Oakland University Senate

Thursday, September 23, 1982
First Meeting
128, 129, 130 Oakland Center

MINUTES

Senators Present:  Akers, Appleton, Boulos, Briggs-Bunting, Brown, Champagne, Chapman-Moore, Christina, dark, Copenhaver, Coppola, Cowlishaw, David, Dawson, Downing, Eklund, Eliezer, Evarts, Feeman, R. Gerulaitis, Ghausi, Gregory, Grossman, Hammerle, Hetenyi, Heubel, Hightower, Hildebrand, Howes, Kleckner, Kingstrom, Lindell, Mallett, Miller, Pine Pino, Russell, Sakai, Scherer, Schwab, Shallow, Stamps, Stanovich, Strauss, Stokes, Wilson, Witt, Workman. Senators Absent: Arnold, Chagnon-Royce, Chipman, Doherty, L. Gerulaitis, Horwitz, Ketchum, Kurzman, Lambric, Moeller, Otto, Pak, Sevilla, Tripp, Zarn.

SUMMARY OF ACTIONS:
1.  Motion to approve the minutes of June 3 and July 7. Moved, Mr. Ghausi. Seconded, Ms. Briggs-Bunting. Approved.
2.  Motion to abolish the Senate standing committees on Admission and Financial Aid and to establish in their place a Committee on Admissions and Financial Aid.   Moved, Mr. Christina. Second Mr. Hetenyi. Approved (following a motion to proceed to a second reading, moved Mr. Feeman, seconded Mr. Hetenyi and approved).
3.  Motion to appoint members to the new standing committee. Moved, Mr. Christina. Seconded Mr. Miller. Approved.
4.  Motion to establish a new Senate standing committee to be called the Committee on General Education. Moved, Mr. Dawson Seconded, Mr. Stamps.
    a. Motion to amend by substituting the word "monitor" for the word "administer" in the committee's charge. Moved, Mr. Hetenyi. Seconded, Mr. Pino. Subsequently modified via friendly amendments to the phrase "implement and monitor"
    b. Motion to include in the membership a representative of t: Faculty Council for General Studies. Moved, Ms. Chapman- Moore. Seconded, Mr. Eklund.
     c. Motion to include in the membership three students to be appointed by the University Congress. Moved, Ms. Briggs-Bunting. Seconded, Mr. Heubel.
5. Motion to refer the main motion back to the Steering Committee. Moved Mr. Hetenyi, Seconded, Mr. Copenhaver. Subsequently modified to include instructions that the Committee on General Education be designated a curriculum committee. Approved.
6. Motion to appoint Paul Bator to the Teaching and Learning Committee. Moved, Mr. Akers. Seconded, Mr. Hammerle. Approved.

Mr. Kleckner called the meeting to order at 3:15. He welcomed Mr. Kingstrom who replaces Mr. Schwartz and students Ms. Chagnon-Royce and Mr. Zarn. He also announced that Mr. Shallow, the other student representative, has indicated his intention to resign from the Senate and that a replacement will be appointed by the University Congress.

Upon motion of Mr. Ghausi, seconded by Ms. Briggs-Bunting, the Senate approved the minutes of June 3 and July 7 without discussion.

Old Business:

The first item of old business was a motion from the Steering Committee to establish a new standing committee through the consolidation of two existing committees,  Admissions and Financial Aid:

MOVED that the Senate abolish its Standing Committees on Admission and Financial Aids and establish in their place a Committee on Admissions and Financial Aid. (Moved, Mr. Christina; Seconded, Mr. Hetenyi).

