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Minutes: March 25, 2003
11:00 Bozorth Hall Auditorium
(Two-part meeting: continued April
1) Attendance: Herb Appelson, David Applebaum, Bryan Appleby-Wineberg,
Lorin Arnold, Joe Bierman, Greg Biren, Lori Block, Carl Calliari,
Bruce Caswell, Julie Chang, Jay Chaskes, Joe Davey, Gini Doolittle,
John Gallagher, Dorie Gilchrist, Erick Guerra, Harriet Hartman, Jim
Haugh, Luke Holbrook, Judy Holmes, Martin Itzkowitz, Jennifer Kay,
Lee Kress, Terri Lehr, Maria Rosado, Phillip Lewis, Janet Lindman,
Mary Marino, Jeff Maxson, Stuart McGee, Sandy McHenry, Eric Milou,
Janet Moss, James Newell, Olusegun Ojewuyi, Anne Phillips, Robi Polikar,
Chuck, Schultz, Karen Siefring, Edward Smith, Sonia Spencer, Robert
Sterner, Winifred Still, Susan Taber, Skeff Thomas, Sandy Tweedie,
Cindy Vitto, Hal Vogel, Paris Von Lockette, Stephanie Weidman, Barbara
Williams, Abe Witonsky, Faye Zhu Not in Attendance: Bela Mukhoti,
Cindi Hasit, Donna Cook, Paul Laumakis, Joe Orlins, Julie Peterson,
Nick Schmelz, Kathleen Small, 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. (Majority of Senators not in attendance were attending
Budget & Planning sub-committee meetings). Call to Order: President
Cindy Vitto called the meeting to order at 11:00 AM. Motion to approve
agenda. Request to amend the agenda and begin with David Applebaum’s
proposed resolution following the Senate President’s report. Motion
to approve, seconded and carried. Motion to approve minutes of February
18, 2003, seconded and carried. Open Period: President Farish -The
President testified before the State Appropriations Committee in Voorhees,
NJ regarding the budget crisis in South Jersey. Listed below are some
important facts from his testimony that the Rowan community should
be aware of. -If the 1988 appropriation were calculated in 2003 dollars,
the appropriation would have been $44.7; comparing the 1988 appropriation
to the 2004 appropriation of $33.4 million dollars indicates a 25%
decrease in state appropriations. -In 1988 the appropriation counted
for 53% of the University’s budget. In 2004 it will be less than 27%.
This is a fifteen-year problem with the trend pointing to zero. The
President expressed his concerns to the State Appropriations Committee
that the mandatory increases in the non-discretionary portion of the
State budget (i.e., K-12 education funding) has led to a decrease
each year in the State’s discretionary budget, from which Rowan receives
its appropriation. The President expressed his view that the only
means to correct this problem is to examine the tax structure of the
State. -The President praised the members of the University Budget
and Planning Committee for their diligence in assisting with the University’s
efforts to solve the budget problems. -The recent Whit article about
the growth in administrative positions led to a scrutiny of the actual
situation. President Farish explained that there were sixty-nine managerial
employees in 1997. Since 1997 twenty-four employees have been re-classed
as managerial employees. Those re-classed remained in their current
positions, performing the same duties. Only three or four new managerial
positions have been added. Non-teaching staff needs to be kept at
a minimum, but at the same time there must be enough staff to perform
non-teaching duties. The modest growth in administration has not been
greater than the growth in numbers of students and faculty. -President
Farish also commented on the recent Whit article that calls attention
to decreasing diversity in our student population. In looking at the
numbers over the last fifteen years, the percentage of minority students
enrolled at Rowan has proven to be consistent. However, the administration
is worried by the fact that the minority applicant numbers for next
year indicate a definite decrease, and President Farish has already
spoken to Marvin Sills, Director of Financial Aid, about this situation.
