Oakland University Senate

Fifth Meeting
January 9, 1997

Minutes

Members present: Alber, Awbrey, Benson, Blume, Buffard-O’Shea, Cole, Connellan, Dillon, Downing, Frankie, Gilroy, Goslin, Hahn, Haskell, Hildebrand, Hovanesian, Kazarian, Keane, Landsberg, Long, Mahamwal, Meuser, Moran, Olson, Pettengill, Polis, Reynolds, Rice, Rozek, Russi, Sahu, Schochetman, R. Schwartz, Sevilla, Talbert, Tower,Wood

Members absent: Andrews, Bricker, Brieger, Briggs-Bunting, Fliedner, Gardner, Garfinkle, Gordon, Herold, Jarski, Kheir, Kleckner, Liboff, Lilliston, Meehan, Miller, Moore, Otto, Purcell, Reddy, Riley, H. Schwartz, Speer, Tornopilsky, Wharton

Summary of Actions:

1. Approval of December 12 minutes. (Mr. Polis, Ms.Talbert) Approved
2. Report on recruitment and retention (Mr. Johnson)
3. Report on Student Government activities (Mr. Landsberg, Mr. Mahamwal)
4. Statement on Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Mr. Russi)
5. Steering Committee Election
6. Motion to recommend that OU apply to the NCAA to move to Div.I-AAA (Mr. Dillon, Ms. Gilroy) Approved.
7. Motion to adopt a process for developing recommendations on public school academies (Mr. Bricker, Mr. Brieger) Approved.
8. Motion to recommend approval of three charter schools (Mr. Dillon, Mr. Downing) Approved following a motion, also approved, to waive second reading (Mr. Moran, Mr. Pettengill).

Mr. Connellan called the meeting to order at 3:10 and the minutes of the December 12th meeting were approved (moved Mr. Polis, second by Ms. Talbert) as distributed. Information items provided by Mr. Connellan included the announcement that Mr. Goslin has been named Acting Dean of Graduate Studies and as such, is joining the Senate, and that Ms. Awbrey has been named the Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs. He welcomed two new senators, Robert Schwartz, and Keith Kleckner who are replacing Mr. Christina and Mr. Witt. Ms. Gilroy reminded the Senate that last year it approved a university-wide Dean’s List and announced that, this fall, 529 students were named to the Dean’s List. These were students who maintained a 3.6 gpa or better while taking 12 or more credits over the fall/winter semesters.

Mr. Russi read a statement concerning Martin Luther King Day expressing his support for canceling classes or declaring the day a holiday. (A copy of the statement is appended to the minutes)

Mr. Johnson, the Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management and Director of Admissions, then presented a brief update to the Senate on his activities since coming to Oakland. Explaining that he was hired to implement an enrollment management system, his first task was to look at recruitment and retention, specifically, how we recruit students, how we market the university, how we can enroll better qualified students and how to retain them at OU. He instituted a territory management plan wherein each recruiter is given a territory and is responsible for all activities in that area, for building relationships and for representing the university. Also a market research study and demographic analysis was performed using an outside consultant. He reported that his office is using new technology for database management to track initial contacts and follow-up activities. This year the focus is turning to retention, how do we keep students here. A Student Success Committee has been formed and is looking at data relating to retention and will put together a retention plan. He expressed the need for faculty input and has been meeting with departmental chairs as an initial step in developing retention initiatives for each unit. He also has met with the Assessment Committee to determine how we can implement retention strategies campus wide. His purpose in addressing the Senate is to ask for faculty support; the goal is to enroll 15,000 students by the year 2000. He commented that we are well on our way to meeting that goal and emphasized the need for faculty support in recruitment and retention.

Mr. Landsberg and Mr. Mahamwal then provided a brief report on how the Student University Congress works. Mr.Landsberg detailed the activities of the Executive Branch which consists of the nine student Executive Board, the Student Programming Board which puts on events for the campus, the Student Activities Funding Board provides funding for student organizations and Student Services which produces the Student Directory. New this year is a Public Relations Committee with the responsibility of informing the campus of Student Congress activities. Mr. Mahamwal reported on the legislative side; the Legislature consists of 25 members with two standing committees, an Executive Committee and a Research and Review Committee. He pointed out that Congress names students who serve on University Senate standing committees. He asked the Senate to keep Congress informed when dealing with matters affecting students.

The Senate Elections Committee, represented by Mr. Doane, then conducted an election to replace Mr. Christina on the Steering Committee. After explaining the restrictions and the term to be served, Mr. Doane opened the floor for nominations. Mr. Keane was nominated, and with no further nominations forthcoming, Mr. Downing moved that nominations be closed. The Senate acquiesced to the closure, Mr. Doane declared the election completed and Mr. Connellan welcomed Mr. Keane to the Steering Committee.

The motion to recommend to the President and Board that Oakland University apply to the NCAA to move to Div.I-AAA was the first item of business. Mr. Dillon noted that this proposal has now been discussed in a variety of venues and called attention to the SPRC report that was included with today’s agenda. He summarized the general feeling as that of support for the motion but with some concerns. There was no further discussion and the motion was approved.

The second item of old business, the motion to adopt the process specified in the agenda for developing a recommendation to the President and Board on public school academies was approved with no additional discussion.

