NUMBER 9

 
UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 
Faculty Senate

MINUTES
Faculty Senate Meeting – May 15, 2008

1. The regular meeting of the Faculty Senate was called to order at 3:08 p.m. in the Cherry Auditorium, Chester Kirk Building, Chairperson Miller presiding.

All members were present except Senators Caines, Dholakia, Fastovsky, Forrester, Hazera, Hedderich, Hutt, Kaufman, Kirschenbaum, Roworth, Sodhi and Wittwer; Vice President Beagle; Vice Provosts McCray and Pasquerella; Deans Bonn, Farmer, Higgins, Jordon, Joseph and Maslyn; Mr. Ahrens.   
 
2. Chairperson Miller asked if there were any additions or corrections to the Minutes for Meeting #8.  It was noted that Senator Nassersharif had been present and that the Minutes should be corrected accordingly. He then asked if there were any further additions or corrections to or questions about the Minutes of Faculty Senate Meeting #8, April 24, 2008. There were none.

Chairperson Miller ruled that in the absence of further additions or corrections, the Minutes were approved as corrected.

3. REPORTS OF OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

A. Announcements

1) Chairperson Miller announced that it was the organizational meeting of the 2008-09 Faculty Senates.  He asked the Senate to welcome the following new Senators who were taking their seats at the meeting:
        
ARTS AND SCIENCES
Suellen Adams
Will Krieger
Jim Loy
Suren Malik
Christian Wittwer
Paul Yager

BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Cindy Blanthorne

ENGINEERING
Chris Baxter
Leon Thiem
GRADUATE SCHOOL OF OCEANOGRAPHY
Randy Watts

HUMAN SCIENCE AND SERVICES
Sandy Hicks
Mark Rowinski


THE ENVIRONMENT AND LIFE SCIENCES
Steven Irvine
Bethany Jenkins
Stephen Swallow

2) Chairperson Miller then introduced Matt Freeman, President of the Graduate Student Association, who was taking his seat as an ex officio member of the Senate that afternoon.  

3) Chairperson Miller announced that it was the last time that members of the Faculty Senate would received printed copies of Faculty Senate Agenda, the green documents that everyone was accustomed to having for more than 40 years.    He explained that The Faculty Senate Office, like many other departments at URI is losing a very valuable staff member.  He said that Ms. Diane DeFosse, who has been at URI for 35 years, 32 of them with the Faculty Senate, would be retiring on June 20.  He further noted that the Faculty Senate Office has received a significant cut in its operating budget for 2008-09, also like most departments at the University.

Chairperson Miller said that in order to operate with a reduced staff and budget, the Faculty Senate would follow Provost DeHayes lead and move to a paperless operation for the coming academic year.  He assured the Senate that Ms. Grubman did not plan to retire at this time and that she would do her best to make things convenient for Senators, but the Faculty Senate Office would no longer publish printed Agenda or Minutes.
        
4) Chairperson Miller then expressed his appreciation to Ms. DeFosse who had so ably assisted him and 22 other Senate Chairs.  He thanked Ms. Grubman for her help and support and gave her a gift on behalf of the Executive Committee.
           
Chairperson Miller thanked all of the members of the 2006-07 Executive Committee: Vice Chairperson Celest Martin, Professor Laura Beauvais, and Senators Barbara Costello and Dana Kovarsky; Senator Margaret Ordonez who joined the Executive Committee in the spring 2008 and Senator David Fastovsky, who had served in the summer and fall of 2007 semester.

Chairperson Miller noted the importance of the faculty’s role in University governance and asked the Faculty Senate to be thoughtful and creative as they face challenges of the coming academic year.

5) Chairperson Miller said that he wanted to thank Dean Raymond Wright of the College of Engineering, who was sponsoring the reception that afternoon. He encouraged everyone to gather at the University Club after the Faculty Senate meeting.
    
B. Vice Chairperson Martin said that the Minutes of Executive Committee Meetings #25 through #28 appeared on pages 4-14 of the Agenda.  She asked if there were any questions.
    
Discussion ensued during which Chairperson Miller, Vice Chairperson Martin and President Carothers responded to questions about the Executive Committee Minutes.

