Oakland University Senate

17 April 2008
Minutes

Members present: Andersen, Bhargava, Brown, Connery, Debnath, Doane, Dulio, Eberly-Lewis, Frick, Goslin, Graetz, Hawley, Khattree, Larrabee, Lee, LeMarbe, Lombardo, Machmut-Jhashi, Mittelstaedt, Moudgil, Murphy, Nixon, Otto, Pelfrey, Polis, Preisinger, Russell, Sangeorzan, Severson, Shablin, Spagnuolo, Sudol, Voelck, Wharton, Williams, Wood

Members absent: Berven (D), Berven (K), Condic, Dvir, Giblin, Halpin, Ingram, Kissock, Lilliston, Mitton, Moore, Moran, Penprase, Rammel, Rigstad, Spedoske, Tanniru, Thompson, Townsend, Zou

Calling the meeting to order at 3:15, Mr. Moudgil invited Mr. Shablin to render an update on the campus closure on April 14. Mr. Shablin indicated that the closure schedule resembles that of a snow day, with no change to the academic calendar. Classes will end on Saturday, April 19, as scheduled, and final exams will begin as listed in the official schedule. Mr. Moudgil then asked the Chief of Police, Mr. Lucido, to provide remarks regarding the recent closure. Mr. Lucido described the chain of events that led the administration to make the decision to close the campus on April 13 and 14. On Saturday afternoon, April 12, a student notified campus police of a threatening message discovered in a restroom in O'Dowd Hall. No specific threat was manifest in that message, but its disturbing nature warranted a campus-wide email message that evening. Later that night, another call was received about another threatening message discovered in the Oakland Center, which was more specific. A full search of all academic buildings then took place, which yielded a third message in a restroom in Kresge Library early Sunday morning. Dr. Russi called the Crisis Management Team together on Sunday morning and because it could not be determined that the messages were pranks, and because the messages were date specific, the decision was made to close the campus on Monday, April 14 and to reopen at 7:00 am on Tuesday morning. Mr. Lucido noted that similar messages found at Xavier College in Chicago caused that institution to close, sending students home. Mr. Lucido added that Oakland County law enforcement and the FBI have been very supportive. An active investigation continues, with the actual text of the messages not released to the media.

Mr. Polis asked about the faculty's role in a campus emergency involving an active shooter. That question led into Mr. Lucido's second topic, the work of the Crisis Management Team. Mr. Lucido explained that he has established both a Crisis Management Team and an Emergency Response Plan for the university, which is updated annually. The next meeting of the team takes place on April 30. Within twenty-four hours of both the Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois shootings President Russi called together the committee to see what could be learned from those incidents. According to Chief Lucido, those discussions bore fruit; four areas of focus were identified: 1) behavioral warning signs that could help in prevention. An on-line training program, titled "Preventing Campus Violence" is now available to all members of the OU community, including students. Chief Lucido urges all in the OU community to watch this 15-minute video that discusses the recognition and report of inappropriate or threatening behavior. The video and other procedural information is available through an Emergency Preparedness link from the OU homepage. Additionally, a training program will be ready by September 1 for the OU community. A presentation of this program will be made to the Crisis Management team later in the month for their input, and when ready for the campus community, it will be presented by a police officer. Chief Lucido also noted that a threat assessment team has been established at OU. FERPA issues are significant in this context and have been addressed in detail by General Counsel. He also observed that the Vice President of Student Affairs has organized a team of advisers and counselors to assist immediately in the event of an incident on campus; 2) the Emergency Notification system has changed. In years past, posters placed throughout campus, while effective, are no longer sufficient. Presently, campus-wide emails, voice mail alerts on campus phones, and notification via the university website and local media outlets are used. By the fall term, Chief Lucido hopes that a text message alert system will be in place. A vendor has been identified and training plans are underway; 3) Lock-down policies for all OU buildings have been established. While these have been in place for several years at middle and high schools, they have not been the norm on college campuses. With 54 buildings, and multiple entrances freely accessed by the public at all times of the day and night, the police department has created an effective set of lock-down policies that pertain to academic buildings, service-type buildings like the OC, and buildings on the east campus. All academic buildings will remain open, Chief Lucido noted, so that they can provide a place of refuge for students, faculty, and staff who may be outdoors during an incident. He recalled the University of Texas tower shooting in the 1960s, where those who were able to get inside a building survived. Exterior doors of academic building will remain open, but interior classroom doors should be locked by faculty members. Faculty are responsible for the safety of themselves and their students, and all should have a key to the classrooms they teach in. The updated lock-down procedures will be distributed to department chairs by Ms. Machmut-Jhashi, who has been working with Chief Lucido on the policy. In addition, evacuation information will be passed on to faculty. Chief Lucido also suggested that a mention of emergency procedures be included on course syllabi, and that instructors take five minutes at the beginning of the term to review evacuation and shelter procedures; 4) Police department equipment and training have been upgraded significantly in the last sixteen months to enhance response capability.

