REGULAR MEETING OF THE UNIVERSITY FACULTY SENATE

 

November 3, 1997

 

SENATORS ABSENT:

Kelly Druga, Military Science

 

SENATORS EXCUSED:

Kathryn Denhardt, Costel Denson, John Gallagher, Joseph Glutting, Bethany Hall-Long, Thomas Ilvento, Michael Keefe, Jerome Lewis, Carlos Plata-Salaman, Leslie Reidel, Tuncay Saydam, Karen Stein, Roland Smith, Carolyn Thoroughgood, Greg Weight, Richard Wolbers

 

I. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA

The agenda was adopted as amended by moving New Business Item D up to B and renumbering accordingly.

 

II. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES

The Minutes of the October 6, 1997 meeting of the Senate were approved as distributed.

 

III. REMARKS BY PROVOST SCHIAVELLI

Provost Schiavelli spoke of recent awards to two faculty and the receipt of a major grant. Assistant Professor Daniel W. Van Der Weide (Electrical and Computer Engineering) received special recognition as recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers and the NSF Career Award by the National Science Foundation. Emeritus Professor John A. Munroe is being honored by having the new building which houses his former Department, History, and also the Anthropology Department,named in his honor. The Center for Composite Materials has received a major grant of 14.5 million from the Office of Naval Research. In a ten year period that Center has received about 40 million dollars in research support from sources outside the University.

 

IV. ANNOUNCEMENTS BY PRESIDENT CARROLL

President Carroll announced that President Elect Keefe had been invited to make a presentation of the work of the Senate to the Board of Trustees. An outline of his presentation was attached to the November 3, 1997 agenda.

He further announced that lists of the membership of the Faculty Senate committees are in the mail to Senators.

There were no announcements for challenge.

 

V. OLD BUSINESS

There were no items of old business.

 

VI. NEW BUSINESS

A. Proposed revisions of the Sexual Harassment Procedures were presented and discussed. They were occasioned by questions which had been raised in discussions with the Office of Civil Rights of the Federal Department of Education. The two revisions add an additional time line and an additional level of appeal to the existing procedures. The changes were presented by John McLaughlin, Chair of the Committee on Faculty Welfare and Privileges. Those changes had the concurrence of the Executive Committee.

Some questions were raised about parts of the policies and procedures which were not involved in the revisions, and Professor McLaughlin said that his committee would take them under advisement.

The revisions were approved as recommended, and a copy of the revised procedures is appended to the minutes. These procedures are procedures used by the Committee and do not appear in the Faculty Handbook.

 

B. The following recommendation for a change in the policy governing benefits for Visiting Faculty and Visiting Professionals was considered and approved. The change adds Visiting Professionals to the category of those who receive these particular benefits, and was presented by John McLaughlin, Chair of the Committee on Faculty Welfare and Benefits. Benefits for Visiting Faculty and Visiting Professionals

For the purpose of this policy, visiting faculty and professionals employees include individuals who come from another institution to the University for a specified period of time. The expectation is that these individuals will return to their home institution at the end of their appointment period at the University of Delaware. Benefits for visiting faculty and professionals include:

 

Blue Cross/Blue Shield

Dental Insurance

Fee Waiver

University ID card which will provide access to all facilities and associated privileges

 

C. A proposal to change the name of the College of Agricultural Sciences to the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources was recommended by the Coordinating Committee on Education. The change was initiated by the College of Agricultural Sciences, and has the concurrence of the Executive Committee. The name change was approved by vote of the Senate.

 

WHEREAS the mission of the College of Agricultural Sciences has broadened significantly during the past decade, as have the responsibilities of the faculty and Cooperative Extension personnel, and the interests of the students in the college; and

WHEREAS the College maintains its long-standing support for teaching, research, and outreach programs in the agricultural sciences, but recognizes that new challenges have emerged that must be addressed if we are to maintain a strong and productive agricultural community and ensure a quality environment for all the citizens of Delaware; and

WHEREAS many faculty and students in the College now study Delaware's natural resources--both to learn more about the fundamental processes important to sustaining natural ecosystems and to develop management strategies that can help preserve natural systems for future generations; and

WHEREAS Cooperative Extension specialists work actively to communicate the latest advances in research to our increasingly broad clientele and to develop outreach programs that address issues of importance to both agricultural production and natural resource management; and

WHEREAS new educational programs have arisen in the College in response to these interests and challenges including majors in Wildlife Conservation, Environmental Soil Science, Bioresources Engineering Technology, Landscape Horticulture, and Natural Resource Management; and

WHEREAS faculty and graduate students conduct basic and applied research on how to better protect the ground and surface waters, the methods to sustain and enhance biodiversity, the principles and practices involved in the management of natural and constructed wetlands, and the approaches needed to integrate the scientific principles of modern agriculture and natural resources with ethics, politics, and policy; and

WHEREAS to better reflect the roles and responsibilities of faculty, in both teaching and research, the outreach programs of the Cooperative Extension, and the desires of our students for a broader and more holistic education; be it therefore

RESOLVED in recognition of this broader mission, that the College of Agricultural Sciences be renamed as the "College of Agriculture and Natural Resources."

 

D. The Coordinating Committee on Education presented a proposal to grant provisional approval, for four years, to an Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Environmental and Energy Policy. Degrees would be offered at both the M.A. and Ph.D. levels. The proposal had been endorsed by the Committee on Graduate Studies and was presented by Robert Hampel who chairs that committee. Professor Hampel noted that some of the provisions of an earlier version of the proposal had been revised and clarified, that no new resources would be needed for the new degree programs, and that the recommendation of the committee had been unanimous.

 

The motion, the text of which follows, was approved by the Senate.

 

WHEREAS there has been demonstrated interest by a number of different departments in environmental and energy issues; and

WHEREAS an interdisciplinary committee has met and discussed the creation and implementation of a graduate program; and

WHEREAS the College of Human Resources, Education, and Public Policy is willing and able to provide the departmental home for the proposed program; be it therefore

RESOLVED that a new graduate degree program be established provisionally, for four years, in Environmental and Energy Policy leading to the Masters and PhD degrees

 

President Carroll asked if there were other items of new business, reminding the Senate that such proposed items could not be acted upon until the next meeting. There being none, the meeting was adjourned.

 

Respectfully Submitted

 

Frank B. Dilley, Secretary

University Faculty Senate