http://www.scsu.ctstateu.edu/organizations/facultysenate

The first meeting of the 2001-2002 year was called to order at 12:15 PM.

Members Present:

Brownell (Art), Lavin (Art), Martinelli (Biology), Puerschner (Chemistry), Coburn-Enquist (Communication), Jirsa (ComDisorder/MFT), DaPonte (Computer Science), Nwachuku (Couns/SchPsych), Fullmer (Earth Science), Corbett (Education), Cairns (Ed Leadership), Petrie (English), Hood (English), Johnson (English), Mee (Exercise Science), Rinehardt (Exercise Science), Verplaetse (Foreign Language), Hernandez (Foreign Language), Sakalowsky (Geography), Judd (History), Petto (History), Dunklee (Jounalism), Schofield-Bodt (Library Science), Wu (Library), Nodoushani (Management), Prince (Marketing), Bennett (Math), Brin (Math), Wallace (Nursing), Prince(Part-time faculty), Young (Part-time faculty), Volkman (Philosophy), Broadbridge (Physics), Paulson (Political Science), Sherman (Psychology), Kahlbaugh (Psychology), Bulmer (Public Health), Cusato (Science Ed/Env Stud), Dripchak (Social Work), Haymes (Social Work), Skoczen (Soc & Anthro), Brucker (Special Ed/Reading), Major (Special Ed/Reading), Watts (Theatre)

Visitors:

Tait

Members Absent:

(Accounting), Maloney (Athletics), Sherman (Communication), Rawler (Counseling), Thorson (Econ/Finance), (Education), Bielefield (Library Science), Moss (Music), McCormack (Part-time faculty), Berman (Part-time faculty), Grants (Recreation/Leisure)

The Drop/Add period has been extended through Thursday, September 13, in light of a problem with Banner.

President Michael Adanti:

President Adanti addressed the Senate. He spoke to the current status of the SCSU construction project, the proposed Ed.D program, and Southern’s response to the recent terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania.

• Construction: We should expect that there will be a mess for awhile as the project proceeds. However, this cannot be avoided and the project is "going beautifully." This project will ultimately result in a massive change in the appearance and utility of the campus.
• Ed.D.: The legislature has approved the offering of such a degree, but there was initially some confusion as to the scope of this approval. Specifically, the Department of Education contacted the Attorney General to learn whether this approval was limited to a single CSU campus or would extend to all three campuses that have proposed an Ed.D. program (SCSU, CCSU, WCSU). President Adanti made the case for Southern’s position that the legislature’s approval extended to all three campuses, and the Attorney General agreed. All proposed programs still need to be evaluated by the Department of Higher Education, but President Adanti is convinced that Southern’s program is unlikely to run into problems there.
• Southern’s Response to the Sept. 11 Terrorist Attacks: President Adanti noted that the campus was of course in a state of malaise following yesterday’s attacks. In response, a Blood Bank will be set up in coordination with the Red Cross next Tuesday. Faculty are advised to watch for an email with further details. Also, a memorial service will be held on Monday, September 17 in Lyman Auditorium during the Community Hour. He also noted that these events raise some security issues, especially with respect to the safety of dissenters and foreign students. Faculty should be on the alert for any activity targeting these people.

President Adanti went on to briefly address a few questions from the Senate floor:

• May faculty remain on campus for important work if the campus is closed? While yesterday’s closing was a special case, it may be appropriate to review the policy that all faculty must leave in the event of a Snow Closing. The current policy is designed to permit snow removal, and that may be less of an issue now that the parking ramp is in operation.
• The construction company working at Southern may be involved in a serious scandal. Might this interrupt our construction? The current project is fully bonded, so the project will continue no matter what happens to the company in question. In any case, the investigation into that company is likely to take longer than the project itself.
• According to one survey, 1 in 10 Southern students have been directly touched by yesterday’s attacks. Are there special services available for these students? Counseling services are available, and are maintaining extended hours to accommodate these circumstances. We do not currently have a Crisis Response Team like those in place at some high schools, and we might consider whether that would be worthwhile.
• Is it consistent with our power conservation policy at Southern that the library is brightly lit after hours? That sounds like it is worth checking into.

