FACULTY SENATE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Minutes of January 26, 2005
(unapproved)

 

The Faculty Senate Executive Committee (FSEC) met at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 26, 2005, in 567 Capen Hall to consider the following agenda:

1. Approval of the minutes of November 17th & December 1st, 2004
2. Report of the Chair
3. Report of the President/Provost
4. UB’s Plan for Assessing General Education – P. Gold & C. Tutzauer
5. Report & update from the Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education – M. Ryan
6. Old/New business
7. Executive session (if needed)
8. Adjournment

Item 1: Approval of the minutes of November 17 & December 1, 2004

The minutes were approved after noting that Professor Donley was incorrectly marked absent for the December meeting.

Item 2: Report of the Chair

Chair Nickerson reported:

• The FSEC, in collaboration with the Faculty Senate (FS) Committee on Teaching & Learning, interviewed six finalists for the position of vice provost for faculty affairs last week.
• The Provost has announced an opportunity for faculty to participate in a leadership program and learn about administration at the provostial and presidential level. The program is open to faculty members with the rank of full professor.
• FSEC’s May 4th meeting with the Provost will begin at 1:00 and be done by 2:30.
• Phase I of the UB2020 planning process has been completed. Committees of the FS will be asked to work on topics identified during the initial phase in Phases II and III.
• The Affirmative Action Committee met recently. They’re still working on a handbook for recruitment and retention. At the end of last semester, the committee met with the Provost and Chief of Staff to discuss diversity issues and the planning process.

Professor Hepfer, chair of the Elections Committee, reported that the December call for nominations for 2005/07 chair of the Faculty Senate had produced four nominations. Two on the nominees graciously declined, and one didn’t respond. That leaves Chair Nickerson as an unopposed candidate, so at next Tuesday’s FS meeting the secretary will cast a single vote for him and call for a motion to approve his re-election for two more years.

Item 3: Report of the President/Provost

President Simpson said the search for a vice provost for faculty affairs in nearing conclusion. All six finalists were receptive to the idea of having a code of professional conduct, which was a charge previously given to the Faculty Senate. Meanwhile, the searches for vice presidents for research and health sciences respectively are progressing nicely and attracting a field of good candidates.

Chancellor King called a meeting of SUNY four-year campus presidents yesterday to discuss a SUNY tuition proposal. The plan calls for resident undergraduate students to pay the same tuition each year of a four-year curriculum. Tuition for each successive freshman class would change in accordance with the national Higher Education Price Index (HEPI). The proposal doesn’t address how it will affect transfer students and students who take longer than four years to graduate.

The overall proposal would benefit UB budgetarily, and the extra money could be used to provide additional financial aid. This will be explained in greater detail at next Tuesday’s Faculty Senate meeting.

Item 4: UB’s Plan for Assessing General Education – Peter Gold, Carol Tutzauer

A draft version of the report is available at http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~tutzauer/Assessment.

Vice Provost/Dean Ryan, along with Assistant Director for Assessment Tutzauer and Associate Dean Gold, provided ground and current information regarding the recently drafted “Plan for the Assessment of General Education at the University at Buffalo.” It is an expanded version of a proposal that was first submitted to Albany in 2002. The SUNY General Education Assessment Review (GEAR) group rejected that plan because it lacked details and examples. Such specifics have been incorporated into the new proposal, which has an added provision for reviewing the results. All eight GEAR criteria have been addressed, and we are reasonably confident that the current document will be acceptable.

A motion to approve the general education assessment plan was seconded and passed by unanimous vote. It will now be submitted to GEAR for review, and, if passed, implementation will commence in the coming fall semester.

Item 5: Report and update from the Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education – Michael Ryan

Vice Provost Ryan, who began his new duties three weeks ago, described how his Office (VPUE) is organized. The key support staff and their functions include:

• Nina Kaars – academic policy and standards
• Joanne Plunkett – communications
• Kara C. Saunders – curriculum and academic integrity
• Tim Tryjankowski – undergraduate research and creative activity
• Carol Tutzauer – program review and assessment
• Linda Ferry – budget and personnel
• Lynn Leistner – office and reception

Seven unit directors also report to the VPUE:

• Terri Mangione – student academic records and financial services
• Regina Toomey – articulation and transfer services
• Patricia Armstrong – admissions
• Henry Durand – Center for Academic Development Services
• Larry Gingrich – Millard Fillmore College
• Stephen Wallace – athlete academic services
• Clyde Herreid – honors program

Vice Provost Ryan provided a list of his immediate priorities, including:

• Define the mission and governing principles of the Office of the VPUE
• Expand and improve communication and collaboration with academic units
• Clarify and disseminate academic policies and streamline procedures
• Promote undergraduate research and creative achievement
• Review and analyze undergraduate academic performance, retention, and graduation data
• Review readmission data
• Review and evaluate undergraduate academic programs
• Implement general education assessment

Item 6: Old/New business

None

Item 7: Executive session (if needed)

There was an executive session.

Item 8: Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 3:50 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Will Hepfer
Secretary of the Faculty Senate

Attendance (P = present; E = excused; A = absent)

Chair: P. Nickerson (P)
Secretary: W. Hepfer (P)
Architecture & Planning: GS. Danford (P)
Arts & Sciences: S. Bruckenstein (A), M. Churchill (P), J. Faran (P), S. Schack (P), K. Takeuchi (E)
Dental Medicine: M. Donley (P)
Education: X. Liu (P)
Engineering & Applied Sciences: C. Basaran (P), J. Jensen (P)
Informatics: J. Ellison (P)
Institutional/General: O. Mixon (A)
Law: vacant
Management: J. Boot (P)
Medicine & Biomedical Sciences: J. Evans (A), L. Harris (E), J. Hassett (E)
Nursing: P. Wooldridge (P)
Pharmacy: G. Brazeau (A)
Public Health & Health Professions: C. Crespo (P)
Social Work: Barbara Rittner (A)
SUNY Senators: W. Baumer (P), W. Coles (P), M. Kramer (P), P. Nickerson (P)
University Libraries: C. Tysick (P)


Guests: P. Balzano (SA), B. Burke (EDAAA), B. Cady (Spectrum), M. Cochrane (Reporter), P. Gold (CAS), L. Labinski (Prof. Staff Senate), L. Meister (SA), M. Ryan (Undergrad. Ed.), C. Tutzauer (Undergrad. Ed.)

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