STATEMENTS OF QUALIFICATIONS AND INTENTIONS
2005-06 FACULTY SENATE OFFICERS

Cristy Jensen
Nominee for Chair of the Faculty Senate

I want to express my appreciation for  the opportunity I have had this year to serve as Chair of the Senate and thank you for your willingness to nominate me for a second term.  The old adage about a "intense learning curve" is real, but I have a tremendous sense of satisfaction with some of the things we have accomplished this year, including the development of the advising initiative, the approval of the GE Honors proposal, and our input on the name of this university.  I am also very excited about the way in which we have debated and engaged these issues, increasing the active involvement of more and more Senators as the year went on.  I remember saying last summer that I felt that the Senate is where the important issues in the life of the university should be engaged.  I know we'll have an equally challenging agenda next year!  Thank you again for your support.

Jason Gieger
Nominee for Vice Chair of the Faculty Senate

I have been nominated to be the Vice Chair of the Faculty Senate for the academic year 2005-06, and I am excited about the opportunity to serve as Vice Chair.

Next year will be my fourth year as a senator and my fifth year as an assistant professor of English at California State University, Sacramento; before my arrival on campus in 2001, I held a visiting instructorship at Haverford College. I received my B.A. from California State University, Fresno, and, thus, I think of my work here at Sacramento State as something of a homecoming to the CSU system, a system from which I received so much as an undergraduate.

While I have not held a position on any of the Faculty Senate's major committees, I hope my experiences as the Undergraduate Program Coordinator in my department speak well of my abilities. In my second year on campus, I was asked to assume this leadership position and to head a near-complete revision of the English major. In a year's time, we, as a department, succeeded in studying, debating, proposing, debating again, and adopting a new major. From that process, I learned quickly, at the committee level and at the level of department meeting, that the best kinds of work get accomplished in an environment that seeks consistently the in-put of all willing voices and that encourages good-naturedly openness, dialogue, and appropriate compromise. I hope to bring both my sense of conviction and my ability to engage well with others to the position of Vice Chair, working for the faculty and the university community at large.

Bob Buckley
Nominee for Chair of the Academic Policies Committee

BACKGROUND. I am a faculty member in the Department of Computer Science in the College of Engineering and Computer Science. I first joined the faculty as a part-time instructor in the late 70s while still a graduate student at UCD. I taught initially in Economics and then Computer Science, joining the University on a full-time basis in 1981. I have served regularly on number of departmental committees and became a member of our College Academic Council in the mid 80s. I served as a member of the Council for over ten years, serving at least half that time as its chair. My Senate service began eight years ago as a member of an ad-hoc committee charged with the task of recommending improvements in the general operation of the Senate. The committee’s recommendations were subsequently adopted and have resulted in major changes in the manner in which the Senate and its committees operate. During the 1998-99 academic year I became a member of the Executive Committee. In the spring of 1999 I was elected as Senate chair for the 1999-00 academic year. I was elected an additional four times as Senate chair, serving from 20000-01 through 2003-04. In the spring of 2004 I was nominated by our Academic Policies Committee and subsequently elected to serve as the Committee’s chair for 2004-05.

STATEMENT. As the current chair of our Academic Policies Committee, I look forward to serving again in that capacity. I understand the responsibilities and time commitment necessary to effectively represent the faculty as a member of the Senate, the Executive Committee, the Council for University Planning, and as chair of APC.

As Senate chair, I was responsible for facilitating debates on a wide range of policy issues. In so doing, I understand the importance of having our major policy committees provide senators with information sufficient for them to understand what they are being asked to vote on. Informed debate requires the responsible policy committee to focus not only on the development of the policy but also on what information will be needed to ensure an informed debate occurs; debate which involves and engages the entire Faculty Senate. Committee members often get immersed in the details and involved in debate themselves and, as a result, can easily overlook what is needed to fully inform the Senate. In developing policy, the Committee needs to step back and identify what Senators need to clearly understand the context for what is being proposed and the problem that is being solved (or the need being met) by the Committee’s recommendation. As chair of APC, I will do my best to make this happen.

