RUTGERS UNIVERSITY SENATE
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
M I N U T E S
October 31, 2014

MEMBERS PRESENT: Barraco (by phone), Boikess, Borisovets, Burrell, Cotter (Vice Chairperson/New Brunswick Faculty Liaison), Dy, Gould (Chairperson), Joshi, Langer, Oliver, Otto, Puhak, Swalagin (Executive Secretary), Thompson, Velan

MEMBERS ABSENT:  Meggali

ALSO ATTENDING: Barchi (University President), Rabinowitz (Representative to the Board of Governors), Spiegel (Representative to the Board of Trustees)

The regular meeting of the University Senate Executive Committee was held on Friday, October 31, 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 Chairperson Ann Gould called the meeting to order at 1:31 p.m., after the group returned from vacating the building in response to a fire alarm. She explained that the October Senate meeting had been canceled in order to avoid bringing the Senate into a meeting with a slim agenda. She said the Faculty Caucus went until 2:30 to discuss shared governance. Nam Dy said the Student Caucus went well, and that committee activities were discussed. Jon Oliver said that the Staff Caucus focused primarily on public safety issues.

Gould encouraged the committee chairs to be attentive to charge deadlines. She also said she planned to talk about honorary degrees with President Barchi later in the meeting.

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:
Barchi then responded to questions, or heard comments, on the above and other topics that included:
4.    Standing Committees

Issues/Proposed Charges:

Proposed Charge to Academic Standards, Regulations and Admissions Committee (ASRAC) on Expediting the Education of Military Veterans at All Rutgers University Campuses, submitted by Senator Nambaramey Dy. Dy summarized his proposed charge, which had been submitted as follows:

"Examine obstacles preventing military Veterans from expediting their education at all Rutgers campuses. If deemed appropriate, recommend policy and process changes that would promote growth of inter-campus collaboration. Refer to Student Caucus proposal for this charge when deliberating.  Identify issues to be further considered by the Instruction, Curricula and Advising Committee, if necessary. " [Follow this link to read the rationale submitted for this charge.]

The charge was discussed, including the related Department of Defense Joint Services Transcript program. ASRAC Co-chair Martha Cotter said she would speak with Mary Beth Daisey in Camden, and would do some other preliminary work or investigation on the matter, after which the Executive Committee could better consider this proposed charge. No charge was issued.

Proposed Charge to Faculty and Personnel Affairs Committee (FPAC) on Improving Search Processes for Senior Administrators, submitted by Martha Cotter on behalf of the Faculty Caucus. Cotter summarized the proposed charge, and its rationale, which had been submitted as follows:

Proposed Charge: Improving Search Processes for Senior Administrators: Consider the processes used in recent searches for senior administrators on the University and campus levels, and make recommendations for improving the search process.

Justification: Widespread unhappiness with aspects of recent searches including lack of appropriate faculty input and the use of search firms with possible conflicts of interest.

The charge was issued to the FPAC as submitted, with a reporting deadline of April 2015.

Proposed Replacement for Charge S-1310, on Proposed Changes to the Rutgers Academic Integrity Policy, submitted by Martha Cotter. Cotter asked that Charge S-1310 on the Academic Integrity Policy be placed on hold, and that a new charge be issued. Following some discussion, Charge S-1310 was dropped, and a new charge issued as follows:

Charge S-1412 - Reconciling Rutgers and Legacy UMDNJ Code of Student Conduct and Academic Integrity Policy: Consider changes to the Rutgers Academic Integrity Policy proposed by the ad hoc committee charged with reconciling the Rutgers Code of Student Conduct and Academic Integrity Policy with the Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences document "Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Disciplinary Procedures." Respond to Senate Executive Committee by March 2015.

Committee Reports:

University Structure and Governance Committee (USGC) Response to Charge S-1309 on Senate Election Procedures - USGC Co-chair Jon Oliver said the report on this matter was not yet ready, but should be by the December deadline.

Research, and Graduate and Professional Education Committee (RGPEC) Interim Report on Charge S-1207 on Support for International Students - RGPEC Chair Jane Otto said that she should be able to submit an information-only interim report on Charge S-1207 on Support for International Students, which could be docketed on the upcoming Senate agenda. The Executive Committee agreed to docket that report as a for-information-only agenda item at the upcoming Senate meeting.

5.    New Business
Planned Center for Teaching Advancement and Assessment Research (CTAAR) Conference on Academic Integrity: Martha Cotter said that Rutgers' CTAAR is planning a conference on academic integrity. She suggested that the Senate should co-sponsor the conference, and that the co-sponsorship would consist mainly of lending the Senate name to the event. The Executive Committee agreed to that limited co-sponsorship.

New Brunswick Faculty Council/Senate Faculty Caucus Proposed Resolution on Salary and Tuition: This item had not been received in time to be added to the agenda. A proposed Resolution on Salary and Tuition was discussed. The resolution had been adopted in the New Brunswick Faculty Council, and had been discussed in the Senate Faculty Caucus. Robert Boikess said that two faculty members involved in the Faculty Caucus discussion of this matter were to bring language making the resolution more appropriate for the Senate, but that that had not yet been received. The resolution was not advanced, but may be brought back to the next Executive Committee agenda with revised language.

6.    University Senate Agenda for November 14, 2014

The agenda for the November 14, 2014 Senate meeting was discussed, and will include:
7.    Old Business

Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics (COIA) Update: Senator Robert Barraco, COIA Representative, summarized recent COIA activities and communications, including a Drake Group request that a Presidential Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics Reform be created.  

8.    Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 3:48 p.m.

Minutes written and submitted by,

Ken Swalagin
Executive Secretary of the University Senate