Minutes
Urbana-Champaign Senate Meeting
March 31, 2008

A regular meeting of the Urbana-Champaign Senate was called to order at 3:15 p.m. at the Levis Faculty Center with Chancellor Richard Herman presiding.

Approval of Minutes

03/31/08-01          The minutes of February 25 were approved.

Senate Executive Committee Report

Senator Nicholas Burbules (EDUC), Chair of the Senate Executive Committee (SEC), provided the following report.

We ask senators to please stay for the entire meeting because the Senate will be considering Nominations for Honorary Degrees in Executive Session as its last business item.  As usual, bios of the honorary degree candidates were made available to senators online last week.

As I mentioned on email last Friday, an earlier draft of the material relating to GP.07.04 (on the implementation of the Multi-Year Contract option for non-tenure-track academic staff) was inadvertently included in the Senate packet, rather than the final version.  Corrected copies are at the door and have been posted on the web.

Floor privileges have been requested for Professor Robert McKim, Director, Program for the Study of Religion, to speak to EP.08.30, Reorganization of the Program for the Study of Religion to the Department of Religion.

Floor privileges have also been requested for Professors Jennifer Hamer and Sundiata Cha-Jua, Acting Director and Director, respectively, African American Studies Program, to speak to EP.08.29, Reorganization of the African American Studies Program to the Department of African American Studies, and for Professor Emeritus Richard Schacht, Department of Philosophy, to speak to GP.07.04, Multi-Year Contract Option for Eligible Academic Staff: Implementation Proposals.

I move that such privileges be granted to these individuals.

Tellers for today’s meeting are Senators Clare Crowston (LAS), Rick Gorvett (LAS), and Peter Loeb (LAS).

The Senate approved a motion to re-order the agenda to discuss nominations for honorary degrees in executive session as the next business item.

Executive Session

At 3:20 p.m., the Senate entered Executive Session to consider honorary degree nominations.  The Senate exited Executive Session at 3:25 p.m.

Chancellor’s Remarks

The Chancellor provided the following announcements: Jim Schroeder has been approved as the new campus Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement (VCIA); there will be two accreditation visits next year – one for the entire University (NCA) and one regarding athletics (NCAA); the Board of Trustees is in serious discussions about e-learning; renovation of Memorial Stadium is proceeding apace – looking toward August 2008 completion; and there continue to be discussions between the Ulen committee (Chancellor’s advisory committee) and representatives from the Academy on Capitalism and Limited Government Fund (ACLGF).

Questions/Discussion

Senator Belden Fields (LAS) asked about communication between ACLGF and the Ulen committee.  The Chancellor reported that, while he is not at liberty to discuss details of their work, his Committee has been working steadily with the ACLGF on draft agreements and soon hopes to be able to release a public report.

Consent Agenda

The Presiding Officer announced that the following proposals were approved by unanimous consent:

03/31/08-02  EP.08.27*, Proposal to Revise the Undergraduate Major in the Sciences and Letters Curriculum in Speech Communication, College of LAS,
03/31/08-03  EP.08.28*, An Undergraduate Minor in Communication, Dept. of Speech Communication, LAS,
03/31/08-04  EP.08.29*, Reorganization of the African American Studies Program to Department of African American Studies,
03/31/08-05  EP.08.30*, Reorganization of the Program for the Study of Religion to the Department of Religion,
03/31/08-06  EP.08.31*, Center for Human Resource Management,
03/31/08-07  EP.08.35*, Master’s Degree in Statistics: Concentration in Analytics,
03/31/08-08  EP.08.37*, Establishment of an Undergraduate Minor in Agricultural Safety and Health, ACES,
03/31/08-09  EP.08.38*, Proposal to Create a Professional Science Master’s Graduate Concentration,
03/31/08-10  EP.08.39*, Proposal for an M.S.Degree with a Major in Agricultural Production and a Concentration in Professional Science Masters,
03/31/08-11  EP.08.40*, Proposal for an M.S. Degree in Bioenergy in ACES with a Concentration in Professional Science Masters,
03/31/08-12  EP.08.41*, Proposal to Rename the B.A. in Speech Communication to the B.A. in Communication,
03/31/08-13  EP.08.42*, Revised Curriculum for the Undergraduate Degree in Kinesiology,
03/31/08-14  EP.08.43*, Revised Curriculum for the Undergraduate Degree in Community Health,
03/31/08-15  EP.08.44*, Creation of a Taxation Major in the Department of Accountancy’s M.S. Program,
03/31/08-16  EP.08.45*, Graduate Minor in Gender and Women’s Studies,
03/31/08-17  EP.08.46*, Proposed Revisions to the Doctor of Philosophy Degree in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures,
03/31/08-18  EP.08.47*, Proposed Revisions to the Masters of Arts Degree in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, LAS,
03/31/08-19  EP.08.48*, Proposal to Modify the Master of Science Degree in Statistics,
03/31/08-20  EP.08.49*, Proposal to Change the Graduate Degree Program Names from Agricultural Engineering to Agricultural and Biological Engineering,
03/31/08-21  EP.08.50*, Proposal to Change the Undergraduate Degree Program Name from Agricultural Engineering to Agricultural and Biological Engineering,
03/31/08-22  EP.08.51*, Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training, Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, College of Applied Health Sciences,
03/31/08-23  EP.08.53*, Revisions to Concentrations in Agricultural Accounting, Agricultural Finance, Consumer Economics and Finance, and Farm Management, in the Agricultural and Consumer Economics Major, Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics.

Proposals for Action

03/31/08-24          Chancellor Richard Herman presented for action GP.07.04*, Multi-Year Contract Option for Eligible Academic Staff: Implementation Proposals.  Senator John Prussing (ENGR), Chair of the Senate Committee on General University Policy, recapitulated the history and background of this proposal and moved its approval.

Senator William Maher (LIBR) moved to call upon the Senate to express its approval, as the sense of the Senate, for this proposal, provided that a revised draft of the procedures for dismissal (Attachment 3) incorporating a role for the campus Faculty Advisory Committee (FAC) be presented by the Senate Executive Committee (SEC).

 A motion was made for the Senate to approve the original document (GP.07.04) with the caveat that the SEC and the Chancellor will work together to develop mutually agreeable language to present to the Senate to satisfy the concerns expressed.  Subsequently, Senator Maher received unanimous consent from the Senate to withdraw his motion.

03/31/08-25          By voice vote, GP.07.04 was approved, with the caveat noted above.

 

Reports for Information of the Senate

03/31/08-26          HE.08.09*, February 15 FAC/IBHE,
03/31/08-27          HE.08.10*, March 14 FAC/IBHE,
03/31/08-28          HE.08.08*, February 5 IBHE,
03/31/08-29          UC.08.05*, January 25 USC.

 

Committee of the Whole

At 4:15 p.m., the Senate approved a motion to convene as a Committee of the Whole House to consider the Final Report of the Promotion and Tenure Reform Committee, charged by Provost Linda Katehi, and chaired by Senator Andreas Cangellaris (ENGR).  Senator Cangellaris responded to a number of queries, including ones related to the definition and breadth of translational research and the promotion and tenure process.

The Senate approved a motion to rise and report for purposes of exiting the Committee of the Whole at 4:30 p.m.

The meeting adjourned at 4:30 p.m.

Robert C. Damrau, Senate Clerk
*Filed with the Senate Clerk and incorporated by reference in these Minutes.