RUTGERS
UNIVERSITY SENATE
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
M I N U T E S
September 8, 2017
MEMBERS PRESENT: Boikess, Borisovets, Esposito,
Gillett
(Chair), Gould, Kelly, Krapivin, Oliver, Parsa, Thompson, Van Stine
MEMBERS EXCUSED: Scoloveno, Settles, Walters
ALSO ATTENDING: R. Barchi (President of the University), M.
Cotter (2016-17 ASRAC Co-Chair), J. Gonzalez (Graduate Student
Representative to the Board of Trustees), B. Lee
(Senior Vice President for Academic
Affairs), J. Markert (FPAC Co-Chair), R. Schwartz (Faculty
Representative to the Board of Trustees), J. Serrano (Undergraduate
Representative to the Board of Trustees), M. Spiegel (Faculty
Representative to the Board of Trustees), M. Winkler (2016-17 and
2017-18 ASRAC Co-Chair)
The regular meeting of the University Senate Executive Committee was
held on Friday, September 8, 2017, beginning at 12:00 noon in the
Executive Conference
Room of ASB-III on the Cook Campus.
1.
Chair’s Report
- Peter Gillett, Senate Chair
Senate and Executive Committee Chair Peter Gillett called the
meeting to order at 12:00 noon. He welcomed everyone to the first
Executive Committee (EC) meeting of the academic year, and called for
introductions of all present. He reiterated his goal of starting
meetings on time. He
also spoke about:
- arrangements being made for the chair and vice chair's meeting
with President Barchi;
- the upcoming Big Ten Academic Leadership Conference, which will
be held at Penn State, and which he plans to attend;
- plans to make Senate and EC meetings more efficient by:
- distributing EC minutes within one week after the meetings;
- formalizing a schedule for submission of committee reports to
the executive secretary no later than ten days before the EC meets to
consider them ( hardcopy draft of the schedule was distributed at the
meeting); and
- plans to create a report template and best practices in
creating reports that will become an appendix to the Senate's
parliamentary procedures.
2. Secretary’s Report - Ken Swalagin,
Executive Secretary of the Senate
[Martha Cotter joined the meeting at 12:27 p.m.]
3. Administrative Liaison
University President Robert Barchi presented
an administrative report, which
included comments on:
- delegation of his and the central administration's Executive
Committee liaison role to Barbara Lee, although he noted that he would
try to attend EC meetings when he can, or be available by phone if it
is necessary for him to discuss something;
- new buildings and construction on all campuses;
- fundraising;
- Cornerstone, and specifically its supply-chain management
functions;
- Rutgers Health;
- DACA, and Rutgers' response thereto; and
- plans to move his office to Winants Hall over the coming holiday
break.
Barchi then responded to questions, or heard comments on the above
subjects, as well as:
- the status of PTLs in Camden, and his related response to Senate
recommendations on integration of PTLs at Rutgers;
- how Rutgers might respond to the presence of controversial or
radical speakers presenting on campus, and the related Rutgers
Disruptions Policy; and
- the size, distribution, and composition of the incoming class.
[Barchi
left the meeting at 1:00 p.m.]
4. Standing
Committees/Panels
Reports:
Academic
Standards, Regulations and Admissions Committee (ASRAC)
Response
to
Charge S-1509 on Default
17-Year Academic Calendar [Note: Link goes to a
finalized version of the report, although a draft was originally linked
to the EC agenda. Hardcopy of the very slightly revised report was
distributed in hardcopy at the meeting.] - Matthew Winkler, ASRAC
Co-chair, and Martha Cotter, Former ASRAC Co-chair
This
past June, the Executive Committee provisionally docketed this matter
for Senate action at the upcoming September Senate meeting. Ken
Swalagin invited Matt Winkler, ASRAC Co-chair, and Martha Cotter,
former and longtime ASRAC Co-chair, to attend this
meeting. ASRAC Co-chair Robert Schwartz is a board representative and
was therefore also at the meeting. The
ASRAC was charged as follows: Review
the 17-year default academic calendar
drafted by Mary Mickelsen.
Cotter summarized the report, which had
been revised to include two small corrections since the original draft
had been presented to the EC. Winkler also provided information about
the report. The report was discussed, and docketed for action at the
upcoming Senate meeting.
[Winkler
left the meeting at 1:15 p.m. Cotter left the meeting at 1:17 p.m.]
