Oakland University Senate

First Meeting
September 18, 2003

Minutes

Members Present: Andersen, Bard, Berven, Bhargava, Blume, Chapman, Cipielewski, Downing, Dunn, Eis, Fink, Gardner, Goslin, Graves, Grossman, Hansen, Haskell, Keane, Khapoya, Klemanski, LeMarbe, Lepkowski, Licker, Mabee, Machmut-Jhashi, Maines, McNair, Moore, Nacy, Mukherji, Otto, Porter, Rowe, Russell, Savage, Schott-Baer, Schweitzer, Sethi, Smith, Stamps, Thompson, Tracy, Williams, Wood
Members Absent: Didier, Eberwein, Frick, Giblin, Goldberg, Hanna, Moudgil, Olson, Schochetman, Sevilla, Wagner

Summary of Actions
1. Information items:
    Appointment of Jerrold Grossman as Senate Parliamentarian
    Appointment of Tamara Machmut-Jhashi as Senate Secretary
    Appointment of Vincent Khapoya (chair), Brian Goslin, and Kathleen Moore to the Senate Elections Committee
    Budget Update (postponed)
    New curriculum codes for STEP program
    New tracks or revisions to existing graduate degree programs
    New cognate in the Department of Music, Theater and Dance and the School of Education and Human Services
    Correction to Probation and Dismissal chart in the undergraduate catalog (p. 73, 2003-2004 edition)
2. Roll Call. Approval of April 2003 minutes (Mr. Downing, Ms. Schott-Baer).
3. Motion from Steering Committee to change chairmanship of Academic Conduct Committee (Mr. Coppin; Ms. Schott-Baer). Approved.
4. Election of new Senate Steering Committee. Motion to elect nominated candidates (Mr. Stamps, Ms. Wood). Approved.
5. Procedural motion from the Steering Committee to staff Senate standing committees approved.

The meeting was called to order at 3:16 by Associate Provost, Ron Sudol, who welcomed members to the first meeting of the 2003-2004 University Senate. Mr. Sudol then informed the Senate of Provost Virinder Moudgil�s absence from the meeting due to the death of a close family friend in Rochester, Minnesota.

Mr. Sudol commented on the new space in the Auditorium of Elliott Hall, which has the advantage of better acoustics and equipment to video record Senate meetings. In case the Elliott Hall auditorium proves to be unworkable for Senate meetings, the previous space in the Gold Rooms of the Oakland Center will be available for the duration of the academic year. The steering committee plans to address issues regarding any change in procedure that may be required in the new space; senators are urged to voice any concerns or suggestions. The plan was for Senators to occupy the first four rows of seats, with space in the rear reserved for visitors. Name tags, which have been used on table-tops in the past, will perhaps not work as well with the new seating arrangement.

Associate Provost Sudol called attention to the informational items on the agenda, beginning with the appointments of Jerrold Grossman, who continues as Senate Parliamentarian, and Tamara Machmut-Jhashi, newly appointed as Senate Secretary. Ms. Linda Hildebrand, who served as Senate Secretary from 1991-2002, will continue serving as the webmaster of the Senate homepage and will continue maintaining the Senate archive. Further, Vincent Khapoya (chair), Brian Goslin, and Kathleen Moore have been appointed to the Senate Elections Committee.

Mr. Sudol informed the Senate that the annual budget update would not take place since those issues were presented to the university community in an address given by President Russi earlier the same day. It is likely that President Russi will be present at the Senate meeting in October to speak on budget issues related to Academic Affairs.

Mr. Sudol turned to the implementation of new curriculum codes for the STEP program, which have offered a fix to problems caused by the Banner system. The new codes will not affect programs; rather, they are a matter of housekeeping and will enable students to enroll in the appropriate education courses. These changes will be recorded in the Senate archives, which Linda Hildebrand has painstakingly indexed back to the early 1970s and continues to index from the 1960s. It is now possible to follow the historical progress of an academic policy by locating it through the index, which covers every recorded senate action and informational item.

The Graduate Council has approved several new tracks of existing programs, two from the School of Nursing and several from the School of Education and Human Services. Mr. Sudol noted that representatives from these academic areas were present to respond to questions or concerns regarding the new proposals. No questions were raised.

