RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY
UNIVERSITY SENATE

PRESIDING OFFICER: Paul Panayotatos, Chairperson

CALL TO ORDER, DETERMINATION OF A QUORUM, AND CHAIRPERSON’S REPORT - Paul Panayotatos, Chairperson

Chairperson Panayotatos called the meeting to order at 1:17 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room East 232, Paul Robeson Campus Center, Newark Campus. His chairperson's report included comments on:

• his appreciation for the pre-meeting lunch provided to Senators by the central administration;
• inclusion on the meeting's agenda of a committee-of-the-whole discussion on shared governance issues and the proposal for a new School of Nursing on the Camden Campus;
• recent discussions, activities and meetings of the Senate's Ad Hoc Shared Governance Task Force, which he chairs, and which focused at its most recent meeting on issues of student participation in the Senate and other shared governance bodies at Rutgers;
• his belief that, although the proposal for the new School of Nursing-Camden was received from the administration with optimal forewarning, that the Senate is trying to exhibit responsiveness, and that the related charge to four Senate standing committees preempted all other issues within those committees that morning;
• his personal discussions with faculty at UMDNJ who are just now forming a faculty senate;
• his recent meeting with Board of Governors Chair Ralph Izzo, the purpose of which was to discuss ways in which the relationship between the Senate and Board of Governos could be strengthened; and
• his request that the Senate join him in expressing gratitude to Senator Martha Cotter, whose tireless work was instrumental in bringing to Rutgers a revised Academic Integrity Policy.

SECRETARY'S REPORT - Ken Swalagin, Executive Secretary

• Agenda: Secretary Swalagin said that Newark Chancellor Steven Diner was unable to attend the meeting due to a family emergency, so the Newark Campus Report was removed from the agenda. So revised, the meeting's agenda, including time limits, was approved by the Senate..
• Minutes: The Minutes of January 28, 2011 Senate Meeting were approved as distributed by the executive secretary.
•  Communications - The following communications were presented by the executive secretary:
  • The June 3, 2011 Executive Committee meeting has been rescheduled for May 20, 2011, at the request of the chair.
  • Schedule of Senate and Executive Committee meetings 2011-2012
  • Proposal for establishing a School of Nursing at Rutgers-Camden (Review of this proposal had been charged to multiple Senate standing committees, with short deadlines. It was also docketed for discussion in committee of the whole at the end of this meeting.)
  • Deans' Evaluation Committees: EVP Furmanski has selected the following individuals (and they have agreed to serve) on the Graduate School of Education Dean's Evaluation Committee: Steve Barnett, Mike Beals, Kristin Dana, Florence Hamrick, Carolyn Maher, Jorge Schement, George Stauffer, and Robert Wilson. Kristin Dana and Robert Wilson were selected from the list of Senate Executive Committee nominees. Also, the other New Brunswick DECs have chosen to add to their memberships. To date the following individuals have been appointed: SSW DEC:  Bill Waldman, Tara Grimsley (student), Susan Darien (alumna); SEBS DEC: Carol Harvey.
  • February 8, 2011 Universitywide Email from Executive Vice President Furmanski transmitting Revised Academic Calendar 2010/11 through 2012/13
  • President McCormick's February 2011 Response to the Senate's January 2011 Response to Charge 1010, New Academic Integrity Policy and Procedures for Adjudicating Alleged Nonseparable Violations of Academic Integrity - Academic Standards, Regulations and Admissions Committee - January 2011

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Faculty and Personnel Affairs Committee (FPAC) Response to Charge S-1007, on Academic Promotion/Reappointment Form 1A - Ann Gould and Paul Panayotatos, Co-chairs  [Note: The above link goes to the report as presented to the Senate. Follow this link to read the Report as amended and adopted by the Senate.]
FPAC Co-chair Ann Gould was joined at the podium by Senator Leslie Fishbein, an FPAC member who raised the issue on which the charge and report were based, and who, along with Gould, worked extensively on the report and related research. Fishbein summarized the background of the issue, and the process of finalizing the FPAC report and its recommendations on Charge S-1007, on Academic Promotion/Reappointment Form 1A. Gould continued the summary and presentation, and read a brief resolution appended to the report which formalized the Senate endorsement of the report and its recommendations, and urged the administration to implement those recommendations. Senator Leath moved that the Senate be charged with reviewing this matter within two years. Senator Szatrowski moved to amend the motion to call for review within 18 months. Both amendment calling for Senate review in 18 months was accepted as friendly by the FPAC. The report and its recommendations, as amended, were then adopted by the Senate on card vote.

