Meeting Minutes #153

Members Present: J. Bliss, R. Boikess, S. Brill, R. Bumby, A. Busia, T. Chase, M. Cotter, D. Fishman, P. Gillett, C. Glashausser, M. Gliserman, M. Gursoy, J. Kokini, C. Kulikowski, P. Leath, B. Madsen, G. Mainelis, H. McGary, K. McKeever, J. Markert, J. Miller, M. Page, J. Rubin, H. Sackrowitz, A. Saltz, D. Schilling, R. Schuler, M. Schwartz, J. Shapiro, C. Simmel, G. Taghom, K. Thompson, R. Wilson

Non-Members Present: C. McAnuff, K. Swalagin (Secretary)

1. Call to Order

Council Chairperson Jozef Kokini called the 153rd meeting of the New Brunswick Faculty Council (NBFC) to order at 1:18 p.m. in the Cook Campus Center, Room 202ABC, Cook Campus, welcoming all present to the meeting.

2. Approval of the Agenda and Minutes

The day’s agenda, and the Minutes of the January 26, 2007 New Brunswick Faculty Council meeting, were approved.

3. Report of the Chair - Jozef Kokini

Chairperson Kokini summarized the day's agenda. He said that Executive Vice President Furmanski was unable to attend, but would be at the next meeting. He reported on activities in the council's standing committees, and commented on issues which included:

• council services offered to Vice President for Undergraduate Education Barry Qualls in relation to development of a minimum core curriculum
• plans to have Douglass Dean Carmen Ambar or her representative speak with the council about how restructuring has affected enrollment at Douglass
• an expected report from Barry Qualls on transformation of undergraduate education
• an expected report on the status of the study abroad program and efforts to internationalize undergraduate education
• an expected report from Jolie Cizewski on implementation of all-funds budgeting.

4. Report on Board of Governors Meetings - Paul Leath, Faculty Representative to the Board of Governors

Paul Leath reported on the February 9 and April 13, 2007 Board of Governors meetings. 2

5. Report on Undergraduate Enrollment - Courtney McAnuff, Vice President for Enrollment Management

Courtney McAnuff reported on undergraduate enrollment, particularly as it relates to planned and implemented changes in the structure of undergraduate education in New Brunswick. He thanked Martha Cotter for her service as a mentor, and for bringing forward viewpoints and educating him about Rutgers. He also thanked Barry Qualls, Michael Beals, and others for their help. He said that although they had been behind in getting ready for the fall 2007 semester, they are now caught up. He summarized statistics regarding admissions on all three campuses, spoke about goals for admissions in general, and commented about recruitment, funding, planning, transfers, retention, budgeting, mixtures of in- and out-of-state students, deregistration problems, and international students. He also spoke about logistics and facilities, scholarships, and the capital campaign.

McAnuff then responded to questions and heard comments from the council. He agreed with Richard Bumby's suggestion that Livingston Campus should be explored as a location for Rutgers' visitor center. In response to Paul Leath's suggestion that the council adopt a resolution asking Rutgers to do more to recruit out-of-state students, Martha Cotter suggested that either the council's Executive Committee or its Admissions and Recruitment Committee (which she chairs) could be charged with that issue. She added, however, that such resolutions have been done many times in the past.

6. Draft Report of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Merger of Rutgers and UMDNJ - Martha Cotter

Martha Cotter summarized the background, history and content of a draft report on proposals to restructure higher education in New Jersey, and, in particular, to merge Rutgers and UMDNJ. Her draft had been circulated to the council, and was discussed at length during the meeting. Cotter will revise the draft before the next council meeting. If possible, the report will be shared with the University Senate for its March 2007 meeting.

It was acknowledged that establishing a working relationship and dialog with UMDNJ faculty would be useful, particularly before a merger plan is finalized or implemented. Kokini will explore appropriate contacts, and will consider inviting UMDNJ representatives to the NBFC Executive Committee's next meeting.

Cotter summarized her conception of revisions to be made to the subject document, including condensation and reorganization. Kokini asked everyone to e-mail their suggestions to Cotter.

7. Report from the President’s Faculty Advisory Committee (PFAC) - Jim Miller

Jim Miller reported on a recent meeting of the PFAC at which the proposed restructuring/merger was the primary discussion item. He said that the group, with representatives from all three campuses, had tried to reach agreement on elements of the issue which were then presented to EVP Furmanski and President McCormick. Those points or elements included:

• Academic excellence must be the fundamental principle underlying any restructuring.
• The Rutgers name is widely recognized nationally and throughout the state as a mark of excellence, and should be maintained for all three campuses in any restructuring.
• The present governing structure of Rutgers has been a great success, allowing Rutgers to become a major national institution of higher education. Rutgers should retain its strong and independent governing structure.
• Any changes in the structure of public higher education in New Jersey should be done in phases. Potential mergers (e.g., UMDNJ, NJIT) should be done gradually and should build on existing collaborations until any formal mergers can be done smoothly and will clearly enhance academic excellence.
• In the short term, Rutgers University should not be split into several comprehensive research universities. Although faculty support the general principle of strengthening each of the three campuses so that each campus might eventually be able to stand alone as a major research university, there is no faculty consensus on any campus at this time whether multiple free-standing universities should be a long-term goal.
• Any restructuring of Rutgers should be accompanied by a commitment from the State of New Jersey to provide one-time funds to ensure a smooth transition, and a long-term commitment to provide stable funding for public higher education throughout the state.

In addition to the above, there are campus-specific concerns.

8. Report on Progress on Selection of Capital Campaign Proposals and Priorities - Paul Leath

Paul Leath reported on the ongoing process of reviewing and prioritizing capital campaign proposals. Acknowledging that Phil Furmanski had organized the process, Leath noted that over 650 proposals were received, and were currently in a review process involving a committee of over 130 people from diverse areas of Rutgers who are reviewing the proposals in groups. He described the ranking process and categories, noting that six to eight "showcase proposals" will be identified, and the top 25 percent of the proposals will become "institutional priorities."

9. Resolution on Commercial Note-Taking Operations (from Academic Regulations and Standards and Teaching Committee and Personnel Policy Committee) - Robert Boikess

Robert Boikess had introduced at the previous council meeting a resolution which opposed commercial note-taking and sales. He said that he had since spoken with Rutgers attorneys and had been told that Rutgers has a long history with this issue, and has been successful whenever they have asked note-taking companies to stop selling notes which Rutgers identifies as copyrighted material. Saying that no action was required at this time, Boikess withdrew the resolution.

10. Old Business

There was no old business.

11. New Business

There was no new business.

12. Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 3:21 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,
Kenneth Swalagin, Recording Secretary