Minutes of the Auburn University Senate Meeting
September 17, 2013
3:30 p.m.
Broun Hall Auditorium
Submitted by Senate Secretary Judy Sheppard
A full transcript for this meeting is available.
Present:
Senate Officers
Chair Larry Crowley; Chair-Elect Patricia Duffy; Immediate Past Chair William Sauser; Secretary Judy Sheppard; Secretary Elect Gisela Buschle-Diller
Administration
Dean, College of Science and Mathematics, Nicholas Giordano; Dean, Graduate School, George Flowers; Dean, College of Liberal Arts, Joseph A. Aistrup;
Dean, College of Human Sciences, June Henton
Ex-Officio Members
Provost, Timothy R. Boosinger
; Graduate Student Council President, Frank Sturm; Administrative and Personnel Assembly Chair, Bryan Elmore
Steering Committee
Don Mulvaney; Laura Plexico; Larry Teeter; Michael Baginski
Senators by Departments
Accountancy, Robert Cochran; Aerospace Engineering, Andrew Sinclair;
Agriculture Economics and Rural Sociology, Valentina Hartarska;
AAES, James Bannon; ACES, Paul Brown; Agronomy and Soils, Beth Guertal;
Anatomy, Physiology, and Pharmacology, Dean Schwartz; Art, Barb Bondy;
Aviation Management and Logistics, Cliff Defee; Architecture, Jocelyn Zanzot;
Biosystems Engineering, Sushil Adhikari; Chemical Engineering, Allan David;
Chemistry, Eduardus Duin; Civil Engineering, Cliff Lange
; Communication and Journalism, Robert Agne
; Computer Science and Software Engineering, Sanjeev Baskiyar; Consumer Affairs, Wi-Suk Kwon;
Curriculum and Teaching, Jada Kohlmeier; Economics, Michael Stern; Electrical & Computer Engineering, Thomas Baginski; English, Hilary Wyss; Entomology & Plant Pathology, Leonardo De La Fuente
; Finance, Harris Hollans
;
Fisheries and Allied Aquaculture, Rusty Wright; Foreign Lang & Literatures, Adrienne Angelo
; Forestry and Wildlife Science, Gary Hepp; History, Tiffany Sippial
;Horticulture, Amy Wright; Human Development & Family Studies, Ellen Abel; Industrial Design, Jerrod Bradley Windham; Industrial Engineering, Sean Gallagher; Kinesiology, Leah Robinson; Library, Pambanisha Leilani Tanisha Whaley; Management, Peter Stanwick;
Marketing, James Carver; Mathematics and Statistics, Dmitry Glotov
;
Mechanical Engineering, Dong-Joo Kim; Music, Matthew Hoch;
Nutrition and Foods, Kevin Huggins; Outreach, Chippewa Thomas;
Pathobiology, Vicky van Santen; Pharmacal Sciences, Dhanasekaran Muralikrishnan; Pharmacy Care Systems, Brent Fox; Pharmacy Practice, Wesley Lindsey; Philosophy, Guy Rohrbaugh; Physics, Mike Bozak; Political Science, Murray Jardine; Poultry Science, Tung-Shi Huang;
ROTC Naval, Paul Michael Esposito; Socio/Anthro/Social Work, Emily Myers
;
Special Education, Rehab, and Counseling, Jill Meyer; Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Annette Smith.
Absent dean, sending a substitute:
Vice President of Research John Mason: Carl Pinkert
Dean, College of Engineering: Chris Roberts (substitute illegible)
Dean of Libraries, Bonnie MacEwan: Nancy Nol
.