University Structure and Governance Committee (USGC) Response to Charge S-0915 on Conduct of Staff Senator Elections - Peter Gillett, Chair  [Note: The above link goes to the report as presented to the Senate. Follow this link to read the Report as amended and adopted by the Senate.]
USGC Chair Peter Gillett summarized his committee's report and recommendations on Charge S-0915, on Conduct of Staff Senator Elections. Senator Fishbein moved addition of Portuguese as an additional language in which the election notices described in the report's recommendations should be distributed. The FPAC accepted the motion as friendly. Senator DiVito moved to delete "Staff member of" in the first clause of the resolution, so that the sentence would read, "Results need to be tabulated and returned to the Executive Secretary of the Seante no later than April 1 each year, so that the Senate Nominating Panel can consider all eligible staff Senators when making nominations for [deleted: Staff Member of] the Senate Executive Committee. The FPAC accepted the motion as friendly. The report and its recommendations were then adopted unanimously by the Senate on card vote.

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT - President Richard L. McCormick

President McCormick presented an administrative report, which included comments on topics including:

• Governor Christie's budget proposals, including the absence of a proposal for a tuition cap;
• further aspects of Governor Christie's Task Force on Higher Education, chaired by Former Governor Thomas Kean;
• the federal budget, and its proposed reductions in student and research support;
• his, and Executive Vice President Furmanski's, recent meetings in Trenton with members of the New Jersey Congressional delegation, during which budgetary issues were a primary topic of discussion;
• responses to budgetary issues emanating from other AAU institutions; and
• expectations and possibilities related to the Task Force on Higher Education's recommendations regarding Rutgers, UMDNJ, and, in particular, the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and School of Public Health.

President McCormick then responded to a question about past and expected levels of research funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

OLD BUSINESS: There was no old business.

NEW BUSINESS: There was no new business.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORT: Vice Chairperson Ann Gould reported on the February 11, 2011 Senate Executive Committee meeting.

REPORTS OF REPRESENTATIVES TO BOARDS OF GOVERNORS AND TRUSTEES: Senators Panayotatos and Cotter, Faculty Representatives to the Board of Governors, reported on the December 14, 2010 and February 8, 2011 Board of Governors meetings, respectively. President McCormick commented on the issue of possible Board of Governors violation of the Open Public Records Act, which had been the subject of comments by both Panayotatos and Cotter. Senator Swartley-McArdle, Graduate Student Representative to the Board of Trustees, said that the Board of Trustees had likewise not met since the previous Senate meeting, but was scheduled to meet next on March 31. 

CAMPUS FACULTY LIAISON REPORTS: Senator McKeever, chair of the New Brunswick Faculty Council, reported on recent activities of that group.  There were no reports from Camden or Newark faculty liaisons.

COMMITTEE-OF-THE-WHOLE DISCUSSION

Shared Governance Issues: A committee-of-the-whole discussion on shared governance issues and the proposal for a new school of nursing on the Camden Campus had been docketed for the end of the meeting. Senator Gillett moved the Senate to committee of the whole. The motion was seconded by Senator Binetti, and the Senate adopted the motion. Although the intent was to discuss governance issues as well as the Camden nursing proposal, comments made during the ensuing discussion focused only on the nursing proposal, on subjects including:

• preliminary summaries of discussions on the Camden nursing proposal from the Faculty and Personnel Affairs Committee, Research and Graduate and Professional Education Committee, and Budget and Finance Committee;
• financial aspects of the proposed new nursing school;
• nursing curricula;
• levels of subsidy relative to other professional schools;
• the current, small number of tenured nursing faculty in Camden, as well as the proposed plan for hiring tenured and tenure-track faculty into the program;
• jobs and employment prospects in nursing;
• accreditation and related issues;
• competing priorities for funding at Rutgers;
• a request from Senator Gillett, University Structure and Governance Committee chair, that everyone read the proposal, and that anyone with thoughts on this matter raise them now or email them to him directly after the meeting;
• alternative visions, models and frameworks;
• revenue flows;
• concerns raised by the Task Force on Higher Education about duplication of programs at Rutgers;
• regional markets for nursing services and education;
• comparisons to the evolution of both the School of Law-Newark and School of Law-Camden; and
• the possibility that, if this new nursing school is not established at Rutgers Camden, it will instead be established at Rowan University.

On motion, the Senate rose from committee of the whole, and followed that motion with a motion to adjourn.

ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 3:19 p.m.

Minutes Written and Submitted by:
Ken Swalagin
Executive Secretary of the University Senate