April 22, 2005 Senate Minutes

RUTGERS, THE STATEUNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY

UNIVERSITY SENATE MINUTES

Regular Meeting of the University Senate
DATE: April 22, 2005
TIME AND PLACE: 11:37 a.m., Multipurpose Room, Rutgers Student Center, 126 College Avenue, College Avenue Campus

MEMBERS PRESENT: Abaskharon, Ambar, Atmeh, Banerjee, Barone, Bell, Bellany, Blasi, Blimling, Bodnar, Boikess, Borisovets, Boyd, Boylan, Bravo, Brazier, Cannon, Caprio, Cerulo, Chabal, Colin, A. Cooper, K. Cooper, Cotter, Curry, Curtis, Darien, E. Dennis, Dess, Dholandas, Diner, DiVito, Dupersoy, Dutta, C. Ellis, N. Ellis, Ezgilioglu, Farrell, Ferguson, Forero, Friedrich, Furmanski, Gaunt, Gigliotti, Gillett, Goldin, Gould, Greenhut, Guo, Hall, Herbst, Hmelo-Silver, Hodgson, Hoekzema, Huang, Hughes, Hyndman, Jackson, Jessen, V. Johnson, Kagan, Kauffman, Kavanagh, Kennedy, Kirby, Kirschner, Krenos, Krucher, Laguna-Diaz, LaSala, Lashley, Leath, Lee, Liepmann, Maher, Mangin, Markert, Markowitz, McCabe, McCormick, McKay, McKeever, Melwani, Messer, Miller, Norville, Obayashi, O’Connell, O’Connor, Ozbay, Palmon, Panayotatos, Pangilinan, Phillips, Potenza, Puniello, Rabii, Rabiner, Samuel Rabinowitz, Sidney Rabinowitz, Raykar, Reed, Rubin, Schaich, Scott, Sifuentes-Jauregui, P. Simmons, R. Simmons, H. Smith, N. Smith, Spierer, Stauffer, Szatrowski, Tittler, Turner, Turpin, Turvey, Vodak, Volk, Wang, Whang, Winterbauer, Woolley, Zaborszky

EXCUSED: Axelrod, Bay, Colaizzi, DeLisi, Fishbein, Hallmark, Hirsh, Hornichter, J. Jones, R. Jones, Oren, Schock, Schorr, Sherman, Venuto

ABSENT: Apfel, Baro, Bilodeau, Breton, Butler, Chambers, Chen, Chernin, Chism, Cronk, Davidson, Dellane, R. Dennis, Desposito, Deutsch, Diamond, Donsky, Evans, Ezendokwere, Feinberg, Hanna, Holmes, Jesse,W. Johnson, Klein, Kokini, Kressel, Lake, Leontiades, Leustek, Manhoff, Marsh, Merandy, Nerurkar, Ocone, Odutola, Ogwu, Perlman, Philps, Rowan, Shahrokh, Simon, Solomon, Spero, Stark, Tinglin, Tsurumi, Tuckman, Worrall, Zolad

ATTENDANCE SUMMARY: Faculty: Of 90 total: 61 present (68%), 11 excused (12%), 18 absent (20%); Students: Of 56 total: 33 present (59%), 2 excused (4%), 21 absent (37%); Administrators: Of 37 total: 25 present (68%), 2 excused (5%), 10 absent (27%); Alumni: Of 6 total: 5 present (83%), 0 excused, 1 absent (17%)
View Senate attendance record for this year.

NON-VOTINGMEMBERS PRESENT: Innerfield, Seto

PRESIDING OFFICER: Martha Cotter, Chairperson

CHAIRPERSON’S REPORT: Chairperson Cotter called the meeting to order at 11:37 a.m., immediately following collection of the election ballots from the Organizational Meeting of the 2005-06 University Senate. Her chairperson’s report included comments on:

foregoing the traditional yearly Senate highlights review in order to save time for the day’s unusual meeting schedule and heavy agenda; and
an explanation of the day’s agenda, wherein:

the Regular Meeting of the Senate began immediately following collection of ballots from the morning’s election;
the Regular Meeting begins with committee reports, which would continue to approximately 12:00 noon, at which time the Senate would recess for lunch;
lunch, provided by President McCormick’s office, would be available for Senators in the Lounge area, beginning at noon;
caucuses would be held as usual during the lunch hour;
the meeting would reconvene at 1:10 p.m.;
the afternoon session would begin with President McCormick’s administrative report, and would continue with committee reports; and
committee reports would come to the floor based on priorities previously established by the Senate Executive Committee, as well as time available before the lunch recess.

