Academic Council Minutes
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04/23/03
Final – Oct. 12, 2003
College of Arts and Sciences
Academic Council
Minutes
DATE:
PLACE:
TIME:
April 23, 2003
Damen Hall 147, LSC
6:00 PM
Members Present: D. Birge, I. Crawford, G. Dobrov, A. Giaquinto, J. Gondek, D. Graham, T.
Gross-Diaz (Chair), L. Langman, J. Librett, E. Lozano, H. Mann, J. Marley, R. Mayer, A.
McKenna, J. Michael, L. Miller, R. Nackoney, D. Olson, T. Petzel, B. Pickett, H. Rockwell (for
E. Lozano), R. Sedam, D. Stagaman, J. Trahey, M. Udo, and A. Vander Nat.
New Members Present: M. Balasis, P. Caughie, B. Fiorentino, C. Gilbert, C. Peterson, L.
Stalans, J. Wilson, and T. Pintchman.
The meeting was called to order at 6:00 pm.
Approval of the Agenda – The Curriculum Committee business was moved to the beginning of
the agenda. Vote: 21-0-0. Motion carried.
Approval of the Minutes – Minutes of the 3/19/02 Meeting with minor corrections. Vote: 21-0-0.
Motion carried. .
2486 Committees Reports
I. Curriculum Committee – Dr. Vander Nat
1. ASIA – Changes to the Minor – Dr. Vander Nat indicated that the Curriculum
Committee recommends approval of the following changes to the Asian and Asian
American (ASIA) Studies Minor due to decrease in faculty and other resources
resulting in narrowing the focus from Asian and Asian American to Asian Studies:
 Program title change – from “Asian and Asian American Studies” to “Asian
Studies”.
 Title change for ASIA 101 from “Introduction to Asian and Asian American
Studies” to “Explorations in Asian Studies: (variable topic)”
 Eliminate the requirement for Directed Readings course (ASIA 395) but, retain it as
an elective course.
 Change the requirement of “students take courses from at least three departments”
to the requirement that “students take no more than three courses from any single
department.”
 Remove the following courses from the list of courses to satisfy requirements:
 SOCL 122 - Race and Ethnic Relations
 SOCL 250 – Inequality in Society
2487 Motion: To approve the above changes to the Minor on ASIA. Vote: 19-0-1. Motion
carried.
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2. New Course - BIOL 388 – Bioinformatics – This course has been offered three times as
a special topics course. It is a Biology elective with BIOL 282 – Genetics as a
prerequisite. The Committee recommends approval of the course and recommends
cross-listing with Computer Science. Dr. Udo asked if the course was Computer
Science based or Biology based. Dr. Pickett responded that the course is oriented
toward application packages and uses Computer Science tools to analyze biological
data. Joseph Michael asked if a computer science student could take this class. Dr.
Pickett responded that it would be difficult unless the student had at least a Biology
minor. Dr. Pickett indicated that we DNAstar/Lazergene Corp. donated a computer
software package with a license for 95 students if used in academics.
2488 Motion: To approve the new course BIOL 388 – Bioinformatics. Vote: 22-0-0. Motion
carried.
3. Course Change - PHYS 380 & 381 – Special Topics – The Physics Department
requests to change the current PHYS 380 & 381 to variable credits (1, 2 or 3 credits)
from the current 3.0 credits. Three hours credit does not fit some topics. These courses
are not listed in any track and will continue to be electives.
2489 Motion: To approve the course change making PHYS 380 & 381 – Special Topics
variable credits between 1 and 3 credits. Vote: 21-0-1. Motion carried.
4. Cross-listing – CRMJ 371/PAX 369 – Victims & the Criminal Justice System – Both
departments have agreed to cross-list the above course.
2490 Motion: To approve the cross-listing of CRMJ 371/PAX 369 – Victims & the Criminal
Justice System. Vote: 22-0-0. Motion carried.
5. Cross-listing – CUMN 337/PAX 337 – Rhet Soc Change: Agitation & Resistance Both departments have agreed to cross-list the above course.
2491 Motion: To approve the cross-listing of CUMN 377/PAX 337 – Rhet Soc Change:
Agitation & Resistance. Vote: 21-0-1. Motion carried.
6. New Course – WOST 399 – Capstone for the Major (resubmission) – The Committee
sent the original submission back because it was described as a graduate course and the
catalog description was too long. Dr. Caughie noted that this course could be taken a
second time as a directed reading. Dr. Vander Nat indicated that the abbreviated title
should be “Capstone”.
2492 Motion: To approve the new course, WOST 399- Capstone for the Major. Vote: 22-0-0.
Motion carried.
7. Course Change – SOCL 371 – Fieldwork – The Sociology Department has requested to
change this course title from “Fieldwork” to “Qualitative Research”. The rationale for
this change is to reflect changes in the field.
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2493 Motion: To approve the title change on SOCL 371 from “Fieldwork” to “Qualitative
Research”. Vote: 22-0-0. Motion carried.
8. New Courses – Center for Interdisciplinary Programs – 200-Level Special Topics – Dr.
Birge proposes that new courses for each CIP program to be established providing
easier and more appropriate cross-listings with other departments’ 200-level courses.
Previously the only Special Topics course available in CIP was a 300-level course for
cross-listing.
2494 Motion: To approve for each CIP program a new 200-level Special Topics course. Vote:
22-0-0. Motion carried.