Absent, senator sending a substitute:
Communication Disorders, Daniel Phillips: Allison Plumb;
Education, Foundations, Leadership and Technology, Lisa Kensler: Jim Witte;
Geology and Geography, David King: Philip Chaney;
Nursing, Stuart Pope: Iris Mullins;
Polymer/Fiber Engineering, Gwynedd Thomas: Yasser Gowayed;
ROTC Army, Scott Copeland: Nicholas Jenkins;
Theatre, Chase Bringardner: Adrienne Wilson:
Industrial Engineering, Sean Gallagher: Richard Sesek;
A&P Assembly Chair, Bryan Elmore: Chuck Hunt.
Absent, without substitute:
Vice President for Alumni Affairs, Debbie Shaw; Dean,
College of Science and Mathematics, Nicholas Giordano;
Executive Vice President Don Large;
Animal Sciences, Dale Coleman; Biological Sciences, Bob Locy; Building Sciences, Mark Taylor; Kinesiology, Leah Robinson; ROTC Air Force, Jeffrey Hemmes; Staff Council Chair, Jennifer Richardson; SGA President, Harrison Mills.
I. Call to order
Larry Crowley called the meeting to order at 3:31 p.m, established a quorum, and reviewed the rules of the Senate.
Minutes of the Aug. 27 meeting were approved without change.
II. Remarks and announcements
Office of the President: Jay Gogue
Dr. Gogue said the Board of Trustees had met and as expected approved a 2 percent merit raise and a 2 percent merit one-time bonus. The board postponed action on some Faculty Handbook revisions to study them further.
Other reports of interest: the university has dedicated two new buildings and expects to break ground in late October on the building for the Osteopathic Medical Group.
Recruiting efforts across the state by university and college representatives have been productive.
Provost’s remarks: Tim Boosinger
Dr. Boosinger thanked the faculty for its participation in the adaptation of the Strategic Plan and said the university will soon be moving into its second phase, implementation. He encouraged faculty to participate in a survey (COACHE) in October that will especially highlight ways to improve faculty vitality.
Chair’s comments: Larry Crowley
Dr. Crowley welcomed new members to the University Senate and introduced officers; he also introduced the university’s new ombudsperson Dr. Kevin Koonrod, who spoke briefly on his role as a mediator, not an advocate. Dr. Crowley emphasized the importance of faculty participation in the COACHE survey, and told the Senate that members of the Executive Committee will be meeting periodically with senators from various colleges, which should raise profile of faculty members’ accomplishments.
Action item:
Acting for the Senate Rules Committee, Secretary Judy Sheppard and Secretary-Elect Gisela Buschle-Diller distributed ballots to elect four new members to the Rules Committee. Dr. Sauser and Dr. Duffy counted ballots during the rest of the meeting.
Information Items:
1. AU Research Week
Dr. Carl Pinkert, Vice President of Research, introduced Jennifer Kerpelman, chair of the Research Week Committee. Thanking Dr. Paula Bobrowski for initiating and conducting it the first two years, Dr. Kerpelman announced that this year’s Research Week will be April 14-17. Its purpose is to raise the visibility of faculty and student research not only to colleagues but to the community and is making connections with undergraduates and building relationships with Morehouse University, Alabama State University and Tuskegee University. The tentative agenda includes a kick-off at AUM Monday; presentations, exhibits and displays at the AU Hotel and Conference Center on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday; seminars on grantsmanship; and a film screening at the Jule Collins Smith museum.
2. AU Foundation and Comprehensive Campaign Briefing
Jane Parker, Vice Present for Development presented information on the Auburn University Foundation and the capital campaign, with a goal of raising $1 billion by 2017.
The foundation, a non-profit 501(3)(c) organization that is governed by a 24-member board, accepts charitable donations to provide support for faculty, students and programs separate from state funding. However, the Foundation’s endowment ranks in the lowest in the SEC. About half of the funds it disperses, which last year were $17 million, goes to the “Fund for Excellence” that can be used by deans and others for special projects.
Announcement of vote results:
David King, Vicky van Santen, Lisa Kensler, and Mark Taylor were elected to serve on the Rules Committee from 2013-2015.
New business
None.
Meeting adjourned at 4:24 p.m.