MINUTES OF THE UNIVERSITY ASSEMBLY MEETING JANUARY 8, 1997
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
President Dave Frohnmayer called the January 8, 1997, meeting of the University Assembly to order at 3:05 p.m. in 150 Columbia Hall. The president welcomed the small number of faculty members present, indicating he appreciated their presence even though there was no pressing matter before the assembly requiring a vote. The president further recognized and welcomed Ms. Gwen Steigelman, affirmative action and equal opportunity, as the new secretary of the faculty, the University Assembly, and the University Senate. Secretary Steigelman replaces Mr. Keith Richard, university archivist, who retired in fall 1996. The president then asked for any corrections to the minutes of the October 2, 1996, meeting of the University Assembly and, hearing none, declared the minutes approved as distributed.
ANNOUNCEMENTS AND MEMORIALS
A memorial for Professor Emerita Betty Foster McCue, physical education, was received by the secretary of the faculty for inclusion with these minutes. The memorial was prepared by Professor Emerita Celeste Ulrich, former dean of the former College of Human Development and Performance. Ms. McCue was associate dean and headed the graduate division in the School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation before the name of the school was changed.
REMARKS FROM PRESIDENT FROHNMAYER
President Frohnmayer indicated to the assembly that he wished to provide an update on some matters concerning the coming legislative session, particularly in the face of the uncertainties that surround the recently passed Measure 47, the property-tax limitation. He indicated there are numerous variables affecting both the interpretation and the implementation of Measure 47 that will require a reasonable amount of time. Those factors notwithstanding, President Frohnmayer noted that there are some things in the coming legislative session that appear to be positive, or at least cause for hope. The first of these concerns is the budget for higher education. Governor John Kitzhaber has submitted to the legislature the strongest budget for higher education in recent history. The governor is openly concerned about student access to higher education and has recommended a tuition freeze for this biennium. Furthermore, faculty salary equity and parity are issues of concern to the governor, as salary is directly related to the quality of the faculty and the quality of higher education. In addition, the university will be lobbying very strongly in Salem for some contribution toward educational technology so that it is not funded solely on the backs of studentsí technology fees.
The president indicated that key members of the administration and faculty will be spending time in Salem this legislative session pushing for adoption of the governorís budget and other legislation that is favorable to higher education. In particular, the Ways and Means Committee is composed of individuals who are informed, some rather broadly, with issues concerning higher education and who have a high degree of longitudinal memory. President Frohnmayer welcomed continued support from the higher educational community, as it now appears inevitable that there is a collision course between the governorís higher education budget and the surplus revenue "kicker." The Oregon economy continues to be relatively robust, but the outcome on the use of the kicker is certainly not yet decided.
Turning to Measure 47, the president reported that we are still in a position where no one really knows exactly what it means or will mean. Colleagues in local governance agencies are struggling with uncertainties as to how and which programs will be funded. President Frohnmayer remarked that Measure 47 is very opaque and internally inconsistent, and in some cases it leads to plausibly inconsistent conclusions. He noted that the legislators have their work cut out for themófirst interpreting the measure, then implementing the measure, and then determining what level of revenue loss they will subsidize.
Staying true to the assemblyís agenda, President Frohnmayer next noted that he and members of his staff and the Faculty Advisory Council have had numerous issues brought to his attention concerning the Productivity Planóas has occurred in many other places across campus. Noting the limited amount of time available and the small number of faculty members present, the president chose not to address those issues in the assembly meeting. Rather, he stated that those concerns have been heard. He further stated that they have generated other concerns on his behalf, primarily concerning the need to maintain the fiscal integrity of the university budget, the need to continue to fund the forward progress that has been made, and the need to ensure that we continue to address issues of both productivity and quality. President Frohnmayer indicated that he will continue to have discussions with the Faculty Advisory Council, and that perhaps in the not-too-distant future those discussions will spark further communication with the larger campus community.
In moving to the next item on the agenda, remarks by the president of the University Senate, President Frohnmayer indicated it was his desire to have remarks from the senate president become a permanent feature of the University Assembly agenda. In so doing, he introduced University Senate President Carl Bybee.
