BINGHAMTON UNIVERSITY
MINUTES OF THE March 16, 2009 MEETING OF THE GRADUATE COUNCIL
PLACE:
Couper Administration Building, Room 148
PRESIDING:
Nancy E. Stamp, Vice Provost and Dean of the
Graduate School
MEMBERS:
David Campbell, Michael Conlon, Susan Currie,
James Fang, Mark Fowler, Christof Grewer, Robert
Guay, William Haver, Sarah Lam, Weiyi Meng,
Andrew Merriwether, Susan Pollock, Maria-Teresa
Romero, Olga Shvetsova, Pamela Stewart Fahs,
Marilyn Tallerico, Diane Wiener
EX OFFICIO
MEMBERS:
Gerald Sonnenfeld, Stephen Gilje, Dara Silberstein,
Lindsay Tremain
EXCUSED:
William Heller, Wendy Martinek, Tom McDonough,
Karen Salvage, Marilyn Tallerico
GUESTS:
Fernando Guzman (FSEC), Mary Muscari, Eric Cotts,
Dina Maramba, Sharon Holmes, Theresa Grabo
ABSENT:
Jacques Beaumont, Edward Li, Max Pensky, Nan Zhou
I. CALL TO ORDER:
Vice Provost and Dean Nancy Stamp called the meeting to order at 3:00 pm.
II. MINUTES:
The minutes of the February 9, 2009 were approved after 3 minor corrections were
made.
III. COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Academic Standards Committee
This Committee has not met.
Advisory Committee for Scholarship and Research
Advisory Committee for Scholarship and Research has met and will meet every two
weeks through the semester.
Budget Advisory Committee
This Committee has not met.
Clark Fellowship Advisory Committee
The Clark Fellowship Advisory Committee met on Wednesday, March 11, 2009. It has
recommended one student for the NSF-AGEP STEM Grant and will meet again next
week to determine further awards.
Curriculum Committee
This Committee met on Friday, February 6th, 2008. The committee accepted the
following proposals:
1. Proposal for Graduate Certificate in Forensic Health
2. Proposal for new Graduate Course: GRD 594 Management Fundamentals for
Engineers and Scientists
3. Physics PhD Proposal
4. Student Affairs Administration Course Proposals (Catalog descriptions)
The Graduate Certificate in Forensic Health is a 3-course certificate for health care
providers. Forensic Health is the application of the health-related sciences to public or
legal proceedings, the application of the forensic aspects of health care in the scientific
investigation and treatment of trauma and/or death of victims and perpetrators of abuse,
violence, criminal activity, traumatic accidents, and environmental hazards. While this
certificate will most likely attract primarily nurses, it can also be utilized by other
disciplines, including social work, psychology, sociology and anthropology.
Mary Muscari, Associate Professor, from the School of Nursing, attended the meeting to
answer questions regarding the proposal. The motion was made to approve the
proposal, and all were in favor.
The Proposal for the new Graduate Course: GRD 594 Management Fundamentals for
Engineers and Scientists was presented by Associate Dean Dara Silberstein. This
course was designed by the Graduate School as part of the Professional Science
Management Certificate and was offered in the Winter 2008 as an experimental course.
All were in favor of making this course a permanent course; the plan is that it will be
taught in the winter/summer sessions.
Eric Cotts, Chair of the Physics Department, gave an overview of the Physics PhD
Proposal. He explained that the core courses already are in place under the MS
program. Enrollment will be increased and relatively modest additional funds will be
needed to implement this program. The motion was made to move this proposal forward;
all were in favor with the exception of one abstention.
Student Affairs Course Proposals were introduced last fall, however, there was some
concern regarding the catalog descriptions. The catalog descriptions have been revised
and the committee approved them as written. These course proposals are part of the
new Student Affairs Administration Program that was approved and is ready to begin
next fall. The motion was made to accept the revised course proposals and all were in
favor.
The Decker School of Nursing has submitted a letter-of-intent (LOI) for a doctorate in
nursing practice. Terry Grabo, Graduate Director from the Decker School of Nursing,
gave an overview of the LOI. The DNP program is designed to meet the target date of
national 2015 educational requirements. The DNP will have two entry points: 1) postbaccalaureate and 2) post-masters and will offer two advanced practice roles, Nurse
Practitioner and Clinical Nurse Specialist. The formal proposal will outline all the
specifics of the program. There was a motion to forward it to SUNY for its approval.
Grievance Committee
This committee has not met.
Strategic Planning Committee
This committee has not met.
IV. NEW BUSINESS
Assistant Dean, Lindsay Tremain, gave an overview of graduate admissions. She stated
that the number of graduate applications have gone up 14% this year. About 20% was
an increase in domestic applications and 9% increase in international student
applications. Applications for graduate school have been increasing for the past three
years.
Dean Stamp gave an update on the budget. It has been proposed that the Tuition
Scholarship Budget will be cut by New York State by 15%. In addition, tuition was
raised; therefore, it will cost the graduate school more money for tuition scholarships.
So, this would be a double hit to the Tuition Scholarship Budget and overall resulting in
approximately 25% less funds. In order to deal with this 25% cut, the graduate school
has given allocations to departments so they can fine tune the manner in which they
award tuition scholarships.
Jessie Kapsula, graduate student representative, voiced her concerns over the budget
cuts and the raise in tuition.
V.
ADJOURNMENT:
The meeting was adjourned at 4:05.
_____________________________
Minutes recorded by Maureen Truesdail
Secretary to the Vice Provost and Dean
of the Graduate School