As I mentioned in my previous nomination statements, I believe that working collaboratively and collegially with the administration is the most effective way to represent our faculty and to serve our University community. There are many opportunities for faculty participation in the critical decisions that affect our university. However, participation requires that faculty be represented “at the table” and actively engaged in decision making at all levels of the University. The following quote provides good advice on how best to achieve productive engagement.

“Pertinacity is a critical value, and the need for change, often not self evident, becomes clear only through repeated contact. Achievement of governance objectives is won less by intensity than by integrity, less by aggressive assault than by concentration prolonged over some time.”

As faculty, we cannot just demand consultation and participation, we have to earn it. Earning it requires this tenacious commitment to collegiality and to a principled engagement with administration, staff and students on a wide range of University issues. There is not much sharing in shared governance without such commitment.

I am honored to have had the opportunity to serve as Senate Chair and as chair of our Academic Policies Committee. As chair of our Academic Policies Committee for 2005-06, I will again try do my best to represent the Senate and all members of the faculty in a manner that reflects positively on all of us.

Ben Amata
Nominee for Chair of the Curriculum Policies Committee

I have been nominated to serve a third term as the Chair of the Curriculum Policies Committee (CPC) by the Committee.

As Chair, I set the committee's agenda, run the meetings, and serve on various other relevant committees such as the Executive Committee, CUP, etc.

Before serving as the CPC chair, I was a member of the CPC for 5 years and the liaison to the Curriculum Subcommittee. Serving on these committees has provided me with substantial experience in dealing with the issues that commonly come before them for consideration. During the Spring semester of 2000, I volunteered to serve as the CPC chair while Tom Kando was on sabbatical. At that time, CPC reviewed and updated the Distance Education Policy which was approved by the Senate and the President. We also developed program review questions concerning the issue of diversity that were eventually accepted and incorporated into the program review process.

This last year, the Committee worked on primarily graduate issues such as the 200 level course and paired courses policy. There are issues that will carry over to next year that will deal with certificates and program review questions. Also there are items that arise from dicussions at the Executive Committee meetings.

I believe that I have served the University well as the CPC Chair and hope that the Senate will provide me the opportunity to serve it for another term.

Amy Liu
Nominee for Chair of the Faculty Policies Committee

Since 1997, I have been a full-time tenure-track faculty in the Department of Sociology, California State University, Sacramento (CSUS). I am willing to serve as the Chair of the Faculty Policies Committee (FPC) of the Faculty Senate. I will take this responsibility seriously.

I am well qualified for this position. As the Chair of FPC for the past two years, and an active member of this committee since 1998, I am very familiar with the structures, charges, issues, and operations of this committee, its subcommittees, and working groups. I also have a great knowledge of how the Faculty Senate and this university operate.

I am aware of the challenges and opportunities faced by this committee, the Faculty Senate, and this university. This is especially the case given the current budget situations in California. I intend to work closely with the faculty, staff, students, and administration on this campus to make this university a great place for us all.

Dick Kornweibel
Nominee for Chair of the General Education Policies/Graduation Requirements Committee

Richard Kornweibel, Professor of History 1968-2001, now on FERP.

Former chair of history department, nine years; coordinator of the international affairs graduate program, five years; social science program coordinator six years. Service on GEP/GRC in three eras including chairing in two and the writing of a program review self study. Prior service on senate executive committee in two eras as well as chairing of campus planning committee. Currently on system-wide committee that evaluates community college courses proposed for GE listing.

I am fully informed on the complex web of state and system mandated policies that govern our graduation program requirements and structure our relationships with community colleges. I understand the range of opportunities that we as a campus can consider for our campus requirements. I don't have fixed opinions on how our campus general education and other degree requirements could change but I can help transmit an accurate and useful knowledge of technical restrictions as well as the multiple opportunities the campus faculty could consider.