RUTGERS UNIVERSITY
SENATE
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
M I N U T E S
March 15, 2013
MEMBERS PRESENT: Barraco, Berman, Borisovets,
Boikess, Gillett, Gould, Panayotatos (Chair), Puhak, Swalagin
(Executive
Secretary), Thompson, Wang
MEMBERS EXCUSED:
Dantzler, Muse, Rosario
ALSO
ATTENDING: Cashin (Student Board of Governors Representative),
Cotter
(Faculty Board of Trustees Representative), Edwards (Administrative
Liaison/EVP for Academic Affairs),
O'Connor (New Brunswick Faculty Liaison), Rabinowitz (Faculty
Board of Governors
Representative/Camden Faculty Liaison), Spiegel (Faculty Board of
Trustees
Representative)
The regular meeting of the University Senate Executive Committee was
held on
Friday, March 15, 2013 at 1:10 p.m. in the Executive Board Room
of
Administrative Services Building-III, Cook Campus.
1.
Chairperson’s Report
- Paul Panayotatos, Senate Chairperson
Senate and Executive Committee Chairperson Paul Panayotatos called the
meeting to order at 1:12 p.m. He welcomed Yuchung Wang, the newly
elected Camden faculty member of the Executive Committee..
2. Secretary’s Report - Ken Swalagin,
Executive Secretary of the Senate
- Agenda: The meeting agenda
was approved.
- Minutes: The Minutes
of February 8, 2013
Senate Executive Committee Meeting were approved as written and
distributed by the secretary.
- Communications: The following communications were
presented by the secretary, and acted upon as indicated:
- President Barchi's February 27, 2013 response
to the Senate Student Affairs Committee's and Executive Committee's
approval of the Daily Targum
Concept Plan. [Noted.]
- The United States Students Association (USSA) Concept Plan has
been withdrawn by the USSA. They are unable to provide the required
independent audits at this time. [Noted, and USSA concept plan
withdrawn from the Senate and Executive Committee dockets. Senator
Samuel Berman, who had submitted the concept plan on behalf of USSA,
said that the plan may come back to the Senate in September.]
- University
Policy 50.2.1 on University Senate Membership and Organization has
been revised to reflect changes approved and requested by the
University Senate regarding Senate size and composition. [Noted.]
3. Administrative Liaison
Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Richard Edwards presented
an administrative report, which
included comments on:
- the Middle States accreditation periodic review report draft,
which will be available online for Senate and Rutgers-community comment;
- an update on UMDNJ integration; and
- creation of an office and position of Vice President on
Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, and appointment of Jorge
Schement into that position.
Edwards then responded to questions, or heard comments, on the above
topics as well as:
- University Hospital in Newark;
- affiliations and accreditation issues for medical schools in
Newark and New Brunswick/Piscataway; and
- the Senate's authority to regulate formal relationships among
academic units within the university, particularly relative to
contemplated mergers of law and nursing schools, and whether the Senate
may expect a charge from the administration on those mergers.
4. Standing Committees
Committee Report:
Faculty
and Personnel Affairs Committee (FPAC) Response
to
Charge S-1012A on Balance of Full-Time and Part-Time Teaching
FPAC Co-chair Ann Gould discussed this charge, related data collection,
and the status of the FPAC report on this issue. She said it was
possible that the committee could have a report ready for the upcoming
Senate meeting. The report was docketed provisionally for the March 29
Senate meeting. [Note: The report could not be finalized by the
Senate-meeting deadline, and was therefore not docketed.]
Issues/Proposed Charges:
Proposed Charge to University
Structure and Governance Committee (USGC) on Reviewing Senate and
University Policies on Faculty Eligibility in the Senate, submitted by
Peter Gillett, USGC Co-chair: [Possibly co-charge FPAC] The
following proposed charge was discussed at some length, but the
Executive Committee decided it would be reconsidered in September after
UMDNJ integration instead of issuing it now: Review
policies relating to Senate eligibility for faculty, and make
recommendations to clarify ambiguities or correct problems relating to
Senate eligibility and definitions of "faculty," "full-time,"
"tenure-track," "non-tenure-track," "part-time," etc. as they relate to
Rutgers and existing UMDNJ employees.
Related
Proposed Charge to USGC submitted by Senator Brian Coleman:
The following charge was discussed and issued to the USGC with a
November 2013 reporting deadline: "Clarify the role and positions that
full-time, non-tenure-track
faculty
can hold in the Senate, particularly if they are annual appointees."
Rationale: In the
resolution that was passed in April 2001 annuals are mentioned but it
is not
clear if this is in reference to part-time annuals or full-time
annuals.
Proposed Charge to Academic Standards,
Regulations and Admissions Committee (ASRAC) on Add/Drop Period,
submitted by
Richard Edwards, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs:
[Follow this link to read EVP
Edwards' March 1, 2013 memo on this matter.] The following
administrative request for a charge was discussed. The charge was
issued to the ASRAC with a request to prepare a response in time for it
to be docketed on the March 29 Senate agenda: "We are asking that
[the ASRAC/Senate] consider either:
extending the add/drop period to the end of the second week of classes,
such that
the deadline for both dropping and adding classes would be Friday
September 13;
or, extending one or more of these deadlines to the Monday or Tuesday
of the
following week (September 16/17). If there are other options that
address the
issues raised that the committee would prefer, we would of course be
open to
those as well."
