April 23, 2004 Senate Minutes

RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY
UNIVERSITY SENATE

MINUTES: Regular Meeting of the University Senate

DATE: April 23, 2004

TIME AND PLACE: 1:10 p.m., Multipurpose Room, Rutgers Student Center, 126 College Avenue, College Avenue Campus

MEMBERS PRESENT: Ambar, Atwood, Axelrod, Barone, C. Bell, R. Bell, Blakeman, Blasi, Bodnar, Boikess, Borisovets,
Boylan, Brazier, Bronzan, Bucko, Calla, Cannon, Caprio, Cohen, Colaizzi, A. Cooper, K. Cooper, Cotter, Curry, Darien, Dayal, DeLisi, E. Dennis, Dess, Dholandas, Diner, Domb, Ezgilioglu, Feinberg, Fenster, Fishbein, Flanagan, Furmanski, Gaunt, Gillett, Gillis, Goldin, Gould, Greenhut, Guo, Hall, Hallmark, Hamilton, Hirsh, Hughes, Hyndman, Innerfield, Jackson, Jessen, Karel, Kauffman, Kavanagh, Kirby, Kirschner, Krucher, LaSala, Leath, Markowitz, Maudlin, McCormick, McKay, Messer, Mian, Nedick, Nerurkar, Norville, Novell, Ocone, O’Connor, Panayotatos, Parks, Pieczenik, Plummer, Potenza, Rabii, Rabinowitz, Redd, Roden, Schaich, Scott, P. Simmons, R. Simmons, H. Smith, N. Smith, Snyder, Sofer, Spero, Stauffer, Szatrowski, Szerlip, Tandon, Tuckman, Turpin, Vodak, Wang, Weiman, Whang, Winterbauer, Zaborszky

EXCUSED: Advani, Bathory, Bry, Chambers, Cronk, Crown, R. Dennis, Deutsch, Erlichson, Forman, Friedrich, Hawkesworth, Hodgson, Hornichter, J. Jones, R. Jones, Lashley, Lee, Leontiades, Manhoff, Markey, Marsh, Oren, Puniello, Rubin, Schock, Sifuentes-Jauregui, Stark, Thompson

ABSENT: Abbasi, Agha, Banerjee, Baruh, Bellino, Breton, Brodie, Butler, Case, Dadlani, Davidson, Doshi, Driscoll, Evans, Foley, Gallinar, Glass, Griffiths, Hara, Herrera, Hull, Kennedy, Keoskey, Klein, Kokini, Kressel, Laguna-Diaz, Lake, Lanza, Leustek, Lichtenfeld, Maradonna, McKeever, Mensah, Naqvi, Pandya, Patel, Reed, Rijhsinghani, Roselle, Sears, Segers, Solomon, Taghon, Tsurumi, Wadud, Webb, Weiss, Worrall, Zylstra

ATTENDANCE SUMMARY: Faculty: Of 90 total: 50 present (55%), 17 excused (19%) 23 absent (26%); Students: Of 48 total: 26 present (54 %), 3 excused (6%), 19 absent (40%); Administrators: Of 39 total: 24 present (61%), 8 excused (21%), 7 absent (18%); Alumni: Of 6 total: 4 present (66%), l excused (17%), (1 absent (17%)
View Senate Attendance Record for this year.

NON-VOTING MEMBERS PRESENT: Holmes, Seto

NON-VOTING MEMBERS ABSENT: Boyer, Sambolin, Wright

PRESIDING OFFICER: Paul Panayotatos, Chairperson

CHAIRPERSON’S REPORT: Chairperson Panayotatos called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m., during the recess of the Organizational Meeting of the 2004-05 University Senate. His chairperson’s report included comments on:

his tenure as Senate chair, during which Rutgers had two presidents, and the complex issue of the proposed restructuring of higher education in New Jersey was examined;
the lack of utilization of the Senate’s appeal function, and the potential application of that function to the recent decision of the location for the new School of Nursing building;
the past year of the University Senate, which he characterized as "successful and productive";
President McCormick’s acceptance of all of the Senate’s advice, resolutions and recommendations (with the exception of the recommendation to join FAIR v. Rumsfeld), and the adoption or intention to adopt into Rutgers policy Senate recommendations on evaluation of administrators, assessment of teaching, appointment of department chairs, and disclosure of FASIP awards;
his time as faculty representative to the Board of Governors, and praise for Senators Leath and Redd, who also served as representatives to the Board of Governors;
appreciation for the service of: Senator Nicole Smith, Senate parliamentarian; Secretary Swalagin; Linda Mickelsen, the Senate’s administrative assistant; chairs and members of the Senate’s standing committees; and all Senators, especially those not returning next year; and a special thanks and best wishes to student Senators; and
his personal condemnation of The Medium’s publication of a front-page cartoon disrespecting Jews and mocking the Holocaust in the April 22, 2004 edition.

