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 1:15 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room of the Camden Campus Center. After welcoming all to the annual meeting in Camden, he noted that there would be some time constraints on the meeting due to another scheduled event in Camden. His chairperson's report included comments on:

• the recent, tragic death of student Tyler Clementi, and the serious injury of football team member Eric LeGrande (Panayotatos led the Senate in observing a moment of silence for Mr. Clementi);
• the Senate Executive Committee's creation of an Ad Hoc Shared Governance Task Force, which will revisit, renew, and expand the scope of the work of the 1998-99 Senate Revitalization Committee;
• the focus of the 1998-99 Senate Revitalization Committee, which was primarily on identifying ways in which to increase integration and collaboration among faculty councils and the Senate;
• the Ad Hoc Shared Governance Task Force's addition of increased exploration of student participation and issues; and
• other elements of the task force's planned focus, including identifying issues at a level of importance that would spark increased participation in the Senate, the need for working relationships and communal authority in smaller issues before going to larger issues, and shared governance generally at Rutgers and other institutions.

SECRETARY'S REPORT - Ken Swalagin, Executive Secretary

• Agenda: The meeting's agenda, including time limits, was approved as distributed by the executive secretary.
• Minutes: The Minutes of April 30, 2010 Senate Organizational Meeting and Minutes of September 24, 2010 Senate Meeting were approved as distributed by the executive secretary.
• Communications: The following communications were presented and summarized by the executive secretary:
• President McCormick's September 2010 Response acknowledging the Senate report and recommendations on  on S-0908, Proposal to Increase Staff Membership, from the University Structure and Governance Committee. The proposal was adopted by the Board of Governors on Thursday, October 7, 2010.
• Letter to the Rutgers University Senate from Kenneth O'Brien, President of The State University of New York Faculty Senate, expressing condolences on the death of Rutgers student Tyler Clementi.

SPECIAL ELECTION - STAFF SENATOR MEMBER OF THE SENATE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Because last year's election of Senate Executive Committee members was conducted before the university-wide election of Staff Senators was completed, a special election for Staff Member of the Executive Committee was conducted at this Senate meeting. Campaign statements from candidates Justine Hernandez Levine and Tim DiVito had been posted online prior to the meeting. Chairperson Panayotatos introduced the election, and asked both candidates to speak to the Senate in support of their candidacies. Voting was conducted by paper ballot, tabulated by Linda Mickelsen, Senate administrative assistant. Justine Hernandez Levine was elected Staff Member of the Executive Committee for the remainder of the current academic year.

University Structure and Governance Committee (USGC) Response to Charge S-0902, Senate Speakers, Discussions, Forums [Note: This link goes to the report as presented to the Senate at this meeting. A link to the report as amended and adopted by the Senate appears below.] - Peter Gillett, USGC Chair

[The recommendations in this report included a change to Senate Bylaws/University Regulations. In accordance with established parliamentary procedure, this report was introduced at the March 2010 Senate meeting, but was tabled at the subsequent, April 2010 Senate meeting.] University Structure and Governance Committee Chair Peter Gillett summarized the USGC report on Senate Speakers, Discussions, and Forums. A list of amendments expected to be proposed to this report's recommendations had been proposed by Senator Panayotatos, discussed by the USGC, and published online with the agenda for this meeting. Senate Vice Chair Ann Gould assumed the chair while Chairperson Panayotatos moved his amendments from the floor. All amendments proposed by Panayotatos were accepted as friendly by Gillett, on behalf of the USGC. The USGC's Response to Charge S-0902, Senate Speakers, Discussions, Forums, as Amended was then unanimously adopted by the Senate on card vote.

[Panayotatos then resumed the chair.]

Academic Standards, Regulations and Admissions Committee (ASRAC) Partial Response to Charge S-1003 on Fall 2011 Academic Calendar - Martha Cotter and Dan Schantz, ASRAC Co-chairs

Academic Standards, Regulations and Admissions Committee Chair Martha Cotter summarized the ASRAC report comprising a Partial Response on the Fall 2011 Academic Calendar. She explained that this multi-part charge had several components, including one which was addressed in an April 2010 Senate Response to Charge S-1003, Fall 2010 Academic Calendar, the report before the Senate today, and an anticipated response which will address the academic calendar beyond Fall 2011. She said that an ASRAC subcommittee had been set up to address that last part of the charge, but that the component of the academic calendar before the Senate today required immediate Senate action so that recommendations could be sent to, and acted upon by, Rutgers Scheduling and Space Management. Cotter explained the report's primary recommendations for changes in designation of class days for Fall 2011, as contained in the report, and then read the resolution at the end of the report. Chairperson Panayotatos called for discussion. There was no discussion. The report was adopted by the Senate on card vote, with few opposed.

