University Senate

Memorandum

Date:                   February 22, 2009

To:                       The Academic Community

From:                   Sharon Pitcher, Secretary to the Senate

Subject:             February 2, 2009—Minutes of the Meeting of the University Senate

The fifth regular meeting of the University Senate will be held on Monday, February 2, at 4:00 p.m. in Rooms 314-315 of the University Union.

• CALL TO ORDER

• ROLL CALL –

• APPROVAL OF AGENDA- approved unanimously

• APPROVAL OF MINUTES  - approved unanimously

• REPORTS OF EX OFFICIO SENATORS

Provost Clements –

• On behalf of President Caret: The Governor continues to be supportive of higher education as the USM has slight increase built into the budget. There is no money for enhancements, enrollment growth, or merit.
• The Provost’s Office has released money that it had been sitting on to release: $1.4 million in funds to College of Business and Econ $75,000 to upgrade technology; CFA for technology, classrooms, software; CLA $130,000 for software; Fisher College $155,000 for equipment, upgrades, and software; College of Education  $242,000 for software (at Shady Grove) smart classrooms; College of Health Professions $278,000 for classroom technology and equipment; Library $265,000 for subscriptions. Also able to fund sabbatical requests for this year.
• Towson has been picked by Princeton review as one of top 50 Public Institutions in the country. Has also been listed  by Carnegie as elected classification for community engagement (in both curricular engagement and outreach and partnerships).
• A faculty development task force has been developed to consist of two faculty members per college. A report will be released later in the spring.
• Chapter Three has been sitting in the AG office until January and there are half a dozen areas where Towson is not in line with USM requirements.
• Due to lack of enrollment growth funding fall enrollment will be held flat with a goal to be somewhere between -+1% in growth.
• Implementation of course and studio fees in the fall will be finalized in the next week or two – must be clearly demonstrated for need.
• The Baltimore Hebrew University partnership is still in progress. Prof. Storrs asked about the integration of faculty from BHU. Provost Clements answered that we would be going through a review process of faculty.
• A task force will be developed to better utilize space on campus.
• Sen. Vatz asked about the impact of the Federal stimulus package will have on furloughs. Provost Clements stated that we are in decent standing for funds next year.
• Sen. Seigal asked Vice President Sheehan about documentation for furlough days. Vice President Sheehan stated that there are different codes for faculty and staff.
• Provost Clements stated that the USM states that faculty can only go up for early tenure one time.
• Sen. Seigal asked for the copy of Chapter Three from the AG Office.  Provost Clements will send to Prof. Sullivan who will share with the Senate.

VP Sheehan

• Maryland has been more fortunate than many states with budget cuts.  There has been a cut of $1.3 million to the Board of Public Works; a reduced operating budgets by those amounts. There is also an anticipation of receiving stimulus money from the federal government. FY 2010 stipulates that there is money set aside in covering increases in tuition. There is also $301,000 in additional funding which also includes mandatory increases in academic revenue bond payments and increased benefit costs, that add up to about $7 million dollars that we will have to absorb. There have been no cuts to the capitol budgets so that phase II of College of Liberal Arts is on time but did split the funding between 2009 and 2010.
• Sen. Vatz asked about the tuition freeze. VP Sheehan stated that the University will support the USM’s position. The tuition freeze will place Towson’s tuition in the middle of the pack in terms of tuition costs nationwide.

VP Moriority

• Just came back from LeaderShape, a program that fosters leadership among underclassmen. A reunion will be held on Feb. 12th at 8:30 in the Potomac Lounge.
• Towson was once again named on the President’s Honor Roll for community service.
• A service learning workshop will be held in March. Sixty faculty members are using the NY Times in the classroom which impacts close to 3,000 students.
• Open forums will be held this semester for the Tobacco Free Initiative and will be moving forward with a recommendation on that later this semester.

