Kutztown University
Kutztown, Pennsylvania
UNIVERSITY SENATE MINUTES
http://www.kutztown.edu/admin/usenate
Thursday, May 3, 2012 - 4:00 p.m.
Academic Forum 102
PRESENT: A. Arnold, A. Awadallah, G. Bamberger (sub. R. Sacco), C. Bloh, N. Butler (sub. D. Aruscavage),
J. Cevallos, J. C. Hamilton (Vice President), J. Delle, S. Fernando, K. Gardi, J. Gehringer, R.
Grapsy, H. Hamlet, E. Hanna, D. Immel, J. Jackson, D. Johnson (President), R. Kaplan, A.
Kirshman, J. Kremser, J. Laskoski (sub. C. Delphus), M. Le Bosse, S. Lem, J. Lizza, K. Logan, M.
Mahosky, S. Mangold (Secretary), T. Maskulka, K. McCloskey, C. Nordlund, S. Pham, P. Reed,
C. Rutherford, C. Sacchi, J. Schlegel, M. Sims, R. L. Smith, C. Vargas, P. Walsh-Coates, A. Walz,
C. Watson, C. Wells, G. Zelleke
ABSENT: L. Barish, E. Christian, P. Dewey, R. Fliszar, M. Freed, R. Gross, J. Heller, L. Irving, Y. Kim
GUESTS ATTENDING: K. Danielson, M. Hughes, P. Keldson, V. Reidout, D. Slack
D. Johnson recognized senators leaving Senate for their years of service. He thanked J. CohenHamilton for her service as Vice President of Senate for the past two years and presented her with a
KU mug.
I.
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 4:12 p.m.
II.
Announcements

III.
Approval of Candidates for Graduation

IV.
There were no objections to the agenda as presented. Agenda approved.
Approval of the Minutes from April 5, 2012

VI.
A motion was made by R. L. Smith, seconded by J. Delle, to approve the candidates as presented
for graduation, providing they meet all graduation requirements. Motion passed.
Approval of the Agenda

