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Scenes from Faculty Senate

Minutes for Faculty Senate Meetings

September 24, 2009

Number 1

1. Immediately following a meeting of the General Faculty-Graduate Faculty, the regular meeting of the Faculty Senate was called to order at 3:11 p.m. in the Cherry Auditorium, Chester Kirk Building, Chairperson Swallow presiding.

All members were present except Senators Adams, Baudet, Blanthorne, Collie, Irvine, Kook, Hutt, Lasky, Lee, Nassersharif, Roush, Schwegler, Watts, Wilson and Wishner; President Dooley, Vice Presidents Beagle and Weygand; Deans Bonn, Higgins, Jordan and Richmond (Vice Provost McCray and Deans Brownell; Fey-Yensan and Wright were represented by their designees).

2. Chairperson Swallow asked if there were any additions or corrections to or questions about the Minutes of Faculty Senate Meeting #8, May 14, 2009. There were none.

A motion was made to approve the Minutes as distributed. The motion carried.

3. Reports of Officers and Executive Committee

A. Chairperson Swallow introduced himself and welcomed everyone to the first meeting of the 2009-10 academic year.

  1. Chairperson Swallow said that the 2009-10 Faculty Senate Executive Committee probably set a record for meetings, especially if one counted lunch discussions. He explained that many of the meetings had been devoted to discussing the Draft Academic Plan and that the FSEC had been pleased that many of their suggestions had been incorporated into the most recent draft. He said that the FSEC had met with both President Dooley and Provost DeHayes during the summer and looked forward to a year of shared governance. He said that he had sent a letter to all Senators early in the week that reported on the Executive Committee's work during the summer and identified what they believe would be the major items for the upcoming academic year. (See http://www.uri.edu/facsen/FS_chair_letter_09-10.pdf) He encouraged everyone to read his letter for more details.

  2. Chairperson Swallow encouraged everyone to continue to take the threat of the h1n1 virus very seriously and to follow all of the suggested precautions as well as find ways for students to make up work missed because of illness.

  3. Chairperson Swallow said that Senator Dholakia, who is coordinating the Honors Colloquium, had asked for a minute to draw the Senate's attention to this year's colloquium, "De-mystifying India." Chairperson Swallow said that Senator Dholakia had been held up, but he had been assured that there would be materials to distribute later in the meeting.

  4. Chairperson Swallow thanked Provost DeHayes for sponsoring the reception that afternoon. He encouraged everyone to come to the University Club after the Faculty Senate meeting."

B. Vice Chairperson Ordoñez said that the Minutes 2008-2009 Executive Committee Meetings #21 through #28 and the Minutes of the 2009-10 Executive Committee Meetings #1 through #8 had been distributed by e-mail and noted that they were accessible on the web at http://www.uri.edu/facsen/Commtgs_08-09.html and http://www.uri.edu/facsen/Commtgs_09-10.html. She asked if there were any questions.

Discussion ensued during which Chairperson Swallow, Vice Chairperson Ordoñez and Provost DeHayes responded to questions raised with regard to the Executive Committee minutes.

C. Before presenting the recommendations of the Executive Committee, Vice Chairperson Ordoñez announced that a textiles exhibit, "Elephants, Paisleys, and Plaids: Indian Influence on Western Textile Design," which coordinated with the Fall Honors Colloquium would open on September 28 in Quinn Hall.

  1. Vice Chairperson Ordoñez moved that the Faculty Senate approve the proposed amendment to section 10.90.13 on the Administrator Evaluation Committee (change in CAPS):

    10.90.13 Administrator Evaluation Committees (see 5.76.10) shall be established within each administrative unit to review faculty letters and determine how the letters and any additional data are to be summarized and presented. IT IS EXPECTED THAT THE WORK OF THESE COMMITTEES SHALL BE COMPLETED WITHIN ONE SEMESTER. See sections 5.76.10 - 5.76.12 for descriptions of Administrator Evaluation Committees."

    Discussion ensued.
    Following discussion, Senator Cohen moved to amend the motion by deleting "IT IS EXPECTED THAT."
    Discussion ensued on the amendment.
    The amendment carried.
    The main motion as amended carried.