Mr. Sudol proceeded to the next informational item: a new cognate that has resulted from collaboration between the School of Education and Human Services and the Department of Music, Theater, and Dance in the College of Arts and Sciences. This additional cognate will allow a Ph.D. to be awarded in Music as a cognate to Educational Leadership. Mr. Sudol then asked that comments/questions be directed to Bob Wiggins. None were forthcoming.

All new programs will now go on to state level for approval by the chief academic officers group of the council of Michigan state universities at its meeting of October 27; this is the final stage of approval for the implementation of these changes.

Lastly, Mr. Sudol presented a technical correction to the probation and dismissal chart that appears on page 73 of the 2003-2004 undergraduate catalog. Last year the Senate approved a change in policy regarding dismissal from the university; namely, that a student who has not yet attempted 24 credit hours would not be subject to dismissal. The chart in the catalog should now be corrected to reflect the 24 credit hour policy approved by the Senate.

The secretary then proceeded with the roll call after which the Minutes of April 10, 2003 were approved. (Moved Mr. Downing, Seconded Ms. Schott-Baer).

Old Business

The only item of old business was a motion to change the chairmanship of the Academic Conduct Committee (originally moved by Mr. Coppin, seconded by Ms. Schott-Baer) that had its first reading at the final Senate meeting last spring.

MOVED that the Academic Conduct Committee have one chair instead of two co-chairs.

No comments surfaced after Mr. Sudol opened the matter for discussion. Approved unanimously.

New Business

The first item of new business called for the election of new members of the Senate Steering Committee. According the Senate Constitution, six senators must be elected for terms of two years at the first meeting of a new Senate. No two members may be elected from any one organized faculty. Among the tasks of the Steering Committee is to set the agenda for Senate meetings; meeting times for the Steering Committee is fixed � alternate Tuesdays from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.

The chair of the Election Committee, Vince Khapoya, coordinated the nominations from the floor. The following individuals were nominated:
1. Shannon McNair,School of Education and Human Serviced (nominated by Jim Cipielewski)
2. Joel Russell,College of Arts and Sciences (nominated by Jerry Grossman)
3. Ron Tracy, (nominated by Nivedita Mukherji)
4. Frank Lepkowski, Kresge Library (nominated by Lynne Williams)
5. David Maines, College of Arts and Sciences (nominated by David Downing)
6. Paul Licker, School of Business Administration (nominated by Ron Tracy)

Motion was made to close the nominations (Jim Cipielewski), seconded, and approved unanimously by the Senate. Motion was then made to accept the slate of nominees (Richard Stamps, seconded Susan Wood), and approved unanimously.

The new Steering Committee members were then advised of their next meeting, Tuesday, September 23, at 1:00 pm. in Wilson Hall 205.

Mr. Sudol then turned to the next item of new business -- a procedural motion from the Steering Committee to staff Senate standing committees. (Mr. Graves)

MOVED that the persons listed below be appointed to the committees designated:

Good and Welfare

Jim Cipielewksi opened discussion with concerns about the health of the university computing network. Ms. Terry Rowe, Assistant Vice-President for Technology Services, introduced herself and responded to Mr. Cipielewski�s remark. She explained that the university network has been plagued with viruses that have generated a type of traffic called an ICMP, a type of �broadcast storm� that takes up all available bandwith on the network. The office of Technology Services would like everyone on campus to check the Microsoft updates on their desktops, run critical patches, and make sure that anti-virus software is installed. Laptops need a personal firewall. Limited staff (3 full-time) are asked to manage as many as 5000 devices connected to the university network. Desktops need to be kept up-to-date by individual users. Local technical support is available in most academic units. If not, the Help Desk should be consulted.

Shannon McNair raised the question of faculty representation on the Board of Trustees. Mr. Sudol indicated the matter would be taken up at the next Steering committee meeting, and added that the matter is an outcome of the tentative faculty agreement.

In closing, Mr. Sudol again asked for feedback on the new space in Eliot Hall.

Upon motion duly seconded meeting was adjourned at 3:45 pm.

Respectfully submitted,
Tamara Machmut-Jhashi
Secretary to the University Senate
10/9/03