Meeting Minutes #161

Friday, February 15, 2008

Members Present: J. Bliss, R. Bumby, M. Cotter, J. Crowley, D. Fishman, M. Gliserman (Chair), M. Gordon, M. Gursoy, S. Harrington, H. Janes, T. Jiang, Y-S. Kim, R. Larrier, P. Leath, M. Lesk, G. McGhee, G. Mainelis, R. Marker, J. Markert, J. Miller, A. Norris, F. Popper, J. Reed, J. Rubin, H. Sackrowitz, A. St.John, K. St.Martin, R. Schuler, J. Shapiro, T. Szatrowski (2:15-3:00), K. Thompson

Non-Members Present: P. Furmanski, J. Grandes, N. Montero (Student Athlete), T. Stephens, K. Swalagin (Recording Secretary)

1. Approval of the Agenda and Minutes

The day’s agenda, including time limits, and the Minutes of the January 18, 2008 New Brunswick Faculty Council meeting, were approved.

2. Call to Order and Report of the Chair - Martin Gliserman

Council Chairperson Martin Gliserman called the 161st meeting of the New Brunswick Faculty Council (NBFC) to order at 1:23 p.m. in the Busch Campus Center, Room 120, Busch Campus. There was no Chairperson’s Report.

3. Administrative Report - Philip Furmanski, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Philip Furmanski presented the administrative report, which included comments on:

awarding of three Gates Fellowships to Rutgers students;
other student awards and honors, including two Fulbright finalists, four Goldwater nominees, four Truman nominees, a Boren nominee, a Whitaker nominee, and a Hertz finalist;
President McCormick’s diversity initiative, and creation of a Diversity Council composed of faculty, staff and administrators, and co-chaired by McCormick and Cheryl Wall;
availability of a nontraditional postdoctoral program; and
Governor Corzine’s anticipated February 26 budget announcement, and the expectation that it will again be "very dismal."

4. Athletics Report - Tom Stephens, NCAA Faculty Athletics Representative

Tom Stephens, Rutgers’ NCAA Faculty Athletics Representative, reported on various aspects of NCAA programs and activities. Stephens produces a quarterly report which the NBFC has received for the past five years. He summarized his responsibilities as faculty athletics representative. Stephens was accompanied by Nina Montero, a student athlete, who spoke about the attractiveness of Rutgers’ "good athletic/academic balance" and other elements of Rutgers athletics.

5. Harassment Policy Report - Jayne Grandes, Director of Employment Equity

Jayne Grandes, Rutgers’ Director of Employment Equity, spoke about Rutgers’ policy prohibiting discrimination and harassment, how complaints are handled, resources available to faculty and others, history and legal standards related to harassment, and activities and responsibilities of her office. Grandes responded to questions regarding thresholds and determinations of harassment, appeals of decisions, informal and formal dispensations, criteria included in definitions of "harassment," processing and filing of complaints, recordkeeping and follow-up, protected categories, statistics and comparisons to other universities, and availability of records in legal actions. In response to Martha Cotter’s question, Grandes said she would be willing to do training sessions for teaching assistants. Grandes distributed several handouts supporting her report, at least one of which notes availability of the complete Policy Prohibiting Harassment and the harassment complaint process online at http://uhr.rutgers.edu/equity.

6. School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick Curriculum - Paul Leath

Paul Leath reported on activities, plans, and goals associated with the ongoing SAS-NB curriculum development. He said that a forum had been held on the curriculum yesterday, and that another would be held on March 5 in the Rutgers Student Center. Leath summarized some of the discussions in the SAS committee as well as the NBFC’s Curriculum Committee. He agreed with Martha Cotter’s suggestion that his committee and the Faculty Council should make suggestions about learning goals in specific areas, and about how to write those goals. Leath asked everyone to send him their suggestions on the core curriculum.

7. Old Business

There was no old business.

8. New Business

There was a brief discussion of the recent shootings at Northern Illinois University, and of Rutgers’ systems for dealing with emergencies.

9. Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 3:21 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Ken Swalagin, Recording Secretary