STATEMENTS OF QUALIFICATIONS AND INTENTIONS
2007-08 FACULTY SENATE OFFICERS

Bruce Bikle
Nominee for Chair

My fellow Senators:

First I want to say that I did not expect to be the only person nominated to the position of Faculty Senate Chair. That said, I am honored to accept the position.

Those of you who know me, are aware that I am a strong advocate for shared governance at the university. Little that happens at this university does not in some way impact the central and core role of the faculty: To design, deliver, assess, and improve the curriculum of the institution and its departments. That gives us a lot to look at, and also provides a lot of baggage to carry at times.

This has been a tough year, the contract negotiations, budget issues, the no-confidence vote and the changes in the university have provided ample space for discussion and disagreement. I hope there are some things we can agree on as we move into the next year:

One, that we can conduct our business in a manner that recognizes that there are legitimate differences of opinion, and;

Two, we need to build strength in faculty governance. Put simply, we need more depth on the bench. Next year it would be good if all our elections were contested, and more importantly that Senators came to meetings because some good and important things were happening here in the Senate.

And we have much work to do. It is clear that the big issue ahead is the budget and all of its ramifications with regard to what kind of university we will have in the near and more distant future. Underlying the budget are legitimate concerns and important issues we need to put our attention to including workload, service, support for faculty activities and a host of other issues that shape our daily endeavors at CSUS.

At the national and state levels, it seems clear to me that universities are going to be called upon to be more active in the assessment of our programs and activities. We need to be prepared to articulate our interests, our desires and our commitment to quality education in a sometimes hostile political and fiscal environment.

Put simply we need to be at the table to discuss and articulate values and represent the interests of the faculty mission and responsibilities. To do this we need arrive at productive working relationships with all constituencies at the university.

40 years ago, as a young student leader in the Associated Students of the University of Hawaii, my mentor in History (and in higher education), Professor Walter Johnson told me that the faculty were the “soul” of the institution. At the time I said “no, it is the students and their power that is the important factor.” Over time, perhaps as a result of coming back to the university as a faculty member, I now see things somewhat differently.

Well, Walter, you were right; the faculty are the soul of the university. I will do my best to act from that belief, and I hope that the Executive Committee and I will have your support, your ideas, and your wise counsel as we move through the next year.

Thank you

James Sobredo
Nominee for Vice Chair

QUALIFICATIONS. My original training is in the humanities: BA & MA in Philosophy (Ancient Greek). A historian with a PhD in Ethnic Studies (Berkeley), I am currently an associate professor in the Social Science & Interdisciplinary Studies College. Ethnic Studies was born out of student activism and protests. Like many ethnic students, my background is working-class. I also learned my leadership skills from organizing anti-war demonstrations, gay/lesbian pride parades, and protests for women’s rights. However, I do not believe in an adversarial model, and I consider myself a moderate. I am heavily influenced by my wife’s management skills, which is based upon Stephen Covey’s organizational theories and healthy effective management. I have served as Department Vice Chair, Chair of the College’s Faculty Council, Department Graduate Coordinator and GE representative for the College. In the process I’ve gotten to know University policies and procedures quite well.

STATEMENT. My involvement in faculty leadership came as a result of junior faculty salary issues. A colleague and I organized the first junior faculty meeting, and we asked CFA to bring salaries (especially junior faculty’s) to the forefront of bargaining. We then brought the salary inversion issue to the Senate where I introduced a resolution asking the Senate and Administration to address the salary inversion problem. As a result of this successful collective organizing, I was approached by Senate colleagues to run for Vice Chair (VC). As VC, I understand that my responsibility is to serve the Senate and advocate for faculty interests and protect our academic mission. Thus, when asked by Senate colleagues, I was more than happy to read the resolution that asked Administration to rescind the $1.6M proposed cut to Academic Affairs—this proposal was crafted by the Senate Executive Committee. Similarly, when asked to serve on the University Budget Taskforce, I accepted and served with the understanding that I’m representing the Faculty Senate.

