Meeting Minutes
ACADEMIC SENATE MINUTES
March 1, 2010
Call to Order
The regular meeting of the Academic Senate, held on March 1, 2010 was called to order at 3:04 pm by James A. Anderson, Senate President. The meeting was held in room 115 C. Roland Christensen Center.
Roll:
Jacob Adams, Elizabeth Adoyo, David Ailion, Peter Alfeld, Tim Ameel, Shmuel Baruch, Jessica Gilmore for Tami Beck, Kumiko Boike, John Bowman, Francis H. Brown, Connie Bullis, Steve Carson, George Cassiday, Vincent Cheng, Suzanne Darais, Larry DeVries, Tine Diekmann, Marianna DiPaolo, Nadja Durbach, Eric Eddings, Marlene Egger, Richard Ernst, Robert Fujinami, Michael Goodman, Pan Hanna, Sandra Hasstedt, Greg Hatch, Henryk Hecht, Bob Hill, Eric Hinderaker, Vladimir Hlady, Katie Hobbs, Lauren Holland, Harriet Hofp, Martin Horvath, Jay Jordan for Tom Huckin, Randy L. Jensen, Brandon Jennings for Steve Kern, David Kiefer, Cameron King, Todd Kramer, Bruce Landesman, Stephen Lessnick, Edward M. Levine, Joelle Lien, Brad Lundahl, James Metherall, Joseph Metz, William C. Michel, Alysha Moore, Courtney Ferrin for Katie Moore, Allyson Mower, Chris Nelson, Maria Newton, David Pendall, Kevin Perry, Bill Lockhart for Chris Peterson, Mollie Poynton, R. Lor Randall, Steve Reynolds, Andrea Rorrer, Nelson Roy, Donn Schaefer, Bam Dev Sharda, Erica Sellers, Sam Thomas, Jon Leano for Irving Torres, Margaret Wan, Donna White, Bryce Williams, Lindsay Williams, Seth Welborn, Braden York, Nick Wolfinger
Excused: Amanda Barusch, Tayler Clough, Michael Hardman, Paula Smith
Ex-officio: Jim Anderson, A. Loris Betz, Robert Flores, John Francis, Nancy Lines, Paul Mogren, Robert Newman, Joyce Ogburn, Susan Olson, David W. Pershing, Richard Sperry, Octavio Villalpando, Chuck Wight, Michael K. Young
Others: Ann Floor, Kathryn Stockton, Martha Bradley, Stephen Alder, Sue Cantarini, Jeff Webb, Cathy Chambless, Courtney Demond, Jeremy Fotheringham
Approval of Minutes
The minutes of the Academic Senate meeting of February 1, 2010 were unanimously approved following a motion from Larry DeVries and seconded by Jim Metherall.
Request for New Business
Joyce Ogburn, director of University libraries presented a ‘White Paper’ entitled “The Library as Knowledge Commons for the University”. She noted that this presentation is a condensed version of the hardcopy document that was included in the agenda packet. She was very excited that the University Marriott Library has become the model for other universities, known for their superior service. The complete White Paper can be found on the Academic Senate website.
David Pendell, a member of the University Faculty Club, invited the senators to attend the March Faculty Club Social and interact with colleagues outside of their area for a casual and relaxed evening. He explained that socials are held each month during the academic school year together with a fall social at the Faculty Club’s cabin, and a children’s party during the holiday season..
Consent Calendar
The resignations, retirements, faculty appointments, auxiliary and limited term appointments, appearing in the Appendices dated February 22 and March 1, 2010, received approval to forward to the Board of Trustees for final approval following a motion from Larry DeVries which was seconded by Eric Hinderaker.
Executive Committee Report
Jim Metherall, Executive Committee Secretary, summarized his written report of the February 22, 2010 Executive Committee meeting.
Report from Administration
President Michael K. Young commented with excitement on the Founders Day events and the three Distinguished Alumni awards honoring Robert A. McDonald, CEO of Proctor & Gamble; Larry Gluth, former vice president of Starbucks and currently head of Habitat for Humanity; and Dr. Elizabeth Hale Hammond, a cardiac specialist.
The president reported that there are approximately ten days remaining in this legislative session and he is not very pleased with what is on the table but is still cautiously optimistic. The business community has been very active in pressing the legislators on the importance of higher education for the state and its future. The Governor’s intentions are to leave the budget where we were last year.
