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FACULTY SENATE MEETING
MINUTES
May 12, 2008
3:15 p.m., 601 Rudder Tower
http://facultysenate.tamu.edu

Present: Louise Abbott, Derya Akleman, Carisa Armstrong, Karl Aufderheide, Guy Battle, Robert Bednarz, Tom Blasingame, Tahir Cagin, Antonio Cepeda-Benito, Ifte Choudhury, Walter Daugherity, John Fackler, Richard Feldman, Holly Gaede, Melinda Grant, Michael Greenwald, Mike Hanik, James Heilman, Arthur Hobbs, Joe Jaros, Eluned Jones, Guido Kanschat, Larry Kelly, Andrew Klein, Thomas Linton, Robyn Lints, Carol Loopstra, Clinton Machann, Clint Magill, Sam Mannan, Lanny Martindale, Robert McGeachin, Mary Meagher, Michael Messina, Rosana Moreria, Tim Murphy, Ramona Paetzold, David Peterson, Angie Hill Price, Sanjay Reddy, Cynthia Riccio, Lynn Ruoff, Morgan Scott, Douglas Slack, Robin Smith, Karen Snowden, Kathleen Speed, Susan Stabile, John Stallone, Robert Stewart, Bob Strawser, Frank Thomas, Theodore Turocy, Jyotsna Vaid, Gary Varner, Hank Walker, Robert Warden, Gwendolyn Webb-Johnson, William West, Matthew Whiteacre

Karan Watson (Dean of Faculties)

Absent: Wendi Arant-Kaspar, James Aune, Wolfgang Bangerth, Michael Benedik, Charles Bollfrass, James Boyd, Richard Carlson, Gwendolyn Carroll, Keith Chaffin, Rainer Fink, Kishore Gawande, Paul Harms, Richard Hise, Ann Kenimer, Andrew Kirkendall, Andre Landry, Leon Luxemburg, R.N. Mahapatra, Peter McIntyre, Frederic Pearl, Khalid Qaraqe, Roger Reese, Elisabeth Rich, Roger Schultz, Robert Shandley, William Stein, Winfred Teizer, Douglas Thornton, Hamid Toliyat, Tom Vogel, Nancy Volkman, Jessica Wickersham, Kirk Winemiller, Gary Wingenbach, Thomas Woodfin, Jim Woosley, Debra Zoran

Call to Order:
The meeting was called to order at 3:15 by Speaker Angie Hill Price.

Speaker Comments:
Speaker Price opened the meeting by welcoming guests and Senators. The speaker presented the Faculty Senate Aggie Spirit Awards to the three winners: Ashley Marshall, Amber D'Nea Masso, and Alice Pendleton.

Speaker Price then welcomed the Former Speakers and the newly elected senators. She explained to the new senators that they would be installed at the September meeting and encouraged them to attend the Senate meetings over the summer and participate in the committees they chose to familiarize them with the Senate and committee activities.

She explained what the handouts everyone got before the meeting were. They were ballots for Officer and Executive Committee Bio Sketches and Committee Selections Sheets. The Speaker then explained to the Senators the the shirts for everyone weren't here to handout and that we would mail them to their mail stop within the next week.

The April 14, 2008 Faculty Senate Minutes were approved as submitted.		Motion Passed FS.25.134
		Attachment A

All agenda items were approved without discussion except for Attachment N which was skipped and Attachment O.
Consent Agenda

Graduate Council

New Courses - February 7, 2008		Motion Passed FS.25.135
AERO 617	Micromechanics	Attachment B1
EDCI 655	Contemporary Visual Culture	Attachment B2

