May 14, 2018
Printable Minutes
Faculty Senate Meeting Agenda
May 14, 2018
3:15pm
Rudder 601
http://facultysenate.tamu.edu
Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 3:22 pm by Dr. Angie Hill Price.
Speaker Comments
The speaker reminded senators to sit in the designated area, turn off all cell phones, etc., and took the attendance at remote sites.
Aggie Spirit Awards Presentations
Three students were presented with plaques from the Senate: Astrid Acosta, Campbell Cave, and Stephen Mullens. Award winners will be contacted regarding the monetary award which is funded by the Senators.
Approval of March 19, 2018 and April 9, 2018 Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes – Attachment A The minutes were approved as distributed.
Consent Agenda from April 9, 2018
One course, TCMG 402 Instructional Technology and Design
, was tabled by Walter Daugherty (ENG)
All other items on the consent agenda were approved.
GRADUATE COUNCIL – GC REPORT – March 2018
New Courses – Attachment B
GEOP 635 Methods of Geophysical Exploration
Change in Courses – Attachment C
ANSC 615 Brazil Comparative Ruminant Animal Nutrition
ATMO 629 Climate Change
BIED 614 Bilingual Education Curriculum Development
BIED 616 Spanish for Bilingual and Dual Language Programs
CPSY 601 Multicultural Counseling in Schools
CPYS 602 School Counseling Theories and Techniques
CPYS 603 School of Counseling Group Interventions
CPYS 630 Foundations of School Counseling
EDAD 637 Administration of Change in Educational Organizations
EDAD 639 Foundations of Educational Administration
EDAD 654 Organizational Learning
EDAD 669 The College Student
EDAD 688 Proseminar – Analysis of Critical Issues in Education
EDCI 620 Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Teaching and Learning
EDCI 632 Program Evaluation in Curriculum and Instruction
EDCI 633 Educator as Learner
EDCI 637 Urban Education Policy and Analysis
EDCI 639 Grant Writing for Professional Development
EDCI 720 Engineering Design for School Teaching and Learning
EDCI 721 How People Learn STEM
EDCI 726 History and Trends in STEM Education
EDCI 752 21
st Century Integration of Theory in Educational Settings
EDCI 754 Trends in Data Management and Analysis
EDTC 613 Integrating Technology in Learning Environments
EDTC 621 Graphic Communication and Interface Design
EDTC 631 Educational Video
EDTC 641 Educational Game Design
EDTC 642 Designing for Mobile Learning
EDTC 646 Emerging Technologies for Learning II
EDTC 655 Instructional Design II
EHRD 605 Principles and Practices of Leadership in HR Development
EHRD 612 Training and Development in Human Resource Development
EHRD 618 Evaluation Models in HR Development
EHRD 622 Training Task Analysis
EHRD 625 Organization Development and Performance in HR Development
EHRD 627 Research and Development in Educational HR Development
EHRD 643 Adult Education Globalization and Social Justice
EHRD 673 Introduction to Distance Learning
EPSY 604 Career Counseling in Schools
EPSY 621 Clinical Neuropsychology
EPSY 624 Creative Thinking
EPSY 631 Program Evaluation
EPSY 673 Learning Theories
EPSY 679 Research on Techer Effectiveness
HPCH 636 Study in China Global Health Experience
INTA 609 International Law and its Application to Human Rights, use of Force and U.S. Law
PHEO 613 Introduction to Environmental Health Disparities
PHEO 625 Environmental and Occupational Health Survey Methods
RDNG 604 Reading Diagnosis
RDNG 612 Children’s Literature and Literacy
RDNG 613 Multicultural Children’s Literature and Literacy
RDNG 620 Literacy and Language
SPED 618 Preparation for the Professoriate in Special Education and Allied Fields
TEED 682 Seminar
