Tuesday, 17 October 2006
Meeting 2007-02

Meeting called to order at 2:01

Roll Call:

Absent:
Departmental senators: Richard Dillaman (BIO), Ling He (ISOM), Sam Murrell (PAR), Curt Stiles (MGT)

Committee chairs: Philip Gerard (Advancement), Donna Hurdle (Public Service), Roger Lowry (Bookstore), Dick Veit (Handbook)

September minutes were approved as posted.

Individual reports

1. Chancellor DePaolo
   

   •Chancellor DePaolo introduced Debra Saunders-White, Vice Chancellor, Information Technology Systems

   •The Chancellor discussed President Erskine Bowles’s historic decision to cap student fees and tuition at 6.5 percent, which will make planning easier for students and parents. She noted that the reason UNCW has had to raise fees is because of low state appropriation. Now, tuition will be tied to state appropriation, and the onus is on the general assembly. She praised President Bowles for gathering an impressive amount of data to bring to this discussion.

   •Currently, the second iteration of the expansion budget is being created; it will go to the Board of Governors for November’s meeting. The Chancellor expressed hope that the process will become ever more transparent. One critical piece that is not included is the continued piece of equity funding, which the President has said he is committed to.

   •The Chancellor reminded the Senate of the October 26th reception with Board of Trustees at Kenan House. This is an informal gathering without a specific agenda.

2. Faculty Assembly Delegate Jimmy Reeves

   •Delegate Reeves noted that the Faculty Assembly is now an important institution. He emphasized that President Bowles has a clear agenda and strategy. Two of Bowles’s most important goals are to raise faculty salaries and to address student tuition/ student aid. He has made it clear that if the legislature comes up with money, tuition will drop. Moreover, 10% of General Administration has been cut and President Bowles is asking that other cuts be made.

   •For more information, please see the full minutes of the Faculty Assembly meeting: http://uncfacultyassembly.northcarolina.edu/html/minutes/sep06.htm

   •Chancellor DePaolo reminded faculty that President Bowles has a number of points he is going to measure, including retention and graduation rates and alumni giving; we will be held accountable in the fall. The fact that we already have performance measures was impressive to him.President of the Senate Spaulding

   President Spaulding reported that the Board of Governors approved RPT changes submitted approximately a year ago. There will be merely a few small items to clean up.

   Q: Will the old guidelines will be enforced until the fall of 2007?

   A (Provost Hosier): Yes.

   
   

Committee reports

1. Curriculum Committee:

   a. The following motion [Motion 07-02-03] was passed without discussion.

   3 + 2 PROGRAM IN PHYSICS

   AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

   The 3 + 2 Program is a cooperative agreement between the UNCW Physics Program and the North Carolina State University Electrical Engineering Program. The Program gives students the opportunity to earn a Bachelor of Science in Physics from UNCW and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from NCSU. Students must complete all coursework listed below to satisfy the 3+2 Program requirements. The UNCW phase of study can be completed in three years. Students meeting NCSU’s transfer admission requirements (see below) are automatically accepted into the Electrical Engineering Program at NCSU. This program can be completed in two years. UNCW will accept credits from NCSU to complete degree requirements at UNCW and NCSU will accept credits from UNCW to complete degree requirements at NCSU. Thus, the student receives a degree from UNCW and a degree from NCSU.

   To complete the 3 + 2 Program, a student must complete the following coursework:

   • All UNCW basic studies requirements
   • PHY General core requirements: CHM 101, CHM 102, MAT 161, MAT 162, MAT 261, PHY 201, PHY 202, PHY 321, PHY 335
   • PHY B.S. core requirements: MAT 361, PHY 311, PHY 322, PHY 411, PHY 412, PHY 444, PHY 455
   • PHY Oral Competency requirement: PHY 495
   • PHY Computer Competency requirement: PHY 400
   • Additional courses prescribed by the Electrical Engineering Program at NCSU. Of these, the following are taught on-site at UNCW as distance education classes: ECE 109, ECE 200, ECE 209, ECE 212, and E 115.

   A student must finish the UNCW phase of study with an overall GPA of at least 2.90 and have at least a 2.50 GPA in the last two calculus courses (MAT 162 and MAT 261) to meet NCSU’s transfer admission requirements. Students in this program will be advised jointly by the Chair of Physics and Physical Oceanography and the Director of the Engineering Program at UNCW to assure completion of the correct requirements for both programs.

   b. Motion to approve the document[link needed] "Intent to Plan for a B.S. Degree in Community Health" [Motion 07-02-04] was passed with the following discussion and amendment:

   Q: (Noland) By approving this document are we saying that we endorse the intent to plan or the document itself?

   A: (Gurganus) Intent to plan is a formal procedure. The faculty senate is part of the larger process; there is ample room in the next phase for concerns to be raised about the document.

   Noland offered an amendment to the motion: to remove the word “document,” the quotation marks, and the capital letters in [Motion 07-02-04], thereby suggesting that the Senate approve the intent to plan rather than the document. The motion carried.

