Minutes of the Faculty Meeting -- July 10, 2002

Attending: D. Boucias, E. Buss, J. Butler, J. Capinera, P. Choate, J. Cuda, H. Frank, D. Hall, G. Hall, M. Hoy, P. Koehler, N. Leppla, O. Liburd, J. Maruniak, H. McAuslane, R. McSorley, F. Oi, T. Walker, S. Web, and M. Litchfield.

Meeting called to order at 9:04.

Voted on Catharine Mannion to be appointed to Graduate Faculty, vote was unanimous.

Copies of the budget was passed out and discussed. The budget to IFAS was reduced by $6,100,000. Some savings were made from closures and consolidations, rate and OE reductions from Administrative Support Units, and reduction in some off the top commitments such as postage and utilities. There were also some savings from retirements and resignations. The total cut for the department was $68,319, of which about $10,000 was operating and the balance was USPS salary.

JLC stated that UF has been cutting faculty positions but will begin to cut some USPS positions. The department has 2 vacant Sr. Bioscientist positions that could be cut to return the necessary rate, but that would leave us without key USPS positions and reduced operating $$$$. The UF has received about 8-9 million, but no one knows what it will be used for yet. The department could receive more funds or could be cut back more. It would not be wise to commit to spend all our funds, we need to keep some in reserve.

Leppla stated that the department was viewed as very productive by deans and VP which is considered when budget is allocated.

JLC said that the plan the faculty had developed previously, wherein some of the faculty will contribute a surcharge of 20% of USPS salary, would be implemented. A corollary of the plan was that a USPS staff would have to work 1 day a week for someone else if their supervisor could not contribute the 20% to the general salary pool. He suggested that it might work better if faculty lacking the means to provide partial salary support were provided with only one-half time technical support, as this would leave half-time appointments to be spread around to people without any technical support. The one-day-a-week model doesn't really provide an adequate labor pool. There was no disagreement with this suggestion.

Hoy mentioned that when a faculty member is getting ready to retire that they should think about turning their staff and space over to other faculty who have a greater need.

JLC said that there are many things to consider in these unstable times. He said that he doesn't know if the department will get new faculty positions, but if we do he doesn't know how the department will be able to supply support staff for them. Nation is the only faculty member retiring who has a technician. JLC mentioned that the front office has a large turnover and we will need to look at these positions (and all others) carefully to see if they really need to be replaced.

Last year $100,000 was turned back to cover the shortfall of operating budget and salary savings.

Last year faculty allocation was $138,000; this year the estimate is down to $114,000. JLC proposed to not fill permanent positions but to stay flexible until budget is stable. If we have good recovery from the faculty for the surcharge, we can continue with the same level of support as last year, we will have equipment matching.

JLC asked for questions and/or comments. Cuda asked when will this happen. JLC said it could be anytime; could be this PM. Hoy asked if the 20% from faculty should be given all at once. JLC said that this is preferred, but there was no reason to give it all at once. Cuda asked if it mattered where the funds came from and JLC said no. Webb asked if faculty were interested in preserving all jobs. What affect does it have if funds come from Grants. JLC said none really, but IFAS doesn't pay overhead on time-limited positions. JLC said that in addition to protecting jobs, which is a high priority, we must support the younger faculty and their programs including staff.

JLC brought up an item on Tenure and Promotion: The provost has suggested that letters of recommendation be solicited from AAU schools. He passed out a list marking the ones that have Departments of Entomology. He didn't know if it would be mandated or just suggested that letters of recommendation be solicited from AAU's. He suggested that those eligible for Tenure/Promotion become acquainted with individuals from these AAU's. He also suggested that faculty eligible for Tenure/Promotion attend the training sessions held each year so that they keep abreast of any changes.

JLC said that Billy Crow is now serving on the UF Senate and if you wished to know about any changes that you should talk to Billy.

JLC mentioned that the Seminars were now required for students and faculty need to get any information to Debbie ASAP as she needs to get this information in the system.

JLC mentioned that there would be some repairs on the building to replace some of the fans, and it will probably take place in December. When this repair work is done it may cause some problems as the fans are being replaced because it will be pumping air out instead of into the building causing doors to slam and etc. This will be uncomfortable and will probably last about a week. As more information becomes available on the exact dates it will be distributed to the faculty.

Smart stated that the Graduate Handbook was being revised and requested that faculty who had not turned in the new or revised courses do so ASAP. Smart stated that he was concerned that there would be no new students for the fall semester due to the budget crunch but thanks to awarded fellowships and scholarships, private funding, and a few faculty there would be approximately nine new students.

Kaushalya Amarasekare, Sri Lanka, Ph.D., Catharine Mannion
Daniel Frank, Utah, M.S., Oscar Liburd
John Hamill, Michigan State, Ph.D., Don Dickson
Justin Harbison, Minnesota, M..S., Self-funded, Dan Kline & Jon Day
David Hoel (may not come until spring), Hawaii, Ph.D., Navy, Dan Kline
Luis Matos, Washington, Ph.D., Alumni Fellowship, Pauline Lawrence
Rui Pereira (postponed until spring), Portugal, Ph.D., Government funded, John Sivisnki
Joseph Smith, Washington, Ph.D., Presidential Fellowship, Phil Koehler
Jennifer Steill, Indiana, Ph.D., Marjorie Hoy

Liburd asked if the Biology subject test was a requirement of the department or the UF. Smart said that it was the department. Hoy said that students were being admitted without any Biology so the department started requiring that students take and pass the biology exam. If a student is admitted without fulfilling the biology requirement then the student must take and pass biology before they take their qualifying exams. Someone asked how many times are the students allowed to take the exam and Smart said it was unlimited. The exams cost $100 each time they take them and they are only offered at certain times of the year. Hoy asked if students could take a practice exam on-line and Smart said yes.

Cuda asked if any one else was having trouble getting answers from statistics. He said that his people were having trouble getting answers and that sometimes they would get different answers. There was a general discussion and the consensus was that yes, others were having the same problem. However, there often is not a single "correct" answer. Hoy mentioned that students should do their homework and know exactly what they needed before they went to statistics.

JLC announced that if anyone had anything they wanted in the walk-in freezer that now was a good time to clear it out because it would be cleaned out immediately and unmarked, undated material discarded.

Meeting was adjourned at 9:50.