UNL Department of Agronomy & Horticulture
Curriculum Coordinating Committee Minutes
October 27, 2011, 9 a.m.
279M PLSH
I.
Call to Order - McCallister
Dr. Dennis McCallister, chair, called the meeting to order at 9:03 a.m. Members in attendance were:
Tom Hoegemeyer for Brian Waters, Don Lee, Dennis McCallister, Steve Mason, Ellen Paparozzi, Zac
Reicher, and Kathy Schindler, recorder.
II.
Changes in Summer Sessions that may affect course offerings.
Dr. Don Lee said that money from the dissolution of the Summer Sessions Department will now go to
the departments. That means there would be more money to teach additional landscape, business, and
science courses. Don said he thinks this would be a fabulous opportunity for the department.
CASNR is considering the idea of a three-semester academic year with summer sessions following the
same procedures as the fall and spring semesters. The largest target audience for summer courses would
be non-majors and general studies students. Summer courses would also assist in keeping class sizes
manageable and reduce bottlenecks in the current curriculum. Don said CASNR is looking for course
proposals for entry-level courses that would fit ACE criteria. Discussion followed.
Don said he will organize a faculty group to look at possible courses that would fit the guidelines above.
Potential teachers include Dave Lambe, Leah Sandall, Stacy Adams, and other lecturers. The summer
courses could be face-to-face courses, distance education, or a hybrid of the two styles.
III.
Reducing majors to 120 credit hours is at the CASNR Curriculum Committee level
Dennis said that the CASNR Curriculum Committee would meet on Friday to review proposed changes
to our majors to reduce the credits to 120 hours. This reduction in credit hours was requested by
Chancellor Harvey Perlman and the NU Board of Regents. Dennis said Rick Stowell has been
reviewing our majors and called with a few questions. It was noted that AGRO 216 is still listed as a
required course, so faculty may have to initiate waivers for that course if students weren’t able to take
that class. Further additions and deletions to the majors can be done next year.
Discussion followed on how to best prepare agronomy students for careers working with seed
companies. Dr. Tom Hoegemeyer said in discussions with his Syngenta contacts, they would like to see
education in the following formats:
A. General information “dig & grow;”
B.
Undergraduate Plant Breeding options;
C. Online Master’s Degree programs; and
D. Speciality information and courses for re-training Ph.D.s who have been out of college for 10 to
15 years.
Committee members felt that the AG*IDEAS certificate program would be a good step for this
population. Many companies want their employees to have state-of-the-art and modern breeding
and genetics knowledge.
IV.
Streamlining the CASNR Curriculum Process
Dennis said he discovered that the turnaround time to comment on CASNR’s curriculum actions is two
weeks instead of a month. In all reality, it could take up to a month if there are questions or concerns
with a curriculum change.
Dr. Zac Reicher said he would like to get better feedback and communication from the CASNR
Curriculum Committee. Last year’s changes in turf classes didn’t get into the fall catalogue even
though the process was started last October, he said. Kathy Schindler said she has started tracking
department curriculum with a spreadsheet and that may also help the department follow its curriculum
changes better.
V.
What do we need to accomplish in the future? What is within our control?
A. Preliminary Results from Academic Review
Dennis said he has been told that the department may not get the written version of its academic
review until January or February. The Review Team did give an oral presentation before it left in
early October.
B. Chem 105 & 106 vs. Chem 109 & 110
Committee members discussed the benefits and drawbacks of CHEM 105 & 106 and CHEM 109 &
110. The syllabi were attached to the meeting agenda and also shown electronically on the room’s
projector screen.
Dennis asked whether these courses meet our students’ needs. Discussion followed. The general
view was that Chem. 105 & 106 offered information on chemistry concepts while Chem. 109 & 110
provided higher quantitative concepts.
Dr. Brian Waters wrote in an e-mail prior to the meeting that “our majors are science-based, and as
such should require the more rigorous/traditional Chem. 109/110 sequence. To me the 105/106
looks more like a chemistry appreciation class, not really something that can provide a strong
foundation for more advanced science classes.”
It was noted that some students are math phobic or they may just have less math in their
backgrounds. Those students like Chem. 105/106.
Dr. Steve Mason said Chem. 105 & 106 provide the opportunity to see chemistry in context and
how it is applied while Chem. 109 & 110 are pure chemistry. He felt that Chem. 105 & 106 fit with
students who like to see the practical application of science.
Dennis said department teaching faculty would like to see students demonstrate repeated application
of quantitative skills. Committee members also talked about varying uniformity of delivery
depending on the teacher. The question was asked what Dr. Harkamal Walia would request for
chemistry background.
Dr. Paparozzi noted that Chem. 112 is also an introductory chemistry class. She wondered whether
Chem. 109 is drifting toward becoming more like Chem. 112.
Tom said he might be interested in auditing or sitting in on the Chem. 109/110 courses. Another
suggestion is to see previous Blackboard tests from the courses. Dennis said he would follow up
with the chemistry teachers to get examples of tests and/or assignments from Chem 109 & 110. He
is already a Blackboard “guest” on Chem. 105 so gets examples of those.
C. Quantitative or math challenges
Steve said our department gets a large share of transfer students and they have mixed quantitative
and science backgrounds. He noted that critical thinking skills are also important so students can
justify their ideas to a boss or colleague who will accept their recommendations.
Ellen asked whether the department should find a math tutor. This could be a graduate student, a
current employee like Diane Nolan, or a volunteer. Committee members said they weren’t sure if
students would take advantage of a tutor. Another idea is to have a Brown Bag lunch to invite Jim
Lewis from the Math in the Middle program to speak on developing quantitative skills.
D. Consideration of 200-level physiology/biochemistry course with Dr. Lagrimini
Dennis has been visiting with Dr. Mark Lagrimini about this course. Dr. Lagrimini wants to meet
with interested professors. Committee members suggested that he meet with a broad group of
faculty instead of specific people. Ellen said because students’ physiology background is so mixed
there are alternative ideas to having a 200-level course including having a 400/800 level class.
Dennis said he would contact Dr. Lagrimini to suggest expanding the number of professors who
would meet to discuss this proposed course.
VI.
From the floor
A. Distinguished Teaching Award Nominations
Dennis said CASNR is looking for names of professors to nominate for UNL’s Distinguished
Teaching Award. After discussion, it was decided to forward the names of Chuck Francis and Paul
Read. Dennis will talk to those professors and if they approve of the nomination, he will forward
their names to Dann Husmann in the CASNR dean’s office.
B. Holling Family Awards
Ellen said CASNR is seeking nominations for the Holling Family Awards which she won last year.
Nominations are due Jan. 16, 2012.
VII.
VIII.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 10:15 a.m.
Next meeting: November 17, 9 a.m., 279M PLSH