Minutes of the Executive Committee of the Academic Senate

September 25, 2006

St. Mary’s 113 B; 10:00 AM

Present: J. Biddle, D. Biers (presiding), D. Courte, P. Johnson, W. Luckett, M. Morton, J. O’Gorman, R. Penno, A. Seielstad, M. Schmitz, R. Wells

Guests: J. Farrelly (Faculty Board),

Roll Call:

Eleven of the twelve members of the Committee were present.

Prayer:

D. Biers opened the meeting with a prayer from Reinhold Neibuhr.

Approval of Minutes:

September 18, 2006 were discussed and corrected. Final approval was held over for the next meeting.

Announcements:

· D. Biers announced that the proposal for the changing of timing of elections for Senate representatives was passing. The vote continues through the end of the day (September 25, 2006). A. Koziol, the Election Committee, will verify the results and report those to the Provost and Academic Senate.

· D. Biers announced that he had discussed the issue of the agenda and minutes of the Provost Council with the Provost. The Provost has agreed that Biers may distribute, to the Executive Committee of the Academic Senate, the agenda, but not the documents, for the meeting in advance of the meeting and may distribute minutes as they are approved.

Old Business:

The following committee reports were received:

• J. Biddle reported for the Academic Policies Committee of the Academic Senate. They have discussed how to handle documents which they anticipate receiving this term. They are formulating a charge for the Committee on General Education and Competencies asking for a status report on the evaluation of competencies. They should complete this at their next meeting.
• D. Courte and W. Luckett reported for the Student Academic Policies Committee of the Academic Senate. They will meet on Friday.
• D. Biers reported for the Faculty Affairs Committee of the Academic Senate. They will meet on Friday and will discuss a new draft of the background check policy.
• D. Biers reported for the Calendar committee. The Provost Council will be discussing the Calendar on September 26, and has requested input from the Academic Senate. The main question under discussion is whether or not to move orientation back to a Saturday start. After considerable discussion of the wide range of issues that are relevant to this discussion and decision, the executive Committee decided that three points should be communicated in this discussion as important to the Academic Senate. (1) Orientation activities should not impact the start of classes. Specifically, convocation should take place before the start of classes. (2) The Calendar Committee should follow the decision of the Academic Senate on the number of class meeting required as a minimum. (3) Decisions made about the calendar should protect the academic schedule so as to convey the primary importance of the student’s academic experience.
• D. Biers reported on the work of the Provost committee on the Evaluation of Teaching Effectiveness. Reports from two experts in the field have been received. Revisions have been made, especially to the merit section of the recommendations, based on these reports. The document should be forwarded to the Academic Senate soon.

New Business:

• “Habits of Inquiry and Reflection: A Report on Education in the Catholic and Marianist Traditions at the University of Dayton” was discussed. The Provost has forwarded the document, on behalf of the Provost Council, with the request that the Senate review the document. It was determined that the letter from the Provost would be attached to the complete document, the document would receive a number (DOC 06-09), action would be indicated as legislative, and all three standing committees would receive the document. The Academic Policies Committee will take lead responsibility for coordinating the work on this document. J. Biddle indicated that broad consultations with the campus community would be conducted this term and a report and recommendation on the mission statement, educational aims, and core learning outcomes contained in the document would be scheduled for the January meeting of the Academic Senate.
• The report of the Provost Committee working on a University Promotion and Tenure committee was received. It was decided that the statement of professional philosophy would be attached to this document after it is discussed next week. The document will be assigned a number (DOC 06-10) and sent to all three standing committees with the Faculty Affairs Committee taking lead responsibility for coordinating work on the document. They will be asked to request additional input from the working committee in order to ascertain the issues that were considered in the preparation of this recommendation. They will also be asked to schedule campus-wide discussions.

Agenda Items:

A number of items were identified for inclusion on the agenda next week.

• The statement of professional philosophy that will guide the consideration of a number of documents (R. Wells reporting).
• The recommendation of two students for appointment to the Committee on General Education and Competencies (D. Biers consulting and reporting).
• A copy of the Provost charge to the committee working on Promotion and Tenure (D. Biers reporting).

Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 11:20 AM.

Respectfully Submitted,

Patricia A. Johnson, Secretary