Administrative Council Meeting Minutes
February 20, 2012
Attendees: Mike Galyean, Sukant Misra, Cindy Akers, Norman Hopper, Steve Fraze, Eduardo
Segarra, Richard Zartman, Alon Kvashny, Mark Wallace, Jane Piercy, Norman Martin
Dr. Galyean reported that they had a good meeting/luncheon at the San Antonio Livestock
Exposition (SALE) this past week.
1. Approval of January 17, 2012 meeting minutes
Minutes of the January 17, 2012 meeting were approved as distributed.
2. Rules for use of PSS 115
It was noted that regular classes should not be scheduled to meet in the PSS 115
Conference Room. If a class is in need of a room for a seminar, etc., that would be fine,
as long as it was not on a regular basis. The room is intended for use as a conference
room for meetings, or where M.S. or Ph.D. students can defend their thesis, hold their
oral exams, etc. PSS 115 can be reserved with Cindy McCullough. The on-line calendar
is no longer being used.
3. Science Writers (Society of Environmental Journalists) Conference in October
Approximately 700 journalists from across the United States will be in Lubbock October
3 -7, at the Overton Hotel for the Society of Environmental Journalists Annual
Conference. They are very interested in exploring the many facets of environmental
issues and agriculture. This conference will take journalists out into the field, with fullday or half-day tours to environmental hotspots where issues may be explored on-site
with experts on hand to present all sides and answer questions. Department chairs may
be contacted to help out with some of these tours and are highly encouraged to do so.
This is a good opportunity for Texas Tech and West Texas to showcase what we do here
and get national recognition for some of our programs. The handout given at the meeting
was not the correct one………please visit this website: http://www.sej.org/initiatives/sejannual-conferences/AC2012-main as well as a TechAnnounce dated 9-27-10:
http://today.ttu.edu/2010/09/texas-tech-to-host-society-of-environmental-journalists-in2012/# for further information.
4. CASNR Advisory Board Meeting
The tentative date for a March CASNR Advisory Board meeting has not worked out.
There was little to no reply from the current advisory board members as to their
availability for a meeting. It was suggested that we set a date further in advance (such as
in August), for a meeting. It might be a good idea to hold an Advisory Board meeting in
conjunction with the Faculty Retreat, so Advisory Board members could attend that as
well. A meeting with the Advisory Board after the retreat to discuss College related
issues was suggested. Department chairs need to be thinking of possible alumni for your
department to nominate for advisory board members, keeping in mind their availability.
Seven of the 13 will have completed their 3 years of service in August. The following
table shows advisory board members and their terms of service:
Revised Seventh Group – Fall 2011
Simpson, Michael
Rhoades, Jack ** [resigned 2010]
Armacost, Wayne
Hodges, Charles
Brady, Zach
Wallace, Buddy
Sell, Tom
Phillips, Jamey
Taylor, Dan
Smith, Stacy Gilbert
Scarborough, Alex
Davis, Chad
Swinburn, Dale
Richardson, Larry
Animal and Food Sciences
Animal and Food Sciences
Natural Resources Management
Natural Resources Management
Agricultural Education & Communications
Agricultural Education & Communications
Agricultural & Applied Economics
Agricultural & Applied Economics
Development
Development
Landscape Architecture
Landscape Architecture
Plant & Soil Science
Plant & Soil Science
Begin
2010
2009
2010
2010
2009
2009
2010
2009
2009
2009
2011
2009
2010
2009
End
2013
2012
2013
2013
2012*
2012*
2013
2012*
2012*
2012*
2014
2012*
2013
2012*
Replacement for Fall 2011
5. Faculty Retreat Date
The faculty will be back on duty Wednesday, August 22nd; new faculty orientation is
tentatively scheduled for Thursday, August 23rd; the first day of classes is Monday,
August 27th. Therefore, it was suggested that the faculty retreat be held on Wednesday
afternoon, August 22nd so new faculty can attend. A meeting with the CASNR
Advisory Board will be scheduled for the next morning (Thursday, August 23rd).
Chairs need to be thinking of possible topics for this years’ retreat. The last 5 years
topics have been:
2011: Potential Research Areas of Excellence for CASNR
2010: Strategic Planning and Implementation to Advance TTU: A Focus on
CASNR and RCM (Responsibility Center Management)
2009: Development of a Degree Program of Interdisciplinary Studies with
Individual Tracks
2008: Understanding Today’s Undergraduate – A Discussion about Generations
and The Role of the Faculty in College Fund Raising
2007: International Teaching and Research Programs
A possible topic that was mentioned is focusing on teaching related issues. In addition,
Jane mentioned there have been some complaints from students that CASNR’s study
abroad program seems to extend the students time here, whereas other college programs
have the study abroad time incorporated into their programs so it does not lengthen their
time at college. There may also need to be a discussion of curriculum to see whether we
are missing anything. It might be good to let the advisory board help on this issue to see
if they see any concerns as to where we need to add/delete to our current curriculum. Dr.
