Penn State York: Campus Senate Minutes: March 3, 2009

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Attendance:
B. Bartell, A. Siddiqui, A. Hasan, H. Darling, W. Cantor, C. Gaston, S. Christ, F. Lugemwa, H. Hartman, L. Newcomer, F. Haag, L. Brewster, C.D. Creagh, M. Jarrett, S. Staton-Taiwo, E. Jenkins, J. Rodney, A. Henne, S. Stelly, T. Getz, S. Rich, D. Hershey, L. Berkowitz, M. Casteel, D. Van de Streek, J. Nesbitt, D. Folkers, R. Farrell, N. Sloboda, J. McCormick, W. Vangreen, S. Shaffer, Dr. Heydl-Cortinez, A. Fetterman, and S. Ruch

Minutes
1. Minutes from the February 3 meeting were approved without comment.
Communications from administration, faculty, and committees
1. Chancellor, Dr. Joel Rodney
  1. shared that in the event of another rescission, the University is prepared to cover the give back without calling upon colleges and campuses.
  2. announced that the federal government had last year passed an expanded G.I. Bill with a wider range of support for tuition reimbursement that will benefit public institutions like Penn State York; looked forward to recruiting additional veterans during the coming academic year.
  3. noted that paid accepts at campuses are up 9 percent for the coming year, while UP paid accepts are (by design) down 9 percent, a move intended to benefit the campuses.
2. DAA, Dr. Joe McCormick
  1. reported the successful completion of all searches for the 2009-10 academic year; Dr. Eicher-Catt will return in CAS; Dr. Kristen Cole will come to the campus in English; Dr. Kamran Eftekhari has signed a memorandum of personal service and will be coming to the campus in engineering.
3. University Senators
  1. shared no business.
4. Faculty Council Representative, Dr. Abdul Siddiqu
  1. announced a call for volunteers on two committees, each with a deadline of March 4: the University College Promotion and Tenure Committee, which requires at least two of its three new members to be at the rank of Professor; and the University College Sabbatical Review Committee, which requires “back ups” in case current members need to resign.
5. Announcements from Faculty
  1. Dr. Noel Sloboda asked everyone to congratulate the finalists for the 2009 James H. Burness Teaching Award: Dr. Joe Downing, Dr. Marshall Coyle, Dr. Jennifer Nesbitt, and Dr. Mark Casteel.
  2. Fred Haag announced that the spring student art show was currently on display at the Pullo Family Performing Arts Center.
  3. Dr. Mike Jarrett called for faculty to mention in class the availability of an online nomination form for the campus Advising Award.
  4. Art Henne called for nominations for student service and academic awards.
6. Announcements from Staff
  1. Di Hershey announced an upcoming Career networking luncheon to be held from 12:00 -1:30 p.m. on March 17; distributed a handout with details; and urged faculty to promote the event among students.
  2. Loren Brewster shared that on March 26, a group from University Park will be visiting the campus to overview “Preventure,” a program designed to scan hard drives for social security and credit card numbers.
  3. Suzanne Shaffer shared that the Digital Commons representative would be on campus on April 8; asked anyone interested in collaborating with him during the coming academic year to contact her.
  4. William Vangreen shared that a student recently fainted in class; noted campus security responded and monitored the situation; pointed out that typically faculty and staff should call for a professional medical response in the event of an emergency; reminded faculty and staff never to administer medication due to liability.
7. Student Government representatives
  1. on behalf of student government president Rohan Chitalia--who was not present--Dr. Rodney shared the desire of SGA for faculty support of students attending the Harrisburg rally at the rotunda on March 20.
8. Senate Chair, Dr. Bob Farrell
  1. announced the formation of a nominating committee to identify a chair-elect, secretary, ombudsman, and Faculty Council representative, with membership to be announced at a future date.
  2. announced the formation of a committee to review promotion and tenure issues, with membership to be announced at a future date.
9. Chair-Elect, Dr. Jennifer Nesbitt
  1. made no announcements.
10. Senate Committee Chairs
  1. Harley Hartman (chair of the Teaching, Learning, and Technology Committee) announced that several issues are being addressed, including the possibility of soundproofing classrooms in the PAC.
Unfinished Business
1. Dr. Jennifer Nesbitt, on behalf of the FYE ad hoc committee (a subcommittee of Academic and Student Issues),
  1. overviewed a motion from Academic and Student Issues regarding the proposed FYE plan, focusing attention on “Form B,” which is to be sent to University Park for review; detailed all four parts of the form.
    1. Dr. Abul Hasan asked for clarification on the average class size at Penn State York, arguing that the number should be related to a timeframe; Dr. Christ indicated the stated average was most likely based on a three-year span.
  2. noted two strategies for FYE still under discussion, not part of the plan being proposed to University Park: a.) faculty interest sessions for summer; b.) lunch-time faculty meetings for the academic year; shared that the discussion of assessment measures was still ongoing; indicated the possibility of a stand-alone PSU 008 remained on the table for 2009 - 10.
    1. Deidre Folkers offered that discussion should be opened, at a later point, about obliging under-prepared first year students to take a studies skills course; Ed Jenkins supported this suggestion.
    2. Dr. Abul Hasan asked about plans to monitor each student at the end of his or her first year.
    3. Dr. Rodney indicated that only three of the other campuses plan to maintain the current FYS structure; argued that retention should be the final measure of any FYE (or FYS) plan.
  3. Dr. Stuart Stelly, chair of Academic and Student Issues, formally motioned that, with a friendly amendment to the wording, “Form B” be submitted to University Park, and the motion passed with twenty-six supporting votes.
New Business
1. Discussion of a resolution from SGA to make the campus entirely smoke free was tabled due to lack of representation from SGA.
Forensic Business: Reports from Standing Committees
1. No unfinished business was addressed by the Senate.
Adjournment
1. Motion to adjourn was approved at 1:10 p.m.

Campus Senate

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