REGULAR MEETING OF THE UNIVERSITY FACULTY SENATE

 

 

SEPTEMBER 13, 2010 – 104 GORE HALL

 

 

MINUTES

September 3, 2010

 

 

TO:                  Senators and Executives

 

FROM:            Belinda Orzada, Vice President  

                        University Faculty Senate

 

SUBJECT:       Regular Faculty Senate Meeting September 13, 2010

 

            In accordance with Section IV, paragraph 6 of the Constitution, the regular meeting of the University Faculty Senate will be held on Monday, September 13th at 4:00 p.m. in room 104 Gore Hall. 

 

I certify that hard copies of the approval page for each undergraduate and graduate studies academic item on the agenda are filed in the Faculty Senate Office with the appropriate signatures of approval up through the Chair of the Faculty Senate Coordinating Committee on Education.  The Agenda will be as follows:

 

 

 

 

I.                   Adoption of the Agenda

 

II.                Approval of the Minutes: May 3, 2010

 

III.             Memorial Tributes: Slide Presentation

 

IV.             Remarks: Provost Tom Apple      

                                                                             

V.                 Announcements: Senate President John Madsen

Presentations by Dean Michael Chajes, College of Engineering;  Dean Robin Morgan, College of Agriculture & Natural Resources; Dean Nancy Targett, College of Earth, Ocean and Environment; Dean George Watson, College of Arts & Sciences; William Fitzpatrick, Director of Supporting Services on Campus Parking

Dean Targett will present at the November Senate meeting

 

VI.              Consent Agenda: None

 

VII.           Regular Agenda:

 

a.      Resolutions:

 

1.      Recommendation from the Committee on Faculty Welfare and Privileges (Jan Blits, Chairperson) with the concurrence of the Rules Committee (Jack Baroudi, Chairperson) and the Executive Committee (John Madsen, Chairperson) for the request to replace the  University’s 1979 Academic Freedom Statement with a more protective Academic Freedom Statement located in the Faculty Handbook Section 4: Personnel Policies for Faculty – Academic Freedom and Standards of Conduct – Academic Freedom Statement (attachment a Current Policy)  (attachment b Newly Proposed Policy)

 

Whereas:          a recent  U.S. Supreme Court decision (Garcetti v. Ceballos, 547 U.S. 410 [2006]) and subsequent U.S. Circuit Court rulings, including one by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (Gorum v. Sessoms 08-1741 [2008]), have removed Constitutional protections for public university faculty and students in all areas of “professional duties” other than teaching and research, and

 

Whereas:          the University of Delaware’s 1979 Academic Freedom Statement  (www.udel.edu/provost/fachb/IV-B-1-acadfreedom.html )does not specifically protect the freedom of faculty and students to address matters of institutional policy and action or to conduct institutional governance, be it therefore

 

Resolved:          that the Faculty Senate approves replacing the University’s 1979 Academic Freedom Statement with the proposed Academic Freedom Statement.

Sent back to committee for revised wording.          

 

VIII.        Unfinished Business:       None

 

IX.              New Business:     None

 

X.                 Introduction of New Business: Resolution introduced by the following Senators:

 

Galileo, Bruening, Hastings, Morgan, Izard

 

Whereas,          the business brought before the University Faculty Senate is of vital importance to the operation of the University of Delaware, and

 

Whereas,          it is in the best interest of the University of Delaware that Faculty Senators make the most informed decisions possible at their meetings, and

 

Whereas,          it is in the best interest of the University of Delaware that Faculty Senate business is conducted in an efficient manner, and

 

Whereas,          insofar as possible, Faculty Senate business should be conducted in an open, transparent and straightforward manner, and

 

Whereas,          changes made to the University of Delaware Faculty Handbook potentially affect all Faculty at the University, be it therefore

 

Resolved,         that the following conditions must be met when a Resolution which changes an existing policy or introduces a new policy in the University of Delaware Faculty Handbook is acted upon by the Faculty Senate.  Any such Resolution that does not meet these conditions shall not be acted upon by the Faculty Senate.

 

                        1) The proposed Resolution will be stated on the regular Agenda that is approved by the Vice President of the Faculty Senate and distributed to Faculty Senators at least one week before the Faculty Senate meeting.

 

                        2) A proposed Resolution that changes an existing policy will have one attachment (referred to as “Attachment 1”) that states the original policy and contains a strikethrough of everything to be deleted from and underlines everything to be inserted into the original policy.  Additional attachments may be provided as appropriate. 

 

                        3) Attachment 1 to a Resolution that introduces a new policy instead will state that the proposed policy is new and not a modification of an existing policy.  It will also contain the proposed policy.

 

                        4) If the proposed Resolution is amended on the Senate floor, then it shall not be voted on at that meeting.  Instead, it shall be placed on the agenda of the next regular Faculty Senate meeting for reconsideration and will include a modified “Attachment 1” that incorporates the changes of the amendment. 

_____________________

 

This resolution stipulates new conditions necessary for changes to be made to the University of Delaware Faculty Handbook.  It seeks simply to remedy undesirable situations of confusion and urgency that can arise in the Faculty Senate due to lack of the proper “redline” document being attached to a Resolution or by amendments from the Senate floor. 

 

 

Such items as may come before the Senate.  (No motion introduced under new business, except a motion to refer to committee, shall be acted upon until the next meeting of the Senate.)