RUTGERS UNIVERSITY
SENATE
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
M I N U T E S
November 21, 2014
MEMBERS PRESENT: Boikess, Burrell, Cotter (Acting Chair/New
Brunswick
Faculty
Liaison), Dy, Joshi, Langer, Oliver, Otto, Puhak, Swalagin
(Executive
Secretary), Thompson, Velan
MEMBERS EXCUSED: Barraco,
Borisovets, Gould
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, November 21, 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 Vice Chairperson Martha Cotter presided
at this meeting because Senate Chair Ann Gould was away and unable to
attend. Cotter called the
meeting to order at 1:18 p.m. Noting that she is not chair, she did not
present a chairperson's report, but instead read to the group a
statement sent by Gould, as follows:
"I
have received personal thanks from
both Leslie Fehrenbach and Robert Barchi for the terrific work everyone
on the
Executive Committee has done with the honorary degree selection.
I know that President Barchi mentioned this at the last
Executive Committee meeting, but I heard
him mention it again at the Board of Governors Committee on Alumni and
University Relations
Committee last week, as did Leslie. Good
job everybody!"
2. Secretary’s Report - Ken Swalagin,
Executive Secretary of the Senate
- Agenda: A proposed charge
for the Academic
Standards, Regulations and Admissions Committee on the expediting the
education of military veterans at all Rutgers University campuses,
received from Martha Cotter that day, was added to the agenda. So
amended, the meeting
agenda was
approved.
- Minutes: The Minutes
of October 31, 2014
Senate Executive Committee Meeting were approved as
distributed by the Executive Secretary.
- Communications: The
following communication was presented and acted upon as indicated:
- Update
on Deans' Evaluations, and Request for Deans' Evaluation Committee
(DEC) Members Nominations: Target is 8-10 names per committee.
Executive Committee members and others present will be asked to suggest
names of tenured faculty who may be willing to serve, and who will be
contacted to ask if they will agree to participate. Members are needed
for DECs for Graduate School - New Brunswick Dean Jerry Kukor, Mason
Gross School Dean George Stauffer, and Dean of the Camden Faculty of
Arts and Sciences and Graduate School Kriste Lindenmeyer. [Discussed
under Old Business.]
3. Administrative Liaison
University President Robert Barchi presented
an administrative report, which
included comments on:
- hiring of senior administration for the Honors College, and
progress in the establishment of that college;
- fundraising, including records set last year and in the first
quarter of this year, as well as progress on the $1 billion campaign
goal; and
- the search for a Vice President for Academic Affairs.
Barchi then responded to questions, or heard comments, on the above and
other topics that
included:
- the status on selection of commencement speakers and honorary
degree recipients; and
- SAS-NB convocation, and departmental graduation ceremonies.
4. Standing Committees
Committee Reports:
Student
Affairs Committee (SAC) Response
to Charge S-1311 on Process of Changing Rutgers Cultural and
Traditional Icons -
SAC Co-chair Samuel
Rabinowitz summarized the SAC's report on Charge S-1311, on the Process
of Changing Rutgers Cultural and Traditional Icons. A suggestion to add
the Staff Caucus to the list of Senate caucuses mentioned in the report
was accepted, and the report was then docketed for action at the
upcoming Senate meeting. [Note: Link above goes to the report as
amended, and as adopted by the Senate.]
University
Structure and Governance Committee (USGC) Response to Charge S-1309 on
Senate Election Procedures [Report expected soon.] - This
report was not yet available at the time of this meeting. USGC
Co-chair Robert Puhak said the USGC should be able to have the report
ready in the next several days, and would send it to the executive
secretary to circulate to the Executive Committee members for review
before docketing it for Senate action or introduction at the upcoming
Senate meeting. [Note: Unforeseen complications with the report and
issue prevented finalization of the report in time for docketing at the
December Senate meeting.]
Issues/Proposed
Charges:
Proposed
Charge to Academic Standards, Regulations and Admissions Committee
(ASRAC) on Removing Barriers to the Education of
Military Veterans at All Rutgers University Campuses, submitted
by
Senator Nambaramey Dy, and redrafted by ASRAC Chair Martha Cotter: In
October, this proposed charge was discussed, including the related
Department of
Defense
Joint
Services Transcript program. At that time, 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 she would
redraft the charge so the
Executive Committee could better consider it. The redrafted charge was
discussed, and issued to the ASRAC as follows:
"Removing
Barriers to the Education of Military Veterans: Examine obstacles
preventing
military veterans from expeditiously completing their education at
Rutgers, The
State University of New Jersey. If appropriate, recommend policy and
process
changes that would expedite completion of studies, and promote growth
of
intercampus collaboration. Refer to the Student Caucus rationale for
this
charge when deliberating. Respond to Senate Executive Committee by
February
2015." [Follow this link to read the
rationale
submitted for this charge.]
