RUTGERS UNIVERSITY SENATE
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
M I N U T E S
April 11, 2014

MEMBERS PRESENT: Berman, Boikess, Cotter (Acting Chair/Vice Chairperson/New Brunswick Faculty Liaison), Gillett, Oliver, Puhak, Swalagin (Executive Secretary), Thompson, Vodak

MEMBERS EXCUSED:  Barraco, Gould (Chairperson)

ALSO ATTENDING: Barchi (University President), Borisovets (Instruction, Curricula and Advising Committee Chair/Liaison), Jackson (President's Chief of Staff), Otto (Research, and Graduate and Professional Education Committee Co-chair/Liaison), Samant (Faculty Representative to the Board of Trustees), Spiegel (Faculty Representative to the Board of Trustees)

The regular meeting of the University Senate Executive Committee was held on Friday, April 11, 2014 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 Chair Ann Gould was away. Senate and Executive Committee Vice Chair Martha Cotter presided, calling the meeting to order at 1:16 p.m. She reminded everyone that there was much to do, and that the committee looks at standing committee reports with a goal of deciding whether or not to docket those reports for Senate action.

2.    Secretary’s Report - Ken Swalagin, Executive Secretary of the Senate
3.    Administrative Liaison

University President Robert Barchi presented an administrative report, which included comments on:
President Barchi then responded to questions, or heard comments, from those present on the above and additional subjects, including:
[Barchi and Jackson left the meeting at 1:46 p.m.]

4.    Standing Committees/Panels

Nominating Panel Update - Ken Swalagin informed the committee on progress of the Nominating Panel, and responded to questions regarding how and when unit elections are conducted.

Committee Reports

Student Affairs Committee (SAC) Response to Charge S-1210 on Early-Open Study Space - [Note: This report was not yet available at the time of this meeting. The link above goes to the report as docketed for action, and adopted, at the May 2, 2014 Senate meeting.] - SAC Co-chair Sam Rabinowitz summarized his committee's deliberations and ongoing work on the report on Charge S-1210 on Early-Open Study Space. The SAC had been charged as follows:

Early-Open Study Space: Determine the interest in, and feasibility of, a study area on each campus opening early (5:00 a.m.) for commuter students.

The report was then docketed provisionally for introduction at the upcoming Senate meeting, pending email circulation to, and approval by, the Executive Committee.

Faculty and Personnel Affairs Committee (FPAC) Preliminary Response to Charge S-1012A on Balance of Full-time and Part-time Faculty Teaching and Table of Fall 2012 Courses Taught in the SAS-NB - [Note: This report was in draft form at the time of this meeting. The link above goes to the report as docketed for action, and adopted, at the May 2, 2014 Senate meeting.] - FPAC member Karen Thompson summarized her committee's deliberations and ongoing work on the report on Charge S-1012A, on the Balance of Full-time and Part-time Faculty Teaching. The FPAC had been charged as follows:

Balance of Full-time and Part-time Faculty Teaching: Consider the 1999 Report on the Balance of Full-time and Part-time Faculty Teaching at Rutgers University, and, with updated numbers and charts from the Office of Academic Affairs, make recommendations concerning changing trends and shifting percentages.  [Note: Data received from the administration on this issue in 2010 were updated but incomplete. The request for updated information was renewed in March 2012.]

Discussion resulted in an approved motion that the report's title make clear the preliminary nature of this report, and that a final report will be forthcoming. The report was then docketed provisionally for action at the upcoming Senate meeting, pending email circulation to, and approval by, the Executive Committee.

Faculty and Personnel Affairs Committee (FPAC) Response to Charge S-1212 on Definition of "Faculty" in University Policies - [Note: This report was in draft form at the time of this meeting. The link above goes to the report as docketed for action, and adopted, at the May 2, 2014 Senate meeting.] - The FPAC had been charged as follows:

Definition of "Faculty" in University Policies:  Investigate whether there is a need for a definition of "faculty" to be used in University Policies. If so, develop a definition of "faculty" to be incorporated into those policies. 

Neither FPAC co-chair was able to attend the meeting to summarize this report. Discussion resulted in some minor editorial suggestions for the concluding sentence, and a suggestion that another related charge may be considered in the future. The report was then docketed provisionally for action at the upcoming Senate meeting, pending email circulation to, and approval by, both the FPAC and the Executive Committee.