  2. Vice Chairperson Ordoñez moved that the Faculty Senate approve the Committee Appointments for 2008-09.

    She said that the committee appointments were on the web at http://www.uri.edu/facsen/Committees_09-10.html and were up-to-date as of September 23.

    Following discussion, during which the name of Senator Leon Thiem, CVE, was added to the membership of the Academic Program Review Committee (APRC), the motion carried.

    Vice Chairperson Ordoñez noted that there were still a few vacancies on committees. She suggested that if anyone was interested in serving on the Academic Standards and Calendar Committee, the Teaching Effectiveness Committee or the Academic Program Review Committee, they should contact Ms. Grubman.

D. Professor Emeritus Vincent Rose presented the Annual Report of the University Ombud for 2008-09, which appeared on the web.

Discussion ensued during which Ombud Rose responded to questions from the Senate.

4. Report of the President

In President Dooley's absence, Provost DeHayes gave the President's report.

Provost DeHayes welcomed everyone back for the academic year. He explained that President Dooley had an important commitment out of town and had asked him to send the President's regrets to the Faculty Senate for missing the first meeting of the year.

A. Provost DeHayes reported that President Carothers had approved the bills that had been forwarded to him at the end of the 2008-09 academic year. These bills were on the web at http://www.uri.edu/facsen/Bills08-09.html. He asked if there were any questions. There were none.

B. Provost DeHayes thanked Chairperson Swallow for reminding the Senate about the h1n1 virus. He said that the URI Health Services has already reported about 30 cases but these were not documented to be h1n1 cases.

The Provost said that he wanted to remind the Senate again about the Fall Honors Colloquium: "Demystifying India." He noted that Jhumpa Lahiri, whose book, Interpreter of Maladies had been sent to all freshmen, would speak as part of the colloquium later in the semester. He said that the summer reading initiative, which provided a book to all freshmen to read over the summer and to discuss in class and through an online blog, seemed to be quite successful. He explained the hope is that the summer reading will be engaging to students and faculty and will also send a clear message about learning and dialogue about important academic matters to our entering students.

Dr. DeHayes said that the Freshman Class was slightly smaller this fall and had a higher academic profile. He emphasized that the University must consider access and affordability in concert with academic quality.

Provost DeHayes reported briefly on the University's declining resources from the State, noting that the continuing cuts meant that the state now provided URI with about 10% of its budget. He said that the University must continue to make the best use of the State's contribution, but we must also focus on the careful allocation and management of the remaining 90% from other sources.

Provost DeHayes then responded to questions from members of the Senate.

5. Reports of Standing and Special Committees

A. Professor King, Chairperson of the Council for Research presented the Report of the Council for Research for 2008-09 which appeared on the web at http://www.uri.edu/facsen/Annual_Report_08-09_CFR.pdf He provided a brief overview of the Council's activities and answered questions.

Professor King then moved approval of the following motion:

That the Faculty Senate approve the elimination and removal from the UNIVERSITY MANUAL of the following centers, which are no longer functioning at the University of Rhode Island:

  • Center for Ocean Management Studies (3.66.10)
  • Design for Manufacturability Center (3.70.30)
  • Institute for Advanced Manufacturing (3.70.10)
  • Institute for International Business (3.80.10)
  • Research Center for Business and Economics (3.56.10)

Discussion ensued.

Following discussion, the motion carried.

Senator Hicks presented the University College and General Education Committee Report #2009-10-1, which appeared on the web at http://www.uri.edu/facsen/UCGE_09-10-1.pdf. She moved approval of the recommendations.

Discussion ensued.

Following discussion, the motion carried.

6. Special Form

The Faculty Senate began a discussion of the draft academic plan, which was available on the web at http://www.uri.edu/provost/

Chairperson Swallow said that the Faculty Senate Executive Committee had spent considerable time over the summer asking questions and making suggestions about the earlier drafts and agreed that much of their input had an effect on the current draft. He and Provost DeHayes reminded everyone that there was still an opportunity to forward comments and suggestions to comments@etal.uri.edu.

Provost DeHayes shared a brief outline of the goals of the academic plan and responded to questions from the floor.

When the time for the meeting expired, the meeting was adjourned. Chairperson Swallow reminded everyone that they could continue the discussion at the reception at the University Club.

The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 p.m.

Respectfully submitted, Sheila Black Grubman