Regular Meeting of the University Senate

DATE:   May 2, 2003

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

MEMBERS PRESENT: Adelaja, Ambar, Atwood, Barone, Bathory, Bell, Blasi, Borisovets, Bossard, Boylan, Brazier, Bry, Cerulo, Cohen, Colaizzi, A. Cooper, T. Cooper, Cotter, Cowley, Darien, Davidson, E. Dennis, DeRosa, Domb, Doshi, Durante, Erlichson, Evans, Forman, Gillett, Gould, Greenhut, Grennille, Hall, Hara, Haugerud, Hawkesworth, Hirschmugl, Hodgson, Hornichter, Hyndman, Jesse, Jones, Karel, Kauffman, Kirschner, Kleiman, Kressel, Krucher, Lanterman, Lashley, Leustek, Liberman, Maradonna, Markowitz, Maudlin, McKay, McKeever, Naus, Nedick, Nordstrom, Obayashi, O’Connor, Oren, Panayotatos, Pancholy, Parrish, Pellegrine, Penfield, Plummer, Rabii, Rabinowitz, Ramsay, Abhay Rijhsinghani, Amit Rijhsinghani, Roden, Rountree, Saidel, Schiavo, Schock, Scott, Sears, Seneca, P. Simmons, N. Smith, D. Snyder, P. Snyder, Swenson, Szatrowski, Tandon, Thompson, Vodak, Walker-Andrews, Wang, Wasserman, Webb, Winterbauer, Wozniak, Zaborszky

EXCUSED:  Barnes, Baruh, Boikess, Caprio, Chambers, Diner, Friedrich, Gaunt, Gillis, Hillman, Hirsh, Hughes, Jessen, Kirby, Laguna-Diaz, Leath, Lee, Leontiades, Lin, Manhoff, Marsh, McCormick, Mensah, Messer, Miller, Ocone, Pieczenik, Puniello, Segers, H. Smith, Tuckman, Wilkinson, Worrall

ABSENT:  Abreu, Advani, Bay, Berz, Bottega, Breton, Bushnell, Caruso, Case, Chism, Craft, Cronk, Dekhterman, R. Dennis, Dess, Deutsch, Driscoll, Elgallab, El-Shakhs, Fischetti, Flanagan, Gossett, Griffiths, Hanlon, Hull, Joanne Jackson, J. Jackson, Johnson, Joo, Kenfield, Kennedy, Kenney, Keoskey, Klein, Kokini, Lehman, Lichtenfeld, Massenburg, Maurer, Owusu, Patel, Perr, Pottick, Preston, Salge, Schlegel, Shovlin, Silver, R. Simmons, Solomon, Sondahl, Stauffer, Sukhdeo, Taylor, Tsurumi, Wadia, Weis, Zylstra

ATTENDANCE SUMMARY:  Faculty:  Of  94 total: 55 present (59%), 16 excused (17%) 23 absent (24%); Students: Of 50 total: 27 present (54%), 1 excused (2%), 22 absent (24%);  Administrators:  Of 39 total: 15 present (38%), 14 excused (36%), 10 absent (26%); Alumni: Of 6 total: 2 present (33%), 1 excused (17%), 3 absent (50%)
View Senate attendance record for this year.

NON-VOTING MEMBER PRESENT:  Redd

NON-VOTING MEMBERS ABSENT:  Sambolin, Wright

PRESIDING OFFICER:   Paul Panayotatos, Chairperson

CHAIRPERSON’S REPORT:  Chairperson Panayotatos called the meeting to order.  He explained that 2003-04 Senators who were not members of the 2002-03 Senate would not have voting privileges during this meeting.  He explained that a Contract with the State on funding, which had been prepared by the University Structure and Governance Committee, had been tabled until the Fall 2003 semester by the Executive Committee.  He commented on President McCormick’s inauguration, at which Chairperson Panayotatos pledged the Senate’s support to the president.  He thanked University Vice President for Academic Affairs Joseph Seneca, Former President Lawrence, Former Acting President Samuels, President McCormick, Secretary Swalagin, Linda Mickelsen of the Senate office, and all Senators, particularly those not returning, as well as the student Senators, for their work over the past year.

