The meeting was called to order at 4:09 p.m. All departments were in attendance except Athletics, Business Administration, Interdisciplinary Studies, Music, and Philosophy.

I. Minutes of previous meeting

The minutes of the March 17, 2009 meeting of the Faculty Senate were approved as corrected.

II. Report of the Faculty Senate Chairperson

Faculty Senate Chair Börger-Greco repeated the call for nominations for the election on April 21. The summer meeting was announced for June 9 at 3:00 p.m. A reminder was given to departments electing senators for 2009-2012 terms: ART, BIOL, COMM, CNHD, EDFN, ELED, ENGL, GEOG, ITEC, LIBR. Faculty were encouraged to attend commencement in regalia.

Senator Mowrey raised a point of order for the agenda, noting that the Faculty Senator proposal from ESCI should be under Other/New Business.

III. Report of the Student Senate President

Student Senate President Farrelly reported on officers elected for 2009-2010, allocations appeals, plans for a joint concert event with UAB and BSU, and plans for a Safety Day event.

IV. Report of the Graduate Student Association

A report was given in absentia, highlighting the Graduate Research Symposium scheduled for April 22 and community service event being planned.

V. Report of the Administrative Officers

Provost

Provost Prabhu indicated that two scheduling options for next spring were submitted to APSCUF to determine how to accommodate the missing Monday. Dr. Prabhu shared information about efforts towards securing a more advanced accreditation for the undergraduate programs in Business Administration from the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business. He noted that the Masters in Business Administration program has been put on hold to avoid delaying this process. While no new admissions will be made, all current students will be able to complete their degree. Dr. Prabhu also emphasized that the business programs are still accredited by the Association of Collegiate Business School Programs. A question was raised about whether the MBA would be reinstated later. Dr. Prabhu responded that the hope is that once the undergraduate accreditation is achieved, ramping up to the MBA will be more feasible.

Associate Provost for Academic Administration

Associate Provost Burns shared a call for proposals relating to the new University Theme, Remix the Future: Remake Our World, and for design of a logo. Dr. Burns also encouraged faculty to participate in the common reading program by serving as discussion leaders during orientation. He thanked faculty who participated in the Wabash study survey.

VI. Reports of the Faculty Senate Standing Committees

UHCC

Senator Moine introduced a proposal to modify the Honors College curriculum to facilitate a Freshman Year Experience and other program objectives.

UCPRC

Dr. White reported approval of recertification of General Education labels for courses as follows: D label: COMM317, EDFN211, ENGL280, ENGL333/H, ENGL334/H; W label: BIOL204, BIOL207, BIOL256, BIOL263, BIOL281, BIOL438, BIOL446, BIOL447, BIOL462, BIOL467; P label: ENGL430, ENGL462, CSCI/PSYC350. She also outlined the large number of proposals considered this year and indicated that only courses already scheduled for consideration at the final UCPRC meeting can be accommodated this year. Dr. White expressed special thanks to members of UCPRC for their hard work this year, especially Drs. Carrie Smith, Frank Duba, and Joe Labant for leading subcommittees and Dr. Carrie Smith for acting as liaison to Senate. Dr. White also commented on plans to develop a website to make curriculum review materials more accessible and faculty input on this is welcome.

First Readings

(1) CHANGE IN UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM
BSE: PK-12 & Secondary. Proposal to add three courses and modify the Foundations Block and Professional Course in order to meet new requirements from PDE.

Dean Bray noted meeting the new requirements for this program while preserving the content in majors was difficult. She commended Drs. Lucinda Ridley and Cheryl Desmond for their work to provide a viable option. Dr. Ridley noted that adjusting student teaching credits and incorporating additional training addressing special needs and English Language Learners in a seminar-type course allowed only addition of three credits.

(2) CHANGE IN UNDERGRADUATE COURSE
EDFN211: Foundations of Modern Education, 3 credits, D. Proposal to add D label and revise objectives to align with requirements from PDE relating to English Language Learners.

(3) CHANGE IN UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM
BUAD. Proposal to require that matriculated students complete at least 30 credits and have a 2.25 grade point average in order to transfer into business administration.

