mar-16

Tuesday March 16, 2010

Present: Karen M. Turner (Pres.), Paul S. LaFollette (V. Pres.), Joan P. Shapiro (Secy.), Robert M. Aiken (Past-Pres.), Joan Delalic (Engr.), Michael W. Jackson (STHM), Tricia S. Jones, (Educ.), Charles Jungreis (Med.), Luke Kahlich (BCMD), Stephanie Knopp (Tyl.), Robin Kolodny (CLA), James Korsh (CST), Mark C. Rahdert (Law), Jay Sinha (FSBM), Roberta Sloan (SCT), David Waldstreicher (Fac. Herald), Cheryl Mack (Coord.)

Absent: Adam Davey (CHPSW), Laurie MacPhail (Dent.), Charles Ruchalski (Pharm),

Call to Order:
The meeting was called to order at 1:03 P.M.

Approval of the Minutes:
The minutes from February 23, 2010, were approved as submitted.

President’s Report: Karen M. Turner

President Turner went over briefly the meeting that the Executive Committee had with the Provost. Points included:

The Provost plans to hire a coordinator to deal with non-tenure track faculty issues. The person will be based in Diane Maleson’s office;
The Provost would like a list of issues for the Dean’s Retreat from the FSSC;
The Provost would like to assist the FSSC in finding a good monthly meeting time for the Representative Faculty Senate. A grid was provided for the FSSC to review to determine when the best time would be to meet. It looks as if Mondays and Wednesdays from noon to 1:00 p.m. are the major times available. Next week the FSSC will be asked to determine which days are good for them.

Karen Turner thought that the discussion on the FSSC listserv about shared governance was helpful in order to prepare for tomorrow’s monthly representative senate meeting. She will put together some bullets tonight for tomorrow’s session.

Guest: Peter Jones, Senior Vice-Provost of Undergraduate Studies

Dr. Jones announced that he will be chairing the search committee for the Director of General Education.

Dr. Jones then spoke about the Student Feedback Form. He said that an experiment was carried out at SCT. The focus was on the response rate electronically compared to paper forms as well as the types of responses.

Turning to the response rate, only 40%-45% of the students in the classes responded electronically while 85%-90% of the students usually complete the paper forms. The plan is to try again electronically with SCT and find another college to expand the experiment. No pre-tenure faculty members took part in the electronic system.
Turning to types of responses, the question was posed: What happens when the responses of the students are factually inaccurate? The issue of fact versus opinion was discussed. The need for a process to determine what is fact and what is opinion was part of the conversation. The importance of faculty responses was also discussed. FSSC members mentioned:
It was suggested that there be a local area in each department/program where faculty could go to provide responses rather than use CD’s;
It was emphasized that faculty need to provide ongoing feedback on the development of the process and there is need of a Faculty Feedback Committee, with approximately five members, that could serve in an advisory capacity;
The voices of those coming up for tenure and reappointment should be heard in this process. They are the ones who are worried about student feedback;
The importance of being proactive about course changes was stressed. Sometimes there are major changes in the curriculum that can upset students and create negativity on the forms. There should be a way to make these changes known in advance before students fill in the forms;
A suggestion was made that faculty place on their syllabus the reasons for a course change so students will understand what has occurred;
Because of time constraints at today’s meeting, Peter Jones asked that other comments be sent to him concerning the Student Feedback Forms.

Dr. Jones moved to a conversation about the Honors Program. He said there were two committees who did a great deal of work. One was the Honor’s Revision Committee chaired by Dean Robert Stoker (BCMD) and the other was the Honors’ Oversight Committee.

Suggestions from these committees were sent by the Provost to the President. There were short, medium and long-term suggestions. The ones that were approved were primarily short term with one medium suggestion. They included:

A medium idea was for four year housing for honors students which already has begun;
Some short-term suggestions that were approved are:
Add Honors to the list of programs to give money to;
Create Honors Faculty Fellows, around 4 or 5 in number.

Although the Russell Conwell’s Act 101 has received two major cuts from the state, the Provost still plans to keep the Temple commitment for next year. It will cost another $200,000 to support this endeavor.

While an Inquirer article made it sound as if our student enrollment is down for the coming year that is not the case. William Black, Senior Vice Provost for Enrollment Management, has targeted certain students and many of those students who were part of this group are coming to Temple. The quality of the student body is up and there will be 450 honors students joining the freshman class.

The FSSC added their comments.

There was concern that there might not be enough staff to deal with Honors. Peter Jones, in response, said he is creating some incentives for advisors to move up the ranks. He has asked for 10 advising positions for next year, with two targeted for Honors. There is also a focus on the Office of Scholarship and Fellowships. The Honors Program students have done very well winning all kinds of fellowships, but he feels it is important to bring in first year students and work with them to achieve these awards;
An FSSC member wanted to know how honors students are targeted. Peter Jones said that the program will write to those students who are eligible before they arrive at Temple and he also said others will be invited in later on because of high grades. However, if students do not stay on track, they will no longer be in the academic pool.
The need for many advisors for Honors was suggested based on experiences of one of the FSSC members at another university.

Peter Jones was concerned that the Honors Oversight Committee had not met this year. He also was concerned that he could not predict a year ahead as to what courses and sections would be available for Honor’s students. From his perspective, faculty fellows would be “icing on the cake.”