3.A. Administrative Liaison (Continued)
At this point in the meeting, Karen Thompson inquired about a list of
Senate reports awaiting administrative response. Swalagin had placed a
link to the list on the agenda under "Administrative Liaison," but it
had not been discussed at that point in the meeting. Lee said that they
were all being worked on, and some had already been drafted. [Note:
Responses were received by Swalagin the following week, and were
docketed as communications from the secretary on the September Senate
agenda.]
4.A. Standing
Committees/Panels (Continued)
Issues/Charges:
Proposed
Charge on the Senate's March 2017
Committee-of-the-Whole Discussion
on
Free Speech and Academic Freedom - Michael Van Stine
Senator and EC Member Michael Van Stine had submitted a proposed charge
to a Senate committee on free speech and academic freedom, as a
follow-up to a recent Senate committee-of-the-whole discussion, as
follows:
Proposed
Charge: Consider the scope and extent of, and limitations on, free
speech in American society in relation to academic freedom at Rutgers.
Recommend appropriate policies for free speech by members of the
Rutgers
community in their personal and official capacities.
It
was decided that the issue was not best suited for the Senate, but
would benefit from administration action to pull together the various
policies on the issue and have chancellors facilitate discussion
thereon. Lee will arrange that, and will report back to the EC on
progress. No charge was issued.
Panels:
Selection
of Members of University Commencement Panel (UCP) - The
Executive Committee assigned members of the UCP, which is composed
of members with representation from each unit
(R-C, R-N, R-NB, RBHS), as follows:
a.
Executive Secretary of the Senate (non-voting) - Ken Swalagin
b.
Vice Chair of the Senate (chairs the UCP) - Jon Oliver (New Brunswick)
c.
Four Faculty Senators, with each of the following groups being
represented:
-
tenure-track - Samuel Rabinowitz (Camden), Mary Jo Bugel (RBHS)
-
non-tenure-track - Eleanor LaPointe (New Brunswick)
-
part-time lecturers - Dominick Novelli (Newark)
d.
One Staff Senator - Antoinette Johnson (RBHS)
e.
One Alumni Senator - Josephine Marchetta
f.
Two Student Senators - Christopher Shinn (Camden), and Caroline Ini
Ross (New Brunswick)
Swalagin
will issue a call for Chancellors' Commencement Committees volunteers
from the Senate.
Issues/Proposed
Charges (Continued):
Lee summarized the proposal for a
program to improve how Rutgers evaluates teaching. The EC discussed the
matter, and issued charges as follows:
To the Instruction, Curricula and
Advising Committee: Review the
proposal to improve the evaluation of teaching received from Senior
Vice President for Academic Affairs Barbara Lee, and make appropriate
recommendations as input to the Senate's Faculty and Personnel Affairs
Committee. Respond to Senate Executive Committee by October 24, 2017.
To the Faculty and Personnel Affairs Committee: Review the proposal to improve the
evaluation of teaching received from
Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Barbara Lee, as well as
input received on the proposal from the Senate's Instruction, Curricula
and Advising Committee, and make
appropriate recommendations. Respond to Senate Executive Committee by
November 20, 2017.
Revised
Policy on Centers and Institutes - Submitted by Senior Vice
President for Academic Affairs Barbara Lee
The following had been received from Barbara Lee, by email June 19,
2017:
“Attached
for University Senate review and comment are a draft
of a revised University Policy
on Centers and Institutes (University Policy 10.1.5) and the
accompanying guidelines
for the preparation of proposals for the creation of Centers and
Institutes and
for Periodic CI Progress Reports. These documents were developed
with reference
to the March 23, 2016 CI Report prepared by the Committee on Academic
Planning
and Review and shared with the Senate last spring. Please bring these
documents
to the attention of the Senate when they reconvene in the fall. Thank
you.”
Lee
summarized the issue, which she said was a follow-up to a previous
effort, and was now a draft policy. She said she needed a Senate
response by March 2018. The matter was discussed, and a charge was
issued to the University Structure and Governance Committee, as follows:
Review the draft revised University Policy
on Centers and Institutes (University Policy 10.1.5) and the
accompanying guidelines for the preparation of proposals for the
creation of centers and institutes, and for periodic CI progress
reports. Make appropriate recommendations. Respond to Senate Executive
Committee by February 20, 2018.
5.
University Senate Agenda
The
September 22, 2017
Senate Meeting agenda was discussed and established. The meeting
will be webstreamed, with a single camera facing the Senate floor.
6.
New Business
Barbara
Lee said that the Middle States reaccreditation visit was approaching,
and that the self-study draft report would be made available, probably
with NetID/password access, on September 20. She invited comments on
the draft.
7.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 2:20 p.m.
Minutes written and submitted by,
Ken Swalagin
Executive Secretary of the University Senate