UNIVERSITY SENATE
Executive Committee
A G E N D A
February 6, 2015 - 1:10 p.m.
1. Chair's Report - Ann Gould,
Senate Chair
2. Secretary’s Report - Ken Swalagin,
Senate Executive Secretary
- Approval of Agenda
- Approval of Minutes
of January 9, 2015
Senate Executive Committee Meeting
- Communications:
- Amber Hirsh has resigned her position as Graduate Student
Representative to the Board of Trustees. Self-nominations for a
replacement will be solicited for an election to be held at the
upcoming Senate meeting.
- Nam Dy has resigned from the Senate, and therefore from his
position as Camden Student Member of the Executive Committee.
Self-nominations for a replacement will be solicited for an election to
be held at the upcoming Senate meeting.
- In response to a request for an estimate of when a report may
be issued,
Linda Brzustowicz, Chair of the Committee on the Future
Academic Structure of the University, wrote: “We are actually on
a longer
time-frame [than the Committee
on Near- and Long-term Impact of Instructional Technology], our
interim report is not due until the end of the summer.”
3.
Administrative Report - Richard Edwards, Executive Vice President
for Academic Affairs
4. Standing Committees/Caucuses
Committee
Chair: Matt Winkler has volunteered to co-chair the Academic
Standards, Regulations and Admissions Committee (ASRAC). ASRAC Chair
Martha Cotter endorses the appointment. Appointment of committee chairs
requires Executive Committee approval.
Committee
Reports:
University
Structure and Governance Committee (USGC) Response
to Charge S-1309 on
Senate Election Procedures [Report is for information only. No
bylaws or procedural changes are recommended.] - USGC
Co-chairs Jon Oliver and Robert Puhak
The USGC has been charged as follows:
Charge S-1309, Senate Election Procedures: "Review election procedures
used by the Senate, and, if appropriate, recommend improved procedures."
Faculty and Personnel Affairs Committee
(FPAC) Response
to Charge S-1313 on Travel and Business Expense Reimbursement (TABER)
Appendix 1:
TABER Survey Appendix 2:
TABER Survey Summary - FPAC
Co-chairs Ann Gould and Rudy Bell
The FPAC has been charged as follows:
Charge S-1313, Travel and Business Expense Reimbursement (TABER): "Review
current university policies and practices
concerning reimbursement to faculty and staff for professional
expenditures,
including but not limited to, travel, conference attendance, and
purchases;
survey impacted constituencies for suggestions, and propose possible
modifications or improvements to the current system."
Issues/Proposed
Charges:
Proposed
Charge (Revised) to University Structure and Governance Committee
(USGC) on The
State of Shared Governance at Rutgers, submitted by Jon Oliver,
USGC Co-chair:
Consider
the state of shared governance at Rutgers including its strengths and
challenges. Recommend any changes based on our aspirant AAU and Big 10
peers
and on the basis of the foundational element of "Robust Shared
Governance,
Academic Freedom, and Effective Communication" in the university
strategic
plan.
Report
on Staff Caucus Meeting with Deputy Chief Michael Rein, Division of
Public Safety - Jon Oliver, Staff Caucus Convener
5. [At approximately 2:15 p.m.] Discussion of
Proposed Merger of School of Law - Camden and School of Law - Newark
- John Oberdiek, Acting Dean of the School of Law - Camden, and Ron
Chen, Acting Dean of the School of Law - Newark
6. Old Business
Proposed Charge on Modifying Academic
Calendar and Exam Times for Online Courses,
submitted by James Massachaele, Executive Vice Dean of SAS-NB via email
as follows:
"I
write in my capacity as Executive Vice-Dean of SAS to ask the Senate to
consider a proposal for making an adjustment to the University's exam
schedule.
A number of faculty in SAS have asked for an improved process for
scheduling
final exams in online courses. Currently the University makes no
provision for
this. Many faculty who teach online courses feel that in-person final
exams are
the best way to ensure the integrity of the exam. To make the
scheduling of
final exams for online courses more effective, we propose that the
University
set aside and advertise certain time slots as standard exam times for
online
courses. You can find details
of the proposal on the attached document. Please
let me know if you need more detail or if there is a different avenue I
need to
pursue to have the proposal considered by the Senate."
This matter was discussed at the January Executive Committee meeting,
where it was suggested that ASRAC Chair Martha Cotter would consult
with Instruction, Curricula and Advising Committee (ICAC) Chair Natalie
Borisovets to determine how this issue may fit in with ICAC discussions
on exam space and facilities, and online course exams.
Proposed Merger of the Graduate School
of Biomedical
Sciences with a
new Rutgers Division of Graduate Studies - Graduate School New
Brunswick Dean Jerry Kukor and Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
Dean Kathy Scotto will meet with the Executive Committee in March.
7. New Business
8.
University
Senate Agenda for February 20, 2015
- Meeting to be held in Newark - Bus and lunch have been arranged.
- Election of Camden Student Executive Committee Member, and of
Graduate Student Representative to the Board of Trustees
- Newark Campus Report - Nancy Cantor, Chancellor of
Rutgers - Newark
- Annual Budget Report - Menahem Spiegel, Budget and Finance
Committee Chair
- Camden and Newark Physical Master Plan Presentation - Antonio
Calcado, Vice President for
University Facilities and Capital Planning
9. Adjournment