Faculty and Personnel Affairs Committee Response to Charge S-0811 on Changes to Academic Reappointment/Promotion Instructions [Note: This link goes to the report as amended and adopted by the Senate at this meeting.]- Ann Gould and Paul Panayotatos, FPAC Co-chairs

Faculty and Personnel Affairs Committee Co-chair Ann Gould presented the FPAC report on Changes to Academic Reappointment/Promotion Instructions. She read aloud each of the report's four recommendations, as well as the resolution at the end of the report. Panayotatos called for discussion. Senator Gillett proposed a minor grammatical change in Recommendation 4, which was accepted as friendly. Senator Boikess objected to the term "extenuating circumstances" in Recommendation 1. Panayotatos (who remained at the chair during this portion of the meeting) proposed adding "and/or the field warrant it" to the sentence, which was agreeable to Senator Boikess, and accepted as friendly by the USGC. The report, as amended, was then adopted by the Senate on card vote, with few abstaining, and none opposed.

Faculty Affairs and Personnel Committee (FPAC) Response to Charge S-0911 on Faculty Orientation Programs - Ann Gould and Paul Panayotatos, FPAC Co-chairs [This report was presented for information only, with no Senate action required.]

Panayotatos, remaining at the chair, explained that the report was being presented for information only, with no Senate action required, because University Human Relations (UHR) had already taken steps to facilitate the FPAC's recommendations on Faculty Orientation Programs. He explained that this was made possible by Vivian Fernández, Vice President for Faculty and Staff Resources, who is also a non-Senator member of the FPAC. Faculty Affairs and Personnel Committee Co-chair Ann Gould then summarized the report and its recommendations, as well as plans for UHR to implement the recommendations. Panayotatos called for discussion. Senator Heather McKay suggested that a similar orientation program would be useful for non-faculty Rutgers employees as well. Gould offered to convey that suggestion to Ms.Fernández.

OLD BUSINESS

There was no old business.

NEW BUSINESS

There was no new business.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORT: Vice Chairperson Ann Gould reported on the Senate Executive Committee meetings of June 4, September 3, and October 8, 2010.

REPORTS OF REPRESENTATIVES TO BOARDS OF GOVERNORS AND TRUSTEES: Senator Cotter, Faculty Representative to the Board of Governors, reported on the June 22, July 15 and October 7, 2010 Board of Governors meetings. Senator Rabinowitz, Faculty Representative to the Board of Trustees, and Camden faculty Senator, welcomed everyone to the Camden Campus, and reported on the September 30, 2010 Board of Trustees meeting.

CAMPUS FACULTY LIAISON REPORTS: There were no reports from Camden or Newark Campus Faculty Liaisons. Senator McKeever, Chair of the New Brunswick Faculty Council, reported on the October 5, 2010 New Brunswick Faculty Council meeting.

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT - President Richard L. McCormick

Noting that the main component of this meeting's administrative report would be Camden Chancellor Pritchett's Camden Campus Report, President McCormick presented a brief administrative report, which included comments on topics including:

• the launch of a capital campaign, the goal of which is to raise one billion dollars, and which has already raised $472 million toward that goal;
• his thanks to the University Senate for again hosting his September Annual Address to the Rutgers Community;
• Rutgers' continuing efforts to secure resources and support from Trenton;
• the previous evening's meeting with students in New Brunswick, during which the Rutgers University Student Assembly (the School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick student governing association) presented the results of their survey of issues important to students, and his suggestion that RUSA's Camden and Newark colleagues do likewise;
• important and difficult issues raised by the suicide of student Tyler Clementi, including:
• cyberbullying;
• the extent to which Rutgers is supportive of LGBT students, faculty and staff;
• the alarming number of suicides of LGBT youths;
• the national and global reach and responses of these events and issues;
• the importance of attending to these issues on all Rutgers campuses;
• and that afternoon's scheduled ribbon-cutting ceremony for the newly renovated Camden School of Social Work building.

CAMDEN CAMPUS REPORT - Camden Chancellor Wendell Pritchett

Camden Chancellor Wendell Pritchett presented a Camden Campus Report.  The report included comments on the following topics:

• a welcome to the Camden Campus, and his appreciation for the Senate's scheduling of this Camden meeting, and hosting his campus report:
• the tragic deaths of students Tyler Clementi and Nicole Ayres;
• efforts to increase the number of students on the Camden campus, build academic strength in strategic areas, and build relations and connections with the Camden area;
• enrollment statistics;
• campus life and experiences;
• finalization of plans for a new student dormitory on Cooper Street;
• expansion of academic programs in strategic areas;
•  welcoming the first classes in new Ph.D. programs in public affairs and computational biology;
• welcoming the first class of first-year nursing students, and a proposal for a nursing school which should be coming to the Senate;
• appointment of Jaishankar Ganesh as the fourth dean of the Rutgers School of Business-Camden;
• increasing the longstanding engagement with the City of Camden and the southern New Jersey region;
• initiatives related to international student recruitment, and expanding opportunities for Rutgers students abroad;
• efforts to improve faculty diversity and equity;
• the ongoing search for a new dean of the Camden College of Arts and Sciences, to replace retiring Dean Margaret Marsh; and
• his own Philadelphia high school principal's philosophy that joy can be found in hard work, which she modeled in him, and which he hopes to help others do as well.

Chancellor Pritchett then responded to questions on topics which included:

• increasing faculty numbers and resources in relation to expanding enrollment; and
• a focus on growth in strategic areas once overall enrollment growth limits have been reached.

ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 2:51 p.m.

Submitted by,
Ken Swalagin
Executive Secretary of the University Senate