Meeting Minutes
ACADEMIC SENATE MINUTES
May 5, 2014
Call to Order
The regular meeting of the Academic Senate, held on May 5, 2014, was called to order at 3:00 p.m. by Allyson Mower, Senate President. The meeting was held in 1750 Health Sciences Education Building.
Present: David Ailion, Chrisoula Andreou, A.K. Balaji, Michael Blomgren, Kelly Bricker, Kate Canas, Tully Cathey, Thomas Cheatham, Cynthia Chen, Mary Ann Christison, David Dinter, Maria Dobozy, Randy Dryer, Frances Friedrich, Michael Free, Caren Frost, Sabine Fuhrmann, Disa Gambera, Michael Gardner, Luke Garrott, Jennifer Garvin, Joan Gregory, Thad Hall, Glen Hanson, Leanne Hawken, Tom Henderson, David Hill, Michelle Hofmann, Lynn Hollister, Thunder Jalili, Anne Jamison, Brandon Jennings, Peter Jensen, Christian Johnson, William Johnson, Bradley Katz, Gary Lowder, William Lowrance, Jannah Mather, Sandra McIntryre, Ashley McMullin, Duncan Metcalfe, Meredith Metzger, Joel Miller, Anthony Minjarez, Jill Moriearty, Patricia Murphy, A. Chris Nelson, Justin Spangler, Patrick Panos, Janiece Pompa, Christina Porucznik, Matthew Potolsky, Bruce Quaglia, Stephanie Richardson, Steve Roens, Gerald Root, Gary Rose, Paul Shami, Clough Shelton, Debra Simmons, Gregory Smoak, David Stevenson, David Temme, Joanne Yaffe
Absent: Peter Alfeld, Orly Alter, Keith Bartholomew, Lyda Bigelow, Nilufer Cagatay, John Conboy, William Crowley, Alison Denyer, Justin Diggle, Xiao Fang, Ole Fischer, William Gershan, Jordan Gerton, Stephen Goldsmith, Franz Goller, Gary Grikscheit, Michael Hawkins, Xan Johnson, Lori Kowaleski-Jones, Evert Lawton, Uri Loewenstein, Theresa Martinez, Heather Melton, Dragan Milicic, Alfred Mowdood, Ingrid Nygaard, Marlene Plumlee, M. Pollie Price, Jody Rosenblatt, Li Wang, Jingyi Zhu
Ex-officio: Steve Alder, Robert Flores, Harriet Hopf, Vivian Lee, Paul Mogren, Allyson Mower, David Pershing, Ruth Watkins, Amy Wildermuth, Shawnee Worsley
Excused with Proxy: Pat Hanna for Rachel Hayes-Harb, John Sperry for Jack Longino, Leidi Lane for Reva Rauk, Leslie Francis for Robin Craig, Jeff Pettey for Mary Elizabeth Hartnett, Tara Dean for Robert Hitchcock, Ann Darling for Kevin DeLuca, Karen Paisley for Lorie Richards
Excused: Robert Fujinami, Vivian Lee
Others: Martha Bradley,
Approval of Minutes
The minutes of the Academic Senate meeting on April 7, 2014, received no objections.
Request for New Business
The following items of New Business will be discussed:
- University Diversity Committee Resolution
Consent Calendar
The resignations retirements, and faculty and administrator appointments dated May 5, 2014, received no objections and will be forward to the Board of Trustees.
Executive Committee Report
Steve Alder, Academic Senate President-elect, provided a summary of the Executive Committee meeting held April 21, 2014.
Report from Administration
President David Pershing thanked Allyson Mower for her service as Academic Senate President for the 2013-2014 Academic Year. Commencement was on May 1st. The class of 2014 was composed of 7,947 graduates from 76 countries. Alex Smith, U alumnus and NFL quarterback, delivered the commencement address. Janine Henry, a Strategic Communication Major, was the student speaker. Video of the commencement and the speakers is available on the Commencement website.
Today we broke ground on the Jon M. and Karen Huntsman Basketball Training Center. This center combines remodeling of existing space and a new facility. The center will include new offices, a weight room, training room, theater, and player’s lounge. This new building will allow student athletes a central location with access to Huntsman Arena, HPER Complex, and Burbidge Center.
Report from ASUU
Justin Spangler, ASUU President spoke to the Academic Senate regarding ASUU activities. Geek Week was another success, it was held April 21st– April 30th. The resolution on the U Fight song passed. The new ASUU Boards are being organized and getting set up for the new year.
