Minutes of the Executive Committee of the Academic Senate

[Approved December 6, 2007]

November 29, 2007

St. Mary’s 113 B; 12:00 PM

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

J. Farrelly (Faculty Board)

Roll Call:

Ten members of the Committee were present.

Prayer:

The meeting opened with a prayer offered by J. O’Gorman.

Approval of Minutes:

November 15, 2007 approved with minor changes. Thank you, Rebecca.

Old Business:

The draft document on a University Nominating Committee was discussed. It was suggested that the committee should address the issue of diversity on committees and should be a means of new faculty gaining opportunities to serve. It was suggested that the charge to this committee should include the responsibility of putting procedures in place for soliciting nominations. It would be helpful if the Provost Office could maintain a list of all faculty and their committee appointments. It is important that the committee review committees each year to ensure that appointments have been made. Perhaps the committee could develop information for chairpersons of the various committees that would include information on diversity issues. F. Pestello will consult with his office about current practices and processes in relation to committee appointments. J. O’Gorman and R. Penno will revise the document in light of the discussion.

Reports from the standing committees:

R. Penno reported for the Academic Policies Committee. They will meet next Wednesday. They should finalize Doc 07-03, guidelines for the Development of Course-based Graduate Certificates, so that it can be reviewed by ECAS on December 6 and placed on the agenda for the December meeting of the Academic Senate.
D. Biers reported for the Faculty Affairs Committee. The standing committee met with the Provost to confirm and clarify some issues in relationship to DOC 06-11, Review of Tenured Faculty. The Committee will move forward with this work. They will focus on developing a clear separation of summative reviews and formative reviews. The peer consultation process will be formative. The Provost has indicated that there are financial resources that can be tapped as a mechanism for needed support.
Student Academic Policies Committee. No report.

New Business:

T. Stevens and L. Laubach reviewed the list of committees that they have put together. They will update the list one more time and then send it out to the deans for review and suggestions. They will meet with the Provost Council in January to discuss the list. Once it is finalized, work can begin on obtaining the correct information on each committee and on placing this in one place on the University web site.
L. Laubach and P. Johnson attended the ELC meeting. They reported that the discussion of pricing was very productive. Good input was received from those present both in relationship to the decision for the current year and about information that might inform the decisions in future years. It was asked in there was any discussion of the number of students that the University would plan to enroll. The budgeting model is based on 1650 students. There was no discussion of how many students the University might actually plan to carry.
The issue of eligibility for the ballot for the Academic Senate was discussed. Since the term has been changed to the academic year, the Provost Office has asked for clarity about interpreting the Constitution of the Academic Senate. The Executive Committee determined that any faculty member serving in an administrative position as assistant dean or higher at the time of the election would not be eligible for the ballot. In addition, any faculty member who is retiring at the end of the academic year or who is taking a leave of absence for the next academic year would not be eligible for the ballot. Faculty scheduled for sabbatical are eligible.

D. Biers distributed information on the faculty web profile and on US News and World Report rankings. These materials will be discussed at the next meeting.

Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 1:15 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,

Patricia A. Johnson, Secretary