Faculty Senate Minutes

MINUTES FACULTY SENATE MEETING 18 February 1997

Chairperson D. Eidam called the meeting to order at 4:10 p.m. in Chryst Hall, Room 210. All departme ntal senators except for the Nursing Department attended. P. Leahy attended for student senate and M. Wayde for The Snapper.

Minutes

Senate approved the 4 February 1997 meeting minutes. Eidam noted the following corrections to today's agenda: In item VIII. Proposed Courses and Programs, change CSCI 450 and 456 from one to two meetings to challenge courses. Under item IX Faculty Senate Elections, note that Professor S. Lotlikar no longer served on the Judiciary Committee and senate will not hold that election.

Reports

Chairperson's Report

Chairperson D. Eidam welcomed parliamentarian C. Scharnberger back to senate. Eidam talked to J. Sheridan regarding senate's timelines on the General Education Task Force Report. Senate is targeting a completion date of March's first meeting (4 March). APSCUF and the Provost agree to the new date. Eidam reserved Chryst Hall, Room 210, for next Tuesday, February 25, in case senate needs a special meeting solely devoted to discussion of the General Education Task Force Re port. He asked the UCPRC and GERC committee chairs to be ready to reschedule their meetings.

Eidam's email survey indicates that senators agree with the dates. Before today's meeting ends, senate must decide whether to meet next Tuesday. Eidam distributed a senate email directory Attachment C but said it would be the last that he would distribute in hard copy form. He can place it on MU's senate Web page faster than he can print it.

Eidam announced that senate secretary M. Margolis now sends senate's minutes electronically to senate's Webmaster, M. Warmkessel. She puts the minutes on Marauder on senate's part of the MU Web site home page. Last meet ing's minutes are already available there. Eidam suggested that senators check senate's web site; Webmaster Warmkessel improves it every day. The minutes are linked and an index is planned for the future.

Eidam recognized senate Webmaster, M. Warmkessel, and thanked her for all her work she has done so far. She said she appreciated comments from senators. Her goal is to put current minutes on line and then work backwards . All minutes and action summaries are available on line for 1995 and 1996. When secretary M. Margolis sends the minutes to her electronically, she can put them on senate's Web site immediately.

She does have a concern about attachments to the minutes. There are two ways of putting attachments in minutes for the Web: either keying or scanning them in. Without ocr software with scanning, an indexing system can n ot index the attachments. Warmkessel moved that senators provide attachments that go with minutes either electronically (e.g., email) or on a floppy disk. The motion passed.

Eidam represented senate at last night's SPARC meeting. There was a discussion of the budget and L. Suskie presented an analysis of an attitudinal and background survey that is done about every three to four years. Eida m would like to have Suskie speak to senate after senate completes important agenda items.

Student Senate President

Student Senate President P. Leahy said student senate met February 13 and filled openings on committees. It elected six new committee members. If senators need to know who the student representatives on their co mmittees are, contact the student senate office. Student senate also worked on its voter registration drive. The next meeting will be February 27.

Administrative Officers
President

President J. Caputo said two weeks ago he reported on governor T. Ridge's annual budget address. University presidents have since met with Pennsylvania legislators to get their take on the governor's budget mess age. Recall that there was a fair amount of hostility towards us two years ago. Last year that anger seems to have subsided. Ridge proposed a two percent increase in the budget and legislators seem to support it. It is unlikely that the general assembly will raise the figure. Several line items were not funded.

Caputo said there was cumulative damage from the recent Lawless campaign against the SSHE schools. Lawless created an environment in which higher education is perceived as inefficient. In response to this, we are develo ping a letter writing campaign and are asking alumni and students to write to legislators. We are also developing a public relation's campaign that will stress our mission and accomplishments.

Vice President for Academic Affairs

Vice President for Academic Affairs F. McNairy informed senators that MU held an open house last weekend. 1100 individuals attended despite snow. They stayed for the academic presentations. She thanked departmen tal representatives for coming out and helping.

Associate Provost for Academic Administration

Associate Provost for Academic Administration J. Stager said that MU moved the workshop that Jim Nichols will conduct from April 10 and 11 to April 1 and 2. The Women in Mathematical S ciences Conferences is also April 1.

Committee Reports

Undergraduate Course and Program Review Committee

Undergraduate Course and Program Review Committee chairperson, R. Wismer, introduced four new course proposals and one option:

MATH 269: Calculus and Actuarial Science Problem Solving Seminar, a new one credit hour course to be first offered Spring 1998 if approved.

HIST 209: Women in United States History, a new three credit hour General Education Writing (non-liberal arts core) course first offered as a topics course in the Spring and Fa ll of 1995 and to be first offered Spring 1998 if approved.

BIOL 447: Chesapeake Bay System, a new, four credit hour General Education Writing course first offered as a topics course in the Fall of 1995 and to be first offered in the Fa ll of 1997 if approved.

Wismer requested that senate consider BIOL 447 under the one meeting rule.

WSTU 491: Topics in Women's Studies, a one to four credit hour new non-general education elective topics course to be first offered in the Fall of 1997 or Spring of 1998 if approved.

Option in International Business

Wismer asked that senate consider the option today since it has already been presented and discussed in senate. Changes have been made where senators had objections in the past. Senate voted to consider the option t oday and again voted to approve it.

Academic Policies Committee

Academic Policies Committee chairperson, K. Bookmiller, said the committee's first meeting will be on Thursday.

