Governance Council
Monday, March 24, 2014
11:30AM
UNH 306
Joette Stefl-Mabry, Chair
Minutes
Present:
Saurav Dutta, Cynthia Fox, Yenisel Gulatee, Caitlin Janiszewski, Ann Kearney, Helene Scheck,
John Schmidt, Kabel Stanwicks, Joette Stefl-Mabry, Zheng Yan
The meeting convened at 11:40 a.m.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The minutes of March 10, 2014 were approved, with minor changes and 1 abstention.
CHAIR’S REPORT
The Committee on Assessment of Governance and Consultation
Chair Stefl-Mabry offered congratulations to everyone for their work on the survey. She reported the
President’s Office and Leanne Wirkkula approved and were extremely pleased with the final version. They had
agreed to be included in the introduction, having been instrumental in providing constructive feedback. After
GOV proofed it one last time, Chair Stefl-Mabry said she would forward the survey to Bruce Szelest and ask
that it go into the production phase.
Request from Chief-of-Staff, Leanne Wirkkula, for 2-3 names as recommendations for the Provost of
Academic Affairs search committee.
GOV compiled and voted on a list of candidates for the Provost’s Search Committee as requested. A motion
was made and seconded to accept the slate, on which GOV voted and unanimously approved. Chair SteflMabry would send the top 5 candidates to Senate Chair Wagner for her to submit to Leanne Wirkkula.
The Committee on CAFFECoR
The Committee shared with GOV revisions to the proposed CAFFECoR Amendment, some of which had been
suggested by CAFFECoR Chair Susanna Fessler, summarized as follows:
IIA. Summary of proposed changes
To these ends, the following changes are required:
The removal of sections V11.7.3.2.3 and VII.7.3.2.4.
The addition of a directive statement for section VII.7.3.2.1
Clarification and expansion of VII.7.3.2.2, now subsumed under VII.7.3.2.1 as subsections
VII.7.3.2.1.1, VII.7.3.2.1.2, and VII.7.3.2.1.3
Modification of language of section VII.7.1
Senators Fox and Scheck explained the reasoning behind the changes, including the removal of the language
referring to CAFFECoR as a hearing body, grammatical changes to the word ‘forums,’ and clarification of the
remaining advisory function.
The first of 3 change changes involved moving the language from the charge, as it was more of a preamble
statement than a responsibility:
VII.7.3.2. Responsibilities. The Senate affirms its commitment to the principle that the widest
possible scope for freedom of expression is the foundation of an institution dedicated to vigorous
inquiry, robust debate, and the continuous search for a proper balance between freedom and
community responsibility. Therefore the Senate charges the Committee with the following:
VII.7.3.2.1 The Committee shall take up issues and consider potential problems
concerning matters of academic freedom, freedom of expression and community
responsibility.
The second was a grammatical change to ‘forums,’ just a technicality for consistency:
VII.7.3.2.2 The Committee shall set up forums as issues arise to foster campus-wide
dialogue and debate on matters of academic freedom, freedom of expression and
community responsibility.
The third change was as follows:
VII.7.3.2.3 The Committee shall recommend policies and forward resolutions and
review implementation of policy and procedures pertaining to matters of academic
freedom, freedom of expression and community responsibility for both students and
faculty.
Senator Fox asked that GOV vote on a friendly amendment to accept these 3 changes to the Amendment as it
was originally approved by this committee and put forth to the SEC. Senator Scheck added that the Committee
was grateful for Susannah Fessler’s careful review and thoughtful input resulting in clearer charges.
Senator Schmidt noticed another use of the word forum in the second paragraph above the appendages in the
3rd line.
Chair Stefl-Mabry would invite Senators Fox and Scheck to the SEC meeting that afternoon. Senator Fox
agreed to have the first 4 pages printed out with the changes highlighted to share with SEC.
CAFFECoR Chair Susannah Fessler had raised the question of what was meant by ‘academic freedom’.
Senator Scheck suggested there are enough statements by other organizations, and that is precisely the question
members of CAFFECoR would resolve themselves. She thought it would be too prescriptive to dictate a
definition through the Charter. She added that to open up issues of academic freedom would distract from the
purpose of what a standing committee would do.
A motion was made and unanimously approved to accept the friendly amendment.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
The Committee on Assessment of Governance and Consultation
Chair Dutta shared feedback from the President’s Office regarding progress on the survey.
GOV Chair Stefl-Mabry reminded GOV that she was greatly encouraged by Leanne Wirkkula’s strong, positive
engagement, including her response that shared governance and transparency make for a health university. The
numbering of questions for the 2 separate surveys was modified so that they mirrored one another to streamline
analyzing responses.
A motion to accept the final survey was made and unanimously approved.
Chair Dutta asked that everyone look through the 2 surveys very carefully one a last time for typos and
corrections. Senator Janiszewski agreed to contact student representative Kevin L. Murphy and ask that he
review the student survey and provide feedback. Chair Stefl-Mabry reminded GOV that although the initial
deadline of March 24th had passed, she was hopeful that the survey would go out within the next few weeks.
The importance of recommending that GOV run the survey every 2 years was discussed in order to capture
perception at that particular time and to ensure the charge not be lost again.
Chair Stefl-Mabry reminded everyone that the next GOV meeting was scheduled for April 14th in 3 weeks.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 1:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by
Elisa Lopez, Recorder