RUTGERS UNIVERSITY SENATE
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 

M I N U T E S

September 7, 2007

MEMBERS PRESENT: Becker, Borisovets, Cooke, Cotter, Gould, Greenhut, Leath (Vice Chair), McCall, Puniello, Rabinowitz (Chair), Stein, Swalagin (Executive Secretary), Thompson

EXCUSED: Bodnar

ALSO ATTENDING: Busia (Faculty Representative to the Board of Trustees), Fowler (Graduate Student Representative to the Board of Trustees), Furmanski (Administrative Liaison), Gliserman (New Brunswick Campus Faculty Liaison), McCormick (Administrative Liaison)

The regular meeting of the University Senate Executive Committee was held on Friday, September 7, 2007 at 1:10 p.m. in the Executive Conference Room of Administrative Services Building-III, Cook Campus. 

1.         Chairperson’s Report

Senate and Executive Committee Chair Samuel Rabinowitz called the meeting to order at 1:18 p.m. He asked everyone to introduce themselves, and made a brief chairperson's report which included comments on formation of an ad hoc group to look at the Middle States accreditation report draft (which was discussed later under "New Business"), and his plans to meet with President McCormick the following week in Camden to discuss the year ahead and where the Senate can help build the university.

2.         Secretary’s Report

The committee approved the day's agenda, and the minutes of the July 20, 2007 Executive Committee meeting, as distributed by Secretary Swalagin. 

3.         Standing Committees

Charge to University Structure and Governance Committee on Revision of the Senate's Standing Committee Structure: Following discussion and revision, the Executive Committee approved for issuance to the University Structure and Governance Committee the following charge to review the Senate's standing committee structure:

Consider and make recommendations for modifying the Senate's standing committee structure and/or charges. Consider the proposals submitted by the Staff Caucus, by Senator Gayle Stein, and by Senator Martha Cotter when deliberating on this matter. Consider other committee structure modifications that may  be needed or proposed. Solicit input from the Faculty Affairs and Personnel Committee, Equal Opportunity Committee, or other committees identified in the proposals or which may be affected by changes considered or suggested under this charge. Respond to Senate Executive Committee by February 1, 2008.

4.         Administrative Liaison

President McCormick and Executive Vice President Furmanski both presented portions of the administrative report. President McCormick commented on:

President McCormick responded to questions on issues which included: 

Executive Vice President Furmanski continued the administrative report, with comments on:

Vice President Furmanski responded to questions regarding:

Vice President Furmanski then continued the administrative report with a request that the Senate be asked for input on a draft reaccreditation report. Chairperson Rabinowitz suggested that Bob Goodman, who chairs the Middle States group, be invited to give an overview of the report at the October 12 Executive Committee meeting. Noting that the first draft of the report will be available on October 15, he proposed that a subset of the Executive Committee and others convene to look at the document as a whole and see if it “presents Rutgers in a good light.” Suggestions related to the report could be brought from the group to the Executive Committee at the October 26 meeting. Rabinowitz proposed that Goodman then be asked to present an overview of the report and entire reaccreditation process at the November Senate meeting. Furmanski noted that the Senate would not be the only venue at which this matter would be discussed, and that participants in the review were not being asked to review all seven 20-page sections, but instead to spend more time on the 20 pages that are of individual interest to the reviewers, and comment on that section.

The Executive Committee agreed to the proposal to form this ad hoc review group. Rabinowitz said that a working group of about six members was needed, and proposed that the group meet two or three times over lunch to discuss the report. He then asked anyone interested to send him an e-mail indicating their availability and willingness.

Furmanski added that at a later date, in anticipation of the site visit by the accreditation team, this matter would be opened up to the full university community for comment.

A link to the online accreditation report will be included with the November Senate meeting, with instruction to the Senate that it is not necessary to download the appendices.

[President McCormick left the meeting at 2:53 p.m.]

5.         Proposed Committee Charge

Proposed Charge to Faculty Affairs and Personnel Committee (FAPC) on "Proposal to Convert Part-time to Full-time Appointments and Instructional Full-time Non-tenure-track Appointments to Tenure-track Appointments”.  The following charge was discussed and issued to the FAPC as follows:

Consider and make recommendations regarding the feasibility of implementing the “Proposal to Convert Part-time to Full-time Appointments and Instructional Full-time Non-tenure-track Appointments to Tenure-track Appointments”  received from Professors Zoran Gajic, Karen Thompson, and Richard Moser. Include considerations on implementation timelines and related issues. Report to Senate Executive Committee by March 2008.

6.         Old Business

Academic Integrity Policy Review:

Martha Cotter, co-chair of the Academic Standards, Regulations and Admissions Committee (ASRAC), summarized the history of that committee’s ongoing work on Charge S-0408, Academic Integrity Policy Review. Noting that, although an interim report was made to the Senate in April 2007, the policy review has been ongoing for three years without resolution. Cotter and Executive Vice President Furmanski told the Executive Committee that in the interim they had brought together a group of key people, including ASRAC members, to document where there are points of general agreement on the policy, where improvements could be made relatively quickly, and where thorough reconsideration was needed.

Cotter then proposed forming an ad hoc group, with broad representation from the university community as well as members of the ASRAC and university administration who were part of the past work on the charge, to agree on what may possibly be an interim policy subject to revision over time as issues are resolved.

[Karen Thompson left the meeting at 3:16 p.m.]

There was considerable discussion about problems with the policy (particularly those related to the process for separable offenses), the desire to have broad community input on the policy, and mechanisms for placing this matter within the Senate structure and function. Natalie Borisovets’s suggestion to place the ad hoc group’s revised policy on the Senate’s November 2007 agenda as a discussion in committee of the whole was moved by Senator Becker, and adopted by the Executive Committee.

7.         New Business

Solicitation of Members of Evaluation Committee: Chairperson Rabinowitz, noting that the existing process for evaluation of administrators includes submission by the Senate Executive Committee of names of faculty to serve on the evaluation committee, and that University Librarian Marianne Gaunt’s evaluation is approaching, asked the EC to e-mail him suggestions for those potential evaluators. Vice President Furmanski will select two of the (maximum) eight names submitted to serve on the evaluation committee.

[Senator Cooke left the meeting at 3:53 p.m.]

8.         September 28, 2007 Senate Meeting Agenda: Chairperson Rabinowitz pointed out that the September 28 Senate meeting will be devoted to President McCormick’s Annual Address to the Community.

9.         Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 3:58 p.m.

 

Kenneth Swalagin
Executive Secretary of the University Senate