[At this point in the meeting,
Executive Vice President Edwards said that the Board of Governors will
be considering changing P2 to "Distinguished Professor" effective July
1, and that current P2s will have the option of remaining P2 or
becoming Distinguished Professor.]
Proposed
Charge on Minors
on Campus Policy/Task Force Report, submitted in a Memo
by Richard Edwards, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs:
The following proposed charge was discussed and issued to the Faculty
and Personnel Affairs Committee with a November 2013 deadline: "Review
and respond to the Report of the Minors on Campus Task Force." [
Members
of the Task Force.]
Proposed Charge to ASRAC on
Test-Optional
Admissions, submitted by Senator Robert Boikess: The following
proposed charge was discussed and issued to the ASRAC with a February
2014 deadline: "Look into
whether test-optional admissions should be
implemented for applicants to some or all of our undergraduate schools
and
colleges." Senator Boikess had submitted the following rational for
proposing the charge: "Requiring one of the available
standardized tests of all applicants may not be consistent with
achieving a
maximally diverse student body. Results on standardized test are not
the
best predictors of success in college. The costs of preparing for
and taking
a standardized test, sometimes more than once, can be substantial and
may
impose a financial hardship on many students." [See also
Inside
Higher Ed article on this subject.]
Proposed Charge to Student Affairs Committee
(SAC) on Creating a Smoke-Free Rutgers, submitted by Robert Barraco,
Student Affairs Committee (SAC) Co-chair, on behalf of the
SAC: The following proposed charge was discussed and issued to the
SAC with a January 2014 deadline for a preliminary report: "Examine the
desirability, feasibility, impact and means of evolving into a
smoke-free Rutgers." The Executive Committee will then decide if the
issue should go to other committees for additional discussion and
input. The SAC had submitted the following rationale for proposing the
charge: "Current methods of dealing
with second-hand smoke
are ineffective. The 25-foot rule is logistically unenforceable. There
is a
current trend among other universities to create smoke-free campuses.
Large
business campuses are also creating smoke-free environments. Education
regarding the dangers of smoking and second-hand smoke exists, but
needs to be
more prevalent."
Proposed Charge to Faculty and
Personnel Affairs Committee (FPAC) on Dual Career Services/Programs,
submitted by FPAC Co-chair Ann Gould on behalf of the FPAC: The
following proposed charge was discussed and issued to the FPAC with an
October 2013 deadline: "Examine the
desirability of establishing a dual career services program within
Rutgers
Human Resources in order to enhance the ability of Rutgers to recruit
and retain
faculty and staff who may need to relocate to accept a position at the
institution. Research policies at peer
institutions that provide the accompanying partner with the tools and
services
to access resources for an effective job search and make
recommendations as
appropriate."
Potential Issue for Senate Review:
Middle States Periodic (Five-Year) Review
Report: The Middle States Periodic (five-year) Review Report is
being drafted and will soon be available online for Rutgers-community
comment. Ken Swalagin will post the report as a communication in his
March 29 secretary's report to the Senate. No charge was issued on this
matter, but there may be an open discussion of the draft report at the
upcoming Senate meeting.
Charge Modifications or Deadline
Extensions: The following charge modification and deadline
extensions were approved by the Executive Committee:
- Faculty and Personnel Affairs Committee requests that the
remainder of Charge A-0812, Evaluation of Administrators, Part II, be
dropped, and be reissued after the administrative changes anticipated
(i.e., chancellors and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs)
are implemented.
- Research, and Graduate and Professional
Education Committee requests that Charge S-1108 on Research
Support Infrastructure be reissued with a new deadline of October 2013.
- Academic Standards, Regulations and Admissions Committee requests
that deadlines on Charges S-1208 on Changes to Academic Integrity
Policy, and S-1206 on Academic Regulations and Student Achievement be
extended to April 2013.
5. Concept Plans for Special Student Organizations
United States Students Association: The
United States Students Association (USSA) Concept Plan was been
withdrawn by the USSA.
New Jersey
Public Interest Research Group (NJPIRG) Student Chapters Concept Plan:
The Senate Student Affairs Committee had reviewed the NJPIRG concept
plan,
and responded to the Senate Executive Committee as follows:
"The
Student Affairs Committee of the Rutgers University Senate met in
Newark on 2/22/13.
We reviewed the concept plans from the United States Student
Association (USSA)
and the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group (NJPIRG) Student
Chapters. The Committee decided to
approve both concept plans as written. Both organizations have
demonstrated
value both in the education of and support of students at Rutgers
University. The
USSA concept plan asks for an increase in funding from $0.50 per year
per
student via RUSA to $3.50 per semester per student with an opt out in
order to
improve management of its programs on the state level. The NJPIRG
concept plan
asks for continuance of the current $11.20 fees per semester in an opt
out
manner in order to support its many programs of benefit to our students."
The Senate Executive Committee then reviewed the concept plan and
determined that it satisfies the requirements stated in
University Policy
10.3.3
on Special Student Organization Funding.
6.
Agenda for March 29, 2013 Senate Meeting
The agenda for the March 29, 2013 Senate meeting was discussed.
In
addition to the committee reports docketed provisionally above, the
meeting may include an open discussion on the Middle States Periodic
Review Report.
7.
Old
Business
There was no old business.
8. New Business
There was no new business.
9. Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 4:09 p.m.
Minutes written and submitted by,
Ken Swalagin
Executive Secretary of the University Senate