Members present: Aigbedo, Bee, Berven, D., Berven, Bhatt, K., Butler, Chamra, Condic, Doman, Dulio, Dvir, Eis, Estes, Fu, Giberson, Graetz, Grimm, Grossman, Hightower, Hoag, Hoffman, Latcha, Leibert, LeMarbe, Lim, Meehan, Miller, Mitchell, Pickard, Reger, Riley-Doucet, Roth, Russell, Schartman, Schuiling, Shablin, Solomonson, Spagnuola, Stano, Thompson, Tieggs, Wells, Williams, Wood

Members absent: Awbrey, Cole, Connery, Dalton, Dunn, Gallien, Gamble, Giblin, Hay, Lauer, Moudgil, Mourdjian, Polis, Seethi, Sudol, Tanniru, Taschereau, Thor, Zhang

Associate Provost Michelle Piskulich called the meeting to order at 3:10 P.M.

INFORMATIONAL ITEMS

1. Appointment of Senate Parliamentarian

Jerry Grossman was appointed Senate Parliamentarian.

2. Appointment of Secretary

Dikka Berven was appointed Senate Secretary.

3. Appointment of Senate Elections Committee

The following faculty members have been appointed to form the Elections Committee: Kellie Hay (chair), Lynn Williams and Liang Fu.

4. No-Smoking Policy Update—Mr. Roberts and Ms. Hanson

Cora Hanson (Environmental Health and Life Safety Manager, Purchasing and Risk Management), Stephen Roberts (Assistant Vice-President Finance) were present to provide an update concerning the new No-Smoking Policy. There are new signs on campus, 30 new urns have been installed away from the buildings, and 50% of the wall-mounted receptacles have been removed so far. There has been concern expressed from the campus community about the litter in the storm sewers. Mr. Roberts pointed out that the new policy is considered to be a work in progress and they are trying to work out the kinks. Mr. Aigbedo asked what happens if someone violates the rule. Ms. Hanson replied that there are steps to be followed (one can report a smoker in violation of the rules to the Dean of Students or to his/her supervisor) , but the main thing the new policy hopes to achieve is to affect a cultural change. The committee has received positive feedback from the community concerning the changes that have been made.

5. Provost’s Updates—Ms. Piskulich

• Associate Provost Michelle Piskulich reported that Provost Moudgil was not present at the Senate meeting because he was representing Oakland University at an induction ceremony at another university. She said that Mr. Moudgil had asked her to thank the Senate members for their service in the year to come.

• The November GOP presidential debates will take place on the campus of Oakland University. The topic of the debate will be the economy and jobs. There will be opportunities for students to participate in various aspects of this event—for example, as many as 100 students will have a chance to work with CNBC.

• Ms. Piskulich provided a list of the new administrators on campus, as follows: Judith Ableser, Director, Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning; Graeme Harper, Director, Honors College; Adriene Lim, Dean, Kresge Library; Dorothy Nelson, Vice Provost, Research, Kerri Schuiling, Dean, School of Nursing; Betty Youngblood, Associate Vice-President, Outreach and Executive Director, OU-Macomb

6. Election of Steering Committee

The Senate agreed to re-arrange the order of the agenda because Lynn Williams had to leave the meeting early, and she would be conducting the election of the Steering Committee in the absence of Kellie Hay. Subsequently, the election for the Steering committee took place. The following Senate members were elected: Mike Latcha, Andrea Eis, Jo Reger, Mark Doman, Kris Thompson and Henry Aigbedo.

A. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES of April 14, 2011

The minutes of April 14, 2011 were approved (motion by Schartman, second by Giberson).

B. UNFINISHED BUSINESS

1. Motion from the Steering Committee to recommend approval of a Grading System Change recommended by Graduate Council and the University Committee on Undergraduate Instruction.

MOVED that the Senate approve the proposed changes to Undergraduate and Graduate Incomplete policies as recommended by the Graduate Council and the University Committee on Undergraduate Instruction.

Steve Shablin (Registrar) said that the proposed change were the result of an internal audit and also due to the fact that the policy had not been reviewed for a long time. The current policy makes no mention of Summer session whereas the new one will. Also, the policy on the ‘I’ grade has been clarified. The start and end dates are now as follows: The ‘I’ timeline begins the day when grades are submitted at the end of the semester, and there is one year for the change to be made. Mr. Grossman expressed his concern that this might be a hardship in some circumstances, such as if a student were to have an accident on the way to a final exam. Mr. Shablin said that there can always be petitions of exception. Mr. Aigbedo asked whether students who have an ‘I’ grade can rejoin the same class in a subsequent semester. Mr. Shablin said that they cannot. Students can only be in a class if they are officially registered.

