UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND
Kingston, Rhode Island
FACULTY SENATE
MINUTES
Faculty Senate Executive Committee Meeting #12
November 12, 2003
1. The meeting was called to order at 1:05 p.m. on Wednesday,
November 12, 2003 in the third floor conference room in Green Hall,
Chairperson Beckman presiding. All members were present.
2. The Executive Committee met with Interim Vice Provost Swift
from 1:05 - 2:30 p.m. The PCA complement/accompaniment and the
Program Quality Review (PQR) process were discussed.
a. PCA accompaniment/complement: The Executive
Committee explained that their goal has been to give all academic
department chairs and program heads the opportunity to review the PCA
accompaniment/complement, comment on its helpfulness and suggest
questions that might better reflect issues of quality.
Interim Vice Provost Swift agreed to discuss this issue further
with the Provost and indicated that she would get back to the
Executive Committee with the Provost's response.
b. Program Quality Review: The Executive Committee and Interim
Vice Provost Swift reviewed the materials on program quality review
that had been provided by Ms. Grubman prior to the meeting. These
materials had included the relevant sections of the UNIVERSITY
MANUAL, Guidelines for academic departments, a list of the programs
in the 7-year review cycle and the status of programs that had been
subject to the review.
It was agreed that the Program Quality Review Process had not
been as effective as the original Faculty Senate committee had hoped
when they drafted the MANUAL sections. The need for timelier
reporting and follow-up, in addition to questions about the
relationship between the process and accreditation reports and annual
departmental reports to deans were discussed.
The Executive Committee also agreed that it would be worthwhile
to work with the President on developing a joint task force to look
simultaneously at improving both the quantitative and qualitative
measures we use to evaluate programs.
In addition, Interim Vice Provost Swift reported on efforts to
require approval by deans and the Provost when programs and
departments project their space needs. She also indicated that
principal investigators would be expected to inform the University
about potential space and renovation needs whenever they apply for a
grant in order to ensure that any renovations or space needs included
in a grant are already in the queue of projects should the grant be
funded.
There was some discussion about whether academic department
chairs are in a position to estimate future needs given the current
unmet needs due to budgetary uncertainties. Interim Vice Provost
Swift said that the administration recognized that the process was a
dynamic one but wanted departments, deans and the Provost to have an
opportunity to consider growth patterns and future plans.
3. The minutes from Executive Committee Meetings #10, October 28,
2003 and #11, November 4, 2003 were approved.
4. The Executive Committee discussed a request from the
Constitution, By-Laws and University Manual Committee that time be
set aside at a Faculty Senate meeting for an informal discussion of
governance issues. It was agreed to add the CBUM Committee's request
to the Agenda for Meeting #3, November 20, 2003, as new business. It
was further agreed to include as a last page of the Agenda
Chairperson Beckman's October 28 memorandum to the faculty on
governance and reorganization proposals.
The Agenda for the November 20 Faculty Senate Meeting was then
approved in final form.
5. The Executive Committee discussed the following matters of
continuing concern:
a. Temporary Center for Urban Studies and Research:
Ms. Grubman reported that the Office of Provost had provided them
with background information for the Temporary Center for Urban
Studies and Research and distributed copies of the proposal for the
Center for Urban Studies and Research. It was agreed that the
Committee would review the proposal before the next meeting.
b. Safe Workplace Policy: Following discussion, the Executive
Committee agreed that because the AAUP considers the Safe Workplace
Policy an issue for collective bargaining, it is not a Faculty Senate
matter. Chairperson Beckman was asked to indicate on the Safe
Workplace Policy Signature Form that the policy does not require
action by the Faculty Senate.
c. JSPC: The Executive Committee discussed the Provost's proposal
that the Executive Committee join with her in appointing a task force
to follow-up on the Council of Deans' report on possible
reorganization and agreed that it should be the primary topic for
their meeting with her on December 9.
d. Committees: Ms. Grubman reported on the following with regard
to committees:
1) She said that she intended to
follow-up with the Academic Standards and Calendar Committee on a
recent request that they revisit the University Manual section on
conditional status;
2) Ms. Grubman said that she would contact Senator Deborah Riebe,
one of the Senate's two representatives to the Affirmative Action
Committee about serving on the group that Vice President Dougan was
forming to plan programming to respond to the recent act of hate on
campus.
6. The Executive Committee discussed possible topics for their
November 18 Meeting with President Carothers
The meeting was adjourned at 3:57 p.m.
Respectfully
submitted,
Sheila Black Grubman