Pledge of Allegiance
Senators present: Jana Atkins, Gene Bals, Joan Blackmon, Jaclyn Byrd, Gerald Cunningham, Crystal Davis, Sheryl Epperson, Travis Findley, Sandy Gellner, Scott Hall, Judy Hunter, Donna Hurtado, Teresa Impson, Marcia Kawecki, Michelle Kiser, Rick Loper, Guadalupe Luna, Barbara McArthur, Teresa Neal, Kathy Nordstrom, Rebecca Owens, Patti Perkins, Donna Perry, Eddie Ramirez, Tony Rando, Donna Rogers, Don Roulain, Ryan Scheckel, Linda Stracener, Kevin Tunnell, Richard Verrone, Brenda Winn, Barbara White, Leigh Wilson
Senators absent: Louisa Arriaga, Estella Barron, Eric Burrell, Yolanda Coronado, Bobby Davila, Lori Dudley, Maria Fernandez, Rocky Gauna, Bill McDonald, David Shuping, Randy Smith, Carol Ann Stanley
Guests: Nathanael Haddox, Mary Jane Hurst, Kay Whyburn Rhodes, Tom Davis
Minutes - approved as written
Treasurer's Report - There has been some discrepancy in the budget recently. A previous report showed a rollover amount from the previous fiscal year as $12,913 and a corrected amount as $13,878. However, further investigation has revealed the actual amount of the rollover was $12,913. White is continuing to investigate the accounts for further problems.
Cecilia Carter-Browne, Public Art Manager, Facilities Planning and Construction, Texas Tech System
The public art brochure was mailed to everyone on campus back in November. The objective of Texas Tech's public art program is not to decorate, but to educate. The program was approved by Board of Regents in 1998. There are more than 350 public art programs in the nation. In Texas, there are 11 programs. Eleven cities have ordinances, including Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston. Four universities in Texas have public art programs. TTU was one of the first. The University of Texas in Austin just received approval to begin a program last winter. The funding model Tech uses is 1% of all construction over $500,000 is set aside for public art. Landscaping also receives 1% of construction budgets. This is a common type of funding model, starting with WPA. Philadelphia was the first to start a city ordinance for public art. TTU was selected to be among the top-ten public art collections in the nation.
With new construction projects, interviews are conducted with the artist or the artist will conduct interviews with users of the facility. A prospectus is prepared and becomes a Request for Qualifications (RFQ). Mrs. Carter-Browne developed a slide registry where artists can apply to the program regardless of his or her media. An RFQ is more project-specific. A group works to evaluate the body of work, the resumes, etc. and a shortlist is developed (2-3 finalists per project). From the finalists, a Request for Proposal (RFP) is requested. Tech brings each finalist to campus to define the site, then the artists go home and work on a proposal for a month or so. Then they come back to campus to make a full design proposal to the committee. The World Trade Center design contests used a similar process. An 18-member committee then decides on a finalist.
- What is public art? It depends on whom you ask. "Public art is not a style or a movement but a compound social service based on the premise that public well-being is enhanced by the presence of artworks in public spaces" - Janet Kardon, former director of Philadelphia's Institute of Contemporary Art.
- "Public art is a community-based process of dialogue, involvement, and participation" - Jack Becker, editor Public Art Review .
- It is often integrated into the built environment. For example, it can be incorporated into the schematic design. The parking garage at 18 th and Flint is an example of this.
- It integrates an artist's "private vision" with location and local culture. Pieces are created for a specific setting. This is opposed to "plop" art which is not related to any of its surroundings.
- It is accessible to a wider audience, rather than the "special status" associated with a museum or gallery.
- Why are we doing this here? Tech is an academic environment and the goal is to provide a learning environment that is creative and thought-provoking. Murray Hall has a Debra Butterfield sculpture that looks like a horse made out of tree limbs. She assembles sculptures from things she finds, such as driftwood. The horse is a very important symbol for TTU. This sculpture creates a new way of looking at this iconic form.
- Public art enhances the architectural environment. Art glass was commissioned for the clinical research tower at the Health Sciences Center. The design incorporates the double-helix and will extend from ground floor up four floors. Suspension sculptures of glass will be created for the lobby.
- Public Art communicates tolerance for alternative ideas. Tom Otterness is a post-pop artist who created the Tornado of Ideas sculpture between the Student Union and the library. The base of the sculpture is a house splitting in two with a tornado rising from it. When hot and cold fronts come together, a tornado is formed. The books reflect polar ideologies that might create the same tornado effect when mixed. The sculpture is situated near the "free speech" area.
- A goal of Public Art is to communicate a sense of diversity. A female masked rider was used for the mosaic at the football stadium.
- Another goal is to challenge one's capacity to embrace contradictions and decode visual metaphors. Jesus Moroles' art is an examples of this. He works with forms, shapes, textures, etc. that can change with time of day, time of year. These are visual metaphors. His work appears at the new Experimental Sciences building.
- Another goal is to create memorable spaces. The Will Rogers sculpture has been on campus a long time and is an iconic sculpture. Traditions are developed around pieces. It takes approximately 5 years for artwork to be fully accepted and integrated into an environment.
