RUTGERS
UNIVERSITY SENATE
EXECUTIVE
COMMITTEE
M I N U T E S
December 1, 2017
DRAFT - Will be considered for approval at the February 2, 2018
meeting.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Boikess, Borisovets, Gillett
(Chair), Gould, Kelly, Krapivin, Oliver, Parsa,
Scoloveno,
Settles, Thompson, Van Stine
MEMBERS EXCUSED: Esposito, Majumdar, Walters
ALSO ATTENDING: B. Lee (Senior Vice President for Academic
Affairs), M. Spiegel (Faculty
Representative to the Board of Trustees)
The regular meeting of the University Senate Executive Committee was
held on Friday, December 1, 2017, beginning at 12:00 p.m. in Room
202ABC of the Cook Campus Center, 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. His Chair's Report included comments on:
- that morning's meeting with Senate committee chairs, at which
process and drafting of reports were discussed, and which will again
take place in the spring;
- the January 5, 2018 Executive Committee meeting will be Ken
Swalagin's last as Executive Secretary, and his, Barbara Lee's, Ann
Gould's, and Jon Oliver's work on replacing him, including development of a CARF, and
posting of the position online; and
- responses he received from three of the Big Ten institutions he
polled regarding PTL compensation, which was an issue raised by Karen
Thompson at the previous Executive Committee meeting.
[President Barchi joined the meeting at 12:09 p.m.]
2. Secretary’s Report - Ken Swalagin,
Executive Secretary of the Senate
3.
Administrative Liaison Report -
Robert Barchi, President of the University
President Barchi
presented an
Administrative Liaison Report, which included comments on the following
subjects:
[Barchi left the meeting at 1:11 p.m.]
4.
Old Business
Issue
of ASRAC's continuing work on Charge S-1602, on Policies on Excused
Student Absences for Religious Observances - Robert Schwartz and
Matt Winkler, Academic Standards, Regulations, and Admissions
Committee
(ASRAC) Co-chairs
The
ASRAC has been charged as follows:
Policies
on Excused Student Absences for Religious Observance: Consider Rutgers
policies on excused student absences for religious observance, and make
recommendations on how best to revise those policies
in light of the
increasing diversity of the Rutgers student body.
This matter also appeared later on the
agenda, and was discussed only briefly here, primarily regarding the
ASRAC's previous inability to schedule discussions on this issue with
Rutgers' lawyers, which discussions are now enabled.
5.
Committees/Panels
Charge Deadline Requests:
University Structure and
Governance Committee (USGC) Chair Jon Oliver had requested, and was
granted the
following extensions of charge deadlines:
- S-1501 to February 2018
- Eligibility,
Nomination, and Election of Senate Leadership and Board Representatives:
Consider and make recommendations on the eligibility of candidates, and
the nomination process and schedule for election of Senate officers,
Executive Committee members, and board representatives. Respond to
Senate Executive Committee by June 2017. [Issued January 2015.
Reissued June 2015, April 2016, March 2017]
- The
Executive Committee approved Oliver's request to extend the deadline to
February 2018.
- S-1605 to February 2018
- Size
and Composition of the Senate, Reviewed: As
mandated in the December 2012 Senate Response
to Charge S-1201, on Senate Size and
Composition, reconsider the size and composition of the
Senate. Respond to Senate Executive Committee by December 2017. [Issued
April 2016. Reissued March 2017]
- The
Executive Committee approved Oliver's request to extend the deadline to
February 2018.
- S-1607 to October 2018
- Senate
Committee Structure Review: Consider
and make recommendations for modifying the Senate's standing committee
structure and standing charges. Respond to Senate Executive Committee
by December 2017. [Issued June 2016.]
- The
Executive Committee approved Oliver's request to extend the deadline to
October 2018.
- S-1604
to February 2018
- Process
for Unit Mergers and Other Structural Changes - Continued:
Consider
and recommend a procedure, timeline, template and process for merger or
dissolution of, or making structural changes to, non-academic units
that have a broad educational impact. Refer to the Senate report
and recommendations on Charge S-1403, Process for Unit Mergers or Other
Structural Changes, when considering this charge. Respond to the
Senate Executive Committee by December 2017. [Issued April 2016.
Reissued March 2017]
- The
Executive Committee approved Oliver's request to extend the deadline to
February 2018.
Gillett then offered the opportunity for other committee chairs
present to discuss any charge deadline extension requests not listed on
the agenda. Other chairs then requested, and were granted, deadline
extensions, as follows:
From Budget and Finance Committee (BFC) Chair Menahem Spiegel:
- S-1601
to March 2018
- Allocation
of Faculty Lines/Positions in
RCM Units: Investigate policies at Rutgers University
regarding allocation of faculty lines/position within Responsibility
Centered Management (RCM) units. Identify areas of concern, and
make appropriate recommendations. Respond to Senate Executive
Committee by September 2017. [Issued in March 2016. Reissued
March 2017]
- The
Executive Committee approved Spiegel's request to extend the deadline
to March 2018.
