REGULAR MEETING OF THE UNIVERSITY FACULTY SENATE
April 5, 1993
MINUTES
Senators not in attendance were: James Magee, Peter Roe, William
Stanley
Senators excused were: Susan Amert, Kenneth Biederman, Stuart
Cooper, Alexander Doberenz, Steven Grant,
Judy Hough-Goldstein, William Idsardi, Robert
Knecht, Leo Lemay, Ajay Manrai, Thomas
Meierding, Henry Reynolds, David P. Roselle
I. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA
The Senate adopted the Agenda as printed and distributed.
II. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES
The Senate approved the Minutes of the meeting of March 1, 1993
with the following addition to the bottom of page 4: After receiving
assurance from the three Program Directors that there would be
funds available for scholarships based not only on high grades but
also on financial need in order that these programs will not become
financially elitist programs excluding students who could not afford
to go abroad, the resolution was approved.
III. REMARKS BY UNIVERSITY PROVOST PIPES
Provost Pipes ceded the floor to Bruce Walker, Associate Provost
for Admissions and Financial Aid who described this year's faculty-
inclusive process of awarding scholarships and its results and the
general growth of scholarship funding at the University of Delaware.
IV. ANNOUNCEMENTS
Senate President Lomax announced that those who wish to submit
names for consideration for Honorary Degrees must send them to
the President's Office by June 1. He also announced that the
proposed Statement of Responsibility would be distributed at the
end of the meeting.
V. OLD BUSINESS
Item A. was a resolution introduced at the March Senate meeting
by Senator Shapiro which was referred to the Executive Committee.
After consultation with the Executive Committee, Senator Shapiro
withdrew her original resolution and substituted another resolution
having to do with the representation of students on the Student Life
Committee and on all Ad Hoc Committees that may treat student
issues. After discussion of the nature and inclusiveness of student
representation, why the resolutions were changed, the politics of
student-faculty factions on committees, the nature of the Faculty
Senate's democracy, and problems with the second resolution, the
Senate separated the two resolutions and approved the following
resolution:
WHEREAS, the Faculty Senate deals with issues directly
affecting the student body of the University
of Delaware, and
WHEREAS, the perspective of informed and experienced
students participating in the policy-making
process of the committees of the Faculty
Senate enhances and strengthens the
decisions made by these committees, and
WHEREAS, the purpose of certain committees is to deal
predominantly or fully with issues pertaining
to student life, and
WHEREAS, the purpose of these committees warrants
the equal representation of faculty and
student voting members, and
WHEREAS, the Delaware Undergraduate Student
Congress (DUSC) is the official
undergraduate student government of the
University of Delaware, and has the
knowledge, leadership, and experience
necessary to evaluate and consider
candidates for positions on the Faculty
Senate Committee on Student Life, therefore
be it
RESOLVED, that the second paragraph of the charge to
the Committee on Student Life, as it appears
in the Faculty Handbook, Section I, page I-
22, be changed to read as follows: "This
committee shall consist of . . . four
undergraduate students to be appointed by
the Delaware Undergraduate Student
Congress, . . . . "
After a discussion of the second Resolution's ambiguities, the
Senate then returned the following resolution to DUSC for rewriting:
RESOLVED, that the first paragraph of the charge to the
Committee on Committees and Nominations,
as it appears in the Faculty Handbook,
Section I, page I-14, be changed to read as
follows: "It is authorized directly to
constitute on an interim basis such
subcommittees, task forces, or study panels
as may be requested by faculty committees
to help carry out their work, in each case
promptly recording through faculty or Senate
minutes the membership and charges of such
subgroups. Such subgroups which directly
concern themselves with student issues shall
consist of an equal number of faculty and
student voting
members."
Item B. was a recommendation from the Faculty Senate Executive
Committee concerning a statement of mission for the University of
Delaware. After a review of its history, a discussion of grammar
and style, some discussion of its content, and some editorial
changes, the Senate approved the following resolution: [A copy of
the approved Mission Statement for the University is attached.]
WHEREAS, the University should have a statement
identifying its purpose and goals, and
WHEREAS, several committees developed a statement of
mission for the University during the
processes of first the Focused Vision effort,
and then the Middle States Accreditation
Self-Study, and
WHEREAS, the Faculty Senate Executive Committee has
developed a proposed statement in response
to Senate action in October 1992, and
WHEREAS, the content and principles of a statement of
mission should reflect the consensus of the
faculty, be it therefore
RESOLVED, that the University Faculty Senate approves
as the statement of mission, the "Mission
Statement for the University" and also
recommends its approval by the Board of Trustees.
VI. NEW BUSINESS
Senator Murray introduced the following resolution:
1. A grade of A+ be established effective September 1993.
2. The A+ grade will have a numerical value of 4.33.
3. The GPI will be calculated, as it is now, on the weighted
numerical values of each letter grade, but with the restriction
that a GPI greater than 4.0 be rounded to 4.0.
4. All other policies and procedures regarding the plus/minus
grading option will remain in place.
After distributing the Statement of Responsibility and explaining its
genesis, Senate President Lomax adjourned the meeting at 5:38 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Judith Roof
Secretary
University Faculty Senate
JR/rg
Attachment: Approved Mission Statement
After receiving assurance from the three Program Directors that there
would be funds
available for scholarships based not only on high grades but also on
financial need
for students who could not afford to go abroad, the resolution was
approved.