-President Farish commended Cindy Vitto for her efforts that resulted
in an interim University policy to assure free speech and peaceful
assembly. During the week of spring break, the President and other
administrators joined a previously scheduled meeting of Deans and
Senate Executive Committee members to generate the policy. This example
of shared governance proves that the process can be both consultative
and quick. Because this is an interim policy, a more broadly based
group, with more student input, will soon be put together to work
on a permanent policy. -Nick D’Obilda reported to the President that
his recent conversations with colleagues on other campuses revealed
that Rowan University is enjoying a more positive relationship between
faculty/staff and administration than is the case elsewhere in the
state. -The President reported on a growing recognition of the University
on the part of State representatives. -The President reported that
the plans for dormitories to be constructed in the wooded area behind
Hawthorn Hall are continuing. The units will be pre-fabricated, so
the assembly can take place quickly, with about 400 additional beds
available by Fall 2004. Renovations to the ground floor of Triad will
begin shortly to provide for an additional 94 beds, with some available
Spring 2004 and the rest available Fall 2004. -A concern was expressed
to the President regarding the difficulty of dealing with the budget
problem while retaining a larger vision of the University expansion.
President Farish responded that at the University Assembled meeting
he will embed budget specifics within a larger vision. -Five years
ago, the University had $1.5 million dollars in sponsored research.
This year that figure is expected to be $12 million. The President
regards this to be very positive in that the University is becoming
an institution recognized for research. -There was concern expressed
to the President that if the University were to receive less funding
from the State and still thrive, this might put the University at
the bottom of the list to receive future funding. The President does
not feel this will occur. -Rowan is participating in a national program
that administers questionnaires to incoming freshmen. The report we
have received indicates that more than 70% of incoming freshmen listed
Rowan as their first choice, with most of the remaining freshmen listing
Rowan as their second choice. One of the reasons students come to
Rowan is that they view it as affordable. -South Jersey, however,
is still not receiving its fair share of funding in most areas. The
President agreed with the suggestion that all of us need to contact
our State representatives to stress the importance of adequately funding
South Jersey and Rowan University in particular. Senate President’s
Report: -Cindy congratulated the Whit for its article covering the
budget crisis. Material that could have been turned to sensationalist
use was instead used responsibly. She urged everyone to examine the
newly created budget website. Within the next few days, it is hoped
that the budget sub-committees will have completed their work and
a ranked list of suggestions will become available for campus-wide
comment: www.rowan.edu/pdf
-The Provost has been meeting weekly with Cindy and Nick DiObilda
regarding any developments regarding the budget. -The Budget &
Planning Committee and the Senate Executive Committee met jointly
on March 11, 2003 in order to examine suggestions with both academic
and budget impact. The minutes of this meeting will be included with
these minutes when distributed. -The Campus Master Plan has been divided
into sub-committees. The first meeting of the steering committee is
scheduled for Monday, March 31. -Those involved in shared governance
discussions (Cabinet, Deans, and Senate Exec) have been divided into
sub-groups. The spokespersons for these groups will meet on March
28th to examine commonalities and to begin drafting a position paper.
-Cindy Vitto filled in details about the formation during spring break
of the interim policy on free speech and peaceful assembly. Drew Calandrella,
George Brelsford, and Tina Pinocci registered Rowan University for
a “webinar” (an internet version of a teleconference) dealing with
free speech issues on college campuses. Cindy, David Applebaum, Jay
Chaskes, and Maria Mancini of the SGA attended the “webinar.” As a
result of the webinar, Cindy located the free speech policy in place
at Indiana University – Bloomington and suggested to the President
that we consider it as a model for our own policy. The President’s
Cabinet raised no objections, and so the President and several others
joined the March 20th breakfast meeting of Deans and Senate Executive
Committee. All of those present agreed that the Indiana University-Bloomington
policy was an acceptable model, and a small group of people (George
Brelsford, Dorie Gilchrist, Maria Mancini, Tim Michener, and Cindy
Vitto) met that afternoon and worked on the actual writing of the
interim policy. With minor adjustments, the policy was distributed
through campus-wide e-mail on Friday, March 21. This example demonstrates
the quality and efficiency possible through shared governance. A similar
process would be helpful for drafting a videotaping policy for the
University. -The Office of Institutional Research is requesting the
cooperation of those faculty members selected to have their classes
participate in the Student Satisfaction Inventory. -Plans for the
Camden Campus will be discussed at the Provost’s second sandwich seminar,
scheduled for Thursday, March 27th in Memorial 169-A. -Class rolls
distributed by the Registrar’s Office need to be returned in order
to alert the Registrar and the Financial Aid Office to students who
have never attended class but have not officially withdrawn. Students
who have never attended class may have their financial aid removed.
