PURDUE UNIVERSITY CALUMET
UNIVERSITY SENATE MEETING
DATE: September 2, 2015
3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. – SUL 321
September meeting minutes
Present: H. Abramowitz, A. Angriawan, C. Boiarsky, L. Brandon, R. Brusca-Vega, R.
Conroy, A. Elmendorf, R. Evans, M. Fathizadeh, C. Ford, K. Gopalan, J. Hack, S.
Howard, G. Jin, T. Keon, S. Lerner, S. Mo, D. Nalbone, N. Nemeth, M.B. O’Connor, B.
Pai, C. Panlilio, D. Pick, L. Rittenmeyer, K. Rowberg, R. Sarac, G. Schultz, S. Sil, L.
Shen, K. Schmid, N. Tarfulea, K. Tobin, S. Turner, G. Velez-Rendon, B. Vottero, F.
Wang, E. Weber, D. Young.
Absent: M. Block.
Guests: C. Arroyo, R. Biddings-Muro, J. Colwell, K. Falzone, L. Feldman, L.
Goodnight, W. Lukoshus, K. Parli, J. Phillips, J. Shires, R. Stankowski.
A. Call to order: Quorum present and meeting called to order at 3:33 p.m.
B. Approval of the Agenda

Motion by J. Hack and seconded by B. Pai to approve the agenda. Motion to
approve the agenda approved unanimously by voice vote.
C. Approval of Minutes: May 2015 meeting minutes

Motion to approve the minutes of the May 2015 meeting by L. Rittenmeyer and
seconded by J. Hack. Minutes of the May 2015 meeting approved unanimously by
voice vote.
D. Special Business of the Day

Chancellor Report – Dr. Thomas Keon
At the request of the Senate chair, the chancellor reported on the recent effort by
the university to acquire Dowling Park. The original plan had been to divide the
cost of creating appropriate athletic facilities equally among the city of
Hammond, the university and fund-raising activities. The original estimate for the
cost of the project was $4 million to $4.5 million. The amount increased to $8.5
million, which did not include the value of the land, once artificial turf was added
and other enhancements were made. After questions were raised about who would
pay to maintain the park, a tentative deal was struck for the university to acquire
the park for $3.5 million in cash. The proposed agreement allowed the city to use
the park during the summer when the university’s athletic teams are not
competing and shifted responsibility for maintaining the park to the university.
News reports about the deal emphasized the approximately $5 million difference
in the amount invested in the park and the sale price to the university, prompting
complaints to the mayor of Hammond. The city withdrew from the proposed sale,
and the parties are attempting to work out a lease agreement.

Chair Report – Professor Harvey Abramowitz
Parliamentarian S. Lerner distributed a handout and discussed the proper
procedure for managing the Senate meetings.
The chair discussed the recent activities of the Agenda Committee, which is
empowered by the constitution to conduct Senate business during the summer.
During May meetings, the Agenda Committee set dates for its meetings, those of
the full Senate, and the Faculty Convocation (February 24). The committee also
discussed a possible resolution concerning the control of the dual credit program
by Academic Affairs and the effort to conduct audits of candidates for graduation.
The proposed promotion and tenure document was discussed and chancellor
described the status of the document pertaining to the West Lafayette campus.
The chair discussed the composition of the search committee for the position of
chancellor of Purdue Northwest and the unsuccessful effort to have the Purdue
Calumet Senate chair added to the search committee. The chair also discussed the
visit to campus by West Lafayette Provost Debasish Dutta on July 14 and his plan
to return with Michael Berghoff, chairman of the Board of Trustees, on
September 9. The chair also discussed his email request for questions to be
submitted in advance of this visit. The Agenda Committee discussed the
significance of shared governance. It also discussed the proper course of action
for the proposed constitution for unifying the senates of Purdue University
Calumet and Purdue University North Central. The chair also discussed the effort
to change the date of the scheduled visit of one of the candidates for chancellor of
Purdue University Northwest because it falls during the Jewish holiday of Rosh
Hashanah. Instead of seeking a Senate resolution on the issue, the decision was
made to seek an administrative memorandum urging sensitivity to this issue and
listing of religious holidays.

Curriculum document approval - Professor Leslie Rittenmeyer
No documents were presented for consideration.

Senate Documents “For Action”: None.

Senate Documents “For Discussion”: SD 15-10, Confirmation of Members of the
Students Affairs, Faculty Affairs, and Curriculum and Educational Policy
Committees for 2015-2016 (Nominating Committee)
J. Hack explained the requirement in the bylaws calling for the confirmation of
the membership in the three committees. Due to addition of L. Brandon to replace
R. Brusca-Vega on the Faculty Affairs Committee, the document needed to be
amended. Motion by D. Pick and seconded by C. Boiarsky to suspend the rules to
permit amending the document. F. Wang sought clarification on the number of
members on the committees. The amended document, SD 15-10, Confirmation of
Members of the Students Affairs, Faculty Affairs, and Curriculum and
Educational Policy Committees for 2015-2016, was approved unanimously by
voice vote.

