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FACULTY SENATE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Minutes of April 19, 2006
(unapproved)

The Faculty Senate Executive Committee (FSEC) met at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 19, 2006, in 567 Capen Hall to consider the following agenda:

Approval of the minutes of March 29, 2006
Report of the Chair
Report of the President/Provost
Update on FSA - M. Green
Undergraduate Education Experience - M. Ryan
Old/New business
Executive session (if required)
Adjournment

Item 1: Approval of the minutes of March 29, 2006

The minutes were approved as distributed.

Item 2: Report of the Chair

Chair Nickerson's report included:

The semester is drawing to a close; next week is our last open meeting of the FSEC. We'll finish the semester with an executive session with the Provost on May 3^rd.
We are working to reactivate the FS Academic Planning Committee, which is chaired by Professor Diane Christian.

Item 3: Report of the President/Provost

Provost Tripathi reminded everyone that UB's Celebration of Academic Excellence will be held tomorrow in the Center for the Arts. Undergraduate research and scholarship projects will be showcased in the atrium beginning at 1:00 and there will be music onstage at 3:00. The procession and ceremony will commence at 3:30.

Item 4: Update on the FSA - Mitch Green

Executive Director Mitch Green updated FSEC on Campus Dining & Shops (CD&S), which is now the official name of FSA (Faculty Student Association). CD&S's major services include UB's dining, vending, and catering operations; the UBCard program; and several campus stores. The enterprise does around $20 million worth of business and is the largest employer of UB students.

Putnam's in the Student Union and Goodyear's dining area on the South Campus were upgraded during the past year. Dining space in the Ellicott Complex will be upgraded next. Also, services were added for new coffee shops and the University Club.

There are 280 vending machines featuring numerous healthy alternatives along with traditional snacks. Most of the Pepsi vending machines are energy efficient models.

Suggestions for improving CD&S services included installing food operations in libraries and keeping Mrs. Rich's Corner open during the summer. Mrs. Rich's, which is located in the Natural Sciences Complex, is the only eatery on the west end of campus. Many labs are located west of Capen Hall, so there's a significant population around throughout the summer months.

Item 5: Undergraduate Education Experience - Michael Ryan

Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education Michael Ryan presented current highlights about UB's undergraduates and then described some initiatives that UB is planning to improve their experience at UB. He called the current freshmen class the most academically talented (based on HS average = 3.1, mean SAT = 1185) in UB history. They're also the most geographically diverse, coming from 29 states and 34 countries.

UB's current persistence rate (1st year = 87.7%) and graduation rate (6-year = 59%) are significantly above average for SUNY campuses.

The Center for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (CURCA) has already been established in Room 14A Capen Hall. Tim Tryjankowski is the director of CURCA, which aims to promote research project opportunities and scholarship/fellowship availability to undergraduates.

Learning communities are another initiative that UB plans to offer. These would combine living and learning programs for students with similar interests to foster closer relationships. It's probably too late to establish housing arrangements for the fall semester since many students have already chosen roommates and rooms, but we'll try to increase a sense of togetherness for students in some programs by offering vouchers for students to have lunch with faculty members.

A plan to increase students' awareness of academic integrity issues is still at a conceptual stage. It would likely involve having a Web site and workshops that would stimulate interest in an honor code.

Item 6: Old/New business

None

Item 7: Executive session (if required)

An executive session was held.

Item 8: Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 3:30 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Will Hepfer
Secretary of the Faculty Senate

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

Chair: Nickerson (P)
Secretary: W. Hepfer (P)
Architecture & Planning: GS Danford (P)
Arts & Sciences: J. Faran (P), R. Hoeing (E), SD Schack (P), D. Street (P), K. Takeuchi (P)
Dental Medicine: M. Donley (P)
Education: L. Malavé (A)
Engineering & Applied Sciences: C. Basaran (A), P. Alexandridis (E)
Informatics: J. Ellison (E)
Law: T. Miller (A)
Management: W. Lin (P)
Medicine & Biomedical Sciences: D. Amsterdam (A), M. Dayton (A), L. Harris (A), J. Hassett (E)
Nursing: P. Wooldridge (A)
Pharmacy: G. Brazeau (A)
Public Health & Health Professions: vacant
Social Work: Barbara Rittner (A)
SUNY Senators: W. Baumer (P), W. Coles (E), H. Durand (P), P. Nickerson (P)
University Libraries: HA Booth (P)

Guests: K. Bissonnette (Student Affairs), D. Forté (Spectrum), J. Keltz (Reporter), L. Labinski (Professional Staff Senate)

Tel: 716-645-2003
Fax: 716-645-2717
Email: facultysenate@buffalo.edu
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FACULTY SENATE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Minutes of April 19, 2006 (unapproved)

Minutes of April 19, 2006
(unapproved)