UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND
Kingston, Rhode Island
FACULTY SENATE
MINUTES
Faculty Senate Executive Committee Meeting #29
April 20, 2004
1. The meeting was called to order at 10:32 a.m. on Tuesday,
April 20, 2004 in the third floor conference room in Green Hall,
Chairperson Beckman presiding. All members were present.
2. Announcements/Correspondence
a. The Agenda for the Board of Governors Academic
and Student Affairs Committee Meeting of April 23, 2004 was
circulated for information. Chairperson Beckman noted that two items
of interest were the reorganization of the College of Pharmacy and a
discussion of policies at the three institutions on peer-to-peer file
sharing among students. She then indicated that she would attend the
meeting.
b. The Agenda for the April 21, 2004 meeting of the Council of
Deans was circulated. The Executive Committee agreed to ask the
Provost about the "Mandated Background Checks," which appeared as an
item on the Agenda.
3. The Executive Committee discussed Faculty Senate Meeting #8,
which had been held on April 15, 2004:
a. The Executive Committee agreed that Chairperson
Beckman should thank the Ad Hoc Committee on Admissions to the
Providence Campus on their report to the Senate, including the
Executive Committee's appreciation of committee members' responses to
questions and requests for clarification.
The Executive Committee also reviewed the resolution passed by
the Senate:
That the Faculty Senate endorses the development
of programs on the Providence campus which would accept incoming
freshman students from the pool of URI undergraduate applicants,
including those directly from high school; and that the Ad Hoc
Committee on Admissions to the Providence Campus be authorized to
develop specific program plans. These specific program plans will be
submitted to the appropriate Senate committees for approval.
They discussed possible implications and noted that no date had
been assigned for admitting students directly to the Providence
campus. They also agreed that the CAC was the appropriate committee
to review programs to be offered in Providence.
b. The Executive Committee discussed Senators' responses to
Chairperson Beckman's report on the JSPC. The Executive Committee
agreed that since such a steep learning curve is required for full
participation on the JSPC, it is desirable to have some faculty
carryover from year to year. They decided to propose to the Senate
that the Constitution, By-Laws and University Manual Committee be
asked to consider the possibility of amending Article V of the
Faculty Senate Constitution with regard to the length of terms on the
Executive Committee in order to ensure continuity.
4. The Executive Committee reviewed a draft Agenda for Faculty
Senate Meeting #8a, April 29, 2004 and approved it in final form.
5. The Executive Committee discussed the following matters of
continuing concern:
a. Budget Priorities: The Executive
Committee continued its discussion of the materials distributed by
Senator Rosen on March 30, which they agreed would help them prepare
for the JSPC's budget discussion on May 5 from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m.
Senator Rosen proposed that members of the Executive Committee
read a report from the most recent issue of Academe titled
"Financial Exigency, Academic Governance, and Related Matters,"
especially the last section, which included suggestions for
increasing revenue and lowering expenses at colleges and
universities.
It was agreed to continue the discussion after the members of the
Executive Committee have an opportunity to review the report.
Senator Rice also encouraged members of the Executive Committee
to read an essay in the same issue of Academe titled "Outsourcing"
which had been written by Mary Burgan, the national AAUP's General
Secretary.
b. College Appeals Procedure: Vice Chairperson
Boudreaux-Bartels reported on her conversation with Ombud Rose about
his concerns as to whether colleges have complied with section
8.26.10 of the UNIVERSITY MANUAL. It was agreed to discuss this
matter with Provost Swan.
c. Pilot testing of portfolio model: Chairperson Beckman
reported that she and Provost Swan had an opportunity to look at one
of the departments being pilot tested, but had not been able to
complete the review in the allotted time. She said that she wasn't
sure how many of the faculty members who had been invited to
participate in the pilot test had an opportunity to do so at that
point. She said that she hoped to have more information for the
Executive Committee at their next meeting.
6. The Executive Committee agreed to the following topics for
their April 27 meeting with Provost Swan:
a. Follow up on the status of the Provost's request
of the College Deans about complying with section 8.26.10 of the
UNIVERSITY MANUAL.
b. The Provost's perceptions about the usefulness and
effectiveness of the JSPC and what ideas she may have for improving
its functioning.
c. Clarification of the "Mandated Background Checks" item that
had appeared on the last Council of Deans Agenda.
d. Moving forward on Outcomes Assessment.
The meeting was adjourned at 12:10 p.m.
Respectfully
submitted,
Sheila Black Grubman