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13 May, 2003 Dean’s Advisory Council Meeting Minutes

Members present: Dr. Michael Bowie, Dr. Harry Daniels, Dr. James Doud, Ms. Mary Driscoll, Dean Catherine Emihovich, Ms. Kay Hughes, Dr. John Kranzler, Dr. James McLeskey, Dr. Mickie Miller, Dr. Dorene Ross, Dr. Fran Vandiver, Dr. Theresa Vernetson, Dr. Nancy Waldron, and Dr. Sandra Witt

Members not present: Dr. David Miller and Dr. Donald Pemberton,

Information Items

Dr. Michael Bowie made a motion to approve the April 1, 2003 minutes. Dr. Theresa Vernetson seconded the motion, and the minutes were unanimously approved.

Announcements

  • Grant Opportunities

Dean Catherine Emihovich discussed several grant proposals and grant opportunities, including Gators Teach for Florida, the Troops-to-Teachers Program, and the Title Two Teacher Quality Enhancement Grants.

She has been in contact with Ron Burton, the project coordinator of the Troops to Teachers Program, a federal program that provides up to $10,000 in financial aid for Troops-to-Teachers participants (military personnel) who take courses related to teacher certification. Emphasis is placed on the areas of math, science, social studies, and special education. The program also requires a commitment for follow up of the Troops-to-Teachers Program completers during their first year of teaching.

Dorene Ross presented information about the Title Two Teacher Quality Enhancement Grants. These grants-designed to enhance teacher preparation-place extensive emphasis on special education, technology, and content knowledge. They require that colleges of education have partnerships with K-12 schools, high-need school districts, and colleges of liberal arts and sciences. The feasibility of applying for the Title Two Teacher Quality Enhancement Grants for the 2003-2004 academic year was discussed.

  • Update on Searches

Dean Emihovich reported on current COE searches.

Dr. Thomas Dana, a professor of education at Pennsylvania State University, will return for a second interview next week for the School of Teaching and Learning director position.

Dr. Cirecie West-Olatunji has been hired as an assistant professor in the Department of Counselor Education.

  • 2003 Summer Semester Meetings

A schedule for the DAC summer meetings was distributed.

Policy Guidelines

  • Dean’s Conference Room

The following policy guidelines for the use of the Dean’s Conference Room were distributed and discussed:

  • The primary use of the conference room is for the Dean and selected representatives for meetings and college-wide special events (e.g., receptions for school district people or Alliance students).
  • College-wide faculty committee meetings (e.g., FPC and the College Curriculum Committee) will continue to be scheduled in this room.
  • Departmental committee meetings, FPC subcommittee meetings, and dissertation defenses should be held in departmental conference rooms. If one departmental conference room is not available, faculty and staff should pursue availability with another department’s conference room.

The DAC members recommended deleting a fourth guideline (regarding the Counselor Education conference room) and posting the guidelines on the COE Web site after a public announcement is made.

  • Terrace Room (Mary Driscoll)

Ms. Mary Driscoll distributed the policy guidelines for use of the Terrace Room. She will announce to COE faculty and staff members that these guidelines, including contact information, will be posted on the COE Web site.

Discussion Items

  • Minority Recruitment and Retention Plan

Dr. Michael Bowie, Director of the Office of Recruitment, Retention and Multicultural Affairs (RRMA) in the College of Education, distributed an updated draft of the College Minority Recruitment and Retention Plan. The plan was developed to provide direction in an effort to diversify the College and makes its programs representative of the populations that they serve. Dr. Bowie noted that the draft document was designed to be a first step in an ongoing process that will be explored more fully as the College’s Diversity Team-appointed by the Dean-develops and implements a College-wide plan.

Dr. Bowie has requested and received input from the Faculty Policy Council’s (FPC) Student Recruitment and Admissions Committee about the plan.

The RRMA will be responsible for the development and implementation of the plan along with the creation of an accountability method to measure the success of the activities and programs in this plan.

The Diversity Team will address efforts in the area of increasing the inclusive culture of the College and providing a supportive environment to all students, faculty, and staff members. There was an extended discussion about the proposed plan and the need for the creation of a supportive environment for diverse students in the College, including students with physical disabilities and gay, lesbian, and bisexual students. DAC members recommended that a section be added to the plan that outlines the COE commitment to diversity and social justice along with the building of a culture of support to diverse students, faculty, and staff members.

