December 13, 2010

Printable Minutes

FACULTY SENATE MEETING MINUTES
December 13, 2010
3:15 p.m., 601 Rudder Tower
http://facultysenate.tamu.edu
 
 
Present: Derya Akleman, Ergun Akleman, Jorge Alvarado, Jaime Alvarado-Bremer, Hassan Bashir, Michael Benedik, Dragomir Bukur, John Carhart, Gwendolyn Carroll, Joe Cerami, William Bedford Clark, Jonathan Coopersmith, Richard Curry, Joe Dannenbaum, Louise Darcey, Walter Daugherity, Ron Douglas, Janice Epstein, L. Paige Fields, Norma Funkhouser, Holly Gaede, Fran Gelwick, Gary Halter, Mike Hanik, Ed Harris, Kim Quaile Hill, Shelley Holliday, Richard Hutchinson, Joe Jaros, Eluned Jones, Larry Kelly, Karen Kubena, Rafael Lara-Alecio, Ming-Han Li, Thomas Linton, Robyn Lints, Carol Loopstra, Patrick Louchouarn, Blanca Lupiani, Igor Lyuksyutov, Christopher Mathewson, Kathryn McKenzie, Jeffrey Morris, Adam Myers, A. Gene Nelson, Bo Norby, Brian Perkins, Dale Rice, Dan Roelke, J. Maurice Rojas, Karen-Beth Scholthof, Brian Shaw, Kathleen Speed, Richard Stadelmann, Bob Strawser, Ramesh Talreja, Elizabeth Tebeaux, Winfried Teizer, Mike Thornton, Grace Townsend, John Van Huyck, Wyoma vanDuinkerken, Gary Varner, Thomas Welsh, William West, B. Dan Wood
 
Absent: Carisa Armstrong, Perla Balbuena, Judith Ball, Maria Barrufet, Doug Biggs, Charles Bollfrass, Tahir Cagin, Mark Clayton, Thomas DeWitt, John Edens, Gioia Falcone, Carlos Gonzalez, Robert Griffin, Mariah Hahn, Dirk Hays, Vikram Kinra, Andrew Klein, Paulo Lima-Filho, Vanita Mahajan, R.N. Mahapatra, Sam Mannan, Lanny Martindale, Weston Porter, Harland Prechel, Jorge Seminario, John Stallone, Douglas Starr, Vatche Tchakerian, Lesley Tomaszewski, Manuelita Ureta, Jijayanagaram Venkatraj, Hank Walker, Wei Wan, Keyan Zhu-Salzman
 
 
Call to Order:
The meeting was called to order by Speaker Strawser at 3:20 P.M.
 
Speaker  Comments:
Speaker Strawser introduced Interim Provost Karan Watson who reported that the state has imposed a new 2.5 per cent rescission ($6.5 million) in the current fiscal year. This is a one-time reduction, unlike the planned recurring cuts of 10 per cent for fiscal 2011-12 and beyond. Her recommendation   to colleges and other units is to slow spending now so that 2.5 per cent of the state budget allocation will be unspent at the end of August. Sufficient terminations and other reductions have already been done in the current fiscal year to take care of this, so there will be no additional cuts to colleges     and units this fiscal year. Jonathan Coopersmith (Liberal Arts) said that colleges have already begun planning to roll current savings forward and asked if they can still do so; Karan Watson said yes.
 
Secretary Daugherity asked for an update on the Student-Led Award for Teaching Excellence (SLATE) program; Karan Watson said the students have redesigned SLATE to meet System requirements.
 
Kim Hill (Liberal Arts) asked to revisit the previous Faculty Senate discussion about efforts to make the case for university funding.  Karan Watson said the best projection at the moment is that state resources for so-called “discretionary” spending in 2011-13 will be $10 billion less than in the current biennium, and from our federal taxes only 60 per cent of Texas Medicaid may be covered, instead of the current 70 per cent.
 
Programs have also grown—there are more pupils, more higher-education students, and more Medicaid recipients than before, and this growth needs to be funded.  If it is not, that would result in a big swing down for TAMU.  Another proposal is to take 10 per cent from universities and return it to universities with the greatest growth in degrees granted, which could cut TAMU $17 million; other formulas could add 8 or 12 million dollars in Fiscal Year 2013. In other words, there is still great uncertainty.
 