REPORT OF THE SECRETARY:  Agenda:  The agenda was approved as distributed by the Secretary. [http://senate.rutgers.edu/0503agen.html]  Minutes:  On motion and duly seconded, the Minutes of the March 28, 2003 Senate meeting were approved as distributed by the Secretary. [http://senate.rutgers.edu/032803se.html]
Communications: The following communications were presented by the Secretary:

• Request for review of, and comments on, Periodic Review Report to the Middle States Commission on Higher Education [http://oirap.rutgers.edu/MSAPRR.html].  Secretary Swalagin asked all Senators to review the report and make comments to the Office of Institutional Research and Planning (OIRAP) within the next week, as requested by OIRAP. [http://senate.rutgers.edu/nomcom.html]

COMMITTEE REPORTS

• Instruction, Curricula and Advising Committee - Natalie Borisovets, Chair

Chairperson Borisovets summarized her committee’s Report and Recommendations in Response to Charge S-9912 on Student Advising. [http://senate.rutgers.edu/advisefinal.html]  The report had been sent back to committee pending input from the Student Affairs Committee.  Senator Borisovets explained that Student Affairs Committee input had been received and incorporated into the report.  Following very brief discussion, the report and its recommendations were approved by the Senate.
 
• Student Affairs Committee - Tahirah Cooper and Matthew Ramsay, Co-chairs

Student Affairs Committee Co-chairs Tahirah Cooper and Matthew Ramsay summarized their committee’s Report and Resolution on Charge S-0213 on Textbook Buyback. [http://senate.rutgers.edu/sacbookbuyback.html]  Senator Ramsay explained that some modifications had been made to the report that morning, noting that some grammatical corrections had been made to the report (but no substantive changes had been made), and that a resolution had been added.  Senator Cooper then read the report’s Resolution, and amended it to indicate that the ad hoc committee report requested therein should be submitted to the Senate Executive Committee rather than the Student Affairs Committee.  Following brief discussion, the report was accepted, and the resolution adopted as follows:
 
Whereas, the report by the Student Affairs Committee (SAC) has concluded that the book buyback process is creating difficulties for students and faculty alike; and,
Whereas, the impact of these difficulties is creating financial hardships for students; and,
Whereas, the SAC recommends that the book buyback process be examined more thoroughly;
Therefore, Be It Resolved, that the SAC recommends an ad hoc committee be established with membership including E-Follett and Co-Operative staff, faculty and students for the next academic year, to be overseen by the Office of the Associate Vice President of Auxiliary Services; and,
Be It Further Resolved, that this committee should issue a report with its findings to the University Senate Executive Committee by April 2004.

• Academic Standards, Regulations and Admissions Committee, Craig Oren and Arlene Walker-Andrews, Co-chairs

Academic Standards, Regulations and Admissions Committee (ASRAC) Co-chairs Oren and Walker-Andrews presented a Status Report (not for Senate action) on their committee’s charges S-0106 and S-0211 on Minus Grades, and Graduate Add/Drop Period, respectively.  They explained that the ASRAC was recommending no action on either of these charges at the present time, but would consider them again in the future if the relative situation or environments changed significantly.  Senator Snyder, commenting on the add/drop period, suggested that professors should make syllabi available during the add/drop period to enable students to make informed decisions regarding which courses to continue or drop.  This suggestion will be brought to the Senate Executive Committee, which will consider issuing a charge to a standing committee.

NEW BUSINESS:  There was no New Business.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORT:  Vice Chair Rabinowitz reported on the April 18, 2003 [http://senate.rutgers.edu/ec041803.html] Senate Executive Committee meeting.  Executive Committee minutes are available on the Senate website.

REPORT OF THE REPRESENTATIVES TO BOARDS OF GOVERNORS AND TRUSTEES:  Senator Wozniak reported on the Board of Governors’ April 29 tuition and budget hearing. Senator Redd reported on the April 17 Board of Trustees meeting in Camden.

REPORT OF CAMPUS FACULTY LIAISON:   Senator Kauffman, reporting for the New Brunswick Faculty Council (NBFC), noted that the NBFC’s last meeting of this academic year would be on May 9. He invited everyone to look at the online copyright policy, and invited feedback on the policy. He also noted that the NBFC had acted on or discussed athletic integrity, new federal guidelines on international scholars, and next fall’s conference on undergraduate education.

ADJOURNMENT:  The meeting adjourned at 3:43 p.m.
 

Kenneth Swalagin
Secretary of the University Senate