I. Call to Order/Roll Call

The meeting was called to order by Vice-President Diane Pette at 1:46 p.m. Senators present: Margaret Boone (AAS, Ext. 3313), Lois Carroll (Instructional Support Serv., Ext. 3226), Betty Christopher (Commercial Services, Ext. 3341), Gail Greenwood (Social Science, Ext. 3446), Mike McKenna (AAS, 2752), Peggy Messerschmidt (Communications, Ext. 3415), Diane Pette (Student Services, Ext. 3138), Clint Poe (Natural Science, Ext. 3436), Helayna Thickpenny (CATA, Ext. 3368), Karl Ting (Math, Ext. 3442), and Jim Van Tassel (PE/Bus/Engr, Ext. 3348). Also present: Husam Asfoor (ASB Rep) . Guests Present: Carolyn Fisher (ACE President), Dan Matarangas, and Chris Olson.

II. Approval of the Minutes

The minutes for the November 7, 1996, meeting will be distributed next week and will be approved at the November 21, 1996, Senate meeting.

III. Order of the Agenda

The following changes to today's agenda were made and approved (M/S/U - Boone/Asfoor):

Item VIII.E was deleted as it is a duplicate of Item VIII.B

Item VII.B was postponed to the next Senate meeting.

Item VIII.B will be addressed upon the arrival of Dan Matarangas.

Items VII.A and VIII.D will be combined and discussed under Old Business, Item VII.A.

IV. Oral Communication from the Public - There was no oral communication from the public.

V. Information & Announcements

1. Dr. Tseng will attend next week's Senate meeting. Since there is no formal agenda, Don has requested that the Senators confer with their constituents and be prepared to present exciting activities that are taking place within their divisions and present current concerns from within their divisions.

2. Carolyn Fisher advised that ACE will be distributing a confidential letter to all faculty next week concerning faculty salary increases. Carolyn urged the Senators to advise their constituents about the importance of the memo and to emphasize the need for them to submit their responses to ACE as requested.

3. The Health Occupations Program will host an Open House, with refreshments, on Wednesday, November 20, 1996, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the Nursing Lab (W2-502). The event will honor the Valley Foundation for its donation of $50,000 enabling the program to complete the Nursing Lab. Mayors of local communities, members of the district's Board of Trustees, and other dignitaries from the area have been invited, and Margaret invited the Senate members

to attend as well.

VI. Administrative Business/Actions/Appointments

A. Curriculum - No curriculum business was reported today.

B. Matriculation - No matriculation business was reported today.

C. Committee Appointments - No committee appointments were made today.

D. Staff Recognition - No nominations for staff recognition was made today.

VII. Old Business

A. Discuss New Faculty Hires for Academic Year 1997/98 and Item VIII.B

At last week's meeting Don distributed a list of proposed faculty positions ranked by the Division Chairs, indicating that the Academic Senate's recommendations were not considered. The appropriate paper work was not submitted within a given time frame. The intent of today's discussion is to consider recommendations or suggestions for Don to take to the next Division Chair Council (DCC) meeting scheduled for November 18.

The ASB representative, Husam Asfoor, reported that the students' perception is that the Division Chair Council is attempting to sidestep the shared governance policy in making its decisions, particularly in regard to an athletic program. The DCC does not announce its meeting schedule and minutes are not published and appear to be unattainable. No students or classified staff were involved with the ranking. The ASB intends to attend the November 18 meeting of the DCC and voice their objections to the lack of shared governance in the DCC's decision-making process. Diane assured Husam that it is not the intention of the DCC to function in a covert manner. It is common knowledge that the DCC meets weekly on Mondays from Noon to 2:00 p.m., and it is an open meeting, as are all campus meetings. However, she agreed that the DCC should be made aware of the students' perceptions.

Another issue of concern addressed by several Senators is the relationship between the Academic Senate, its Balance of Curriculum Committee and the DCC. By the nature of its decisions, the DCC will affect the direction of the college. The purpose of the Balance of Curriculum Committee (BCC) is to provide academic direction for the college. The Senate must determine how the ideas brought forward by the BCC will be implemented if the DCC is making the decisions. A procedure for Academic Senate input into the decision-making process must be established. It is the Senate's intent that the BCC set the course and the DCC implement it.

It was suggested that a representative of the DCC make a weekly report to the Academic Senate. Don has been attending most of the DCC meetings and could serve as a liaison to both groups. Jim advised that the DCC has discussed the matter of a liaison, suggesting that the DC's rotate attendance at the Senate meetings. The Senators agreed that there is a great need to establish a collaborative working relationship between the DCC and the Academic Senate with a continuous flow of information. The Senators declined to take action at today's meeting, and will advise Don to present the Senate's concerns and suggestions to the DCC.

B. Discuss Administrative Evaluation and How to Proceed to Implement

This item was postponed to the next Senate meeting.