Other special business
o
PUWL Senate Representative - Professor Feng-Song Wang.
F.-S. Wang offered no report on West Lafayette Senate activities.
o
Ad Hoc Committee on Senate Unification – Professor Harvey
Abramowitz
J. Hack discussed the Senate membership on the joint unification
committee and indicated that she and G. Schultz were willing to continue
to serve on the committee. C. Boiarsky made a motion and L. Rittenmeyer
seconded that the appointments of J. Hack and G. Schultz for the 20152016 academic year be approved. Motion approved unanimously by voice
vote.
E. Committee Reports

Committee on Student Affairs -- Professor Anthony Elmendorf
The chair discussed the decision of M.B. O’Connor to step down as chair of the
committee and his election as her successor. M.B. O’Connor described the effort
to create a policy on transcripts.

Academic Support Services Committee - Professor David Nalbone
D. Nalbone discussed the committee’s consideration of a possible resolution
concerning the scheduling of the interviews for chancellor of Purdue University
Northwest during Rosh Hashanah, but that no formal document would be
proposed at this time. The committee had not met and had no other business to
report.

Curriculum and Educational Policy Committee - Professor Leslie Rittenmeyer
L. Rittenmeyer reported that G. Schultz, current vice chair and CEP chair during
2014-2015, would become chair of the ad hoc curriculum committee. The
committee’s goal is to streamline the curriculum approval process. She said she
was more concerned about putting in place the proper processes for managing
curriculum documents than the volume of documents generated by unification.

Faculty Affairs Committee - Professor Michelle Block
L. Rittenmeyer said that there was no report from the committee. She spoke in
place of committee chair M. Block, who not able to attend the Senate meeting due
to a death in her family.

Nominating Committee – Professor Judy Hack
J. Hack discussed the effort to assemble the roster of Senate members and
committee assignments. She announced the membership of the ad hoc committee
in fulfillment of the resolution approved at the Faculty Convocation on April 24:
Resolution Concerning the Faculty Recommendation on Unification. Members
selected included D. Nalbone, A, Angriawan, S. Slavin, E. Moore, and R. Evans.
A document confirming the appointments will be forthcoming. She said the
nominating committee will prepare procedures to be used for a possible allfaculty vote on a proposed constitution for unifying the Senates of Purdue
Calumet and Purdue North Central and for administering the committee
preference survey in the spring.

Student Government Association – President Candice Ford
C. Ford said the SGA is working on unifying with Purdue North Central and that
service is now part of an Experiential Learning class led by Meg Rincker, adviser
to the SGA. The goals for the SGA are to create gender neutral signage for
restrooms, improve the lift used by disabled students in the Gyte Annex, increase
the food options for international students, improve translations of documents in
cooperation with West Lafayette and install a campus landmark.

Agenda Committee – Professor Leslie Rittenmeyer
L. Rittenmeyer reported on the challenges that the committee had in sticking to
the agenda at its August 19 meeting.
F.
Unfinished Business – A lengthy discussion ensued concerning the three
resolutions approved at the Faculty Convocation on April 24. A. Elmendorf
suggested that the Senate needed to enact its own resolutions to reinforce the
convocation’s decisions. Comment ensued concerning the number of faculty
members who attended the convocation and whether they represented the views
of the entire faculty. D. Pick suggested that senators ask faculty members in their
departments for guidance. F. Wang, Senate chair from 2014-2015, said the three
resolutions were forwarded to the chancellor and the president’s office. He said
he considered the issue to be finished. The issue was clarified as to whether the
Senate should endorse the three resolutions. L. Rittenmeyer suggested that the
Agenda Committee take up the issue. D. Nalbone said one of the resolutions
called for there to be no further work on unification until an impact study had
been completed and suggested that the wishes of the convocation should
supersede the Senate. A. Elmendorf suggested that the convocation represented
the voice of the faculty. D. Pick suggested that the convocation seemed like a
meeting of the American Association of University Professors and that faculty
members lack standing to tell the administration what to do in these matters. D.
Nalbone raised the issue of shared governance and whether faculty should allow
themselves to be “run over” by the administration. H. Abramowitz urged that the
resolutions be considered by the Agenda Committee and the Faculty Affairs
Committee, and that faculty can bring forth resolutions in the normal manner if
they wish to do so. D. Nalbone said that unusual nature of the unification effort
called for methods that were outside the normal way of conducting the Senate’s
business. He emphasized that the university should not proceed with the
unification effort until an impact study is completed.
G.
New Business – C. Boiarsky announced that a faculty party will take place on
September 17.
B. Stankowski, interim assistant vice chancellor for accreditation and assessment,
announced a new procedure for admitting students: meta-majors. She said the
meta-majors program has pathways for students that include STEM, health,
computer careers, education, arts and humanities, behavioral studies, and
exploratory studies. She said the intent is to place students into a meta-major only
if they cannot be admitted directly into majors. Several senators suggested the
meta-major concept was similar to general studies and the university division
used in the past. B. Stankowski questioned the ethics of admitting students in to a
pre-major with no specific focus. G. Schultz raised the concern that the metamajor concept would permit the university to admit students who were
unprepared for college. Stankowski said that more intensive advising will be used
to ensure that courses taken by students in this program can be applied to a major.
Because of the need to formally admit students for next fall, B. Stankowski said
the meta-major concept needed to be implemented soon.
All Senators introduced themselves to close the meeting.
H.
Open Discussion – None.
I.
Adjournment: Meeting adjourned at 4:57 p.m.