Academic Senate: Minutes 11/20/12

I.    Call to order: 4 p.m.    
II.    Roll call
Present: Ellyn Arwood, Julia Balistreri, Ray Bard, Fr. William Beauchamp, Russ Butkus, Mike Eom, Tom Greene, Kyle Hamm, Christin Hancock, Drew Harrington, Susan Hinken, Aziz Inan, Larry Larsen, Nick McRee, Gary Mitchell, Tamar More, Meike Niederhausen, Dann Pierce, Alex Santana, Susan Stillwell, Karen Ward, Matthew, Warshawsky, John Watzke
Not Present: Michael Andrews, Rich Christen, Mark Utlaut, Kaye Wilson-Anderson
III.    Invocation: Larry Larson
IV.    Approval of minutes from meeting from October 23, 2012: Minutes approved.   
V.    Standing Committee Reports:
    a.    Executive Committee, Larry Larsen
        1.    The Executive Committee met November 5.
        2.    In even years, the Academic Senate needs to create an ad hoc committee on senate membership. The Committee can also examine the balance within the Senate and may reallocate positions.
        3.    The Ad Hoc Membership Committee’s findings will be presented in January.
        4.    Tamar More, Russ Butkus, and Larry Larsen met with the Provost to discuss the Academic Senate’s connection to Enrollment Management and the Core.  
    b.    Committee on Committees, Susan Hinken.
        1.    The Committee on Committee’s is working with Russ Butkus to nominate a CAR member to the Core advisory committee. 
        2.    The Committee is working with Larry Larsen to select members for the Ad Hoc Committee on Senate Membership. 
    c.    Committee on Rank & Tenure, Mark Utlaut   
        1.    The Committee on Rank and Tenure is doing its work.
    d.    Committee on Teaching & Scholarship, Aziz Inan     
        1.    The Committee on Teaching and Scholarship met on November 16 to determine Butine awards.
        2.    The Committee had $15K to give and tried to spread the amount to as many as possible. 
        3.    Some proposals were partially funded, some not funded.  Letters are about to go out.
        4.    An announcement will appear in the UPBeat, calling for nominations for the faculty teaching and scholarship awards.  Feb 1, 2013 is the deadline for nominations; materials must be submitted by March 21, 2013.
    e.    Committee on Faculty Welfare, Tamar More
        1.    The Committee met on October 25.  They clarified rules for tuition waivers and discussed plans for a survey.
        2.    The Committee is working with HR on a policy that would allow access to the university contribution to retirement during phased retirement (currently only available upon full retirement).  This is an issue for individuals affected and their programs.
        3.    It was recently brought to the Committee's attention that full coverage for the dental plan may be coming to an end. The Committee will be discussing this with HR.
    f.    Committee on Curriculum & Academic Regulations 
        1.    CAR met on November 13 and considered four proposals that are on today’s Academic Senate agenda:  Environmental Science, Engineering, Computer Science, and Business.
        2.    All the proposals were approved unanimously by CAR.
        3.    CAR will appoint liaison to Core committee.
VI.    Presidential Advisory Committees:
    a.    Committee on Student Media, Kaye Wilson Anderson: No report.
    b.    Committee on Athletics, Alex Santana   
        1.    The Committee met November 9.
        2.    At the meeting, a report was given on the academic performance of student-athletes: 33 athletes had a GPA of 3.9 or above.  
        3.    The Athletic Department has been successful in starting and maintaining the Women’s Crew program.
        4.    Two assistant directors will be hired for compliance with NCAA rules and academics.
    c.    Committee on Health and Safety, Dann Pierce 
        1.    The Committee will approach departments for time to acquaint faculty with evacuation procedure.
        2.    If anyone detects a smell from Swan Island, they should contact whatsinourair.org. The PHL club will be sponsoring a panel on November 28, 7:45 pm in Mago Hunt, with a presentation about what’s in our air. 
    d.    Committee on Information Technology, Gary Mitchell
        1.    The Committee met November  8.
        2.    The student tech subcommittee is developing a survey of recent alums to assess if they had adequate preparation in technology tools. 
    e.    Committee on Sustainability, Rich Christen: No report.    
VII.    Other Reports:
    a.    Fr. William Beauchamp
        1.    A University Core Committee (as per external and internal reviews) has been appointed.  It will have four representatives from CAS and one from each Professional School, one from the library, and one from CAR.
        2.    The Committee will be chaired by the Associate Provost.
        3.    The University Officers are looking at candidates for honorary degrees and the commencement speaker.
        4.    Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.
    b.    Dean’s Meeting (Thomas Greene)
        1.    The budget deadline is moved up this year.  This will hopefully lead to greater communication as year closes.
        2.    Appointments to the University Core Curriculum Committee have been made. 
        3.    The Deans had an opportunity to hear survey results on how alumni feel about their UP experience. 
        4.    The CAS Dean search closes on Wednesday November 21.
        5.    Kate Regan presented information on our Internationalization efforts.
        6.    On December 5, the Deans will meet to make sure get University Core Committee agenda and priorities are is clear. 
        7.    The Provost met with Larry Larsen, Tamar More, and Russ Butkus regarding Enrollment Management.  A draft of the Enrollment Management report will be forthcoming; the Enrollment Management steering committee will meet after that. 
    c.    ASUP
        1.    ASUP passed 2 resolutions: 1) to rollover 90% of unspent funds to next year's major project fund; 2) request that the School of Business offer a 100-level personal finance course. 
        2.    ASUP will be discussing the proposed changes in THE 101.
        3.    ASUP will be hosting a concert at Weekend on the Bluff.
        4.    A patio at Haggarty Hall is under construction. 
VIII.    New Business
    a.    Proposal to Eliminate the Physics Concentration from the Environmental Science Curriculum and to Replace it with a Concentration in Quantitative and Spatial Methods.
        1.    The proposal is a response to the five-year review and patterns of enrollment.  Few if any students used the physics concentration; the proposed concentration is a better match with career opportunities. 
        2.    The proposal passed unanimously by voice vote.
    b.    Proposal for a new Master of Science in Operations & Technology Management degree program within the Pamplin School of Business Administration (PSOBA).
        1.    The impetus for the proposal is increasing demand by the local community for these skills and input from executive advisory boards. The program is designed for those specialized program for OTM students who need a stronger quantitative background. 
        2.    Students in the new program will not need an undergraduate degree in Business.  Non-business degree students will need to take additional coursework prior to beginning the program.
        3.    The proposal passed unanimously by voice vote. 
    c.    Proposal to Eliminate the Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering Management (BSEM) within the School of Engineering.
        1.    This program is not of the quality of other programs, and the resources to bring it to that level would be better used elsewhere.
        2.    Current students in the program can still graduate. Advisors will meet with them and work out a plan.
        3.    The proposal passed unanimously by voice vote.
    d.    Proposed Changes to the Computer Science Program.    
        1.    The proposal is the result of a year-long review of BS programs.  The review looked at how the program can provide more flexibility by taking advantage of courses outside the School of Engineering.
        2.    The proposal recommends changing some specific course requirements to more open electives. It would also require BUS 364 instead of one of the technical electives.
        3.    The proposal passed unanimously by voice vote.           
IX.    Announcements:
    a.    The executive committee meets December 3. 
    b.    The next Academic Senate meeting will be January 15 at 4 p.m.
X.    Adjournment at 4:35pm.