Course Changes - February 7, 2008
MEMA 625	Micromechanics	Attachment B3

New Courses - March 6, 2008		Motion Passed FS.25.136
AERO 630	Introduction to Random Dynamical Systems	Attachment C1
AERO 649	Generalized Finite Element Methods – Cross-listed with MEMA 649	Attachment C2
AGRO 637	Environment Microbiology	Attachment C3
AGRO 671	Plant Growth and Development – Cross-listed with MEPS 671	Attachment C4
ALEC 606	Foundations of Leadership Theory – Stacked with ALED 340	Attachment C5
ANSC 622	Research Methods in Animal Science	Attachment C6
ANTH 639	Gender, Ethnicity, and Class in Archaeological Research – WMST 639	Attachment C7
ECMT 680	Financial Econometrics	Attachment C8
ECON 680	Financial Economics	Attachment C9
MEMA 649	Generalized Finite Element Methods – Cross-listed with AERO 649	Attachment C10
MEPS 671	Plant Growth and Development – Cross-listed with AGRO 671	Attachment C11
WFSC 646	Quantitative Phylogenetics – Cross-listed with ENTO 606 and GENE 606	Attachment C12
WMST 639	Gender, Ethnicity, and Class in Archaeological Research – Cross-listed with ANTH 639	Attachment C13

Course Changes – March 6, 2008
ECMT 669	Fundamental Mathematics for Economists	Attachment C14
ECMT 677	Econometrics III	Attachment C15
ECMT 678	Econometrics IV	Attachment C16
ECMT 679	Econometrics V	Attachment C17
ECON 630	Microeconomic Theory II	Attachment C18
ECON 659	Game Theory	Attachment C19

New Courses - April 3, 2008		Motion Passed FS.25.137
MARS 648	Invasive Species (3-0) Credit 3	Attachment D1
NUEN 656	Critical Analysis of Nuclear Security Data (4-0) Credit 4	Attachment D2

Course Changes – April 3, 2008
MARS 620	International Environmental Business Transactions	Attachment D3


As Corrected – May 2007
SOCI 606	War and Democracy	Attachment D4


University Curriculum Committee
		Motion Passed FS.25.138
New Courses - April 11, 2008		Attachment E
ATMO 443	Radar Meteorology
HIST 358	Chinese Cultural History

Course Changes - April 11, 2008
AGRO course prefix change to SCSC.
AGRO 304	Plant Breeding
URSC 493	Urban and Regional Studies Capstone Course

		Motion Passed FS.25.139
Change in Curriculum - April 11, 2008		Attachment F
College of Science Department of Biology B.A. in Biology

		Motion Passed FS.25.140
W Courses		Attachment G
Certification:
ENGL401	Critical Theory and Practice
ENGL414	Milton
ENGL431	Chaucer
ENGLIWMST 474	Studies in Women Writers
MARB435	Marine Invertebrate Zoology
MATH 491	Research
POLS 312	Ethnic Conflict
POLS 323	Political Systems of Latin America
POLS 324	Global Inequality
POLS 328	Globalization and Democracy
POLS 350	Modern Political Thought
VIST 201	Writing for Design

Recertification:
AGSC 384	Clinical Professional Experience in AGSC
FRSC 406	Forest Policy
HIST 481	Senior Seminar in History
KNFB416	Middle and Secondary School Kinesiology
MGMT373	Managing Human Resources
RLEM 315	Vegetation Inventory and Analysis
RPTS 403	Financing and Marketing Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences
SOCI 205	Introduction to Sociology
SOCI 206	Global Social Trends
SOCI322	Industrial Sociology


Committee Reports

Graduate Council

Special Consideration - March 6, 2008		Motion Passed FS.25.141
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences		Attachment H
Discontinuation of the MS degree in Biophysics Discontinuation of the MAGR degree in Dairy Science Discontinuation of the M.Agr. degree in Floriculture Discontinuation of the Master of Agriculture-Agronomy in Soil and Crop Sciences Discontinuation of the M.Agr. degree in Agricultural Chemist

Special Consideration - March 6, 2008		Motion Passed FS.25.142
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences		Attachment I
Department of Soil and Crop Sciences Graduate Course Prefix Change from AGRO to SCSC

Special Consideration - March 6, 2008		Motion Passed FS.25.143
College of Science		Attachment J
Department of Mathematics Proposed Fast-Track/Bachelor/Masters Program