REPORT OF THE SECRETARY: Agenda: The agenda was approved as distributed by the Secretary.

Minutes: On motion and duly seconded, the Minutes of the March 26, 2004 Senate meeting were approved as distributed by the Secretary.

Communications: The following communications were presented by the Secretary:

Letters from President McCormick acknowledging Senate action, reports and/or advice:

March 25, 2004 letter from President McCormick acknowledging Report on Endorsement of the Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics' Framework for Comprehensive Athletics Reform
March 25, 2004 letter from President McCormick acknowledging Report on Modification of the University Academic Calendar
March 25, 2004 letter from President McCormick acknowledging the Resolution to Implement Fully Rutgers University Policy on Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action
March 25, 2004 letter from President McCormick acknowledging the Report and Recommendations on use of Electronic Applications for Admission
April 21, 2004 letter from President McCormick acknowledging Report on Evaluation of Administrators, Review
April 21, 2004 letter from President McCormick acknowledging Report on Knight Express Card
April 21, 2004 letter from President McCormick acknowledging the Report and Recommendations on Student Advising
April 21, 2004 letter from President McCormick acknowledging the Report on Winter Session Review

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

his appreciation for the work of Senate Chair Panayotatos;
The Medium’s lack of editorial judgment, its racist and anti-Semitic content, the "outrageous hostility and cruelty" evident particularly in the previous day’s edition, his call for a community response of outrage and action, and a request for a Senate response;
Rutgers’ budget and state funding, which included distribution of a handout entitled "Statement Regarding the Proposed New Jersey State Budget for Fiscal Year 2005" which he issued on April 8, 2004, and continued encouragement of membership in the Friends of Rutgers Network; and
an update on the status of AAUP’s and other unions’ contract negotiations with Rutgers.

Following the report, President McCormick responded to questions regarding The Medium, his decision not to accept the Senate’s recommendation that Rutgers join FAIR v. Rumsfeld litigation, the state budget and an appropriate time to enter into a related contract with the governor as earlier proposed by the Senate, and contract negotiations.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Noting the time and number of Senators present, and anticipating a potential call for quorum count, Chairperson Panayotatos requested and received the Senate’s permission to change the order of committee reports to ensure that the Senate could act on the urgent recommendation to change the academic calendar 2005 commencement date.

Academic Standards, Regulations and Admissions Committee - Michelle Brazier and Craig Oren, Co-chairs, Response to Charge S-0402, Academic Calendar, 2005 Commencement Date Change

Senator Brazier, co-chair of the Academic Standards, Regulations and Admissions Committee, summarized her committee’s response to Charge S-0402, Academic Calendar, 2005 Commencement Date Change. The committee had been charged as follows: Consider the administration's request to adjust the University Academic Calendar to change next year's commencement date from Thursday, May 19, 2005 to Wednesday, May 18, 2005. Senator Brazier then read the report’s resolution, which carried, with one abstention, as follows: Whereas, Rutgers College commencement and University commencement are currently scheduled for the same location on the same day in 2005, and
Whereas, the administration has requested adjusting the university calendar for commencement in 2005; and
Whereas, the University Senate’s Academic Standards, Regulations and Admissions Committee has reviewed this request, and believes it to be in the best interest of all constituencies;
Therefore, Be It Resolved, that the Rutgers University Senate approves adjusting the University Academic Calendar to change next year’s University commencement date from Thursday, May 19, 2005 to Wednesday, May 18, 2005.

Instruction, Curricula and Advising Committee - Natalie Borisovets, Chair, Response to Charge S-0214, Mid-Semester Course Assessment

Senator Borisovets, chair of the Instruction, Curricula and Advising Committee, summarized her committee’s response to Charge S-0214, Mid-Semester Course Assessment. The committee had been charged as follows: "Review the use of the Mid-Semester Course Assessment as a formative assessment tool; identify barriers to the use of the Mid-Semester Assessment at Rutgers; consider whether such an assessment should be required/recommended for all courses." Following discussion, the question was called successfully by Senator Hirsh, and the report was approved unanimously by the Senate on card vote, as presented by the committee, and including the following recommendations:

We recommend that the deans of the degree-granting units strongly encourage their departments to make the Mid-Semester Course Assessment a part of their training/mentoring of new faculty.
We recommend that departments strongly encourage those teaching a particular course for the first time to make use of the Mid-Semester Course Assessment.
We recommend that the New Brunswick Teaching Excellence Center continue and increase its efforts to publicize the availability and nature of this service.

