College of Education Senate
University of Northern Iowa
September 8, 2008
Minutes #367
I. Call to Order
The meeting of the College of Education Senate was called to order by
Elana Joram, Chair, at 3:17 P.M. on Monday, September 8, 2008 in the
Dean’s Conference Room in Schindler Education Center, Room 205.
Senators in attendance [in bold]
Elana Joram, Chair [EPF]
Rod Dieser [At large]
Dave Else [ELCPE]
Chris Kliewer [SPED]
Kim Knesting [At-large]
Robin Lund [At-large]
Rick Vanderwall [At large]
Bridgette Wagoner [TCHG]
Windee Weiss [HPELS]
Leigh Zeitz [C&I]
Alternates in attendance [in bold]
Susan Hudson
Jan Bartlett
Amy Staples
Suzanne Freedman
Kevin Finn
Todd Evans
Ex-Officio Members in attendance
None
Guests
Dr. William P. Callahan, Dean
Cate Palczewski
Melissa Heston
II. Approval of Minutes of May 9, 2008 [#366]
It was moved by Vanderwall and seconded by Knesting that the minutes of
the meeting of May 9, 2008 be approved as read.
III. Introduction of Senators
Each Senator introduced themself and identified their particular area.
IV. Guests
Cate Palczewski, Chair of the Provost Search Committee, and Melissa
Heston attended the meeting to give a brief overview of the Provost Search
to date. Palczewski stated that the Search Committee convened last spring
and then began working this summer with a search firm in order to have a
deep, diverse pool of candidates. The deadline for nomination of
candidates is September 30, 2008 and the goal is to bring 3-4 candidates
to campus November 3-14, 2008. Palczewski asked Senators to encourage
their faculty attend the Open Forums during these visits. She also
suggested that the Deans should talk to their department heads in advance
to formulate thoughtful questions. Palczewski suggested that while faculty
should be encouraged to ask hard questions during these Open Forums
that it should be done in a way that candidates could see they could work
at UNI and fit into our community. There will also be an on-line feedback
form for each candidate that faculty will be encouraged to use. Following
the on campus visit it is anticipated that the Committee will offer their
report to President Allen around November 21st. The President is hopeful
we can conclude negotiations yet this Fall Term although the successful
candidate may not start in January. Currently they have received
approximately 30 applications. Palczewski anticipates the quantity and
quality of the pool will increase as we get closer to deadline. Heston
stressed that everyone should keep their expectations at an appropriate
level and recognize that no one candidate is perfect in every way.
V. Reports/Announcements
A. Joram stated that last year the Senate did some important ground work
and identified goals for 2008-09. At times in the past Senate
conversations tended to be more ‘housekeeping’ in nature and she
would like to see more time earmarked for discussion on important
goals/accomplishments. There was consensus from the Senate to
support this.
VI. Old Business
A. College Name Change: Dean Callahan stated that he thinks the
discussion on a name change for the College of Education has become
bogged down due to a lack of communication with other departments.
Vanderwall offered that at least one department on campus recently
changed their name with no apparent problems. The dean reiterated
that this is a curriculum proposal, but he is unsure who would propose
this change. Vanderwall quoted from the minutes of the May 9, 2008
[#366] minutes:
“Following additional discussion, it was moved by Zeitz and
seconded by Kliewer that the Senate accept the findings of the COE
Name Change Sub-Committee and that the Senate will await the
will of the department/unit who will see fit to initiate a name
change. Joram questioned if the Senate will provide guidelines.
There was some consensus that the Senate should not do so until
such time as a department/unit makes a recommendation. There
was no further discussion. Ayes-7; Nays-1. Motion carried. Dean
Callahan urged the Senators to convey this to their faculty.”
Joram then asked that Weiss and Lund take this back to HPELS for
their action. They will report back to the Senate at the October
meeting. Vanderwall feels it is important that we get something started
so people don’t think it is forgotten issue. Joram stressed that we need
to recognize HPELS in addition to focusing on Teacher Education
which is a priority of President Allen.
VII. New Business
A. Identify Alternates: Senators identified alternates for 2008-09.
Vanderwall, Wagoner, and Zeitz were asked to get the name of their
alternates to Mary-Sue before Friday.
Joram then stated that it has come to her attention that the College of
Education has had UNI Faculty Senators who have never had
alternates. There appears to be a ‘glitch’ in the UNI Senate By-Laws
whereby there is no monitoring of the identification of alternates.
Individual Senators are responsible for identifying their own
alternates. This has resulted in a situation where, if a COE Senator is
absent from a meeting and no alternate has been identified, the
College of Education then does not have representation on the UNI
Faculty Senate at that particular meeting. There was some support
for requiring faculty who run for a UNI/COE Senate position to
already have an alternate identified at the time that they run.
B. COE Fall Faculty Meeting: At the Fall Faculty meeting scheduled for
Monday, September 15th, Joram stated that she will introduce all
Senators. Also, Dean Callahan will give an address to the faculty.
Dean Callahan stated that he has been meeting with each
department/school and sketched out some broad ideas for 2008-09.
