College of Education Senate
University of Northern Iowa
November 26, 2007
Minutes #360
I. Call to Order
The meeting of the College of Education Senate was called to order by Kurt
Meredith, Chair, at 3:22 P.M. on Monday, November 26, 2007 in the
Dean‟s Conference Room in Schindler Education Center, Room 205.
Senators in attendance [in bold]
Dave Christensen [At large]
Rod Dieser [At large]
Dave Else [ELCPE]
Kim Knesting [At-large]
Elana Joram [EPF]
Chris Kliewer [SPED]
Kurt Meredith, Chair [C&I]
Rick Vanderwall [TCHG]
Windee Weiss [HPELS]
Robin Lund [At-large]
Alternates in attendance [in bold]
Susan Hudson
Robert Decker
Rob Boody
Amy Staples
Penny Beed
Bridgette Wagoner
Nancy Hamilton
Kevin Finn
Ex-Officio Members in attendance
Dean William P. Callahan
Guests
Kathy East, Deb Gallagher, Gerri Perreault, and Biff Williams
II. Approval of Minutes of October 15, 2007 [#359]
It was moved by Kliewer and seconded by Hudson that the minutes [#359]
of the October 15, 2007 meeting be approved as read. All ayes. Motion
carried.
III. Welcome
Meredith welcomed the Senators and guests to the meeting.
IV. Reports/Announcements
A. President‟s Visit: Meredith reminded everyone of the upcoming visit
by President Allen to the College of Education on December 7th from
9:00 to 11:00 A.M.
V. Old Business
A. COE Curriculum Committee: Meredith reported that were some
procedural issues regarding the curriculum process recently with the
Middle Level proposal. He stated that there needed to be Senate
approval of the proposal and, as a result, Vanderwall coordinated a
phone vote of the Senators. Todd Evans assured Vanderwall that the
changes were „cosmetic‟, at best. A question was also raised if
procedures had been followed. After the phone vote, the proposal was
processed in time to meet the deadline.
B. Faculty Awards: Meredith stated that in the past there has been a
struggle to get nominations for faculty awards. This does not reflect
well on the College and he is unsure what to do to rectify this.
However, he strongly urged the Senators to encourage nominations
among their colleagues during upcoming elections.
C. Senate Meeting Schedule: A discussion was held concerning
scheduling problems with several upcoming meeting dates.
Vanderwall stated that he feels it would be a good idea to have a
December meeting in order to kick off election cycle and get that
process moving forward. It was moved by Kliewer and seconded by
Else to change the following meeting dates: December 17, 2007;
January 28, 2008; and March 24, 2008. All ayes. Motion carried.
VI. New Business
A. Doctoral Program Update: Dr. Deb Gallagher gave an update on the
doctoral program. She felt that information on the doctoral program
in the past was not in a coherent form and, as a result, has begun
work to rectify that. She has pulled together a list serve of addresses
for all doctoral students which she uses to make announcements,
provide information, etc. It has been incredibly effective and well
received. She has also worked on how many doctoral students we
have, where they are in their program and that information is now in
one place and easier to access. Also, Gallagher formed a Compass
group and applied for recognition as an official UNI student
organization. In addition, they held a symposium of Who‟s Who in
the Graduate College. Callahan questioned if these panels could be
viewed on the ICN. She responded that they could do that. Also, they
held a Legislator‟s Forum to see how students can effect education on
a state level. In terms of future initiatives, the students have
expressed a desire for assistance in honing their writing skills.
Gallagher stated that this is the #1 thing that intimidates doctoral
students. At the request of the dean, Gallagher is pursuing a proposal
to hire an individual to provide writing support services designed
specifically for students in advanced academic programs. Callahan
stated that this person could also provide assistance to junior faculty
members, as well. Gallagher would like to develop a Web site for
doctoral students which would also help with recruitment. Hudson
questioned the status of the doctoral student‟s handbook. Gallagher
responded there is one but some revisions need to be made. The
handbook is also on the Web. The dean urged Senators to share this
information with their constituents. Meredith expressed Senate
cooperation to facilitate these efforts.