Chief Lucido then remarked that although ringing cell phones are annoying in class, keeping them on silent is strongly suggested so that text messages can be accessed. Noting that universities report only 30-40% of students opt to receive text messages, Chief Lucido believes that this is still a very helpful number. If only one person in a classroom receives a message, it will enable the word of an emergency to spread. Mr. Russell inquired as to the members of the threat assessment team, to which Chief Lucido replied that representatives from several offices comprise the team, including the Dean of Students, counselors from Graham Health Center, Police Chief's office, Schools of Education and Health Sciences counselors, among others. Mr. Russell then mentioned an incident with which he became familiar about a year ago in which a faculty member was specifically threatened by a student, and was afraid to come to campus for the entire summer. He asserted that the police officer interviewing the student determined that there was no threat, although the faculty member is a trained counselor. Chief Lucido asked Mr. Russell whether he was sure of his facts, but would research the case as he was not familiar with it.

Ms. Mittelstaedt inquired whether there is something similar to the older system of indicating a tornado alert. Chief Lucido said that universities are reviewing effective technologies and do employ sirens to indicate emergency threats. OU has such a large siren but it is operated by Oakland County. Chief Lucido added that he would like a system that would allow a siren with verbal instructions. Another question was raised about students and faculty feeling anxious about returning to class. Chief Lucido replied that he is aware that anxiety is an issue, and that a hotline has been established by the Center for Student Activities to talk through any concerns.

Ms. Wood raised the issue of cognitive-impaired students who have been admitted in increasing numbers to OU in recent years, and that behavioral issues have manifested with certain students. Chief Lucido believes that viewing the training video may help, and that people should "trust their gut" when a red flag is raised. Mr. Sangeorzan then pointed out that the campus-wide email did not go to all adjunct faculty. Chief Lucido wondered if some adjuncts have primary email elsewhere, and that he would look into that possibility.

Mr. Moudgil then turned to an update on the Medical School, remarking that dean candidates have made second visits to campus. Other steps in the immediate future include the approval of the medical school by the BOT and work on the school's constitution, currently being drafted with the assistance of Art Griggs, which will eventually come to the Senate. Fund raising continues, with four million dollars (from an anonymous donor) already in place. Mr. Moudgil pointed out that the medical school budget is completely separate from the university's general fund. Mr. Russell inquired about the governance model planned for the school, to which Mr. Moudgil responded that the School of Medicine is planned as another school of the university, the same as the other units.