It was noted that this restriction is proposed to reduce the number of students switching into Business Administration. It is not clear whether this will keep enrollment at a manageable level and may need to be modified later.

GCPRC

(4) NEW GRADUATE COURSE
SOWK640-643: Special Topics, 3 credits. Proposal to create a course to provide an opportunity for exploration of issues and concerns related to the social work profession.

JSC

Senator Mowrey shared that all members for the Educator of the Year Selection Committee are finally in place for an initial convening. A request that current members of the Educator of the Year Selection Committee whose terms are expiring be renewed to allow this group to meet as organized was approved without dissent.

VII. Reports of the Faculty Senate Special Committees

None

VIII. Proposed Courses and Programs

Second Readings

(1) NEW UNDERGRADUATE COURSE
MUSI190: Introduction to Careers in Music, 3 credits. Proposal to create a course to explore the diverse career opportunities within the music field was approved without dissent.

(2) NEW UNDERGRADUATE COURSE
MUSI394: Advanced Recording Studio Techniques, 3 credits. Proposal to create a course covering advanced audio recording skills was approved without dissent.

(3) CHANGE IN UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM
BA PYSC. Proposal to require a grade of C- or higher in both PSYC 211 and 212 as prerequisites for PSYC 314, 315, and 316 was approved without dissent.

(4) NEW UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM
BS BIOL, Animal Behavior option. Proposal to create an option in biology to train students in behavior-related issues of domestic, feral, and wild animals was approved without dissent.

(5) CHANGE IN UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM
BA GEOG: Global Studies option. Proposal to modify course requirements in the Global Studies option to broaden students’ international perspective and understanding was approved without dissent.

(6) CHANGE IN UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM
GEOG: BA, all options; all minors. Proposal to add GEOG180 to the required courses for all major options and minors in geography was approved without dissent.

(7) CHANGE IN UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM
BA GEOG: all options. Proposal to permit students to declare multiple options within geography provided that they double count courses only in the Required and Required Related blocks but not in the Geography Electives block was approved with one dissenting vote.

It was clarified that this would only be multiple options rather than multiple majors.

(8) NEW UNDERGRADUATE COURSE
PHYS104: Applied Physics, 4 credits, G2, L. Proposal to create a course that studies the application of mathematics to practical problems in physics was approved without dissent.

Senator Anna explained minor changes made to the pre-requisites and wording to clarify that this is a general education courses rather than something specific for ITEC majors. There were no objections to voting on the proposal with these minor changes.

(9) CHANGE IN GRADUATE POLICY
The change in graduate student admission testing requirements to eliminate the uniform requirement for standardized tests was approved without dissent.

The proposed changes to the ASC bylaws document was postponed so that the committee can consider a possible change to the membership.

IX. Faculty Emeriti

None.

X. Other/New Business

Senator Sikora distributed a proposal from Earth Sciences to require that all future faculty senators be non-probationary faculty members. [see Attachment #1] Dr. Sikora shared the rationale that probationary faculty typically have less institutional knowledge to shape decision making and that the burden of tenure may keep probationary faculty from feeling free to voice opinions at Senate. The discussion that followed addressed that service as senator is a valuable opportunity for probationary faculty to get involved at Millersville, that some probationary faculty come with experience at other schools, that early-career faculty can bring innovative ideas, and that departments need to judge readiness and protect representatives on sensitive issues. Senator Walsh inquired about the impact on small departments who might have very few non-probationary faculty members. Dr. Sikora noted that this had not been considered. It was noted that senior faculty members are not stepping up in some departments although there is a need for senators who can provide insights from previous experiences on campus. A concern was raised about the probationary status of senators serving in recent years from Earth Sciences. Discussion was postponed.

XI. Senate Committee Elections

Nominations for vacant seats were taken from the floor. A Labant/Foster-Clark motion to close nominations and unanimously elect all unopposed candidates was approved without dissent.

Meeting was adjourned after elections

Respectfully Submitted,

Aimee L. Miller
Secretary of the Senate

Action Summary