A regular meeting of the Urbana-Champaign Senate was called to order at 3:10 p.m. in Foellinger Auditorium with Chancellor Nancy Cantor presiding.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

09/29/03-01 The minutes of the April 28 and May 5, 2003, Senate meetings were approved as written.

SENATE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORT

Senator Michael Grossman (ACES), Chair of the Senate Executive Committee (SEC), reported on the following activities of the SEC and other items related to today's agenda:

• SC.03.13, Evaluation of Ability to Work, on today's agenda for Information, was approved by the SEC, on behalf of the Senate, on July 7, 2003. In accord with Senate Bylaws, the SEC is reporting its action to the Senate at its first regular meeting following such action.
• The Senate Executive Committee will be meeting with members of the Board of Trustees at the invitational luncheon held in conjunction with the November 13 Board meeting in Urbana.
• The SEC is also exploring a possible meeting with Representative Naomi Jakobsson to exchange perspectives on the effects of budget cuts, as well as other pertinent matters.
• On behalf of the SEC, I would like to thank all those who attended last week's Annual Meeting of the Faculty. It was our best turnout in ten years, and we're hoping to continue that trend next year.
• If you have not already done so, please pick up a copy of an addendum to CC.04.03, which is available at the table in the lobby.
• Please remain in the auditorium for the full meeting, as the Senate will consider nominations for honorary degrees for Commencement 2004 in Executive Session at the end of today's agenda.

Grossman announced that the following senators have agreed to serve as tellers: Adam Blahnik (LAS), Paul Martin (ENGR), Aaron Trehub (LIBR), and Geneva Belford (ENGR).

CHANCELLOR'S REMARKS

Chancellor Nancy Cantor spoke briefly about some of the many activities that will take place on campus during this academic year to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision. She indicated that we will all be hearing much more about these events as the year unfolds.

The Chancellor then turned the podium over to Provost Richard Herman, to provide an update on a number of matters related to the budget.

Dr. Herman began by talking about the campus experiencing a significant drop in the General Revenue Fund (GRF) over the last few years, with a twice as great increase in tuition revenues over the same period.

The Provost added that a recent campus cost analysis led to the elimination of several senior administrative positions, with a goal of helping to offset a drop of 460 FTE's since the last fiscal year, including about 32 faculty positions, as well as over 100 graduate teaching assistants and over 300 net FTE academic and civil service positions.

Provost Herman reported that administrative units have been advised to plan for budget cuts of at least 10% this year, with academic units told to plan for decreases of at least 8%. As a result, fewer classes and labs are being taught, but the campus is trying to restore some of the Discovery classes that were canceled for spring semester 2004, especially those related to cross-campus initiatives. The Provost stressed that preserving the core missions of the University remains paramount in all budget decisions.

QUESTIONS/DISCUSSION

Senator Peter Loeb (LAS) asked if, subsequent to the Senate passage of a campus policy providing students the opportunity to request alternatives to dissection (EP.03.35, approved May 5, 2003), any students have requested such alternatives. Dr. Herman indicated that his office was not aware that any such requests have yet been made.

CONSENT AGENDA

The Presiding Officer announced that, absent the objections of any senator, the following proposals were approved by unanimous consent (requests were approved to move EP.03.34 and EP.04.06 to Proposals for Action):

09/29/03-02 EP.04.02*, Singapore Joint Program Option in the Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering,
09/29/03-03 EP.04.03*, Bachelor of Arts/Master of Urban Planning 4+1 Program in Urban and Regional Planning,
09/29/03-04 EP.04.04*, Master's Degree Program in Bioinformatics.

PROPOSALS FOR ACTION

09/29/03-05 Chancellor Cantor presented for action CC.04.03*, Nominations for Membership on Standing Committees of the Senate. Senator John Prussing (ENGR), Chair of the Senate Committee on Committees, after removing the names of Thomas Abram (for CCG) and Anna Ackerman (for EP) from the report, moved approval of the slate of nominees on both CC.04.03 and CC.04.03A. There were no floor nominations and nominations were declared closed.

09/29/03-06 By voice vote, the slate was approved.