The single item of new business, a motion to recommend to the Board and President the approval of the three public school academies listed in the agenda (the Detroit Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Michigan Academy of Global Entrepreneurship and the Dove Academy) was moved by Mr. Dillon and seconded by Mr. Downing. Mr. Dillon pointed out that a memo with summary information on the schools was attached to today’s Senate agenda and that the complete applications are available for review. Memos from SBRC and SPRC regarding this proposal were distributed to the Senate. Ms. Piskulich called attention to the concerns that were listed in the accompanying memo from the SPRC. Mr. Connellan remarked that a Board of Trustees committee will be looking at these applications at a January 21 meeting and that, prior to their meeting, an extra Senate meeting has been scheduled for January 16 to accommodate a second reading of this motion. Mr. Sevilla wondered about the phrase ‘global entrepreneurship’. Ms. Melhado explained that the school will encompass grades 6-9 initially and will be expanded to grade 12; that students will be organized into circles of understanding--and that the curriculum will expand from consideration of themselves to their city, county, state, country and the world. She assured the Senate that the core curriculum specified by the state will be covered, that they will be learning about the city and country and world while studying the core curriculum.

Mr Polis expressed concerns about the Senate Budget Review Committee report and the Committee’s inability to gather enough information to make a considered analysis of the budget implications. Since the same problem was noted with the athletic proposal, he wondered what could be done. Mr. Moran explained that the SBRC was given information on the schools’ budgets but that it wasn’t clear what the budgetary impact on the university would be. There is no information on the costs incurred by the University for the charter schools already in existence; also the information in these applications does not include any market analysis so it is difficult to render an educated opinion. He added that the Budget Committee will be requesting the additional data. Mr. Downing pointed out that one of the critical items in the application review process is the reasonableness of the budget, if there is insufficient information it is normally sent back. The Review Committee looks at the budgets very closely but isn’t able to determine whether or not enrollment projections are realistic. With respect to the institutional impact, there is a Charter School Oversight Committee that will be reviewing budgets on a monthly basis and in that context, will provide information on the institutional impact of these schools to both the Senate and the SPRC. Referring to the SPRC memo, Mr. Keane asked about the legal basis for granting a charter and the implications of withdrawing one. He noted that some charter schools have engaged in illegal practices and we need to be sure we can withdraw without exposing ourselves to liability. Mr. Downing replied that our contracts with the schools state that we can withdraw the charters at our discretion, and quoted "notwithstanding any provision contained herein to the contrary, the decision of the University to revoke its agreement is solely within the discretion of the University, is final and is not subject to review..." The decision to withdraw a charter might occur if budgets were problematic or if academic plans specified in the application are not implemented. Mr. Dillon added that in addition to the concerns about our ability to withdraw a charter, there is also concern about our ability to withdraw a charter without costs to the institution. Mr. Downing noted that it is also a question of timing, whether a withdrawal was in the middle of a school year or at the end. Mr. Dillon opined that the legal counsel to the university should look carefully at this issue.

Mr. Connellan wondered if the body might considered a motion to waive a second reading. Mr. Moran responded with a motion to waive the second reading, it was seconded by Mr. Pettengill and approved. The main motion to recommend approval of the three academies was approved. Mr. Connellan then announced that the Senate meeting scheduled for Jan 16 was canceled and moving on to good and welfare, Mr. Russi announced the cancellation of Thursday night classes due to inclement weather. The meeting adjourned at 4:00.

Submitted by
Linda L. Hildebrand
Secretary to the University Senate

Statement on Oakland University Observance of Martin Luther King’s Birthday

Oakland students, faculty and staff have observed Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday from the outset. That observance has taken many forms over the years. Since 1990, his birthday has kicked off the campus’s month-long observance of African-American celebration month. The University has held an annual rally and discussion that draws together a diverse group of students, faculty and staff. The event provides a solid foundation on which to expand our efforts to recognize the tremendous impact that Dr. King had on all of us, expecially in his commitment to improving the quality of all our lives through educational opportunity.

I personally support the idea of establishing the day as an official observance next January by either canceling classes or creating an official holiday. Both options will have to be explored further in order to determine academic clandar and employee contract implications. I was pleased to see our students take a strong stand on this important issue through a congress resolution and I am supportive of their intent. I urge the University Senate to make this issue a top priority and to recommend a method for implementation. Even while doing so, it is important that we maintain our current level of eeducational contact hours, and adjust the academic calendar accordingly.

It is clearly too late to attempt to cancel classes until next year, when we have had a change to work our calendar issues. Holidays are part of the university’s agreements with various employee groups on campus. As we look at the possibility of making a change, we will seek advice through the governance process, consult with employee relations and employee groups regarding union negotiations and other employment contracts, and ultimately put the matter before the president’s cabinet.

In the meantime, I invite students to attend the annual Martin Luther King celebration at noon on January 20 in record numbers. As is customary, we will be asking faculty to refrain from testing students or penalizing them for missing class this year. Our African-American celebration month committee has planned a full month of events and programs, beginning with the campus rally on Dr. King’s birthday. So , we should see a lot of activity and a lot of meaningful discussion on campus. And that’s exciting. I encourage as many people as possible to participate.

Life outside the classroom is a vital part of an Oakland University education, and we want to provide ample opportunities for our students to gather a variety of experiences. The dialogue over this issue is one that participants on many levels--faculty and administrators included--can learn from.

Gary D. Russi
President, Oakland University
January 9, 1997