C. Update on Faculty Appointments to Hiring Committee for Asst. to Chancellor

The Senators reviewed copies of the job description for the Assistant to the Chancellor, and it was noted that some duties will involve decision making that may affect the educational mission of the college. It was reported that the presidents of ACE and the Academic Senates requested that the Board defer any decision on the proposed positions, stating the view that these positions were inappropriate, the decision-making process was inappropriate, and the proposal required further investigation. The Board voted four to two to approve the positions (Stokes and Sloan voted no).

The Senators remarked that the current job description appears to be an expansion of the duties of the Special Assistant to the Chancellor, which was filled by a faculty person on reassigned time. The original intent of this position was to serve as a liaison between faculty and the chancellor, and this function seems to be diminished under the new job description. The Senators noted that the duties listed under the new job description indicate that this person will be making and conveying decisions in the chancellor's absence. It was also noted that the job description includes functions and duties that were part of the description Rose submitted last year for a Director of Research and Planning.

After considerable discussion, the Senators agreed to discuss this matter with their constituents and be prepared to present their views to Rose at next week's meeting. It was suggested that a larger room be reserved in order to accommodate faculty and others who may wish to attend and address this issue.

In the same vein, it was reported that the Senate has received a position paper emanating from the two colleges' Institutional Research Offices. Apparently there is an on-going proposal to consolidate the two research offices into a district function. This will negatively impact the individual colleges and the Senators requested that portions of the document be forwarded to them for discussion within their divisions. (Please Note: The Senate has been advised that Dr. Tseng will not be able to attend next week's meeting.)

At this time the agenda was moved to Item VIII.B to accommodate Dan Matarangas as agreed.

VIII. New Business

B. Consider a Formal Request to Include a Staff Lounge in one of the New Buildings under Construction

Margaret asked the Senators to consider presenting a request to establish a staff lounge with a kitchenette, meeting room, place to rest and relax, and possibly even a faculty restroom. Dan advised that plans for buildings that have been approved for state funding cannot be changed without incurring additional expense for the district. The Student Center will contain a private dining room, but the intent is to use it for special events. The Library building is to be funded entirely with state funds as is the Science and Technology Center. The original master plan intended that the first floor be used for student service areas and the third floor was designated for faculty offices.

Margaret suggested that the current Library space be considered as a possible space for a staff lounge once vacated by the Library. Dan concurred that the Library space is a viable suggestion if we can obtain funds to convert the area into a lounge. Margaret noted that the Interim Dean of Advancement, Cynthia Schechler, might be able to assist in fund-raising for this project.

The Senators unanimously approved the following motion (M/S/U - Boone/Thickpenny):

"that the Mission College Academic Senate go forth with the consideration and form a committee to explore the possibility of putting into place a faculty and staff lounge on the third floor as the Library is vacated."

The formation of this committee and selection of its members will be dealt with at next week's meeting.

The order of agenda was resumed with Item VII.D.

VII. Old Business (Continued)

D. Update on Proposed District Academic Senate Meeting w ACE and Agenda

A joint meeting of the District Academic Senate and the ACE Executive Council has been set for Thursday, December 5, 1996, at Mission College from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The location of the meeting is to be announced and the agenda items will be as discussed at last week's meeting.

E. Discuss & Evaluate Graduation 1996

Last year the Academic Senate decided to take a more active role in the graduation ceremony process. Diane reported that it was very difficult to get people involved, and although those involved worked diligently to enhance the event, in her view, graduation was a disappointment.

It was anticipated that the gym would help to make the event more dignified and special than in the past, and that was not the case. The ceremony lacked coordination and appeared disorganized, there were more distractions than usual, and the room was unbearably warm and uncomfortable. Husam noted that there were not enough seats for the student marshals and they had to stand for the entire ceremony.

The questions the Senators need to explore is whether or not the Senate wants to continue to participate in the planning of graduation and, if so, where to hold the ceremony and how it should be conducted. Last year certificate and degree recipients were combined in one ceremony and there is some question as to whether or not we want to continue in the same manner or to conduct individual ceremonies on the same day at different times.

Diane asked the Senators to discuss the matter with their constituents and bring information back for further discussion. If the Senate is to continue with this activity, a committee must be established and the event must be better coordinated.

VIII. New Business

A. Report on New Method for CC Measurement of Transfer Effectiveness

Due to the lack of ample time for discussion, this matter was postponed to the next Senate meeting.

X. Correspondence, Publications, and Announcements

Correspondence

Publications/Minutes

1. The November 4, 1996, of the FA NEWS from the Foothill-DeAnza Faculty Association.

2. The November 8, 1996, issue of the DVC FORUM.

3. The RP Group NEWS , Volume 5, No. 1

4. The approved minutes for the October 3, 1996, and October 17, 1996, meetings of the ACE Executive Council.

Announcements/Conferences

1. The RP Group has issued a Call for Papers and Presentations for its 25th Annual Research Conference to be held April 16-18, 1997, at the Sheraton Long Beach Hotel. The deadline for submissions is Friday, December 13, 1996. Additional information is available from the Senate Office.

The remaining agenda items were postponed to a future meeting except for Item X, and the meeting was adjourned at 3:35 p.m. (M/S/U - VanTassel/Asfoor). These minutes are respectfully submitted by Grace Hazán, Academic Senate Secretary.