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Professional Advisory Council Minutes May 7, 2008 Agenda items for the July 7, 2008 meeting need to be
submitted to Gerald Hendricks The meeting convened at 2:36 p.m. by Paul Pusecker.
PAC members present were:
Absent: Maria Mullen #6 Minutes The March, 2008 minutes were approved as writte with the following correction. Ms. Mullin’s constituent would like for the University to consider offering certain lectures for free if we waive the door prizes like gift cards. Guest Speakers Jean Neff, IT User Training; asked the members of PAC to talk with their constituents about IT user training. Consider the IT tools you use, or would like to use, for workplace projects or tasks. What software applications (e.g. Office, multimedia, programming) do you commonly use? For which applications would you like additional training? What type of training do you prefer (face-to-face workshops or self-paced tutorials)? Are you interested in administrative systems training (please describe)? Additionally, Jean told the group that IT-User Services is moving temporarily from Smith Hall and should return in mid-August - http://www.udel.edu/topics/usmove/. When asked if there were loaner lap tops available, she replied that there are some and that her group is looking into acquiring more.Old Business Constituent Concerns
A constituent of Ms. Buccos’ asked a question about continuing education options. “One of the benefits of working at UD is that we can continue our formal education via UD courses and have the tuition waived. One problem that we in Lewes and Georgetown have is that our work locale is over 80 miles south of the main campus. We would have to drive >160 miles round trip to take a course in Newark. There are closer options such as Wilmington College in Georgetown and/or /Dover, but I’m told that there is no tuition exchange/waiver agreement between UD and WC. That means we would have to pay full cost. Another option would be distance learning such as the iSchool at Drexel but again, we are still paying full cost and unable to avail ourselves of this educational benefit. Any assistance from UD to either forge agreements with WC that would allow for a tuition waiver or perhaps a reimbursement program for courses taken outside of UD should be considered. Mr. Pusecker inquired about the HR compensation review.
The Diversity Commission Meeting report for February 11, 2008 and March 10, 2008 were presented by Dr. Miller. The President’s Commission to Promote Racial and Cultural Diversity Dr. Maloba called the meeting to order. Dr. Maloba introduced his new assistant, Connie Santora. Dr. Maloba informed The Commission that President Harker is forming a Task Force on Diversity that is parallel to the Task Force on Strategic Planning. Dr. Maloba said that President Harker relayed this to him personally about two months ago. The Commission is going to play a central role in the functioning of this Task Force. The Task Force will consult with The Commission on several matters, including how diversity has been conceptualized in the past at UD. The formation of this Task Force is an example of the President being pro-active and endeavoring to find solutions to some of the most difficult issues advocated by The Commission for a long time. After a very interesting and lively discussion the meeting was adjourned by Dr. Maloba at 3:20. The next meeting is scheduled for March 10 at 2:00 pm in Room 261 Academy Street.
The President’s Commission to Promote Racial and Cultural Diversity
The meeting was called to order by Dr. Maloba, Chair of the Diversity Commission. Dr. Maloba welcomed Dr. Michael Gilbert, VP for Student Life. Dr. Maloba asked Dr. Gilbert if he could come back again since so many members of The Commission were unable to attend today’s meeting and because Student Life is such an important part of University life. Dr. Maloba also welcomed guest speaker Mr. Andrew Clark, from the Haven Student Organization.
Guest Speaker – Dr. Michael Gilbert, VP for Student Life Dr. Gilbert’s talk was focused on two areas: a report on what has been done in the review of the diversity education initiative in the halls of residence, and on the new student orientation program which will in future report to Student Life. Residence Life - Last Fall President Harker suspended the diversity education initiative in the halls of residence, in order to allow for a review of the program. This review, which is now underway, has made significant progress. Dr. Gilbert stated that the review committee is working closely with the Faculty Senate Committee on Student Life. One of the questions that the review committee would like to explore is how Residence Life fits into the foundational experience of students. Also promoted is the idea of encouraging students to be more involved in on-campus activities.
Dr. Gilbert informed the Commission that Delaworld and New Student Orientation will move to Student Life. Dr. Gilbert asked the Commission for ideas and in-put on the range of activities that could be part of new student orientation. Dr. Gilbert hoped that the soon to be formed Task Force on Diversity would be helpful to Student Life by suggesting new activities and also new areas that need further investigation. Guest Speaker - Andrew Clark is Treasurer of Haven Andrew explained that Haven is the GLBT QQIAA group which translated means: Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Intersex, Asexual and Allies. He addressed the Commission with his concerns which are primarily that the Haven Board has become bogged down in the amount of things they have to do without enough administrative support from the University. Haven is one of the only large 12 student organizations that do not have a professional staff advisor or faculty advisor. It has an active membership of 75 and an inactive membership of up to about 500. Dr. Maloba thanked Andrew, for coming and told him that the Commission will take up his issue and will maintain contact with Dr. Gilbert. He noted that it is important to wait for recommendations from the Task Force on Diversity which may positively affect the request made by Haven. DISCUSSION Several issues were covered in the discussion after the formal presentations.