Outcomes Assessment Committee Outcomes Assessment Committee chairperson, R. Mainzer, said the committee together with the General Education Review Committee is applying for a system wide grant. The grant will involve Dr. J. Nichol's workshop . Senate voted in May 1994 to require and activate outcome assessment and evaluation plans and the grant also includes senate's action. The committee is restarting a newsletter and plans three issues. The first one will come out in about a month.

Joint Senate Conference Committee

Joint Senate Conference Committee chairperson, J. Piperberg, said he has distributed the rough draft of a report concerning the four year commitment to committee members. He has received feedback from them. He w ill make the appropriate changes based on their feedback. He will schedule a meeting soon; committee members can expect to meet shortly. He expects to complete the project quickly.

Academic Standards Committee

Academic Standards Committee chairperson, J. Piperberg, said if senate passed the proposal he made concerning the Academic Standards Committee today, he will bring to the committee a recommendation to raise the number of students as well. Chairperson D. Eidam reminded Piperberg that senate's bylaws require that a written proposal be submitted when changing a senate committee's size.

University Theme Committee

University Theme Committee chairperson, J. Piperberg, said yesterday was the due date for proposals for the year 2000-2001 University theme. He has received four suggestions. One proposer was anonymous and one d id not want to be responsible for his/her proposed theme. Two suggestions were well fleshed out. Piperberg will distribute the descriptions of the two proposals to committee members. The committee will meet with the proposers shortly and will have a recom mendation for senate either in the first or second meeting in April.

Piperberg deferred to B. Schneller, 1996-1997 Academic Theme Committee Co-Chairperson, so that she could describe some of the Spring semester' upcoming theme events. Schneller said the title of this year's theme is &quo t;Preparing for Life in the Twenty-First Century." She described two upcoming events: on February 27, 1997, Frederick Turner, a poet, essayist and Founder's Professor of Literature at the University of Texas at Dallas, will present a lecture entitled , "The Great Chain of Being - The Role of the Arts in the Twenty-First Century." The event will occur at 4 PM in Lehr Dining Room of Gordinier Hall. On March 6 of the next week, Elijah Anderson, Charles Gay Professor of Sociology at the Universi ty of Pennsylvania, will present a lecture on violence in the inner city. The lecture will be at 7:30 PM in McComsey Auditorium.

Senate secretary and 1996-1997 Academic Theme Committee Co-Chairperson, M. Margolis, announced that Michael Rothchild, author of the best-selling book Bionomics, will speak on campus on the significance of biotec hnology for America's future. The event will be held on April 15, 1997, at 8 PM in Lehr Dining Room of Gordinier Hall.

Proposed Courses

There were no challenges to currently proposed courses under the two meeting rule.

Business

Faculty Senate Elections

Senate needed to elect its secretary for a one year term (1997-1998) beginning in September 1997. Chairperson D. Eidam called for nominations. Hearing none, he noted that B. Schneller, although not currently a senat or, was willing and able to serve as senate secretary. Eidam asked that senate suspend the rules and elect Schneller, a former senate secretary. A W. Dorman/B. Nakhai motion to elect B. Schneller as senate secretary for the 1997-1998 academic year passed unanimously.

Senate needed to replace S. Lotlikar on the University Theme Committee, a nonschool position ending in 1998. Eidam called for nominations. Hearing none, he said senate will carry the election over to the next meeting.

Report of the General Education Review Committee

The General Education Review Committee reported to senate on the report of the General Education Task Force of 19 November 1996 (see Attachment A, pages 4155-4156, of the 4 February 1997 senate minutes). Chairperson D. Eidam recognized senator J. McCade. McCade said that he had placed on the table written motions regarding the General Education Review Task Force (see Attachment A). He asked to make the motions one at a time:

Motion 1: Advanced Writing Requirement

The task force should completely withdraw both its reference to the English Department and the statement about the advanced writing requirement.

The motion passed after senator S. Thompson seconded it.

Motion 2: Controlling Cost

The task force should devise a strategy to assess cost or at least begin planning a strategy.

Senator W. Dorman seconded the motion. After considerable discussion, senate passed the motion 17 to 2.

Motion 3: Controlling Cost

The task force should accept responsibility to look into administrative side cost savings.

C. Koslowsky seconded the motion. Senate defeated the motion.

Before moving to McCade's motion 4, senate considered the General Education Review Committee Motions for Senate's Consideration (see Attachment B). The chairperson recognized senator C. Stameshkin. She asked that senate consider six motions contained in Attachment B. Motions 1 and 2 passed. Motion #3 reads as follows: That we not submit items in group 1 to the faculty as part of the task force recommendations package, but instead discuss and resolve this issue within fa culty senate. Senator J. McCade amended the motion to read as follows: delete the words, "…discuss and resolve this issue within faculty senate." Then replace those words in motion #3 with "…include them in the rationale." Th e motion to amend passed and the amended motion # 3 passed.

Before it could vote on motion #4, senate decided to postpone debate until a meeting next Tuesday, February 25, 1997. The only business of the February 25 meeting will be General Education Task Force Report issues.

Program Approvals - Program Changes

Senate approved an Associate of Technology in Industrial Technology.

Expansion of the Academic Standards Committee - Returned to the Agenda

Academic Standards Committee chairperson, J. Piperberg, has requested that senate raise the committee's size to give students more attention and better handle the committee's workload. Currently the committee has se ven members serving overlapping three year terms.

Senate adjourned at 5:45 PM. The next meeting will be Tuesday, 4 March 1997, from 4:05 - 5:45 p.m. in Chryst 210.

Respectfully submitted,

Marvin Margolis, Secretary
Faculty Senate

Return to Faculty Senate Home Page
Return to MU Home Page