The motion was passed unanimously.

2. Motion from the Steering Committee to recommend approval of the Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences.

MOVED that the Senate recommend to the President and the Board of Trustees approval of a program leading to the Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences.

Arik Dvir (Chair, Biological Sciences) informed the Senate that following the April Senate meeting, the committee proposing the approval of the B.S. in Biomedical Sciences had worked on the concerns throughout the summer. The changes made to the proposal have been posted on the Senate website. Some of the changes include that students can take their chemistry classes in the Biology or the Chemistry departments. The School of Health Science concerns have been worked out, and now there are electives in Health Sciences (up to 6 courses), and an Ethics course which has an option in HS. There have been constructive discussions with Health Sciences, the results of which are that Dean Hightower and Patricia Wren are now supportive of the proposal. Pre-Med Advising will be funded by Academic Affairs and is not a part of the proposal’s budget. Because there were concerns that the budget proposal was too big, the budget has been made smaller and is now tied to the headcount. Mr. Dvir stressed that the headcount is an estimate—sometimes it could be less, other times more. The scale has been adjusted from 200 to 100 students, half the number of faculty members, and no pre-med advisor. The result is that the budget is now half of what it was in the original proposal. However, he said that if the program has more that 100 students, he fully expects that the budget should be adjusted up to account for the increase. He reported that Biology now has a new faculty member in the discipline which is good. They are eager and ready to move forward. The new catalog needs to be revised and there is a deadline approaching, and so he urged the Senate to support this proposal.

Mr. Russell said that he recalled that Art Bull thought there was another adjustment, namely that the chemistry department would have support for assistantships. Mr. Dvir replied that he did not think so. Mr. Hightower said that he wanted to go on record as the Dean to commend the College of Arts and Sciences for their efforts, and he thinks it is a great proposal. Ms. Bee (School of Medicine) said that she thinks the proposal is extraordinary, and the SOM is in full support. Mr. Chamra said that since SOM and HS are in full support of the proposal, he also fully supports it. Ms. Thompson said that she had spoken to Patricia Wren who is also in favor of this proposal. Mr. Doman observed that all the issues had been worked out but he wondered if the new senators were comfortable about it. Mr. Grimm asked whether the Budget committee had seen the revised proposal. Mr. Latcha replied that they have not. Mr. Russell pointed out that last year, UCUI opposed the proposal and have not discussed the revised proposal although he felt they should have been able to.

Ms. Wood said that since a couple of committees have not seen the revised proposal, she would move to postpone the vote. Her motion was seconded by Mike Latcha. In the ensuing discussion, Mr. Meehan argued strongly against postponement, saying that the Senate committees had had their say, issues were raised, and the proposal committee had worked hard to reconcile the matters. So the idea of sending the proposal back to the committees does not make sense—things should not keep getting sent back to committees. Mr. Roth said that he is a new senator, he has read the proposal and the revisions, he is very familiar with it, and he would like to move forward. Ms. Pickard said she is a new senator, she has read the proposal, and she was in agreement with Mr. Roth that it was time to move forward. Ms. Wood asked if it is customary to send proposals back to the committees, because if it is not customary, she would like to withdraw the motion to postpone. Mr. Grossman said that some proposals are handled differently, and the Senate can do what it wants. Mr. Doman said that the two major issues were Health Sciences and Chemistry. It seems as if they have been resolved, but he wondered about the budget committee’s concerns. Mr. Latcha said they did not get to see the proposal. Mr. Berven argued strongly against sending the proposal back to the Senate committees, saying that his committee had responded to all the issues that had been raised. To send it back for rehashing would make no sense whatsoever, and would only result in delaying the proposal for no good reason. He urged the Senate to move the proposal forward today. Mr. Shablin called the question to postpone. The motion failed (Grimm, Latcha, LeMarbe, Russell, Shablin, Williams, Wood voted in favor).

The Senate then voted on the original motion to approve the Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences. The motion carried (Shablin and Latcha abstained).

C. NEW BUSINESS

1. Procedural motion to staff Senate standing committees

Ms. Piskulich introduced the procedural motion from the Steering committee to staff the Senate standing committees.

MOVED that the persons listed below be appointed to Senate standing committees and that the persons so designated be appointed as chair.

