KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY

Minutes of the University Senate

Room 223, McFarland Student Union Building

Thursday, February 1, 2007

W. Bateman called the meeting to order at 4:02 p.m.

Present: Marilyn Baguinon, Len Barish, William Bateman (President), Eric Beaven, Kate Clair, Roberta Crisson, Camille DeMarco, Patricia Derr, William Donner, Diane Fegely, Sudarshan Fernando for Madan Varma, Lisa Frye (Secretary), Jo Cohen Hamilton, Kathy Hartman, Roger Hibbs, Ted Hickman, Yong Huang for James Hall, James Hvidding, William Jefferson, Tracy Keyes, Mark Koenig, Lynn Krizan for Morris Perinchief, JoAnn Mackesy, Robert Martin, John McAndrew, Justin McCleary, George Paterno, Sylvia Pham, Ilene Prokup, Dennis Rains, Karen Rauch, Nicole Romanski for Lori Don Levan, Robert Ryan, Rennie Sacco, Maria Sanelli, Loline Saras, Randy Schaeffer, Judith Smith (Vice-President), Laura Springman, Pietro Toggia, Carlos Vargas-Aburto, and David Wagaman.

Absent: Deborah Barlieb, Kristin Bremer, Dan Cates, Mike Demetor, Ina Grapenthin, Susan Mangold, Walter Nott, Paul Sable, and Karen Williams.

Also in Attendance: Dr. F. Javier Cevallos, Margo Mengel, Gerald Silberman, and Carole Wells.

     I.     Announcements

W. Bateman, on behalf of C. DeMarco, reminded faculty to have pictures taken to update the Public Relations Office’s image library. A professional photographer will be available to take formal portraits on Monday, February 12 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in SUB 312, and Tuesday, February 13 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Concourse of Old Main.

W. Bateman asked if there were any substitutions in attendance. Yong Huang was substituting for James Hall of the Philosophy Department, Nicole Romanski for Lori Don Levan of the Communication Design Department, Sudarshan Fernando for Madan Varma of the Physical Science Department, and Lynn Krizan for Morris Perinchief of the Fine Arts Department.

   A.     Middle States Accreditation

Dr. Carole Wells, Steering Committee Chair of the Middle States Accreditation Team, updated the Senate on the accreditation process. A Decennial Accreditation Review Self-Study Design Proposal and a letter from Dr. Michael Kiphart (Vice President of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and KU’s liaison to Middle States) to Dr. Cevallos were distributed to all Senators. The Steering Committee consists of 18 members and they hope to have a rough draft by the Summer 2007. KU must propose possible members to Middle States for an evaluation team that will visit KU’s campus during the spring 2008 semester. This evaluation team should include peers from the area. If any Senator knows of individuals or disciplines to suggest, they should E-mail Dr. Wells. The members of the evaluation team will attend Middle States training.

    II.     Approval of the Agenda

E. Beaven moved, R. Crisson seconded, to approve the Agenda. The motion passed.

  III.     Approval of the Minutes

R. Schaeffer moved, M. Baguinon seconded, to approve the Minutes of the December 7, 2006 meeting. W. Bateman noted a correction to December’s minutes on page 4, Section C, the third paragraph, second sentence; it should be “acclamation,” not “acclimation.” The minutes were approved as amended.

  IV.     Committee and Task Force Reports

   A.     Committee on Committees

J. Smith, Chair, made a motion for the second and final reading of the Constitutional Amendment that was handed out at the last Senate Meeting. J. Smith noted that the word “medical” was misspelled on the copy of the amendment distributed to Senators. The motion to make the proposed change to the Constitution passed. The motion was:

Members appointed by the Committee on Committees who are granted a leave of absence, sabbatical, or medical leave from the University exceeding 8 weeks, shall be replaced for the duration of their leave by the Committee on Committees and shall rejoin those committees on their return to the University for the remainder of their term. Where practical, the members granted leave would suggest replacement(s) for the committee(s) on which they serve from the appropriate constituency (i.e. department, college, administrative unit), but actual appointment to committees would remain the responsibility of the Committee on Committees.

    B.     Strategic Planning and Resources Committee

No report.

   V.     Old Business

   A.     Discussion about the Academic Forum

M. Sanelli, Chair of the Ad-Hoc Committee on the Academic Forum, reported that the committee met with the Provost on three separate occasions to discuss how to use the Academic Forum in an effective manner. The committee presented the Provost with ten questions; and the Provost’s responses were distributed to those present. M. Sanelli noted that the Provost never mentioned the Senate’s role in the academic governance in his responses. President Cevallos stated that the absence of any mention of Senate in the Provost’s responses was not intentional, but that no question specifically mentioned the Senate.

M. Sanelli asked Dr. Cevallos about Senate’s role in the academic governance structure at KU. Dr. Cevallos noted that the Senate is an advising body to the President and the Provost to aid in decision-making. He also mentioned the role of the University Curriculum Committee.

K. Clair stated that another issue not addressed was the curriculum being changed due to the introduction of larger classes in the Academic Forum. She stated that the larger classes eliminated the writing component that is included in some syllabi. W. Bateman questioned M. Sanelli to see if her ad hoc committee knew how many departments are teaching courses in the Academic Forum and how many of those departments feel that their official course syllabi have been violated. M. Sanelli stated that she did not have that information. After stating that she did not have the time to gather that information, M. Sanelli made a motion, seconded by R. Crisson, to have the Senate President gather that information. The motion passed.

    B.     Discussion of the Commonality Document

W. Bateman stated that there would be a meeting in March with representation from all the state system universities to discuss the Commonality Document. W. Bateman asked Dr. Cevallos if the university will spend money to keep existing academic policies in place. Dr. Cevallos responded that it would depend on the actual cost.

   V.     New Business

   A.     Constitutional Amendment about Academic Departments

J. Smith made the motion to replace Article II, Section A. 1. a. with the following:

Faculty: One (1) Senator elected by each academic department. If two or more academic departments so choose, they may elect from among themselves one Senator to represent them.

R. Schaeffer moved, R. Crisson seconded, to modify the motion to read as follows:

Faculty: One (1) Senator elected by and from each academic department. Exception: if two or more academic departments so choose, they may elect from among themselves one Senator to represent them.

The motion to modify the motion passed. Following that the Senate passed the first reading of the motion to make the proposed change to the Senate Constitution. The second and final reading will occur at the next Senate meeting.

VII.     Adjournment

L. Barish moved, M. Baguinon seconded, to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed and the meeting adjourned at 4:59 p.m.

       ___________________________________           ___________________________________

                   William E. Bateman, President                                        Lisa M. Frye, Secretary

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