RUTGERS UNIVERSITY SENATE
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
M I N U T E S
October 30, 2015


MEMBERS PRESENT: Barraco (by phone), Borisovets, Cotter, Gillett, Gould (Chair), Janniger (by phone), Oliver, Otto, Puhak, Schulberg, Swalagin (Executive Secretary), Theiss, Thompson, Wang

MEMBERS EXCUSED:  Langer, Mhaske

ALSO ATTENDING: R. Barchi (University President) (by phone), B. Lee (Senior V.P. for Academic Affairs), S. Rabinowitz (Faculty Representative to the Board of Governors), A. Samant (Faculty Representative to the Board of Trustees)

The regular meeting of the University Senate Executive Committee was held on Friday, October 30, 2015 at 1:10 p.m. in the Executive Board Room of Administrative Services Building-III, Cook Campus.

1. Chair’s Report 

Senate and Executive Committee Chair Ann Gould called the meeting to order at 1:13 p.m. She gave a brief update on that morning's meeting of the Ad Hoc Web Accessibility Committee (AHWAC) with Christian Aziz (Manager of Information Technology) and Gayle Stein (Associate Director for Instructional Technology) of the OIT-Office of Instructional and Research Technology, during which a list of concerns about the Web Accessibility Policy were given to Aziz and Stein, who will take those concerns to colleagues and counsel. She said the AHWAC had also recommended that the upcoming Senate agenda should include a presentation on the policy by Stein and others, followed by a committee-of-the-whole discussion, and that the AHWAC would draft a resolution on the policy to go before the Senate in December. She also said that the NB/RBHS Honorary Degree Committee had met in October. She then summarized the confidential rankings of the honorary-degree-recipient and commencement-speaker nominees.

[Yuchung Wang joined the meeting at 1:16 p.m. Robert Barraco joined the meeting by phone at 1:17 p.m.]

2.    Secretary’s Report - Ken Swalagin, Executive Secretary of the Senate
[Justin Schulberg joined the meeting at 1:19 p.m.]

3.    Administrative Report - Robert Barchi, University President, and Barbara Lee, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

University President Robert Barchi joined the meeting by phone, and presented an Administrative Report, which included comments on:
 Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Barbara Lee continued the Administrative Report, commenting on:
 4.    Standing Committees

Reports:

University Structure and Governance Committee (USGC) Response to Charge S-1410 on Honorary Degree and Commencement Speaker Selection Processes [Link goes to report as amended by the USGC and Senate at the November 13, 2015 Senate meeting. ] – Jon Oliver and Robert Puhak, USGC Co-chairs

This report had been discussed at several previous Executive Committee meetings. Extensive discussion continued at this meeting, with the Executive Committee deciding to hold a special meeting to review and edit the document, after which it would be revised and docketed for initial Senate action at the November 13, 2015 Senate meeting. The portion of the report's resolution amending the Senate's bylaws by adding the standing charge of a USGC-recommended standing panel would be introduced at the upcoming Senate meeting, and be docketed for action at the December 2015 Senate meeting.

[Barbara Lee left the meeting at 2:03 p.m. Asha Samant left the meeting at 2:17 p.m.]

Issues/Charges:

Proposed Charge to Research, and Graduate and Professional Education Committee (RGPEC) on Responsible Conduct of Research - Submitted by Anthony Tamburello, RGPEC Chair
Jane Otto, a member of the Research, and Graduate and Professional Education Committee, summarized the proposed charge on Responsible Conduct of Research that had been submitted by RGPEC Chair Anthony Tamburello. The Executive Committee then issued the charge to the RGPEC, as follows:

Responsible Conduct of Research: Investigate and make recommendations on establishment and implementation of a universitywide policy on training and oversight in the responsible conduct of research (RCR) at Rutgers. Where appropriate, make specific recommendations for different training tracks, e.g. NSF- and NIH- compliant programs. Identify gaps in current resources, the intended recipients of RCR training (e.g. graduate students, undergraduate researchers, postdocs, faculty, etc.), the expected costs (if known) and benefits of implementing recommendations, and the unit(s) responsible for implementing and tracking compliance. Report to Senate Executive Committee by December 2016.

Proposed Charge to Academic Standards, Regulations and Admissions Committee (ASRAC) on Default 16-Year Academic Calendar - Submitted by Ken Swalagin, Executive Secretary of the Senate


Ken Swalagin summarized the charge he had proposed on a default 16-year academic calendar that had been drafted by Mary Mickelsen, the Senate's administrative assistant. The charge was issued as follows:

Default 16-Year Academic Calendar: Review the 16-year default academic calendar drafted by Mary Mickelsen. Make revisions as needed. Report to Senate Executive Committee by February 2016.

Proposed Charge to Instruction, Curricula and Advising Committee (ICAC) on Online Teaching Evaluations, and Best Practices in Evaluation of Teaching - Submitted by Natalie Borisovets, ICAC Chair
ICAC Chair Natalie Borisovets had submitted charge language on online teaching evaluations, as requested by the Executive Committee. The charge was discussed, amended to include soliciting input on personnel ramifications related to the issue from the Faculty and Personnel Affairs Committee, and issued as follows:

Online Teaching Evaluations, and Best Practices in Evaluation of Teaching 2015: Revisit the March 2012 Instruction, Curricula and Advising Committee report on Charge S-1104, on Online Teaching Evaluations, and Best Practices in Evaluation of Teaching. Consider questions such as: Have there been changes in the completion rates and use of the Student Instructional Rating Surveys (SIRS)? How can we make students more aware that the results of the SIRS are available to them? Are the questions on the SIRS still valid, or do they need to be modified in light of changes in educational technologies? To what extent should the SIRS results be used in the evaluation of teaching and the promotion/tenure process? Are other Big-10 schools using such surveys, and to what purpose? Solicit input on personnel ramifications from the Senate's Faculty and Personnel Affairs Committee. Respond to Senate Executive Committee by February 5, 2016.

