Administrative Council Meeting Minutes
July 15, 2013
Attendees: Dr. Michael Galyean, Dr. Cindy Akers, Dr. David Doerfert, Dr. Mike Orth, Dr.
Cynthia McKenney, Dr. Eduardo Segarra, Dr. Alon Kvashny, Dr. Mark Wallace, and Norman
Martin
1. Minutes from the June 17, 2013 Administrative Council meeting were approved as
distributed.
2. Dr. Galyean reminded LA to submit their curriculum review report to him. He plans to
combine all the department reviews into one document.
3. A tentative itinerary for the Faculty Retreat was handed out. Dr. Ed Bowen, Director of
New Course Design & Development at the R. Jan LeCroy Center for Educational
Telecommunications (a campus of the Dallas County Community College District), will
be the guest speaker. There will be two breakout sessions for more in-depth discussion
regarding technology tools, social media in teaching and outreach, as well as
presentations highlighting what CASNR is doing in research with new technology.
4. While talking about technology on campus, it was noted that Blackboard had some
serious issues during Summer I. Company technical support for the problem has since
been moved from the regional department to the national level because of the seriousness
of the issues. A memo from the Office of the Provost will be sent out soon regarding the
concerns/problems with the Blackboard program.
5. Dr. Mark Wallace addressed the Administrative Council concerning the need to evaluate
the potential for college-wide chemical safety officer position. There is variation in need
among the departments, but each department needs someone who is up-to-date and
knows the current requirements and regulations. This person would be responsible for
ordering and keeping track of all chemicals and drugs from beginning to end; keeping
lab personnel up-to-date on training, and ensuring all PIs and labs are up-to-date and in
compliance with safety rules and regulations. As soon as the new CASNR Safety
Committee is in place, this issue will be brought to their attention. The appropriate route
for any decisions regarding safety/lab issues should first go through them.
6. Dr. Akers addressed the Administrative Council regarding a new survey the NAADA
sends out to universities regarding entry-level salaries for recent graduates in agriculture
and related disciplines. This is a separate survey from one Ramona sends out from the
USDA. Dr. Akers will check with Ramona to see what information is collected for the
USDA survey and see whether it would be feasible to collect a little additional
information to complete this survey as well. She will get back to the council with this
information.
7. Since Jane Piercy is out today on development calls, Dr. Galyean noted that her office
has put together a brochure to send out regarding CASNR scholarships, the need for
more, how to donate, educational costs, etc. Once this document is completed, copies
will be made available to departments.
8. Other
Dr. David Doerfert (substituting for Dr. Fraze) reported that AE&C is beginning their
sixth Doc @ a Distance program in August. They are working on releasing the 2.0
version, as well as changing the program to a Ph.D. rather than an Ed.D. They have also
received lots of international interest in the Doc @ a Distance program. This presents
some logistics challenges, but they are trying to work through the details to see whether it
would be possible to offer the program on an international basis.
Dr. Cynthia McKenney (substituting for Dr. Zartman) announced Dr. Venugopal Mendu
has arrived and began his new position in PSS on July 1st. The greenhouse is making
progress on getting the broken glass replaced from the storm last month, but so far the
progress has been slow. Dr. McKenney also gave a report regarding her trip to Africa
where their group met with USAID officials in Kenya. The USAID officials gave them
eight or 10 places to submit grants to, and were so grateful that someone was interested in
that particular region of Kenya. She also reported that about 80% of the faculty in
agriculture at universities in Kenya would be retiring in the next 10 years, with no future
prospects of younger faculty members coming up in the system. Dr. McKenney sees this
as a huge opportunity for TTU/CASNR to have an impact on the agricultural community
in Kenya.
Dr. Akers handed out the latest Apps/Admits report. To date, the numbers are looking
positive for CASNR.
Dr. Segarra announced that Dr. Jeff Johnson and Dr. Jaime Malaga have returned from
teaching AAEC’s first study-abroad classes in Seville, Spain. They taught two classes,
each with approximately nine students. The classes went well and were very successful,
and Dr. Johnson and Dr. Malaga are already planning the courses for next summer.
Dr. Kvashny (substituting for Dr. Klein) reported that everything was going well in LA.
Dr Klein and Christine Casanova are working on recruiting ideas, and numbers for LA
are up for the fall semester.
Dr. Mike Orth was introduced and welcomed to the Administrative Council as the newest
member. Dr. Orth began his tenure as the new Chair of Animal and Food Sciences on
June 21st.
Dr. Akers noted that we are only mid-way through orientation sessions. If your
department already has course sections completely filled, please let her know so that
funds can be asked for now to be able to open additional sections.
Dr Mark Wallace reported that NRM is in the process of hiring someone to fill the
Experimental Design/Stat Modeling position in their department. They hope to have that
completed before the beginning of the fall semester. NRM has also started the
application/interview process for a new Bricker Chair. Dr. Wallace also noted that NRM
and Biology are in the last steps of getting a Professional Science Masters degree
program (PSM) in place. The Higher Education Coordinating Board has given their
approval, but they are waiting for approval from the Professional Science Masters
organization. Dr. Galyean noted that TTUHSC is planning a Masters in Public Health,
and that there might be opportunities for several groups in CASNR (e.g., food safety and
food security, communications) to work with them.
Dr. Wallace gave an update on their 2 + 2 law enforcement degree. They have three
additional community colleges besides the ones they are already partnering with that they
are working on MOUs with for this new program. Students attend the community
colleges for the criminal justice degree, and then transfer to us for the NRM degree.
Norman Martin reminded the council (for website purposes) that all browsers are not the
same, and if something is created in one browser, it might not work in another. Please
keep that in mind when creating things for your websites. Also, please make sure faculty
and staff information on departmental pages are updated, as well as links. Keeping this
information updated helps people get in touch with the appropriate faculty or staff
member.