Vice Chairperson Martin moved approval of the following resolution in honor of Chairperson James H. Miller:

Whereas:
Chairperson Jim Miller has served the Faculty Senate with dignity and strength

And

Whereas:
He has seized upon challenges as opportunities for “positivity” (a Miller neologism)

And

Whereas:
He has proven himself a humble and careful listener to his peers

And

Whereas:
Though possessed of a congenial nature he has demonstrated his ability to hold the line on matters of academic expectations and faculty concerns

Therefore, be it resolved that the 2007-2008 Faculty Senate expresses its appreciation for his service, his solidity, and his Monday morning smiles.
The motion carried.
    
C. Professor Beauvais, Chairperson of the Nominating Committee presented the
Report of the Nominating Committee for Officers of the 2008-09 Faculty Senate, which appeared on page 15 of the Agenda

Professor Beauvais placed in nomination the names of Senator Celest Martin, Writing and Rhetoric, and Senator William Rosen, Chemistry, for Chairperson of the Faculty Senate.

She asked if there were any nominations from the floor. There were none.

Dean Brownell asked as a point of personal privilege whether the Faculty Senate Budget would provide funding for release time for the Chair and Vice Chair of the Faculty Senate and was assured that the funds allocated for that purpose would not be touched for any other purpose.

Nominations were closed. The Senate proceeded to vote.

Professors Agostinucci and Honhart served as tellers.

During balloting, the Senate moved to the next item of business.

D. Vice Chairperson Martin moved that the Faculty Senate endorse the revised charge to the Blue Ribbon Study Commission, which appeared on pages 16-20 of the Agenda. The motion carried.
                
C. Chairperson Miller announced that Senator Martin had been elected Chairperson of the Faculty Senate for 2008-09.

Professor Beauvais placed the name of Senator Barbara Costello in nomination for Vice Chairperson of the Faculty Senate.

She asked if there were any nominations from the floor.  There were none.

Nominations were closed.

A motion was made that the Nominating Committee be directed to cast the ballots of the Senators for Barbara Costello.  The motion carried.  
    
Professor Beauvais placed the names of the following Senators in nomination for the two 2-year terms on the Executive Committee:

Bryan Blissmer, Kinesiology
Bahram Nassersharif, Mechanical Engineering            
Margaret Ordonez, Textiles, Fashion Merchandising & Design
Stephen Swallow, Environmental and Natural Resources Economics

Professor Beauvais asked if there were any nominations from the floor.  There were none.

Nominations were closed. The Senate proceeded to vote.

During balloting, the Senate moved to the next item of business.

E. Professor Kowalski reported on the decision to initiate a pilot project on the IDEA Student Ratings of Instruction.  He then responded to questions from the floor.
        
C. Chairperson Miller announced that Senator Stephen Swallow had been elected to one of the 2-year terms on the Executive Committee.  He said that a runoff election would be held between Senator Nassersharif and Senator Ordonez.

During balloting, the Senate moved to the next item of business.

4. REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT

A. President Carothers announced that he had acted on all of the legislation forwarded to him after the April 24 Faculty Senate Meeting.

B. President Carothers said that he wanted to dwell on the positive that afternoon and did not plan to mention the budget in his report.  President Carothers said that the University has celebrated the naming of Swan Hall the previous day and noted that it had been a wonderful occasion.  

President Carothers said that the following week would be Vice Provost Pasquerella’s last week at the University and noted that while everyone was happy to hear about her appointment as Provost at the University of Hartford, her move would be a loss to URI.

President Carothers reminded the Faculty Senate that graduation weekend was approaching, first with a ceremony at the Narragansett Bay campus on Friday, followed by the Graduate ceremonies on Saturday and concluding with the undergraduate commencement on Sunday.  He urged faculty to attend the commencement ceremonies and reminded everyone how important it was for graduates and their families to see the faculty participate.

President Carothers asked if there were any questions. There were none.         

3. C. Chairperson Miller announced that Senator Margaret Ordonez had been elected to the second 2-year term on the 2008-09 Executive Committee.

Professor Beauvais explained that since Senator Costello had been elected Vice Chairperson, the second year of her 2-year term would be vacant and therefore there were two 1-year positions on the Executive Committee.