 Mr. Heubel began the discussion by asking whether the committee would consider the policy regarding the closing of admissions. Mr. Christina responded that this would fall within the province of the Committee's charge. Mr. Pino was concerned with the committee's size, stating that he thought that fifteen was perhaps unnecessarily large. Mr. Christina pointed out that the new committee's structure contains basically the same proportion of representatives as the ones it replaces but adds some ex officio members. Mr. Kleckner added that the membership is about the same size as the Admissions Committee was before but with the addition of the Director of Financial Aid. Mr. Dawson commented that when they were considering the question of membership the ex-officio members of the committees expressed interest in remaining on the committee to serve in an advisory capacity. Mr. Witt wondered if there was any intent to remove the establishment of standards from the schools and colleges. Mr. Kleckner responded no and pointed out there is no essential change in the charge to the committee, that its charge is an amalgamation of what is on the books now. Mr. Christina remarked that the representation of the various academic units on the committee provides a vehicle for the schools and colleges to present their views. Mr. Miller then asked whether changes in admission standards would have to come through the Senate and Mr. Kleckner replied in the affirmative. Returning to the question of closing admissions, Mr. Copenhaver queried whether all substantive decisions of the Committee come to the Senate and, if so, whether one involving a change in closing admissions would fall under that category. Mr. Kleckner answered that the standards for admission come through the Senate but that closing dates probably would not unless the committee decided specifically to look at them. Mr. Witt brought up the question of the importance of grades and Mr. Kleckner answered that this would fall within the committee's purview. He then reminded the Senate that it can at any time review a committee's actions and decide if the committee has acted properly. In concluding the discussion on admissions, Mr. Dawson stated that the original intent of motion was to strengthen the role of the committee.

Moving on to the Financial Aids half of the motion, Ms. Hildebrand asked if a Financial Aid Committee was really necessary. Mr. Christina replied that the committee is needed to evaluate the interpretation of guidelines, especially with regard to those policy matters over which Oakland has some control.

Mr. Feeman suggested that since the second motion on the agenda was contingent on the approval of the first motion, it would be appropriate to move to a second reading. He so moved, Mr. Hetenyi seconded, and the motion was approved with the necessary three quarters vote of the Senate. Before the Senate voted on the main motion Mr. Grossman's proposal to change the pronoun he to he/she in line 6 of the committee' charge was accepted. The motion to establish a standing Committee on Admissions and Financial Aid was then approved unanimously.

Next item, MOVED by Mr. Christina, seconded by Mr. Miller, that the second item of old business, namely, that the following individuals be appointed to the new committee:
        Barbara Hamilton, 2 years
        Mildred Merz, 1 year
        Billie Jo Minor, 1 year
        Virinder Moudgil, 2 years
        W. Patrick Strauss, 1 year. Chair
The motion was approved unanimously.

New Business:

Having completed its old business the Senate then turned its attention to the first item of new business, a motion from the Steering Committee

MOVED that the Senate establish a new standing committee to be called the Committee on General Education. (Moved Mr. Dawson; Seconded Mr. Stamps.)

 Ms. Gerulaitis launched the debate by asking whether the courses mentioned in item 2 under the section labeled Comments included courses below the 100 level. After some discussion it was determined that since only RHT 100 and 101 can be used to satisfy the writing requirement the current wording is adequate. In response to the query from Mr. Strauss concerning how the committee members would be chosen, Mr. Kleckner replied that the Steering Committee would circulate a preference sheet and let interested individuals sign up. Ms. Chapman-Moore questioned whether the BGS program would be exempt from the 36 credit requirement. Mr. Kleckner responded that the requirement would apply to all programs and that the BGS program would not be exempt. The question of membership was then brought up with various concerns being expressed over the composition of the Committee. Ms. David asked why no librarians were included in the roster, Ms. Briggs-Bunting seconded by Mr. Wilson thought that some students should be included, Ms. Clark expressed concern over the fact that no APs were on the committee. Mr. Dawson responded that the Steering Committee had not set out to exclude any group but intended to include those groups most closely involved in the curricular planning process and had proceeded by taking designations directly from the catalog. Mr. Kleckner expressed his concern over the size of the committee and felt that it was important to keep it to a manageable size. Mr. Dawson added that the committee would certainly need to be in touch with all of the groups mentioned as it conducted its business. Mr. Wilson stated that there should be at least three students on .this committee. However, Mr. Hetenyi pointed out that this committee is, after all, a curriculum committee and that these committees' memberships are generally restricted to those units offering a curriculum. Ms. Chapman-Moore was concerned that the membership did not include a General Studies faculty representative and asked that someone from the Council be included.