REPORTS OF OFFICERS OF THE UNIVERSITY SENATE

Professor Siegal, CUSF –

• CUSF spoke about the textbook bill at its last meeting and there was widespread concern about responsibility on faculty. CUSF will have a presence at the Senate hearing this Wednesday. CUSF has been vigilant about sending a letter to every faculty member in the system about choosing textbooks. Their main concern is that if the rules and regulations are truly enforced they will be highly detrimental to academic freedom. She urges Senate to review the bill. If faculty are interested in testifying on Wednesday please notify Prof. Seigal. Provost Clements commented on the BOR policy which includes: ISBN numbers must be published, faculty must place their book orders before a certain date, bookstores should inform the faculty of the cost of the books. Prof. Kuntson stated that many stipulations in the bill are unreasonable and limits academic freedom. Sen. Vatz stated that there is a general lack of clarity in the bill. Sen. Seigal asked what happens if USM policy is not followed.
• CUSF is also looking into retirement benefits in this economic climate.

Professor Ballengee, AAUP –  

• AAUP will be putting out its electronic newsletter in the next week. The newsletter will include committee reports and a statement on shared governance.
• On Feb. 11th there will be a town hall meeting with Provost Clements at 2:30pm in the UU room 204 to speak about the changing face of Towson.
• Second Fridays will be Feb, 13th at 3:30 in the Rogers Forge room in the Burkshire. A Happy Hour will follow.
• University elections are coming up. Nominations may only be self-nominations online. Nominations will come out in the following weeks. Election process will be also held online.

Senator Elfreth, SGA

• On behalf of Kristen Guy: The SGA will be making a significant presence in Annapolis through the Legislative Affairs Committee. Senator Elfreth passed out copies of the 2009 Legislative Agenda, a document that highlights the goals and issues the SGA will be interested in advocating for in Annapolis.
• The tenth annual Tiger Pride Day will be on February 18th in Annapolis with a reception at noon.

•  OLD BUSINESS

• Revisions to the proposed Process for Developing a New School at Towson University. (attached) Prof. Seigal asked to bring the tabled item to the floor. Dean of College of Science and Math Vanko spoke on the revisions. Provost Clements stated his appreciation for the revision process. Sen. Storrs asked if the proposal for the School of Nursing will follow the guidelines of the process. Provost Clements answered that the items will be treated separately. Prof. Zimmerman stated that the University Curriculum Committee has outlined the process of starting programs and the Senate website should have a similar process. Prof. Seigal asked for clarifications on the interactions between units and colleges. Provost Clements stated that the proposal stipulates the process, not the details of each situation. Sen. Seigal proposed an amendment that 3-F “Changes in the College Council’s constitution shall be submitted to the Senate” should also be placed between 2-F and 2-G. Motion Accepted 15-0-0.

• Plans for TU as a tobacco free campus. (attached)

• NEW BUSINESS

• Motion 08/09-14: Approval of a Professional Science Masters in Applied Physics. (attached) Motion to accept moved by Prof Seigal, seconded by Prof K. Dr. Rajeswari Kolagani answered questions on the motion. Several Senators raised concerns on how the hiring freeze will affect the implementation of the program. Dean Vanko stated that the Dean’s office is supportive of the program and has the resources to support the program. Prof. Seigal stated her support of bringing such a program to Towson due to the unique market and need for more STEM programs. Provost Clements stated that we will allocate the resources needed for this program. Prof. Zimmerman stated that he had no real opposition to this program but is only concerned with the tight financial times. Prof. Seigal stated her concern for the library budget included in the motion. Motion Accepted: 16-0-0.

• Motion 08/09-15. (attached) Judy Sabalauskas spoke on the motion. Prof. Seigal motioned. Motion Accepted 16-0-0.

• Discussion Item: The University’s Add/Drop Policies. (attached) Dr. James Roberts and Registrar Bob Giordoni addressed the Senate. Registrar Giordoni clarified that we will be addressing the “Add” portion of the policy. Dr. Roberts explained that if a faculty chose to restrict enrollment after add/drop begins that the faculty would have prerogative. Chair Sullivan stated that a proposal should be ready for the March Senate meeting.

Meeting was adjourned at 6:00pm.