Minutes of the University Senate Meeting
5 May 2009
3:00 p.m.
Broun Hall Auditorium
Submitted by
Dennis DeVries, Secretary
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(for a complete transcription of the meeting, go to https://auburn.edu/administration/governance/senate/website/transcripts/TrScrpt2008-2009/transcript_05_05_09.html)
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Present: Kathryn Flynn, Claire Crutchley, Dennis Devries, Russ Muntifering, Robert Locy, Richard Brinker, John Mason, Mary Ellen Mazey, Judy Woodrow, April Staton, Andrew McLelland, Norbert Wilson, Sondra Parmer, Charles Mitchell, Werner Bergen, Barbara Kemppainen, Michael Clay, Christopher McNulty, Anthony Moss, Rik Blumenthal, Larry Crowley, Brigitta Brunner, Laura Plexico, Carol Centrallo, John Saye, Michael Stern, James Goldstein, Allen Davis, John Mazaheri, Larry Teeter, Jim Saunders, Mark Fischman, David Carter, Raymond Kessler, Ellen Abell, Shea Tillman, Robert Bulfin, Andrew Wohrley, Steve Stuckwisch, Bart Prorok, Constance Hendricks, Claire Zizza, Jim Wright, Daniel Parson, Jan Kavookjian, Bernie Olin, Guy Rohrbaugh, Changhoon Jung, Robert Voitle, Chris Correia, Peggy Shippen, Jon Segars, Del Epperson, Emily Myers, Gwen Thomas
Absent, sending a substitute:Daniel Gropper (for Paul Bobrowski), Jitendra Tugnait (for Michael Baginski), Beverly Marshall (for Kevin Yost), Jennifer Turk (for Don-Terry Veal)
Absent, no substitute: Larry Benefield, Timothy Boosinger, R. Lee Evans, Anne-Katrin Gramberg, Barbara Witt, Jeff McNeil, Bonnie MacEwan, Jacob Watkins, James Winfield, Larry Crowley, Joe Molnar, Bill Hames, Ruth Crocker, Winfred Foster, Paul Swamidass, Yifen Wang, Paul Holley, Ronald Neuman, Sanjeev Baskiyar, James Witte, Robin Huettel, Casey Cegielski, Edith Davidson, Howard Goldstein, Mike Bozack, Scott Lewis, M. Scott Phillips, R.D. Montgomery
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Call to Order:
Kathryn Flynn called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m.
The minutes of both the 7 April 2009 University Senate meeting and the 28 April 2009 special University Senate meeting were approved without change.
Remarks and Announcements:
Kathryn Flynn (Faculty Chair) invited Dr. Jay Gogue, President for his comments.
Dr. Gogue had several items to mention.
--He noted that the faculty-staff campaign ended last Friday with the highest numbers ever (63%).
--He thanked the Senate for their support in the vote at the special Senate meeting last Tuesday.
--Dr. Gogue has been in discussions with the Emergency Management Group relative to the H1N1 virus situation. There has been a good response by the campus, particularly relative to other institutions.
--The US State Department is interested in supporting 3 institutions for limited involvement work in Iraq. Texas A&M is one, and the other 2 are yet to be determined. Dr. Gogue wants to see if there is any interest at Auburn University. The areas of focus are business, construction, architecture, foods.
--There are a total of 3200 students graduating this semester.
--The education component of the state budget was signed by the Governor yesterday. There was a 3.3% cut, which is better than the projected worst-case scenario (up to 10%). In the stimulus monies, Auburn received more than $25 million.
Questions for Dr. Gogue:
--There were no questions.
--Kathryn Flynn noted that we will know later today if the PACT legislation will make it out of committee and into the legislature.
--She also noted that Dennis DeVries had sent out a call for additional volunteers for selected University committees. She discussed the role of the Rules Committee and the importance of volunteering and thanked the Senators for volunteering and making the need known to faculty in their units.
--Today's agenda includes two brief Task Force reports and a report from the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee. She encouraged faculty to visit the Provost's web site for the Task Force reports. Recommendations from these reports will go to the appropriate committees. The Senate will hopefully see the final report from a Task Force at the June Senate meeting.
--Remember that there are two Senate meetings during the summer-- in June and July.
Action Items:
--Election of new Rules Committee members: Dennis DeVries noted that there were three nominations for the Rules Committee at the 7 April 2009 Senate meeting-- James Goldstein from English, Larry Teeter from Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, and Gwynedd Thomas from Polymer and Fiber Engineering. He opened the floor for any additional nominations. There were none. There was a motion to close nominations and approve these three individuals to serve as the new Rules Committee members. The motion was seconded. The motion was passed unanimously by voice vote.