[Note: Ken Swalagin later drafted and issued a charge to the Faculty and Personnel Affairs Committee (FPAC) regarding its input to the ICAC on this charge, as requested by FPAC Co-chair Ann Gould, as follows: Personnel Considerations Related to Online Teaching Evaluations, and Best Practices in Evaluation of Teaching: Provide input to the Instruction, Curricula and Advising Committee (ICAC) regarding personnel considerations and ramifications related to their deliberations on Charge S-1510 on Online Teaching Evaluations, and Best Practices in Evaluation of Teaching 2015. Noting the ICAC's reporting deadline of February 5, 2016, coordinate directly with the ICAC chair regarding deadlines and issues.]

Charge Deadline Extension - At the request of the Research, and Graduate and Professional Education Committee (RGPEC), the deadline on Charge S-1505 was extended  to February 1, 2016.
 
On Campbell Field, Camden - Submitted by Brandon Theiss, Camden Student Member of the Executive Committee

Brandon Theiss had submitted the following issue for consideration: “The Camden Riversharks, an unaffiliated minor league baseball team, that played for the past 15 years in the $25 Million Dollar Campbell Field have ceased operations. Rutgers is the titleholder of the 6,700-seat waterfront ballpark. Prior to folding, the Riversharks had been responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the stadium. Who will pay for the upkeep of the stadium while the Camden County Improvement Authority attempts to find a new tenant? What say if any will Rutgers have in the selection of a new tenant? In the event that a new tenant can not be found (which is quite likely given the Phillies must approve the new tenant), will the Rutgers Scarlet Raptors Athletics teams be forced to relocate?” The issue was discussed briefly, with President Barchi suggesting that Tony Calcado could provide facts clarifying the matter, but no action was taken by the Executive Committee.


5.    University Senate Agenda

The agenda for the November 13, 2015 Senate meeting was discussed at this point as well as later in the meeting. Items were docketed as listed on the Senate agenda. Future Senate Agenda actions by the Executive Committee will be docketed after Old Business.

6.    Old Business

Senate Faculty Membership Entitlements by Unit: Determination of which numbers of faculty lines should be used for Senate entitlement calculations had been discussed at previous Executive Committee meetings. Ken Swalagin had said that numbers received in the past from the administration have included only state-funded lines, and did include TA and GA lines, and that RBHS and possibly other units include many faculty not on state lines. In the interim, Swalagin had received total numbers of faculty in each unit, and had recalculated all Senate entitlements based on those numbers. He said that the recalculation yielded very little change, but that the total number of Senators had increased from 242 to 250. Swalagin was asked to do additional research on University Policies 50.2.1 and 60.5.2 A and B, as well as the Senate Response to Charge S-1307 on Senate and Executive Committee Eligibility (with Appendix A and Appendix B), and bring the matter back to the Executive Committee.

Resolutions of Support of PTL Negotiations - Karen Thompson submitted related resolutions in support of PTL negotiations adopted by the New Brunswick Faculty Council, and by the Camden Faculty Council, as well as one presented to the Executive Council of Rutgers AAUP-AFT on September 9, 2015. She asked for these or a similar resolution to be placed on the upcoming Senate agenda. Following discussion, Thompson was asked to draft a resolution on the issue from the Executive Committee that could be circulated by email, edited, and docketed for action at the upcoming Senate meeting. [Note: That Resolution in Support of Part-Time Lecturers was presented by Brandon Theiss on behalf of the Executive Committee, and adopted by unanimous consent by the Senate at its November 13, 2015 meeting.]

Follow-Up on Law Schools Merger - Brandon Theiss had submitted an issue for discussion, as follows: "Dr. Barchi in his address to the Senate on several occasions stated that the combined law schools will generate administrative cost savings. However, both Camden Law Campus acting Dean Oberdiek and Newark Law Campus  Dean Chen, when questioned were unaware of the administrative cost savings the President was referring to and did not know where such savings could be realized. In fact, Acting Dean Oberdiek suggested that there was an increase in administrative costs associated with the merger. Further, both Deans emphasized there was not a planned reduction in faculty or staff as a result of the merger. In addition, the cost of operating the physical buildings will increase over time and in fact the immersive classroom (aka the "holodeck")  will not be paid off for several year. If the campus Deans are unaware of the sources of the savings and are not labor and  facilities, where will the savings come from and how will we know if the savings actually occurs?" This matter was discussed briefly at the previous EC meetings, at which time Gould noted that status reports on Senate-approved mergers need to be scheduled. Law Deans Chen and Oberdiek will be invited to an upcoming Executive Committee meeting to present a merger update.

Proposal on "Senate Transparency" - This issue, submitted by Justin Schulberg, had been discussed at previous meetings. It was discussed briefly again at this meeting, and Ken Swalagin was asked to do further research with RUTV to determine if it would be possible to have Senate meetings webcast.

[Martha Cotter left the meeting at 4:13 p.m.]

University Policy Revision Process: At its September meeting, the EC approved a motion to invite Kim Pastva, Interim Secretary of the University, to attend an EC meeting to discuss how University Policies are revised and disseminated. At this meeting it was decided that Ms. Pastva would be invited to the January 2016 meeting, and that Law Deans Chen and Oberdiek would be invited to the December 2015 meeting to provide an update on the law schools' merger.

[Robert Barraco left the meeting (teleconference) at 4:31 p.m.]

7.    New Business

There was no new business.
8.    Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 4:42 p.m.

Minutes written and submitted by,

Ken Swalagin
Executive Secretary of the University Senate