The February meeting of the University Senate was held at 4:05 p.m. on Thursday, February 7, 2002, in Room 7, Gamble Hall. David Perry presided.

The following members of the Senate were present:

Adams, Ross
Antes, James
Askim, Mary
Bartsch, Brent
Benoit, Joseph
Bridewell, John
Brown, Matt
Cleveland, Mike
Drewes, Mary
Ebertowski, Mary
Elsinga, Lillian
Ettling, John
Fivizzani, Albert
Gagnon, Gregory
Gallager, Robert
Greff, Jason
Grijalva, James
Hanhan, Sara
Hanson, Brent
Hikins, James
Hoffmann, Mark
Hunter, Susan
Jackson, Jon
Jenniges, Sharleen
Jeno, Susan
Johnson, Arnold
Kenville, Kimberly
Krogh, Nancy
Kupchella, Charles
Kweit, Mary
Lang, Gretchen
Lieberman, Victor
Lindseth, Glenda
Mabey, Renee
Mann, Michael
Mochoruk, Jim
Murphy, Eric
Perry, David
Petros, Thomas
Poochigian, Donald
Porter, Kimberly
Potvin,Martha
Rakow, Lana
Rice, Daniel
Schwartz, Rhonda
Smith, Bruce
Stofferahn, Curtis
Stolt, Wilbur
Thompson, Myra
Thureen, Faythe
Tiffany, Mark

The following members of the Senate were absent:

Bagheri, Fathollah
Boyd, Robert
Brandt, Jerel
Davis, W. Jeremy
Dokken, Seth
Elbert, Dennis
Frost, Chris
Heitkamp, Thomasine
Juffer, Brad
Juntunen-Smith, Cindy
McBride, Rosanne
Meyer, Betsy
Munski, Douglas
Nichols, Elizabeth
Romero, Alan
Schneider, Mac
Shaeffer, James
Skramstad, Allan
Smart, Kathy
Steen, Tom
Todhunter, Paul
Watson, John
Wilson, H. David

1.  The following announcements were made:

Mr. Perry asked for consent to add two items to the agenda on the business calendar: as item number 10, consideration of the candidates for honorary degrees, and as item number 11 a request from John LaDuke concerning the biology department's assignment in the Seed Money Program disciplinary structure. Hearing no objection, the items were added to the agenda.

Ms. Krogh announced that the Senate Ad Hoc Transfer Policy Committee will sponsor a Senate Forum on Thursday, March 21, at 4:00 p.m. in Room 7, Gamble Hall, concerning a proposed change in the University policy regarding acceptance of transfer credit. The Committee will also hold an informational session for academic advisers on March 6, at 9:00 a.m. in the Memorial Union Lecture Bowl.

2.  The Chairman asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes of the December 6, 2001 Senate meeting. There being none the minutes were approved as distributed.

3.  The Chairman announced the question period at 4:12 p.m. There were no questions.

4.  Mr. Stolt moved to receive and file the annual reports of the Summer Sessions Committee and the Academic Policies and Admissions Committee. There was unanimous consent and the reports were received and filed. (Reports may be reviewed in the Office of the Registrar)

5.  Mr. Grijalva reported on behalf of the Council of College Faculties. He gave a summary of the State Board of Higher Education meeting held at Fort Berthold Community College in New Town on January 17, 2002. Mr. Grijalva also announced that a Council of College Faculties meeting will be held over IVN on Tuesday, February 12, 2002 and the next State Board of Higher Education meeting will be held in Fargo on February 21-22, 2002.

6.  The Chairman introduced a request from the Assessment Committee to add three new members to the Committee. Ms. Hanhan moved to add a Graduate School Representative to be appointed by the Graduate Committee in consultation with the Graduate Dean, the Vice president for Finance and Operations or designee, and the Vice President for Student and Outreach Services or designee to the membership of the Senate University Assessment Committee, each with a term of one year. After discussion, the motion was approved unanimously.

7.  Mr. Petros moved to accept the following resolution to be sent to the State Board of Higher Education:

Resolution Regarding SBHE Policy 601.1 Presidential Search Committees

Whereas: The faculty and students in the North Dakota University System (NDUS) are major stakeholders in the NDUS,
Whereas: a majority of the legitimate faculty and student governance bodies asked you to revisit your recent changes to Presidential Search Policy, SBHE Policy 601.1
Whereas: the reasons for your refusal are unclear
Whereas: your unwillingness to even consider our concerns about the policy change has damaged your credibility with the faculty and students since we communicated to you our wishes through the appropriate channels that were put in place by the SBHE, and we were not even given a hearing,
Whereas: your changes to SBHE Policy 601.1 have raised major concerns for faculty and students across the state,
Whereas: a number of excellent arguments have been presented against your changes in SBHE Policy 601 in the numerous resolutions that were sent to the SBHE,
Whereas: the changes in the Presidential Search Policy are a big issue for all campuses, especially at UND where the last search was tainted by attempts to circumvent the process.
Be it resolved that the University Senate of the University of North Dakota once again asks that you place the issue of your changes to Presidential Search Policy 601.1 back on your agenda and allow debate and discussion involving faculty and student representatives.