09/29/03-07 Dr. Cantor presented for action RS.04.01*, Resolution to Endorse the IBHE/FAC's Recommendation to add a 7th Goal to The Illinois Commitment. Senator Ken Andersen (LAS), sponsor of the resolution, summarized the background of this resolution. He then urged the senate to join the sixteen other public, private, and community college faculties/senates across the state that have endorsed the Faculty Advisory Council's (FAC) call for the addition of a 7th goal to The Illinois Commitment, to wit, "The collective efforts of Illinois colleges and universities will enhance and enrich the quality of life for all Illinois citizens." Senator Andersen moved approval of the resolution.

09/29/03-08 By voice vote, RS.04.01 was approved.

09/29/03-09 The Presiding Officer presented for action EP.04.07*, Computation of Grade Point Average. Senators Vernon Burton (LAS) and Abbas Aminmansour (FAA), Chair and Vice-Chair, respectively, of the Educational Policy Committee, briefly described the rationale for bringing this proposal forward and moved its approval.

Senator H. George Friedman (ENGR) said he has grown weary of hearing that computers cannot handle one-thirds; he said this is an academic issue and that the campus should not have to adjust its grading policy simply because some computer programmers say so. Several other senators expressed similar sentiments.

Senator Chris Mullen (ENGR) asked what effect it would have on BANNER if this policy did not pass. Senator Aminmansour replied that there would be no effect, since BANNER can carry to many decimal places, and this proposal limits decimals to two places.

Senator Mullen then moved to refer the proposal back to the Educational Policy Committee with instructions to report back to the Senate as soon as feasible.

09/29/03-10 By a show of hands, the motion to refer EP.04.07 back to the Educational Policy Committee was approved.

09/29/03-11 The Chancellor presented for action EP.03.34*, Revision to the Campus Code, Section 86, the Dean's List. Senator Donald Schmidt (GRAD) objected to the term "approximately" in the context of colleges determining the top 20% of their students. Others were less troubled about the possible vagueness surrounding that term.

09/29/03-12 By a show of hands, EP.03.34 was approved.

09/29/03-13 Dr. Cantor presented for action EP.04.06*, Proposal to Discontinue the Undergraduate Economics Major in the College of Business. Senators Burton and Aminmansour, responding to concerns expressed by Senator Hassen Al-Shawaf (LAS), pointed out the declining number of Economics majors in the College of Business with a corresponding increase in Economics majors in LAS.

09/29/03-14 By a show of hands, EP.04.06 was approved.

REPORTS FOR INFORMATION OF THE SENATE

The Chancellor presented the following reports for information:

09/29/03-15 PS.03.01*, 2002-2003 Annual Report of the Committee on Continuing Education and Public Service,
09/29/03-16 SC.03.13*, Evaluation of Ability to Work,
09/29/03-17 SC.03.11*, Report of the May 15 12 BOT Meeting,
09/29/03-18 SC.03.12*, Report of the June 27 BOT Meeting,
09/29/03-19 SC.03.14*, Report of the July 16-17 BOT Meeting,
09/29/03-20 SC.04.03*, Report of the September 11 BOT Meeting,
09/29/03-21 HE.03.14*, Report of the June 3 BHE Meeting,
09/29/03-22 HE.03.16*, Report of the August 12 BHE Meeting,
09/29/03-23 HE.03.12*, Report of the May 2 FAC/IBHE Meeting,
09/29/03-24 HE.03.13*, Report of the May 30 FAC/IBHE Meeting,
09/29/03-25 HE.03.15*, Report of the June 20 FAC/IBHE Meeting,
09/29/03-26 HE.04.01*, Report of the September 12 FAC/IBHE Meeting,
09/29/03-27 UC.03.07*, Report of the April 23 USC Meeting,
09/29/03-28 UC.03.08*, Report of the May 20 USC Meeting,
09/29/03-29 UC.03.09*, Report of the June 24 USC Meeting,
09/29/03-30 UC.03.10*, Report of the August 11 USC Meeting.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

The Senate approved a motion to enter Executive Session at 4:15 p.m. for purposes of considering candidates for honorary degrees. The Senate exited this session at 4:35 p.m.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:35 p.m.

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