UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND

Kingston, Rhode Island

FACULTY SENATE

MINUTES

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Meeting #25

March 23, 2004

1. The meeting was called to order at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, March 23, 2004 in the third floor conference room in Green Hall, Chairperson Beckman presiding. All members were present.

2. Announcements/Correspondence

a. A copy of the Council of Deans Agenda for March 24, 2004 was circulated for information.

b. A copy of the Agenda for the Board of Governors Academic and Student Affairs Committee meeting of March 26, 2004 was circulated for information. Chairperson Beckman said that she was very interested in the Agenda, which included a discussion of system-wide student outcomes assessment and a report on Enrollment and Completions by Minority Students in RI Public Higher Education. She explained that she might not be able to adjust her schedule in order to attend and asked if anyone on the Executive Committee could attend the 8:00 a.m. meeting. No one was available at that time.

c. A memorandum from Dr. DeSchepper, Director of the Film Studies Program, on CAC procedures for considering temporary courses was circulated for information. Chairperson Beckman agreed to respond to the letter on behalf of the Executive Committee.

3. The Executive Committee met with President Carothers from 11:00 to 12:05. The President and the Executive Committee discussed JSPC's role with regard to making recommendations on the University's Budget. The President observed that budgets are developed at the department, college and division levels and that the JSPC had acknowledged from its inception that it could not preempt responsibility in that budget process. The Executive Committee suggested that a necessary step was for the JSPC to have an opportunity to discuss the University's priorities and whether they can be identified in the proposed budget before it is finalized and submitted. The President agreed, setting forth his view that once items are identified as strategic priorities, they would be funded in the proposed budget. The members of the Executive Committee noted that they could not develop an exhaustive list of budget priorities and said they wanted to reserve the right to discuss further issues as they arrive. The President again agreed, reserving that right to himself as well.

Also discussed were the Executive Committee's concerns about the future of the JSPC experiment beyond the 2003-04 academic year. President Carothers said that he was still thinking about whether the JSPC had been beneficial to him in the decision-making process and asked whether it had served that role for the Faculty Senate.

The Executive Committee asked whether the JSPC would meet during the summer of 2004 and with the same regularity during the 2004-2005 academic year as it had during the current year. In response to the question, President Carothers indicated that if he agreed to continue the JSPC process, the members of the Executive Committee would be paid for summer meetings and would receive the same release time as they received this year.

When President Carothers left the meeting the Executive Committee resumed its regular order of business.

4. The Executive Committee discussed the Agenda for Faculty Senate Meeting #7, March 25, 2004.

During the review it was discovered that there were errors in the proposed calendar for spring 2008 in the Academic Standards and Calendar Committee Report. Ms. Grubman agreed to contact Professor Hickox and suggest that the report be removed from the Agenda, corrected, and resubmitted for the April 15 Faculty Senate Meeting

Senator Boudreaux-Bartels distributed copies of an article from the February 27, 2004 issue of the Wall Street Journal titled "Throwing Out the Rule Book," which she had been asked to bring to their attention. The article contained an unflattering portrayal of URI with regard to the University's report on its investigation of NCAA violations. It was agreed that the Executive Committee should be aware of the article if the matter is raised during Professor Ramstad's report to the Senate.

Senator Martin announced that she was unable to attend the Faculty Senate Meeting because she would be attending a conference in San Antonio.

5. The Executive Committee decided to include on the agenda for their April 20 meeting with President Carothers the following matters which they hadn't had time to raise at today's meeting:

a. Concern with adding students versus raising tuition;

b. Concerns about a "celebrity culture" and whether the returns obtained from funds invested in high profile hires provided the University with a financial benefit;

c. Interest in the capital campaign, especially the Provost's statement that the focus on fundraising for endowed chair positions for faculty, and the JSPC's role with regard to setting priorities.

6. Senator Rosen reported on the work of the Investigative Ad Hoc Committee and said that they hoped to present an informational report to the Senate on April 15th.

7. Ms. Grubman reminded the Executive Committee that they were scheduled to meet with Vice Provost Trubatch on March 30 to discuss the Research Corporation proposal and provided copies of the materials on the Research Corporation to those members who had not received them.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:55 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Sheila Black Grubman