Mr. Sudol then presented the final informational item - the establishment of the new Department of Writing and Rhetoric in the College of Arts and Sciences, which will be carved out of the current Department of Rhetoric, Communications and Journalism, the largest in the College (noting that it is as large as the School of Nursing). He began with a historical overview of writing programs at Oakland University: from the early  "exploratories" at OU to the Department of Learning Skills, a program run from the Provost's office. Responding to a national trend in promoting the teaching of writing, OU created a Department of Rhetoric that was moved into the College. At that time there was also a Department of Communication Arts. The two small departments were combined. What resulted eventually were three separate faculties within a department that grew substantially. The new Department of Rhetoric and Writing will be composed of twelve faculty members, thirteen if Mr. Sudol is counted. Mr. Sudol further noted that OU is unusual in that historically Rhetoric was never housed in the English Department as is the common practice at many universities. In the 1980s the School of Business of Administration requested courses in business and technical writing, and at that time the English department was overstaffed so the classes were assigned there. Since then, the writing classes have been split within two departments. The new department will unite all writing courses within the new major and minor program. In addition, the department will enhance General Education, help to reform the First Year Experience, and contribute to the staffing of the Writing Center.

Mr. Russell asked whether senate committees have looked into matter of the new department. Mr. Sudol indicated that senate committees have been active in considering the proposal for a new major, which will be considered later in the agenda. He observed that that is a separate issue from the administrative separation of the departments. Mr. Russell then asked whether the separation of the departments was not of academic importance and therefore requiring senate support. Mr. Sudol replied that the new department was certainly of academic importance but that he considered it an administrative matter of the College. Mr. Russell expressed that he would rather the Senate a resolution of endorsement of the program as a matter of record.

The secretary then proceeded with the roll call. A motion to approve the minutes from the March meeting was made and approved (moved by Mr. Frick, seconded by Ms. Andersen).

Old Business
Mr. Polis made the following motion, duly seconded by Mr. Severson:

MOVED that the Senate recommend to the President and Board of Trustees approval of a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering.  

After Mr. Frick noted a correction to the library budget and apologized to Ms. Voelck for the error, the Senate voted unanimously to approve the new program.

Next, Mr. Severson moved the remaining item of old business:

MOVED that the Senate recommend to the President and Board of Trustees approval of a new major program in Japanese Language and Literature.  

Duly seconded by Mr. Nixon, the motion was then approved unanimously by the Senate.

New Business

Ms. Mittelstaedt moved the first item of new business, with a second from Mr. Severson:

MOVED that the Senate recommend to the President and Board of Trustees approval of a new major program in Writing and Rhetoric. 

Mr. Moudgil invited Mr. Kitchens to provide an overview of the new program, whereupon Mr. Kitchens offered a comprehensive description of the new major, including several comparisons with other universities that have implemented a writing major. He discussed student outcomes, core principals, and three tracks for students to pursue: writing for the professions (technical writing, editing, publishing etc.), writing for new media, and writing as a discipline (to pursue graduate work).

The plan of study comprises 40 credits, including core courses, capstone, and an internship. For the latter, in addition to many on-campus internship possibilities, Mr. Kitchens noted a list of 250 local entities offering internship opportunities. Career opportunities are diverse, according to Mr. Kitchens, and range from editing and publishing to work in new media. He observed that careers in technical writing are projected to grow substantially in the next decade, as are the various paths for new media specialists, such as website design. He also noted that the major works well with dual majors and minors.

Ms. Pelfrey asked whether the writing classes are now available. According to Mr. Kitchens, several classes are in development and will be offered in the next couple of years. Another question was raised about the necessity of hiring more part-time faculty; Mr. Kitchens said that he believed that this would not be the case, and that the emphasis would be on full-time faculty teaching the courses. Ms. Pelfrey asked how the first-year writing courses would help, say, a business major. Mr. Giberson described a scenario in which a writing minor would be extremely beneficial for a business student, building upon the current 8 credit writing requirement for business majors. Mr. Doane then talked briefly about the need for rigor in introductory writing courses as it is not unusual for him to encounter students who have taken three writing courses and still do not demonstrate success in writing. Mr. Kitchens remarked on the various ways that student writing and reading will be developed across the curriculum and that many related skills will be strengthened through awareness and responsibility.

