PRÉCIS

FACULTY SENATE MEETING

September 12 and 14, 2006

12:15 p.m.-1:50 p.m., Auerbach 426

 

Tuesday, September 12

Present: Senators Ball, Beaulieu, Borucinska, Canedy, Carey, Comiskey, Davis, Decker, Desplaces, Diehl, Eppes, Fang, E.Gray, J.Gray, Katrichis, Larson, Mayer, McMiller, Nolan, Oliver, Osama, Padberg, Petry, Russell, Shepela, Siegel, Sumukadas, Weinholtz, Westfall, and Williamson.

 

Not Present: Senator Mori.

 

Call to order -- Chair Jerry Katrichis called the meeting to order. He welcomed the Senators to the first meeting of the Faculty Senate for the Academic year 2006-2007. He announced that Senator Decker will be the Faculty Senate Representatives for the Sabbatical Committee.

 

Committee Assignments – Chair Katrichis called attention to Attachment A of the package handout. Committees have been set up to represent all colleges, and manage work-load distribution. Senators were asked to let him know if any assignment was unacceptable. (Click here for handout)

 

Chairs of the Faculty Senate Committees reported as follows:

 

  1. Curriculum Committee – Senator J.Gray presented the report from the Curriculum Committee’s September 5, 2005 meeting. Inadvertently a course was left out of this list that was approved at the committee’s meeting: ECB 100-111. For the record, A&S’s signed-off on Hillyer’s changes. Faculty Senate motioned to approve and the motion passed unanimously. (Click here to see the report)

 

  1. Computer and Technology -- Senator Sumukadas updated the Senate on the activities of the University's (Educational) Technology Strategic Planning Committee.  The committee has developed Vision and Mission statements and Strategic Directions, and is working on narrowing down to specific strategic initiatives.  A senator inquired about the previous strategic plan created some years ago, and its inclusion in the current planning process.  Later discussions included comments from the Provost (see below) that the older plan had served its purpose over the past 3-4 years.  Senator Sumukadas also updated the Senate on the activities of the Blackboard Planning Committee, which is looking into the possibility of updating the license to the Enterprise level of the Blackboard system..  Representatives from Blackboard will be on campus this week.

 

  1. Professional Standards – Senator Weinholtz described the three items left over from last year for the Professional Standards Committee.

§         Expanded time-line for putting together P&T Appeals Committees. Although this change will not be in the FPM until next year, the Provost will be honoring the change this year.

§         Appendix from HRD for FPM (which he expects can be handled by the Committee via e-mail)

§         Concerned faculty member memo. Specific recommendations expected from the originator. A Senator asked that the MAPP be made available to faculty when they are contracted.

 

  1. Student Affairs – Senator Desplaces reported a meeting with Student Affairs Vice President Lee Peters to discuss Academic and Student misconduct in general. He also plans to meet with Associate Provost Chuck Colarulli, in how to bring the topic to University wide attention. Senators agreed on the urgency of the issue.

 

  1. University Scholars – Senator Eppes brought to the Senate’s attention an article in the Observer featuring ’06 Engineering Graduate Michelle Jarzyniecki. Ms. Jarzyniecki received top American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) prize for a NASA-funded project called the spacesuit snorkel. She and Jesse Berube were University Scholars and presented their study on ‘Low Profile Breathing Device for Improved Prebreathe Procedures’ to the University Scholars Committee. Senator Eppes will be sending out announcements for this year’s participants.

 

  1. Jennifer Sanborn, Director, The Women’s Education & Leadership Fund (WELFund) came to Senate to introduce herself and inform Senators on the availability of grant funds for women’s education. A brief write-up was included in the Senator’s package; excerpts follow:

WELFund, was described as a Legacy of Hartford College for Women History -- The program was born out of a multi-year strategic planning process to determine how best to carry forward both the resources and the mission of HCW. In addition to WELFund, the Center for Professional Development (formerly the Career Counseling Center) is a legacy program of the college. Through these programs, it is anticipated that the college’s commitment to career-centered outreach and the unique lens on women’s learning and leadership for which they were known will be infused throughout the university.

Governance and Administration -- WELFund is governed by a nine member board with participants with historical affiliations with HCW as well as participants with university and community connections. Lucille Nickerson, University Regent and HCW Trustee, chairs the board. The board selected Jennifer Sanborn, formerly assistant director of academic and campus life at Wheaton College in Norton, MA, to serve as the first director; Jennifer began in this role on July 31, 2006. As director, the director serves three distinct functions:

·         Ambassador and Entrepreneur--actively promoting the fund through relationships both within and outside of the university;

·         Grant Administrator--fostering and supporting grant proposals, as well as monitoring progress and compliance of grantee activities; and

·         Fund Developer--in partnership with Institutional Advancement, seeking sources of additional funding for programs and processes aligned with WELFund’s mission.

The WELFund director reports to the University’s President, with a dotted line reporting relationship to the fund board.

Fund priorities -- While still being finalized, it is anticipated that fund priorities will include supporting pedagogical techniques that enhance women’s education, stimulating and supporting women’s interest in areas where they have historically been or presently are underrepresented, advancing women as scholars and as the subject of scholarship, and advancing and sustaining women’s leadership. The fund board seeks proposals of great variety, in source, activity and intended impact, and supports collaborative ventures both within and beyond the university.

Timeline -- The fund board anticipates distributing a Request for Proposals this fall, with the first projects to be implemented in the spring. Subsequent proposals will be accepted on a quarterly basis. For additional information, contact Jennifer Sanborn at x5471 or e-mail sanborn@hartford.edu.

