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18 November, 2002 FPC Meeting Minutes

November 18, 2002

Room 158 Norman Hall

Members Present: Jim Archer, Phil Clark, Vivian Correa, Maureen Conroy, Silvia Echevarria-Doan, Bridget Franks, Paul Sindelar, Jane Townsend, Nancy Waldron, Elizabeth Yeager

Members Absent:  Lamont Flowers

Others Present:  Dean Catherine Emihovich, Associate Dean John Kranzler, Associate Dean Rodman Webb

The meeting was called to order by Correa at 2:06 p.m.

Agenda and Minutes

1. Approval of the agenda for November 18, 2002.

Clark made a motion to approve the agenda. Sindelar seconded the motion. Archer asked that an item be added to the agenda to discuss the College of Journalism’s response to not being designated a “core” college by last year’s report of the Presidential Task Force, and implications for the College of Education. The FPC unanimously approved the agenda.

2. Approval of the Minutes of the November 4, 2002 Meeting.

Yeager requested two revisions on page 2 related to the recommendations of the Student Recruitment and Admissions Committee concerning graduate admission decisions. She indicated that the committee supports departmental decisions regarding graduate admission and the COE draft proposal on Continuing Professional Development for Teachers dated October 22, 2002 (the words “in principal” and the qualification following the draft document date should be deleted). Sindelar made a motion to approve the minutes, with revisions. Echevarria-Doan seconded the motion. The minutes were unanimously approved.

Reports from FPC Committees

· College Curriculum Committee.

Waldron stated that the next CCC meeting is scheduled for November 25.

· Undergraduate Admissions/Petitions Committee.

Franks indicated that there was no new report from this committee since the last meeting.

· Graduate Admissions/Petitions Committee.

Echevarria-Doan announced that this committee met on November 8 to consider petitions for three students and would meet again on December 6.

· Faculty Affairs Committee.

Townsend reported that the committee would hold their next meeting on December 2.

· Research Advisory Committee.

Conroy reported that the committee addressed several issues at the meeting on November 12, including (a) revising the committee description in the COE Constitution to better reflect their function, (b) reviewing cost-sharing guidelines for grants, and (c) soliciting faculty input regarding college doctoral research requirements. Dean Emihovich will be discussing the CARE office at the next committee meeting scheduled for December 10th.

· Student Recruitment and Admissions Committee.

Yeager reported that the committee would hold its next meeting on December 11th.

· Long-Range Planning Committee.

Archer mentioned that the LRPC proposal for faculty forums would be discussed later in the meeting. The committee also reviewed the end-of-year recommendations of the 2001-2002 LRPC, which provide direction for future committee activities. The committee is attempting to clarify their role, and posed the question, “What role should a faculty committee play with regard to long range planning in the College?”

· Ad Hoc Committee on Assistant/Associate Dean Review.

Correa distributed a document that identifies a process for reviewing academic administrators that is used by the Indiana University School of Education (Review Procedures for School of Education Academic Administrators – Indiana University). The Ad Hoc Committee will be developing a similar set of procedures and will be sharing this with Dean Emihovich. The Ad Hoc committee decided to develop procedures, collect a few samples of evaluation scales, and ask the Dean to establish a formal review committee. This committee will develop an instrument and procedures that will be used to conduct the Assistant/Associate Dean review.

Correa reminded FPC members about the timeline for submission of feedback regarding the proposal on Tenure &Promotion Procedures. This topic will be an agenda item at the December 2nd meeting.

Report from the Dean

An article (Colleges find diversity is not just numbers)[1] that Dean Emihovich sent to COE faculty and staff regarding diversity issues on November 15 was distributed to FPC members.

Associate Dean Webb reported that diversity is an issue he and Dean Emihovich would like the college to consider in the coming months. The issue is not just one of recruitment (attracting students and faculty from diverse backgrounds), but also how we make the COE a more inclusive community in welcoming a diverse student and faculty population. To begin considering this issue, conversations have occurred between Dean Emihovich, Michael Bowie, and the UF Counseling Center. The Dean’s Advisory Council will hold a retreat in December on the topic, facilitated by the UF Counseling Center. Webb requested additional suggestions and involvement from the faculty regarding how best to proceed to address this important issue. Concerns were raised that the proposed process seemed to emphasize administrative input. Webb reinforced that the intent is to invite participation from the entire College – faculty, students, and staff. Meeting with the DAC is simply a first step. Correa recommended meeting with COE students, whose multiple perspectives and experiences might be helpful. Various types of diversity were discussed, including the preponderance of female faculty and students in the COE, and issues related to international students.