Mr. Larrabee raised the issue of waiving the second reading. Before that could be considered, Mr. Goslin moved to correct the actual title of the program in the motion as it was written, "Rhetoric and Writing" to "Writing and Rhetoric." Ms. Mittelstaedt offered a second, and the motion was approved. Then Mr. Larrabee offered a motion to waive the second reading and approve the program, with a second from Mr. Sudol. Ms. Pelfrey asked about reports from senate standing committees, and Ms. Jhashi replied that UCUI, Assessment, Budget, and Planning have supported the program. She noted that questions raised by the SPRC were answered to the chair's satisfaction, but that the chair was unable to reach a quorum of his committee. Ms. Otto expressed her opinion that enough people have studied and vetted the program to warrant its consideration with a second reading waived. Mr. Sudol added that Senate Standing committees make recommendations regarding new programs, but do not actually approve them; rather, it is the Senate that votes on them. Ms. Jhashi supported that observation with a reminder of the charge to SPRC to "analyze the implications to the university" of a new program.

The Senate then voted to waive the second reading and approve the program, with one abstention.

The next item of new business was moved by Mr. Murphy, and seconded by Mr. Russell:

MOVED that the Senate supports the resolution from the Student Academic Support Committee for the 2009 summer semester calendar.

Mr. Russell reviewed the basic elements of the motion, pointing out that the 14-week calendar this year posed problems that were considered at length by the committee. The resolution states that should the Senate consider calendar changes in the future that the situation with final exams during the last week of a term (or any conflict with the faculty agreement) be dealt with ahead of time. The resolution supports a calendar for 2009 that is identical with that of 2008.

Mr. Shablin observed that two conferral dates in a semester would be new territory, and that our sister institutions in Michigan have only one conferral date in a semester. Two dates would be treading new ground. Mr. Shablin explained that to accommodate the final exam schedule for fourteen parts of term as was the model developed for 2008 enough flexibility was necessary in order to schedule the exams during the final week of the term. Mr. Russell noted that the intention of the motion was to clarify the current Senate regulations, which hold that exams cannot be held the last week of the term, specifically in the context of the two seven-week and one fifteen-week sessions (and not any other sessions). The issue of conferral dates, according to Mr. Russell, is relevant for students in programs involved with licensing exams given in summer. Other students need verification of degree for employment. Mr. Shablin indicated that two conferral dates are technically possible, but expressed concern about when those dates would occur. He noted the desirability of those dates to be the last day of the former spring session and the end of summer. He further observed that the reference to the Board of Trustees approval could be removed from the resolution since the calendar is a contractual issue. Additionally, the problem of when students would go through commencement was addressed by both Mr. Shablin and Ms. Lee. According to Ms. Lee confusion will arise for students when determining the timing of their commencement.

Mr. Russell moved to amend the resolution to remove the reference to Board of Trustees approval and to replace with "as soon as possible", and was given a second by Mr. Connery. After the Senate approved the amendment, Mr. Goslin moved to waive the second reading. Mr. Dulio seconded and the Senate voted to approve. The motion to approve the resolution passed with two votes opposed from Mr. Shablin and Ms. Lee.

The final item of new business, to staff senate standing committees, was moved by Ms. Bhargava, seconded by Mr. Severson, and approved by the Senate.

MOVED that the persons listed be appointed to Senate Standing committees and that the persons so designated by appointed chair.

Senate Standing Committees-Faculty Appointments

Academic Computing Committee
Subramanian Ganesan (SECS) - 2007-2009 Chair
Anne Becker (CAS) - 2007-2009
Laila Guessous (SECS) - 2007-2009
Gary Moore (SON) - 2007-2009
Kasaundra Tomlin (SBA) - 2008-2009
Ram Orzach (SBA) - 2008-2010
Yang Xia (CAS) - 2008-2010
Ji-Eun Lee (SEHS) - 2008-2010
Patricia Wren (SHS) - 2008-2010

