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Scenes from Faculty Senate

Joint Strategic Planning Committee

June 25, 2003

1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Green Hall Conference Room

Attendance: Robert L. Carothers, M. Beverly Swan, Bob Beagle, Tom Dougan, Dennis Stark, Ann Morrissey, Judy Beckman, Mary Hollinshead, Faye Boudreaux-Bartels, Steve Grubman-Black, Michael Rice, Sheila Black Grubman, Kevin Lopes, Michael Sutherland, Earle Degraphenried, Soledade Surrette, Linda Barrett

Annoucement: TPresident Carothers reported that the House Finance Committee would meet on June 27 to consider the fiscal '04 budget. He said that there was a possibility that a motion would be introduced to exempt from the FTE cap positions hired under third-party funds. He encouraged everyone to urge their legislators to support the effort to exclude the positions from the cap.

Minutes: The Minutes of the June 11, 2003 meeting were approved as distributed.

Communication Strategy: Linda Acciardo joined the committee for a discussion of how to best ensure effective communication, not only about the JSPC, but also from and to the JSPC.

It was agreed that members of the community should know that the JSPC listens to what they are thinking with regard to implementing the strategic plan and also that the JSPC is aware of how the community feels about what the committee is doing.

The committee agreed, as an initial step, to inform the campus about what the JSPC is and is not charged to do, who the members are, and how they can be reached. Communication plans will include the development of a JSPC website in addition to e-mail, campus mail and other sources. It was agreed that shared governance should be emphasized as a regular part of communication.

To enhance communication with the URI community and to make the best use of meeting time, members of the committee would be responsible for ensuring that members of their constituencies were not only informed of the committee's activities but also encouraged to contact them directly to ask questions and make suggestions rather than hold an open forum during the meetings.

In addition to distributing JSPC minutes through FacSen-Bus and the Faculty Senate Agenda and allowing time for questions and discussion at Senate meetings, the Vice Presidents will share them with department heads in their divisions who would be expected to share them with the members of their staffs. Further, the Presidents of the Student Senate and Graduate Student Association will report on the JSPC's activities at their meetings.

The committee agreed that they would also disseminate in advance issues to be considered at JSPC meetings. The purpose of this would not only be to inform the community about what the committee is doing, but also to provide the opportunity for members of the various constituency groups to comment and offer suggestions. It was agreed that in some instances, the constituency groups might be broadened to include outside constituencies, such as the Alumni Association and the Office of Higher Education when issues that affect them are under consideration.

It was agreed that the JSPC will work closely with Linda Acciardo and her staff to ensure that regular and consistent information about the JSPC and its work is available to members of the community.

Administrative Reorganization: The Committee discussed the most recent iteration of President Carothers' plan to reorganize administrative units. Members of the committee asked questions and made suggestions to the President with regard to institutional research, the University Libraries and Summer School. The President was also encouraged to elaborate on the JSPC in his official reorganization announcement.

Provost Swan responded to questions about her efforts to work with the deans on strategies to make better use of university resources, including the possible reorganization of colleges and/or departments. She identified the colleges of Arts and Sciences, the Environment and Life Sciences and Human Science and Services as more likely to be affected than the professional schools. She noted that the issue currently under discussion was the possible reorganization of the biological sciences. She also indicated that the recent NCATE accreditation might result in taking another look at the configuration of the School of Education.

Flow Charts: The committee discussed the revised flow charts for the capital projects approval process and for space allocation decisions that had been distributed at the end of the previous meeting.

The JSPC discussed what role, if any, the space enhancement, allocation and design committee has with regard to space decisions at the Providence and Narragansett Bay Campuses. It was also suggested that an effort should be made early in the process to account for inflation and other external factors when projecting the cost of capital projects.

Ann Morrissey reminded the JSPC that Paul DePace is the chair of the Space Enhancement and Design Committee.

Planning Survey: Ann Morrissey reported on the initial responses to the planning survey. She explained that the intent of the survey had been to get a sense of what kinds of planning is being done on campus and by whom, to track their plans, and to learn if they need Planning Services to help them facilitate the planning process. She said that she would be able to provide more information about the responses at a subsequent meeting.

Discussion ensued on ways to help and encourage departments and programs to seek, if they have not already done so, various outside resources to learn more about enrollment and other trends that may impact on their colleges, departments and programs.

Space Enhancement, Design and Allocation Committee: Steve Grubman-Black reported on the SEDA Committee's June 24th meeting. He said that the committee had done some tentative space use planning and had discussed the need for the Provost and Vice Presidents to prioritize space needs before SEDA can act on various requests from within their areas. He also reported on the committee's discussion about improving communication from the committee to individuals and the University community before a decision is made with regard to space changes that affect them.

Follow-up: The committee asked Ann Morrissey to draft for discussion at the next meeting an initial statement about what the JSPC is and is not.

In addition, the committee agreed to include the following on their next agenda: an update by Abu Bakr on the metrics for the strategic plan; a calendar from the Budget Office for the various stages of budget development and the progress of capital projects; a report by Kevin Lopes on the Student Senate's 2-year strategic plan; more information on the planning survey; and an update on the fiscal '04 budget allocation.

It was further agreed to schedule a presentation on financial aid for a subsequent meeting.

Next Meeting: The next meeting will be held on July 9 at 1:15 p.m. Please note the change in meeting time.

The meeting was adjourned at 3:04 p.m.