UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND
Kingston, Rhode Island
FACULTY SENATE
MINUTES
Faculty Senate Executive Committee Meeting #1 June 2, 2004
1. The first meeting of the 2004-05 academic year was called to order at 9:10 a.m. on Wednesday, June 2, 2004 in the third floor conference room in Green Hall, Chairperson Boudreaux-Bartels presiding. All members were present except Senator Martin.
Chairperson Boudreaux-Bartels welcomed Senator James Kowalski and Senator Karen Ramsay, who had been elected to the Executive Committee on May 13.
3. Announcements/Correspondence
a. Senator Rosen and Chairperson
Boudreaux-Bartels reported that they had both attended the May 24 meeting of
the Board of Governors.
Matters of specific interest to URI included the following: unanimous adoption of a resolution in support of NSF/EPSCoR designation for Rhode Island, which followed a presentation by Dean Seemann; a policy for the three institutions on Peer-to-Peer File Sharing; the reorganization of departments in the College of Pharmacy; and a revised capital plan for a new Dining Hall at URI. The Board also discussed a revised Board of Governors Mission Statement subject to modification and approval on June 28.
In addition, President Carothers reported on his recent trip to Korea and the establishment of a consortium of international research universities to explore cooperation in research over international boundaries; a progress report on the Biotechnology initiative; and a report on the economic impact study that had been completed for the university, which demonstrated that the university returns to the state approximately $5 for every $1 that the state spends on URI.
b. Ms. Grubman circulated materials on
the October AAUP Governance Conference, which had been forwarded to them by
Senator Kirschenbaum. No one on the Executive Committee was able to attend the
conference.
c. Ms. Grubman announced that an Outcomes Assessment retreat sponsored by Provost Swan is scheduled for June 30 at the W. Alton Jones Campus. Discussion ensued with regard to the Boardıs mandate that URI develop a formal assessment of ³what students know and how we know that they know it² beyond exams and grades.
Chairperson Boudreaux-Bartels said that she would attend, along with other representatives of URI, a conference on outcomes assessment in Utah beginning on June 23.
4. The Executive Committee discussed potential issues for the 2004-05 academic year.
a. JSPC: Chairperson Boudreaux-Bartels announced that the first meeting of the JSPC was scheduled for June 22. Members of the 2003-04 Executive Committee provided the new members with their impressions of the JSPC during its initial year in operation. They also shared with the new members of the Executive Committee the priorities for the Budget that the FSEC had identified for the JSPC in May.
Chairperson Boudreaux-Bartels noted that a budget orientation meeting for new JSPC members with Ms. Barrett was scheduled for June 8 and suggested that continuing members might want to participate as well.
Chairperson Boudreaux-Bartels said that the JSPC needed a replacement for Senator Grubman-Black on the Space Enhancement, Design and Allocation Committee (SEDA). Senator Kowalski agreed to serve on the Committee. It was suggested that it might be useful for SEDA to have a second faculty member who could bring to the primarily administrative committee additional faculty perspectives. Chairperson Boudreaux-Bartels said that she would make the suggestion to the Provost.
b. Issue of two vice chairs: Chairperson Boudreaux-Bartels said that she had initially proposed the possibility of two vice chairpersons to the previous Executive Committee when she realized the increase in the Vice Chairpersonıs responsibilities as a result of the JSPC. She said that she would raise the matter again at a subsequent meeting.
c. FSEC membersı priorities and goals: The Executive Committee discussed specific priorities and goals that might not have been the on the previous Executive Committeeıs list. Of major interest were: improved support for teaching and classrooms; hiring continuing tenure-track faculty, not necessarily associated with undergraduate teaching, and working to expand the centers-partnerships concept to provide bridges between and among colleges and disciplines.
5. Ms. Grubman provided the Executive Committee with section 4.3 of the By-Laws of the Faculty Senate, which described the Executive Committeeıs authority during the summer:
4.3 The Executive Committee shall have the power to act for the Senate during the interim between the last Senate meeting in the spring and the first meeting in the fall on such matters as urgently require action at the time. Before acting, the Chairperson shall invite members of the Senate to a hearing concerning the action and its urgency. The provisions for circulating the agenda and minutes for special meetings of the Senate shall apply. The action of the Executive Committee will become effective ten days following the distribution of the minutes unless a necessary Presidential approval is withheld or unless a petition for challenges the action delay signed by five percent of the General Faculty. In these cases, the action must await consideration by the Senate.
Ms Grubman then reviewed with the Executive Committee their specific responsibilities during the summer:
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a. Reviewing and approving the CBUM Report on changes to the UNIVERSITY MANUAL based upon Faculty Senate legislation during the 2002-03 academic year, which usually takes place in July;
b. Appointing members to various Senate and University committees;
c. Developing an agenda for the 2004-05 Faculty Senate.
d. Planning the Agenda for Faculty Senate Meeting #1, which will be held on September 23, 2004.
6. The Executive Committee discussed summer meetings and agreed to meet on July 15 at 9:00 a.m. It was decided to wait until that meeting to decide whether to hold another meeting prior to the August 5 meeting of the JSPC. The date for the first meeting in the fall was tentatively set for September 2.
Ms. Grubman asked members of the Executive Committee to provide her with their schedules for fall 2004 by their next meeting so they can establish a regular meeting date and time for the fall.
7. The Executive Committee discussed committee appointments for the coming academic year.
8. The Executive Committee was brought up to date on the following matters of business that were continuing from the 2003-04 academic year:
a. Mr. Murphyıs Factor Analysis model: Chairperson Boudreaux-Bartels reported on recent discussions about the model with Mr. Murphy and others involved in its development. She noted that since there had been a number of changes that reflected the meetings Mr. Murphy had held with faculty members and administrators, she had asked Mr. Murphy to meet with the entire Executive Committee to provide an update on the model.
Chairperson Boudreaux-Bartels expressed concern that the PCA, which has questionable data, remained a major component of the model.
b. Progress of Ad Hoc Committee on Admissions to the Providence Campus: Ms. Grubman reported that the ad hoc committee planned to continue meeting during the summer. She noted that since Professor Feldman would be away for some of the time, Professor Quina had agreed to chair the meetings in his absence.
Ms. Grubman shared with the Executive Committee a draft questionnaire that the ad hoc committee intended to share with high school guidance counselors in order to determine whether there might be interest in the potential programs for Rhode Island students who did not want to live on the Kingston Campus.
c. Progress of Ad Hoc Committee on Graduate Education and Research: Chairperson Boudreaux-Bartels reported that members of the ad hoc subcommittee will meet on June 9 with a graduate student assigned to Planning Services and Professional Development (PSPD) as a preliminary step in gathering data on graduate studentsı contribution to URI and graduate funding, including assistantships, fellowships and the hourly payroll.
The meeting was adjourned at 12:15 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Sheila Black Grubman