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Sept 20, 1995 Minutes

Present:   Bible, Caverly, Deduck-Evans, Ford, Glassman, Horne, Hunter, 
Lyman, Middlebrook, Pascoe, Sawey, Stedman, Swinney, Weller, and
Winek.

Guests: ExecVP Michael Abbott, VPF&SS William Nance, John Megerson
(Dir., UPD), Stephen Prentice (UPD), Prof. Michel Conroy (Chair, FREG
Committee); Mike Moore, Sandra Akridge.

CONTENTS:

AQUARENA (Guests: Dr. Abbott, VPF&SS Nance)
32 FACULTY PARKING (Guests: Dr. Abbott, Chief
Megerson)
13 DEVELOPMENTAL LEAVES--POLICY (PPS 8.02)
38 RESEARCH COMMITTEE--COMPOSITION (Guest: Prof.
Michel Conroy)
39 CLASS SCHEDULES (Peeler/Early Letters)
24 RECONSTITUTION OF THE FACULTY GRIEVANCE
COMMITTEE (meeting closed for this topic)
02 SENATE MINUTES OF 9/13/95; PAAG Minutes of 9/6/95
NEW ITEMS

The meeting was called to order at 4:04, Chair Swinney presiding.

AQUARENA (Guests: Dr. Abbott, VPF&SS Nance)

At the Board of Regents meeting last week it was decided, on the
advice of the Aquarena Advisory Committee, to terminate the University's
contract with PFM management of Aquarena Springs and not let new
contract bids until the IRS makes changes its current rulings on tax exempt
bonds. Under the current system we now assume all the risk and pay the
manager too. This has cost the University $1.4 million in the last 20
months in Caper's losses and management fees. The other operations are
paying their way or turning a profit (particularly Pepper's) but are not
covering the above losses. The Board wants more information, but it is
expected that they will allow the University to run the operation for 5 or 6
months, until the IRS makes its expected changes. These changes would
allow the proprietor to share profits (rather than be paid a flat fee) and share
the risks. This incentive factor is expected to make a major difference.

Outside theme park consultants see no problem with our ecology
theme. They also suggested that a $3 to 5 million capital infusion to provide
a more modern interactive/video/game format would be useful. Obviously,
this is going to call for substituting creativity for money.
The contract with the Genesis collection is up in the air, depending on the
direction the Board gives us. For example, if we are told to scale down for
awhile it would not be worth the collection rental. The new proprietor
might want the space for something. It was pointed out that for proper
display, the collection (which is excellent in itself) needs more room (5,000
square feet was suggested by the Genesis people), mural-type settings
(from the Art Dept.), etc. The Dive Shop has lost interest in participating,
due to the environmental concerns and the amount of paperwork necessary
for impact studies.

The valuation of Aquarena has been estimated at between $9 and $12.4
million, mostly in commercial land value rather than facilities.


32 FACULTY PARKING (Guests: Dr. Abbott, Chief Megerson)

According to the handout distributed, Red Tag spaces increased by 323
from 1994 to 1995--for a total of 2,593 red spaces. That is enough spaces
but hunting for empty ones through numerous lots can be a killer during
peak periods (complaints report 30-50 minute searches). There are about
4,000 green dorm spaces and 4,000 purple commuter spaces. Enforcement
seems to be a big problem, since green and purple keep showing up in red
lots with predictable frequency. During an hour of discussion many
suggestions and opinions were aired.

If students are to take not parking in red lots seriously, it is
important that there be certainty of ticketing/towing/booting (so the car
cannot be moved--half the fee to take it off would go to UPD and half to
student scholarships and person would also have to pay up back tickets).
"Tow-away zone" signs prominently posted might be a deterrent. It was pointed
out that there are not enough UPD ticketers (12 to 13) to monitor all lots
(other University staff have volunteered to train and do this for free); towing
takes an hour of UPD time and does not require people to pay tickets to get
car. About $500,000 in outstanding tickets are on the books (about
$400,000-$600,000 collected a year). Apparently something is not
working in the "hold" system on student registration for next semester, i.e.
these non payers cannot all be school-leavers or visitors. Some students are
not registering cars and getting permits, which presents a problem in tracing
who owns a car--especially if registered in a parent's name.

