LANGUAGES, LITERATURE AND SOCIAL SCIENCES COUNCIL
Minutes for September 9, 2014
Approved September 23, 2014
Call to order at 3:36 pm.
Present: Keith, Rouillard, Best, Kistner, Amialchuk, Sarkar, Ftizgerald, Emonds, ThompsonCasada, Nemeth, Beatty-Medina, Allred, Purviance, Ubokudom, Christman, Caruso, Van Hoy,
Barnes, Hammel, Barlowe, Mihura, Whitman
Absent: Dowd, Lundquist, Phelps, Hottell, Smith, Alam, Padilla, Metress, Abdel Halim,
Schneider
Approval of minutes: Minutes from April 29 final meeting of 2013-14 approved
unanimously. Minutes from April 29 first meeting of 2014-15 approved unanimously.
Executive Committee (EC) Report: Chair Dan Hammel
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Interim Provost will speak to Council on October 7, 2014.
EC appointed Mojisola Tiamiyu to replace Charlene Gilbert as LLSS
representative on the University Sabbatical Committee.
EC discussed nominations for Council Secretary and three open positions on the
EC.
Call for volunteers to serve on Council Curriculum Committee and Constitution
and Rules Committee.
Faculty Senate (FS) Report: Kristen Keith
Interim President Nagi G. Naganathan and Interim Provost John Barrett answered
questions. Some of the highlights included:
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Interim President Naganathan said he is trying to educate the public about the
work of faculty. There will no longer be a one-size fits all approach to faculty
workloads.
We will not dwell on funded versus unfunded research.
Interim Provost Barrett said improving shared governance will be a major theme
this year.
Hiring and workload decisions will return to college deans and department
chairs.
More use of local expertise; less use of consultants.
More transparency.
Less division between main campus and the health science campus.
Improved sabbatical policy.
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Return of Kohler international travel grants.
Creation of a faculty-hiring plan.
Discussion of Disability Student Services contract language for faculty and notetaking relationship with a private company.
University Council (UC) Report: Mike Caruso
University Council met August 15 to meet Interim President Nagi G. Naganathan and
Interim Provost John Barrett. In addition to the highlights from the Faculty Senate report,
the UC meeting included:
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A presentation by Stan Edwards on date rape.
Larry Burns provided an update on the Presidential search.
o Deborah Coulter-Harris has been appointed to the search committee.
o Open forums have been schedule on the main and health science campuses.
Graduate Council (GC) Report: Jerry Van Hoy
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The Midwest Graduate Research Symposium is scheduled for March 31, 2015.
Dr. Michael Reece has been invited to be the keynote speaker.
The Graduate Student Association (GSA) has 41 applications for its 24 college
representative positions. Both LLSS GSA representative positions are filled.
GSA funding is available for graduate student travel to conferences. A total of
$35,000 in travel funding will be disbursed, split equally between Fall 2014 and
Spring 2015. Graduate Students who have attended at least two GSA meetings
will be eligible for $300 of funding. Those who have not attended any GSA
meetings will be eligible for $100 of funding.
GSA funding for graduate student research is available up to $2000 per
applicant. A total of $10,000 of funding will be disbursed this AY.
The College of Graduate Studies (COGS) had large graduating classes in the past
AY.
Summer 2014 graduate student enrollment was up, but Fall graduate student
enrollment declined to 4506 from 4590 in Fall 2013.
Connie Schall replaced Charlene Gilbert on the Graduate Council Executive
Committee.
UT-AAUP Report: Linda Rouillard
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Member meetings are being held to discuss the current compensation offer from
the UT-BOT.
A survey of UT-AAUP members shows that there is no majority vote for any part
of the compensation offer.
Dean’s Office Report: Jamie Barlowe
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New faculty hired in the college over the summer include:
Tenure/Tenure-track starting Fall semester:
Ami Pflugrad-Jackisch – Assoc. Prof. – History
Sarah Francis – Assoc. Prof. – Psychology
Melissa Zych – Asst. Prof. –Anthropology
Allyson Day – Asst. Prof. – Disability Studies
Tenure/Tenure-track starting Spring semester:
Joel Voss – Asst. Prof. – Political Science
Jeff Broxmeyer – Asst. Prof. – Political Science
Lecturers:
Kristen Geaman – History
Chelsea Griffis – History
Nina Atanasove – Philosophy
Shahna Arps –Anthropology
Robert McMahon – Economics
VAP:
Peter Mezo – Psychology
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Psychology has been approved for three open-rank hiring lines, including an
outside chair search.
College chairs are working on two-year faculty hiring plans with their
department faculty. The College hiring plan will be final once approved by the
Interim Provost. The Dean will not have to justify each position in the
multilayered process used last AY.
College mentoring of new faculty is needed. The College is working on a formal
mentoring plan.
The College has 24 Associate Professors who have been in rank six years or
more. A mentoring plan is also in the planning stages to help Associate
Professors advance to Full Professors.
Sharon Barnes is the Interim Chair of Women and Gender Studies.
Willie McKether is the Interim Chair of Sociology and Anthropology.
All tenured/tenure track faculty and lecturers in the College will be allocated
money for research and travel.
On Friday, October 31, 2014 from 1:00-3:00 there will be a College meeting with
Interim President Nagi G. Naganathan. All faculty are invited to attend.
Faculty, chairs and deans will negotiate workload for AY 2015-16.
LLSS graduate student enrollment is down almost 12 percent from Fall 2013.
Causes include too few faculty, low stipends, too few stipends and a need to
reduce the minimum credit hours for full-time status from 12 to 9.
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The College needs to hire more faculty who are from under-represented
minority groups.
Old Business
Election of LLSS Senator to replace Charlene Gilbert on Faculty Senate:
David Black was elected by unanimous vote.
Election of College Council Secretary:
The election was not held because no nominations for the position were accepted.
Election of three Executive Committee Members:
Ruth Hottell, Carmen Phelps and Michael Kistner were elected by unanimous vote.
New Business
Charge to the Constitution and Rules Committee (Jerry Van Hoy, Chair):
1. Propose language to redefine eligible units for representation on Council.
Disability Studies is a program with four-tenured/tenure track faculty but
does not have representation on Council because they are not a department.
2. Propose language to revise the departmental and at large representation
rules. Many departments do not have enough faculty to send two
representatives to Council meetings.
Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 pm.
Submitted by:
Jerry Van Hoy, LLSS Vice-Chair