Information Items:
--Report from the Distance Education Task Force (Dan Bennett Task Force Chair and Dean, Architecture, Design, & Construction)
--link to PowerPoint presentation slides: https://auburn.edu/administration/governance/senate/website/agendas/2008_2009/May09_agenda%20items/Distance%20Education%20Task%20Force%20Presentation.pdf
Questions re the Distance Education Task Force Report:
--David Carter (History) noted that we are participating in distance education less actively than some other institutions, and this is a good thing. Students need the on-campus experience for their educational journey, need face-to-face exposure. He hopes that this is a fad, and has concerns about faculty work loads, involvement, outsourcing potential, etc. He thanked the task force for their work.
--Charles Mitchell (Agronomy/Soils) noted that his department has been interested in developing distance education courses and has seen other institutions attract students. He noted that Dennis Shannon was on the task force and voiced their concerns. Dr. Mitchell read an email from Dennis Shannon.
--Bob Voitle (Poultry Science) was glad to see that there will be a sharing of revenue.
--Dan Bennett clarified that there are 5 levels of sharing in the Task Force recommendations.
--Guy Rohrbaugh (Philosophy) noted that the summary didn't draw much distinction between old technology video and new techology.
--Tony Moss (Biological Sciences) asked what is projected teaching effort versus regular classroom teaching across campus.
--Dan Bennett responded that it may require as much as 3 times more effort, but will depend on the department.
--Ric Blumenthal (Chemistry/Biochemistry) agreed with Dr. Carter. One thing that Auburn does well is that students like it here, and have confidence in Auburn. He worries about undermining this with distance education. One other concern is compensation with faculty negotiated with the faculty. This is not typically the case. It is typically set by the department head/chair. This may particularly be a problem for Assistant Professors.
--Dan Bennett understands the concern, cannot make recommendations across all units about this.
--Chris Correia (Psychology) asked if there is a cap on the numbers of courses that students can take.
--Dan Bennett responded that they would like for every student to have at least one.
--Joe Giambrone (Poultry Science, not a senator) noted that he has been at Auburn 30 years, and has done distance ed for 10 years. All of his students are married with children, trying to improve themselves. He is an advocate for lifetime learning. There are reasons why distance learning is needed. It can help to serve those students who need a class (after those who have put off a class).
--Bob Locy (Past Chair) noted concerns as a parent about the pricing structure, especially whether the out-of-state tuition would price us out of the market.
--Dan Bennett responded that this is the norm although there are exceptions.
--Sue Barry (Curriculum and Teaching, not a senator) asked if this was for undergraduates or graduates.
--Dan Bennett responded that the rate would be the same as for on-campus students for on-campus courses.
--Peggy Shippen (Special Ed, Rehabilitation, Counseling) asked about issues related to saved lectures and intellectual property.
--Dan Bennett responded that there was no national model out there and it appears to belong to the faculty, but it may be too complex to address at this point.
--Report from the International Skills Task Force (Richard Penaskovic, Professor, Philosophy)
--link to handout provided re the Task Force report: https://auburn.edu/administration/governance/senate/website/agendas/2008_2009/May09_agenda%20items/Report3.24.09.doc
Questions re the International Skills Task Force Report:
--Gywnn Thomas (Polymer/Fiber Engineering) asked whether other languages could be substituted for the U.N. languages.
--Rich Penaskovic responded that we already offer German, and they should have listed it.
--Robert Weidel (Foreign Languages, not a senator) noted that we do offer Chinese and Japanese, and we now have an Asian Studies minor.
--Report from the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee (Gary Waters, Committee Chair and Associate Dean, Business)
--link to committee report summary: https://auburn.edu/administration/governance/senate/website/agendas/2008_2009/May09_agenda%20items/Intercollegiate%20Athletics%20Comm--%20Senate%20presentation.pdf
Questions re the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee Report:
--Richard Penaskovic (Philosophy, not a senator) asked about the equestrian team.
--Gary Waters responded that it is not an NCAA team, but is high on all marks.
--Richard Penaskovic (Philosophy, not a senator) asked about the football team having a 57% score, under the 60% threshold.
--Gary Waters responded that these data were for the 2001 entering year class, and the APR is for the most recent year. Auburn is 2nd in the nation in the number of football players with degrees in hand behind Boston College.
--Bob Locy (Past Chair) said that this is a good report, but wanted some explanation of the faculty point system for football tickets, and you might shed some light on that topic.
--Werner Bergen (Animal Sciences) asked about how to reconcile spending $94 million on a new basketball arena but the basketball team scores were low.
--Gary Waters responded that perhaps Terry Windle could present a report on the budget of the athletics department.
Unfinished Business:
There was no unfinished business.
New Business:
There was no new business.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:19 PM.