Professor Beauvais placed the names of the following Senators in nomination for the two 1-year terms on the Executive Committee:

Ronald Lee, Music
John Leo, Film Media
Barbara Meagher-Smith, Journalism    
Andree Rathemacher, University Libraries            
She asked if there were any nominations from the floor. There were none.

Professors Beauvais and Agostinucci served as tellers.

During balloting, the Senate moved to the next item of business.

5. REPORTS OF STANDING AND SPECIAL COMMITTEES

A. Professor Honhart presented the Four Hundred Sixty-Second Report of the Curricular Affairs Committee, which appeared on pages 21–32 of the Agenda.  He made editorial corrections to Section I and Section II of the report.

Professor Honhart noted that Section I was informational and asked if there were any questions.  There were none

Professor Honhart said that Section II required confirmation by the Faculty Senate and moved approval as corrected.  The motion carried.

Professor Honhart announced that Section III was a joint report of the Curricular Affairs Committee and Graduate Council on 400-level courses.  He said that part A was informational and asked if there were any questions.  There were none.

Professor Honhart moved approval of part B of Section III.  The motion carried.

Professor Honhart said that Section IV was the CAC’s revised report on Lab Fees.  He said that part A was informational and that it provided additional information on the revised recommendation. He asked if there were any questions.  There were none

Professor Honhart moved approval of the recommendations, which appeared in part B of Section IV.

Discussion ensued.

Following discussion, the motion carried.

B. Dean Killingbeck presented the Curricular Report No. 2007-08-7 from the Graduate Council to the Faculty Senate, which appeared on pages 43-47 of the Agenda.  He said that Section I was informational and asked if there were any questions.

Dean Killingbeck noted Section II required confirmation by the Faculty Senate. He moved approval of Section II as corrected editorially by e-mail.  The motion carried.

C. Senator Hicks presented the University College and General Education Committee Report #07-08-6, which appeared on pages 48-54 of the Agenda. She said that Section I was an informational report on the review of URI 101 and asked if there were any questions.  There were none.

Senator Hicks said that Section II required confirmation by the Faculty Senate and moved approval of Section II.  The motion carried.  

D. Senator Dicioccio introduced the Academic Standards and Calendar Committee Report #2007-08-4, which appeared on pages 55-58 of the Agenda.  

Senator DiCioccio moved approval of the academic calendar for Summer 2009.  The motion carried.

Senator DiCioccio moved approval of the academic calendar for 2013-14.  The motion carried.

Senator DiCioccio moved approval of the academic calendar for 2014-15.  The motion carried.

E. Vice Chairperson Martin presented the annual report of the Providence Campus Undergraduate Initiative Committee, which appeared on page 59 of the Agenda.  She said that guests from the Feinstein Providence Campus were available to answer any questions about the informational report and asked if there were any questions.  There were none.

F. Professor Stevenson presented the Report of the Learning Outcomes Oversight Committee, which appeared on pages 60-65 of the Agenda. He asked if there were any questions.  There were none.

Professor Stevenson moved that the Faculty Senate approve the addition of “a dean of a degree-granting college” to the membership of the LOOC.  The motion carried.

3.  C. Chairperson Miller announced that Senators Meagher-Smith and Rathemacher had been elected to the two one-year terms on the Executive Committee.  He then thanked the members of the Nominating Committee for all of their work.
            
The officers of the 2008-09 Faculty Senate are:

Celest Martin, Writing and Rhetoric, Chairperson
Barbara Costello, Sociology and Anthropology, Vice Chairperson
Barbara Meagher-Smith, Journalism, (one-year term)
Margaret Ordonez, Textiles, Fashion Merchandising and Design, (first year of a two-year term)
Andree Rathemacher, Library, (one year term)
Stephen Swallow, Environmental and Natural Resources Economics (first year of a two-year term)

The Senate then resumed its regular order of business.

5. G. Professor Rice introduced the Report of the Academic Program review Committee, which appeared on pages 66-68 of the Agenda. He said that the report was informational and asked if there were any questions.  There were none.

6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Chairperson Miller asked if there was any Unfinished Business.  There was none,

7. NEW BUSINESS

Chairperson Miller asked if there was any New Business. There was none.

The meeting adjourned at 4:40

Respectfully submitted,
Sheila Black Grubman