President Young’s good news was that our sources of revenue continue to increase. The first seven months of this year funding research has increased 30 percent over last year and grants are up 45 percent over last year’s record year. The Capitol Campaign continues to grow, raising more money than the year before. He noted that he was unhappy with the decline in enrollment, however, the U is the “4th least worst” in the country. Along those lines, once again the University has three Truman Scholarship candidates which speaks highly for this community.
Report from ASUU
Lindsay Williams provided updates on the ASUU activities which include the recent conference on social awareness, the Rock the U fund raising activity which collected $40,000 for the Huntsman Cancer Foundation, and finally noted that the student elections are about to begin and asked that the faculty encourage students to vote.
Notice of Intent
Jeff West, Associate Vice President for Financial and Business Services, gave s brief overview of the revisions to Policy 3-041 (Non-capital equipment) indicating that it was a subset of an existing policy to cover tangible assets between $1,000 and $5,000 but was revised following an internal audit. The policy outlines the general responsibilities of departments and units to keep track of this type of equipment and the principles surrounding off campus usage, security, verification and disposal or transfer of such equipment. In short, it provides a good business practice to protect the individual and the unit. A motion was made by Peter Alfeld to move this proposal immediately from the Intent Calendar to the Debate Calendar which was seconded by Larry DeVries and approved with one opposition.
Debate Calendar
The above policy 3-041 regarding non-capital equipment was approved with one opposition following a motion from Peter Alfeld and seconded by Larry DeVries.
Susan Olson, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, introduced Robert Newman, John Francis, and Bob Flores to explain the revisions to Policy 6-310 (Auxiliary Faculty Appointments and Evaluations) and new Rule 6-310 (Lecturer appointments by five interdisciplinary programs. This proposal came about following an accreditation review to clarify the requirements for colleges and departments to conduct periodic evaluations of auxiliary faculty. The new rule, 6-310 (IDTP), authorizes five interdisciplinary teaching programs to directly appoint Lecturer faculty, and establishes procedures for appointing and evaluating this type of faculty. Following a lengthy discussion a series of straw polls was taken to gauge the sense of the Senate on major aspects of the proposal. This was followed by a formal motion to amend the proposal with an amendment offered by Pat Hanna. The motion for the amendment failed. President Anderson then called for a vote on the original (un-amended) version of the proposal, encompassing both the revision of Policy 6-310 and the new Rule 6-310 (IDTP), and the proposal passed. The proposal will be forwarded to the Trustees for final approval.
Stephen Alder and Cathy Chambless requested approval of the new interdisciplinary Minor in Disability Studies. The minor would provide undergraduate students who are interested in disability studies an opportunity to examine the medical, social, and political aspects in a variety of disciplines with minimal impact on any single program. The program of study draws entirely from existing course offerings in over eight departments or programs spread across four colleges. A motion from Larry DeVries, seconded by David Ailion, to approve and forward to the Board of Trustees for final approval received unanimous approval.
Steve Alder and Courtney Demond from the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine requested approval for a graduate certificate in Global Health (CIGH). The graduate certificate recognizes and prepares graduate students who are pursuing formal training in global health with a hands-on experience from other international health professionals. A motion from Larry DeVries to approve the request and forward to the Board of Trustees for final approval was seconded by David Ailion and passed unanimously.
A request to formally recognize the Utah CARMA Center in Health Sciences, in operation since May 2009, was made by Jeremy Fotheringham, director of Cardiac Care. The center is designed to be a collaborative medical and academic center which focuses on arrhythmia research and management to accurately diagnose, treat and cure cardiac arrhythmia allowing patients to return to a healthy and productive life. A motion from Larry DeVries, seconded by Vincent Cheng, to approve and forward to the Board of Trustees for final approval received unanimous approval.
New Business
Senate President James Anderson reported on a recent meeting of the Utah Council of Faculty Senate Leaders held at Dixie State College. William Sederburg, commissioner of higher education and Jed Pitcher, chair of the Board of Regents, were featured guests. Following the commissioner’s presentation and a lengthy discussion regarding the anticipated changes to the way the Utah Legislature funds higher education, President Anderson concluded that the model is broken and will probably never go back to the 2007 funding levels. This change will have significant implications on how to generate income for higher education. The role and place of faculty is changing and the status of the core should be preserved. Jim met with President Young to present the information from the commissioner and has President Young’s commitment to bring faculty and central administration together for a series of discussions after the budget has been settled. President Anderson encouraged participation from all senators.
Adjournment:
The meeting adjourned at 4:53 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Nancy Lines