Faculty Policy Council
Minutes of the October 1, 2012 Regular Meeting
Location: Norman 158
Attending:
Linda Eldridge (HDOSE), Danling Fu (STL), Joe Gagnon (SESPECS), Tim Jacobbe (STL), Ester de Jong (STL, Secretary), Holly Lane (SESPECS), Erica McCray (SESPECS), James McLeskey (SESPECS), Dorene Ross (STL, Chair), David Therriault (HDOSE), Edil Torres-Rivera (HDOSE), Shelly Warm (STL)
Tom Dana (College Administration), Glenn Good (College Administration)
Guest: Rose Pringle (STL)
Absent:
Dale Campbell (HDOSE); Walter Leite (HDOSE)
Approval of Agenda
Shelley Warm (moved), Tim Jacobbe (second). Agenda was approved.
Approval of Minutes
Holly Lane (moved), James McLeskey (second). Minutes of the August 27th 2012 FPC meeting were approved with a minor revision.
Dean’s Report
Dean Good noted that the College of Education Annual Report has just been released. Our rankings are up despite budget cuts. He noted that increased collaboration and faculty’s willingness to help out across the college have contributed to this achievement. The recently hired grant writer has also been helpful for grant production.
At the university level, the Program Improvement Plan report has caused some consternation. Dean Good indicated that the president and provost have agreed to wait to implement any actions based on this report in order to give Deans, Directors, and Department Chairs an opportunity to address concerns laid out in the report. He also reported that UF Deans are collaborating on a white paper regarding the RCM budget model and possible changes. He referenced the Gainesville Sun article that listed possible candidates for the new president and stressed that these were just nominations and not finalists for the position.
A question was raised about the possibility that the federal government might not approve an extension on the budget (the fiscal cliff) and potential implications for federally funded projects. Dean Good indicated that there does appear to be a sense that this will happen but that it is difficult to tell. In response, the College of Education makes sure to maintain a diverse portfolio through online courses, certificate programs, and continued efforts to bring in external funding through foundations. Florida’s budget has improved and Governor Scott seems to include a focus on education, which hopefully will result in an investment in education, including higher education.
University Senate Report
Reporter: Rose Pringle
The Senate president has asked that we keep a more regular interface between UF senate and FPC as we move forward together at all levels of shared governance. At each FPC meeting, we will have a University Senate report on the Agenda so that we can stay informed about what is happening across campus. Rose Pringle reported on the September 27th UF Faculty Senate Meeting. Detailed Minutes from this meeting are available HERE
Announcements
There was one announcement. The Fall College Faculty Meeting will take place on Friday November 16, 9:30am-11:30am. This date was chosen to enable Jodi Gentry to continue to work as a facilitator of the meeting and ensure the presence of the Deans. Representatives for the Gator Advantage Program have asked to present information to the faculty. They have been invited to do a 10-minute presentation at 11:20am.
Action Items
There were no action items.
Discussion Items
A request came from the UFSenate’s Academic Policy Council chair to consider UF’s policy on the award of posthumous degrees. The current policy and a document summarizing policies at other institutions were circulated. The consensus was that UF’s policy should allow for flexibility and that the decision should be made at the discretion of the department keeping in mind that the goal of the posthumous is to be a comfort to the family. It was suggested that documentation of a person’s death and enrollment might be considered and that a policy should be consistent across colleges.
Dorene will draft a memorandum addressed to the Chair of the Academic Policy Council and FPC members will send feedback within one week.
Committee Reports
This year, each FPC committee is asked to consider goals related to the strategic plan beginning with the area of College culture, which was addressed at the Spring College Faculty. To facilitate the Long Range Committee’s task to review the goals and actions of each committee and identify possible gaps and areas of overlap, the committees are asked to fill out a brief form. Based on feedback from FPC members, the form was revised by taking out ambiguous language and Dorene will send these to the FPC committee chairs.
Ad Hoc Committee on Academic Affairs
Reporter: James McLeskey
The first meeting of this committee will be October 4th from 9am-10am. In addition to setting the broader agenda for the year, the committee is expected to discuss the recommendations for best practices in PhD program as described in the Doctoral Program Improvement Report.
Agenda Committee
Reporter: Holly Lane
The Agenda Committee met September 24th and drafted the Agenda for the current FPC meeting. Dorene received a request from the Language, Literacy, and Education (LLE) faculty in the School of Teaching and Learning to review the policy on how we determine a doctoral student’s research core. The LLE faculty does not question the minimum number of required credits; it would like FPC to revisit the policy out of a concern with the limited autonomy that doctoral committees are currently given in deciding the best research path for their doctoral students. The issue has been forwarded to the ad-hoc Committee on Academic Affairs for consideration.
Budgetary Affairs Committee
The first meeting has been scheduled for October 4th at 9am.
College Curriculum Committee
Reporter: Ester de Jong
The committee met on September 10th and conditionally approved one course.
Diversity Committee
Reporter: Edil Torres-Rivera
Pilar Mendoza has been selected as chair. They will meet monthly on a Thursday. At the next meeting they will identify specific goals related to the area of Multicultural Competence. They will continue the “Did you Know” posters with a college focus and consider international issues as well. James McLeskey affirmed the importance of also considering disability as part of diversity.
Dorene announced that on October 24th the College and the School of Teaching and Learning are sponsoring a conversation hour by Zeus Leonardo who is visiting campus as part of the PanAsian Multicultural Education initiative. The conversation hour will take place between 1:00-2:00pm in the Terrace Room. Leonardo focuses on the impact of whiteness on educational opportunities, access and school success.
Faculty Affairs Committee
The first committee meeting will take place on October 22nd at 1pm in 1327B. One agenda item will be the marshall policy which was sent back to the committee at the end of last year.
Lectures, Seminars, & Awards Committee
Reporter: Danling Fu
Candace Harper has been selected as chair. The committee has set their meeting schedule to coincide with the award due dates. One agenda item that the committee will deal with this year is why so there are so few applicants particularly for university awards. A question that the committee has is what role the ‘Lecture/Seminar’ aspect of their charge plays since it is dependent on the college budget. Related to the strategic plan, the committee is considering the possibility of creating an award that explicitly recognizes interdisciplinary and collaborative work.
Long Range Planning Committee
Reporter: Shelley Warm
The committee met on September 19. Hazel Jones was selected as chair. One task that the committee will undertake is the design of a new evaluation survey for the associate dean of graduate studies. They are in the process of scheduling a meeting with Walter Leite. They will also review the goals/actions identified by the other FPC committees and use this information to set the rest of the agenda for the Long Range Planning Committee.
Research Advisory Committee
Reporter: Joe Gagnon
Joe Gagnon has been selected as chair. The committee will meet every last Tuesday of the month. Agenda items for this year are: review of awards and their criteria to align them with strategic planning document and to clarify the guidelines; standardize the awards timeline; and to increase the number of applicants, for example by making the process more user-friendly to novice grant writers.
Technology and Distance Education Committee
Reporter: Linda Eldridge
The committee met on September 26. Albert Ritzhaupt has been selected as chair. The committee discussed online courses and move to new Moodle with John Donaldson. The main agenda item for the committee will be to revisit the technology report drafted last year.
The next meeting will be on Oct 25, Nov 29 at 11:00am in G513.
Adjournment
Motion to adjourn by Holly Lane (moved); seconded by Linda Eldridge. Approved.
Meeting adjourned at 3:00pm.