Discussion followed. Mr. Stolt offered a friendly amendment to strike the last paragraph beginning with "Whereas," which was accepted by Mr. Petros. Mr. Antes suggested the words "has damaged" in the fourth paragraph be replaced by the words "risks damaging." The change was accepted by Mr. Petros. Mr. Murphy proposed that the word "even" be deleted in the first sentence of the fourth paragraph, and Mr. Bridewell asked that the same word be struck from the last sentence of the same paragraph. Mr. Petros accepted both changes. The following resolution was presented to the Senate for consideration:

Resolution Regarding SBHE Policy 601.1 Presidential Search Committees

Whereas: The faculty and students in the North Dakota University System (NDUS) are major stakeholders in the NDUS,
Whereas: a majority of the legitimate faculty and student governance bodies asked you to revisit your recent changes to Presidential Search Policy, SBHE Policy 601.1
Whereas: the reasons for your refusal are unclear
Whereas: your unwillingness to consider our concerns about the policy change risks damaging your credibility with the faculty and students since we communicated to you our wishes through the appropriate channels that were put in place by the SBHE, and we were not given a hearing,
Whereas: your changes to SBHE Policy 601.1 have raised major concerns for faculty and students across the state,
Whereas: a number of excellent arguments have been presented against your changes in SBHE Policy 601 in the numerous resolutions that were sent to the SBHE,
Be it resolved that the University Senate of the University of North Dakota once again asks that you place the issue of your changes to Presidential Search Policy 601.1 back on your agenda and allow debate and discussion involving faculty and student representatives.

After continued discussion the motion was approved 48 to 1 with 2 abstentions.

8.  Mr. Bridewell presented changes to the University Incomplete Policy on behalf of the Academic Policies and Admissions Committee. Mr. Bridewell moved to adopt the policy presented.  After discussion, Mr. Antes offered a friendly amendment to change the second sentence of the policy to read "For reasons beyond a students's control, and upon request by a student, an incomplete grade may be assigned by the instructor when there is reasonable certainty the student will successfully complete the course without retaking it." This amendment was accepted by Mr. Bridewell. After continued discussion, Mr. Bridewell withdrew the motion, and announced the Academic Policies and Admissions Committee will schedule a forum to discuss the proposed policies.

9.  On behalf of the Honorary Degrees Committee, Mr. Benoit recommended three candidates for Honorary Degrees. The recommendations were approved unanimously with one abstention.

10.  Mr. Fivizzani presented a memo from John LaDuke, Chair of Biology, regarding biology's sub-committee assignment for Seed Money funding. Mr. Fivizzani moved to change biology's assignment in the Seed Money Program from Biological Science to Physical Sciences and to change the names of these groups from Biological Sciences to Medical Sciences and Physical Sciences to Mathematics and Natural Sciences. The motion was discussed.

At 5:30 p.m. the Chairman announced the Senate must adjourn. Mr. Murphy moved to extend the meeting until 5:45 p.m. Motion carried.

Discussion continued about Mr. Fivizzani's motion. Mr. Bridewell moved to split the motion into two questions: 1) to change biology's assignment in the Seed Money Program from Biological Science to Physical Sciences, and 2) to change the names of the these groups from Biological Sciences to Medical Sciences and Physical Sciences to Mathematics and Natural Sciences. The Chairman accepted the division of the motion. Mr. Bridewell offered a friendly amendment on the second motion to change the name from Medical Sciences to Bio-Medical Sciences and the amendment was accepted. Mr. Benoit offered a friendly amendment to change Bio-Medical Sciences to Basic Medical Sciences. This was accepted. The first motion to change biology's assignment in the Seed Money Program from Biological Science to Physical Sciences carried unanimously. The motion to change the names of these groups from Biological Sciences to Basic Medical Sciences and Physical Sciences to Mathematics and Natural Sciences carried on a vote of 38 to 1.

Mr. Poochigian moved to require the Seed Money Committee to report to the Senate the distribution and allocation of funding to be submitted to the Senate by mid-April for distribution at the May meeting. The motion carried unanimously.

The meeting adjourned at 5:31 p.m.

Nancy Krogh
Secretary