REMARKS FROM UNIVERSITY SENATE PRESIDENT CARL BYBEE
Senate President Carl Bybee, journalism and communication, opened his remarks concerning recent senate activities by noting that the senate was trying to address the problem of invisibility after the reconfiguration and transfer of governance from the University Assembly to the University Senate that took place in January 1996, and then, once visible, determine what needed to be done to be more effective. In this effort, senators are taking their roles quite seriously; they are genuinely interested in making the senate a center of faculty governance. There are indications that the notion of the senate as a truly representative body is catching on. Senators see themselves as representatives with a constituency and recognize that one of their obligations is to make certain they are in communication with members of their constituency. This has generated a different tone in deliberations within the senate; in addition, it has given UO faculty members the feeling that they have a place to bring their concerns.
In the first few senate meetings this academic year, the senate discussed the sexual relationship policy; the proposed changes to the student conduct code; and operating procedures for the University Committee on the Curriculum, which will report to the senate once each term rather than once a year as has been done previously. The main activity of the senate, however, has been to survey the faculty to determine its interests, needs, and concerns in order to build a senate agenda for action not just for this year, but for several years to come. Response to the survey was tremendous, generating many more issues and concerns than the senate could reasonably address this year. The University Senate Executive Committee worked to condense the large survey into three main areas for the senate to address during the remainder of the year: (a) issues of governance, such as student input and working with the administration, (b) issues of productivity and educational quality, and (c) issues of faculty resources and quality of campus life for students and faculty members.
In general, President Bybee remarked that the change in the structure of governance is working. The senate is taking seriously its role of providing a partnership with the administration to help guide the challenges faced by the university in the rapidly changing landscape of higher education.
ADJOURNMENT
With no response to his call for any other business, old or new, President Frohnmayer adjourned the meeting at 3:27 p.m.
Gwen Steigelman
Secretary of the Faculty
MEMORIAL FOR PROFESSOR EMERITA BETTY FOSTER McCUE
Betty Foster McCue, who joined the faculty of the University of Oregon in 1968, died September 27, 1996, in Eugene, Oregon. Before coming to the University of Oregon, she had a distinguished career at Oberlin College and Duke University.
Betty was one of the last of that vanishing cadre of the professorate who care passionately about students and dedicate their existence to helping others enrich their lives through learning. Her undergraduate years at the University of Pittsburgh honed her enthusiasm for education and conditioned her adventures into scholarship. Her graduate work at MacMurray College enabled her to understand the opportunities presented by a small college where individuals are important and there is a warmth of interaction. Her doctoral work at Iowa State University helped her address disciplinary integrity and provided her with an enthusiasm for research which boded well as she headed the Graduate Division of the School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation here at the University of Oregon. Later she was named associate dean.
Betty was a caring and thoughtful mentor who related to students with a warmth and élan which was a joy to witness. She was gentle in manner, and persuasion was her style rather than demand. You had the impression, as you discussed ideas with her, that here was a lady in the truest sense of the word.
Dr. McCue was well known in the area of physical education for women and held offices and wrote books which dealt with the specifics of that area of concern at a time when the concept of women and vigorous activity was still being questioned. Her very demeanor was all the data needed to convince the skeptical that one need not be a hoyden in order to live a vigorous and demanding life, an active life.
Bettyís quest for vigor was demonstrated in her many travels. She visited Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East and could be counted upon to have climbed all of the temple stairs and taken all of the side roads to view the splendors of foreign lands. Her travel usually involved a commitment to exercise and was uniquely actualized in a bicycle tour which she made around the United States.
In 1977, just a few years before her retirement, Betty married one of the foremost experts in the science of motor learning, Dr. Arthur Slater-Hammel of Indiana University. Betty and Art spent their retirement years in Eugene and continued their subscription to activity by swimming every day and often hiking through the hills.
Dr. McCue Slater-Hammel is survived by a sister, Alice McCue Castel of Lafayette, California; three nephews, Michael Kenworthy, James Castel, and Anthony Castel; and two nieces, Susan Said and Dr. Patricia Kenworthy of Vassar College. Celeste Ulrich
Professor Emerita
Physical Education and Human Movement Studies