   [Motion 07-02-04] now reads as follows:

   Motion to approve the intent to plan for a B.S. degree in community health

   Thus revised, the motion carried.

   c. Motion to revise GGY 210 [Motion 07-02-05] as follows was passed without discussion.

   Current Course Title/Description:
   GGY 210.   Economic Geography (3) Human economic activities, their location and relationships to physical and economic conditions of the environment.

   Proposed:

   GGY 210  Geography of the Global Economy (3)  Introduction to the world economy, with emphasis on regional and local variations in the pattern of economic globalization.  From subsistence agriculture to the global flows of capital and information, this course examines the geographical dimension of current economic activities.

Old Business
none

New Business

1. Departmental Motions

The Fine Arts departments of the College of Arts and Sciences offered the following motion [Motion 07-02-06]: that [Motion 07-02-07] be amended as follows: by increasing the Fine Arts minimum requirement from 3 hours to 6 hours and by including the restriction “from two disciplines.” After the following discussion, the motion failed.

Dan Johnson reiterated some of the points found in the document below.

http://www.uncw.edu/facsen/documents/Arts.doc

He argued that this motion is actually a compromise, and he finds it consistent with UNCW’s mission. He further noted that all chairs in Fine Arts (from 7 different disciplines) provided unanimous support. Given the diversity of disciplines and the importance of the arts, they believe that this motion is justified.

Other proponents of the motion argued that fine arts was not adequately considered in the basic studies proposal, emphasizing that they found reduction of the hours deeply troubling for the university as a whole.

Ken Gurganus, a member of the basic studies task force, responded as follows: It is true that to make room for other requirements (the total report is not given in the motion) all the areas were reduced to the minimum. Fine Arts wasn’t singled out. This is the same argument we heard from science chairs, and if we want to have equity, we must bring them back into the conversation. There is a bigger issue: one of flexibility. He argued that the senate is not the place to do this.

Other senators noted that the Natural Sciences and Social Sciences were also reduced. Now there is a “new ecosystem” (Andy Jackson) and altering it here has many other repercussions.

Other concerns were raised: we can only require so many credits at this level and still allow student to pursue other courses. If there’s an increase in Fine Arts basic studies, might this lead to decrease elsewhere (philosophy, religion)?

Proponents of [07-02-06] observed that, as the motion stands, social sciences require two classes in order to have a range of classes. So, they suggested, should Fine Arts. The idea is not to protect turf; rather, it is to protect the role of fine arts.

There was a call for a division of the house.
Those in favor of the amendment: 24.
Those opposed: 33.

The motion failed.

2. Motion [07-02-07], that the Senate endorse the following portion of the template contained in Basic Studies Revision Task Force Proposal of Spring 2006 was passed after much discussion.

(3h)     Mathematics and Statistics

(3h)      Quantitative and Logical Reasoning

(2h)      Physical Education

(3h)      Foreign Language  (through 201 in language from high school or through 102 if new language)

(3h)      Fine Arts

(3h)      History

(3h)      Philosophy

(6h)      Social Sciences – from two disciplines

(7h)      Natural Sciences – 1 from each category; one must be a laboratory course                            

biological sciences                       

physical sciences

Initial question: How can we vote on the portion of the template when we have no philosophical underpinning for physical education?

The members of the senate discussed possible philosophical underpinnings at some length. Dr. Dennison asked to go on record stating that students cannot express themselves if they do not have their health. Health is integrated in each and every one of the seven areas [in the template], and health literacy is critical. Another senator noted that the more educated people are, the better their health.

Finally, Steve Pullum stressed that we should move forward as long as the committee is charged with coming up with philosophical underpinnings.

Senators also raised questions about foreign language requirements. It was reiterated that the new foreign language requirements ensure that students can’t just take 102 to complete their requirement. The new requirement would not emphasize hours; it would emphasize proficiency.

There was a call for a division of the house.
40 in favor
13 opposed
The motion carried.

Individual Reports Continued
President Spaulding:

The Steering Committee has had numerous discussions about the new basic studies committee. The new committee will be asked to use subgroups, as everyone underestimated the amount of work the committee would entail. If the committee of nine establishes sub-committees, we can better include junior faculty and lecturers. A new committee should be named by November; the chair will get one course reduction. The committee will have some space and staff support and a letter of appreciation will be signed. The Steering Committee believes that, at this stage, feasibility will become an issue. The new committee will have to produce catalogue copy and work on criteria for courses. The Steering Committee will seek input from all faculty. Ideally we would have two discussions, April and early May.

He reminded the faculty that this is a standing committee of the senate: it will be a committee of nine, with at least one member from each of the professional schools, four from the college. The membership is selected by the Steering Committee.

He raised the question: “What is it that you think Basic Studies should be examining?” He will solicit information from faculty, and by the November senate meeting there should manageable tasks to give to a committee.

Q: What is within the purview of this basic studies committee? What will they not be allowed to do? How will suggestions be made—possibly in the form of motions from the faculty senate?

President Spaulding: This is one possibility; this is one of many issues that should be raised in the next two weeks.

Meeting adjourned at 4:05

Minutes by Meghan Sweeney, Senate Secretary