Minutes of 20 October 2003
First Circulated 21 October 2003
Re-Circulated 14 November 2003
Approved 17 November 2003

20 OCTOBER 2003

ATTENDANCE

Present:  Aklerlof, Berent, Bradley, Brown, Byosiere, Cebulski, Clarkson, Combi, Ensminger, Green, Gull, G. R. Holland, M. Holland, Hu, Huntley, Hutchinson, Jackson, Kim, Koopmann (Chair), Lehman, Lithgow-Bertelloni, Meerkov, Mitani, Moran, Ohye, Pedraza, Peters, Pohl, Potter, Pritchard, Remick, Riebesell, Rush, Seabury, Sension, Smith, Thornton, Watkins, Wechsler, Yeo, Younker, Ziff, Zorn     

Alternates:  Durfee (for Goldman-Engineering), Lubeck (for Carlisle-Education)  

Absent:  Alfred, Andersen, Barsky, Bartlett, Ben-Shahar, Boyd, Cho, Colas, Elenbogen, Fishman, Frier, Giordani, Gould, Hall, Johnson, Keller-Cohen, Mascoska, Norris, Orr, Page, Quint, Raisler, Robertson, Ross, Ruffin, Sagher, Sahiner, Schwendeman, Seyhun, Shimp, Tropman, Whatley

MATERIALS DISTRIBUTED
1.  Senate Assembly agenda
2.  Draft minutes of the Senate Assembly meeting of 29 September 2003
3.  SACUA/Senate Assembly Planning Schedule, updated 14 October 2003
4.  Item for Information.  Senate Assembly apportionment by Hill’s method.
5.  Draft revision of Standard Practice Guide 201.89: Sexual Harassment
6.  Draft proposed Standard Practice Guide: Faculty-Student Relationships
7.  A framework for comprehensive athletics reform,   http://www.math.umd.edu/~jmc/COIA/COIA-Home.html         http://www.math.umd.edu/~jmc/COIA/Framework-Sum.html  
http://www.math.umd.edu/~jmc/COIA/Framework-Text.html
8.  Electronic mail message to C. Koopmann from P. Courant, dated 13 October 2003, regarding faculty response to administration drafts of SPGs (items 5 and 6)
9.  Report of Civil Liberties Board to SACUA of deliberations on the faculty-student romantic and/or sexual relationship policy, dated 9 October 2003
10.  Alternative draft of item 6 by SACUA/CLB subcommittee 

Chair Koopmann convened the meeting at 3:17 P.M.  The proposed agenda was adopted.

CONSIDERATION OF THE MINUTES OF 29 SEPTEMBER 2003
The minutes of 29 September 2003 were approved as submitted.

ANNOUNCEMENTS/UPDATES
Chair Koopmann announced:
1.    Forty six of 75 Senate Assembly members responded affirmatively by electronic mail for approving the proposed document on teaching principles; only one member expressed dissent.
2.  Apportionments for Senate Assembly and SACUA will be considered at the next Assembly meeting.
3.  Several faculty governance groups at the national level are considering college athletics reform.  Documents (distributed item 7) are provided for information and possible action at a future meeting.
4.  The chair attended a recent AAUP meeting about athletics reform.
5.  Senate Assembly members are invited to contact the chair (koopmann@umich.edu) regarding their preferences for the conduct of Senate Assembly business.  Specifically, should Assembly business be handled before or after presentations by invited speakers?
6.  Only 17 Assembly members responded to electronic mail queries about administration proposals for changes to the Standard Practice Guide (distributed items 5 and 6).

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ACTION OF SENATE ASSEMBLY 102003-1
The chair invited a motion for ratification of the electronic mail vote approving the Principles of Teaching document developed by the Academic Affairs Advisory Committee (multiple supporting voices).     

The motion was approved by majority vote with 1 member disapproving.
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Professor Remick offered a motion expressing opposition by Senate Assembly to hazing incidents that have potentially damaging results.  Assembly members requested a working definition of hazing in a form that would not interfere with university-sanctioned athletic activities or ROTC activities.  Professor Remick withdrew his motion, saying that he would consult with the Office of General Counsel to develop suitable language.

VISIT OF PROVOST PAUL COURANT AND JANET WEISS
          Chair Koopmann invited the guests to address the Assembly at 3:37 P.M.  The provost called attention to distributed item 6.  He said that some relationships not in the domain of sexual harassment nonetheless cause grave problems to the university administration.  He acknowledged that SACUA and the Civil Liberties Board had raised serious privacy concerns with regard to the administration’s proposals.

          J. Weiss said that distributed item 6 was developed by the administration in reaction to a request from the president’s advisory commission on women’s issues.  She explained that the policy addresses romantic and/or sexual relationships between faculty and students when a supervisory relationship exists.  The administration’s proposal involves disclosure of the relationship and development of a management plan in writing.  She said this course of action would show that the administration is meeting its legal obligations to protect students, and also would protect the university from legal liabilities.

          Weiss said that the administration was not proposing to prohibit relationships, and that disclosure was unnecessary unless there is a supervisory relationship.  She said that it would be acceptable if a couple chose to postpone their personal relationship until any supervisory relationship was concluded.  She said that failure to follow the policy would lead to consequences up to and including dismissal.  She acknowledged that the proposal was neither perfect nor ideal, but that it was an attempt to balance the interests of all parties.  She said that other universities have adopted similar policies.

          The guests concluded their prepared remarks at 3:50 P.M.  Professor Zorn asked how many cases for the intended policy arise each year.  The provost said that he did not want to make an estimate, but that he thought there was more than one.  Professor Gull asked if there was latitude in the identity of the party to whom disclosure must be made.  Weiss replied that some flexibility is possible on that issue.  A member from the gallery who served on the president’s advisory commission expressed support for the proposed policy, saying that it would likely discourage some relationships.

          Chair Koopmann asked what time line was envisioned for the proposed policies.  The provost replied that he would like to bring the issues to the Regents by December at the latest, and that even tacit endorsement from Senate Assembly was desirable.

NEW BUSINESS
There was no new business.

The meeting adjourned at 3:57 P.M.  It was followed immediately by the annual Academic Freedom Lecture.

Respectfully submitted,

John T. Lehman
Senate Secretary

University of Michigan Bylaws of the Board of Regents, Sec. 5.02: 

Governing Bodies in Schools and Colleges

October 20, 2003 Senate Assembly Meeting Agenda

Please note the Senate’s 13^th Annual Davis, Markert, Nickerson Lecture on Academic and Intellectual Freedom will begin at 4:00 pm in the Honigman Auditorium with Georgetown University Law Center Professor David D. Cole speaking on,

“Freedom and Terror:  September 11^th and the 21^st Century Challenge.”