REPORT OF THE SECRETARY: Agenda: Secretary Swalagin said that 10-minute discussion time limits would be in effect for most of the committee reports. Senator Adam Cooper moved to table the University Structure and Governance Committee’s response to Charge S-0401 on Faculty and Student Board of Governors Membership. Parliamentarian Smith said that the motion should be to remove the item from the agenda, rather than to table. Senator Cooper amended his motion accordingly. Duly seconded, the Senate’s two-thirds vote removed the item from the agenda. The agenda was approved as amended.
Minutes: On motion and duly seconded, the Minutes of the March 11, 2005 Senate meeting were approved as distributed by the Secretary.
Communications: The following communications were presented by the Secretary:

Budget and Finance Committee Response to Charge S-0405, Travel Reimbursement Policy, which was offered to the Senate as a communication, without presentation by the committee, and with no call for Senate action at the current time;
Letters from President McCormick acknowledging Senate action, reports and/or advice:

April 6, 2005 letter from President McCormick acknowledging the Report and Recommendations on Faculty Departmental Voting Rights
April 15, 2005 letter from President McCormick acknowledging the Report on Possible Conflict of Interest in Assignment of Textbooks

Senator O’Connor, co-chair of the Budget and Finance Committee, said that Senator Turvey wrote his committee’s report on Rutgers’ Travel Reimbursement Policy. He thanked Senator Turvey, the Budget and Finance Committee, and Vice President Kavanagh for their work on the report and revision of the policy. He distributed some documents related to the report.

COMMITTEE REPORT

[The first committee report began at 11:45 a.m.]

Academic Standards, Regulations and Admissions Committee (ASRAC) - Michelle Brazier and Craig Oren, Co-chairs; Martha Cotter, Subcommittee Chair; Response to Charge S-0317, Faculty Role in Undergraduate Student Recruitment and Admissions
Senator Oren, committee co-chair, was unable to attend the meeting.Senate Vice Chair Rabinowitz assumed the chair as Senator Cotter, who co-chaired the ASRAC subcommittee on this charge, and Senator Brazier, ASRAC co-chair, presented and summarized the committee’s response to Charge S-0317, Faculty Role in Undergraduate Student Recruitment and Admissions. The committee had been charged as follows: “Review the current practices for faculty involvement in both recruiting and admitting undergraduate students to Rutgers University. Determine whether faculty and faculty admissions committees are active participants in the process, whether University Regulations are being met, and whether the role of faculty should be expanded. (Documents regarding faculty role in admissions include: Senate Resolution A-8420; University Regulations, Section 2.12; Motion passed by the Livingston Fellows on June 8, 2000; NBFC recommendation of April 26, 2002).” Following brief discussion, the question was called, and the report and its recommendations were adopted by the Senate.

RECESS: The Senate recessed for lunch at 12:00 noon.

RECONVENING: The Senate reconvened at 1:25 p.m.

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT: President McCormick delivered the administrative report, which included comments on:

his and approximately 24 students’ recent trip to Washington, DC to talk to legislators about student financial aid, and the student delegation’s very effective communication of their viewpoints on the issue;
Rutgers’ budget and state funding, which is expected to include a proposal for level base funding for Rutgers, but funding for only one-quarter of salary increases;
the Constituency Research Project, and related plans for a significant communication effort over the next few years aimed at identifying what messages would most effectively clarify and improve public perceptions of Rutgers;
discussions and plans aimed at beautifying all of Rutgers’ campuses;
Task Force on Undergraduate Education activities, centering on the Task Force’s charge to undertake an ambitious and comprehensive look at all aspects of undergraduate student life, and an anticipated report; and
three themes that prevail as work areas for the administration in the year ahead:

renewed commitment to seize opportunities to improve Rutgers in every conceivable area;
addressing confusions in perceptions of Rutgers, what Rutgers is, and what Rutgers does; and
streamlining the organizational complexity of Rutgers.

Following the report, President McCormick responded to questions, or heard comments, regarding:early planning for changes to the College Avenue Campus; the need to retain the colleges’ history, identities and traditions when moving forward with the new vision for Rutgers University; appreciation for the commitment to expand the Livingston Campus Center; appreciation for his overall leadership; and a request that the University College-New Brunswick student center also be expanded.

COMMITTEE REPORTS (Continued)

Faculty Affairs and Personnel Committee (FAPC) - Ann Brooks Gould and Paul Panayotatos, Co-chairs, Response to Charge A-0410, Clinical and Professional Practice Faculty Tracks

Senators Gould and Panayotatos, co-chairs of the Faculty Affairs and Personnel Committee, summarized their committee’s response to Charge A-0410, Clinical and Professional Practice Faculty Tracks. The committee had been charged as follows: “Review and respond to the administration's proposals regarding Clinical and Professional Practice Tracks for the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology; Rutgers Business School in New Brunswick and Newark, and the School of Business-Camden; and the Mason Gross School of the Arts. Report to Senate Executive Committee by May 2005.”