He doesn’t want us to lose sight of diversity—we must all become
intentional in our actions in that respect. The Leadership Team is
very active and a Recruitment & Retention Committee has been
meeting. We need to find ways to bring students here and to find
connections with area high schools. He stated that he recently
received a proposal from Kathy Oakland to work collaboratively with
the Salvation Army on an after-school program. Executive Vice
President Lubker has identified a new radio show which will focus on
areas of diversity as a way to reach out to the community and has also
set up a free computer lab in Waterloo. And, ‘Chalk Dust Chats’ on
KBBG will begin on September 23rd with varying topics being
coordinated by Janet McClain and Knesting. The Dean stated that we
need to put together an inventory of what is going on and then we can
set up target points that we still need to address. Vanderwall
questioned if the College has ever sponsored a ‘Future Teachers’
group at East High School? Dean Callahan stated that we need to
work in a conscious manner on the ‘trust level’ between faculty and
students and administration. He encouraged the Senators, as elected
representatives, to take back to department meetings what transpires
in Senate meetings.
C. Senate Goals 2008-09: Joram distributed a copy of the draft goals
that were identified last Spring by the Senate plus an abbreviated list
of topics which she thought dovetail with the COE/University
mission.
Research [Kliewer, Vanderwall, Weiss, Lund & Wagoner]:
o One of the goals would be to bring a speaker to campus.
Kliewer will meet with the dean to discuss funding for
this venture. Joram also would like to have someone
volunteer to coordinate a survey of faculty which would
address the question: What prevents you [a faculty
member] from getting research done in COE? Weiss,
with assistance from Lund and Wagoner will coordinate
the survey. They will also include impediments to
effective teaching in the survey. Senators will be given
copies of the survey to distribute at department
meetings; faculty will be asked to fill out the survey at
the meetings. We will be seeking 100% participation
from faculty.
o The Dean stated that a donor recently gave a $75,000$100,000 gift to fund undergraduate student research
in early childhood education. He is looking for a
recommendation from the Senate for a sub-committee
to set up the process and implement it. Vanderwall
made a motion that a study committee be formed to
begin the process to facilitate the formation of a grant
program in early childhood education and
undergraduate research. Jan Bartlett questioned if this
would include graduate research. However, the Dean
stated that right now it is just for undergraduate
research. Wagoner seconded the motion. All ayes.
Motion carried. After some conversation, it was
decided to ask Mary Herring, Linda Fitzgerald, and
Robin Lund to coordinate this effort. A meeting with
Dean Callahan will be set up so that they can receive
their ‘charge’ for this initiative.
Faculty Needs [Joram, Kliewer, & Weiss]:
o Joram reported that they are moving forward with a
report about PAC procedures in the college and have
now collected the PAC procedures from all
departments/schools in the COE. However, the goal will
not be to come up with a common set of procedures; the
outcome may be to recommend a greater specification
of process and communication. Every
department/school is different and they each deal with
different aspects of the process. However, the dean
stated that there is a perception that the departmental
PACs rarely give a recommendation of ‘Continued
Probation with Difficulty’.
Diversity and Equity Issues [Knesting, Else & Wagoner]:
o Dean Callahan stated that this is a top priority for the
College. Knesting, Else & Wagoner will lead discussion
groups for faculty once a semester on the book,
‘Courageous Conversations’. The dean asked the
Senate to take a leadership role in this effort.
Processes [Vanderwall, Zeitz, Maxine Davis & Mary-Sue
Bartlett]:
o Vanderwall reported that the Senate Committees have
been updated and the Dean is working on a new
organizational chart. Senators were asked to
communicate any changes to Mary-Sue or Maxine
Davis. Vanderwall stated that we need to identify an
online research clearinghouse. He stressed that we
want a website that will serve our needs and the needs
of our constituents.
VIII. Dean’s Report
Dean Callahan stated that President Allen has made it clear that Liberal
Arts Core community engagement is very important. When you are
thinking about diversity issues, it gives us a context to think about
undergraduate research – what LAC classes do students take and why?
The data shows that about 50% of students don’t think they have adequate
content based education. Consequently, the dean is going to make a big
push for required assessment of classes and the support structures that we
need to put into place to help each other get better. The President strongly
encourages engagement with the community and doesn’t want us to tell
each other how good we are, but rather have people in the community tell
us how good we are. Dean Callahan reported that he would like to see the
number of media exposures double from last year. Also, he stated that he
will continue his fundraising efforts. We want to increase our efforts to
use our money wisely and be good stewards with our funding sources.
[Kliewer left at 4:43] Zeitz urged the Senate to look at the Web as a form
of communication and suggested having podcasts every other week with
topics such as health tips from Athletic Training, how to help your child
with their homework, etc. This would help it become a much richer
resource.
IX. Upcoming Meeting Dates
October 13, 2008
November 10, 2008
December 8, 2008
X. Other Dates to Remember
September 15, 2008
COE Fall Faculty Meeting
XI. Adjournment
The next meeting of the COE Senate will be held on Monday, October 13,
2008 at 3:15 P.M. in the Dean’s Conference Room in Schindler Education
Center. It was moved by Zeitz and seconded by Weiss that the meeting be
adjourned. All ayes. Motion carried. The meeting was then adjourned at
4:47 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Mary-Sue Bartlett
Secretary
:msb