She said public polls typically show people are inclined to cut higher education before cutting elementary education, when presented with this hard choice. She asked faculty to make sure students’ learning experience here properly prepares them for their careers and lives, carrying out TAMU’s strategic plan, which emphasizes our mission for our state and our students. If one semester could be cut from the average time to degree (for undergraduate and master’s students), that would increase the number of degrees awarded from about 11,000 per year to about 12,500 per year. She said we also need to pay attention to the impact of our scholarship and teaching, and to communicate that more clearly, especially in areas in which TAMU is particularly strong.  Since we can’t just depend on the state for sufficient funding, we need to diversify income sources, possibly including increasing tuition after we prove we are adding value.
 
Kim Hill (Liberal Arts) said that such strategies might help five to ten years down the road, but just tailoring our message to the legislature and acquiescing to questionable surveys won’t help in the next six months. Karan Watson replied that there is strong consistency among polls and views about inefficiencies and so forth in higher education, so we must listen and change, not our mission, but our performance of our mission and our communication about our performance.  She is still optimistic that the $21 million internal strategic reallocation will occur.
 
Dean of Faculties Antonio Cepeda-Benito reported that a student battling terminal cancer who will likely not qualify for a posthumous degree when he passes away will be recognized with a certificate from the Faculty Senate. He recommended that guidelines be developed for future similar cases. Parliamentarian Richard Stadelmann observed that cancer and other serious illnesses are much more common among students, staff, and faculty than many might realize. He then reported on the meeting of the Legislative Committee with state representative Lois Kolkhorst, and said she did get the message that most faculty opposed broadening concealed carry on campus.
 
The November 8 Faculty Senate meeting  minutes were approved as submitted.             Motion Passed
                                                                                                                                            FS.28.61
                                                                                                                                           Attachment A
 
Consent Agenda  Without objection, the consent agenda was passed.                          Motion Passed
GRADUATE COUNCIL                                                                                                      FS.28.62                                   
New Courses - November 4, 2010                                                                                   Attachment B                            
AERO 643                     High-performance Computational Fluid Dynamics
ANTH 649                   Origin and Evolution of the Genus Homo
BAEN 675                     Hydrology Across Scale
CVEN 710                     Civil Engineering Project Finance
FSTC 671                      Critical Evaluation of Nutrition and Food Science Literature: Evidence Based Reviews
GEOG 667                    Dynamic Modeling of Earth and Environmental Systems
LDEV 672                      Public-Private Project Funding
NUTR 671                     Critical Evaluation of Nutrition and Food Science Literature: Evidence Based Reviews
PERF 610                      Graduate Studies in Dance Research
PERF 611                      Contemporary Religions and Performance
PERF 612                      Music Capitalism
PERF 613                      Performing Texas
PERF 614                      Soundscapes
PERF 615                      Spectacle, Performance, and Politics
PERF 616                      Sport as Performance
PSYC 622                      Emotions: Neuroscience, Cognitive, & Social Approaches
 
Course Changes - November 4, 2010                                                        Motion Passed                                                                                                                                                                     FS.28.63
SPED 617 Contemporary Instructional Strategies in Special Education Attachment C
SPED 630 Reading for At-Risk/LD Students  
VIBS 670 Basic Environmental Toxicology  
 
 
UNIVERSITY CURRICULUM COMMITTEE                                                   Motion Passed 
New Courses - November 12, 2010                                                               FS.28.64                                                      AGCJ 409                     Television Production for Agricultural Journalists      Attachment D 
CLAS 320                      Survey of Latin Literature
COSC 175                     Construction Graphics Communication 
COSC 450                     Facility Management Principles and Practices
COSC 474                     Facility Management Summer Internship
CSCE 435                     Parallel Computing
ECEN 414                     Biosensors
EURO 454                     Italian Drama
EURO 456                     Contemporary Italy
FSTC 471                      Critical Evaluation of Nutrition and Food Science Literature: Evidence Based Reviews
HLTH 222                      Concepts in Peer Health Education
IDIS 421                      Healthcare Distribution Networks
IDIS 445                        International Sales and Marketing
ITAL 452                     Women and Gender in Italian Literature
ITAL 454                     Italian Drama
ITAL 456                     Contemporary Italy
MATH 309                   Linear Algebra for Differential Equations
NUTR 471                     Critical Evaluation of Nutrition and Food Science Literature: Evidence Based Reviews
RPTS 321                      Festival, Fair and Event Management II
RPTS 441                      Tourism Experience
RPTS 445                      Sustainability in International Tourism
VIST 170                       Introduction to Visualization Computing Environments
VIST 465                       Art, Culture and Time Based Media
WGST 452                    Women and Gender in Italian Literature
 