V.
Paul Keldson was applauded for being re-elected as President of SGB.
A motion by R. L. Smith, seconded by K. Logan, to approve the minutes of the April 5, 2012
meeting. Motion passed.
President, Committee and Task Force Reports
A. Senate President’s Report – D. Johnson
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a. A concern about safety was raised to D. Johnson regarding the armed robberies in town.
He has forwarded the concern to the Safety Committee of Administrative Council for
review. He will share the report that gets presented at Administrative Council.
b. D. Johnson presented the draft of a letter to Governor Corbett on behalf of Senate and
PASSHE regarding the proposed budget cuts. The letter, which has been approved by KU’s
sister institutions, will be changed to correct “faculty senate” language. A motion was
made by D. Johnson, seconded by L. Barish, to approve the revised letter to Governor
Corbett regarding the proposed budget cuts. Motion passed.
c. D. Johnson noted there is a lot of work in the summer with strategic planning and potential
budget cuts. He will report everything that happens in the first meeting of September.
B. Committee on Committees Report—J. Cohen Hamilton
a. The Vice President’s report was presented. J. Cohen Hamilton noted the challenges in
filling vacancies on committees.
b. The Committee on Committees Report to Senate was presented. A total of 63
appointments were filled. Only 8% of those nominated who weren’t appointed are not
already represented on either another committee or Senate. Outstanding committee
vacancies were noted.
c. Willingness-to-Serve appointments were presented by the COC for Senate approval.
Appointments per the list presented, along with three additions, were approved.
C. Comments From President Cevallos’ Office—J. Cevallos
The President thanked senators for another year of hard work. He encouraged senators to
attend commencement. The Borough of Kutztown notified KU that Main Street will be under
construction over the summer to accommodate utility hook-ups for the new Giant supermarket
outside of town. PHEAA is planning to reduce the amount of grants available to Pennsylvania
students by a few hundred dollars per student. State revenues are up and looking better.
Senators were encouraged to contact legislators regarding the potential budget cut by June 15.
There is no additional information about numbers at this point. The President congratulated J.
Lizza on his speech for the Chambliss Award.
D. Comments From Campus Climate Committee—J. Cohen Hamilton
The Campus Climate Committee would like to transition to a Senate committee. They will be
working on the mission and by-laws to present to Senate in the fall.
E. Comments from Governance Structure Task Force Committee—D. Johnson
D. Johnson announced the members of the committee: James Delle, Andrea Kirshman, Kelley
Kenney, Chardonnay Rutherford, and Deryl Johnson. The committee was kept small; its job will
be to research how to assess governance, not to make recommendations. Members are looking
ahead to a summit, possibly in the spring.
VII.
Old Business
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A. Admissions Update—V. Reidout
V. Reidout presented updated numbers for the incoming class, comparing numbers as of April
27, 2012 with those at the same point last year.
Freshmen
Transfers
Total
VIII.
Applied
2011
2012
9,865
9,607
1,616
1,318
11,481 10,925
Accepted
2011
2012
6,687 6,422
642
758
7,329
7,180
Deposits
2011
2012
1,721
1,804
339
402
2,060
2,206
New Business
A. Calendar and Opening Day Changes—Dr. Vargas
The fall semester will begin at 8 a.m. on Monday, August 27, rather than 5 p.m. This move is to
reduce confusion about Monday schedule on a Tuesday; it is also consistent with all our PASSHE
sister institutions. Moves will be made to communicate the plan to the students. Activities that
would usually take place during the day will be rescheduled during the week. D. Johnson noted
that faculty are under contract from the week before the semester starts until the week after it
ends, so changing the start time of classes does not constitute an extra teaching day that can be
grieved. M. Hughes reported that the change will give everyone the same number of Mondays
in their teaching schedules. Because of Monday holidays, there is still one Monday that needs to
be held on a Tuesday. R. L. Smith suggested using the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
Departments will be able to schedule the initial department meeting the week prior to the start
of the semester. Faculty who teach half semester classes should check their teaching schedules
and notify the Registrar if the change impacts the schedule. D. Johnson noted that this
information is presented as an FYI for Senate; the Calendar Committee reports to Administrative
Council, who will take action. C. Nordlund commented that the change will impact the Art Ed
and Crafts Department, who uses the first day to meet with freshman. C. Vargas noted the
importance of not sacrificing class time for students. A. Kirshman presented information about
the fall Connections schedule, taking into account these changes. It will be important to make
sure all the student groups know about the change in order to make adjustments in
programming. Senators were encouraged to support convocation. The main speaker this year
will be an alumnus. Information will be forthcoming about the college-wide meeting.
B. Academic Standards and Policies Recommended Changes—Ken Danielson
D. Johnson clarified the approval process associated with academic policies. Policies are either
brought to the Academic Standards & Policies Committee or generated by the committee itself.
Approved policies are brought to the full Senate for approval, then given to the President, who
can approve or deny them. The President provides a written explanation for policies that are
denied. K. Danielson presented three motions from the Academic Standards & Policies
Committee for Senate approval:

A motion to cap the number of transfer credits in a graduate program to no more than onethird of program requirements. Motion passed with one abstention (Chardonnay
Rutherford).
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

IX.
A motion to require all undergraduate KU students to declare a major by the completion of
39 credits. Procedures will be developed to go along with the policy, such as more intrusive
advising with advisors from Academic Enrichment, the Career Development Center, and
library faculty. There was much discussion, especially regarding the credit limit being too
low or too high, how exceptions will be made, and what happens with students whose QPA
prevents them from declaring the major they want. A motion was made by J. Cohen
Hamilton, seconded by J. Schlegel, to refer the policy back to committee with Senate
recommendations and concerns regarding implementation and consequences. Motion
passed with a tie-breaking vote by Senate President D. Johnson.
A motion that a grade of “Incomplete” will not calculate as an “F” on students’ transcripts.
Senators agreed that students receive incompletes for good reason and students should not
be punished. Motion was approved with one nay vote (C. Bloh).
As May Arise
Nothing noted.
X.
Adjournment
There was no objection to the motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 5:35 p.m. by acclimation.
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