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Minutes: November 19, 2002
Bozorth Hall Auditorium
Attendance: Herb Appelson, Bryan Appleby-Wineberg, Lorin Arnold, Joseph Bierman, Greg Biren, Lori Block, Carl Calliari, Bruce Caswell, Julia Chang, Jay Chaskes, Joe Davey, Gini Doolittle, John Gallagher, Dorie Gilchrist, Erick Guerra, Harriet Hartman, Cindi Hasit, Jim Haugh, Luke Holbrook, Judy Holmes, Don Stoll, Jennifer Kay, Lee Kress, Paul Laumakis, Terri Lehr, Denyse Lemaire, Phil Lewis, Janet Lindman, Mary Marino, Jeff Maxson, Eric Milou, Janet Moss, Pat Mosto, Ojusegun Ojewuyi, Joe Orlins, Anne Phillips, Robi Polikar, Nick Schmelz, Edward Smith, Robert Sterner, Sonia Spencer, Susan Taber, Winifred Still, Skeffington Thomas, Sandy Tweedie, Cindy Vitto, Hal Vogel, Paris Von Lockette, Stephanie Weidman, Barbara Williams, Abe Witonsky, Faye Zhu Not In Attendance: David Applebaum, Tom Hamer, Donna Cook, James Newell, Julie Peterson, Kathleen Small, Lori Stephans, Marian Stieber, Tricia Yurak Note: If anyone was omitted from attendance list, it indicates that you did not sign in. Please notify the Senate office and the minutes will be corrected. Sabbatical Leave: Martin Itzkowitz Call to Order: President Cindy Vitto called the meeting to order at 11:00 AM. Motion to approve agenda, seconded and carried. Motion to approve minutes of October 15, 2002, seconded and carried. Open Period:
-No speakers in attendance Report of the Senate President:
-President Cindy Vitto urged the members of the Senate to participate in the Capital Campaign. She stressed that the amount given is not important, but the percentage of participants in terms of future funding efforts is crucial.
-The list of faculty and staff wishing to serve on the Campus Master Plan Committee is being finalized. The Committee will most likely be co-chaired, having one faculty member and one administrator. All sectors of the campus community will be represented.
-There are plans underway to begin renovations in various buildings on campus to expand residential facilities. The bottom floor of the Triad will be renovated to add additional beds this coming year. Other sites on campus are being looked at as potential building sites for new residence halls.
-The State Superior Court is soon expected to render a decision as to whether Rowan will be entitled to develop a disputed property near the junction of Rt. 55 and Rt. 322.
- Because the week of final exams ends on a Friday this semester, and the residence halls will remain open until Friday evening, no exams should need to be rescheduled strictly to accommodate on-campus residence needs.
-All offices on campus will be closed from December 25 through January 1. This will include the Registrar’s office. The deadline for grade sheet submission is January 6. Faculty members who cannot turn their grades in personally are encouraged to mail them by priority or overnight mail to the Registrar’s Office.
-The first Shared Governance meeting was held on October 31. It is anticipated that the group will be separated into smaller working groups to discuss ideas regarding the shared governance process and possible ways to improve upon it. Announcements:
-The College of Business was congratulated on receiving AACSB accreditation.
-The Provost will be presenting her “Annual Report: Reaching a Higher Level of Excellence-Accomplishments for Academic Year 2001-2002” on Thursday, December 5, at 11:00 AM, in Rowan Hall.
-By now all senators should have received an invitation to the President’s holiday reception to be held on December 15 at his home. Those invited include senators, the President’s Cabinet, and the Board of Trustees. Each senator is welcome to bring a guest. Please notify Cindy Vitto if you have not received an invitation in the mail.
-The Senate Executive Committee will have dinner with the Board of Trustees at 6:00 PM on December 11 (following the Board meeting).
-The Thanksgiving potluck dinner may not be held, as most foreign students will be visiting with volunteer families.
-Carl Calliari, recipient of the first annual Joseph A. Barnes Award for Outstanding Service to Rowan University, has donated the $1,000 honorarium to the Friends of Campbell Library.
-Faculty members are urged to make sure that they have ordered their textbooks for the spring semester. Book orders were due November 1. Standing Committee Reports:
ACADEMIC POLICIES & PROCEDURES:
-Due to a variance between the Graduate and Undergraduate catalogs, the policy on college seniors taking graduate level courses needs to be clarified. A “Proposed Senior Privilege Policy” was presented for Senate approval:
“Seniors at Rowan University who have earned at least a 3.0 GPA may request permission from the Graduate School Dean to register for one graduate-level course per semester. The total number of all graduate credits taken shall not exceed 6 semester hours. Students may take a graduate course for application to either an undergraduate or a graduate degree, but may not apply the course to both. For a student to enroll in a graduate course, recommendations are required from both the student’s undergraduate program advisor and the chairperson of the department(s) in which the graduate course(s) is housed. Furthermore, final approval of exceptions to this police must be obtained from the Dean of The Graduate School.”
After a lengthy discussion, a motion to accept the proposed Senior Privilege Policy was made, seconded, and carried, with one “no” vote recorded. CURRICULUM:
-The majority of curriculum proposals pending from 2001-2002 have been processed, with only a small number remaining. There have been 67 new curriculum proposals submitted for 2002-2003.