University Curriculum Committee
		Motion Passed FS.25.144
Special Consideration - Withdrawal of Degree Program- April 11, 2008		Attachment K
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Animal Science B.S. in Dairy Science Manufacturing Option
		Motion Passed FS.25.145
Special Consideration - April 11, 2008		Attachment L
College of Education and Human Development Department of Educational Administration and Human Resource Development Minor in Human Resource Development

Executive Committee		Motion Passed FS.25.146
Communication (C) Course Option		Attachment M

Recommended Syllabus Requirements - For Informational Purposes Only		Attachment N

		Motion Passed FS.25.147
General Education Assessment		Attachment O
Former Speaker Doug Slack gave some background with respect to the assessment of the general education courses (also known as the core curriculum courses). Speaker-Elect Clint Magill asked some questions regarding the assessment process that were answered by Slack. The motion passed.

		Motion Passed FS.25.148
Student Rules 1.16.4, 1.7, 1.8		Attachment P

		Motion Passed FS.25.149
Dean or Designee Language		Attachment Q

		Motion Passed FS.25.150
Election Committee - Verification of Spring 2008 Election Results		Attachment R

Old Business

New Business
Robin Smith introduced a resolution proposed jointly by Senators Blasingame and Smith. He moved that the Faculty Senate approve the resolution. His motion was seconded and passed. During the discussion period, Former (and future) Senator Stadelmann gave a short report regarding his health. The resolution is as follows: In recognition of the many contributions of Richard Stadelmann to the Faculty Senate and its objectives, including his almost continuous service as either a Senator or Senate Parliamentarian throughout the Senate’s history, the Texas A&M University Faculty Senate hereby establishes: "The Richard Stadelmann Faculty Senate Service Award" --Awarded annually to a first-term member of the Faculty Senate who has displayed an uncommon devotion to the mission of the Senate. --The award will consist of a plaque bearing the date of the award and the name of the recipient and a stipend, initially set at $500. --Any member of the Senate may propose a nominee for the award. The Faculty Senate Executive Committee will choose a recipient from among the nominees. This award will be supported by contributions from Senate members.

Annual State of the Senate Address
After Speaker Price gave her final "State of the Senate" address, she turned the meeting over to Speaker Magill who chaired the meeting for the elections.

Election of Officers and Executive Committee Members-- at-Large
Senator Bob Bednarz was elected Speaker-Elect. Neither Senators Blasingame nor Jones chose to run for Secretary-Treasurer, so Michael Greenwald was elected Secretary-Treasurer as the only candidate. Senator Blasingame chose not to run for the Executive Committee so that there were exactly six candidates for EC; therefore, the following will be on the EC: Walter Daugherity, Eluned Jones, Andrew Klein, Frank Thomas, Tom Vogel, Matthew Whiteacre.

Election of Standing Committees by Caucus
Bylaws Committee Committee on Committees Election Committee Caucus Leaders
Geosciences elected Robert Bednarz as their Caucus Leader, Robert Stewart for the Bylaws Committee, Christopher Mathewson for the Committee on Committees and Andrew Klein for the Elections Committee. Sciences' Caucus Leader is Guido Kanschat. They will be providing the rest of their information soon. The rest of the colleges did not elect anyone that day for their Caucus Leader position or the committees.

Committee of the Whole
Speaker-Elect Bednarz chaired the Committee of the Whole. 1. Former Speaker Slack gave some background on a proposal that would give minimum requirements for a course syllabus. He also encouraged senators to look over the requirements before the June Faculty Senate Meeting. 2. Senator Grant, Chair of Academic Affairs, indicated that a proposal to change the method of GPR calculations for undergraduates would likely be presented at the June Faculty Senate Meeting. The proposal would be to include only the most recent grade in GPR calculations whenever a course is repeated. 3. Former Speaker Strawser congratulated Speaker-Elect Bednarz.

Adjourn
At the conclusion of the Faculty Senate Meeting, Dr. Murano and Dr. Strawser hosted a reception for the members of the Faculty Senate from 5:00 - 6:30 pm at the University Club, 11th floor, Rudder Tower.