VOL.,XXIX,NO. 4

Minutes of the Academic Council Meeting

Thursday, February 17, 2000

XXIX,5.The meeting was called to order at 1:35 P.M. by President Jerry Tien. Roll call was taken by the office secretary. Absent members were: Charles Morris, James Stone, Martin Bohner, Michael Meagher, Paul Worsey, Patrick Guinta, Richard Hall, Greg Gelles, Shubhender Kapila, S.N. Balakrishnan, K.M. Isaac, H.L. Tsai, Ron Frank, Susan Murray, Dr. Gajda, and Dean Mitchell. Substitutions noted were Levant Acar for Kelvin Erickson and Barbara Hale for Ronald Bieniek.

A motion was made by Don Myers and seconded by Lenn Koederitz to approve the minutes of the January 20, 2000 meeting as distributed. Motion carried.

.1 REPORTS AND RESPONSES

A. PRESIDENT’S REPORT

1.As the IFC meeting has not yet been held this month, Professor Tien had nothing to report from that group.

2. President Tien explained briefly about President Pacheco’s call for names to be submitted to him for the Chancellor Search Committee. He then deferred to Professor Lance Haynes, chair of the R P & A Committee, to explain the procedure that was followed.

3. Professor Haynes noted the very short time President Pacheco gave for this to be done, and then went on to say that R P & A tried to handle it as fairly as possible in the allotted time.

4. Professor Tien informed the Council that the Board of Curators would be meeting here at UMR on March 23 and 24, with the Academic Council hosting a breakfast on the twenty-fourth. He also announced that the Academic Council web site is now up and running.

B. CHANCELLOR’S REPORT 1. Dr. Park reported that he had just come from the Brown Bag Series meeting, and that Dr. Debra Robinson had given some excellent retention ideas.

2. The Chancellor said UMR has a very good reputation for their handling of the Curators’ meetings here, and the Council Breakfast is a big part of that. Also, this campus always has a good representation by students.

3. Dr. Park said the Senior Administrative Review will be on the web Monday, and that the passwords are now totally untraceable, allowing all Faculty and Staff to review administrators in their unit. He also added that there is a place to check whether Staff or Faculty.

4. Dr. Park announced the names of those who would be on the President’s Chancellor Search Committee. He said the President was concerned with the representatives being nominated by schools. He said Dr. Pacheco wanted them to be thinking of the interests of UMR as a whole, not just their school or college. Those appointed were: Jeff Cawlfield(Chair); Keith Bailey; Frank Blum; Al Crosbie; Mariesa Crow; Harry Eisenman; Wayne Huebner; Andy Laegeler; Tony Nanni ; Mo Qayoumi; Catherine Riordan; Ben Strehlman; Guy Horton, and Stephen Lehmkuhle.

5. The Chancellor announced that the first meeting of the Adminstrative Restructuring Committee would be next Tuesday, February 22.

6. Dr. Park mentioned the legislature’s discussions and interest in English Proficiency of teachers.

a.He said Dr. Lehmkuhle is considering a survey of students, asking whether they have had a teacher whose lack of English Proficiency has impacted their ability to learn.

b.Dr. Park said this should be noted in the initital interview for incoming Professors.

c.There were comments from several Council members saying this would be unfair, unreasonable, and destructive.

.2 STANDING AND SPECIAL COMMITTEES

A. CURRICULA-Professor Ken Robertson moved to approve the report as distributed. Professor Lenn Koederitz seconded, and motion carried.

B. RULES, PROCEDURE, AND AGENDA-Professor Lance Haynes presented this report.

1. Professor Haynes said he had mistakenly left the copy of Professor Matt Insall’s resolution off the agenda.

2. At the request of Professor Insall, Professor Haynes elaborated on the issue of Final Exam Conflict and read the resolution.(See attached)

3. Professor Haynes asked Laura Stoll, the registrar, for her comments. Ms. Stoll said she doesn’t see any real problems, and that, in her estimation, only three or four students in one course had been affected in two years.

4. Professor Haynes said R P & A recommends against passage of this resolution.

5. Professor Insall said it affected more than one class, and he still felt the resolution should be passed. He then moved to remove this issue from the table. Professor Dan White seconded. Motion carried with 11 for and 3 opposed.

6. Professor Insall moved to approve the resolution as read. Professor White seconded. After some discussion, vote was taken. Motion was defeated, with 7 for and 13 opposed.

C. STUDENT AFFAIRS-In the absence of Mark Petrofka, Julie Crow presented the Constitution of the UMR Student Chapter of the Water Environment Federation and the Association of Environmental Engineers and Science Professors for approval.

1. Professor Joe Burken spoke in favor of approval.

2. Professor Lenn Koederitz moved to approve, and Professor Matt Insall seconded. Motion carried.

.3 No old business was presented.

.4 NEW BUSINESS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

A. STUDENT COUNCIL-Julie Crow briefly mentioned the upcoming Student Body Elections.

B. Professor Lenn Koederitz referred to the resolution sent out with the agenda concerning the Reorganization Committee.

1. Dr. Park said this was inappropriate for this committee, and should be a concern of Budgetary Affairs.

2. There were several comments from the floor stating that whatever this committee does affects money, and the resolution is to ensure that Faculty will have some voice in whether this money is used properly.

3. Professor Bruce Selberg moved to approved the resolution. Professor Don Myers seconded.

4. Professor Neil Book asked that the words “Reorganization Committee” be changed to “Administrative Restructuring Committee. This was accepted as a friendly amendment.

5. After more discussion, Professor Matt Insall suggested the resolution not be restricted to early retirement funds. This was also accepted as a friendly amendment, and the resolution was reworded as attached. Vote was then taken, and motion carried.

C. REFERRALS-President Tien mentioned the referrals listed on the agenda. After some discussion, it was decided to refer the first one to the Tenure Committee also, and on the fourth referral to send it to Student Affairs rather than Curricula.

There was a motion and a second to adjourn. Motion carried.

Respectfully submitted,

Ralph Wilkerson

Secretary

*Minutes of the Academic Council are considered official documentation and notification of actions approved.