From Faculty and Personnel Affairs Committee (FPAC) Chair Alexander
Settles:
- S-1701
to March 2018
- Reconciling RBHS procedures
for Review of Deans and Programs with Other Existing Procedures:
Consider
and make recommendations as to how procedures for review of deans and
programs at RBHS might best be reconciled with existing procedures in
other parts of Rutgers. Respond to the Senate Executive Committee
by December 2017. [Issued January 2017]
- The
Executive Committee approved Settles' request to extend the deadline to
March 2018.
- S-1705
to March 2018
- Review
of Rutgers' Policy on Workplace
Violence: Consider Rutgers' Policy on Workplace Violence,
in particular its clarity and method of implementation. To what
extent does it apply retroactively to faculty and how far back in time?
To what extent is the policy's language precise? For
example: "reasonable." To what extent can it be arbitrarily
applied? To what extent does due process exisit for all
faculty/employees to whom the policy might apply. Consult with
the administration, students, and unions, as needed. Make
recommendations for changes to the policy if deemed appropriate.
Respond to Senate Executive Committee by December 2017. [Issued
March 2017]
- The
Executive Committee approved Settles' request to extend the deadline to
March 2018.
Committee
Reports:
Budget and Finance Committee's
(BFC) Annual Report on the University Budget- Menahem
Spiegel, BFC Chair
The Executive Committee approved
Senator Spiegel's request to present the annual report on the Rutgers
University budget at the January 5, 2018 Senate meeting.
Settles summarized his committee's report on Charge A-1709, on the
Proposal to Improve Evaluation of Teaching at Rutgers. The
report was discussed at length, including comments from Natalie
Borisovets, Chair of Instruction, Curricula and Advising Committee
(ICAC), which had previously provided the FPAC with the supporting
report cited in the charge. Suggestions were made for
changes, and the report, with suggested revisions, was then docketed
for action at the
upcoming Senate
meeting.
[Swalagin left the meeting for some time at 2:25 p.m. Mary Mickelsen
filled in, and the remainder of these minutes are based on her notes
alone.]
The ASRAC had been charged as follows:
Review
the current
status of the educative and adjudication processes of the Offices of
Student Conduct regarding infractions of the University Academic
Integrity Policy. Identify areas of concern, and provide appropriate
recommendations. Include in deliberations input received on this issue
from the Senate's Student Affairs Committee (Charge S-1713).
Co-Chair Robert Schwartz had submitted
to
the Senate Executive Secretary
alternate
charge language for the Executive Committee to consider in this
matter.
Senator Robert Boikess, an ASRAC member, spoke about the
justification of this change. The suggested language was discussed, and
Charge S-1714 on Enforcing the Academic Integrity Policy was revised to:
Review
the current
status of the educative and adjudication processes and administrative
organization and support of the Offices of
Student Conduct regarding infractions of the University Academic
Integrity Policy. Identify areas of concern, and provide appropriate
recommendations. Include in deliberations input received on this issue
from the Senate's Student Affairs Committee (Charge S-1713). [Due
to the Executive Secretary on April 3, 2018]
The ASRAC had been charged as follows:
Consider Rutgers
policies on excused student absences for religious observance, and make
recommendations on how best to revise those policies in light of the
increasing diversity of the Rutgers student body.
Robert Boikess, an ASRAC member, discussed the report submitted
by ASRAC co-chair Robert Schwartz. The report was discussed, and
the Executive Committee agreed that the ASRAC should write a more
formal
report which would include the background and rationale for their
recommendation.
This report will be due to the Executive Committee by the January
5, 2018 meeting.
[Spiegel left at 3:01 p.m.]
Academic
Standards, Regulations and Admissions Committee (ASRAC) Request
for Reconsideration of President Barchi's Response to Senate Resolution
on Charge S-1609 on Revisions to the Rutgers Academic Integrity Policy
- Robert Schwartz and Matthew Winkler,
ASRAC Co-chairs
When
submitting this item, Schwartz wrote:
"At
our committee meeting of November 10, 2017, members of
ASRAC discussed our disappointment with President Barchi's response to
the
Senate resolution of 1/20/2017 on revisions to the Rutgers academic
integrity
policy and voted unanimously to request the Executive Committee to ask
the
President to reconsider his response. Our request, together with the
rationale
for it, is given in the attached memo, which was skillfully crafted by
longtime
ASRAC Chair Martha Cotter with a little help from my co-chair Matt
Winkler, Bob
Boikess, and myself."
Barbara Lee briefed the Executive
Committee on Barchi's
rationale for his response. Lee agreed to bring the ASRAC's concerns
to Barchi's attention and the Executive Committee will
revisit this at the June 8, 2018 meeting.
6.
Other Business
Briefing
on the OIT
Technology Master Plan -
Adrienne Esposito
Adrienne
Esposito, Staff Member of the Executive Committee, had volunteered to
present a briefing on the OIT Technology Master Plan at the upcoming
Senate meeting. Esposito was not able to attend this meeting, but the
briefing was docketed for the upcoming Senate meeting.
7.
University Senate Agenda
8.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 3:32 p.m.
Minutes written and submitted jointly by,
Ken Swalagin, Executive Secretary of the University Senate
and
Mary Mickelsen, acting as Assistant Secretary of the University Senate