Misra added that our graduate curriculum needs some attention as well. We need to
make sure that it has the right kind of programs to attract more graduate students. The
administration is committed to increasing the proportion of our student population
comprised of graduate students. CASNR’s Fall 2010 percentage was 19%, and we are
projecting 20% by 2015. Dr. Zartman indicated that his undergraduate program needs to
be more technology-based.
6. University and CASNR Awards Timeline
A handout was given with the proposed timeline for the awards process. Electronic
copies of the nominee’s brief vita, their five-year summary of teaching evaluations and
the support document (one page) will be due to Julann by April 13th. This information
will be placed on the CASNR website by April 27th. Ballots will be due to the Dean’s
Office by May 11th. A review of the nominations/results will be conducted at a specially
scheduled Administrative Council meeting. Julann will be sending out these dates, as
well as further information regarding the awards, in an e-mail at a later date.
Dr. Segarra would like to see more awards/recognition for our staff. We currently have a
CASNR Research Staff Award and a CASNR Staff Award. Dr. Hopper suggested that
maybe we could add an award for staff that was nominated and voted on by staff. Dr.
Galyean asked Dr. Segarra if he could take the lead on this and come up with a proposal
for a new staff award.
7. Follow-up on Conflict of Interest Meeting with Dr. Alice Young
Dr. Galyean would like everyone to be aware of this issue, particularly as you see
information submitted on the Conflict of Interest forms by your faculty. Please talk to
your faculty and ask them who they are consulting for so that you can make an informed
decision. Faculty that have “non disclosure” agreements only have to tell who they are
consulting with – not what they are consulting about. You may have to resubmit forms
during the year if consulting status changes. Do not submit forms with a “maybe” or
“might.” Forms should either be “no consulting” or list the name of the company or
companies they are consulting with. If their consulting status changes, resubmit forms as
needed.
8. Due Date for Annual Faculty Reports and Chairperson Assessments (OP 32.32)
The current OP 32.32 indicates that Annual Faculty Reports and Chairperson
Assessments are due to the Dean on March 1st. Our letter to the Chairs had a due date of
April 6th. Julann will check with the Office of the Provost to see if this is a problem. The
due date for this year will not change. If a change is needed back to the March 1st due
date, it will be implemented next year.
Other:
Regarding the Gordon Davis iCEV presentation in January, Dr. Galyean asked if any other
departments besides AFS were interested in using this technology. Most indicated they would
like to see the materials/videos before deciding, and no one had received a login or password
from CEV to be able to access the website. Dr. Galyean said we would check into that, and if
chairs were interested in getting a login/password to let Julann know and we would see that one
gets to you.
Dr. Kvashny announced they had a Continuing Education program on Saturday, and that several
alumni from the surrounding area participated.
Dr. Akers gave a brief Admits/Transfer report and distributed a handout. She also reminded the
Chairs about core curriculum issues and to be working on their courses.
Jane Piercy announced that tonight is the Distinguished Alumni and Distinguished Young
Alumni Banquet, and she hopes to see everyone there. Thursday they will be announcing the
Shirley and LuCille Garrison Chair at the Merket Alumni Center; Texas Tech Day at the
Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is March 3rd; and March 30th is the Texas and Southwestern
Cattle Raisers Association meeting in Fort Worth.
Jane also wanted to remind everyone that the Chancellor is still giving TRIP funding (matching
funds) on donated amounts of $100,000 or more. This has to be cash and not a pledge. Please
inform your faculty so they can keep this in mind when doing fund raising.
Dr. Fraze announced that they will be hosting the National Ag Communicators of Tomorrow
meeting this week (Thursday, Friday and Saturday) at the Overton Hotel and Merket Alumni
Center.
Dr. Misra mentioned that everyone should have received the research spreadsheet, and that if
there are any questions regarding it, please let him know. CASNR has advertised for a grants
coordinator position, and there are currently 6 applicants. They will leave the position open for
another week or so, and if you know of anyone who would be a great candidate, please
encourage them to apply. In addition, please study the spreadsheet and help identify 6 to 8 RFAs
that we should target.
Dr. Misra also indicated that strategic planning has started and you will be receiving an e-mail
from Pam Urnosky with deadline dates. Merit raises for faculty and staff have been approved
and processed and should be included in March 1st paychecks.
Dr. Wallace indicated things are going well in NRM. They are trying to move forward with job
announcements and are working on getting things in order with Dr. Ballard’s program. He had
17 graduate students and they are getting those reassigned as well as changing grant PIs, etc.
NRM has completed their graduate program review.