Minutes of the CSBS Faculty Senate Meeting on 4/19/10
(Draft only; these minutes have not been approved by the Senate)
Present: Tim Strauss (Chair, Geography), Annette Lynch (DTGFS), Brian Roberts (History),
Taifa Yu (Political Science), Otto MacLin (Psychology), Cyndi Dunn (Soc-Anth-Crim), Phil
Mauceri (Dean).
Guests: Al Hays (Chair, CSBS Strategic Planning Committee), Barbara Cutter (Strategic
Planning Committee), Scott Peters (Strategic Planning Committee), Howard Barnes (Chair,
DTGFS)
I.
Approval of the minutes
Minutes from the March 29th meeting were approved with minor corrections.
II.
CSBS Strategic Plan
Al Hays (Chair), Barbara Cutter, Scott Peters, and Annette Lynch presented the draft of the
CSBS Strategic Plan for discussion by the Senate. The plan currently includes goals and
objectives; the committee is in the process of prioritizing these and developing action plans for
the next academic year.
In the fall, each department will be asked to review their own strategic plan to align it with the
college and university strategic plans and to develop their own action steps. Departments will
not be expected to develop action plans for every objective. Rather, departments are encouraged
to focus on developing action steps in areas that play to their particular strengths and interests.
Some objectives, such as those related to Student Outcomes Assessment and the development of
courses and curriculum, will necessarily be carried out primarily at the department level while
others may involve college-wide coordination.
Senator MacLin suggested that the form for the annual Faculty Activity Reports could be revised
to be consistent with the categories of the strategic plan. This would make it easier both to track
progress at achieving those goals across the college and to align faculty incentive structures with
the goals of the strategic plan.
Senator Dunn expressed concern about the total number of objectives (36) and whether the plan
is realistic given limited resources of both money and faculty time. The response of the Strategic
Planning Committee was that the next step is to prioritize the objectives. Not all objectives will
be given equal emphasis, and some objectives may receive more emphasis in some years than in
others. Dean Mauceri suggested that specific areas might be targeted in different years. The
plan is expected to be a “living document” which will be revisited, evaluated, and revised
annually by the Strategic Planning Committee.
Senator Roberts expressed particular concern about the emphasis on developing external funding
sources arguing that public universities require public support and that some areas of research
and scholarship may not easily attract external funding. He also noted that such funding
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sometimes comes with unacceptable constraints on academic freedom. Senators Strauss and Yu
also expressed concern about the utilitarian emphasis of some aspects of the plan. Activities
involving community engagement and solving social problems are certainly valuable, but they
are not the only legitimate forms of scholarship or contribution to human knowledge.
The response of the Strategic Planning Committee was that it is not expected that all departments
will meet every single objective. Rather, the plan is intentionally broad and inclusive, and the
goal is for each department to be able to select and focus on the areas which are most appropriate
to their particular disciplines and individual interests. Dr. Cutter noted that the development of
the action steps is crucial here and that the committee will need to be careful to insure that action
steps do not require all departments to engage in activities which may be more appropriate for
some disciplines than others.
Chair Strauss noted that the Vision section of the plan mentions “rigor,” but there do not appear
to be any specific objectives related to encouraging or supporting academic rigor in the
classroom. The Strategic Planning Committee noted that as an area of concern and discussion
within the committee.
Senator Yu expressed concern about the term “risk-taking” in the Vision section. He argued that
we may wish to encourage innovative or pioneering approaches rather than risky behavior. He
also suggested that our college’s contribution to the Liberal Arts Core could be highlighted more
in the Vision or Mission sections.
The Senate thanked the Strategic Planning Committee for their work in developing a thoughtful
and inclusive plan.
III.
DTGFS change to School of Applied Human Sciences
Dean Mauceri and Howard Barnes (Chair, DTGFS) presented to the Senate a proposal that the
Department of Design, Textiles, Gerontology & Family Services be renamed as the School of
Applied Human Sciences. The existing department will form the basis of the School with the
eventual addition of the Mental Health Counseling and School Counseling programs from the
College of Education. Additional programs may be added in coming years. This change must be
approved by the CSBS Faculty Senate, the University Faculty Senate, the Council of Provosts,
and the Board of Regents. Provost Gibson has expressed her support for the plan.
Chair Strauss asked what the definition or “core concept” of the school will be. They are in the
process of creating a mission statement for the School which will define its scope and purpose.
In the future, other programs may be added in applied social sciences and pre-professional
programs. The School is also intended to serve as a catalyst for the development of
interdisciplinary research, programs, and centers. It will be possible for faculty in other
departments to become affiliated faculty or associates of the School.
The Senate unanimously approved changing the name of the Department of Design, Textiles,
Gerontology & Family Services to the School of Applied Human Sciences.
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IV.
Results of CSBS Elections
The following are the results of the CSBS elections:
University Faculty Senate: Gregory Bruess
Committee on Committees: Jillissa Moorman
Committee on Curricula: Ken Basom
Liberal Arts Core Committee: Ana Kogl
Awards Competition Coordinating Committee: Laura Praglin
Honorary Degrees Committee: Donald Gaff
Graduate Council: Al Hays
University Faculty Senate Budget Committee: Taifa Yu
Approximately 25 votes were cast. There was some discussion of ways to increase the turn-out
for future elections. One possibility would be to ask department secretaries to both distribute and
collect paper ballots.
V.
CSBS Faculty Senate Membership and Leadership for 2010-2011
Of the currently serving senators, Senators Dunn, MacLin, and Strauss will continue in office for
2010-11. Senator Yu’s term expires at the end of the current semester. Senator Roberts was
unsure when his term expires. Senator Lynch will be on Professional Development Assignment
during fall 2010 and will be replaced by her alternate, Gowri Betrabet-Gulwadi.
Senator Strauss was re-elected as Chair of the CSBS Faculty Senate for 2010-2011. Elections
for Vice Chair and Secretary will be held in the fall.
VI.
Updates on the University Faculty Senate
The University Faculty Senate took up the motion on creating a new Faculty Senate Budget
Committee at its meeting on 4/12/10. The motion was tabled for further discussion at a later
meeting. One area of concern was that the motion called for a new budget committee when one
already exists. The CSBS Faculty Senate agreed that it would be acceptable to amend the
proposal to apply to the existing Faculty Senate Budget Committee rather than creating a brand
new one.
Senator Yu has been elected as our college’s representative to the existing Faculty Senate Budget
Committee. He was asked to call a meeting of that committee early in the fall semester to elect a
chair and set the process in motion.
The motion to move 200:030 Dynamics of Human Development from Category 5b of the Liberal
Arts Core to Category 5c has been docketed by the University Faculty Senate and is on the
agenda for their April 26 meeting.
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VII.
Reports on other committee activities
Senator MacLin reported from the university Teaching and Service Award Committee.
Members of the committee were asked to send in their rankings of the candidates prior to the
meeting. It appears that decisions were then made on the basis of those rankings and that no
meeting was actually held.
Senator MacLin also reported attending two meetings of the faculty leadership group that is
discussing the transition process for merging the College of Humanities and Fine Arts and the
College of Natural Sciences. He noted a number of interesting discussions but no specific
decisions to report.
VIII.
Comments from Dean Mauceri
Dean Mauceri thanked the Senate for their work over the past academic year. He said that he has
found the meetings worthwhile and constructive.
The meeting adjourned at 5:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Cyndi Dunn
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