March 28, 2016

Faculty Senate Meeting
Minutes
March 21, 2016
3:15pm
Rudder 601
http://facultysenate.tamu.edu
 
Present: Ergun Akleman, Derya Akleman, Stephen Alton, Joe Arosh, Raymundo Arroyave, David Baca, Debjyoti Banerjee, Guy Battle, Leonard Bierman, Carlos Blanton, Joseph Boutros, John Buchanan, Christine Budke, Rebecca Burns, Tahir Cagin, Richard Carlson, Piers Chapman, William Clark, Greg Cobb, Nathan Crick, Walter Daugherity, David Earnest, Nimir Elbashir, Jose Fernandez-Solis, Anthony Filippi, Lisa Geraci, Kevin Glowacki, Melinda Grant, Ayman Hamouda, Greg Heim, Mary Elizabeth Herring, Kim Quaile Hill, Angie Hill Price, Shelley Holliday, Alan Honeyman, Jon Jasperson, Mark Johnson, Kathleen Jones, Trez Jones, Cong X. Kang, Bita Kash, Andrew Klein, Gary Kunkel, Thomas Linton, Wenshe Liu, Charles Long, James Long, Igor Lyuksyutov, Clint Magill, Vanita Mahajan, Beth McNeill, Miguel Mora, Leslie Morey, Bimal Nepal, Bruce Neville, Lynne Opperman, Sorin Popescu, Dale Rice, James Rogers, Laura Sare, Jorge Seminario, Ergin Sezgin, Robert Shaw, John Stallone, Randolph Stewart, Bob Strawser, Robert Strong, Cecilia Tamborindeguy, Winfried Teizer, Grace Townsend, Kim-Vy Tran, Jyotsna Vaid, Evan Vestal, Coran Watanabe, Jaye Weston, Richard White, and Jim Woosley
 
Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 3:21 PM.
Guest Speaker
                                                                                                                                                           
Speaker Comments
 
Approval of February 15, 2016 Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes
There were no minutes to approve. February Faculty Senate meeting minutes will be available at the April meeting.
     
Consent Agenda
GRADUATE COUNCIL – GC REPORT
February 4, 2016                      
New Course Request
FINC 662              Energy Finance
KINE 630              Periodized Program Models
MEEN 611            Advanced Internal Combustion Engines
Attachment B
FS.33.282
Motion Passed
 
Special Consideration Item
        College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Science
                Veterinary Pathobiology
                        Elimination of Doctor of Philosophy degree
Attachment C
FS.33.283
Motion Passed
 
Special Consideration Item
        Texas A&M University Law School
                Master of Jurisprudence
                        New Graduate Program Proposal
Attachment D
FS.33.284
Motion Passed
 
Special Consideration Item
        Texas A&M University Law School
                Master of Laws
                        New Graduate Program Proposal
Attachment E
FS.33.285
Motion Passed
 
Special Consideration Item (updated from January 2016)
        Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution
                Master of Engineering
                        Technical Management Program
Attachment F
FS.33.286
Motion Passed
 
Special Consideration Item (updated from January 2016)
        Technical Engineering
                Master of Engineering
                        Distance Education
Attachment G
FS.33.287
Motion Passed
 
UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM COMMITTEE – UCC REPORT
New Courses – February 5, 2016 – Attachment H
MSEN 210            Thermodynamics of Materials
MSEN 220            Physics and Chemistry of Inorganic Materials
MSEN 240            Kinetics of Materials
MSEN 250            Soft Matter
MSEN 281            Materials Science and Engineering Seminar
MSEN 301            Unified Materials Lab I
MSEN 302            Unified Materials Lab II
MSEN 320            Deformation and Failure Mechanisms in Engineering Materials
MSEN 330            Numerical Methods for Materials Scientists and Engineers
MSEN 340            Case Studies in Materials
MSEN 370            Computational Materials Science and Engineering
MSEN 400            Design and Analysis of Materials Experiments
MSEN 401            Materials Research and Design I
MSEN 402            Materials Research and Design II
MSEN 415            Defects in Solids
MSEN 426            Polymer Laboratories
MSEN 430            Nanomaterials Science
MSEN 440            Materials Electrochemistry and Corrosion
MSEN 444            Corrosion and Electrochemistry Lab
MSEN 446            Corrosion Prevention and Control Methods
MSEN 458            Fundamentals of Ceramics
MSEN 462            Advanced Materials Characterization
MSEN 472            Atomistic Simulation of Materials
MSEN 474            Materials Modeling of Phase Transformation and Microstructural Evolution
MSEN 476            Multi-Scale Computational Materials Science
MSEN 480            Communicating Materials Science and Engineering
MSEN 484            Internship
TCMG 486           Cybersecurity Capstone Seminar
Attachment H
FS.33.288
TCMG 486 pulled by department (no longer need course); Motion Passed as revised
 