ANNOUNCEMENTS Activities Related to the Louis Redding Lecture The lecture has been widely advertised; several times on UDaily, the Newark Post as well as the Review. In addition, flyers have been sent to all dorms and throughout the university announcing the lecture. The winner of the Louis Redding Award will be announced at the lecture. The meeting was adjourned at approximately 3:20 pm The Faculty Senate Meeting report for April 7, 2008 and May 5, 2008 were presented by Mr. Hendricks. General Faculty Meeting April 7, 2008 Four commitments were identified as being essential to propel UD on its path to prominence: Diversity, Partnership, Engagement and Visibility. To define the university of the future, six strategic initiatives were identified: • The Initiative for Student Engagement and Learning • The Initiative for the Planet • The Global Initiative • The Initiative for Arts, Culture, and Community Partnerships • The Professional Education Initiative President Harker’s concluding remarks noted that several initiatives were already being implemented including the creation of a new Diversity Task Force and a study to measure the University’s carbon footprint. The path forward for the plan will be his report on May 10, followed by a directive to all units to identify five strategic needs during the summer, and a assessment of what it will take to reach the identified goals by the end of December. Finally, a capital campaign will be initiated next year to raise the necessary funds.
Faculty Senate Meeting April 7, 2008 37 Announcements for Challenge were approved unanimously, as well as two Resolutions including a waiver of the discovery-based learning requirement for those students who entered in 2005. There may not have been enough courses meeting the requirement available to that class. Faculty Senate Meeting May 5, 2008 Transportation Committee Report for April 2008 In Attendance: Bill Fitzpatrick, Interim Director, Supporting Services Topics Discussed: Bus Wash: Bill discussed the issues with getting the buses washed. Last year we were in violation of city code due to water run-off. There was a meeting held last week with OHS to look at alternatives. New Bus Fleet: Bill discussed the plan to replace the current school bus style buses with new transit style buses. They will be replacing 11 buses over the next four (4) years. These buses will be transit style, lower floors, 2 doors, wheel chair ramps included. The maintenance on the current fleet is extremely high because they were not designed to run as much as they do. Advertising on New Buses: There will not be any bus wraps on the new bus fleet. All advertising will be done on the inside and the signs will be much larger than the ones inside the current fleet. Eric Nelson does the changing of the signage on the inside of the buses. External advertising is paid for. There is no charge for Internal advertising. Philly Car Share: Tabitha discussed the plan for Philly Car Share. Students, Faculty, Staff and the community can sign up on-line for a free basic membership. Once a base pool has been established, the vehicle will be delivered and parked at a pod. Possible location would be Lot #19. At this time, we are looking at 1 vehicle. If the demand is high, they will add to the fleet at that time. Customers are charged at an hourly rate. Customers that are age 18-21 must have had their license for 2 years and a pristine driving record. Philly Car Share is a non-profit organization and the largest of its kind in the world. Their goal is sustainability. Tabitha also gave out a pamphlet on the program to all of us. Electric Car: Bill and Tom discussed the issue of possibly adding an electric car to the motor pool fleet. This vehicle would be grant funded. The car goes for approximately 120 miles on the highway and 150 miles in the city; it has a top speed of 90mph. The service technicians would need to be trained to perform service on this vehicle. Transportation Vehicle Survey: Drew discussed the survey that was sent out to everyone. There will be a 1page summary of the survey results sent out to all of us very soon. The top student concerns were: frequency of buses at the time classes are changing; crowding; and lack of two (2) doors. As a whole, staff and faculty were satisfied with their parking. Public Safety: Jim Grimes was here to answer and student questions. We did not have any student reps here. Jim also addressed the issue of the old ADA Bus being very problematic and the new transit style fleet would take care of that. Sunday Bus Schedule: Bill and Jim discussed that DART is working on a Sunday schedule. We have not heard any word yet so we are assuming that there are not any solidified plans at this point. City of Newark Construction: Tom discussed that the City of Newark construction on S. College Avenue and Academy Street have created havoc on the bus schedules. There have been minimal complaints. Will follow up with Larry McGuire as to where there may be future outages. With no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 10:45a. Minutes respectfully submitted by: Wendy Jo Wilkerson New Business Announcements Dr. Colm reiterated that Performance Appraisals are due in Human Resources. Meeting adjourned at 3:10 p.m. Respectfully submitted by,
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