Oakland University Senate Archives - Oakland University Senate

OAKLAND UNIVERSITY SENATE

First Meeting
Thursday, 22 September, 1994
3:10 p.m.
West Crockery, Oakland Center

AGENDA

Respectfully submitted by Gary D. Russi for the Steering Committee.

A. Information Items
        --Honors College
        --Center for International Programs
        --Senate Secretary & Senate Parliamentarian
        --Strategic Planning

B. Old Business
None

C. New Business

1. Steering Committee Replacement Election (Senate Elections Committee)

Comment: Jerry Grossman, who was elected to the Senate Steering Committee in 1993 is on leave, thereby necessitating the election of a senator to replace him for a one year term. Members continuing to serve are Jane Eberwein (College), Robbin Hough( SBA), Eleanor Reynolds (AP), Jill Dunphy (AP) and Carol Zenas (Nursing). The Senate Constitution prohibits election of more than two Steering Committee members from any one organized faculty, therefore, given the current membership of the Steering Committee any faculty senator or student senator or AP is eligible for election. The Steering Committee normally meets twice a month (Tuesday or Thursday afternoons) to set the Senate agenda, refer business to Senate committees and receive reports from those bodies and advise the vice President for Academic Affairs on governance issues; it also meets occasionally during spring and summer. If you wish to nominate someone please establish in advance that the person is willing to serve.

2 . Procedural motion from the Steering Committee to fill vacancies on Senate standing committees (Mr. Hough):

MOVED that the following persons be confirmed as elected to Senate committees for the terms specified:

a . UNIVERSITY COMMITTEE ON UNDERGRADUATE INSTRUCTION

Susan Skowronski, Assistant Professor of Nursing, to replace Patricia Ketchum, Assistant Professor of Nursing (1994-1995)

b. HUMAN RELATIONS COMMITTEE

William Macauley, Associate Professor of Political Science, to replace Brian Murphy, Associate Professor of English, as chair (1994-1995)

Procedural motion: Debatable, amendable, and eligible for final vote at this meeting.

2. Motion from the Academic Conduct Committee (Mr. Fish)

MOVED that the following changes in the membership for the Academic Conduct Committee be made:

Membership: Twelve faculty members of whom two shall serve as co-chairs; two students and an alternate; and the Vice President for Student Affairs (or designee), who shall be ex-officio and voting.

First reading: Debatable, amendable, but not eligible for final vote at this meeting.

Comment: The rationale for making these changes is as follows. First, expanding the faculty membership of the committee from nine to twelve will, it is to be hoped, make it easier to schedule conduct hearings. Scheduling difficulties have significantly impeded the work of the committee, both in hearing cases in a timely fashion , and in spreading the work load among members. Furthermore the designation of alternates was eliminated because it is essentially meaningless; all committee members are functional alternates until six of their schedules can be made to harmonize to form a hearing.

Second, the appointment of co-chairs is intended to allow the burden of this office to be shared. Current language is silent on the designation of the chair, and history and custom have led to its falling upon one individual. With the increasing number and complexity of cases in recent years, this role has become additionally demanding. The midyear resignation of the 1993/94 chair illustrates the unhappy consequences of placing the entire burden on one person. It is envisioned that the two co-chairs will divide the work of the year between them in an equitable and mutually agreeable fashion. This language will formalize an arrangement that the Steering Committee has made for the upcoming year when Prof. Fish and Prof. Latcha will share the office. Members of the Academic Conduct Committee hope that these modest reforms will enable it to better fulfill its important mission.

D. Committee Reports
        --Senate Budget Review Committee (D. Callewaert)
        --Academic Conduct Committee (F. Lepkowski)
        --Senate Planning Review Committee(C. Chipman)

E. Good and welfare
Private resolutions