Administrative Council Meeting Minutes
June 20, 2011
Attendees: John Burns, Sukant Misra, Mike Galyean, Cindy Akers, Leslie Thompson, Mark
Wallace, Richard Zartman, Eduardo Segarra, Alon Kvashny, David Doerfert (for Steve
Fraze), Jane Piercy, and Norman Martin
1. Approval of June 6, 2011 minutes
Minutes of the June 6, 2011 meeting were approved.
2. Administrative Council Retreat – August 8, 2011
a. Prioritized list of 3 to 4 proposed areas of research excellence due to Dr.
Misra by June 30th
b. Location – University College, room 103B
From the prioritized lists received, a short list of up to six areas of research
excellence will be compiled. Each department chair could potentially be assigned an
area of research excellence to make a PowerPoint presentation at the A/C Retreat.
The presentation assignments will be given to the department chairs by July 8th.
Following the A/C Retreat, 3 or 4 areas of research excellence will be selected for
presentation by selected chairs at the upcoming Faculty Retreat, which will be held
on August 23rd. Brief presentations by the selected chairs will be followed by breakout sessions for faculty at the faculty retreat.
Speakers at the retreat will include Taylor Eighmy, Vice President for Research,
Michael San Francisco, Associate Vice President for Faculty Development, Alice
Young, Associate Vice President for Research Integrity, and Dr. Wallace Huffman,
Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor in Agriculture and Life Sciences at Iowa
State University. Provost Smith will give a brief speech regarding the state-of-the
university, and Dr. Mike Galyean, Interim Dean, will speak briefly on the state-of-the
college.
3. Budget
Discussion began regarding the budget. The college could possibly receive 70% of
the tuition increase for the new academic year. In FY11 the college lost 25% of line
items and 1% of the salary monies. For FY12 the college will see a loss of $648,000
in state monies and approximately $3,000,000 million in federal monies. In FY10
the total research monies generated by CASNR faculty totaled $14.6 million.
Graduate enrollment and graduate tuition waivers were also discussed. In the last 5
years CASNR’s graduate enrollment has increased over 40%. Dr. Segarra noted the
Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics graduated the most M.S. and
Ph.D. students of any department in the U.S. last year.
4. Departmental Assessments
a. Meetings have been scheduled.
It was noted that all of the department assessment reports have been received. The
data will be given to the department chairs by the first week in July. The first
meetings have been scheduled on July 19th.
5. College Committees
a. Suggestions are due to the dean by July 15th
The council members were reminded the importance of identifying faculty who will
be engaged in the committees.
6. NACTA Judging Conference
An inquiry has been made asking if CASNR might be interested in hosting the
NACTA Judging Conference in 2013. The conference will take place during the
summer of 2013. Discussion began regarding the level of support that will be
involved in the event. Leslie Thompson will contact the organization and acquire
more information regarding the cost, involvement, etc.
7. Other
Dr. Burns stated that in meetings last week with the president and Dr. Eighmy it was
noted that the university has eliminated the Critical Needs Hiring Committee in the
hiring process for faculty. Every faculty hire will be treated as a strategic hire. At
the present time CASNR has 10 faculty vacancies. The president plans to meet with
each college individually in the near future.
Dr. Akers reported that Texas Tech was well represented at the 2011 Texas 4-H
Roundup held in College Station. The time and effort spent was very beneficial.
Dr. Akers reported the summer numbers are up 8%, which is the largest increase of
all the colleges. Also, orientation numbers are good.
Jane reported the next Homecoming Breakfast may be held at the Overton.
Norman Martin referenced a meeting involving David Doerfert that discussed the
perception of drought and water conservation. Dr. Doerfert stated another meeting
will be scheduled to include various commodity groups. Norman reported a new
feature has been added to the CASNR website, “Did you know?”
Leslie Thompson announced that the Texas Tech women’s rodeo team placed fourth
in the nation. The 2011 College National Finals Rodeo was held in Casper, Wyoming
last week.
Dr. Misra reported the Research NSF/Undergraduate Research Experience proposal
is going well. They are due August 22, 2011. The proposal involves a half million
dollars over a 5 year period. Also, there is a new collaboration effort among Texas
A&M University, Kansas State, West Texas A&M University and the USDA involving a
$150,000 planning grant for water research. Dr. Misra reported that a sorghum
research extension and symposium in collaboration with TAMU, Kansas State and
TTU will take place on July 21-22 at the International Cultural Center.