Change in Courses
ANSC 291             Research
ANSC 485             Directed Studies
ANSC 491             Research
ANSC 494             Internship
DASC 485             Directed Studies
MSEN 201            Introduction to Materials Science
MSEN 310            Structure of Materials
MSEN 410            Materials Processing
MSEN 420            Polymer Science
MSEN 460            Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Properties of Materials
MSEN 485            Directed Studies
MSEN 491            Research
POSC 491             Research
TCMG 476           Managing Technical Networks
Attachment I
FS.33.289
Motion Passed
 
Change in Curriculum
College of Science
Department of Physics and Astronomy
BA in Physics
Attachment J
FS.33.290
Motion Passed
 
Change in Curriculum
College of Science
Department of Physics and Astronomy
BS in Physics
Attachment K
FS.33.291
Motion Passed
 
Special Consideration Item
Dwight Look College of Engineering
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
BS in Materials Science and Engineering
Request for a new degree program
Attachment L
Pulled from agenda; Item was approved during the February 2016 Faculty Senate meeting
 
Texas A&M University at Qatar
Change in Courses
PETE 336              Petroleum Technical Presentations I
PETE 436              Petroleum Technical Presentations II
Attachment M
FS.33.292
Motion Passed
 
Texas A&M University at Qatar
Change in Curriculum
Texas A&M University at Qatar
Petroleum Engineering Program
BS in Petroleum Engineering
Attachment N
FS.33.293
Motion Passed
 
W-COURSES   - Report February 10, 2016
Courses submitted for W certification
ALEC 450                  Global Social Justice Issues in Agriculture
ECON 320                Economic Development of Europe
GEOS 481                 Geosciences Environment Program Seminar
 
Courses submitted for C certification
VIBS 447                   Neurophysiology of Music
 
Courses submitted for W recertification
BIOL 491                   Independent Research
CVEN 424                 Civil Engineering Professional Practice
ENGL 401                 Contemporary Literary Theory
SCMT 300                Business Communications I
Attachment O
FS.33.294
Motion Passed
 
__________________________________End of Consent Agenda____________________________________
 
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Core Curriculum Council Report- February 4, 2016
Attachment P
FS.33.295
Motion Passed
 
Informational Review Items
College of Medicine
New Courses
MEID 710             Humanities, Ethics, Altruism, and Leadership III
MEID 711             Evidence-Based Medicine and Scholarly Research III
Attachment Q
FS.33.296
Motion Passed
 
Unfinished Business
 
 
Old Business     
Proposed Revisions to Student Rule 3.11516
Attachment R
FS.33.297
Motion Passed
 
Proposed Revisions to Student Rule 7.11516
Attachment S
Motion Tabled 
 
Proposed Revisions to Student Rule 10.11516
Attachment T
Motion Tabled
 
Proposed Revisions to Student Rule 14.11516
Attachment U
Motion Tabled
 
Proposed Revisions to Student Rule 24.11516
Attachment V
FS.33.298
Motion Passed
 
Proposed Revisions to Student Rule 47.11516
Attachment W
FS.33.299
Motion Passed
 
 
New Business
Academic Affairs Resolution Regarding Safety Issues at Tailgate Parties
Attachment X
Motion Tabled
 
 
For Review/Discussion (to be voted upon at next meeting)
Proposed Revisions to Student Rule 12
Attachment Y
Motion Discussed; To be voted on in April
 
Proposed Changes to W & C Course Committee
Attachment Z
Motion Discussed; To be voted on in April
 
Information Only
               
               
Committee of the Whole
The Concealed Carry Task Force has presented its recommendations to the President.  It was indicated to the Task Force members by the President that these recommendations would be released very quickly.
 
The joint meeting with the UT Faculty Council was a great success.  Speaker Strawser commended Speaker-elect Bierman and Senate assistant Kelly Drake for their efforts.  Speaker-elect Bierman discussed more opportunities to interact with the UT Faculty Council on future issues.
 
Senators interested in serving on the Climate and Diversity Committee were requested to see Speaker-elect Bierman after the meeting.
The Post Tenure Review Task Force will be releasing its recommendations shortly.  Speaker Strawser noted that currently there is no uniformity among departments and colleges as to how the post tenure review process works.
 
Senators were reminded of the open forum with President Young on April 4.
 
Seats for the Senate and important University committees are still open.  Former Speaker  and Vice-Provost Benedik reminded Senators of the importance of these committees.  CAFRT for example helps protects faculty rights, so it is important that the faculty are represented here. Senator Hill agreed and emphasized the need for good representation on CAFRT.  Speaker Strawser suggested that alternates are added and required to attend every meeting.  Senator Carlson stated that there are too many Deans and Department Heads who do not value service to the University, and therefore it is difficult to get sufficient faculty participation.
 
Senator Magill announced that the Senate Planning Committee has been investigating the issues related to the new purchasing system, BAM.  He noted that it has improved a bit, but that there were still a number of glitches.  Senator Magill felt that the University should insist that the contract be voided.
 
Adjourn
The meeting was adjourned at 4:09 PM.