At this point Mr. Strauss introduced the possibility of a two stage committee, a committee at the school or college level which would formulate ideas and recommendations concerning general education and an all-university committee that would consider these ideas and recommendations and come up with university-wide standards. Mr. Kleckner commented that the Committee on General Education's main concern is to be the larger questions of university standards. Mr. Christina pointed out that the committee might decide to operate in the way Mr. Strauss suggested, namely, to gather input from the colleges and schools and then consider the overall questions of what general education at Oakland University should be. Mr. Schwab wondered if the committee would eliminate the some of  the Committees on Instruction with regard to course approval. Both Mr. Christina and Mr. Kleckner responded no, Mr. Kleckner adding that the courses would be approved by the Committee on Instruction first then would come to the Committee on General Education which would determine their appropriateness for general education requirement.

 Mr. Heubel launched the discussion concerning the use of the word "administer" in the charge to the committee by questioning what was intended by the word. Mr. Kleckner replied that it meant that the Committee would make sure that what actually happens is in accordance with University rules. Mr. Pino then suggested that perhaps the word monitoring would be better and found an ally in Mr. Hetenyi, who was also uncomfortable with the word administer and the implications contained therein of a possible administrative structure. Mr. Hetenyi then moved to substitute the word "monitor" for the word "administer" Mr. Pino seconded the motion. A friendly amendment offered by Mr. Heubel to expand the wording to "monitor and implement" was acceptable to Mr. Hetenyi; Mr. Pino agreed but requested that the word order be changed to "implement and monitor", a reversal agreeable to all.

Ms. Chapman-Moore moved (seconded by Mr. Eklund) that the Committee include a member from the General Studies Faculty Council. In the discussion that followed Mr. Christina remarked that this provision might not be necessary since one or more of the members of the Committee would be likely also to be a member of the BGS Council. Ms. Chapman- Moore countered that there is no guarantee that this would occur and that she felt it was important to have BGS represented on this committee since the general education requirements represent a significant change in the BGS program. Mr. Cowlishaw supported the motion, stating that he felt that neither the APPC nor the Senate realized the impact that the requirements would have on BGS. Mr. Hammerle suggested that it could be specified that one of the members of the Committee should be a member of the General Studies Faculty Council and thus representation would be ensured without increasing the size of the committee. Ms. Briggs-Bunting then moved that the committee include three students selected by the University Congress (Seconded, Mr. Heubel).

At this point, Mr. Hetenyi stated that he felt the Senate was getting too involved in tinkering with the main motion and proceeded to move that the motion to establish a committee on general education be referred back to the Steering Committee for further consideration. Mr. Copenhaver seconded. In the discussion that ensued Mr. Miller argued against referral at this point, noting that there might be other concerns that should be heard first. Mr. Strauss suggested that the Steering Committee might want to hold some open meetings to get further comments or recommendations. Mr. Hammerle wondered however, as a member of the Steering Committee, just exactly what it was they were supposed to do.   In response to Mr. Russell's query asking what sort of time scale is involved, Mr. Kleckner replied that no time scale had been specified but that it was hoped to get the committee established as soon as possible. Mr. Copenhaver observed that although the interest seems to be to enlarge the membership, the alternatives need to be considered and weighed � the Steering Committee wanted to keep the size of the committee down for efficiency's sake; on the other hand, a larger committee might be more representative but this would be at the cost of efficiency.  Mr. Russell moved that the referral include instructions to the Steering Committee that the Committee on General Education be specified a curriculum committee. Mr. Hetenyi and Mr. Copenhaver accepted this as a friendly amendment. The question was called and the motion to refer back to the committee was passed with a few dissenting votes.