Academic Computing Committee 

(Continuing members)
Xiaodong Deng (SBA) -- 2010-2012
John McEneany (SEHS) -- 2010-2012
Sara Maher (SHS) -- 2010-2012
Yang Xia (CAS - Physics) --2010-2012

(New Members)
Gary Moore (SON) -- 2011-2013
Doug Carr (CAS - Political Science) -- 2011-2013
Mariela Gunn (Library) -- 2011-2013
Subramaniam Ganesan (SECS) -- 2011-2013
Margaret Harris (SON) -- 2011-2013 Chair

Academic Conduct Committee

(Continuing members)
Dominique Daniel (Library) -- 2010-2012
Fred Hoffman (SBA) -- 2010-2012
John Kim (SBA) -- 2010-2012
Laszlo Liptak (CAS - Mathematics & Statistics) -- 2010-2012
Aldona Pobutsky (CAS - Modern Languages & Literatures) -- 2010-2012
Sunwoo Shin (SEHS) -- 2010-2012

(New Members)
Mary Hartson (CAS - Modern Languages & Literatures) – 2011-2013
Stephanie Vallie (SON) – 2011-2013
Ruihau Jiang (SBA) – 2011-2013
Mike Latcha (SECS) – 2011-2013 Chair
Ann Mitchell (SON) – 2011-2013
Adina Schneeweis (CAS -Communications & Journalism) – 2011-2013
Rachel Smydra (CAS - English) – 2011-2013
Suha Kridli (SON) – 2011-2013
Laila Guessous (SECS) -- 2011-2012

Academic Standing and Honors Committee

(Continuing members)
Ji-Eun Lee (SEHS) -- 2010-2012 Chair Winter
Xia Wang (SECS) -- 2010-2012

(New Members)
Eddie Cheng (CAS - Mathematics & Statistics)  -- 2011-2013 Chair Fall
Hong Qian (SBA) -- 2011-2013
Kristin Landis-Piwowar (SHS) -- 2011-2013
Charles Cheng (CAS -  Mathematics & Statistics) Fall 2011

Assessment Committee

(Continuing members)
Beth Kraemer (Library) -- 2009-2012
Austin Murphy (SBA) -- 2009-2012
Pat Piskulich (CAS - Political Science) -- 2009-2012
Senkar Sengupta (SECS) --2009-2013
Robert Van Til (SECS at large) -- 2009-2013
David Kidger (CAS - Music, Theatre & Dance) -- 2010-2013)
Cynthia Miree-Coppin (SBA at large) -- 2010-2013
Tanya Christ (SEHS) -- 2010-2013

 (New members)
Aaron Bird (SHS) -- 2011-2014 Chair
Marilyn Mouradjian (SON) – 2011-2014
Graham Cassano (CAS - Sociology & Anthropology) -- 2011-2014
1 vacancy    (SOM) -- 2011-2014

Athletics Committee

(Continuing members)
Sheldon Gordon (CAS - Biological Sciences) -- 2009-2012
Chris Stiller (SHS) -- 2009-2012
Buck Dillon (SBA) -- 2010-2013

(New Member)
Dave Dulio (CAS - Political Science) -- 2011-2014

Budget Review Committee

(Continuing members)
Mike Latcha (SECS) -- 2009-2012
Kevin Murphy (SBA) -- 2009-2012
Dan Aloi (SECS) -- 2010-2013
Gwen McMillon (SEHS) -- 2010-2013 Chair

(New members)
Sumi Dinda  (SHS) -- 2011-2014
Arik Dvir (CAS - Biological Sciences) -- 2011-2014

Campus Development and Environment Committee

(Continuing members)
Claude Baillargeon (CAS - Art & Art History) -- 2010-2012 Chair
Annie Gilson (CAS - English) -- 2010-2012

(New members)
Liz Barclay (SBA) – 2011-2013
Jennifer Heisler (CAS - Communications & Journalism) -- 2011-2013
Mike Long (SEHS) --2011-2013

General Education Committee

(Continuing members)
Kathleen Battles (CAS - Communication & Journalism) -- 2010-2012
Debra Bernstein-Siegel (CAS - Music Theatre & Dance) -- 2010-2012
Ray Liedka (CAS - Sociology & Anthropology) -- 2010-2012 Chair
Laura Pittiglio (SON) -- 2010-2012
Kevin Laam (CAS - English) --2010-2013
Ron Tracy (SBA) -- 2010-2013
Eileen Johnson (SEHS) -- 2010-2013

(New members)
JoAnn Kapa (SON) -- 2011-2013
Jennifer Thor (SBA) -- 2011-2014
Chessany Butler (SON) -- 2011-2014
Anne Hitt (CAS - Biological Sciences) --2011-2014
Scott Smith  (CAS - Sociology & Anthropology) -- 2011-2014