Equal Opportunity Committee - Mary Hawkesworth and Jason Redd, Co-chairs, Report/Recommendations regarding Asian-American Student Initiative

Senator Richard Simmons, a member of the Equal Opportunity Committee, and Senator Redd, committee co-chair, summarized their committee’s report and recommendations regarding an Asian-American Student Initiative. The report was the result of committee initiative and follow-up; no specific charge had been issued. A motion to amend the report to change all occurrences of "Asian Cultural Center" to "Asian-American Cultural Center" was accepted as friendly. Following brief discussion, the report and its recommendations were approved by the Senate with two abstentions, as summarized in the following resolution presented in the report: Whereas, the creation and maintenance of an academic environment that recognizes the full equality of all members of the university community and affirms the dignity and cultural diversity of all students lies at the heart of the university’s mission; and
Whereas, Asian-American students, who comprise one-fifth of the Rutgers student population and have experienced marginalization and neglect, seek to establish active participation and complete inclusion in the Rutgers community; and
Whereas, affording all Rutgers students enhanced opportunities to learn about the Asian nations that comprise 60% of the world population contributes significantly to the university’s academic excellence and helps prepare Rutgers students for the challenges of globalization;
Therefore, Be It Resolved that the Rutgers University Senate urges President McCormick to increase the space, staff and resources for the Asian-American Cultural Center until they are equal to the resources provided the Robeson Center and the Latino Arts and Culture Center or proportional to the size of the Asian-American student population at Rutgers; and
Be It Further Resolved that the University Senate urges the President, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and the Deans of all academic units to act expeditiously on recommendations forthcoming from the Committee on Asian-American Studies, the FAS Task Force on Race and Ethnicity, and the Committee to Advance Our Common Purposes; and
Be It Further Resolved that the University Senate urges the President to instruct the Development Office to make fundraising to support these initiatives a University priority; and
Be It Finally Resolved that the University Senate urges the President to establish priorities and a time-line for the achievement of these objectives.

University Structure and Governance Committee - Joseph Blasi and Kathleen Scott, Co-chairs, Response to Charge S-0401, Rutgers AAUP Vision Statement and Resolutions

Senators Blasi and Scott, Co-chairs of the University Structure and Governance Committee (USGC), summarized their committee’s response to Charge S-0401, Rutgers AAUP Vision Statement and Resolutions. The committee had been charged as follows: "Respond to Rutgers Chapter of AAUP requests for Senate endorsement of its Vision Statement and two resolutions." Following discussion, by secret ballot, the Senate approved the USGC’s resolution on the AAUP Vision Statement, as follows: Be It Resolved that the Rutgers University Senate endorses the actions set forth in the AAUP vision statement as critical for achieving the goals of the University. Following further discussion, and also by secret ballot, the Senate approved the USGC’s separate resolutions on graduate education and faculty, as follows: Resolution on Graduate Education

Whereas, we are committed to advancing Rutgers to the top echelon of public research universities; and
Whereas, an outstanding and diverse graduate student body is an essential part of every top echelon research university; and
Whereas, our ability to recruit and retain such a graduate student body requires competitive stipends for TAs and GAs,
Therefore, Be It Resolved that the University Senate supports appropriate and competitive compensation for TAs and GAs as a top priority and calls upon the parties involved in the negotiations to reach a fair and equitable agreement as soon as possible.

Resolution on Faculty

Whereas, the Rutgers University Senate holds that a top priority of the University should be the enhancement of the quality of instruction and appropriate compensation for those providing instruction,
Therefore, Be It Resolved that the University Senate supports appropriate and competitive compensation for its faculty as a top priority and calls upon the parties involved in the negotiations to reach a fair and equitable agreement as soon as possible.

OLD BUSINESS: There was no old business.

NEW BUSINESS: In recognition of his two years of diligent service as chair of the University Senate, at Senator Blasi’s request, the Senate gave Chairperson Panayotatos a standing ovation.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORT: Vice Chairperson Rabinowitz reported on the April 2, 2004 Senate Executive Committee meeting. Executive Committee minutes are available on the Senate website.

REPORT OF THE REPRESENTATIVES TO BOARDS OF GOVERNORS AND TRUSTEES: Senator Leath reported on the April 8, 2004 Board of Governors meeting. Senator Scott reported on the April 15, 2004 Board of Trustees meeting.

REPORT OF CAMPUS FACULTY LIAISONS: Senator Hirsh, chair of the New Brunswick Faculty Council (NBFC), reported on recent and planned activities of the NBFC.

NEW BUSINESS (Continued): As moved by Senator Axelrod, the Senate approved the following resolution regarding The Medium:

The University Senate abhors the content of The Medium issue of April 21, 2004, and disassociates itself from the anti-Semitic message of that issue. The Senate reaffirms its support of diversity and the expression of responsible journalism. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 3:43 p.m.

Kenneth Swalagin
Secretary of the University Senate