Academic Senate: MINUTES 11/21/2006

Present: Dr. Brian Adams, Dr. Susan Baillet, Fr. William Beauchamp, Dr. Karen Eifler, Dr. Jeff Gauthier, Dr. Chris Hallstrom, Dr. Angela Hoffman, Dr. Joanna Kaakinen, Dr. Ken Kleszynski, Dr. Lora Looney, Ms. Caroline Mann, Dr. Louis Masson, Dr. Terry Misener, Dr. Marlene Moore, Ms. Tara O’Boyle, Ms. Megan Olmstead, Dr. Katie O’Reilly, Dr. Peter Osterberg, Dr. Michael Rabby, Dr. Bart Rylander, Dr. John Schouten, Br. Donald Stabrowski, Dr. Jackie Waggoner

Absent: Dr. Carol Dempsey, Dr. Elise Moentmann, Dr. John Orr, Dr. Michael Rabby, Dr. Zia Yamayee

Invocation: The invocation was given by Dr. Karen Eifler.

Minutes of the October 10, 2006 senate meeting were accepted with two amendments.

Standing Committee Reports

Executive Committee: Dr. Jeff Gauthier gave the report. He reported changes to By-Laws made in the Executive Committee; the changes are not new but rather updates not made during the last review of the constitution. Dr. Gauthier apologized to Dr. Louis Masson for depriving him of a vote during the October 10 meeting and clarified that, in fact, he, as Chair of Rank and Tenure, retains his vote per Article I of the constitution. Dr. Gauthier expressed need to appoint a subcommittee to examine apportionment of senate members as subcommitte appointed, Brian Adams and Elise Moentmann, has reported that the problem more complex than it first appeared. In summary, the ratio of non-elected members to elected members should be 30/70% and the percentage of non-elected members is currently 27, and could drop to 25% if we add two members from newly split departments (and lose balance between College of Arts and Sciences and other schools). Dr. Gauthier further explained that the Senate By-Laws cannot be changed this year, and he will refer the matter to Committee on Committees to seek a committee to resolve apportionment question by February meeting. Questions received from the floor included the timeline expected; if representation is strictly by department or not (Dr. Gauthier responded that the By-Laws state that representation strictly by department); if there is a standard number of at-large members. Explanation from the floor included that the Senate By-Laws contradict each other with regard to at-large seats (Dr. Gauthier clarified that to eliminate at-large seats permissible but not a desirable option); at-large seats were created when there were only 10 departments in CAS to lower the number of non-elected members. Proposals and observations from the floor included that even though each department has a senate member, perhaps each member does not have to come from a single department; that no school needs permission to add departments (because department not defined in the By-Laws) to gain more seats, presumably; and that maybe a proportion of faculty in units could be represented on the Senate.

Committee on Committees: Dr. Jeff Gauthier gave the report in Dr. John Orr’s absence. The committee has not met. 

Committee on Rank & Tenure: Dr. Louis Masson gave the report. The committee dontinues to meet and deliberate.

Committee on Teaching & Scholarship: Dr. Jeff Gauthier gave the report in Dr. Carol Dempsey’s absence. The Faculty Colloquia with Michael Snow in October was well attended and successful. Other Faculty Colloquia (all 3-4 p.m. in BC 163) scheduled for the year include: December 8 with Caery Evangelist, February 9 with Richard Gritta; April 13 with Joanna Kaakinen. The committee met long hours to review and decide the Butine grants, and the campus was informed of grants. There is a call out for nominations for faculty awards. The nominees will be notified December 1.

Committee on Faculty Welfare: Dr. Susan Baillet gave the report. On-line course on sexual harassment education now available. It takes 30-60 minutes to complete and is required. 

Committee on Curriculum & Academic Regulations: Dr. Karen Eifler gave the report. The committee has not met.

Presidential Advisory Committee Reports

Committee on Student Media: Dr. Jeff Gauthier gave the report. The committee had its first meeting and appointed its chairs. 

Committee on Athletics: Dr. John Schouten gave the report. NCAA accredidation team has visited and will send its formal report within a week.

Committee on Health & Safety: Dr. Bart Rylander gave the report. The committee has not met. Dr. Rylander received a question from the floor regarding the university’s disaster plan: is any work being done to develop a plan? And with regard to internal safety issues to prevent violence and crime – is there any protocol in place? President Beauchamp stated that there is a detailed safety plan, but perhaps it not been sufficiently communicated to the campus community. ASUP responded that the dormitories are very prepared for disaster.

Committee on Information Technology: Dr. Chris Hallstrom gave the report.  The committee has met twice. The subcommittee on Communications is currently dealing with spam issue and looking at third-party filtering programs – this technology would allow each individual to access his/her filtered email. The state of the web report is underway. The infrastructure subcommittee is working to make major upgrade projects a smoother process for all. The ASUP representative has reported to the Committee on Information Technology that students wish faculty to make more use of learning@up. Dr. Hallstrom reported that the university is its increasing bandwith to 50 megabytes (two years ago it was only 9 megabytes), that a new training lab is now open in the basement of Franz. Dr. Hallstrom outlined the migration to U and P drives from L and M drives: March 26 is the deadline for the migration of all files. In April off-campus access to U and P drives will be available. 

Other Reports

Fr. William Beauchamp: Fr. Beauchamp reported great progress on the land purchase; there are several inspections underway before purchase and December 31 is the expected closing date. He reported that the EPA has ultimate responsibility to rehabilitate the Superfund sites. He stated that the only hiccup has been with the seller, a somewhat problematic situation. He reported that the new land would eventually serve as  playing fields, location of the physical plant, and parking space. Fr. Beauchamp reported the new recommendations made by the NW Commission:   1. assessment in CAS required more development and, 2. the strategic plan should be more prioritized. NCAA peer-review committee was here for our 10-year certification. The report very good from NCAA, and only two minor recommendations were made. In particular, the NCAA committee was impressed with the cross-section of faculty and staff who worked on the self-study. In short, the visit confirmed that the self-study was accurate. Fr. Beauchamp reported that the Corrado family has pledged one million dollars to soccer complex.   

Dean’s Report: Bro. Donald Stabrowski gave the report.He reported that the first meeting with FreshmanResourceCenter focused on publishing mid-term grades to academic advisers. He reported that the Registrar will keep drop/add period for another week, and this will be in effect next semester. He reported on the adoption of a new software program which audits students’ credits towards graduation to cut down on paperwork. He remarked on Karen Nelson’s results from freshman survey on her website. Br. Donald met with the ROTC commanders to strategize recruiting efforts. Jeremy Koffler and Lisa Reed reported to Br. Donald that participation increasing in Freshman Orientation weekend. Br. Donald reported that Bryan Fessler has developed a new process for requesting technology.

ASUP: Ms. Megan Olmstead gave the report. There is a fund of $18,500 for a major purchase: ASUP has decided to allocate this money to buy flat screen TVs for Howard Hall. In the next ASUP meeting they will allocate money to students’ clubs. The ASUP trip to Notre Dame was fun and successful. The Christmas Tree Lighting will be held on December 4. 

New Business- none

Adjournment: Meeting adjourned at 4:55 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,Lora Looney, Secretary to the Senate