Academic Conduct Committee
Mike Latcha (SECS) - 2007-2009 Chair
Kasia Kietlinska (CAS) - 2007-2009
Charlie McGlothlin (SHS) - 2007-2009
Estela Moreno-Mazzoli (CAS) - 2007-2009
Barbara Penprase (SON) - 2007-2009
Dan Ring (Library) - 2007-2009
Rachel Smydra (CAS) - 2007-2009
Stephanie Vallie (SON) - 2007-2009
Sumit Dinda (SHS) - 2008-2010
Tricia Juettemeyer (KL) - 2008-2010
Cynthia Miree-Coppin (SBA) - 2008-2010
Eric LaRock (CAS) - 2008-2010
Elysa White (CAS) - 2008-2010
Lunjin Lu (SECS) - 2008-2010
Frederick Hoffman (SBA) - 2008-2010

Academic Standing and Honors Committee
Eddie Cheng (CAS) - 2007-2009 Chair
Laszlo Liptak (CAS) - 2007-2009
Mohammad-Reza Siadat (SECS) - 2008-2010
Youngjoo Kim (SEHS) - 2008-2010
Xia Wang (SECS) - 2008-2010

Assessment Committee
Carrie Motyka (SON) - 2008-2011 Chair, Fall 2008
Shannan McNair (SEHS) - 2006-2009 (at-large) Chair, Winter 2009
Pat Piskulich (CAS) - Winter 2008-2009
Keyu Li (SECS) - 2006-2009
Beth Kraemer (KL) - 2006-2009
Ghassan Saed (CAS) - 2007-2010
Sadi Bazaz (SBA) - Winter 2008-2009
Eileen Johnson (SEHS) - 2007-2010
Robert Van Til (SECS) - 2006-2009 (at-large)
Fran Meuser (CAS) - 2008-2011
Carrie Motyka (SON) - 2008-2011
Aaron Bird (SHA) - 2008-2011

Athletics Committee
Robby Stewart (CAS) - Faculty Athletics Representative and Chair
Karl Majeske (SBA) - 2006-2009
Caroline Jumel (CAS) - 2006-2009
Ken Mitton (ERI) - 2007-2010
Erica Ruegg (SEHS) - 2008-2011

Budget Review Committee
John Krauss (SHS) - 2006-2009
Barbara Mabee (CAS) - 2006-2009
Shravan Chintala (ERI) - 2007-2010
Gwendolyn McMillon (SEHS) - 2007-2010
Balaji Rajagopalan (SBA) - 2008-2011 Chair
Anne Mitchell (SON) - 2009-2011

Campus Development and Environment Committee
Wanda Reygaert (SHS) - 2007-2009 Chair
William Cramer (KL) - 2007-2009
Mark Isken (SBA) - 2007-2009
Rich Stamps (CAS) - 2008-2010
Fay Hansen (CAS) - 2008-2010

General Education Committee
Cathie Breidenbach (CAS) - 2007-2009
Shawn Lombardo (KL) - 2007-2009
Youngjoo Kim (SEHS) - Winter 2008-2009
Henry Aigbedo (SBA) -- 2008-2009
Marshall Kitchens (CAS) - 2008-2010
Stacey Hahn (CAS) - 2008-2010
Deb McGinnis (CAS) - 2008-2010
Wanda Gibson-Scipio (SON) - 2008-2010
Anandi Sahu (SBA) - 2008-2010

Honorary Degree Committee
Chair: Vice President for Academic Affairs designee: Dr. Tamara Machmut-Jhashi
Shravan Chintala (ERI) - 2006-2009
Anahid Kulwicki (SON) - 2007-2010
Greg Giberson (CAS) - 2007-2009
Mike Polis (SECS) - 2007-2010
Mary Zeppelin (SEHS) - 2008-2011
Aldona Pobutsky (CAS) - 2008-2011