II. By-Laws Committee – Dr. Olsen – No report at this time.
III. Core Curriculum Committee – Dr. Nackoney – No report at this time.
IV. Elections Committee – Dr. Udo – In the recent At-Large election, only one person was
determined ineligible. A total of 76 votes were cast. The new At-Large members for the
next Academic Year (03-04) are Brian Fiorentino and Tracy Pintchman. The alternate AtLarge representatives are Martin Buntinas and Talmadge Wright.
V.
Writing Intensive Ad Hoc Committee – Dr. Birge – The graduate students hired to work on
this project are continuing to code the syllabi to figure out what are the characteristics of
current writing intensive courses.
VI. USG – Student Government – Joseph Michael – The Student Government is working on
legislation regarding Core courses being offered at WTC on the Monday-Wednesday
schedule. Joseph thanked the Council and the student representatives for a good year.
2495 Dean’s Report – Dr. Crawford
1. Enrollment for Fall 03 – Dr. Crawford reported that to date, 1,213 net deposits have
been received. This is a 95% increase from last year, up from 479 to 936 deposits. It is
likely that we will achieve the budgeted number of 1,750. Regarding minorities,
deposits for Asian-American students are up 32%, African-American students are
+95%, and Latino students are +102%.
2. Sujack Awards – Congratulations to the 2003 Sujack Awards for Teaching Excellence
were given to Daniel Amick (Sociology) and Asim Gangopadhyaya (Physics). The
Master Teacher Awards went to David Dennis (History) and David Mitchell
(Psychology).
3. Faculty Salaries – The Provost and the Deans have asked the Faculty Affairs UPC,
chaired by Paul Jay, to form an Ad Hoc Committee to do a faculty salary study as a top
priority for this next year. Administration is concerned about faculty salary levels and
retention, noting that salaries have become compressed. The UPC will be asked to do
this in three phases, 1) Faculty Salary Study, 2) Comparison with comparable
institutions, and 3) Create a policy/structure.
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4. Interdisciplinary Programs – Pam Caughie and Alanah Fitch will be stepping down as
directors of the Women’s Studies and Environmental Studies, respectively. A search is
currently taking place to identify new directors. An Ad Hoc Committee has been
appointed (Stagaman, Doering, Pintchman, and Mahler), to look at and make
recommendations over the summer regarding compensation for the AY 04/05 year.
The dean will have ultimate authority in this decision. A discussion followed regarding
criteria for how salaries are set, competitive offers are made, and rationale for recent
cuts in the CIP. Dr. Crawford stated that many smaller cuts were being made rather
than cutting whole positions, noting that every dollar counts toward eliminating the
deficit. Dr. Vander Nat expressed concern about the recent announcement regarding
the cutting the dial-up remote Internet services.
2496 Dean’s Report – Dr. Birge
Dr. Birge spoke to the Council regarding her recent study on tracks/options/concentrations
within the majors and minors. She noted that concerns have been expressed regarding
issues of curricular differences, transcripts/external view, advising difficulties, clarity for
graduation certification, Admissions and Registrar, and North Central Accreditation. It
was noted that in some disciplines, this recognition of a “specialty” is advantageous in
application to graduate school or for employment. After a short discussion, Dr. Gross-Diaz
asked Dr. Birge to look at this issue a little more, inquiring what might be a common
denominator, minimum standards, etc. and come back to the Council in the Fall. Dr. Birge
indicated that she would like to see guidelines written up for more consistency in the
future.
2497 Chair’s Report – Dr. Gross-Diaz
1. Meet with Committee Chairs – Dr. Gross-Diaz stated that she would like to meet with
the Committee Chairs over the next 2 weeks to write up protocols for each
subcommittee.
2. Task Force on Faculty Responsibilities – Delaware Study – Departments are being
asked to look at their reports and compare with their own numbers to check for errors
within the next 10-15 days. Corrections should be given to Dr. Yost. It is important
that these numbers are correct, as the recommendations will be based on this data. An
open forum will be held on Friday at 2:30 pm in Crown auditorium to discuss this.
3. Core Curriculum Revision Subcommittee –There is a website for the Core Curriculum
Committee. Comments may be submitted here to help come up with a set of proposals
prior to the May 9th meeting.
4. CIP – Concerns were expressed by Dr. Gross-Diaz regarding ways to maintain a public
face and voice for the CIP programs since they are no longer a physical presence on
DH 1st floor. She suggested that the programs each be given a seat in Academic
Council but that would require a change to the AC charter, which currently allows one
seat for the six CIPs. After a short discussion, it was suggested that an Ad Hoc
Committee be established to look at CIP representation. Dr. Gross-Diaz stated that she
would work on establishing a committee and with expectation that they report back to
AC by early fall.
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The letter from the CIP Directors was discussed. Dr. Caughie expressed concerns that
decisions are being made which are crucial to the departments and programs without
any consultation, presenting a serious issue of process. Reductions to directors’
compensation, removal of course reductions, other budget cuts and structural changes
have all been made recently. These changes were not supposed to compromise the
academic integrity of the program. Dr. Crawford commented that the University and
the College continue to support these programs. The space formerly used by CIP has
been reallocated to the First Year Dean’s Office, which is a high priority. Secretarial
support for CIP will be provided within departments and by the Dean’s staff. Space is
extremely tight. These changes were not intended to do harm.
2498 Seating of New Members for the AY 03-04 Year
Dr. Gross-Diaz thanked current members for their contributions to the College over the
past year. Dr. Udo read the list of new department representatives and at-large members
for the new academic year. The list was posted on the AC website.
2499 Motion: To reelect Dr. Theresa Gross-Diaz as AC Chair, and Dr. Bryan Pickett as Vice
Chair for the AY 03-04 year. Vote: 16-0-0. Motion carried.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:20 pm.