UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND
Kingston, Rhode Island
FACULTY SENATE
MINUTES
Faculty Senate Executive Committee Meeting #16
January 13, 2004
1. The meeting was called to order at 10:35 a.m. on Tuesday,
January 13, 2004 in the third floor conference room in Green Hall,
Chairperson Beckman presiding. All members were present.
2. The minutes from Executive Committee Meeting #15, December 9,
2003 were approved.
3. The Executive Committee agreed to hold their January 20
meeting at 11:15 a.m. because the University would be following a
Monday, rather than a Tuesday, schedule.
4. Announcements/Correspondence:
a. Chairperson Beckman congratulated Vice Chairperson
Hollinshead, who had received a grant, which would enable her to be
away from the University during the 2004 academic year. She explained
that Vice Chairperson Hollinshead had agreed to remain on the
Executive Committee through the month of January.
Chairperson Beckman announced that Senator Boudreaux-Bartels had
agreed to serve as Vice Chairperson beginning on February 1. She
explained that the By-Laws of the Faculty Senate provide for such a
contingency and the Executive Committee was now charged to serve as a
nominating committee to fill the vacant position on the Executive
Committee.
After discussion of possible nominees for the vacant position on
the Executive Committee, they agreed that potential nominees should
be informed that the Executive Committee meets on Tuesday mornings
from 10:30-12:30 and that the JSPC would meet on alternate Thursdays
from 10:30-noon.
b. Chairperson Beckman announced that Professor Richard Brown,
CHE, would be on leave during the spring semester and had recommended
that Professor Wayne Lee, CVE, serve as his replacement until the end
of the academic year. After discussion, it was agreed to ask
Professor Lee to fill Professor Brown's vacancy.
c. The Executive Committee considered e-mail from President
Carothers in which he requested that the mission of the Library
Committee be expanded to include the development of a policy on
electronic textbooks and courses materials.
Following discussion, the Executive Committee asked Chairperson
Beckman to inform the President that they had agreed that this matter
more appropriately fell under the purview of the Teaching
Effectiveness Committee (TEC) because the proposal for an on-line
repository of course materials to help alleviate the cost of textbook
purchases was an instructional issue. She was also asked to inform
President Carothers that they would ask the Library Committee this
spring to address policy issues associated with skyrocketing journal
costs and the recent phenomenon of publishers packaging journals to
make several available through one on-line source.
d. A copy of a request from Provost Swan to Vice Provost Trubatch
that the Council for Research advise the Provost on whether to grant
temporary status to the Proposed Center for Molecular Toxicology was
circulated for information. It was noted that this memorandum was
consistent with the procedure on establishing temporary centers that
had been adopted by the Senate during the 2002- academic year.
e. Senator Rosen agreed to attend the next meeting of the Board
of Governors Finance and Facilities Committee on behalf of the
Executive Committee.
5. The Executive Committee considered the following matters which
had been discussed at the December 11 Faculty Senate Meeting:
a. Providence Campus Committee: The Executive
Committee agreed to appoint, in consultation with the Provost, a
committee to address the issues of quality, staffing, and resource
allocation raised at the November 20 meeting of the Faculty Senate
during the discussion of the Report of the Ad Hoc Committee on
Admissions to the Providence Campus and report back to the Faculty
Senate by March 25, 2004. As part of its consideration of these
issues, the committee shall consult all of the units that would be
affected by a change in admissions policy.
The membership was discussed and Ms. Grubman was asked to
follow-through with Provost Swan on appointments to the ad hoc
committee.
b. URI Transportation Center: Senator Boudreaux-Bartels
agreed to contact Vice Provost Trubatch about the timetable for the
Council for Research's reconsideration of the proposal.
Athletics Advisory Board discretionary powers: The
Executive Committee reviewed the original report with regard to
waivers and considered possible responses to the concerns raised by
Professor Peters and the subsequent discussion at the Faculty Senate
meeting. It was agreed that an appropriate initial step would be to
ask the Senate to pass a resolution to the effect that the Faculty
Senate Executive Committee should be provided with appropriate
documentation and explanation as to reasons when the Athletics
Advisory Board requests a waiver and that the explanation go to the
Faculty Senate Executive Committee simultaneously with the Board's
request to the President.
6. The Executive Committee discussed their December 9 meeting
with Provost Swan and agreed that their next step was to propose
names to the Provost for members of a small task force to consider
reorganization proposals. They also discussed possible members for a
committee to simultaneously review cost-quality measures.
7. The Executive Committee reviewed a rough draft of an Agenda
for the January 29 Faculty Senate meeting. It was noted that in
addition to reports of the Curricular Affairs and UCGE Committees,
the Executive Committee would have a number of recommendations for
the Senate to consider. In addition, an open forum with Commissioner
Warner as the speaker would be included on the Agenda as well.
Chairperson Beckman said that she would have the opportunity to
speak to the Commissioner before the next Executive Committee meeting
and would report on the issues he plans to address on January 20
presentation.
The meeting was adjourned at 12:45 p.m.
Respectfully
submitted,
Sheila Black Grubman