Issues/Proposed Charges:

Discussion and Potential Charge to Committee on Rutgers Endowment Investments - Submitted by Samuel Berman

Samuel Berman had, in March, proposed a charge on budget transparency, which was discussed at the March 7 Executive Committee, at which Senator Spiegel, Chair of the Budget and Finance Committee, said he would like to wait to see what relevant results may come from recent Budget and Finance Committee reports. The Executive Committee had then agreed this should come back on the docket for today's meeting. At this meeting, Berman changed this to a proposal to charge the Budget and Finance Committee with soliciting information to support a movement to have Rutgers shift its endowment investments away from fossil fuels. Following discussion, the committee asked Berman to draft a memo to be sent to President Barchi on behalf of the Executive Committee asking which of a list of 200 fossil-fuel companies are included in Rutgers' endowment investments, or are included in funds in which Rutgers is invested.

Proposed Issue on Nursing Merger Proposal Process, and Possible Appeal - Submitted by Bob Boikess

The following docketed issue was tabled until the May meeting in order to accommodate the discussion below on the Camden/Stratford Nursing union proposal: Determine whether there may have been violations of University Regulation 50.2.2A and B with respect to the various reorganizations of Nursing on the various campuses. In the event that the EC finds that there may have been such violations, formulate an appeal as defined in 50.2.2B2, with the help of University Counsel if necessary.

[Borisovets and Berman left the meeting at 2:35 p.m.]

Proposed Issue on Senate Role in Advisory Council for University Retirees - Submitted by Bob Boikess

The following docketed issue was also tabled until the May meeting in order to accommodate the discussion below on the Camden/Stratford Nursing union proposal: Consider whether there is any appropriate role for the Senate related to the Advisory Council for University retirees.

Proposed Issue and Resolution Regarding Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh - Submitted by Andrea Parente, United Students Against Sweatshops - This issue was not discussed at this point in the meeting, but was considered answered by President Barchi in his administrative report, during which it was stated that Rutgers has signed on to the Bangladesh Accord.

5.    Proposal for Union of Nursing Programs and Personnel on the Stratford Campus of the Legacy UMDNJ School of Nursing with the Rutgers School of Nursing - Camden - Sent by Joanne Robinson, Dean of the Rutgers School of Nursing - Camden

At 2:36 p.m. Joanne Robinson, Dean of the Rutgers School of Nursing - Camden, and Marie O'Toole, Associate Dean of Nursing - Stratford, arrived at the meeting, and participated in a 42-minute discussion with the Executive Committee members and others present regarding the proposal to unite the nursing programs and personnel on the Stratford Campus of the Legacy UMDNJ School of Nursing with the Rutgers School of Nursing - Camden. Robinson and O'Toole then left the meeting at 3:18 p.m., after which the Executive Committee continued the discussion, focusing on how to respond to this second, recent proposal regarding nursing mergers, with this one having been sent with even shorter notice than the Newark/New Brunswick proposal. Much of the discussion focused on the particulars and lack of some important information in the proposal, and a significant portion of the discussion also addressed the need to protect the Senate's legislative authority in matters involving formal relationships among academic units, and the time in which the Senate could reasonably be expected to act in such matters.

[Boikess left the meeting at 3:37 p.m.]

Discussion continued, eventually resulting in a decision that the Executive Committee would draft a report to go to the Senate at the upcoming meeting, in which the Senate would state the process issues, the specific questions remaining about the proposal, and that in the absence of the remaining questions and additional information required for the Senate to make a considered decision, that the Senate could neither reject nor approve the proposal at this time.

[Thompson left the meeting at approximately 3:50 p.m.]

6.    Agenda for May 2, 2014 Senate Meeting

The agenda and schedule for the May 2 Senate regular meeting, and 2014-15 Senate organizational/election meeting were discussed. The committee decided to start the meeting at 10:30 a.m. [Note: This ultimately was not done, after it was realized that the reports docketed for action at the regular meeting were not expected to consume as much time as would justify the early start. With the Executive Committee's approval via email, the Senate meeting ultimately followed the normal schedule, beginning at 1:10 p.m.]

7.    Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 4:06 p.m.

Minutes written and submitted by,

Ken Swalagin
Executive Secretary of the University Senate