Faculty Senate
General Faculty, Faculty Senate meetings include reports by president, provost
Editor’s note: For more detailed information, including meeting minutes, visit the Faculty Senate website.
6:55 p.m., March 6, 2015--The semiannual General Faculty meeting and monthly Faculty Senate meeting were held Monday, March 2, in Mitchell Hall.
During the General Faculty meeting, University of Delaware President Patrick Harker thanked faculty and members of the UD community for their contributions during his tenure as president.
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Earlier in the day Harker had announced that he would step down as president on June 30 to become president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
“I am very grateful to the faculty, staff and students here at Delaware,” Harker said. “Together we have accomplished much, and I thank you all for your leadership, guidance and support. Your hard work has kept this outstanding University vibrant and impactful.”
Harker said that during the next four months he will be working closely with the Board of Trustees, faculty and leadership to ensure a smooth transition.
“With the ongoing Delaware Will Shine strategic initiative, I am confident that the University is in a strong position to meet the great debates and grand challenges that lie ahead,” Harker said. “And I will be close by. The state of Delaware is in the third district of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. I plan to stay in touch and informed about the future of this great University.”
Harker also touched on the reaction to recent opinion pieces on diversity, affordability and other critical issues in higher education that appeared in The News Journal, the Huffington Post and the Philadelphia Inquirer.
“I want you to know that it was never my intention to dismiss or belittle the excellent work being done by our faculty,” Harker said. “To those whom I offended, I do apologize. I certainly never intended to seem hostile or dismissive.”
Harker noted that his intention has always been to encourage and praise the excellent work of UD’s faculty and to make sure the University has the resources to sustain that work.
“My intention has also been to spur a deep and lasting conversation about the future of higher education in this country and to raise awareness among different audiences about some of the major issues facing higher education nationally,” Harker said. “It’s a big part of my job as president, to look as best I can five or 10 years down the road to see what’s coming and how it might affect the important work we do.”
Because a university education remains the critical rung on the ladder to the middle class, especially for those in developing areas, colleges need to adhere to a set of principles and values, Harker said.
“Indeed, the American Association of University Professors commentary last week eloquently expressed the importance of academic freedom, shared governance and professional integrity,” Harker said. “As a member of the academy for more than 30 years, I believe in those values, too. We also agree on the excellence of the University of Delaware’s faculty. You are the heart and soul of this institution.”
Faculty Senate meeting
The Faculty Senate meeting followed the General Faculty meeting.
University Provost Domenico Grasso asked senators to remember the life of Steven K. Dentel, professor of civil and environmental engineering, who died Feb. 18, at age 63.
“I have only been here at UD a year and a half, but I have known Steven Dentel since he was an assistant professor, because our fields coincided,” Grasso said, noting that the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors named an award in his honor. “He was truly a gentle giant … a giant in his field and a kind and gentle person.”
Grasso told the senate that UD is one of five universities to receive the Sen. Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization.
“The University received this award for making significant, well planned, well instituted and well documented progress in comprehensive internationalization, especially in innovative and creative approaches,” Grasso said. “It is a fitting recognition of the great program that we have here in internationalization.”
Regarding applications for the Class of 2019, Grasso said projections indicate that UD's Admissions office will be selecting freshmen from the second largest pool of applicants in UD history.
“Everything is on target for a class of between 3,800 to 3,900 students,” Grasso said. “Importantly, we also have a record high number of applications from underrepresented groups.”
Grasso said a search is underway for the new position of director of LGBT activities on campus, a position that was requested by LGBT students, faculty and staff. He noted that there is also a search for a director of sustainability.
Progress also continues on developing the Delaware Will Shine strategic plan for the University, he said, with the goal of seeking public input by the end of the month.
Make Winter Count
Nancy Brickhouse, deputy provost for academic affairs, discussed the 2015 Winter Session, which included a new four-week option.
