January 26, 2011
FACULTY SENATE MINUTES
JANUARY 26, 2011
Present: Ian Bricknell, Joe Carr, Sudarshan Chawathe, Robert Dana, Susan Erich, Janet Fairman, Todd Gabe, Michael Grillo, Robert Gundersen, Dan Harrison, Sue Hunter, Kirsten Jacobson, Melvin Johnson, Deborah Killam, Kurt Klappenbach, Judy Kuhns-Hastings, David Marcincowski, James McClymer, David Morrison, Harlan Onsrud, Tina Passman, Anne Pooler, Bob Rice, Thomas Sandford, Michael Scott, Scott See, Howard Segal, Kathryn Slott, Touradj Solouki, Shihfen Tu, Roy Turner, Janet Waldron, Chuck Wallace, Mark Wells.
Absent: Douglas Bousfield, Tony Brinkley, Chris Campbell, David Dvorak, Cynthia Erdley, Robert Franzosa, Eric Gallandt, Gordon Hamilton, Duane Hanselman, Clarissa Henry, Robert Kennedy, Dennis King, Irv Kornfield, Bill Livingston, Stuart Marrs, Sid Mitchell, Howard Patterson, Justin Poland, Paul Rawson, Andrew Reeve, Phillip Silver, Robert Strong, Claire Sullivan, Vivian Wu, Huijie Xue.
The meeting was called to order at 3:16 pm.
Announcements
Senate Vice-President James Warhola has resigned from Senate.
Approval of the Minutes
The minutes of November 17, 2010 were approved.
The minutes of December 15, 2010 were approved after the correction that Scott See was present at that meeting.
Committee Reports
BOT Rep – Robert Rice
The Board of Trustees met on January 10, 2011.
The new president of UMaine will be announced on March 13, 2011 in Augusta. The on-campus interviews scheduled with candidate Dr. Ferguson have been postponed due to snow.
UMaine’s new PhD program in Anthropology and Environmental Policy was approved.
20 on-line programs have been approved; none is at UMaine.
The BOT’s policy on Mission Statements and Strategic Planning was changed to give the BOT more authority.
The System has hired consultants to address the issue of IT security on the campuses.
The retention of first-year students is down this year compared to last year.
The UMaine calendar was approved with the two-week Spring break intact. We have a two-year reprieve until we have to revisit the calendar issue.
Academic Affairs – Judy Kuhns-Hastings
The committee met with Tammy Light (Student Records) and the Environment Committee to discuss the computer scheduling of classrooms. The Kent State model was examined.
Research & Scholarship – Janet Fairman
On March 18, 2011 there will be a session on grant-writing with presentations, a round-table discussion and a question and answer period. Senator Tina Passman asked whether there would be a component for humanities faculty.
Finance & Institutional Planning – James McClymer
The committee will look at increasing revenues by incentivizing certain behaviors on campus.
University Environment – Mike Scott
The committee will meet this Friday to follow up on the classroom scheduling issue. It will also look at the state of current classrooms with respect to learning environment.
Library Advisory – Howard Segal
No Report.
Service & Outreach – Deborah Killam & Claire Sullivan
Senator Deborah Killam reported that the committee had met January 14. They addressed the use of Learning Circles as a means to advance ideas related to service learning and outreach. They are looking at the report submitted by the previous Service and Outreach Committee.
Committee on Committees – Roy Turner
The Bangor Savings Bank Faculty Development Fund Committee needs six committee members.
Program Creation & Reorganization Review – Harlan Onsrud
There is a response from President Kennedy dated January 24, 2011 regarding the Senate motion passed on December 15, 2010 on the PCRRC recommendations. The complete letter is attached to the agenda. President Kennedy agreed with the recommendations concerning the School of Social Work and the Dept of Communication Sciences and Disorders’s move to the College of NSFA and the plans to suspend the BA degrees in Theatre, Forest Ecosystem Science, Wood Science and Technology, and Aquaculture. He did not endorse the recommendations to extend by one year the decision to eliminate the majors in German, Latin, and Women’s Studies. He also did not agree with the PCRRC’s recommendation to consider further the decision to suspend the bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Public Administration. He did agree to forward to Chancellor Pattenaude both the Faculty Senate motion and the PCRRC report.. Senator Shihfen Tu asked Provost Hunter if there were plans for a statewide Public Administration program. Provost Hunter said that there were discussions about locating something at the Muskie Center at USM.
General Education – Tina Passman
The committee continues to examine the Student Learning outcomes for Writing Intensive courses. On December 10, 2010, Prof. Harvey Kail did a workshop on Writing Intensive courses. Senator Passman met with consultants helping the English Dept evaluate their writing program. The next meeting is February 4, 2011.
Ad Hoc IT Advisory – Irving Kornfield & Mike Scott
Senator Mike Scott reported that he has become aware that there is a system-wide, comprehensive IT plan being developed by an outside group. It does not seem to address instructional technology.
Committees of the Administration Reports
None presented.
Questions for Administrators
— Vice President Janet Waldron addressed the question about the comprehensive IT plan. A strategic planning process on IT was initiated and brought to the IT Council. The plan has not been updated since 1999. The consultants are Barry Dunn McNeil and Parker, specialists in educational IT. Many things are being examined at both the system and campus levels: there are both security and infrastructure issues. There is an effort to align the technology budget with the technology programming.
— Senator Sue Erich asked how the tobacco-free campus campaign has been going. VP of Students Robert Dana said that most people on campus are complying with the new policy.
— Senator Kathryn Slott asked why the decision to cancel last Friday’s classes for the entire day had been made the evening before. Joe Carr replied that the decision had been based on the amount of snow predicted and how that would impact snow removal.
Old Business
None.
New Business
Election of Senate Vice President.: Senator Harlan Onsrud was nominated and seconded to serve as Senate Vice President for the rest of Jim Warhola’s term. Harlan was elected by general acclamation. As Senate Vice President he will also chair the Constitution and Bylaws Committee. He will continue to serve as chair of the PCRRC.
Proposed issues for consideration in Spring 2011:
- program suspensions
- the policy of replacing faculty positions
- the stability of the curriculum
- the future of CED and the entire structure of the Division of Lifelong Learning
- the academic calendar
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 3:54 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathryn Slott, Secretary