Dean Emihovich reported on several issues that impact the College of Education, including the following items:

  • The recent Statewide elections will impact the policies related to the rewriting of the Florida School code by the Legislature (“devolution”); specifically, the passage of Amendment 11 will result in a transfer of the authority currently vested in the K-20 Board to a new board that governs the State University System.
  • Presidential Search: A subcommittee of the Board of Trustees has met to set up the initial search process for a new president for University of Florida. College deans have provided input for the presidential search and have recommended that the candidates have strong academic credentials (AAU background is an important issue) and have experience in a large, diverse university (including diversity of academic units). The deans also recommended a smaller search committee—that must include faculty representation—and suggested that the candidates do not necessarily have to currently serve as a university president.

Dean Emihovich asked for additional FPC input about the College Strategic Planning. She will meet with Provost Colburn on December 2nd to discuss the College of Education’s Strategic Planning initiatives. She will revise and update the document that was created by the COE to outline the College’s strategic directions in response to the UF Presidential Task Force. She reiterated that the document that she submits will represent the beginning of a discussion, not a blueprint for what would necessarily unfold.

She discussed the impact that the recent elections would have on COE initiatives. The emphasis that will be focused on early childhood education may provide the impetus for the development of a state-of-the-art early childhood research center at the COE. The core strengths of the College revolve around issues related to children and families and the preparation of highly qualified professional educators.

Dean Emihovich and FPC members also discussed (a) current and proposed linkages and partnerships with other colleges and units and (b) the problems related to designing innovative collaborative programs and university rankings.

She requested that the FPC members review a draft document that she is preparing for Provost Colburn and provide input before she submits it to him on November 26.

New Business

  1. Long-Range Planning Committee Proposal for Faculty Forums

Based on the concerns and issues that were cited at the Fall Faculty Meeting, the LRPC has recommended topics for Faculty Forums that will take place on Monday, February 3, 2003 and Monday, March 3, 2003, from 2-4 PM.

Clark moved that the committee accept these dates. Yeager seconded his motion. The motion was unanimously approved by the FPC.

The topics recommended by the LRPC included the following:

    1. How to balance doctoral education and research with the demands for service and teacher preparation
    1. How to increase a sense of college identity

These topics were discussed at length, including the advisability of combining both topics into one topic for the February Faculty Forum. Recommendations included the following:

·  The focus of the February meeting should be “college identity.”

·  The focus of the March meeting should be determined by the issues and concerns that are identified at the February meeting.

·  The importance of “shared governance” with regard to the selection of topics for future Faculty Forums

·  The involvement of the LRPC and the FPC with the process of planning future Faculty Forums

·  Responsibility for hosting/sponsorship of the Faculty Forums

·  Responsibility for the facilitation of such forums

Clark recommended that Correa send an e-mail to faculty members inviting them to the February Faculty Forum—hosted by the FPC and attended by the deans—that will be a continued discussion of issues and concerns that were identified at the Fall Faculty Meeting. There will be a Faculty Forum in March that will build upon the discussion at the February Faculty Forum.

At the next FPC meeting there will be a discussion of the process/procedures for the forums, as well as information that will be shared with faculty in advance.

  1. Research Advisory Committee Proposal for Change in Constitutional Language

Conroy reported that the RAC has proposed the following revision of the committee’s function as outlined in the College Constitution:

F.(2)(b) The Research Advisory Committee shall give advice on address policies and matters relating related to research within to the College of Education Office of Graduate Studies as requested.

Conroy made a motion to approve the revisions. Clark seconded the motion. The FPC unanimously approved the wording of the proposed revision. The proposed revision will be presented at the March FPC meeting that will address changes in the College Constitution.

  1. The Impact of the Declaration of the College of Journalism about its Role as a “Priority” College at UF

Archer proposed that the FPC discuss the impact of a recent statement made by the College of Journalism regarding its designation as a “non-core” college. The statement was issued in response to the report by the Presidential Task Force on the Future of the University of Florida. The discussion focused on the impact of this declaration on other colleges—specifically the COE—that had not been listed as UF “core” colleges.

Discussion topics included the following:

·  Colleges not designated as “core” colleges face certain challenges, and need to demonstrate to the UF administration what they are capable of accomplishing.

·  Dean Emihovich has clearly communicated to the UF President and Provost the important role that the COE plays regarding children and families and in training professional educators.

·  Education is a key issue in the state and nation.

·  The COE needs to make our accomplishments more visible.

·  All of the colleges listed as “core” colleges have approached Dean Emihovich to request COE participation in collaborative efforts.

·  The COE differs in many ways from the College of Journalism with regard to such strategies. Journalism used a “media” response format, we should respond in a manner consistent with educating others about our perspectives and contributions to the university.

Adjournment

Clark moved that the meeting be adjourned. Franks seconded the motion. The committee voted unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 3:50 p.m.

[1] The article was reprinted from the New York Times (November 12, 2002 issue).

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