Mr. Eklund asked as a point of information whether it was possible to amend the legislation of June 3 so as to exclude the BGS. Mr. Kleckner ruled the query out of order since that motion was no longer on the floor. On a final note, Mr. Hetenyi noted that the question of BGS could be covered under item 5 where provision for exemptions are delineated.

The second item of new business was a motion to fill a vacancy on the Teaching and Learning Committee:

MOVED that Paul Bator be appointed to fill the unexpired term of Harvey Burdick on the Teaching and Learning Committee. (Moved, Mr. Akers; seconded, Mr. Hammerle).

 The motion was approved unanimously.

There being no private resolutions, Mr. Kleckner requested that any committee reports still outstanding be submitted to him as soon as possible and reported that he is working on the report relating to CAMP recommendations.

Presidential Remarks: Mr. Kleckner then yielded the chair to Mr. Champagne for presidential remarks, chiefly related to budgetary matters. The president reported on the appropriations process � the University is scheduled to receive an appropriation of $21,435,700 this year, a sum that is basically what we would have had last year had there not been any budget cuts. The governor's executive order cut of $1,011,724 that was slashed from OU's budget last year will be restored at the end of this budget year (June 30, 1983). There's a catch however � this $1 million will be coming out of the 1983-84 budget through a process of "front-loading the 4th quarter payment." The University will, of course, do everything possible to get this $1 million restored to the 83-84 budget. The Governor has indicated that he will try to restore funds before he leaves office and that he is prepared to sign an appropriations bill with a 5% increase in funds. Optimistic as that sounds, the question remains as to whether the state revenues will permit them to live up to their obligations. Closing on a brighter note, Mr. Champagne reported that the University has won a legislative approval for $348,000 to complete the renovation of Hannah Hall and $100,000 for the planning of an addition to Kresge Library. There being no questions, the meeting adjourned at 4:30.

Respectfully submitted,
Linda L. Hildebrand
Secretary to the University Senate

UNIVERSITY SENATE 1982 - 1983
President: Joseph E. Champagne School of Economics and Management
Provost: Keith R. Kleckner

College of Arts and Sciences
Dean Brian Copenhaver
Charles Akers
 J. Curtis Chipman (W83)
Carlo Coppola
John Cowlishaw
David Downing
Isaac Eliezer
Paul Doherty  Peter Evarts
Renate Gerulaitis
Jerrold Grossman
Edward Heubel
Robert Howes
Paul Ketchum
Steven Miller
Jack Moeller
Joel Russell
Ann Sakai
Jacqueline Scherer
William Schwab
Mike Sevilla (F82)
Kenneth Hightower
Richard Stamps
Keith Stanovich
Charlotte Stokes (F82)
Leo Gerulaitis (W83)
W. Patrick Strauss
Anne Tripp
Mark Workman

School of Nursing
Andrea Lindell, Dean
Nadia Boulos
 

School of Human and Educational Services
Gerald Pine, Dean
Robert W. Brown
Robert Christina
Thomas Lambric
Mary Otto

Graduate School
Lewis N. Pino, Acting Dean

School of Economics and Management
Ronald Horwitz, Dean
Karl Gregory
Paul Kingstrom (added)
James Mallett

Library
Indra David, Interim Dean
Linda Hildebrand

APs
Elaine Chapman-Moore
Katie Clark

School of Engineering
Mohammed Ghausi, Dean
William Hammerle
Howard Witt

School of Performing Arts
Laszlo Hetenyi, Dean
James Dawson

Health/Biomedical Sciences
Moon J. Pak, Director
Kenneth Hightower

Rhetoric
Margaret Kurzman

Students
Jean Chagnon-Royce
Alexander Simpson
Fred Zarn

President's Appointees
George Feeman, Acting Associate Provost
Lowell Eklund, Dean, Continuing Education
Jack Wilson, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs