Members present:  Aigbedo, Andersen, Awbrey, Bee, Berven, D., Berven, K., Condic, Dalton, Doman, Dulio, Dvir, Eis, Estes, Fu, Giberson, Grimm, Grossman, Guessous,  Hoah, Hoffman, Jhashi, Latcha, Lauer, Leibert, LeMarbe, Lim, Meehan, Pickard, Riley-Doucet, Roth, Russell, Schartman, Schuiling, Solomonson, Spagnuola, Sudol, Thompson, Wells, Williams, Wood

Members absent:  Butler, Chamra, Clason, Cole, Connery, Folbert, Frick, Gallien, Gamble, Giblin, Graetz, Hightower, Miller, Mitchell, Mourdjian, Polis, Reger, Sethi, Shablin, Stano, Tanniru, Taschereau, Thor, Tiegs, Zhang

Provost Moudgil called the meeting to order at 3:10 P.M.

INFORMATIONAL ITEMS

I.  Athletic Academic Updates -- Mr. Huth (Director of Athletics)

Mr. Huth was present to update the Senate on the academic achievements of student athletes.  He said that the athletic program emphasizes being a student first, and athlete second.  Upper classmen pass this message down to the freshmen students.  They want to guide and support the students in what they do in academics, athletics and social development, and their Mission and Core Values statement is in line with the Mission of Oakland University.  Their mission is to guide students as they strive for excellence, and to encourage service activities, respect for others, accountability, integrity and discovery, which are their core values. Their goal is to produce leaders.  The report on academic achievement revealed the impressive fact that for the 6th consecutive year students in the athletic department at OU have the highest academic achievement in the league.  There were four students with a 4.0 GPA, and 12 teams with 3.0 o r higher.  They had the first ever recipient of a post graduate scholarship in their league.  They are also proud of their record in community outreach in which 100% of their athletes participate.  The NCAA compliance rules relative to eligibility are numerous, and they follow all of them.  Mr. Huth thanked Associate Dean Robby Stewart and the Athletics Committee which has been a help to them as they have made improvements to their program.

2.  Policy of Posthumous Certificate of Recognition -- Susan Awbrey (Senior Associate Provost)

Ms. Awbrey informed the Senate that OU students who pass away with appropriate credits receive a degree posthumously, but for the families of those students who did not have enough credits, there will now be a certificate from the university to acknowledge their academic lives.

3.  Three or More Final Exams --Ms. Awbrey

There was previously no policy about what to do if a student has three or more exams on the same day, so this was brought to UCUI.  Now there is a new policy that says that the last exam in such a situation can be taken at a different time.  This policy is intended to take the pressure off the students during final exams week, and faculty members should cooperate and find an alternate time for students in this predicament. 

4.  Provost's Update

Provost Moudgil reminded Senate members that on April 3 he would be presenting the State of Academic Affairs and he encouraged Senate members to attend.  He also reminded members about the up-coming special Vitality Seminar featuring the renowned psychologist and thinker, Dr. Steven Pinker.  Mr. Moudgil also reminded Senate members of upcoming Faculty Recognition Day, and lamented that it was not possible to recognize all the faculty members for their accomplishments.  Lastly, Provost Moudgil announced that Meadowbrook Hall has been named a national historic landmark, and is on a list of great buildings in the USA.  It is therefore eligible for federal grants for restoration, which is a very good thing because for awhile, the Hall was in a deficit.  It is an expensive building to maintain, but with this new designation, it will be possible to keep up with the maintenance.

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES of  February 16, 2012

The minutes of the Senate meeting of February 16, 2012 were approved (Thompson, Andersen).

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

I.  Motion from the Steering Committee to recommend approval of the Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design in the Department of Art and Art History.

MOVED that the Senate recommend to the President and Board of Trustees approval of the Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design (Latcha, Condic).

Ms Eis was present to answer questions, of which there were none.  The motion was passed unanimously. 

NEW BUSINESS

I.  Motion from the Steering Committee to recommend approval of the Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work 

MOVED that the Senate recommend to the President and Board of Trustees approval of the Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice  (Thompson, Guessous)

Jay Meehan and Amanda Burgess Proctor were present to introduce and answer questions about the BA in Criminal Justice.  Mr. Meehan said that the proposal represents 25 years of work, moving from an interdisciplinary minor to a major. The time is finally right for this major.  Oakland University is interested in growth, and this is a growth major.  They had been asked by President Russi to look at the 'eastern front' -- demographically, there is a real need from the eastern side of the metro area.  Furthermore, Governor Snyder forecasts jobs in this profession.  The goals of the program are to provide in-depth study of criminology and criminal justice (CCJ) to OU students.  The program will be theoretically-grounded, empirically rigorous, and policy-relevant.  Ms. Proctor provided a description of the program requirements, which includes six specializations and two 'niche' areas.  They have required internships, and so students will have a more realistic idea of what a career in criminal justice will be.  And there will be a capstone course to link theory, research and policy.  The benefits include that they foresee double majors, because this major is truly interdisciplinary by crossing Departments, as well as School boundaries.  They have national partnerships, such as with the Academy of Critical Incident Analysis at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in NYC, and the Center for Homeland Security and Defense (Naval Post Graduate School) in Monterey, California.  This will raise the visibility of OU at the national level.  Relatedly, Cooley Law School is developing a Masters degree, so there is synergy in the local region.  Mr. Meehan said they project that the student base will be strong:  25 students the first year, 225 students by year 5.  Community college partnerships will produce students, but also the FTIACs will also be part of this group.  Mr. Meehan summed up by saying that the review process for the program had been lengthy, but successful. 
Mr. Grossman asked if the name of the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work would be changed again.  Mr. Meehan said yes, they would be adding Criminal Justice to the already impressively lengthy name.  Ms. Wells congratulated Mr. Meehan and Ms. Proctor for the excellent proposal, and said that she was interested in the interdisciplinary and the John Jay College angles.  She wondered if the students would be trained to de-brief, and if so, what would be the model that they would use.  She said there is a need for de-briefing more than grief counseling, and if this program would do that, it would be good.   Mr. Meehan said that they would not get actual training, but they would look at how communities make themselves whole again.  Mr. Dulio also expressed his appreciation for an excellent proposal, and made the motion to waive the second reading.  Mr. Lauer seconded the motion, and this motion passed unamimously.  The motion to approve the BA in Criminal Justice was then passed unanimously.

GOOD AND WELFARE

Joel Russell said that the National AAUP elections were going on, and faculty members would be getting ballots in their mail.  He asked senate members to please vote for him!

ADJOURNMENT

Meeting was adjourned at 4:05 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,
Dikka Berven