Proposed Charge on Reimbursement of
Student Fees (with Interest), and Rationale,
submitted by
Senator Nambaramey Dy on behalf of the Student Caucus: A proposed
charge had been received, as follows: "Reimbursement
of
student fees (with interest) to Rutgers students if their student fees
are
diverted from academics to athletics to supplement or finance the
mounting
debt/deficit of the Rutgers athletics program - Examine the
allocation and utilization of all non-academic
and athletics programs that are funded in part or in full by student
fees all
Rutgers Campus’s. If deemed appropriate,
recommend policy and process changes that would prevent student fees
from being
redistributed from academics to athletics. Refer
to student caucus proposal for this charge when
deliberating. Identify issues to be further
considered." Martha Cotter pointed out that the major premise of the
charge was incorrect, because student fees are not diverted from
academics to athletics. She said that if the Student Affairs Committee
chose to look at Rutgers' student fees compared with those of other
institutions, they could do that. No charge was issued.
5.
New Business
Proposed Endorsement of AAUP Centennial
Declaration, submitted by Robert Boikess: The Executive
Committee discussed this item at some length, including Senate policies
on taking up issues relating to collective bargaining. This proposed
declaration endorsement was not found to violate the Senate policies,
but it was agreed that additional language would be added to any Senate
endorsement of the declaration to make clear that the Rutgers
University Senate also includes constituencies other than faculty, and
stating our commitment to not marginalizing any form of shared
governance. The item will go to the Senate floor as a resolution.
[Follow this link to read the resolution adopted by the Senate on this
matter.] If approved by the Senate, the endorsement would be made on
the AAUP website dedicated to that purpose.
Discussion
of Potential Upcoming Proposals for Fall 2015 Unit Mergers:
Camden
and
Newark Law Schools, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences with a
new Rutgers Division of Graduate Studies,
which will be an umbrella over all graduate education in New Brunswick.
The two potential upcoming proposals for fall 2015 unit mergers were
discussed separately. The first was on potential merger of the Camden
and Newark law schools, some specifics of which are outlined in the
above-linked email to Ann Gould from John Oberdiek, Acting Dean of
Rutgers School of Law, Camden. It was decided that a checklist is
needed outlining what information the Senate needs to
consider the law schools merger, because we do not yet have a template
for these processes, but do need to act now on this matter. University
Structure and Governance Committee (USGC) Co-chairs Jon Oliver and
Robert Puhak will send a checklist for the Executive Committee to
consider and amend, if necessary, and which can then be sent to deans
of units proposed to merge. This matter will be discussed again at the
next Executive Committee meeting. RBHS Faculty Executive Committee
Member Jerry Langer commented on the proposed merger of the Graduate
School of Biomedical Sciences. Martha Cotter said that she and Ann
Gould would meet with Jerry Kukor and Kathy Scotto in December to
discuss the plans for the Division of Graduate Studies.
6. University
Senate Agenda for December 5, 2014
7. Old
Business
Proposed
Resolution on Salary and Tuition,
Revised, submitted by Robert Boikess on behalf of the
Faculty Caucus. This resolution was discussed at last month's meeting,
and was resubmitted in a more Senate-appropriate form than the
original resolution, which emanates from the New Brunswick Faculty
Council. The resolution, and its appropriateness for Senate
consideration, were discussed at some length. Several editorial
suggestions were made, and the resolution was docketed for action at
the upcoming Senate meeting. [Note: Follow this link to read the
Resolution
as adopted by the Senate December 2014.]
Request
for Deans' Evaluation Committee
(DEC) Members Nominations: It was noted that members are needed
for DECs for Graduate School - New Brunswick Dean Jerry Kukor, Mason
Gross School Dean George Stauffer, and Dean of the Camden Faculty of
Arts and Sciences and Graduate School Kriste Lindenmeyer. Following
some discussion of the DECs and membership eligibility, Cotter asked
everyone to send their nominations to Ken Swalagin before the next
Senate meeting.
8. Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 4:08 p.m.
Minutes written and submitted by,
Ken Swalagin
Executive Secretary of the University Senate