-The College Curriculum Committees will meet over the next few weeks to review upcoming curricular proposals before those proposals are submitted to the Senate Committee.
-The following curriculum proposal was announced:
SCC#00-01-408 College of Engineering: Principles of Biomedical Systems & Devices
-The following curriculum proposal was passed by unanimous vote:
SCC#01-02-315 College of Education: Certificate of Graduate Study (COG) in Foreign Language Education CAMPUS AESTHETICS & ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS:
-Due to the construction of new campus facilities, there is concern about losing recreation courts, particularly the tennis courts. The committee recommends that at least two tennis courts remain on this campus, regardless of what happens on proposed sites for construction.
-The committee has received reports that the recycling program is not proving to be as effective as anticipated in residence halls, and a means to improve this process is being explored.
-A faculty member has brought to the attention of the committee a request to look into repainting the pediment on Bunce Hall that has the state seal. Another faculty member has suggested that we explore ways to improve the appearance of construction sites.
-Finally, the committee is requesting that, when art projects are approved, a portion of the state-mandated one percent of new construction costs be allocated for maintenance of that art. Also, the committee recommends an overall plan for the art selected, with care given to the process of how the art and artists are chosen. RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGICAL RESOURCES:
-The committee has had two meetings and has devoted some time to following up issues from last year.
-The 24-hour computer lab is in operation, and it appears that a problem of access to bathroom facilities has been solved.
-A question regarding the kinds of computers available in the 24-hour lab was asked. The computer lab consists primarily of PC’s, with a limited number of Mac computers.
-The committee has been informed that the Internet connection has been upgraded. Our current connection could be upgraded even further, but this would incur additional expense.
-The committee has considered a couple of issues that have hampered research and/or grant activities: (1) charging grant sponsors at the highest rate for use of the ballroom for grant-related workshops or meetings; (2) mandatory turnover of clerical staff for grants to avoid the contractual necessity of changing their status to that of Rowan employee after a certain period of time. TENURE & RECONTRACTING:
-The Committee completed its review of all tenure and recontracting candidate materials. The 63 folders were delivered to the Provost’s office on November 8.
Faculty:
2nd , 3rd & 4th yr candidates = 28 folders
3rd & 4th yr off cycle = 2
5th year Tenure = 24
Professional Staff:
3rd & 4th yr contract = 9 UNIVERSITY BUDGET & PLANNING:
-The committee met on November 14 and will meet again on November 26.
-The report of the progress made toward strategic objectives listed in the Five Year Plan 2002-2007 will soon be sent to the university community.
-Representatives from the Banner administrative software system will be on campus sometime during the month of December to present the capabilities of their system. The institution has been offered a package that could save the institution up to $400,000 if we elect to purchase this system before the close of this calendar year. Everyone is encouraged to take advantage of the opportunity to learn about the capabilities of this system. PROMOTION:
-The process to elect college-level promotion committees has been activated, and by now all department chairs should have received lists of those eligible, as far as the Senate Office can determine, to serve on a college committee. Chairs are requested to cross out names of those either not eligible or not willing to stand for election to a college-level promotion committee and return the forms to the Senate Office as soon as possible. RECRUITMENT, ADMISSIONS & RETENTION:
-No report SABBATICAL LEAVE:
-Friday, November 22, is the deadline for Sabbatical Leave applications and materials to be submitted to the Senate office. Everyone eligible for sabbatical leave should have received notification. The Senate will be placing the application on the Senate web site.
-The Sabbatical Leave Committee will hold its first meeting on November 26. STUDENT RELATIONS:
-The committee met on November 14. Issues from last year are still being addressed in an attempt to clarify university policies: (1) The committee recommends that the ballroom policy be placed on the Web, and that a formal appeals process should be added for those who believe they are being charged incorrectly for use of the ballroom. (2) The committee will look into the conscientious objector issue that came up last year to see if an actual policy is yet in place.
-New issues include looking into diversity or sensitivity training for students and clarifying the role and potential liability of student advisors. LEARNING OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT:
-The first meeting of this committee will be held on December 4.
-Three members of the committee--Anne Phillips, Roberta Harvey, and Jay Chaskes—recently attended an Assessment Institute. CAREER DEVELOPMENT:
-A career development list of eligible employees has been sent via e-mail from Bob Zazzali’s office. COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES:
-Some departments required outside representatives for their promotion committees, and there were several volunteers to serve on these committees.
-Sandy McHenry was thanked for her efforts with the Tenure & Recontracting process, and it was reported that two individuals have already volunteered to serve again on that committee next year.
-The following committee member changes were approved: Mary Gallant replaced Janet Lindman on the T&R Committee; Burt Greenspan replaced Lili Levinowitz on the Promotion Committee, Paule Turner was appointed to the Bookstore Committee, and Abe Witonsky resigned from the World Education Committee. INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS:
-No report PROFESSIONAL ETHICS & WELFARE:
-The University Ethics Policy is currently awaiting the President’s signature for final approval. Motion to adjourn at 12:30 PM, seconded and carried. The next regularly scheduled Senate meeting is December 10, 2002.