RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY
UNIVERSITY SENATE

PRESIDING OFFICER:Samuel Rabinowitz, Chairperson

Chairperson Rabinowitz called the meeting to order at 1:23 p.m. He welcomed all present.

SECRETARY'S REPORT - Kenneth Swalagin, Executive Secretary

• Agenda: The meeting's agenda was approved as distributed by the executive secretary.
• Minutes: The February 27, 2009 Senate Meeting Minutes were approved as distributed by the executive secretary.
• Communications: The following communications were presented by the executive secretary:
• Schedule of 2009-2010 Senate and Senate Executive Committee Meetings: Swalagin asked all Senators to enter the Senate-meeting dates in their calendars.
• Call for Nominations: Swalagin issued a call for nominations for 2009-2010 Senate officers and Executive Committee members, and representatives to the Boards of Governors and Trustees. Details and deadline information had been linked to the agenda when it was posted online.
• From President McCormick: 
• President McCormick's Response to Senate Report and Recommendations on Charge S-0314, Faculty Role in Undergraduate Admissions and Recruitment
• President McCormick's Response to Senate Report and Recommendations on Charge S-0710, Tuition Remission for Part-Time Lecturer Faculty
• President McCormick's Response to Senate Report and Recommendations on Charge S-0107, Recommended Revised Referendum Guidelines for Funding Special Student Organizations
• President Mccormick's Response to Senate Report and Recommendations on Charge S-0415, Faculty Retirement Incentives
• President McCormick's Response to Senate Report and Recommendations on Charge S-0608, Merger Proposals
• President McCormick's Response to Senate Report and Recommendations on Charge S-0208, Safety Issues
• President McCormick's Response to Senate Report and Recommendations on Charge S-0407, Faculty Reporting Processes
• President McCormick's Response to Senate Report and Recommendations on Charge S-0704, Senate Committee Structure
• President McCormick's Follow-Up Response to Senate Report and Recommendations on Charge S-0401, Clinical Track Faculty Proposals

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT - President Richard L. McCormick 

President McCormick presented an administrative report which included comments on the following topics:

• ongoing discussions with RUSA and The Daily Targum to reach a compromise on applying the Senate's recent Recommended Revised Referendum Guidelines;
• continuing developments in services to Rutgers' military-veteran students, including establishment of a Committee on Veterans' Services chaired by Vice President Blimling, a report and recommendations issued by that committee, and plans to appoint a permanent committee and to establish an annual Veterans' Day at Rutgers; and
• global economic distress, and related Rutgers, New Jersey, and federal budget issues.

President McCormick then responded to questions regarding:

• contingency plans for budget cuts, and specifically the potential impact on salaries and jobs;
• the rationale for his Response to the Senate Report and Recommendations on Charge S-0710, Tuition Remission for Part-Time Lecturer Faculty
• the need to streamline the bureaucracy of financial aid, particularly in response to the state's reduction of funding to Rutgers;
• the possibility of employee furloughs in response to budget cuts;
• sources of funding for contractually obligated salary increases that will not be coming from the state; and
• plans to help Rutgers remain a viable economic option for students despite the reduction in state funding.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Budget and Finance Committee (BFC) Response to Charge S-0709, InterCampus Shuttle Service - Menahem Spiegel, BFC Chair; Yonaton Yares, Subcommittee Chair.
BFC Chair Menahem Spiegel, and Subcommittee Chair Yonaton Yares summarized the BFC's report on Charge S-0709, on InterCampus Shuttle Service. Following brief discussion, Senator Wild's motion to adopt the report by unanimous consent was seconded, and adopted by the Senate.

University Structure and Governance Committee (USGC) Response to Charge A-0810, Including Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration as Administrator Senator - Tricia Nolfi and Jonathan Tittler, USGC Co-Chairs.
[Note: The recommendations in this report include a change to Senate Bylaws/University Regulations. In accordance with established parliamentary procedure, this report was introduced and discussed at the February 2009 Senate meeting. The report's recommendations were also amended by the Senate at that meeting. The proposed bylaws changes were brought to the Senate for vote at this meeting.] Chairperson Rabinowitz explained that this report and its recommendations had been introduced and amended at the previous Senate meeting. USGC Co-chair Jonathan Tittler summarized the USGC's report and recommendations on Charge A-0810, on Including Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration as Administrator Senator, and explained some text changes he had made to clarify the language of the report [link above goes to the final version]. Without further discussion by the Senate, the report and its recommendations were adopted, with one abstention.

Academic Standards, Regulations and Admissions Committee Response to Charge S-0605, Admissions and Financial Aid Assessment - Martha Cotter and Dan Schantz, Co-chairs
ASRAC Co-chairs Martha Cotter and Dan Schantz summarized the ASRAC's report and recommendations on Charge S-0605, on Admissions and Financial Aid. Cotter pointed out some minor changes made to the report since it was first published on the Senate website. Senator Panayotatos made a motion to change "now" to "as soon as possible" in the report's first recommendation. The motion was originally thought to be friendly, but Senator Greenhut, a member of the ASRAC, opposed it. The amendment was discussed briefly, and failed on card vote. Discussion continued, and the report and recommendations were adopted unanimously by the Senate.

COMMITTEE-OF-THE-WHOLE DISCUSSION ON ACADEMIC INTEGRITY POLICY: [Follow these links to the Interim Academic Integrity Policy, and to Policy Background and Discussion Questions.] Senator Martha Cotter, ASRAC co-chair, and chair of Rutgers' new Ad Hoc Academic Integrity Committee, which has been charged with creating a new, permanent academic integrity policy, summarized the issue and process to date for the Senate. She then moved the Senate into committee of the whole for a discussion of the policy, which included Senate input on a list of prepared questions on academic integrity (see above link). Chairperson Rabinowitz noted the pre-established 20-minute maximum time limit for the discussion, which the Senate had endorsed when it adopted the meeting's agenda. Discussion proceeded until the time limit had been reached, whereupon, on motion and duly seconded, the Senate extended the discussion time for five minutes. At the end of the discussion, the Senate rose from committee of the whole.

OLD BUSINESS: There was no old business.

NEW BUSINESS: There was no new business.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORT: Vice Chairperson Paul Leath reported on the March 13, 2009 Senate Executive Committee meeting.

REPORTS OF THE REPRESENTATIVES TO BOARDS OF GOVERNORS AND TRUSTEES: There had been no Board of Governors or Board of Trustees meetings since the previous Senate meeting.

CAMPUS FACULTY LIAISON REPORTS: Senator Stan Hall reported that the Newark Faculty Council had not met because the Newark Campus had been closed down due to snow on the scheduled meeting date. Chairperson Rabinowitz reported that the Camden faculty were awaiting word on appointment of a new Camden Chancellor.

ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 3:14 p.m.


Kenneth Swalagin
Executive Secretary of the University Senate