Discussion of the report’s recommendations and resolution resulted in the following successful motions to amend:

Senator Messer’s motion to add to the definition of “clinical track” language indicating that it involves care of and/or delivery of service to patients or clients as well as teaching on the delivery of such service (accepted as a friendly amendment);
Senator Diner’s motion to add “or the provost” to Recommendation 5, so that it begins “It is also recommended that any request from a unit to the EVPAA or the provost for an appointment or promotion to clinical track be accompanied by” (accepted as a friendly amendment);

The Senate then adopted the report and recommendations, as amended.

[EXTENSION OF MEETING TIME: At this point in the proceedings, the Senate approved Senator DiVito’s motion to extend the overall meeting time until consideration of, and action on, the Senate Bylaws Review was completed.]

University Structure and Governance Committee - Joseph Blasi and Kathleen Scott, Co-chairs, Response to Charge S-0324, Senate Bylaws Review (Part 2, Senate Handbook)

Senators Blasi and Scott, co-chairs of the University Structure and Governance Committee (USGC), summarized their committee’s response to Charge S-0324, Senate Bylaws Review (Part 2, Senate Handbook). The committee had been charged as follows: “Review Senate bylaws and enabling University Regulations as outlined in the Senate Handbook, and make recommendations for revisions, particularly regarding Senate membership, officer eligibility and requirements. Consult with Senate secretary and chair to identify specific aspects of the bylaws and regulations to be examined.”

The Senate considered the report’s articles eight articles individually. Discussion resulted in the following successful motions to amend:

Article I: Role of the Senate - No amendments.
Article II: Role of the Central Administration - No amendments.
Article III: Senate Meetings:

Senator Simmons’ motion to amend Section E, “Voting,” item 2, to read:“If requested by any Senator, a secret ballot shall be conducted.All other motions for a specific voting procedure shall require a majority vote.”
Senator Panayotatos’ motion to amend Section D, “Procedures,” item 1, to include the penultimate sentence:“More stringent time limits to speakers can be applied if recommended by the Executive Committee (for approval by the Senate) and indicated on the agenda.”(Accepted as a friendly amendment.)
Senator Panayotatos’ motion to add to Section E, “Voting,” the following two items:

3. If the election for Senate chair is contested, then it shall be conducted separately. Nominations for vice chair and the Executive Committee will be closed only after the announcement of the results of the chair election. The same will hold for the Executive Committee nominations if the vice chair election is contested. The elections for Board of Trustees and Board of Governors representatives may be conducted simultaneously with those for officers of the Senate, but senators will be allowed to run for more than one position.
4. Any senator can request to see the vote tally of any voting procedure in which votes are tallied. With respect to elections, the right is limited to candidates.

Article IV: Senate Procedures:

Senator Panayotatos’ motion to amend Section B to read: “Normally all communications to the Senate or its Executive Committee should be addressed to the secretary of the Senate. Exceptions include confidential communications to the chair, such as evaluations of deans, which can be addressed directly to the chair of the Senate. Referrals to committee, when appropriate, are made by the Executive Committee.”
Senator Nicole Smith’s motion to amend Section C, “Recurring Senate Actions Having Fixed Dates,” as follows: “First Week of April: The election of senators in various units must be completed.” The original deadline for this action had been March 15.(Accepted as a friendly amendment.)

Article VII: Responsibilities of Senate Officers:

Senator Hoekzema’s motion to amend Section E, “Senate-Elected Representatives to the Board of Governors and the Board of Trustees,” item 3, to begin with the following sentence: “Each student-elected faculty or student representative serves as an advocate of the Senate view when appropriate, to the members of the Boards.”
Senator Cooper’s motion to amend Section E, “Senate-Elected Representatives to the Board of Governors and the Board of Trustees,” item 1, to eliminate the Senate-membership-requirement exclusion for student representatives to the Board of Trustees.Item 2 to be amended accordingly.
Senator Panayotatos’ motion to change all references to the Senate secretary in the Handbook and in the Bylaws to read “executive secretary.” (Accepted as a friendly amendment.)
Senator Panayotatos’ motion to amend Section C, “Executive Secretary,” to exclude the executive secretary from eligibility to run for, or be elected to, the University Senate.

Article VIII: Committees of the Senate:

Senator Panayotatos’ motion to amend the Academic Standards, Regulations and Admissions Committee’s standing charge to include the elements of the additional function to act as a university-wide admissions committee. (Accepted as a friendly amendment.)
Senator McKeever’s motion to codify the meaning of “patent and human subjects policies” in the Faculty Affairs and Personnel Committee’s standing charge.

Each article was adopted by the Senate individually after it was discussed. Following discussion, amendment, and adoption of the individual articles, the Handbook in its entirety was adopted by the Senate, with one opposing vote, and one abstention.

ADJOURNMENT:The meeting adjourned at 4:56 p.m.

Kenneth Swalagin
Executive Secretary of the University Senate