The March meeting of the University Senate was held at 4:05 p.m. on Thursday, March 4, 2004 in Room 7, Gamble Hall. Walter Tschacher presided.

The following members of the Senate were present:

Alfonso, Peter
Anderson, Amanda
Baker, Adam
Benoit, Joseph
Boyd, Robert
Bridewell, John
Butler, Tanya
Chen, Tar-Pin
Claflin, James
Crawford, Richard
Dearden, Bruce
DeMers, Judy
Diez, Ray
Doze, Van
Effertz, Kayla
Elsinga, Lillian
Erickson, Daniel
Ettling, John
Fivizzani, Albert
Gard, Betty
Goenner, Cullen
Goodwin, Janice
Heitkamp, Thomasine
Helgeson, Diane
Hoffmann, Mark
Hume, Wendelin
Jackson, Jon
Jenniges, Sharleen
Krogh, Nancy
Kweit, Mary
LaDuke, John
Lee, Randy
Lieberman, Victor
Marshall, David
Muggli, Darrin
Munski, Doug
Murphy, Eric
Myers, Bradley
Myrick, Matt
Nichols, Elizabeth
Neuerburg, Linda
Nutz, Amber
Perry, David
Picklo, Matthew
Poochigian, Donald
Rakow, Lana
Reese, Ty
Robertson, Charles
Smith, Bruce
Steen, Tom
Stofferahn, Curtis
Stolt, Wilbur
Sukalski, Katherine
Tiffany, Mark
Tschacher, Walter
White, Daniel
Yurkovich, Eleanor
Zierdt, Candace

The following members of the Senate were absent:

Baldwin, Gayle
Blackburn, Royce
Coleman, Joyce
Dever, Adam
Elbert, Dennis
Gallager, Robert
Gust, Amber
Handy-Marchello, Barb
Kenville, Kimberly
Keyser, Dorothy
Klumb, Travis
Kupchella, Charles
McLennan, Kathleen
Mochoruk, James
Parrish, Brad
Potvin, Martha
Relling, David
Rendahl, Stephen
Rice, Daniel
Salehfar, Hossein
Schuetzle, Jordan
Shaeffer, James
Smart, Kathy
Stevens, Wes
Thureen, Faythe
Tozer, Ray
Venhuizen, Brett
Vestal, Amber
Watson, John
Williams, Jim
Wilson, H. David

The Chair called for announcements.

A.  Mr. Ettling announced that the Legislative Higher Education Committee is visiting campus.

B.  Mr. Ettling announced that Mr. Kupchella asked him to update the Senate on the issue of textbooks. He stated that, since the Senate last met, the Attorney General's office had been asked to render an opinion about the public record status of the text book lists maintained by the Barnes and Noble bookstore. Mr. Ettling suggested that the Senate Executive Committee put together a working group to make the process more student-friendly.

C.  Mr. Crawford brought forward the summary of budget priorities from the University Budget and Planning Committee meeting. He pointed out that recommended priorities for this year and for next year include a 16.5% increase in tuition and a 3% increase in enrollment which will go toward paying for salary increases, new academic positions, other support costs, facilities, technology and library.

The Chair asked for corrections or additions to the February 5, 2004 minutes. The minutes were approved.

The Chair opened the question period at 4:13 p.m.

Mr. Picklo asked about internet access from off campus for dial-in access and asked if a server for faculty access could be set up. Ms. Goodwin suggested referring the question to Mr. Shaeffer for an answer. Mr. Tschacher will report back at the next meeting.

Mr. Stofferahn asked senators to speak up so everyone could hear.

Mr. Murphy asked about the President's Report which stated that the $27 million expense in faculty and staff salaries generated a $135 million economic impact on the community. He questioned whether the right multiplier was used in this calculation. Mr. Goenner replied that the input number was not $27 million but a higher figure. The multiplier was 2.5.

The question period closed at 4:18 p.m.

Ms. Goodwin moved to approve the annual reports of the Senate Student Academic Standards Committee, the Senate Administrative Procedures Committee, and the Senate Intellectual Property Committee. The motion was approved unanimously.

Mr. Fivizzani requested to move the report from the Committee on Committees to number 8 on the business calendar. There was no objection.

Mr. Diez moved to approve the report from the Curriculum Committee. The motion was approved with a vote of 55 for, 1 against, and 2 abstentions.

Mr. Fivizzani presented the nominations from the Senate Committee on Committees, and added the names of Susan Hunter to the nominations for the Library Committee and James Claflin to the nominations for the University Assessment Committee. Mr. Tschacher called for nominations from the floor. Ms. Sukalski nominated Judy DeMers for the Honorary Degrees Committee.

Mr. Hikens presented the proposed changes to the membership of the Senate Scholarly Activities Committee, and the Senate discussed them. Ms. DeMers asked a point of order about whether a two-thirds vote was necessary to consider the report since it was tabled at the December meeting. Ms. Goodwin moved to remove the motion from the table. The motion was approved.

Mr. Marshall moved to consider the amendment regarding the Scholarly Activities Committee membership offered by Ms. Potvin at the December meeting to amend the motion by changing the recommendation "to include two representatives from the College of Arts and Sciences, with at least one of these members being from the humanities, and one representative from each of the other colleges" to "to include two representatives from different divisions from the College of Arts and Sciences and one representative from each of the other colleges." The amendment was defeated with a vote of 18 for, 39 against, and 1 abstention.

Mr. Fivizzani moved to amend the motion to change the second paragraph to read:

In order to ensure more equitable representation of the various academic disciplines on the Committee, the Committee voted on September 25, 2003 to recommend that faculty membership be increased to nine, to include two representatives from the College of Arts and Sciences with one of these from the divisions of humanities and fine arts and the other member from the divisions of natural sciences and social sciences, and one representative from each of the other colleges. These proposed changes would begin with the 2004-05 academic year.

Mr. Tiffany moved to accept the amended motion from the Committee. The motion was approved with a vote of 52 for, 4 against, and 1 abstention.

Ms. Yurkovich presented the policy changes from the Admissions and Academic Policy Committee regarding academic probation, suspension, and dismissal. Mr. Bridewell moved to bring back the motion to the floor. The motion was approved unanimously. Mr. Murphy moved to adopt the policy as amended by the Committee after the last meeting. After discussion the policy was approved unanimously.

Mr. Stofferahn presented a resolution from the Senate to be sent to the Council of College Faculties. Mr. Robertson moved to accept the resolution. The resolution was approved with a vote of 52 for, 1 against, and 1 abstention.
15.

Mr. Benoit presented a proposed change that would amend policy 11.2.1 in the faculty handbook concerning graduate faculty pursuit of advanced degrees.

Mr. Murphy moved to extend the meeting for ten minutes. The motion was defeated.

Mr. Benoit moved to approve the new policy regarding faculty pursuit of advanced degrees. The Senate discussed the policy. Mr. Bridewell moved to adjourn. The motion to adjourn was defeated.

The motion on the faculty pursuit of advanced degrees policy was approved with a vote of 39 for, 13 against, and 1 abstention.

The meeting was adjourned at 5:30 p.m.

Nancy Krogh
Secretary to the Senate