Oakland University Senate
Thursday, 16 January l986
Fifth Meeting
Gold Rooms A and B, Oakland Center
MINUTES
Senators Present: Appleton, Barnard, Blankenship, Burke, Cardimen, Cass, Chapman-Moore, Chatterjee, Chipman, Copenhaver, Dahlgren, Diltz, Downing, Eberwein, Edgerton, Feingold, Gerulaitis, Grossman, Hamilton, Hart-Gonzalez, Hartman, Heubel, Hildebrand, Ketchum, Kleckner., Lindell, Moore, Russell, Schimmelman, Srodawa, Straughen, Terry, Tripp, Wilson, Witt.
Senators Absent: Barclay, Bertocci, Bingham, Blatt, Boganey, Carbone, Champagne, Clatworthy, Evarts, Frankie, Garcia, Herman, Hightower, Horwitz, Hough, Khapoya, Liboff, Metzner, Pettengill, Pine, Reddy, Righter, Rozek, Strauss, Swartz.
Summary of Actions
1. Minutes of 5 December 1985 (Grossman; Tripp). Approved.
2. Motion to defer application of the new general education system for certain transfer students (Edgerton; Hildebrand). Modified by friendly amendment (Appleton). First reading.
3. Motion to confirm replacement members of Senate standing committees (Chapman-Moore; Hamilton). Approved.
Mr. Kleckner called the meeting to order at 3:14 p.m., calling with admitted trepidation for consideration of the minutes of the 5 December 1985 marathon meeting. Approval being moved by Mr. Grossman and seconded by Ms. Tripp, Senators raised no discussion and proceeded to approve the minutes as presented. Thereupon, Mr. Kleckner introduced Mr. Dahlgren, Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Study, as a new member of this body.
With no old business remaining from December, attention turned at once to the first item of new business: a motion from the General Education Committee
to delay from 1986 to 1987 the implementation of the new system for such students from Michigan community colleges who enrolled there before the fall
of 1984 and will arrive here with more than 30 accepted transfer credits (Moved, Mr. Edgerton; seconded, Ms. Hildebrand). Mr. Edgerton pointed out
that the change of date was the only adjustment sought in existing Senate-approved policy. Mr. Appleton, as chair of the sponsoring committee,
then offered a friendly amendment on the advice of Mr. Connellan, who has been consulting with community college counselors. One of these counselors had
suggested that the preposition "before" in the motion be replaced by "by" preceding "the fall of 1984" in order to cover students who enrolled in that fall semester.
It was Mr. Appleton's conjecture that this modification might reflect the fact that advisers would be unlikely to have had a chance to talk to such students over the summer following Oakland University's adoption of the new general education system. Seeing no harm to this institution from acceding to what seemed a reasonable request, he offered this change as a friendly amendment and found the sponsors of the main motion prepared to accept it in that light. When the Senate comes to vote upon this issue at its next meeting, therefore, the motion will be phrased
MOVED that item e. of the General Education motion passed by the Senate on 12 January 1984 be modified to read: "that students from Michigan community colleges who enroll there by the fall of 1984 and enroll at Oakland University before the fall of 1987 with more than 30 accepted transfer credits be allowed to choose to meet the earlier General Education requirement as presented in the 1984-85 Undergraduate Catalog. [new language underlined]
Mr. Appleton provided a context for the proposed changes, explaining that community college counselors have been concerned that Oakland University representatives inform them in timely fashion of curricular modifications. He judged it reasonable that we should make this relatively minor accommodation to enable them to advise their students realistically. Mr. Kleckner then explained to his colleagues the mechanics of how this university notifies its feeder institutions about which of their courses fit our evolving requirements. In the case of the new general education program, the process proved unusually time-consuming because we first asked other schools to propose the courses they thought would fit our criteria and then took considerable time to approve or disapprove their nominations and inform them of decisions. This was the first reading of the motion, which will be brought to a vote in February.
Ms. Chapman-Moore, seconded by Ms. Hamilton, then introduced a Steering Committee motion to fill vacancies on two standing committees. No discussion ensued, and the Senate moved expeditiously to appoint Subbaiah Perla to replace Steven Miller on the Academic Conduct Committee for the winter 1986 semester and Kristine Salomon (now the alternate on that committee) to replace Robert Goldstein for the same term of office, during which Dean Purcell will replace Ms. Salomon as alternate. Norman Kloosterman succeeds Ron DeRoo on the Academic Standing and Honors Committee from winter 1986 through winter1987.