Notice of Intent
David Kieda presented the Revisions to Policy -203 and 6-201. The revisions are necessary for University Regulations to comply with present practice. In order to define a policy regarding the ability of the student to embargo the release of their doctoral dissertations, we propose to add specific language to University Policy 6-203 Section III.F detailing the maximum embargo duration, and the ability to request additional extension of the embargo. The three-year duration of the embargo is generous but fair; most institutions allow embargos of 2 years or less. In order to maintain some flexibility in the implementation of the embargo policy, we will provide specific details in The Graduate School’s Handbook for Theses and Dissertations regarding the circumstances when an embargo will be allowed and the procedure for requesting the embargo. The motion to move the item to debate made by Joanne Yaffe and seconded by Pat Hanna. Motion passed and moved to Debate calendar. The motion to approve and forward to the Board of Trustees was made by Chris Nelson and seconded by Joanne Yaffe. Motion passed unanimously.
Debate Calendar
The Faculty Review Standards Regulations Policy 6-303, 6-310, and Rule 6-10 was presented by Robert Flores and Hank Liese. This proposal is a joint effort of the Senate Faculty Review Standards Committee, the Task Force on Career-Line Faculty, and this year’s Career-line members of the Senate. The primary changes proposed are to have the Standards Committee and the Senior Vice President’s offices jointly share responsibility for approving the contents of Statements of Rules of departments and colleges for reviews of tenure-line faculty (both pre-tenure RPT and post-tenure TFR), and for reviews of career-line faculty. These changes will match up with changes earlier approved in Policy 6-002 describing this and other Senate committees. The motion to approve and forward to the Board of Trustees was made by Thad Hall and seconded by Randy Dryer. Motion passed unanimously.
Joanna Watzinger-Tharp presented the Proposal for BA Program Consolidation of Middle East Studies. The College of Humanities, where Middle East Studies (MES) is housed, requests the consolidation of the existing five degrees into a single MES degree, with an accompanying transcript “emphasis” in one of the four ME languages (which were formerly treated as separate degrees). This consolidated degree in Middle East area studies will align with the other interdisciplinary degrees in Asian, International and Latin American Studies, and with similar degrees offered across the U.S. All current students will be moved to the new degree name: Middle East Studies. The motion to approve and forward to the Board of Trustees was made by Joanne Yaffe and seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
Jane Hacking and Fernando Rubio presented the Proposal for Second Language Teaching and Research Center (L2TReC). The three year provisional approval was granted effective March 1, 2012. L2TReC provides a focal point for L2 research initiatives, profiles the university’s unique strengths in foreign language education, aligns the institution explicitly with state foreign language initiatives, and positions the institution for greater external funding opportunities. L2TReC’s primary activities are in three areas: research, pedagogy, and outreach. In establishing L2TReC, housed in the College of Humanities, the University of Utah joined the ranks of top institutions of higher education, which provide infrastructure dedicated to the support of L2 research and teaching. Since receiving provisional approval status, L2TReC has established itself as a cutting edge hub for research into second language acquisition and L2 pedagogy, a provider of quality language instruction for the larger community, and a dedicated partner to the Utah State Office of Education (USOE) immersion education and teacher training endeavors. The proposal has been updated with organizational chart and additional information on the advisory board. The motion to approve and forward to the Board of Trustees was made by Joanne Yaffe and seconded Ann Darling. A lengthy debate was held and question was called by Joanne Yaffe. Motion passed with 6 abstentions.
The Athletics Advisory Committee Charter Revisions was presented to the Academic Senate. The charter membership has been updated to 11 voting members: Faculty Athletics Representative, Two faculty appointed by the President, Four faculty recommended by the Personnel & Elections Committee, Three Students, One representative of the University Board of Trustees. Additional changes have been made to streamline the committee and to make the committee more productive. The motion to approve and forward to the Board of Trustees was made by Joanne Yaffe and seconded by Harriet Hopf. Motion passed unanimously.
The proposal for Honors Integrated Minor in Ecology & Legacy was presented by Sylvia Torti, dean of the Honors College. The proposed Integrated Minor is a plan of study designed for undergraduate Honors students to fulfill both general education and core Honors requirements through an intensive, placed-based study. The 18 credit hour integrated minor builds on current Honors courses, as well as other standing courses at the University. This allows students to fulfill Honors humanities, science, art and social science requirements around a focused theme. The proposed largely-block structure allows more flexible scheduling options for fulfilling Honor and general education requirements and will be especially attractive to science, engineering and dance majors who have highly scripted fall/ spring courses of study. The motion to approve and forward to the Board of Trustees was made by Randy Dryer and seconded by Joanne Yaffe. Motion passed unanimously.
Proposal to Discontinue Communication Minors and Teaching Degrees was presented by Ann Darling. The Department of Communication seeks to discontinue the following programs effective Academic Year 2014-2015: Communications Composite Teaching BA and BS; Teaching Speech Minor; Minor in Communication-Interpretation; Minor in Communication-Speech Communication. The primary reasons for seeking these administrative changes are the lack of student involvement and lack of resources. Because these programs currently remain in the University Catalog, the Department sees a need to formally discontinue them to avoid confusion. The motion to approve and forward to the Board of Trustees was made by Bill Johnson and seconded by Maria Dobozy. Motion passed unanimously.