 

  1. Faculty Senate Web Presentation – Chair Katrichis introduced the Faculty Senate’s re-designed web page. Maria Marques reviewed the categories and contents; Senators were invited to submit their input to further improve this resource http://uhaweb.hartford.edu/facsenate/ .                                                                        

Thursday, September 14

Present: Senators Ball, Beaulieu, Borucinska, Carey, Comiskey, Desplaces, Diehl, Eppes, Fang, E.Gray, J.Gray, Katrichis, Larson, Mayer, Mori, Nolan, Oliver, Osama, Padberg, Petry, Russell, Shepela, Siegel, Sumukadas, Weinholtz, Westfall, and Williamson.

 

Not Present: Senators: Davis, Canedy, Decker and McMiller

 

  1. Reconvene – Chair Katrichis called the second part of the Senate Faculty meeting to order.
 
  1. Conversation with President Harrison welcomed the Senators. His comments generally came under the topic of planning for the next fifty years.
International Studies – President Harrison shared his conviction to improve international programs at the University. He believes that we need to bring students from around the globe to our campus and to sending our American students abroad, both undergraduate and graduate programs. Also, encourage faculty to teach oversees and vice versa. He wants Innovative involvement. A Senator asked about the lack of a language major program. President Harrison was asked if he would support a foreign language "requirement." He said he would, but respected that the A&S faculty had decided otherwise.  He noted that he is not an A&S faculty member and has no standing in this matter.

Community Connection – continued involvement in the Hartford community can prepare our students to be part of a democracy. He said “Our last name is Hartford. If we miss … we missed an opportunity.” The President said “The University is best served by having a vibrant neighborhood.” Graduate and professional education can have more interaction between the students and the companies that hire them.

The President invited Faculty and Deans to voice their views. Faculty Senate can be instrumental in stimulating ideas, i.e., “How does this University fit into other universities.” Chair Katrichis sits on the Strategic Planning Committee of the Board of Regents and he can bring the faculty’s ideas to the forefront. We want to bring in people from other universities who can give us a wider viewpoint. Do our peers talk about “residential” college? “We only become better by opening up discussion.” A discussion ensued on quality vs. quantity; improving retention, and becoming more selective.

Residential Experience – A senator mentioned the importance of “managing the housing experience.” It was discussed that students should have access to “productive” areas for study. For example, the President spoke of a CD on the role of libraries, which is being used to look at the hours that a library is or should be open.  Also mentioned was the planned space for special programs to be available in the new dorm.

Environmental Studies – A senator inquired why the University has environmental studies, but not environments science (labs).

 

Provost Randall – The Provost followed the President’s lead and continued discussion on formulating the vision for the next 50 years, as we kick-off the 50th anniversary of the University next February. She also re-iterated some of the points brought to the attention of the Faculty and Staff at the Fall Kickoff meeting on August 23rd. Some of the remarks follow:

University Strategic Planning. The Provost indicated how important strategic planning will be over the next five years and how useful a vision is to start and give direction to that process. She indicated that the University Strategic Planning Committee will launch such discussions. In response to a question by a senator, she indicated that since the planning exercise may take two years, projects that come along and are consistent with that vision will be considered and supported.

Preceptor Program – The Provost launched a pilot Preceptor Program this fall as an effort to improve retention. Similar to a mentoring program, preceptors are advanced undergraduates who show leadership skills, serving as tutors, writing coaches, advocates for freshmen, and, and as feed-back channel for professors.

Educational Technology Strategic Plan.  The Provost indicated that she was leading an Educational Technology Planning Committee, with Assistant Provost Katherine Black and ITS Director George Brophy as vice-chairs, which will formulate a vision for the future of educational technology on campus.  The committee consists of faculty and staff representatives from all schools and colleges, with Senator Sumukadas as the Faculty Senate representative.  Over the summer and fall semester, the committee has been working to develop a multi-year plan to significantly advance educational technology on campus.  Funding from the student tech fee is expected to support, in part, implementation of this plan.

 

A senator commented, “We must acquire the latest technology to compete, but what are we doing to create renewable sources of energy.” The Provost clarified that the Educational Technology Strategic Plan was specifically about educational technology, but recommended that the senator explore the activities of the Clean Energy Institute under the leadership of Professor Thomas Filburn. The Institute is utilizing solar energy panels on Lincoln Theater and would be very interested in working with more faculty across campus. The Provost applauded such interdisciplinary projects.  She believes that these projects can be more successful in attaining grant funds. 

International Program – Provost Randall seconded the President’s points. She emphasized that the University is seeking to rapidly expand study abroad opportunities; provide more students with international experiences and to engage more faculty in these experiences; examine year and semester-abroad programs, introduce more short-term international study trips; and explore how we can imbed international activities into present courses.   She reported a 61% increase in students studying abroad over the previous year.

Digital Health – The Provost spoke about the digital health initiative.  The University plans to bring together faculty and students from a variety of disciplines, such as the health professions, engineering, psychology, physical therapy, technology, and the sciences, to help in the monitoring and in the treatment of chronic and acute medical conditions.  As digital health is a rapidly emerging area within industry and academia, and as we have the right mix of academic programs on campus, we believe that this initiative is a perfect fit for the University.” The Provost concluded.”

 

  1. There being no other business or new business, the meeting adjourned at 1:30 p.m. The next meeting of the Faculty Senate is scheduled for Tuesday, October 10 and Thursday October 12, 2006, at 12:15 p.m. in A426.

 

Respectfully Submitted,

Maria Marques

Recorder