaw changes with the GFO and asked for comment and/or feedback.  The changes cover:

Article X - VOTING

A proposed action of the University of Washington Bothell GFO under the authority of the Faculty Code, Sections 23-43 and 23-44, is effective if approved, as defined below, at a meeting or by mail or electronic ballot. At a meeting, the proposed action is effective if passed by a quorum majority of its voting members present.  For voting in a meeting, voting may occur orally, by show of hands, or by ballot. For voting by

mail or electronic ballot, actions are approved by a simple majority of those voting, provided that at least half of the members eligible to vote have cast ballots.

Article XII: AMENDMENTS

These bylaws may be amended at any regularly scheduled faculty meeting by two-thirds vote of those present provided notice of intent is given at the previous regular meeting or when submitted in writing to all faculty at least 3 weeks prior to the meeting at which action is taken. The bylaws may be amended by mail or electronic ballot by two-thirds of those voting providing that the requirements for a quorum established in Article X have been met in the ballots returned and that the proposed changes and rationale have been circulated to all voting faculty at least three weeks prior to the date on which the ballots will be tallied.

Article VI (CAMPUS COUNCIL ON PROMOTION, TENURE AND FACULTY AFFAIRS), Section 2.: Membership, paragraph 2.

Election of the Campus Council on Promotion, Tenure and Faculty Affairs shall be conducted annually in the Spring Quarter to replace members whose term expires with the current academic year.

Article IV (OFFICERS OF THE GENERAL FACULTY ORGANIZATION), Section 2.: Responsibilities.

The Chair of the GFO shall have overall responsibility for guiding and coordinating the affairs of the organization. The Chair of the GFO shall serve on the University of Washington Faculty Senate and the Senate Executive Committee (SEC). During the summer, when the Campus Council on Academic Standards and Curriculum is not meeting, the Chair of the GFO shall have the authority to perform the campus level review of proposals for new courses and course changes, as described in Article VII, Section 1(B). The Vice Chair of the GFO shall chair the GFO Executive Council (see Article V). The Vice Chair of the GFO shall serve on the University of Washington Faculty Council on Tri-Campus Policy (FCTCP).

Article XI: GENERAL FACULTY ORGANIZATION (GFO) MEETINGS

At least one meeting of the faculty shall be held during each academic year; in Summer Quarter a

meeting may be held if there is business to conduct. Meetings shall be scheduled at least one month in advance by the EC. Meeting dates will not be changed unless there is a major emergency, with information to the faculty regarding cause for change. Special meetings shall be held when called by the EC, when requested by the Chancellor or Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, or when requested in writing by 25 percent of the voting membership of the faculty. The GFO Chair will chair the GFO meeting.

GFO discussion

• Register a concern - once a year meeting may not give faculty the chance for discourse on matters of consequence.
• The GFO is a representative structure for campus conversations.
• The authority given to the GFO Chair over the summer to perform a campus level review of curriculum proposals could be problematic especially with new course proposals.

     Mike will consider the input from the faculty and send out the final proposal for the GFO bylaws next week.

 Upcoming GFO and FOCUS elections - Mike Stiber

               In May, the GFO will hold an election for GFO officers, to elect members of the Campus Council on Promotion, Tenure and Faculty Affairs and for new FOCUS members (the Faculty Oversight Committee on University Studies). Two members of the Campus Council on Promotion, Tenure and Faculty Affairs will end their terms and three members of FOCUS will be stepping down.  A separate, by mail election will also be held in May for vote on the GFO Bylaws.

The meeting adjourned at 5:00 pm

Minutes submitted by Barbara Van Sant