Brickhouse said the percentage of undergraduates taking the traditional five-week Winter Session had declined from 7,738 students in 2008 to 6,391 in 2013. The percentage of freshmen taking Winter Session had declined from 36 percent in 2008 to 23 percent in 2013.
“We discussed this at the Provost’s Executive Council retreat in February 2013,” Brickhouse said. “Among the suggestions were to distribute incremental Winter Session revenue to colleges in proportion to the increase in teaching done by each college, to add more cultural events to enliven the campus, to drop the $500 housing fee, implement a grade forgiveness policy and enhance marketing.”
For Winter Session 2014, enrollment increased by 472 students, and the enrollment of first-year students rose to 28 percent, Brickhouse said.
Additional innovations for Winter Session 2015 included co-curricular programming supported by the Unidel Foundation, as well as a focus on first-year students by offering four-week courses and four-week meal plans.
“The total headcount for Winter Session 2015 was 7,875, a 12 percent increase since winter 2013,” Brickhouse said. “We are going to continue to offer the full array of choices, including four-week options, and would ask the Faculty Senate to consider a grade forgiveness policy.”
General Education Implementation Plan
John Pelesko, interim associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences and professor of mathematical sciences, presented an interim report of the Task Force on General Education and the Faculty Senate General Education Committee.
“Last November, this group passed a resolution that established a new set of purposes and objectives for general education at UD,” Pelesko said. “Over the rest of the fall 2014 semester and well into January, we held many meetings with lots of different constituent groups and in January we held a series of half-day summits where we pulled together the members of the task force and the Faculty Senate General Education Committee and some guest speakers."
Pelesko said that a draft copy of the implementation plan will be sent to all members of the UD faculty, followed by an open hearing and conversations with deans, chairs and departments.
“The next senate meeting is April 6, and we are hoping we will have a resolution to present to you by then,” Pelesko said. “We hope eventually we will be able to pass a general education plan so we can start piloting in the fall.”
An open hearing on the general education plan will be held at 4 p.m., Monday, March 23, in 104 Gore Hall.
Consent agenda
During the consent agenda portion of the meeting, senators passed several motions including requests to revise the bachelor of arts and bachelor of science degrees in the majors in mathematics education, neuroscience, chemistry and comparative literature.
Senators also approved requests to revise the majors in early childhood education, art, and health and physical education.
Members approved the addition of minors in writing and neuroscience; revision of minors in material culture studies, comparative literature and English; and voted to explicitly list courses that are not allowed as technical electives to the bachelor of art in computer science.
Also approved were requests to add program concentration names for the post-master’s certificate in nursing, including pediatric clinical nurse specialist, adult gerontology clinical nurse specialist and family psychiatric/mental health nurse practitioner.
Senators approved the addition of a program concentration name for the master of science in nursing for pediatric clinical nurse specialist, adult gerontology clinical nurse specialist and adult gerontology clinical nurse specialist.
Approval also was given for adding a concentration to the dual bachelor of science/master of science degree in nursing in pediatric clinical nurse specialist concentration, adult gerontology concentration and family psychiatric/mental health nurse practitioner.
Also approved were requests to revise the graduate program policies in civil and environmental engineering and the master of education in educational technology.
Regular agenda
During the regular agenda portion of the meeting, senators passed a request for a one-year extension for permanent status of the master of education in school leadership, added an honors major in actuarial sciences, disestablished the major in ecology, and added a bachelor of science major and an honors major in applied mathematics.
Senators also approved requests to change the academic name of the Medical Scholars Program to the Medical/Dental Scholars Program, and the name of the Speech Language Pathology Program to Communication Sciences and Disorders.
Fred Hofstetter, president of the Faculty Senate and professor in the School of Education, reminded senators that the Faculty Senate Commission on Sexual Harassment and Assault will hold an open forum at 4 p.m., Monday, March 9, in 104 Gore Hall.
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Faculty Senate is 4 p.m., Monday, April 6, in 104 Gore Hall.
Article by Jerry Rhodes