Change in Courses - Attachment D
Texas A&M University at Galveston
MARA 604 Marine Natural Resource Economics
MARA 616 Management of Port Facilities and Infrastructure
MARA 624 Intermodal Transportation Operations
MARA 627 Marketing of Transportation Services
MARA 636 Managerial Decision Making
MARA 640 Global Logistics
MARA 650 Supply Chain Management
MARA 652 Marine Transportation System Design and Policy
MARA 658 Port Design, Planning and Security
MARB 607 Research and Conservation in Greece-Dolphins, Fisheries and Cultural Heritage
MARB 617 Research Diving Methods
MARB 654 Coastal Plant Ecology
MARB 656 Tropical Marine Ecology
Change in Curriculum - Attachment E
College of Engineering
Department of Civil Engineering
MS-CVEN Master of Science in Civil Engineering
Change in Curriculum - Attachment F
College of Engineering
Department of Engineering
MS-ITDE Master of Science in Interdisciplinary Engineering
Change in Curriculum - Attachment G
College of Engineering
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
MS-MSEN Master of Science in Materials Science and Engineering
Change in Curriculum - Attachment H
College of Engineering
Department of Engineering
MS-SENG Master of Science in Safety Engineering
Special Consideration Item - Attachment I
College of Education & Human Development
Dept. of Education Admin & HR Development
CERT-AEDU Adult Education - Certificate
Special Consideration Item - Attachment J
College of Education & Human Development
Dept. of Education Admin & HR Development
CERT-CLTE College Teaching - Certificate
Special Consideration Item - Attachment K
Mays Business School
Department of Marketing
CERT-ANLY Analytics - Certificate
UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM COMMITTEE – UCC REPORT – March 2018
Change in Courses – Attachment L
AERO 214 Introduction to Aerospace Mechanics of Materials
AERO 303 High Speed Aerodynamics
AERO 351 Aerothermodynamics and Propulsion
AERO 413 Aerospace Materials Science
AGCJ 308 Agricultural Photography
AGEC 402 Survey of International Agricultural Economics: Study Abroad
ANSC 415 Brazil Comparative Ruminant Production
ANTH 410 Anthropological Theory
ARAB 201 Intermediate Arabic I
ARAB 202 Intermediate Arabic II
ARAB 321 Business Arabic
ARAB 323 Media Arabic
ATMO 201 Weather and Climate
BAEN 460 Principles of Environmental Hydrology
BAEN 465 Design of Biological Waste Treatment Systems
CHEN 205 Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics I
CHIN 201 Intermediate Chinese I
CHIN 202 Intermediate Chinese II
CHIN 301 Reading and Composition
CHIN 302 Reading and Composition II
COMM 340 Communication and Popular Culture
COMM 440 Political Communication
CSCE 121 Introduction to Program Design and Concepts
CSCE 222 Discrete Structures for Computing
CSCE 410 Operating Systems
CSCE 411 Design and Analysis of Algorithms
CVEN 339 Water Resources Engineering
CVEN 349 Civil Engineering Project Management
CVEN 423 Geomatics for Civil Engineering
CVEN 446 Structural Steel Design
ECEN 314 Signals and Systems
ECEN 420 Linear Control Systems
ECEN 469 Advanced Computer Architecture
ECON 323 Microeconomic Theory
EHRD 372 Learning and Development in HRD
EHRD 391 Measurement and Evaluation in HR Development Technology Management
ENGL 210 Technical and Business Writing
ENGR 410 Global Engineering Design
ENTO 450 Caribbean Conservation
ENTO 451 Caribbean Research Seminar
EPFB 210 Family Involvement and Empowerment
EPSY 321 Adolescent Development
EPSY 431 Personal Creativity and Giftedness
EPSY 432 Creativity and Creative Problem Solving
ESSM 406 Natural Resources Policy
FINC 445 International Finance
GEOG 450 Field Geography
HISP 489 Special Topics in...
