EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
M I N U T E S
October 11, 2007
EXCUSED: Cooke, Gould, McCall
ALSO ATTENDING: Coppolo (Student Representative to Board of Governors), Furmanski (Administrative Liaison), Nolfi (University Structure and Governance Committee Chair)
1. Chairperson’s Report
One communication was presented: President McCormick's September 19, 2007 response to the Senate Student Affairs and Equal Opportunity Committees' April 2007 report and recommendations on Charge S-0406 (later S-0702) on Tolerance and Sensitivity.
Staff Senator Gayle Stein, noting that she often receives inquiries from her constituents regarding the ultimate outcome or implementation of Senate reports and recommendations, asked for a review of the status of all of President McCormick's responses to Senate advice. Swalagin pointed out that the Senate Handbook includes provision of a mechanism whereby Senators can submit to him in advance any questions for President McCormick, and that by forwarding those questions to the administration before Senate meetings, research could be conducted and a response prepared for the Senate. This provision does not preclude questions from the floor.
Following discussion of this issue, the committee instructed Swalagin to add to the Senate's online "Reports" page an additional "Follow-up" entry for each item, and to include in that category any implementation, dispensation or progress information received from the administration, Senators, media, or other reliable, verifiable sources. On behalf of the Executive Committee, Swalagin will also ask President McCormick for twice-yearly updates on outstanding items, and will inform the Senate that questions on those items may be submitted in advance so the president may be prepared to make informed responses.
3. Administrative Liaison
Executive Vice President Furmanski presented the administrative report which included comments on:
Furmanski then responded to questions on subjects which included:
4. Standing
Committees: University Structure and Governance Committee
Tricia Nolfi, who chairs the Senate's USGC, could attend the
meeting only briefly, so the following two items were addressed following the
administrative report.
Enhanced Self-Governance, and University Senate: Review the Senate Handbook and Bylaws, and make recommendations or suggestions for revision based on the USGC's self-submitted "Proposal to Review Senate Operations to Enhance Shared Governance."
Addendum to USGC Charge S-0407, Senate Standing Committee Structure Review: The EC amended Charge S-0407 to include the following:
Include
in discussions on Charge S-0407 the "Resolution from the Executive Council
of the Graduate School-New
Senators Cotter and Borisovets, and Secretary Swalagin commented on the addendum and the 2004-2005 review and revision of the Senate's committee structure which resulted in the current committees and their standing charges.
[Senator Nolfi left the meeting after these items concluded.]
5. Nomination
of Candidates for Faculty Member of the Senate Executive Committee
Nominations were made for candidates to replace Jozef
Kokini, faculty member of the Executive Committee, who has left
Secretary Swalagin will contact all nominees to ask if they are willing to stand for election. The election will be conducted by ballot at the October 19, 2007 Senate meeting.
[Senator Puniello left the meeting at this point.]
6. Standing
Committees, Continued
Proposed Charge to Faculty Affairs and Personnel
Committee (FAPC) on Proposal to Extend Tuition-Remission Benefits to Part-Time
Faculty: The EC reviewed and
discussed a proposal to extend tuition-remission benefits to part-time faculty,
which had been submitted to PTL Senator Karen Thompson. Thompson summarized,
and responded to questions on, her proposal. Staff Senator Stein suggested that
part-time staff should be added to the proposal as well, but the EC and
Thompson declined to make the amendment, noting that it would “open the door
for a huge issue and expense,” would compromise the academic nature of the
proposal, and would move the proposal into a constituency-benefit matter rather
than the intended educational-process one. Stein then asked that the charge be
revisited in the future from the part-time staff perspective. Jonathan Becker
suggested that the cost calculations of the charge response should include
separate explorations of providing benefits to faculty members, as well as
providing the benefits to their families. Some discussion of whether this issue
was appropriate for the Senate due to its contract-negotiations and
collective-bargaining implications led to the EC concluding that the issue was
in order under the provisions of the Senate Handbook and Bylaws. The EC then
issued the charge as follows:
Proposal on Tuition Remission for Part-Time Lecturer Faculty: Consider and make recommendations regarding
the feasibility of implementing the "Proposal to Make Tuition-Remission
Benefits Available to Part-Time Lecturer Faculty" received
from Professor/Senator Karen Thompson. Respond to Senate Executive Committee by
January 2008.
Proposed Charge to
Budget and Finance Committee (BFC) on Intercampus Bus or Shuttle Service:
The EC discussed the proposal submitted by the Student Affairs Committee to
charge the BFC with exploring the feasibility of instituting free, daily bus
service between
InterCampus Shuttle Service:
Consider and make recommendations on feasibility and usefulness of
University-provided, free or low-cost, daily shuttle or bus service between the
Camden, Newark, and New Brunswick campuses for any persons holding valid
Rutgers student or employee identification. Respond to Senate Executive
Committee by February 2008. Begin discussions based on the "Proposal to
Implement Bus or Shuttle Transportation Between
Proposed Charge to Faculty Affairs and Personnel Committee (FAPC) on Tenure-Track Career Flexibility, submitted by Senator Peter Simmons: The EC discussed Senator Simmons’ request that the FAPC be charged with reviewing the American Council on Education’s reports on tenure-track career flexibility. A charge was issued to the FAPC as follows:
Tenure-Track Career Flexibility: Review and comment on the American Council on Education's 2005 release
entitled "First-Tier Universities Offer Tenure-Track Career Flexibility
According To American Council on Education Survey"
and report entitled "An Agenda
for Excellence: Creating Flexibility in Tenure-Track Faculty Careers" as requested
by Professor/Senator Peter Simmons. Discuss and make recommendations regarding the
advisability of instituting policies and practices similar to those outlined in
the release and report at
Budget and Finance Committee Response to Charge S-0504 on All-Funds Budgeting: The BFC report on all-funds budgeting had been received by the Senate secretary the previous day, and had been distributed to the EC for the first time as hardcopy at the meeting. Noting that there were concerns about some of the content of the report, particularly from Senator Stein, and that the issue of all-funds budgeting is generating some anxiety, the EC agreed to docket the report for discussion only, in committee-of-the-whole, at the upcoming October Senate meeting.
7. October
19, 2007 Senate Meeting Agenda: Items
were docketed as indicated above, in addition to the Camden Campus Report, for
the October 19 Senate meeting to be held in
8. Old Business
Chairperson Rabinowitz asked which EC members would
participate in a discussion of the Middle-States Self-Study Report. Senators
Stein, Greenhut, Becker and Thompson volunteered. The group made plans to
discuss the report on the bus ride from
9. New Business
Senator Becker, noting that he had been asked by the University Structure and Governance Committee to get faculty-numbers data to support discussions on its charges, asked for advice on how to get the information, as his attempts thus far had been unsuccessful. Vice President Furmanski offered advice.
10. Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 12:45 p.m.
Kenneth Swalagin
Executive Secretary of the University Senate