Oakland University Senate
April 12, 1966
Minutes
PRESENT: Messrs. Beardslee, G. Brown, M. Brown, H. Burdick, Cammack, Cherno, Collins, Dutton, Galloway, Haden, Hammerle, Harding, Hetenyi, Heubel, Lowy, McKay, G. Matthews, Johnson, Mobley, O'Dowd, Pitts, Simmons, Stoutenburg, Stubblefield, Susskind, Swanson, Brace, Tipler, Vann, Varner, Williamson
ABSENT: Messrs. S. Appleton, Burke, Clarke,-Gib son, Hoopes, Lessing, Marz, Breiger.
GUESTS: Messrs. Atkinson, Crowder, Burner, Dahlman, Facko, Hill, Hough, Howes, Lepley, Obear, Pino, Starr, Torch, Velinsky
Chancellor Varner called the meeting to order at 3:40 p.m.
Chancellor Varner discussed the following topics with the Senate:
A. Mott Foundation proposal.
B. Rockefeller proposal. The University has received $40,000 for the Contemporary Music week and $7,500 for the Latin American Choral Conductors.
C. The University has received $388,000 on its N.I.H. proposal for the Engineering Building.
D. Current legislative action regarding the 1966-67 budget.
E. Board of Trustees policy regarding the releasing of grades to the draft board.
Minutes of the April 6 meeting were not available for approval.
OLD BUSINESS
1. Mr. Hetenyi reintroduced the recommendation of the Committee on Graduate Study, previously seconded by Mr. Stubblefield, to approve a new Master's Degree program in Systems Engineering.
The Senate approves the establishment of a Master's Degree program in Systems Engineering and requests the Board of Trustees to authorize the establishment of this new program by the University.
Adopted.
2. Mr. Pitts reintroduced the recommendation of the Academic Policy Committee, previously seconded by Mr. Stubblefield, to authorize basketball as an intercollegiate sport for a trial period of three years.
Basketball is authorized as an intercollegiate sport for a trial period of three years. At the expiration of this trial period, the Athletic Committee will present all the evidence it has been able to collect as to the impact of intercollegiate basketball upon the level of academic achievement among collegiate basketball players, student spectators, and the rest of the student body, as well as the increase or decrease of commitment to purely intellectual values as evidenced by the success of extra-curricular activities which have a definite intellectual primacy, such as theatre, literary magazine, Oakland Observer, Fine Arts Festival, attendance at visitors' lectures, etc.
Comment:
The Department of Sociology and Anthropology declares its intention to begin next September a study of the student cultures in this University and will endeavor to develop measurements to outline the content of the cultures and the boundaries of the membership groups which carry these cultures. It will develop indices which would permit to monitor changes. The Department will apply for a small grant in order to "tool up" during the year 1966-67 and will apply for a major grant to be secured in 1967. The measurement of the impact of intercollegiate basketball is a minor concern of this research. However, even if a major grant should not be secured, the pilot research undertaken in the year 1966-67 should permit the development of measurements which could be applied in 1969 and compared to the results of 1966.
A brief discussion followed regarding the validity of the student survey on basketball distributed to the faculty and-staff prior to this-Senate meeting.
Not adopted.
3. Mr. Simmons reintroduced the recommendation of the Academic Affairs Committee, previously seconded by Mr. O'Dowd, to authorize the establishment of a Concentrat ion jn Linguis tic s.
The A.A.C. memorandum presented April 6, contains a motion authorizing the establishment of a Concentration in Linguistics. The Steering Committee submits the entire memorandum to the Senate for study and action.
Adopted.
4. Mr. O'Dowd explained that Mr. Hetenyi's motion of the meeting of April 6, was being returned to the Senate for discussion at this meeting. Mr. O'Dowd stated that it was the judgment of the Steering Committee that the issue represented in this motion was debated at length in the recent meeting and it may be desirable to delay a vote on this matter for one week so that the chairmen may investigate the implications of the motion for departmental majors.
Mr. O'Dowd reintroduced the Hetenyi motion, previously seconded by Mr. Matthews.
The Committee on Instruction is instructed to reconsider all variable credit courses from the viewpoint of keeping them in line with the spirit of the Hucker plan.
Comment:
This motion would have the effect of retaining the four-credit unit in all cases of regular courses, U.C. and departmental, and interpret the leeway proposed to permit low-credit courses for such areas as Chorus, Computer Programming, etc.
The Steering Committee has referred to the Academic Affairs Committee the motion by Mr. Hetenyi to alter the mathematics-science requirement and the art-music requirement.
It was agreed by the Senate to delay final action on this motion until the next meeting.
5. Mr. O'Dowd reintroduced for the Steering Committee the amendments to the Hucker Plan made by Mr. Cherno (1 and 2) and Mr. Matthews (3 and 4) at the April 6 meeting, previously seconded by Mr. Matthews and Mr. Cherno respectively.
1. Change section 2A to read -- Western Civilization (European or American history or philosophy, including Education 244, social and philosophic issues in education): 4 credits.
2. Change section 2E to read � Non-Western Civilizations (Introduction to China or Introduction to India).
3. Change Senior Seminar to read Senior Colloquium.
4. Amend all places in the legislation in which the terms (a) "general education" and (b) "Western Civilizations" are used by substituting the terms "University Course" and "Western Institutions" for (a) and (b) respectively.
Several questions were raised about Education 244 being acceptable for Western Civilization. Mr. Haden and Mr. Matthews indicated their support for this course as being appropriate to meet the Western Civilization requirement.
Mr. Heubel stated that he felt there was an inconsistency in the action of the Senate if both of these amendments were passed. He indicated that in the first amendment the information in the parentheses seemed to be explanatory and provided more opportunity for the student to meet the Western Civilization requirement while in the second amendment there was a limiting effect by reducing the choices in the Non-Western Civilizations to the Introduction to China or the Introduction to India.
Mr. Heubel moved to amend the second amendment by eliminating the parenthetical remark.
Seconded by Mr. O'Dowd.
Mr. Hetenyi moved a substitute motion as follows. All parenthetical statements appearing in this set of amendments should be considered descriptive instead of prescriptive and the A.A.C. be authority to decide what courses meet distribution requirements.
Seconded by Mr. Stubblefield.
Mr. Heubel, with the permission of Mr. O'Dowd, withdrew his amendment.
Mr. Hetenyi's substitute motion was adopted.
Mr. Stubblefield moved to change the words "Western Civilization" to "Western Institutions."
Seconded by Mr. McKay.
Adopted.
The question was called on all four amendments and they, with the new amendment, were adopted.
NEW BUSINESS
6. Mr. Simmons moved the recommendation of the Academic Affairs Committee concerning a new catalog entry.
A course in geography is authorized to be offered beginning fall semester 1966 for the benefit of students who wish to become better acquainted with the influence of relief, climate, and natural resources on the life, movement, and history of man.
Seconded by Mr. Lowy. Final action to be taken at a subsequent meeting.
Mr. Hammerle moved for adjournment.
Seconded by Mr. Stubblefield.
Not approved.
Mr. Williamson stated he wanted supervision for the courses in speech and geography and suggested that the History Department would seem appropriate to give leadership to the geography program.
Mr. Matthews indicated that both of these courses would be non-departmental and would be administered through his office.
Mr. Hammerle moved for adjournment.
Seconded by Mr. Stubblefield.
Approved.
Meeting adjourned 5:20 p.m.
HNS:je