No private resolutions were raised either for the good of the order or its harm, so Mr. Kleckner proceeded quickly to items of information. The first constituted welcome news: Governor Blanchard has signed the capital outlay bill containing a 7-million-dollar appropriation for the long-awaited Kresge Library expansion. The total project (including completion of the automated cataloging system), currently estimated at 9-million dollars, is now essentially funded through this appropriation in combination with external support. Mr. Kleckner credited Mr. DeCarlo with impressive work in raising this capital appropriation from an expected 4-million-dollar level. Money must now be released for preparation of architectural drawings, which will precede the construction bidding stage of the process. If all goes well, we may anticipate a hole being dug sometime next fall. Like O'Dowd Hall, this building will be owned by the state bonding authority and this arrangement. adds a measure of complication to these procedural stages. When Mr. Barnard inquired later when the library expansion would be finished, Indra David projected completion in fall 1988 if construction starts next fall. It should be a two-year process. Mr. Kleckner introduced Ms. David as being present with detailed plans for the project; she and Ms. Hildebrand were both available to answer questions. Ms. David anticipated that the expansion would double the usable space within the Kresge Library and held out cheering prospects for additional seminar rooms, carrels, individual study rooms, and general study areas.
Turning to the issue of Accuracy In Academia, Mr. Kleckner noted that considerable information had arrived since the agenda was prepared. Les Csorba, founding head of that organization, brought many copies of its publication (Campus Report) when visiting our campus today for a noontime forum on academic freedom. Mr. Kleckner recalled that forum as a lively debate and congratulated Senators Copenhaver and Appleton on their contributions to enlightening discussion. Mr. Copenhaver evaluated the event as a useful educational experience of the sort a university exists to provide; he had been reluctant to grant Mr. Csorba so much publicity but thought the program had worked out for the good. Observing that Professor Karasch had been featured in the Campus Report, although not by name, Mr. Kleckner indicated that the name of Oakland University had not been published. Apparently, the AIA staff are satisfied with the accuracy of teaching in the class under consideration. Ms. Hildebrand volunteered that the Library has a copy of this publication on reserve, should any member of the University community wish to examine it. Mr. Kleckner hoped that the events of the day might bring to an end Oakland University's involvement with this new watchdog group but doubted that it would be going away in a hurry.
He then reported on current auguries from Lansing with regard to next year's budget allocation. our intelligence suggests that higher education and prisons are running neck and neck for priority in the Governor's recommendations. Base appropriations are projected to be a bit leaner than this year's, but the Research Excellence Fund and capital outlays are to be added to that base. No clear signals have yet been discerned with regard to a tuition increase; it may be acceptable to lift tuition to the extent of inflation this year, but nobody knows for sure.
A budget formula for higher education is under consideration. One has actually been proposed by the chairs of legislative committees, although those worthies have disregarded advice from a broadly representative task force that made recommendations to them on this issue. The proposed formula, if funded, would probably make only Western Michigan University happy. For Oakland University, the formula offers outright disincentives to research: the more Senate Minutes Thursday, 16 January 1986 Page 4 money a school might raise from external sources, the less Lansing would give it. The formula also works against us in that it is driven by enrollment projections based on fall numbers, disregarding our unusually high spring/summer population. Oakland University has prevailed on the legislative chiefs to use FYES instead of those projections and has, in company with many other colleges and universities, called attention to so many other defects that the formula may be set aside. Mr. Kleckner indicated that the Research Excellence Fund is likely to be continued but not within the higher education budget as such. Last year's appropriation was built into the base, but the state now seems disposed to allocate this fund separately to allow for stricter monitoring. In general, he projected a reasonably good budget but cautioned that political forces continue to raise questions about the distribution of whatever actual amount is awarded to education. Little can be told until the committees start meeting. With regard to other hopes for fiscal improvement, Mr. Kleckner mentioned that the capital development campaign is approaching one-third of its goal. He did not know when it would be formally announced but thought it would be soon.
On that note, Hr. Copenhaver called for adjournment, and the Senate disbanded at 3:42 p.m. with its business for the month concluded.
Respectfully submitted:
Jane D. Eberwein
Secretary to the Senate