EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.  Call to Order
Chair James D. Martin called the first meeting of the fifty-fourth session of the North Carolina State University Faculty Senate to order at 3:00 p.m.

2.   Welcome
Chair Martin welcomed Senators and guests.

Announcements

• In response to issues with summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) students, Provost Nielsen authorized a new class of students to allow granting visa status for summer research students.
• Faculty Senate Response to UNC-Tomorrow. 
• The Executive Committee reviewed proposed changes to UNC Code 603/604 --grievance/discharge and PTR recommendations. 
• Ombuds function does exist through Human Resources office, specifically through the Faculty and Staff Assistance Program. 
• Wolfpack in the House (WITH) volunteers to help with tailgating and welcoming at football games.  www.gopack.com
• Chancellor sponsored Pig Picking at the Park Alumni Center immediately following adjournment of today’s meeting.

3. Approval of the Minutes, Meeting No. 15, April 24, 2007
The motion passed unanimously to approve the minutes.

4. Remarks from Chancellor Oblinger
Chancellor Oblinger introduced members of his staff.

Chancellor Oblinger reported that there are approximately 4,780 students in this year’s freshmen class.  That will bring the overall total on the campus to about 31, 700 with an average GPA of 4.11 and  average SAT of 1177.

Legislative Session
Chancellor Oblinger reported that an additional $35.6M was received in student aid that was not there last year. 

Faculty received an average 5% increase and one of those percentage points is meant to and targeted for an adjustment for the eightieth percentile level with our peers.

Six million dollars were added to the Distinguished Professor Endowment fund, which is a very important fund that provides matches to donors.  That means NC State will be able to free up four or five professorships that have been waiting in line to be funded from that fund.

For the first time ever $3.0M was received from the General Assembly for a research competitive fund, which is a positive sign for things to come.  Although $50M was requested, it is a step in the right direction.  

A couple of million dollars was received for graduate student recruitment and retention.  If the funds are distributed as they have been in the past UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State will receive the majority of that funding.

UNC Online is a program that pulls together all the electronic offerings across the system into one site centered at General Administration.

Kannapolis:  $16.5M was allocated to the Dole Food Project: $8.5M is recurring and $8.0M non-recurring.  The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences will be a major benefactor of that funding.

Some funds were allocated to the Future Teachers from Teacher Education. 

Bio-energy Initiative:  The year 2008 will soon be declared as the "year of energy" at NC State and there will soon be discussion about the multitude of efforts that are under way.

There were some funds allocated to NC State’s Entrepreneurship Program. 

A considerable amount was allocated on a continuing basis to the College of Engineering, the first installment on a multi-year upgrade of the College of Engineering’s overall operating budget.

The Center for Universal Design in the College of Design received some one-time funding to continue that important work. 

The North Carolina Specialty Crops Program received some one-time funding and one-time funding was also allocated to the College of Veterinary Medicine.

Capital Projects
Funding in the amount of $38M was received for Companion Animal Hospital at the College of Veterinary Medicine to go with an already accumulated amount through gifts of $34M in that facility.

The College of Engineering received a $34M appropriation to add on to Engineering Building III.

The 4H Camp received 7.5M in renovation funds for the 4H camps that serve all the youth in North Carolina. 

NC State also received at the system level $32.5M for a Coastal Studies Institute where we will partner with other entities in the system like ECU, Carolina, and Wilmington who have Marine Sciences programs in one form or another. 

NC State received $17M in planning money for the Hunt Library Complex on Centennial Campus.

 Studies
Chancellor Oblinger plans to work with the Senate to address another study of UNC Faculty workload.  Two other studies that are of particular interest here at NC State are the elimination of vacant positions (EPA and SPA).  They are proposing a legislative study, which will take place relative to vacant positions and will look at the use specifically of lapsed salaries. 

Career banding has been reopened.  Chancellor Oblinger stated that it would appear that all job classifications will now be reviewed and banded, which he thinks is a way to pay competitive salaries and maybe stem the tide of NCSU's training people to go to work somewhere else.

There will also be a study in the General Assembly about the state of the Agriculture and Research Station. 

Chancellor Oblinger announced that there were five states in competition for the National Bio and Agri Defense Facility.  Texas, Kansas, Mississippi, Georgia, and North Carolina are in the finals. 

NC State signed agreements with six institutions in China. 

Chancellor Oblinger stated that he just returned from a retreat with deans and executive officers where they developed  a strategic plan that has evolved over the last several years.  They have now supplemented that strategic plan with a marketing plan, so you will hear him (the Chancellor) talking about energy, the environment, economic development, health and wellbeing, education, innovation, and leadership development at all levels. 

Chancellor Oblinger stated that there are more than four hundred people on the faculty fifty-eight years old or older who theoretically could retire within the next five years.  “It means that we have to exercise our networks to contact the best future faculty and bring them to NC State.”

Announcements from the Chancellor

• The Facilities Division received the National Award for Excellence in Facilities Management. 
• Nevin Kessler, Associate Dean for Development and alumni Relations at Yale University School of Management has been named the new Vice Chancellor for University Advancement at NC State, effective October 15.
• An announcement will soon be sent out to advertise for the position of Vice Chancellor for Information Technology.
• The 33rd Service Recognition Luncheon will be held at the McKimmon Center tomorrow recognizing thirty-nine people for their years of service at the university.

• The Biomanufacturing Training and Education Center dedication on Centennial Campus with the Governor and the President of the System will be September 19 at 11 a.m. 

• All senators are invited to the Maryland football game on November 24.
• The Executive Officers of the University made it clear at the retreat that they would be willing to visit a departmental meeting, a college meeting, or a Senate meeting.

5.  Status of 2006-07 Resolutions
Chair Martin reported on the status of three resolutions that were passed during the 2006-2007 academic year. 

6.  Report on Grievance and Hearings Processes: August 2007

James D. Martin-Chair of the Faculty/Nina Allen-Immediate Past Chair of the Faculty

Chair Martin reported on the Grievance and Hearings Processes for 2006-2007.

7.  Strategic Planning
The senators broke into groups to begin the strategic planning process.

Some ideas from the group discussions include:

Communication 

Faculty Governance

Faculty voting member on the Board of Trustees

Making the community aware of accomplishments

Chair Martin plans to discuss the information with the Executive Committee and he will report back to the Senate with a copy of the final report. 

7. Adjournment
A motion was made and seconded to adjourn the meeting

Chair Martin adjourned the meeting at 5 p.m.