IDIS 445 International Sales and Marketing
ISEN 302 Economic Analysis of Engineering Projects
ISEN 440 Systems Thinking
ISTM 420 Web-Enabled Applications
JAPN 201 Intermediate Japanese I
JAPN 202 Intermediate Japanese II
JAPN 301 Upper Level Japanese I
JAPN 302 Upper Level Japanese II
JAPN 325 Japanese Language and Culture through Manga
MKTG 402 International Marketing Study Abroad
MKTG 403 International Market Entry Strategies
MKTG 426 Advanced Retail Case Study
MUSC 280 Ensemble Performance University Concert Bands
MUSC 283 Ensemble Performance University Orchestras
NFSC 320 Understanding Obesity A Social and Scientific Challenge
NFSC 417 Food Process Engineering Technology II
NFSC 420 Supervised Research in Mediterranean Nutrition and Food Processing in Italy
NFSC 422 Food Processing for Sustainable Nutrition in Brazil
NURS 312 Introduction to Pathophysiology
OCNG 252 Oceanography Laboratory
PERF 301 Performance in World Cultures
PHIL 352 Africana Philosophy
PSYC 450 Clinical Psychology
PSYC 485 Directed Studies
SCSC 421 International Agricultural Research Centers – Mexico
SENG 310 Industrial Hygiene Engineering
SENG 321 Industrial Safety Engineering
SENG 430 Risk Analysis in Safety Engineering
SPAN 221 Field Studies Abroad I
SPAN 222 Field Studies Abroad II
SPAN 413 Hispanic Culture through Art
SPAN 460 Topics in Hispanic Literature
SPMT 483 Practicum in Sport Management
WFSC 314 Down River Biology of Gulf Coastal Fishes
WFSC 444 Aquaculture I Principles and Practices
WGST 210 Psychological Aspects of Human Sexuality
Change in Courses - Attachment M
Texas A&M University at Galveston
MARA 250 Management Information Systems
MARA 440 Global Economy and Enterprise Management
MARA 493 International Maritime Management Experience
MART 200 Deck Sea Training I Basic Communications, Navigation and Seamanship
MART 205 Marine Surveying
MART 210 Integrated Navigation I RADAR/ARPA/ECDIS
MART 212 Marine Dry Cargo Operations
MART 213 Liquefied Gas Tankers
MART 215 Seamanship II
MART 300 Deck Sea Training II: Intermediate Communications, Navigation and Seamanship
MART 303 Celestial Navigation
MART 307 Global Maritime Distress Safety System
MART 308 Fast Rescue Craft
MART 310 Integrated Navigation II: Electronic Navigation
MART 313 Marine Liquid Cargo Operations
MART 321 Navigation Rules International and Inland
MART 350 Deck Sea Training II – Commercial Internship
MART 400 Deck Sea Training III Advanced Communications Navigation and Seamanship
Program Inactivations - Attachment N
College of Liberal Arts
Department of Liberal Arts
MINOR-LDLA Leadership - Minor
Change in Curriculum - Attachment O
College of Liberal Arts
Department of Anthropology
MINOR-MUST Museum Studies - Minor
W&C COURSES - March 2018
No Courses Submitted
College of Dentistry – Program Change Request - Attachment R
CERT-DDPH Dental Public Health - Certificate
CERT-OMSP Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology - Certificate
CERT-PEDD Pediatric Dentistry – Certificate
MS-OBIO Master of Science in Oral Biology
______________________________End of Consent Agenda____________________________________
Informational Review Items – Attachment P
Information Items were reviewed
College of Medicine – Course Change Request
MEID 691 Research
MEID 712 Practice of Medicine III
MPHY 631 Cardiovascular and Lymphatic Biology
MPHY 632 Cardiovascular and Lymphatic Pathobiology
College of Law – New Course
LAW 7116 Low Income Tax Clinic
LAW 7117 Federal Tax Practice and Procedure
College of Law – Course Change Request
LAW 7401 Land Use Law
Proposed Revisions to Student Rules – Attachment Q
Jonathon Coopersmith (Secretary) moved approval of the student rules.
Clint McGill (Agriculture) wanted to note that the Honor Council is not in Henderson Hall, but is in Rudder Tower.
Revisions to student rules were approved.
- Student Rule 8.2.4 Examinations
- Student Rule 20.1.2.3.8 Violation of College, Program, Departmental or Course Rules
- Student Rule 28 Student Conduct Files and Records
Committee Reports
Core Curriculum Committee – April 2018, May 2018
No Courses Submitted
Other Committee Reports
Academic Affairs Committee
No Report
Core Curriculum Committee
No Report
Personnel & Welfare Committee
No Report
Research Committee
Open Access Policy has been distributed on the Library website. Please share with faculty members to look for unintended consequences. Please send comments by email. We will discuss this at the June Meeting.