Dr. Bowie indicated that the RRMA would provide additional opportunities on and off campus that will assist administrative/professional staff and faculty members in meeting their individual needs by posting campus events and activities on the COE Web site as well as providing them with information about the resources that are available throughout the campus and in the community.

Drs. Bowie and Vernetson will incorporate the suggestions that were made by FPC and DAC members, and resubmit a revised version of the Minority Recruitment and Retention Plan for review and approval.

  • Chair/Director Evaluations

The annual department chairperson evaluation process that is conducted by the Dean was discussed. Dean Emihovich reported on several changes that she plans to make in this evaluation process, including delineating specific goals and working toward the development of administrative portfolios that focus on the accomplishments of College administrators (including department chairpersons, assistant and associate deans, and unit directors).

The DAC members discussed the importance of obtaining input from faculty members in the chairperson and director evaluations. The forms (developed by College faculty members) that have been used in the past will be used again this year, with the addition of several items by Dean Emihovich, including the following four items related to the assessment of chairperson performance:

  1. Establishes departmental goals in consultation with faculty
  2. Establishes processes to mentor new faculty and graduate students
  3. Promotes discussions about diversity in faculty and student recruitment
  4. Shares information with faculty about resource allocations within the department.

She asked that the DAC members review an administrator evaluation form that is used at the California State University, Sacramento (Planning and Performance Evaluation Form for Administrators I-IV) for its relevance for the COE.

Dean Emihovich will re-initiate the conversation about this issue at the beginning of the fall semester. She reiterated that her goal in revising the evaluation process is to develop an evaluation method that serves to improve and strengthen the overall organization of a department or unit.

  • Service Learning MOU

Dr. Vernetson distributed a copy of a memorandum that was sent by J. Michael Rollo, Interim Vice President for Student Affairs, to UF faculty members who utilize community service in their curricula. In an effort to address concerns regarding the community standardization of volunteerism and volunteer liability, the UF General Counsel’s Office is working to establish Memoranda of Understanding (MOA) with every agency to which the University refers UF students, whether they are volunteering or involved in a specific service-learning class.

Dr. Vernetson requested that department chairpersons provide a list of courses (required for the completion of program requirements) that include field experiences along with a description of the nature of the field experience (e.g., teaching). She will provide this information to the UF General Counsel’s Office, who will prepare a Service Learning MOU to provide to the school districts (and other agencies) where the field experiences take place.

Faculty members who teach elective courses that require volunteer experience in schools or the community should contact Ms. Colette Taylor (392-1655; e-mail address: colette@union.ufl.edu), Director of the UF Office of Community Service, for information about how to comply with the MOU requirements for their courses.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:43 AM.

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5 May, 2003 FPC Meeting Minutes

May 5, 2003

Room 158 Norman Hall

Members Present: Phil Clark, Maureen Conroy, Vivian Correa, Bridget Franks, Paul Sindelar, Jane Townsend, Nancy Waldron

Members Absent: Jim Archer, Silvia Echevarria-Doan, Lamont Flowers, Elizabeth Yeager

Others Present: Dean Catherine Emihovich

Correa called the meeting to order at 2:06 p.m.

Agenda and Minutes

1.  Approval of the agenda for May 5, 2003.

Correa requested that two items be added to the agenda for today’s meeting: (a) the Associate Dean Evaluation, and (b) Summer Faculty Policy Council (FPC) Attendance at the Dean’s Advisory Committee (DAC) Meetings.

Clark made a motion to approve the amended May 5 FPC meeting agenda as submitted by Correa. Franks seconded the motion. The FPC unanimously approved the revised agenda.

2. Approval of the minutes of the April 21, 2003 Meeting.

Sindelar made a motion to approve the minutes for the April 21 meeting. Clark seconded the motion, and the minutes were unanimously approved.

Reports from FPC Committees

Committee chairpersons were asked to provide paper and electronic copies of the committee annual executive summaries to Correa by May 2. She reported that three of the executive summaries have been submitted. The executive summaries will be posted on the FPC Website when they are all received.

Report from the Dean

Dean Emihovich reported briefly about the successful NCATE and DOE accreditation review. She also indicated that budget information from the legislature had not yet been received.

She has asked the department chairpersons and unit directors to submit their annual budget requests to her. She will meet with the department chairpersons on May 22 to discuss the following two budget-related issues:

1. To determine a more equitable way of distributing College-wide funds that are allocated to the departments for student assistantships; and

2. How to allocate a portion of the money from salary savings to assist junior faculty members, including the provision of release time from teaching to pursue their research agendas.

