February 10, 2014

Faculty Senate Meeting
Minutes
February 10, 2014
601 Rudder Tower
http://facultysenate.tamu.edu
 
 
Call to Order
The meeting was called to order by Speaker Walter Daugherity at 3:17 p.m.
 
Guest Speaker – Dr. Mark Hussey, Interim President TAMU
                                Dr. Glen Laine, Vice President for Research
Interim President Mark Hussey
The guest speaker, Interim President Mark Hussey, said that week marked his first month as interim president.  He said he had been conducting meetings with various groups, asking for goals he should pursue in the interim presidency. “My highest priority is to try to make some of those decisions I wouldn’t want the next president of A&M to have to make,” he said, citing examples such as how to hold graduation in the future and infrastructure needs. Hussey said he was extremely excited about the mergers that brought the College of Law and the Health Science Center into A&M, and he plans to visit some of the components around the state. He noted that SACS reviewers would be back on campus later that month for a reaccreditation visit due to the new additions. The interim president said he remained very confident in the provost and her team. He said planning had begun for the 84th Texas Legislature in 2015 with the preparation of upcoming budgets. He said he was hoping deans were reaching out to department heads and faculty to get as broad an input as possible for the work that will be done on the legislative appropriations request this summer.
 
Glen Laine, Vice President for Research
The second guest speaker, Glen Laine, vice president for research, said a draft research document had been put on-line by the Council of Principle Investigators and he would be happy to have it put on-line by the Faculty Senate as well. He said the university was trying to establish an account that would be contributed to by all funding sources to provide for major equipment or core facilities the university does not have. Some departments, he noted, are running on indirect costs. “That’s true and inappropriate,” he said. Departments need to move off indirect costs. The proposal includes 10 percent to faculty or PI, 15 percent to department or unit that houses the PI, 15 percent to a research development fund and 60 percent to system component or unit (TAMU, TEES, HSC or Agrilife).
 
Hussey returned to the podium to join Laine in answering questions.
 
Speaker Daugherity said the reason for the high return to engineering researchers was the cost of expensive equipment. What, he asked, is being done to encourage those PIs to buy into this and what is the time line?
 
Laine responded that PIs can come to the VPR’s office for such purchases. The time line, he said, will be driven by the provost and would likely be months at most.
 
Richard Carlson, College of Geosciences, said the SRS is essentially dysfunctional compared to Research Foundation and suggested that it be fixed.
 
Calvin Parnell, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, noted he was an advocate of shared governance and asked Hussey if the move to president’s office had changed his view of shared governance?
 
Hussey replied that he believes it’s extremely important to have discussions on issues and at a minimum that should involve the executive committees of the Faculty Senate, CPI and Distinguished Professors.
 
Kim Hill, College of Liberal Arts, asked where the research development portion was going now and how it was being spent.
 
Laine said previously 15 percent was going to the principle investigator and now it’s 10 percent. Also, less of the indirect costs would be going to the VPR and departments in order to create the new development fund.
                                                                                                                                               
Speaker Comments
The speaker noted that our meeting room in Rudder had new teleconferencing equipment, with sensitive microphones that could pick up conversations. He also reminded senators that the March 10 meeting had been cancelled due to spring break and the annual University of Texas-Texas A&M joint faculty meeting would be held at A&M on March 3. Senators then collected funds for the 2014 Aggie Spirit Award, which is given to students facing adversity while attending A&M.
 
Approval of January 13, 2013 Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes - Attachment A
Moving to regular business, the minutes of the January 13 meeting of the Faculty Senate were approved as submitted.
 
Consent Agenda
GRADUATE COUNCIL – GC REPORT                                                               
New Course Requests - January 2, 2013
EPSY 656              Survey Instrument Development
GEOL 614             Advanced Hydrogeology
MSEN 641            Plasticity Theory
Attachment B
FS.31.270
Motion Passed
 
UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM COMMITTEE – UCC REPORT
No report for January 2014
 
W-COURSES           
No report for January 2014
 
Core Curriculum Council – Report                                                                                
CCC REPORT – January 27, 2014
 
Life and Physical Sciences
GEOG 205            Environmental Change
Attachment C
FS.31.271
Motion Passed
 
Social and Behavioral Sciences
URPN 202            Building Better Cities
URPN 361            Urban Issues
URPN 370            Introduction to Health Systems Planning
Attachment D
FS.31.272
Motion Passed
 
International and Cultural Diversity -
MARE 400            Marine Engineering and Technology
MARR 400           Marine Engineering and Technology
MART 400            Advanced Communications, Navigation, and Seamanship
NAUT 400            Advanced Communications, Navigation, and Seamanship
Attachment E
FS.31.273
Motion Passed
 
The consent agenda was approved as submitted.
 
                __________________________________End of Consent Agenda____________________________________
 
 
Committee Reports                                                                                                                                                                       
 
Unfinished Business                                                                                                                                                                                             
                                                                               
New Business  
Proposed Revisions to the Texas A&M Student Rules Change in Rule 57 - Attachment F
In discussion of the proposed change in Rule 57, Jim Rogers, Qatar Campus, said he thought there had been some morphing in the proposal, with overlap in rules 48 and 49 that provided different rules and different time lines, as well as conflicting deadlines.  “We need to integrate 48 and 49 with 57,” he said. “I applaud the effort, but we should make parallel rules into one.”
 
Rogers moved to postpone consideration of the rule change until the April Faculty Senate meeting. The motion passed.
 
This agenda item was postponed until the April 2014 meeting.
 
Non Tenured Track Faculty name change
Attachment G
FS.31.274
Motion Passed
In the discussion of the proposed resolution to change references of non-tenure track faculty to academic professional track faculty, Kim Hill, College of Liberal Arts, spoke against the change. The current NTTF term, he said, is “accurate and precise,” while the proposed title is “mushy,” the kind of thing that “George Orwell rails against.” He said, “Let’s call things what they are exactly.”
 
Andrew Klein, College of Geosciences, spoke in favor of the change. “Our academic professional track faculty deserve this. They’re doing more and more for the university.”
 
Jim Woosley, College of Education and Human Development, said he thought APTF was as precise a term as NTTF and would do more positive than negative things.
 
Bob Strawser, Mays Business School, asked, “Why don’t we call everybody faculty?”
 
Dean of Faculties Michael Benedik said that where it’s appropriate to call everyone faculty, we do, but there are times when need to differentiate between the groups.
 
After additional discussion, Woosley called the question and that procedural motion was approved.
 
The motion on the resolution was approved.
                                                                                                                                                                                                               
Committee of the Whole
Speaker Daugherity then turned the meeting over to Speaker-elect Woosley for the Committee of the Whole. 
 
Michael Greenwald, College of Liberal Arts, said that the previous week the Board of Regents had met in Galveston and approved a $16 million upgrade to the Bum Bright Athletic Facility. While saying he fully supported that, he said A&M has “the poorest arts facilities in the nation.” Blinn in Brenham has a theater far superior to ours, he said. The new theater in Liberal Arts and Humanities building has 52 seats, he said. The theater department had control over forum in Rudder, he said, but that was changed last year. Now, Greenwald said, the department must pay $10,000 per performance to use the forum theater. “I would like to see this body stand up for theater,” he said.
 
Mark Sicilio, College of Medicine, thanked the Senate for voting in support of APTF.
 
Richard Carlson, College of Geosciences, pointed out the “the plethora of committee reports at this meeting” and suggested there were things the Senate could take up that would be productive.
 
Adjourn
The meeting turned back to Speaker Daugherity, who adjourned it at 4:34 p.m.