Meeting Minutes # 173

Members Present: R. Boikess, J. Bliss, S. Brill, L. Clarke, K. Cooper, M. Cotter, J. Crowley, D. Fishman, T. Gerhard, N. Glickman, M. Gordon, G. Jackson, T. Jiang, R. Larrier, P. Leath, Y. Li, J. Markert, G. McGhee, K. McKeever, D. Minch, N. Minsky, L. Nepomnyaschy, A. Norris, P. Panayotatos, J. Reed, H. Sackrowitz, A. Safari, A. St. John, R. Schwartschild, J. Shapiro, T. Szatrowski, K. Thompson, S. Tomasello, G. Werlen, L. Wiggins, R. Wilson (Chair), T. Yang

Non-Members Present: R. Falk, P. Furmanski, K. Swalagin (Recording Secretary), B.J. Walker

 

1. Call to Order - Robert Wilson, NBFC Chairperson

Council Chairperson Robert Wilson called the 173rd meeting of the New Brunswick Faculty Council (NBFC) to order at 1:12 p.m. on Friday, November 20, 2009 in the Graduate Student Lounge of the Rutgers Student Center, College Avenue Campus.

 

2. Approval of Agenda and Minutes

The current meeting agenda, and the Minutes of the October 2, 2009 NBFC meeting were approved.

 

3. University Senator, At-Large New Brunswick

Chairperson Wilson announced that Martin Gliserman had resigned his position as University Senator at-large from New Brunswick faculty. He said that the NBFC Executive Committee considered, and recommended, asking James Reed if he would replace Gliserman for the remainder of his Senate term, and that Reed is willing. Joel Shapiro moved that the NBFC elect Reed to the position, and Martha Cotter seconded the nomination. The NBFC voted unanimously to place James Reed in the position of University Senator at-large New Brunswick.

 

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

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

  • the new administration coming in Trenton, and the Rutgers administration’s efforts to exchange information with the incoming governor, particularly concerning the value and importance of higher education in New Jersey; and
  • his perceived need for a New Brunswick-wide curriculum committee to look at issues including new programs, overlap, and adjudication of issues that might arise.

Furmanski then responded to questions, or heard comments, on topics including:

  • the anticipated and current state budgets and fiscal support for Rutgers;
  • potential tuition increases;
  • the state penalty on out-of-state students, which was not invoked last year, and which Rutgers is hoping will not be reimposed;
  • cooperative programs with universities abroad; and
  • Rutgers’ and New Jersey’s financial situations relative to those of other states and their state universities.

 

5. Presentation on the Committee on Academic Planning and Review (CAPR) - Richard Falk, CAPR Chair

Professor Richard Falk, chair of the Committee on Academic Planning and Review (CAPR), formerly the Committee on Standards and Priorities in Academic Development (CSPAD), reported on the CAPR’s mission, organization, activities and plans.

Falk then responded to questions, or heard comments, from NBFC members on subjects including:

  • CAPR’s discussions of the P2 and distinguished professors ranks;
  • current and previous criteria of the CAPR;
  • processes by which evaluators are chosen; and
  • plans for CAPR/NBFC-committee meetings to discuss the universitywide curriculum.

 

6. Chairperson’s Report - Robert Wilson, New Brunswick Faculty Council Chair

Chairperson Wilson once again asked that everyone choose one of the Council’s standing committees, and email their committee preference to him. He said that several committees had met that morning, and were beginning to transact business.

 

7. Committee Reports

NBFC committee chairs reported on plans and activities of their committees, as follows:

Curriculum, Teaching and Honors Committee (CTHC) - Paul Leath, Chair: Leath said the CTHC:

  • has talked about the Servicemembers’ Opportunity College (SOC) and decided that more information was required before the committee could proceed, so they will invite Greg Blimling, Ray Caprio, Margaret Marsh and others Marsh may suggest from Camden to talk about Camden’s implementation of the SOC; and
  • discussed its charge to consider whether there should be a university policy on students being online during class.

Library Committee - Daniel Fishman, Chair: Fishman said that the Library Committee had discussed the following major issues:

  • connection between finances and access, RUCORE and related repositories; and
  • attitudes toward electronic journals and publications, and whether there is unfair discrimination against them which would undermine the movement toward open access.

Faculty Affairs and Personnel Policy Committee (FAPPC) - Paul Panayotatos, Chair: Panayotatos reported that the FAPPC is working on two issues:

  • the ambiguity of the 10-year rule; and
  • and evaluation of administrators.

The committee was charged with considering harassment policies, especially the issue that the compliance office maintains files of complaints that were never moved forward, but it has ended consideration of this charge because the administration will not alter the practice of maintaining these files.

 

8. Old Business

There was no old business.

 

9. New Business

There was no new business.

 

10. Adjournment

Chairperson Wilson reminded the Council that the next meeting will be held on Friday, February 5, 2010 in Trayes Hall A of the Douglass Campus Center. Robert Boikess noted that Brower Commons had reopened, and he suggested it as a venue for next year’s NBFC meetings. Wilson then adjourned the meeting at 2:43 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,
Ken Swalagin, Recording Secretary