Change in Courses - November 12, 2010
AGCJ 307                     Electronic Media Production in Agricultural Communications
ANSC 408                     Management of Stocker and Feedlot Cattle
ARTS 203                   Graphic Design I
COSC 275                  Estimating I
COSC 301                     Construction Surveying
COSC 321                  Structural Systems I
COSC 381                     Construction Industry Professional Studies
DASC 326                     Food Bacteriology
ENDS 374                     Multimedia Design and Development
ENDS 474                     Designing for the Web
ENTC 210                   Circuit Analysis I
ENTC 215                     Introduction to Telecommunications
ENTC 315                     Local and Metropolitan Area Networks
ENTC 345                     Telecommunications Testing Techniques
ENTC 349                     Microprocessors
ENTC 350                     Electronic Devices and Circuits
ENTC 352                     Introduction to Mixed-Signal Test and Measurement
ENTC 355                     Electromagnetics and High Frequency Systems
ENTC 415                     Digital Transmission and Switching
ENTC 419                     Technical Project Management
ENTC 420                     Engineering Technology Projects
ENTC 452                     Advanced Semiconductor Test and Measurement
ENTC 455                     Wireless Transmission Systems
ENTC 463                   Mechanical Design Applications II
EURO 453                    Italian Literature
FILM 435                    German Film
FSTC 326                      Food Bacteriology
GERM 435                    German Film
HORT 315                     Component Analysis of Horticultural Systems
HORT 428                     Commercial Greenhouse Management
IDIS 240                        Introduction to Industrial Distribution
INFO 336                      Decision Support Systems
ITAL 453                     Italian Literature
KINE 483                    Practicum in Kinesiology
OCEN 362                    Hydromechanics
OCEN 400                    Basic Coastal Engineering
OCEN 410                    Ocean Engineering Laboratory
PHIL 240                     Introduction to Logic
SPAN 203                     Intermediate Spanish for Spanish Speakers
SPAN 302                      Contrastive Grammar
SPAN 304                     Grammar for Native Speakers
VTPB 940                    Diagnostic and Clinical Pathology I
 
New Course from November 13, 2009 Meeting                                                           Motion Passed                              
BMEN 404                     FDA Good Laboratory and Clinical Practices                         FS.28.65                                       
                                                                                                                                      Attachment E
 
Change in Curriculum - November 12, 2010                                                             Motion Passed
College of Architecture                                                                                                 FS.28.66
Department of Construction Science                                                                           Attachment F
B.S. in Construction Science
 
 
Change in Curriculum - November 12, 2010                                                            Motion Passed
College of Architecture                                                                                                FS.28.67
Department of Visualization                                                                                        Attachment G
B.S. in Visualization
 
 
Change in Curriculum - November 12, 2010                                                           Motion Passed
Dwight Look College of Engineering                                                                          FS.28.68
Department of Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution                           Attachment H
B.S. in Engineering Technology
Telecommunications Engineering Technology Option
 
 
Change in Curriculum - November 12, 2010                                                           Motion Passed
College of Science                                                                                                     FS.28.69
Department of Biology                                                                                               Attachment I
B.A. in Biology
B.S. in Biology
B.S. in Microbiology
B.S. in Molecular and Cell Biology
B.S. in Zoology
 
 
Change in Curriculum - November 12, 2010                                                          Motion Passed
College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences                                        FS.28.70
D.V.M. Professional Program in Veterinary Medicine                                               Attachment J
 
 
Special Consideration - November 12, 2010                                                         Motion Passed
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences                                                                  FS.28.71
                                                                                                                                  Attachment K
Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences Request for Professional Event Manager Certificate
 
 
Special Consideration - November 12, 2010                                                       Motion Passed
College of Education and Human Development                                                    FS.28.72
University Studies Degree                                                                                     Attachment L
Area of Concentration (Dance) – requirement changes
 
 
Special Consideration - November 12, 2010                                                               Motion Passed
College of Education and Human Development                                                             FS.28.73
Department of Health and Kinesiology Minor in Dance – requirement changes            Attachment M
  
 
Special Consideration - November 12, 2010                                                                           Motion Passed
College of Liberal Arts                                                                                                                FS.28.74
Department of Economics and George Bush School of Government and Public Service         Attachment N
B.A. and B.S. in Economics and MPIA – requirement changes
 
