Administrative Council Meeting Minutes
February 7, 2011
Attendees: John Burns, Norman Hopper, Sukant Misra, Cindy Akers, Steve Fraze, Alon
Kvashny, Leslie Thompson, Mark Wallace, Richard Zartman (for Tom Thompson), Phillip
Johnson (for Eduardo Segarra), Jane Piercy, Norman Martin
Guests: Rachel Bobbitt and Lori Dudley
1. Approval of January 3, 2011 minutes
Minutes of the January 3, 2011 meeting were approved.
2. Ag Awareness Week – Lori & Rachel
Rachel and Lori are representing the college Marketing and Outreach Committee.
Rachel announced Ag Awareness Week will take place April 25-29. Rachel stated
the committee would like to encourage departments and the department clubs to
get “kick-started” for activities during this week. They would like to see faculty and
students involved during the week’s activities. The activities will end that week
with the Ag Honors Banquet on Friday evening. Friday is also Arbor Day, which is
campus-wide. The committee welcomes any suggestions. Courtney Meyers is the
chair of the committee, Sukant Misra is representing the dean’s office, or you may
contact Rachel or Lori.
3. Student Evaluation of Course and Instructors
Dr. Hopper distributed copies of an email from Valerie Paton regarding updates
relating to the implementation of the Student Evaluation of Course and Instructor
component of OP 32.32. Issues to be discussed and addressed with faculty include
the following:
a. On the evaluation form numbers one and eleven are “Overall” assessments. The
instrument was not designed to generate a Grand Mean of all 16 questions.
b. The Office of Planning and Assessment will be adding the questions and
resulting data (not comments) from the Student Evaluation of Course and
Instructor to each faculty member’s Digital Measures portfolio.
c. Under HB 2504 every organized undergraduate course must be evaluated each
term. A pilot may be proposed for summer 2011using online survey software,
Inquisit, to administer the 16 question evaluation form to students enrolled in all
organized undergraduate and graduate courses during the summer 2011 terms.
Administrators are encouraged to consult with faculty members to determine if
they are willing to consider this online pilot option and how the evaluation
findings in annual reports or P & T documentation would be utilized.
4. CASNR Award Process
a. Begin in April
In order to relieve some of the burden in the month of May, the nomination
process for the awards will be earlier this year. The ballots will be due in April,
along with the meeting to review the nominations. That means the information
will be due to the dean’s office in March and the information should be posted to
the website in late March.
b. New award for adjunct faculty will not be considered due to budget cuts
c. Cash awards reduced from $1,200 to $1,000 due to budget cuts
d. Only one recipient per award [total of 8]
e. New criteria for Student Advising Award
The criteria will remain the same.
f. Voting process
The voting process will remain the same.
5. Date for Faculty Retreat – Tuesday, August 23, 2011
a. Location – Merket Alumni Center
6. P & T Guidelines
We anticipate there may be changes to the OP. The provost office has requested
information from colleges regarding any guidelines that are used in the P & T
process other than or in addition to the university OP.
7. Other
Dr. Akers distributed the fall application and admission information for
undergraduates. Dr. Akers announced the president’s receptions and recruiting
events will be starting in March. The Agri-Techsans will be attending stock shows.
Dr. Leslie Thompson announced Chance Brooks was nominated for the young
educator and research awards and received both of the awards.
Dr. Mark Wallace inquired about Taylor Eighmy observing prairie chicken trapping
since Dr. Eighmy expressed an interest in activities within the college after touring
the college facilities and lands. Dr. Wallace asked if there might be others who
would benefit from the activity.
Dr. Fraze reported a response has been received from the Coordinating Board
regarding the new PhD program. The outside reviewers gave a positive review. The
next Coordinating Board meeting will be in April in DC. Dr. Fraze will check and see
if he needs to be present.
Dr. Misra mentioned the upcoming budget cuts and the CASNR plans that will be
forwarded to the provost office for review.
Jane announced upcoming events including the Distinguished Alumni Dinner on
February 21st and TTU Day at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (HLSR) on
March 5th. The Masked Rider will be attending TTU Day at the HLSR. Also, the Texas
Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association Reception will be on April 1st.
Norman Martin reported that the office of Communications and Marketing has been
using photos from old archives for various articles, etc. Norman stated that if
departments need recent photos taken of individuals, please contact him and he can
schedule a photo shoot.