RUTGERS UNIVERSITY SENATE
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
M I N U T E S

January 14, 2011

MEMBERS PRESENT: Barnett, Binetti, Bodnar, Borisovets, Bubb, David, Fishbein, Gillett, Gould, Levine, Panayotatos (Chair), Rabinowitz, Swalagin (Executive Secretary), Thompson

MEMBERS EXCUSED: Leath

ALSO ATTENDING: Cotter (Faculty BOG Representative), Fehn (Administrative Liaison), Furmanski (Administrative Liaison), Spiegel (Budget and Finance Committee Chair), Smith (Chief Information Officer), Swartley-McArdle (Graduate Student BOT Representative)

The regular meeting of the University Senate Executive Committee was held on Friday, January 14, 2011 at 1:10 p.m. in the Executive Board Room of Administrative Services Building-III, Cook Campus.

1. Chairperson’s Report 

Senate and Executive Committee Chairperson Paul Panayotatos called the meeting to order at 1:17 p.m. He said that it has been his practice when he chairs the Senate that he also meets at the beginning of each semester, along with the Senate vice chair, with President McCormick and Executive Vice President Furmanski to exchange ideas and talk about priorities relating to what is going on in the Senate and administration. He added that he and Vice Chair Ann Gould had held that meeting with McCormick and Furmanski the previous day, and that they had held a collegial and frank discussion about plans for the coming semester. Panayotatos noted his optimism in reading the New Jersey Higher Education Task Force Report, particularly its many references to Rutgers as New Jersey's flagship public research university. Panayotatos completed his report by noting that Senate Parliamentarian Victor Greenhut would be available for the upcoming Senate meeting, but that Senator Robert Boikess had volunteered to stand in as a substitute.

2.    Secretary’s Report
3.    Administrative Liaison

Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Furmanski presented an administrative report which included comments on:
Don Smith, Rutgers' Chief Information Officer, briefed the Executive Committee on Rutgers Information Technology and Services.

4.    Standing Committees

Committee Reports:

The University Structure and Governance Committee (USGC) Response to Charge S-1006 on Staggered Terms for Staff Senators was summarized by Senator Gillett, chair of the USGC, and discussed by the Executive Committee, which then docketed the report for action at the January 28 Senate meeting.

The Academic Standards, Regulations and Admissions Committee (ASRAC) Response to Charge S-1010 on New Academic Integrity Policy and a companion document entitled "Procedures for Adjudicating Alleged Nonseparable Violations of Academic Integrity" were summarized by Senator Cotter, co-chair of the ASRAC, and discussed by the Executive Committee, which then docketed the report for action at the January 28 Senate meeting.

Issues/Proposed Charges:

A Proposed Charge to the Instruction, Curriculum and Advising Committee (ICAC) on Online Education at Rutgers, which had been previously requested and was already being discussed by the ICAC, was issued as follows:

Online Education at Rutgers: Survey the existing state of online education at Rutgers, and identify issues and challenges. Respond to Senate Executive Committee by April 2011.
A Proposed Charge to the Faculty and Personnel Affairs Committee (FPAC) on Academic Freedom, which had been submitted by the Faculty Caucus, was summarized by Senator Gould, Senate Vice Chair and Faculty Caucus Convener. The charge was issued as follows:

Academic Freedom and Faculty Participation in University Governance: Review current recognition and protection of academic freedom in University policies, traditions and practices, with particular emphasis on the relationship between academic freedom and faculty participation in University governance. Respond to Senate Executive Committee by November 2011.

A Proposed Charge to the Student Affairs Committee on NJPIRG Funding as a Student Group was discussed. By a vote of four in favor, seven opposed, and two abstentions, the Executive Committee declined to issue the charge.

A Proposed Charge to the Faculty and Personnel Affairs Committee on Federal Limitations on Hourly Employees was discussed. At the November 2010 Executive Committee meeting, Senator Fishbein had raised an issue related to new federal regulations limiting employment of Type 4, hourly employees. The pros and cons of the regulations were discussed at some length, as was the practicality of asking a Senate committee to debate how to respond to a federal law which, by its nature, must be followed. EVP Furmanski said that the issue had been extensively explored by Vivian Fernandez, who had energetically sought solutions. It was noted that responses to federal laws were outside of the rubric of University Senate decisions. At that time, Paul Panayotatos said he would discuss the issue in the FPAC, along with Ms. Fernandez, who is a member of that committee, and would report back to the Executive Committee before a decision is made on a proposed charge. At this meeting, Panayotatos said that Ms. Fernandez had been unable to attend the November FPAC meeting. Panayotatos asked that this item be placed on the February 2011 Executive Committee agenda. No charge was issued.

A Proposed Charge to the Faculty and Personnel Affairs Committee on Viability of Tenurable Teaching Track had been discussed at the October 2010 Executive Committee meeting, at which time FPAC Co-chair Paul Panayotatos said that the FPAC would report back to the Executive Committee at the subsequent meeting with the FPAC's decision on whether it would agree to reexamine the issue, pursuant to a charge proposed by PTL Senator and Executive Committee Member Karen Thompson, as follows: "Reconsider the viability of instituting a tenurable teaching track at Rutgers, given past Senate deliberations:
 http://senate.rutgers.edu/FAPCContingentFacultyPartIAsRevisedAndAdopted.pdf,
http://senate.rutgers.edu/FPAConS07052ContingentFacultyPart2ToSenate.pdf, but more importantly in light of the new national AAUP Report: http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/comm/rep/teachertenure. Additional national data and reports are available, particularly through the coalition of disciplinary association, the Coalition on the Academic Workforce: http://www.academicworkforce.org/. Make recommendations in the interest of academic freedom, shared governance, and quality teaching at Rutgers."At the November 2010 Executive Committee meeting, Panayotatos said that the FPAC attendance at the October meeting in Camden was not sufficient to vote on this matter, so he will raise the issue in November and report back to the Executive Committee in January. At this meeting, Panayotatos withdrew the charge for the time being. No charge was issued.

A Charge to the Faculty and Personnel Affairs Committee on Transition from Paper-based to Online Teaching Evaluations was proposed by Senator Gillett, discussed by the Executive Committee, and issued as follows:

Transition from Paper-based to Online Teaching Evaluations: Review the consequences of the change from  paper-based teaching evaluations to online evaluations. Respond to Senate Executive Committee by November 2011.

A Proposed Charge to the Budget and Finance Committee on Information Technology Services at Rutgers was discussed at some length. The Executive Committee attempted to draft the charge, but it was not finalized. Secretary Swalagin was asked to e-circulate a draft charge for Executive Committee comment, and issue it if possible. [Note: Email discussions and comments on the subsequently circulated draft charge were extensive. The charge will be discussed again at the February 2011 Executive Committee meeting.]

5.    University Senate January 28, 2011 Agenda

In addition to committee reports described above as docketed for the January 28 Senate meeting, the Executive Commitee also docketed for that meeting the New Brunswick Campus Report and a presentation by Kathleen Hull on Rutgers' "Project Civility."

6.    Old Business

There was no old business.

7.    New Business

There was no new business.

8.    Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 4:22 p.m.

Minutes Written and Submitted by,
Ken Swalagin, Executive Secretary of the University Senate