Jon Rainer presented the Proposal for Combined BS/MS in Chemistry. The proposed degree program is intended to attract qualified undergraduate students into the graduate program early, decrease the time required to obtain an MS degree, and to involve students in research early in their careers. The proposed combined degree program is designed to be completed by students in five years and to culminate with simultaneous conferral of the Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees. We anticipate that a combined BS/MS degree will be attractive to students and will likely result in increased enrollment in the Chemistry program. The motion to approve and forward to the Board of Trustees was made by Joanne Yaffe and seconded by Joel Miller. Motion passed unanimously.
The proposal for a New Department of Entrepreneurship and Strategy, to be separated from the existing Department of Management, was presented by Bill Hesterly. The David Eccles School of Business is developing a unique campus environment to enhance and expand the student experience in entrepreneurship. A number of student experiences available through the recently approved Lassonde Institute provide University of Utah students a set of experiential opportunities that is, arguably, unmatched at other universities. At the same time that the University of Utah has been establishing a national reputation in its student programs, it has collected a group of internationally recognized scholars at the intersection of entrepreneurship and strategic management. The desire by researchers and students to have a hands-on, dynamic learning experience has resulted in an environment where students, scholars, and entrepreneurs come together in the classroom and other venues to cultivate a unique entrepreneurial community. Establishing a new department in Entrepreneurship and Strategy will serve these goals by facilitating more specialization and focus in curriculum and program development. Presently, the Management Department includes scholars from Organizational Behavior and, Entrepreneurship and Strategy, disciplines that differ dramatically in disciplinary orientation and pedagogical approach. The motion to approve and forward to the Board of Trustees was made by Thad Hall and seconded by Chris Nelson. Motion passed unanimously.
The Dual Degree for Master of Real Estate Development (“MRED”)/J.D. program was presented by Christian Johnson, Associate Dean of the College of Law. The S.J. Quinney of Law and the David Eccles School of Business are proposing a dual Master of Real Estate Development (“MRED”)/J.D. program. Both schools believe that the combination of these two degrees is quite synergistic and exemplifies the best in cross-disciplinary education. Although many of the graduates will work in a variety of business settings, the field of real estate development in particular is very legal and contract intensive. Both a law graduate and an MRED graduate who takes advantage of the MRED/JD dual program will have a much greater understanding of both real estate development practices and the legal issues and problems involved in this area. Because the proposed program is a “dual” program that permits a student to seek both the MRED and JD simultaneously, both schools do not anticipate that the proposal will require any additional administrative structures, or faculty. The motion to approve and forward to the Board of Trustees was made by Chris Nelson and seconded by Pat Hanna. Motion passed unanimously.
The Program Change in Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner was presented by Katie Ward. The College of Nursing proposes the “emphasis” be transferred from a Master’s of Science (MS) degree to the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree and transcript as such. The DNP degree will soon be the required degree for clinically practicing advanced practice nurses. All students who are currently in the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner emphasis as a Master’s of Science degree will be grandfathered to continue their education and receive the Master of Science degree with an emphasis in Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. The last cohort of students to enter the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner emphasis as a Master’s of Science degree began the program Fall 2013. The motion to approve and forward to the Board of Trustees was made by Stephanie Richardson and seconded by Pat Hanna. Motion passed unanimously.
Information Calendar
The following items were presented for the information and recommendations of the Academic Senate:
- Student Textbook Savings Committee Report
- Rule 5-200B Paid Time off, Holidays, and Other Paid Leave for University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics Staff Members
- Report of the Senate Activities for AY 2013-2014
- University Professor 2014-2016
New Business
Terry Kogan presented the University Diversity Committee resolution to the Senate. This resolution encourages the Academic to endorse and support the ASUU Joint Resolution #11, and to encourage the University of Utah Administration to take prompt and reasonable steps to implement that Resolution. The motion to approve was made by Allyson Mower and seconded by Pat Hanna. Motion passed.
Annual Elections Results
Allyson Mower announced that the ballots cast during the meeting having been tabulated— Bill Johnson was elected as the President-Elect for 2014-2015. Bill Johnson is a Professor in the Department of Geology & Geophysics with and adjunct position in Civil & Environmental Engineering. He has served on the Academic Senate and has been a member of the Executive Committee for three consecutive years.
The elected members of the Executive Committee will be Chrisoula Andreou, Robin Craig, Justin Diggle, Randy Dryer, Disa Gambera, Xan Johnson, Jack Longino, Meredith Metzger, Lorie Richards, Stephanie Richardson, Lina Svedin and Joanne Yaffe.
Adjournment
Meeting adjourned at 4:50 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Shawnee Worsley