- Another goal is to enhance the "quality of place." Tech's goal is to create a campus environment that is beautiful and interesting and will attract quality faculty and students. Jason Hodges, the system landscape architect, is interested in reintroducing native plants that use less water and do not require excessive maintenance.
- The arts also generate money. Several studies indicate art and collateral activities, such as restaurant revenue or shopping, generate $34 billion in economic activity in the U.S.
- The purpose of public art can also be pure whimsy.
- There are challenges. Public art does not appear within the confines of a gallery or museum. It is impossible to satisfy everyone. The idea is to educate and expand the visual vocabulary of viewers. Problems can materialize with clients/artists. Art sometimes touches on cultural lighting rods. Safety and security can sometimes be an issue. Maintenance must be considered because the art is outside and exposed to the elements. Vandalism is always a risk. Tech has a conservation endowment to take care of the collection.
The Faculty Senate had not previously heard about this project. The Sunguard Higher Education software has been purchased and the project has begun. The project is called Connect Tech and will be used to join TTU and HSC. This project will take place over the next 3 years to replace the Legacy administrative applications and move to an enterprise environment. TechSIS, TechFIM (since 1984), TecHRIS will be replaced with the Banner system. This new system will be operated in a portal environment with a single sign-on. All applications will be behind this single sign-on. An imaging system will be integrated to access images from the Banner screen on the web. A data warehouse was also purchased to maintain a reporting system. Rebecca Owens asked how this affects Social Security Number use around campus. The Banner environment provides a unique identifier with every person associated with Tech, including vendors. This is called a Banner ID and does not use Social Security Numbers. People with multiple roles, such as staff members who attend classes, will be entered as a single record. The Social Security Number will continue to be used as necessary but will not be used as an identifier.
Web content management for the new system is scheduled to roll out this summer. The first system to roll out is admissions in June 2007. Admissions is scheduled for Fall 08. This will be followed by Financial Aid and Registration is next. Personnel is scheduled for calendar year 2009. During the registration migration, students will have to register for summer in the current system and register for fall in the Banner system. This is part of the transition and cannot be avoided.
A website with project status, FAQs, and a feedback form will be available soon.
Some areas overlap - for example, Financial Aid impacts two other areas. Employees are impacted by budget, personnel, and payroll. Account numbers will change. The Registrar will handle student records, and Personnel handles employment functions, but these records will be maintained in the same files to avoid redundancy. Safeguards will need to be developed to prevent problems with differing processes in various departments. However, this sharing of files does not mean Personnel can see student records. Only certain common data is shared, like demographic data.
This new system will provide some opportunities for Tech among all the changes to processes. The new chart of accounts will develop better accounting and better identification for departments. IT moves away from use of the Social Security Number. All information on one individual is in one place. Access is always available - there will be no downtime for data updates. Everything will be moved to the web. New workflows will be implemented including more automated approvals. The two financial aid systems run by the university and HSC will be consolidated into one system with the campus autonomy remaining in place. Reporting will be improved.
As individuals, as staff members, we will see change, and it will be frustrating at times. The end result will be better. There will be things we can build on later. There will be multiple opportunities for staff input and suggestions. Training will be made available for those impacted.
Regarding student records, was a product selected for degree audit? This has been researched, but no current update today. Will there be downtime to the degree-audit system? We know there will be an issue with this.
The single sign-on for the Banner system will use the e-raider.
Social Security Numbers are still being removed from documents, but the committee charged with this are being moved to the Banner transition team. TechSIS web for Faculty is moving to an e-raider login this summer. We don't know yet how the systems will be rolled out. Some individuals may have earlier transitions than others. The migration plan has not been developed yet, but it is a top priority.
Housing acquired new time clocks and now the Social Security Number is displayed on a screen for several seconds. This issue will be brought to the attention of payroll.
Tech conducted significant research with other universities before purchasing the Banner system. The University of Illinois is the largest school that has implemented it. The implementation has gotten better along the way, although they have had some communication problems. In Texas, Lamar University and Angelo State University have implemented Banner. Notre Dame has had a successful implementation. Auburn, the University of New Mexico, and New Mexico State have also been successful.
How will the Sunguard BSR system for development integrate? This system is not yet plugged into the Banner product. Tech does not have plans to implement the Banner advancement system and is not aware if Banner provides a data integration with BSR. However, it may develop one in the future since BSR is a new acquisition for Sunguard.
Why are job applicants asked to provide Social Security Numbers? The SSN is actually part of the EEO form and is separated from the application. There has been some discussion in Personnel regarding the use of the SSN on the EEO form. Personnel is willing to assign a temporary number if applicants do not wish to provide an SSN.
No timeline is available for when training will begin for the new system.
Given these points, the Elections Committee of the 2005-2006 Staff Senate recommends that the Staff Senate pursue electronic nomination and voting options to be in place for pilot testing during the next round of nominations and elections. It is also recommended that paper ballots continue to be made accessible to any staff member who does not have access to a computer or who is more comfortable with paper-based voting.
In order to achieve this goal, the Elections Committee further recommends an ad-hoc committee be formed from the general Staff Senate. The purpose of this committee will be to formulate the requirements for an electronic system, coordinate these requirements with the Faculty Senate in an attempt to collaborate on the project, and begin the submission process for a project request to the Information Technology Division.