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

September 5, 2008

MEMBERS PRESENT: Bodnar, Borisovets, Gould, Greaux, Greenhut, Kind, Leath (Vice Chair), Nolfi, Panayotatos, Pignatiello, Rabinowitz (Chair), Swalagin (Executive Secretary), Thompson

MEMBERS EXCUSED: Bubb

ALSO ATTENDING: Cotter (Faculty BOG Representative), Furmanski (Administrative Liaison), McCormick (Administrative Liaison)

The regular meeting of the University Senate Executive Committee was held on Friday, September 5, 2008 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 Samuel Rabinowitz called the meeting to order at 1:16 p.m. He welcomed everyone to the meeting and new academic year.
 
2.    Executive Secretary’s Report
 
Agenda: The meeting agenda was approved as distributed by the executive secretary.

Minutes: The June 6, 2008 Senate Executive Committee Meeting Minutes were approved as distributed by the executive secretary.

3.    Administrative Report

President McCormick and Executive Vice President Furmanski presented an administrative report which included comments on:
McCormick and Furmanski responded to questions from the Executive Committee on subjects including:
The administrative report then continued with comments on:
Further questions from the Executive Committee covered topics including:
McCormick thanked the Executive Committee and Senate for again agreeing to host his President's Annual Address to the Community.

[Senator Nolfi left the meeting at 2:15 p.m.]

4.    Standing Committee Actions and Charges

Selection/Nomination of Appeals Panel Members: The Executive Committee was asked for suggestions or nominations for membership of the Senate's Appeals Panel. Paul Panayotatos and Victor Greenhut volunteered to serve on the panel. As no other suggestions were forthcoming, Chairperson Rabinowitz asked those present to send their suggestions to Secretary Swalagin.

Committee Participation by Administrator Senators: Chairperson Rabinowitz asked President McCormick to encourage administrator Senators to attend and participate in their Senate-committee meetings and activities.

Proposed "Part 2" Charge to Faculty Affairs and Personnel Committee (FAPC) on S-0507, Contingent Faculty Proposal: Ann Gould, Co-chair of the FAPC, had drafted and proposed a charge to address the remainder of the now partially completed charge on Contingent Faculty Proposal. The draft charge was discussed, modified slightly, and adopted as follows:

Contingent Faculty Proposal, Part 2: Consider and make recommendations regarding the feasibility of implementing the "Teaching at Rutgers: A Proposal to Convert Part-time to Full-time Appointments and Instructional Full-time Non-tenure-track Appointments to Tenure-track Appointments" received from Zoran Gajic, Karen Thompson, and Richard Moser. For this second part of the charge, consider those sections of the report that address the conversion of instructional full-time non-tenure-track appointments to tenure-track appointments. Include considerations on implementation timelines and related issues. Report to Senate Executive committee by February 2009.

Proposed Charge to Instruction, Curricula and Advising Committee on Teaching Evaluations: The Executive Committee considered and discussed a proposed charge on teaching evaluations, which had been submitted by PTL Senators Won-Jong Rhee and Karen Thompson, as follows:
Investigate and consider the current system of teaching evaluations, including how forms are designed, distributed, collected and archived. Make recommendations about changes necessary to ensure effectiveness, transparency, and fairness for all concerned. In particular, consider the feasibility and usefulness of a special teaching evaluation team or committee (under the EVPAA) responsible to oversee the teaching evaluation procedure and including representatives from relevant constituencies, such as students, PTLs, and non-tenure-track as well as tenured faculty. Considerations that fall within this charge might include: oversight for consistent implementation, use of teaching evaluations in aggregate only, appropriate use of teaching evaluations within the reappointment / promotion process (e.g., consideration of relevant factors such as class size, difficulty of subject, class times, etc.), creation of added incentives for excellence in teaching, and so on.

Natalie Borisovets, longtime chair of the Instruction, Curricula and Advising Committee, pointed out that the Senate had considered this issue multiple times. Paul Panayotatos, co-chair of the Faculty Affairs and Personnel Committee, directed the committee's attention to a 2002 report on Best Practices in Assessment of Teaching, which had come from the FAPC then co-chaired by Paul Leath and Barbara Lee. Candice Greaux pointed out that a recent Rutgers University Student Assembly resolution encourages more informative and responsible alternatives to "Rate My Professor" online. Thompson agreed to review the 2002 FAPC report, consult with her co-proposer, Senator Rhee, and consult with Panayotatos and Leath, and perhaps Gary Gigliotti, by e-mail. The proposal will be redocketed for the October Executive Committee meeting. No charge was issued.

[President McCormick left the meeting at 2:45 p.m.]

Proposed Charge to University Structure and Governance Committee on Senate Representation by Full-time, Non-tenure-track Faculty: The Executive Committee considered a proposal submitted by PTL Senator Joseph Markert on non-tenure-track faculty representation in the Senate. A charge was issued as follows:

Senate Representation by Full-time, Non-tenure-track Faculty: Consider the proposal by PTL Senator Joseph Markert to change eligibility for faculty Senator elections to include full-time, non-tenure-track faculty. Respond to Senate Executive Committee by February 2009.

5.    September 19, 2008 University Senate Agenda

The September 19, 2008 Senate meeting agenda will be dedicated primarily to President McCormick's Annual Address to the Community. At the Executive Committee's request, Chairperson Rabinowitz will also ask all standing-committee chairs to report on their committees' plans for the upcoming academic year at the start of the Senate meeting.

[Senator Kind left the meeting at 3:00 p.m.]

6.    Old Business

Martha Cotter reported on progress on, and particularly committee formation related to, development of a permanent academic integrity policy to ultimately replace the interim policy recently adopted by the Senate.

7.    New Business

Michel Pignatiello asked about the status of student Senators from Newark, and whether the vacant positions for those Senators had been filled on the official Senate roster. Ken Swalagin and Linda Mickelsen responded.

[Senator Leath left the meeting at 3:17 p.m.]

8.    Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 3:25 p.m.

Kenneth Swalagin
Executive Secretary of the University Senate