B. Liberal Arts Core Curriculum: This item was not discussed.
C. Ten Goals for Senate: [See “D” below]
D. COE Planning for the Future: Meredith stated that he had spoken
with the Dean who would like to have the Senate begin a discussion
on where the College of Education wants to go in the future. In
addition, the departments have recently identified a “wish list” and
now we need to organize those initiatives and set priorities. The dean
would like the Senate to be involved in this discussion, as well as
faculty. Dean Callahan has also asked all of the Management Team
members to identify “10 goals” for this academic year that they want
to see their department/faculty engage in. They will then meet with
the Dean for their evaluation and to share their goals. These goals
need to be connected to the long term future of the college. The dean
believes that we can then blend the “10 goals” conversation with the
COE planning for the future.
Meredith stated that faculty positions were not filled during the
recent budget crunch time, but that is now being addressed. The
dean stressed that these are „replacement‟ lines, not „new‟ lines. He
asked for recommendations on how to potentially change the
structure of the departments in terms of asking for replacement lines.
Kliewer questioned if there is a way to collaborate across
departments. Weiss also suggested cross departmental
collaborations.
Else suggested that it might be more beneficial if the Senate knows
the goals identified by the Management Team first and then the
Senate can better align and support those goals. Williams stated that
the department heads met earlier today and the main focus of that
conversation was to identify the vision of the college and also to be
supportive of President Allen‟s initiative to be the premier teacher
education program. There was also some discussion on forming a
center/institute that would act as a broad umbrella to encompass
educational preparation, accountability/assessment, and whole
child/human services. The dean stated that he and President Allen
have discussed the possibility of establishing a „think tank‟ and ways
to make change within the State of Iowa. Also discussed was the
„achievement gap‟. We need a system to identify trends, practices
underway that are not being evaluated, etc. Knesting stated that in
the past she tried to work with Waterloo Schools on the „drop out‟
problem but has met with resistance from their administrators. She
is unsure how to build that relationship.
Kliewer thinks we should move forward to identify Senate goals
independent of the Management Team discussion. Hudson said
timing can be important and suggested starting it up in summer time
when faculty are not necessarily caught up with classes, assignments,
etc. This might also be better legislatively. Meredith sees this as an
opportunity for the Senate to voice their ideas and concerns about the
future direction of the college. He asked everyone to think of 10 goals
for the Senate, have conversations with their colleagues and be
prepared for future discussion. He will send out a summary with
points that were discussed today.
E. American Democracy Project: Kathy East and Gerri Perreault
attended the meeting to speak briefly about the American Democracy
Project which is sponsored by the Provost‟s Office. The mission of
the project is to seek “to promote responsible citizenship and the
knowledge, skills, and values necessary to do the hard work of
democratic living.” They would like to put together a group to look at
a new monograph on teacher training. This fits in with President
Allen‟s initiatives and also the First Amendment School activities.
They are asking the Senate to recommend names of individuals who
might be interested in serving on the committee. Individuals could
be internal or external to campus. Dean Callahan suggested Merrie
Schroeder [Associate Director of Teacher Education], Becky
Hawbaker [Chair of the Teacher Education Faculty], and/or Melissa
Heston [Chair of the Council on Teacher Education]. Senators were
encouraged to submit additional names to East. They will report
back to Senate in May 2008 on the progress of this project.
VII. Dean’s Report
There was no Dean‟s Report.
VIII. Upcoming Meeting Dates
December 17, 2007
January 28, 2008
February 18, 2008
March 24, 2008
April 21, 2008
IX. Other Dates to Remember
December 7, 2007
December 15, 2007
January 14, 2008
March 17-21, 2008
May 10, 2008
COE Visit by President Allen
Commencement
Spring Term Begins
Spring Break
Commencement
X. Adjournment
The next meeting of the COE Senate will be held on Monday, December 17
at 3:15 P.M. in the Dean‟s Conference Room in Schindler Education
Center. It was moved by Vanderwall and seconded by Weiss that the
meeting be adjourned. The meeting was then adjourned at 4:57 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Mary-Sue Bartlett
Secretary
:msb