System Employee Benefits Advisory Committee (SEBAC)
Walter Daugherity (ENGR) shared the following report:
The TAMUS self-insured health plan continues to be in good shape, with a typical surplus for the middle of the academic year. This should cover the typical rise in claims through August. Both medical and prescription plan costs are increasing, although about 4% below the national rate of increase, which is remarkable in itself. These increases in cost are being offset from System reserves, and the new Express Scripts contract has a 14% lower administrative cost. Long-term disability premiums will also decrease due to a new contract. The Flexible Spending Plan will change from Payflex to Navia, but you can still run out this year’s contributions through November 15th, as usual. For the dental plan, a small surplus is projected. PPACA (“Obamacare”) taxes are also lower this year ($135,932), since the transitional insurance tax has expired. January 1st the retiree and A&M 65-Plus plans will qualify for a higher federal subsidy and shift prescriptions to Express Scripts as “creditable Medicare Part D coverage” with no other discernable change. This very positive outlook should translate into little or no change to premiums for next year, with the exception of the graduate student employee plan. Their premiums will increase but will still be lower than comparable plans elsewhere.
As previewed in my last report, I expect that to continue receiving the $30 per month wellness incentive next academic year, each employee and spouse will now have to complete a brief 18-question health risk assessment questionnaire on Evive, in addition to having an annual wellness exam. The purpose of the health risk assessment questionnaire is to help you identify areas for improvement and give you resources to address them you may not have known about, with the overall goal of better employee health, leading to lower costs. The current $50 health risk assessment questionnaire credit may be eliminated, so if you haven’t claimed it for this year you and your spouse still can.
The next “Naturally Slim” weight-loss program starts July 9th; they are developing an on-demand version too. New benefits coming up include the Brazos Valley Network, which will be listed in the Blue Cross provider finder but have reduced co-pays of $5 for a general practitioner and $15 for a specialist; hospital co-insurance will be 10% instead of 20%. Another provider will be MDLive, offering virtual digital doctor visits for simple, non-emergency conditions 24/7/365, with an average wait time of 20 minutes. There is a problem with summer insurance premiums for faculty teaching three months this summer, but I will address that later in the Committee of the Whole. I am still looking for a volunteer to take over representing the Faculty Senate on SEBAC when my term ends. Please let the Senate Office know if you are interested.
Once again, a final reminder: June 30th is the deadline for wellness exams for you and your spouse for this academic year. You can verify your completion status on myEvive or on Workday under Benefit Elections.
Hank Duncan (Engineering) commented that Express Scripts was featured on a 60 minutes episode and had concerns. Daugherity commented that they are doing a good job to reduce costs.
Unfinished Business
Old Business
New Business
State of the Senate Address by Angie Hill Price
Dr. Hill Price expressed that she ran for speaker because she had concerns about the Senate and shared governance. Because of her past experience, she ran to bring the Senate back up to where it was in the past. She began by looking at what the senate did in the past and examined where we were. Over time, we had lost the historical knowledge in the Senate. We do not work in a vacuum. We represent the faculty who elected us and ensure their voice is heard in shared governance.
Her goals were to gain back our office space, gain a full time support staff for the senate, and ensure faculty have the ability to grieve annual reviews. Currently it depends on the department head. Faculty members should have a recourse in the annual review process.
She also worked to get our Q drops done online. Our computer system should do this for us. We are moving in the right direction, but more conversations are needed, especially with University Advisors and Counselors and administrators.
Dr. Hill Price expressed disappointment that she was unable to bring more rewards and recognition to senators such as wall plagues and
We need to follow our bylaws, committees, and processes. Using our own committee structure is important. We also need to understand that we provide valuable input to our administrators, but we do not get to make those decisions. We need to temper our expectations as faculty with what is best for the university.
We need to have passion, balanced with reason, and maintain perspective. We need to hear multiple sides of the story. By working together we will become even stronger in the future.
Presentation of Speaker Gifts
Dr. Harlin thanked Dr. Hill Price for her persistence in keeping us afloat in the midst of personal tragedy and her tireless effort in working for the senate.
Many thanks to Mark Sicilio and Sharon Alderete in the College of Medicine and to Mike Caruso in athletics for helping Dr. Harlin with the speaker gifts.
Passing of the Gavel
Dr. Hill Price passed the gavel to Dr. Harlin, thanking her for her work over the last few weeks.
Recommendation of Spring 2018 Degree Candidates
Jonathan Coopersmith moved to certify the May 2018 Degree Candidates.
The motion was seconded and approved by the Senate.