The President concluded by congratulating President Paulson on his election and thanking former-President Jirsa for his service.

Vice-President :

VP Smith began by congratulating Lorrie Verplaetse for receiving a grant to work on teaching reading and Jim Fullmer for successfully securing funds for the SCSU telescope. He immediately turned the floor over to questions:

• Are there plans to set up an office to improve our ability to serve foreign students? Linda Olson, Ellen Frank, and Patricia Zibluk are among those working to create an office for handling the needs of international students and visiting scholars. We should have such an office in place in about a year, and some ability to handle visas and similar issues more smoothly by Christmas.
• When will the DHE start looking at Ed.D. proposals and is there a sufficient market to offer three in Connecticut? We will find out more on Thursday, but for a project as ambitious as this the DHE will send a team to investigate. The Attorney General has said that the legislative intent was to allow all three campuses to offer the degree, but the quality of the program will play a role in the DHE’s decisions. In that regard, we are the lead university for graduate work, as per our mission statement.
• Will SCSU develop a coherent framework for handling our online offerings? We certainly hope so. But before a full policy can be contemplated, we need to address what will go online and who is in charge of these matters. It seems that CSU is no longer trying to control all of this, but it is still unclear who should be developing policy in these matters. However this turns out, any policies will be formed in cooperation with the Faculty Senate.

President Paulson outlined the items discussed in the written report (see attached).

Standing Committee Reports:

Senators broke into committees to briefly elect a chairperson and set a meeting time. Reports were made when the full Senate reconvened. A full list of committee assignments is attached.

• Steve Judd, Chair

• Pamela Brucker, Chair
• We will be using a new food service this semester, so it may take some time to assess exactly how much food of what kinds we should get.
• Travel funds currently stand at about $173,700 - $50,000 encumbered (full-time) and $19,000 - $1800 encumbered (part-time). These funds will be carefully monitored and the Senate kept informed as the semester progresses.

• Patricia Major, Chair

• Arlene Bielefield, Chair
• Resolution S01-08 (relating to coaches and others in the P&T document) was rejected by the president. It is remanded to committee.

• Cindy Schofield-Bodt, Chair

• Christine Petto, Chair
• Senators are asked to keep the technology committee informed about whether all new faculty have computers, as promised.

• Jim Fullmer, Chair
• Four resolutions from the Academic Policy Committee will be coming to the Senate floor very soon. These include the last Curricular Approval Resolution, and three resolutions on the Late Withdrawal Policy.
• President Paulson explained that the two Curricular Approval Resolutions passed last spring have been rejected by the President, and it was agreed that the whole issue needed to be revisited by the committee in light of these developments.
• Other items of the APC agenda: a late drop policy for emergencies, admission standards, standards for the Dean’s List, an examination of the procedures for setting up interdisciplinary and minor programs on campus, add policies, and faculty load credit.

UCF –Senator Puerschner (who serves on the UCF) noted that three course revisions had come through the UCF without signatures from the relevant school curriculum committees. Although this turned out to be simply a clerical matter, it nonetheless raises the question of whether approval by the school committee is mandatory for UCF approval of such revisions.

New Business:

Senator Watts moved the following:

The motion passed unanimously. Senator Jirsa indicated that he was a member of both relevant committees, and would report on them as the Senate deemed necessary.

The Student Policy Committee was charged with investigating whether handicapped students and others have been adversely impacted by the detours across campus caused by the construction, and with determining what if any Senate action should be taken to address this issue.

Senators noted that many of the buildings are in disrepair and that getting things fixed has proven more difficult than it ought to be. While a discussion followed, no specific action was taken at this time.

Meeting was adjourned at 2:00 PM

Respectfully submitted,

Richard Volkman