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Scenes from Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Meeting

Minute

Meeting #14

December 2, 2003

1. The meeting was called to order at 1:02 p.m. on Tuesday, December 2, 2003 in the third floor conference room in Green Hall, Chairperson Beckman presiding. All members were present.

2. The minutes from Executive Committee Meeting #13, November 18, 2003 were approved as corrected.

3. Announcements/Correspondence:

a. The Executive Committee discussed an e-mail request from Interim Vice Provost Swift asking for their advice about whether the University should discontinue paper transcripts beginning this semester. Concerns were raised about students who do not have access to computers. There were also reservations expressed about the advisability of moving ahead with paperless grades until some of the "kinks" could be worked out with regard to the implementation of PeopleSoft.

They noted that their advice had been taken and the decision was made to continue with paper for the time being. They also acknowledged that the issue would be brought forward again with regard to spring semester grades.

b. The Executive Committee considered a request from Professor Peters that they learn more about the decision to schedule athletics events during final exam period in direct contradiction to the regulations adopted by the Faculty Senate in the Spring 2002. Chairperson Beckman agreed to investigate this matter further and to report back to the Executive Committee.

c. The Executive Committee discussed a memorandum from Professor Kunz regarding the CAC's consideration of two temporary film studies courses. Chairperson Beckman was asked to respond to Professor Kunz and to indicate that the Executive Committee did not as a policy interfere with the actions of committees. It was further agreed that the members of the committee involved should receive copies of both Professor Kunz' memo and Chairperson Beckman's response. *

d. The Council of Deans' Agenda for December 3, 2003 was circulated for information. It was noted that the November 20 Faculty Senate meeting was on the Agenda and the Executive Committee agreed to inquire about this when they meet with the Provost.

* Note: This action was superceded by the Executive Committee's decision at their December 9, 2003 meeting to limit their response to Professor Kunz.

4. The Executive Committee interviewed Vice President for Administration Candidate, Dr. Eugene Gilchrist, Assistant to the President and Vice President for New Ventures at the University of Louisville in Kentucky from 1:15 to 2:00 p.m. Mr. Bakr, Chair of the Search Committee was also in attendance.

5. The Executive Committee discussed the November 20 Faculty Senate Meeting, specifically the discussion of the proposal to admit students directly to the Providence Campus and the subsequent Cigar article and postings to TheForum-L. The Executive Committee agreed that in retrospect, it might have been more appropriate to table the report pending additional information and clarification, rather than allowing the Senate to come to a vote at that time.

Chairperson Beckman reported that Provost Swan wanted to discuss the appropriate next steps with regard to the issue when she meets with the Executive Committee on December 9.

6. The Executive Committee approved the Agenda for the December 11 Faculty Senate Meeting in final form.

7. The Executive Committee discussed the following matters of continuing concern:

a. PCA accompaniment/complement: Ms. Grubman reported that the memorandum from Provost Swan and Chairperson Beckman forwarding the material developed by the President's Committee to department chairs had been mailed prior to Thanksgiving. She said that a copy had arrived that morning in campus mail.

b. Faculty Governance and reorganization: It was noted that, with President Carothers' approval, the President's memorandum to the JSPC on Deliberations on Academic Organizations had been posted on FacSen-Bus as requested by the Senate. In addition the memorandum was included in the Agenda for the December 11 Faculty Senate Meeting.

Senator Rice reported that the faculty of the College of the Environment and Life Sciences had met on November 25. At that meeting, the college faculty voted to permit the department of Community Planning to leave the college.

c. Simultaneous review of processes for evaluating cost and quality of programs: The Executive Committee reviewed a draft on simultaneously reviewing cost and quality processes prepared by Vice Chairperson Hollinshead, which had been forwarded to them the previous week. It was agreed to send it to President Carothers and Provost Swan and to ask that it be added to the Agenda for the Executive Committee's December 9 Meeting with the Provost.

It was further agreed that the Executive Committee would distribute it at the next meeting of the JSPC and ask that it be included as a discussion item for the following meeting.

d. Preparation for next JSPC Meeting: The Executive Committee asked chairperson Beckman to propose that in the future Agenda for JSPC Meetings arrive no later than the Monday before the meeting. She also agreed to recommend that the Agenda be set two meetings in advance to provide the members with sufficient time to read and consider materials in advance of the meetings.

The Executive Committee agreed that by distributing the materials prepared by Vice Chairperson Hollinshead at the December 4 meeting for consideration on December 18 would serve as an example for the Executive Committee's proposal.

With regard to the proposal to make up for a reduction in the states contribution to the University's budget by raising tuition, the Executive Committee decided to ask the JSPC to consider at what point raising tuition would be counterproductive.

Senator Grubman-Black, the JSPC's representative to the Space Enhancement and Design Committee, suggested that the Executive Committee consider the possibility of meeting with Ms. Newman, the recently hired space planner for the University.

8. The Executive Committee agreed to the following topics for their meeting with Provost Swan on December 9:

a. Establishing a task force to consider reorganization proposals;

b. Simultaneous review of cost-quality issues as outlined in the enclosed document;

c. Following-up on issues and concerns related to the Providence Campus;

In addition, the Executive Committee agreed to ask the Provost about the inclusion of Faculty Senate Meetings on the Council of Deans' Agenda.

Respectfully submitted,

Sheila Black Grubman