TOTAL: 10,478
TAMU-Main – 9212
TAMU-DVM - 126
TAMU-Galveston – 269
TAMU-Qatar – 80
TAMU-Health Science Center – 684
TAMU-LAW - 107
Election of Speaker Elect, Secretary/Treasurer, and Executive Committee
Dr. Harlin started by thanking Jay Ramadoss (Vet Med), our elections chair, for his efforts to make sure that elections go well today. She also reminded senators that elections for senate seats have been completed and are posted on the website. The election committee was asked to help pass out the ballots.
Candidates for Speaker Elect were provided two minutes to address the senate:
Geoffrey Booth (ARCH), Andrew Klein (GEO), and John Stallone (Vet Med) were the candidates for speaker elect.
Andrew Klein was announced the winner.
Candidates for Secretary/Treasurer were provided two minutes to address the senate:
Claire Katz (Liberal Arts) and Mark Sicilio (MED) were the candidates for Secretary/Treasurer.
Mark Sicilio was announced the winner.
Candidates for the Faculty Senate Executive Committee were provided two minutes to address the senate:
Derya Aklaman (Science), Jorge Alvarado (Engineering), Geoffrey Booth (Architecture), Alva Ferdinand (Public Health), Jose Fernandez-Solis (Architecture), Catharina LaPorte (Liberal Arts), Rajesh Miranda (Medicine), John Stallone (Veterinary Medicine), Grace Townsend (Galveston), Duncan “Hank” Walker (Engineering), Joan Wolf (Liberal Arts), Jim Woosley (Education)
After the first round of voting, a run off occurred between John Stallone and Jorge Alvarado.
New members of the Executive Committee were announced as:
Jorge Alvarado (Engineering), Alva Ferdinand (Public Health), Jose Fernandez-Solis (Architecture), Catharina LaPorte (Liberal Arts), Rajesh Miranda (Medicine), Grace Townsend (Galveston), Duncan “Hank” Walker (Engineering), Joan Wolf (Liberal Arts), Jim Woosley (Education)
While the Elections Committee counted votes, caucuses met to determine a caucus leader and turn in preferences for committee assignments for 2018-2019 to the Speaker.
Caucus Leaders received were:
Mays—Greg Heim, Vet Medicine—Tamy Frank-Cannon, Geosciences—Bobby Reece, Agriculture—Gary Wingenbach, Science—Derya Akleman
Committee of the Whole
Angie Hill Price (Engineering) recognized Arun Srinivasa, a faculty member from Engineering. Several issues were brought up including the way the Dean of Faculties office processes Visas and Title 9 decisions made by the Dean of Faculties. He suggested a review of the operations related to Visa processing and how we compare to other institutions.
Speaker Elect Andrew Klein announced that the Executive Committee would look into the issues raised.
Jorge Alvarado (Engineering) suggested that our grading scheme is outdated. He suggested moving to a more graduated scale (A+, A, A-, etc.).
Walter Daugherity (Engineering) gave an update on issues related to insurance premiums being taken out of the June paycheck for less than 12 month faculty. The change to Workday has impacted many faculty.
Joanne Wolf (Liberal Arts) expressed concern over the issues brought up by Arun Srinivasa.
Maria (Liberal Arts) suggested that we have a speaker at a future senate meeting to address issues related to Title 9.
Clint McGill (Agriculture) expressed concern that there was a runoff for Honor Council in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Since more help is needed on this committee, he suggested contacting the Honors Office to see if faculty in the runoff could both serve.
Geoffrey Booth (Architechture) addressed the senate relative to his role as chair of the University Grievance Committee. He shared that this committee is a deliberative body that makes recommendations and tries to treat all faculty fairly, typically spending several hours of discussion to ensure fairness and equity to all.
John Hubbard, Rajesh Miranda, Mark Sicilio (Medicine) addressed the senate regarding the issues in the College of Medicine. As a result of the survey results done by the caucus, the Chancellor called a meeting with all College of Medicine faculty on May 3, 2018. The President and Provost were also in attendance. The caucus members were concerned with some misstatements that were made at that meeting. They expressed thanks to the Provost for spending many hours in meetings to address the issues and concerns of faculty. The caucus members look forward to working together with their administration.
Adjourn
Julie Harlin reminded the senate that a reception would take place immediately following the meeting at the University Club.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 pm