I have always conducted my Senate duties and responsibilities with integrity, collegiality, and openness, and I have done my best to advocate for the Senate.

LEADERSHIP VISION. If given the opportunity to serve another year as Senate VC, I will continue to serve with integrity, collegiality and openness to different perspectives. I am always willing to listen to different perspectives. As a continuing Vice Chair, I hope to bring continuity and stability to the Senate’s leadership and provide a more effective University co-governance.

Thank you for your consideration, and I hope to earn your vote and support.

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 nine 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 2000-01 through 2003-04. This is my fourth nomination to serve as chair of APC, having been nominated and elected to serve as chair these past three academic years.

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 and its Executive Committee, as chair of APC, and as one of three campus representatives elected to serve on the CSU Academic Senate.

As Senate chair, I was responsible for facilitating debates on a wide range of policy issues. 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 reflects my experience and motivates my engagement in the process of shared governance.

“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 2007-08, I will 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 served on Curriculum Policies Committee (CPC) for several years before becoming chair which I have been for the last 3 years. Before assuming the chair, I was the CPC 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. I have experience in setting agendas, facilitating discussions, and performing the follow up work associated with committee recommendations

As CPC Chair, I have dealt with numerous curricular issues in the last couple of years. CPC discussed problems with the policy concerning 200 level courses. We developed a new policy for paired courses that the Senate and the President approved. We examined criteria for certificates and after meeting with department chairs decided not to create new criteria. We looked at the concept of the pre-major and met with department chairs and deans and made suggestions that we believe resolved the problem with students who were not accepted to the nursing program. We continue to monitor policies and procedures concerning program review.

Also serving as a policy committee chair makes me a member of the Senate's Executive Committee which is the management team for setting the Senate's agenda. I also serve on various other committees such as Program Review Oversight Committee (currently chairing), WASC Phase II, and other committees as needed (e.g. Ad Hoc Committee on Doctorates).

I have the support of the Curriculum Policies Committee to be chair for next year, and, if elected, I expect to do an excellent job of running the CPC for the Senate.

Linda Goff
Nominee for Chair of the Faculty Policies Committee

I am honored that my colleagues on the Faculty Policies Committee have voted to recommend me to serve as Chair next year.

I am the longest serving faculty member on FPC having served several terms, most recently from 2000- 2007. I am committed to exploring and resolving the many difficult policy issues that affect Faculty on our campus. Within FPC, I currently serve as liaison to the CTL Advisory Board and on the Wang Award Committee, and have chaired several subcommittees over the years. I have a good grasp of parliamentary procedure having presided over a variety of professional and social associations.

I coordinate the Instruction Program of the University Library which reaches over 13,000 students each year. Last year I received the first Outstanding Teaching Award given to a Librarian at Sac State.

I am very active in Library professional associations on the state, national and international level. I currently serve on the Information Literacy Standing Committee of the International Federation of Library Associations and have recently finished a chapter for a book on the InfoLit to be publish by K.G. Saur and will present a paper at the IFLA conference in South Africa this summer.

My roots at Sac State go deep as I am a native of Sacramento, and an alumna of Sacramento State. I also hold a MS in Instructional Media and Technology from Minnesota State University, Mankato and a Master of Library Science from Rutgers University.

Janet Hecsh
Nominee for Chair of the General Education Policies/Graduation Requirements Committee

I have been a member of the General Education and Graduate Requirements Committee for the past 3 years and consider that service to be of the utmost importance both to my colleagues in all the colleges and to the students we serve--and will serve into the 21st century. Our recent work has focused on preparation for the GE Program Review and to establishing principles that will frame that work as it proceeds. I expect to carry out the duties of the Chair by continuing to practice the principles of collaboration, consensus building, and full participation at the level of the Executive Committee of the Senate and the committee which I will "chair."