 
Special Consideration - November 12, 2010                                                                            Motion Passed
College of Liberal Arts                                                                                                                 FS.28.75
Department of Economics and George Bush School of Government and Public Service          Attachment O
B.A. and B.S. in Economics and MPSA – requirement changes
 
 
Special Consideration - November 12, 2010                                                                 Motion Passed
College of Science                                                                                                           FS.28.76
University Studies Degree                                                                                               Attachment P
Area of Concentration (Science for Secondary Teaching) – requirement changes 
 
 
GRADUATE COUNCIL & UNIVERSITY CURRICULUM COMMITTEE                   
Special Consideration - November 4, 2010                                                         Motion Passed     
College of Architecture                                                                                           FS.28.77
                                                                                                                               Attachment Q
Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning Proposal for Articulated BS-URSC and MUP Degree Proposal for Articulated BS-URSC and MSLD Degree Proposal for Dual MUP-MSLD Degree
 
 
Special Consideration - November 4, 2010                                                        Motion Passed
College of Liberal Arts                                                                                           FS.28.78
                                                                                                                              Attachment R
Department of Sociology and George Bush School of Government and Public Service Request for a Five-Year Dual Degree Program
 
W-COURSES                                                                                                       Motion Passed
W certification:                                                                                                      FS.28.79
POLS 314          Interest Groups                                                                          Attachment S
POLS 440          Public Policies and Policy Making
SOCI 328           Sociology of the Environment
ECMT 463          Indroduction to Econometrics
HIST 418            European Intellectual History, Pre-Socratic Greece to Early Middle Ages
HIST 419            European Intellectual History, High Middle Ages to 17th Century 
HLTH 481           Seminar in Allied Health

C certification: 
MATH 482          Research Seminar in Math

W re-certification: 
COMM 435       Rhetoric of Television and Radio
COMM 446       Communication, Organizations, and Society
HIST 410          Russian History to 1801
  
 
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE                                                                                   Motion Passed
Revisions to Student Rules 14.3 and 14.4                                                            FS.28.80                                                                                                                                                                              Attachment T
 
                                                                             End of Consent Agenda 


Committee Reports
CORE CURRICULUM COUNCIL                                                                       Motion Passed
September 2010 Approved Course                                                                    FS.28.81                                                                                                                                                                             Attachment U
 
 
 
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE                                                                              Motion Passed 
Resolution Opposing Concealed Weapons on College Campuses                 FS.28.82                                                                                                                                                                             Attachment V
Attachment V was moved. In the ensuing discussion Chris Mathewson (Geosciences) asked how this would be enforced. Speaker Strawser noted that in April 2009 the Student Senate held a student referendum regarding then-pending state legislation supporting concealed carry on campus; 54 per cent were opposed and 46 per cent in favor. Gene Nelson (Agriculture) said System policy allows universities to permit concealed weapons if approved by a university-designated authority, which the TAMU rule identifies as the TAMU Chief of Police; he offered an amendment to the resolution to incorporate this. The amendment was debated and passed, making the resolution read as follows:
 
Be it resolved that the Texas A&M University Faculty Senate supports the position of the Texas Association of College and University Police Administrators and strongly opposes any change in Texas law that would permit concealed weapons on college campuses without approval by a campus-designated authority.
 
The resolution as thus amended passed.
 
 
ACADEMIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
Elizabeth Tebeaux (Liberal Arts) called for more faculty involvement in encouraging students to write paper proposals for the Journal of Undergraduate Research and distributed a handout.
 
 
New Business
Executive Session
Honorary Degree 1                                                                                        Motion Passed
                                                                                                                       FS.28.83
Honorary Degree 2                                                                                        Motion Passed
                                                                                                                      FS.28.84
Honorary Degree 3                                                                                        Motion Passed
                                                                                                                      FS.28.85
Honorary Degree 4                                                                                       Motion Passed
                                                                                                                      FS.28.86
Speaker Strawser then convened an Executive Session and asked non-senators to leave the room.  At the conclusion of the executive session the regular session reconvened and Speaker Strawser asked Speaker-Elect Benedik to chair the Committee of the Whole.
 
 
Committee of the Whole
Secretary Daugherity reported hearing that there is a proposal to demolish the two buildings attached to the G. Rollie White Building, namely the “Annex” and the Read Building.
 
Brian Perkins (Science) reported increased noise, especially in the Biology buildings, from student group advertising and demonstrations, which have been moved to the area outside the Academic Building due to Memorial Student Center renovations.
 
 
Adjourn
There being no further business to come before the Committee of the Whole, the meeting was adjourned at 4:50.