She updated the FPC on the planned move of the Institute for Child and Adolescent Research and Evaluation (ICARE)-a new consortium of UF entities engaged in research on children-to Norman Hall. She reported that the Provost’s Office has provided funds to renovate the #134-E office suite, where ICARE and the College research/grants office will be located.

She also reported that the COE would receive a $250,000 federal grant for technology, a grant that has been awarded with the assistance of Congressman John Mica, a UF alumnus and U.S. Representative from Florida. She outlined several of the planned COE technology expenditures. A new (PC) technology staff person has been hired, and will begin employment with the College on May 19.

Unfinished Business

1. On-Line Elections for 2003-2004 FPC Members.

Correa indicated that John Gregory had raised concerns about the use of electronic ballots, as opposed to the printed ballots that had been used in the past. She has consulted with the technology staff members, and has ascertained that the electronic ballots would allow for the necessary accountability with regard to how many faculty members have voted from each department while maintaining anonymity. The FPC plans to continue to use the electronic ballots.

2. Update on New FPC Committees

The following documents were distributed and reviewed:

  • Selecting New Committees for 2003-2004 – update of faculty nominees for each FPC committeeo
  • FPC Standing Committee Membership by Department – update of faculty standing committee membership for the 2003-2004 academic yearo

New Business

1. Transition and Responsibilities of the Technology Committee

Correa distributed an e-mail message that was sent by Stuart Schwartz to the FPC on April 23, 2003. He requested direction with regard to the position taken by the existing Dean’s Technology Advisory Committee that it would be “most efficient for there to be one technology committee” in the College. Specifically, he asked for FPC clarification about the process of merging the existing Dean’s Technology Advisory Committee with the new FPC Technology Committee. He noted (a) a possible overlap of responsibilities and (b) differences between the purpose or mission of the existing committee (advising the Dean) and the new technology committee (fulfilling the mission of the FPC).

He also asked for FPC clarification about the official participation (voting) of technology staff members with regard to the Dean’s advisory role.

Waldron noted that the revised College Constitution outlines the responsibilities of the newly established FPC Technology Committee (for the 2003-2004 academic year) as the following:

F. Committees

(9) Technology Committee. This committee shall recommend and review policies regarding the purchase and use of technology for instructional and operational purposes.

After an extended discussion, it was decided that the FPC Technology Committee would forward policy matters to the FPC for consideration. The committee will handle operational issues without having to consult with the FPC. The FPC members and Dean Emihovich noted that it is important that Associate Dean John Kranzler maintain his involvement with the Technology Committee. It was agreed that technology staff members continue to be members of the Technology Committee because of their technical expertise. Correa indicated that the new committee would work collaboratively with Associate Dean Kranzler. The issues raised by Schwartz should not present problems with regard to the mission of the new technology committee. She recommended that these issues be revisited after the 2003 Fall Semester, when changes can be recommended if the FPC considers them necessary.

2. Department Chairperson Evaluations

The annual department chairperson evaluation process that is conducted by the Dean was discussed. Dean Emihovich reported on several changes that she plans to make in this process, including delineating specific criteria and working toward the development of administrative portfolios.

Townsend stated that it is important that faculty members have input in the chairperson evaluations.

3. Associate Dean Evaluation

The FPC committee that coordinates the evaluation of the assistant and associate deans has concluded its work and has met with Dean Emihovich about the evaluation results for Associate Dean Rodman Webb. The COE Constitution requires that the FPC report the evaluation results to the Dean. The FPC members recommended that there be some type of communication to the faculty members that the evaluation process has been completed as specified in the Constitution.

4. Summer Attendance at the Dean’s Advisory Committee (DAC) Meetings

The FPC chairperson and secretary are members of the DAC. Correa noted that FPC members serve nine-month terms (as opposed to the 12-month terms served by the other members of the DAC). She requested clarification about which FPC members are expected to attend DAC meetings during the summer. It was decided that at least one FPC member (who has served on the FPC for at least one year) should attend summer DAC meetings. The incoming FPC chairperson will coordinate summer attendance at the DAC meetings in order to ensure that an FPC representative attends each meeting.

Adjournment

Correa thanked FPC members for their participation and service to the FPC during the 2002-2003 academic year. Townsend commended Correa for her hard work and commitment to the FPC as chairperson during the past year.

Clark moved that the meeting be adjourned. Franks seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned at 3:41 p.m.