If faculty members do not report this information in a timely manner,
students may end up having to repay financial aid (often causing them
to drop out of Rowan altogether) while other students eligible for
financial aid may lose the opportunity to benefit. Senators should
remind their departments that it is extremely important to return
the class rolls on or before April 4. Comments from senators included
a suggestion that the Registrar’s Office e-mail a confirmation of
receipt of these rolls; that the rolls could be distributed and returned
electronically; that the Registrar’s Office gather information to
find out if adjunct professors may be the ones primarily at fault
in not returning rolls or if certain faculty members are repeatedly
ignoring this directive. -The Faculty Center will sponsor a speaker,
T. Mills Kelly, on Thursday, April 3rd at 11:00 AM in Boyd’s Recital
Hall. -Nominations for the Joseph Barnes Award should be submitted
to the Senate on or before April 14th. -The election process for new
senators, professional staff senators, and senators-at-large for 2003-2004
is proceeding. -The architects’ plans for the new residence halls
behind Hawthorn Hall are on display in the conference room of Campus
and Residential Life. There is a plan for 430 beds, and a plan for
520 beds. The Biology Department was consulted regarding the planned
site and has expressed no opposition to the property being used. There
are still many environmental concerns to be examined. It was suggested
that the archives of the Campus Aesthetics and Environmental Committee
should contain wetlands reports on this property and that, if not,
professors from Geography might be able to assist in providing such
information. -A suggestion came from the floor that it would be helpful
if other Vice Presidents followed the Provost’s example of holding
an open forum in order to share information about their respective
areas and to allow opportunity for raising questions and concerns.
David Applebaum introduced the following resolution: Whereas, the
Rowan University mission statement promises vigorous personal interaction
among members of a diverse learning community; Whereas, recent data
demonstrate that the ambition of diversity on the Rowan campus is
eroding; Whereas, the Senate decries the decline of diversity on our
campus and the concomitant gap in achieving the goal included in our
mission statement; Whereas, in recognition of the importance of maintaining
affirmative action policies in higher education admissions practices,
a nationwide March on Washington, D.C. is planned to the U.S. Supreme
Court where Grutter v. Bollinger is to be heard on April 1, 2003,
and Whereas, the Student Government Association Statewide Team, on
behalf of a number of campus constituents, is sponsoring a bus trip
to allow members of the Rowan community to join this March on Washington;
Be it resolved that those who wish to participate in the March on
Washington on April 1, 2003, shall be able to do so without any adverse
consequences relating to their campus obligations. Motion to extend
the time to discuss the resolution, seconded and carried. An amendment
to the resolution: Be it resolved that those who wish to participate
in the March on Washington on April 1, 2003, be given ample time to
fulfill their campus obligations on their return from Washington.
Motion to approve amendment resulted in non-majority approval. Motion
to approve forwarding the proposed resolution as it stands: 5 in favor,
24 opposed, and 14 abstained. The discussion on this proposal led
to the consensus view that a more general, politically neutral policy
would be in order. Such a policy would affirm the right of any member
of the Rowan community to engage in political participation. Standing
Committee Reports: Due to time constraints, committee reports were
not given. The following policy regarding the formation of a Registration
Review Panel was introduced by Sandy Tweedie: Currently Ed Eigenbrot,
Registrar, receives and acts upon requests for priority registration.
Both he and the Provost have been consulted and agree that these decisions
should be made by a larger, more representative group. To that end,
the Academic Policies and Procedures Committee proposes the following:
The University Senate recommends that a Priority Registration Review
Panel be formed to hear all applications for student groups wishing
to receive priority registration status. The panel shall be made up
of six members: the Vice-President for Student Affairs serving as
Chair (or his/her designee); the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs
(or Provost’s designee); two faculty or professional staff representatives,
preferably drawn from two committees: Recruitment, Admission, and
Retention and Student Relations; a student representative appointed
by the Student Government Association; and a member of the Athletics
Department (administrator, coach or student) designated by the Athletic
Director. In addition, the Registrar shall serve as ex officio member
of the committee. Further, we recommend that, as its first charge,
the committee establish criteria for and review all student groups
currently receiving priority registration. Motion to approve, seconded
and carried (Resolution #030325-1) Motion to adjourn at 12:30 PM,
seconded and carried. A special Senate meeting will be held on April
1, 2003 in order to hear Committee reports and to take up any Senate
business not completed on March 25th. |
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