Regarding green stickers for those living on campus, several
suggestions were made: Allow them to park only in the lot next to their
dorm (because they move into green lots nearer classes, perhaps causing
other green sticker folks to move into red lots), restrict cars on campus for
freshmen, require stadium parking for greens (Possible problem with
safety?). Regarding special red hang tags for TA's: They are supposed to
be restricted to specific lots, as indicated on the tag. There is no policy
against issuing TA tags, but UPD would welcome one.

The campus is not bicycle friendly--using handicapped ramps is illegal
and steps are dangerous. This is a more certain mode of transportation than
a car one has to park, and is more environmentally satisfying. The issue of
a pay-extra for a guaranteed-space lot was reintroduced. Special prime-time
patrolling and higher tickets were suggested. While the difficulty of
handling complaints and appeals was recognized, it was suggested that one
of the reasons for complaints might be the lack of consistency in
enforcement, i.e. Why should I pay when everyone else does it without a
ticket, etc.

The Transportation and Parking Committee will have their first meeting
soon (Senators Swinney and Middlebrook are on the committee). They will
consider numerous suggestions and get back to the Senate with
recommendations at the first of the year.


13 DEVELOPMENTAL LEAVES--POLICY (PPS 8.02)

RTA'd because of lack of time.


38 RESEARCH COMMITTEE--COMPOSITION (Guest: Prof.
Michel Conroy)

The Faculty Research Enhancement Grant Committee switched to a
new cycle this year--both spring and fall awards, rather than spring only.
This has presented a new situation in which a faculty member on the
Committee (who reviewed proposals in the spring which will be coming up
again in the fall) feels he should resign because he wants to put in a
proposal this fall. Only $66,000 was awarded in the spring, leaving
$289,000 for fall allocations. Opinions were varied among Senators and
among those on previous FREG committees. [Note: Departmental
representatives to the School committees serve for one year; University level
FREG members serve for three years.] Matters of lack of policy,
availability of research funds elsewhere, and ethics were discussed.

Prof. Bible moved and the Senate passed a motion that since there was
no current policy, the FREG Committee member was free to do as he saw
fit, i.e. resign and apply for a FREG grant. Henceforth, there will be a
written policy that FREG Committee members cannot submit proposals in
the cycle year during which they have served.


39 CLASS SCHEDULES (Peeler/Early Letters)

RTA'd for more background information.


24 RECONSTITUTION OF THE FACULTY GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE
(meeting closed for this topic)

Currently Profs. Chris Jorgenson (Education, Committee Chair), Don
Tuff (Science), and Theron Stimmel (Liberal Arts) are on the Committee. A
dean and a chair are needed from other schools. It was moved and passed
that Dean Rumaldo Juarez (Health Professions) and Chair Larry Patterson
(Business, Accounting) be appointed.


02 SENATE MINUTES OF 9/13/95 and PAAG 9/6/95

Minutes were approved as corrected.


NEW ITEMS

(1) Faculty poll results on disposition of the 2 percent will be
available next week.

(2) Profs. Louis Brister and Dona Reeves-Marquardt (German)
submitted a letter regarding the institutional requirement that undergraduate
classes must have a minimum of fourteen students. "The German staff
thinks that such a requirement, apparently a unilateral one enacted
independently of the Coordinating Board for Higher Education in the State
of Texas, unfairly punishes traditionally small and select programs such as
German in the university curriculum. . . . To impose . . . [these] harsh
restrictions and requirements on our small German program could well
mean the demise of German Studies at Southwest Texas State University."
The Senate will consider this letter at our next meeting.

(3) The Senate will investigate Career-ladder librarians salaries. It
appears they may be different from the printed budget, which was submitted
in the summer before final decisions were made.

(4) A newspaper article indicated that SWT had the fourth most
stringent entrance requirement for athletes among State public higher
education institutions.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:06 p.m.
Ramona Ford
Secretary