Administrative Council Meeting Minutes
October 17, 2011
PSS 115
Attendees: Mike Galyean, Sukant Misra, Cindy Akers, Norman Hopper, Leslie Thompson,
Mark Wallace, Eduardo Segarra, Steve Fraze, Alon Kvashny, Peter Dotray (for Richard
Zartman), Jane Piercy, and Norman Martin
Guest: Jennifer S. Hughes, Director, Office of Planning and Assessment
1. TracDat Presentation – Jennifer Hughes
Jennifer Hughes gave a presentation to introduce TracDat/SharePoint as the new
Strategic Planning platform. The current reporting cycle is for January 1 to
December 31, 2010. The deadline for reporting is November 1, 2011. Jennifer
reported that the Office of Planning and Assessment will continue to serve as the
campus TracDat technical support. She also indicated that she can meet with
individual department chairs if requested.
2. Approval of September 19, 2011 minutes
Minutes of the September 19, 2011 meeting were approved.
3. Voting for Piper Professor
There were three CASNR nominees for Piper Professor of 2012. The department
chair will notify the nominee according to the vote outcome. The nomination
materials should be submitted to Pam in the Provost Office no later than
Wednesday, November 9, 2011.
The purpose of the award is to give recognition to the teaching profession rather
than to research, publication, administration or other such related activity, although
the foundation’s selection committee will also consider these criteria.
4. Updating Departmental Websites – Norman Martin
Norman gave a brief report regarding the resources available for updating websites.
Kris Allen, the CASNR Webmaster, is available for assistance in design and structure.
Departments may contact Dr. Misra or Norman for more information regarding
assistance from Kris. The importance of keeping websites updated was emphasized,
particularly for contact information of faculty and staff.
5. Next Advisory Board Meeting
Dr. Galyean reported that seven members of the Advisory Board, along with the
Administrative Council, met on Friday for a luncheon meeting. The original meeting
agenda was changed because all the Advisory Board members could not attend the
meeting. The Advisory Board members will be contacted to reschedule the meeting,
which will include the originally planned activity. We will check their availability
during the second and third week of February and early March.
6. Other
Dr. Galyean reported that he will be meeting with the faculty of Natural Resources
Management to announce the appointment of Dr. Mark Wallace as department chair
effective November 1st.
Dr. Galyean reported that we still do not have information as to when we can start
filling vacant positions.
Mark Wallace reported that Dr. Sosebee was recovering at home after his recent
surgery. He also reported that some of their students received awards at the Texas
Chapter of Range Management. Dr. Wallace stated that TTU representation was
down at the state meetings.
Sukant Misra reported the research enhancement funds have been distributed.
There were four applications submitted. The recipients are Pat Westbrook, Mahfuz
Rahman, Thea Wilkins, and David Doerfert. Dr. Misra raised the question as why
there is a lack of interest by the younger faculty. Any ideas for ways to improve the
interest would be appreciated.
Dr. Misra reported that plans are underway to prepare for a proposal for the
International Science and Education Program grant. The program promotes
international partnerships and collaborations. Dr. Misra stated that he, Norman
Hopper, Cindy Akers, and Julie Isom will be working on the proposal. They will be
working particularly on the China program. Another grant this group will be
working on is the Multi-Cultural Diversity Program, which is primarily a scholarship
program for minority students.
Dr. Misra reported the CASNR Strategic Plan for 2011-2015 is close to completion.
He is working on a master spreadsheet and the College committee will review all
data. There should be one more meeting of the committee before it is finalized.
Norman Hopper indicated that the Homecoming Breakfast attendance was down
slightly, and that we need to think of ways to rejuvenate a younger crowd.
Suggestions included highlighting graduates from certain years at the breakfast or
having a CASNR Tailgate in addition to the breakfast.
Leslie Thompson reported the Meats Team won first place at the American Royal
Contest. The Animal and Food Sciences Department has had tailgates at the home
games. So far they have had good attendance.
Cindy Akers distributed the Student Success Center report for September and
October. She announced that today is University Day, and they expect 900 students
in attendance. There was a University Night Reception at the Merket last night that
was hosted by the President’s Office. There were approximately 180 students at the
reception. Fifteen were CASNR students. There will be a meeting today with
Ramona to discuss HB 30.24 to discuss the best strategy for dealing with the
requirements of the bill related to filing degree plans.
Alon Kvashny reported the Landscape Architecture Alumni Workshop that was held
on Friday went well.
Steve Fraze reported the department held an alumni event on Friday night. The
event was a Chuck Wagon Dinner held at Dan Taylor’s home. The attendance was
very good. Dr. Fraze announced the National FFA Convention will take place this
week. In addition, the Coordinating Board will be voting next week on their Ph.D.
program.
Dr. Galyean reported the Coordinating Board has planned to end the MLA program
in 2015. Our appeal was denied. The Provost will be traveling to Austin to defend
the program.
Jane Piercy announced the Pig Roast will be held on November 10. The student
invitations will be sent today. The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Luncheon
will be held on Wednesday at the Merket. Also, the TRIP funds should be coming in
soon.
Dr. Galyean reported we are actively seeking funds for the PSS Building.
Leslie Thompson announced they had 1300 in attendance at the Ag-in-the-Bag
event. In addition, the Department of Animal and Foods Sciences will be hosting the
NACTA Judging Conference in 2013. They will need help with the contests.
Steve Fraze announced the FFA Invitational Workshops will take place on March 31
at 1:00 p.m.