Library Committee
Shannon Flumerfelt (SEHS) - 2007-2009 Chair
Rebecca Gaydos (CAS) - 2007-2009
Tricia Juttemeyer (KL) - 2007-2009
Karen Markel (SBA) - 2007-2009
Anne Switzer (KL) - 2008-2009
John Finke (CAS) - 2008-2010
Barb Oakley (SECS) - 2008-2010
Laura Pittiglio (SON) - 2008-2010
Vagner Whitehead (CAS) - 2008-2010
Sara Maher (SHS) - 2008-2010
Mariela Gunn (KL) - 2008-2010

Planning Review Committee
Mary Stein (SEHS) - 2006-2009 Chair
Ingrid Rieger (CAS) - Winter 2007-2009
Gautum Singh (SECS) - 2007-2010
Mukesh Bhargava (SBA) - 2007-2010
Frances Jackson (SON) - 2008-2011
George Stoffan (CAS) - 2008-2011

Research Committee
Paul Kubicek (CAS) - 2007-2009 Chair
Lynne Williams (SHS) - 2007-2009
Vince Khapoya (CAS) - 2007-2009
Laila Guessous (SECS) - 2007-2009
Eileen Johnson (SEHS) - 2007-2009
Vijay Sugumaran (SBA) - 2008-2010
Tom Pedroni (SEHS) - 2008-2010
Xiangqun Zeng (CAS) - 2008-2010

Student Academic Support Committee
Anne Switzer (KL) - 2006-2009
Peg Roytek (SEHS) - 2006-2009
Joel Russell (CAS) - 2007-2010 Chair
Buck Dillon (SBA) - 2007-2010
Suha Kridli (SON) - 2008-2011
Derek Hastings (CAS) - 2008-2011

Teaching and Learning Committee
Mike MacDonald (SEHS) - 2007-2009 Chair
Austin Murphy (SBA) - 2007-2009
Pavlo Bosyy (CAS) - 2007-2009
Debatosh Debnath (CAS) - 2008-2010
Jennifer Law-Sullivan (CAS) - 2008-2010
Sunwoo Shin (SEHS) - 2008-2010

University Committee on Undergraduate Instruction
Chair: Susan Awbrey, Senior Associate Provost
Howard Qu (CAS-natural sciences) - Winter 2008-2009
Millie Merz (KL) - 2006-2009
Timothy Larrabee (SEHS) - 2006-2009
Charlie McGlothlin (SHS) - 2006-2009
Kieran Mathieson (SBA) - 2007-2010
Darlene Schott-Baer (SON) - 2007-2010
David Dulio (CAS - social sciences) - Winter 2008-2010
Michael Mitchell (CAS arts/humanities) - 2008-2011
Jia Li (SECS) - 2008-2011

Next, Mr. Moudgil then expressed his appreciation to all the Senators for their good work this semester and to Ms. Jhashi for her "unseen" efforts in working on behalf of the Senate.

Mr. Russell then offered to move that the Senate endorse a proposal to establish a new Department of Writing and Rhetoric. Mr. Nixon and Ms. Otto seconded the motion and the Senate voted to approve the endorsement.

One item surfaced for Good and Welfare, that of making student course evaluations available on-line. Ms. Becker raised the issue of pursuing a plan that would require students to complete evaluations on-line (with grade and other penalties for non-compliance) and to make all evaluations available digitally (thus alleviating storage problems). Mr. Moudgil suggested that the Steering Committee could pursue this issue next year.

A motion to adjourn was met with general approval at 5:10 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Tamara Machmut-Jhashi
Secretary to the University Senate
________________________________________
Please note the following paragraph, appended to the minutes upon the request of Mr. Russell.

At the April 17 Senate meeting I reported an incident that occurred a year ago when a faculty member felt threatened by a student. I said that the police officer who had investigated did not feel there was a serious threat. Upon recently talking to the faculty member I learned that the police had agreed with her that she was in danger and urged her to get a personal protection order. It was individuals in the Student Affairs office and the CAS office rather than the police that thought she had overreacted and that this student was not a threat. I regret that my memory confused these conclusions and apologize to the officers involved.