Honorary Degree Committee

(Continuing members)
Rasul Chaudhry (CAS - Biological Sciences) -- 2009-2012
Kanako Taku (CAS - Psychology) -- 2009-2012
Mike Polis (SECS) -- 2010-2013
Ron Tracy (SBA) -- 2010-2013

(New Members)
Valerie Palmer-Mehta (CAS - Communications & Journalism) -- 2011-2014
Rammohan Pisharodi (SBA) -- 2011-2014

Library Committee

(Continuing members)
Rob Anderson (CAS - English) -- 2010-2012
Amy Banes-Berceli (CAS - Biological Sciences) -- 2010-2012
Kris Condic (Library) -- 2010-2012
Florence Dallo (SHS) -- 2010-2012 Chair
Dominique Daniel (Library) -- 2010-2012
Shannon Flummerfelt (SEHS) --  2010-2012
Barbara Oakley (SECS) -- 2010-2012

(New Members)
Deana Hays (SON) -- 2011-2012
Laura Landolt (CAS - Political Science) -- 2011-2013
Jessica Payette (CAS - Music, Theatre & Dance) -- 2011-2013
Ellen Zhu (SBA) -- (2011-2013)
Katie Greer  (Library) --  2011-2013
Anne Switzer (Library) -- 2011-2013
1 vacancy (SOM) --2011-2013

Planning Review Committee

(Continuing members)
Alberto Rojo (CAS - Physics) -- 2008-2012
Debatosh Debnath (SECS) -- 2010-2012
Tom Discenna (CAS - Communication & Journalism ) -- 2010-2013 Chair
Paul Licker (SBA) -- 2010-2013

(New Members)
Janell Townsend (SBA) – 2011-2014
Lynn Williams (SHS) – 2011-2014

Research Committee

(Continuing members)
Brian Tabor (SEHS) -- 2010-2012
Rob Nehmer (SBA) -- 2010-2012 Chair Fall
Jo Reger (CAS - Sociology & Anthropology) -- 2010-2012 Chair Winter

(New Members)
Tanush Shaska (CAS - Mathematics & Statistics) -- 2011-2013
Mariela Gunn ( Library) -- 2011-2013
Barabara Penprase (SON) -- 2011-2013
Chris Clason (CAS - Modern Languages & Literature) -- 2011-2013
Osamah Rawashdeh (SECS) -- 2011-2013

Student Academic Support Committee

(Continuing members)
Darrell Schmidt (CAS - Mathematics & Statistics) -- 2010-2013
Rosalind Woodson (SON) -- 2010-2013
John Corso (CAS - Art & Art History) -- 2009-2012 Chair
Julie Ricks-Doneen (SEHS) -- 2009-2012

(New Members)
Sukanya Rangarajan (SBA) -- 2011-2014
Karen Markel (SBA) -- 2011-2014

Teaching and Learning Committee

(Continuing members)
Addington Coppin (SBA) -- 2010-2012
Robert Sidelinger, Chair  (CAS - Communication & Journalism) -- 2010-2012 Chair
Melissa Hoag (CAS - Music, Theatre & Dance) -- 2010-2012

 (New Members)
Marie-Eve Pepin (SHS) -- 2011-2013
Carrie Abele (SON) -- 2011-2013
Julia Rodriguez (Library) -- 2011-2013

University Committee on Undergraduate Instruction

(Continuing members)
Charles McGlothlin (SHS) -- 2009-2012
Ann Switzer (Library) – 2011-2012 for Millie Merz
Nancy Brown (SEHS) -- 2009-2012
Joel Russell (CAS - Chemistry) -- 2009-2012
Charlie McGlothlin (SHS) – 2009-2012
Seong Cho (SBA) -- 2010-2013
Paul Kubicek (CAS - Political Science) -- 2010-2013
Claudia Grobbel (SON) -- 2009-2012

(New Members)
Tamara Machmut-Jhashi (CAS - Art & Art History) -- 2011-2014
Jeff Insko (CAS - English) --  2011-2014
Bhushan Bhatt (SECS) -- 2011-2014
1 vacancy  (SOM) – 2011-2014

All of the Senate standing committee members and chairs were unanimously approved.

Ms. Pisculich indicated that there are still some student member vacancies that need to be filled.

D. GOOD AND WELFARE

There were no comments for good and welfare.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:10 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,
Dikka Berven (Secretary)

senate@oakland.edu