[Approved September 27, 2007]

Minutes of the Executive Committee of the Academic Senate

September 20, 2007

St. Mary’s 113 B; 12:00 PM

Present: D. Biers (presiding), P. Johnson, R. Kearns, L. Laubach, J.O’Gorman, R. Penno, F. Pestello, A. Seielstad, T. Stevens, R. Wells

J. Farrelly (Faculty Board)

Roll Call:

Ten members of the Committee were present.

Prayer:

The meeting opened with a reading of the sixteen decisions in The Price of a Dream.

Approval of Minutes:

September 13, 2007 approved.

Announcements:

· There were no announcements.

Old Business:

· Standing Committee Reports

o R. Penno reported for the Academic Policies Committee. The committee has agreed to add a member from the library faculty to the sub-committee that will deal with the HIR recommendations. APC has asked Don Pair, Associate Dean in the College, to serve as chairperson for the sub-committee. The Committee also discussed the relationship of this document to the graduate programs. Members of the Executive Committee expressed concern that the appointment of an administrator to the position of chairperson of a curricular committee might give the perception that the curriculum is being driven by the administration, not the faculty. Members also asked if diversity was taken into consideration in the process of appointment.

o R. Wells reported for the Faculty Affairs Committee. The Committee is meeting weekly to work on post-tenure peer consultation. They looked at a first draft today. This draft takes into consideration a faculty member’s career up to the point of the consultation with a focus on future directions. The draft will be revised based on the discussion of FACAS today and will be discussed again next week. Members of the Executive Committee asked about reviewing the document. Members of FACAS thought it best to wait until the work had progressed further. The question was raised as to whether or not the attempt would be made to align this process with sabbaticals. It will. The hope is that the final document will benefit individual faculty members as they discern career directions, and will aid in the strategic planning of the University at all levels.

o Student Academic Policies Committee had no report.

o D. Biers reported that some members of the Executive Committee met with representatives on the Higher Learning Commission visitation team.

o The Provost Council will meet next week. A future agenda item is the computer requirement. It was noted that APC has standing oversight of this issue and should be kept informed. A recommendation will need to be made related to keeping the current requirement or changing that requirement.

New Business:

· The Provost reported that the outcome of the HLC visit was very positive. A written report should be received in about six weeks and will be widely distributed at that time.

· The Executive Committee discussed University Committees. It was decided that:

o The Executive Committee will appoint a Nominating Committee that will report to the Executive Committee. R. Penno, J. O’Gorman, and A. Seielstad will draft a description of the membership and charge of this committee for review by the Executive Committee

o There is a need to ensure that recording and posting of committee members is coordinated by one office. It was suggested that this should be the Office of the Provost. It was noted that the President’s Office and HR both currently have some involvement with this. L. Laubach will check with both offices to obtain information about their activities in relation to this issue. Once this is completed, it will need to be determined which committees should be posted on a common website. How far into the University structure should this go?

o The materials on the Senate website need to be reviewed so that a template for recording committee charges and membership can be finalized and so that the current list of University-wide committees can be established. D. Biers will review these materials and bring a report to the Executive Committee.

The Committee agreed to postpone the discussion of ECAS and Senate policies and procedures for one week. This will now take place on October 4. On September 27, the Policy for Graduate Certificate Programs will be considered.

Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 1:05 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,

Patricia A. Johnson, Secretary