Guests: Provost Lisa Staiano-Coico and Deputy Provost Richard Englert

The first item on their agenda was the search for the Director of General Education. Provost Lisa mentioned how difficult it would be to replace Terry Halbert (FSBM). She then provided a timeline for the search process. The plan is to recruit members for the search until March 29th. She felt it is important to have on board faculty members who are involved in general education and who have taught undergraduates. FSSC members made a number of suggestions:

One member said that diversity should be considered and that 2-3 faculty might not be enough for the slate.
Another faculty member suggested that students be involved in the process. Provost Lisa and Deputy Provost Englert decided that students should be invited to be part of the interview process with the candidates.
A Liberal Arts representative said that faculty in his area often felt underrepresented as they taught so much General Education. Provost Lisa said that she hoped that the Dean of Liberal Arts would join the committee.
A representative felt that a year to year contract in the position was not sufficient and that three years would be much better. It was thought that a tenured faculty member would need time to change his or her career for this new position;
It was mentioned that for the first year requiring teaching might not be a good idea. This faculty member would need time to get on a sure footing in the new position;
Someone wanted to know if this was an internal search, and indeed it is;
It was strongly suggested that anyone who applies should be a full professor. There will be no time for research in this 12 month position;
The time-table for the selection of the candidate seemed a bit tight to some;
It was suggested that The Faculty Herald would be a good place to advertise this position.

Provost Lisa and Deputy Provost Englert gave an up-date of the Middle States visit. Apparently, the comments were wonderful and there was even applause. Temple is now correcting facts. A special thank you was extended to Jodie Levine Laufgraben, Associate Vice Provost. The Fox School of Business also went through a positive accrediting process.

Provost Lisa went over the outstanding quality of the students who would be entering next year’s classes. Admissions is 9% ahead in deposits and there are many transfers. There are 1,600 students on waiting lists. There has been a shift in strategy looking for students who are a good match for Temple. Graduate education is up 5%.

She then provided some more news:

The new Senior Vice-Provost for Research Administration and for Graduate Education has accepted the position. He will be with us in May. His name has yet to be announced;
Fellowships have increased. There are fifty fellowships this year;
The global campus is doing well. Japanese language is now a major in Temple Japan. Chinese and Arabic have been added to the curriculum as well;
There will be more hiring of new faculty again;
The Dean searches will be on hold for next year;
The opening of the Baptist Temple will take place on April 16th.

Karen Turner asked Provost Lisa about what is needed for the Search Committee volunteers for the General Education Search. It was determined that a paragraph of interest and a Curriculum Vitae or link to a CV would suffice.

The tentative date for the Retreat with the Council of Deans is for Wednesday, May 5th, in the morning, probably for Brunch. This coincides with the last Open Faculty Senate meeting in the afternoon.

Vice President’s Report: Paul S. LaFollette

The time-line for the election was discussed. Diane Maleson needs to have the names for committees soon. It was decided that the election will be held from March 29th through April 5th.

Vice President LaFollette stressed that there is a need for 3-5 faculty members for the Education Programs and Policies Committee (EPPC). He asked representatives to do their best to find faculty willing to serve.

The University Tenure and Promotion Advisory Committee has attracted more faculty than we need. One of our faculty members will be converted to a provost slot.

Old Business:
There was none.

New Business:

There was concerned expressed that the Honors’ Oversight Committee has not met this year. Paul LaFollette will talk to the chair of the committee.

Karen Turner will ask Peter Jones back on April 13th.

Trish Jones volunteered to serve on the General Education Search Committee. President Turner will send out an email to everyone explaining how to nominate someone or yourself to serve on the search committee.

Adjournment:
The meeting ended at 2:55 p.m.

Joan P. Shapiro
Secretary

OFFICERS BY LAWS FACULTY HANDBOOK MEETING SCHEDULE MINUTES COMMITTEES FACULTY HERALD ELECTIONS SENATE HOME TEMPLE HOME		Faculty Senate Steering Committee Tuesday March 16, 2010 Present: Karen M. Turner (Pres.), Paul S. LaFollette (V. Pres.), Joan P. Shapiro (Secy.), Robert M. Aiken (Past-Pres.), Joan Delalic (Engr.), Michael W. Jackson (STHM), Tricia S. Jones, (Educ.), Charles Jungreis (Med.), Luke Kahlich (BCMD), Stephanie Knopp (Tyl.), Robin Kolodny (CLA), James Korsh (CST), Mark C. Rahdert (Law), Jay Sinha (FSBM), Roberta Sloan (SCT), David Waldstreicher (Fac. Herald), Cheryl Mack (Coord.) Absent: Adam Davey (CHPSW), Laurie MacPhail (Dent.), Charles Ruchalski (Pharm), Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 1:03 P.M. Approval of the Minutes: The minutes from February 23, 2010, were approved as submitted. President’s Report: Karen M. Turner President Turner went over briefly the meeting that the Executive Committee had with the Provost. Points included: The Provost plans to hire a coordinator to deal with non-tenure track faculty issues. The person will be based in Diane Maleson’s office; The Provost would like a list of issues for the Dean’s Retreat from the FSSC; The Provost would like to assist the FSSC in finding a good monthly meeting time for the Representative Faculty Senate. A grid was provided for the FSSC to review to determine when the best time would be to meet. It looks as if Mondays and Wednesdays from noon to 1:00 p.m. are the major times available. Next week the FSSC will be asked to determine which days are good for them. Karen Turner thought that the discussion on the FSSC listserv about shared governance was helpful in order to prepare for tomorrow’s monthly representative senate meeting. She will put together some bullets tonight for tomorrow’s session. Guest: Peter Jones, Senior Vice-Provost of Undergraduate Studies Dr. Jones announced that he will be chairing the search committee for the Director of General Education. Dr. Jones then spoke about the Student Feedback Form. He said that an experiment was carried out at SCT. The focus was on the response rate electronically compared to paper forms as well as the types of responses. Turning to the response rate, only 40%-45% of the students in the classes responded electronically while 85%-90% of the students usually complete the paper forms. The plan is to try again electronically with SCT and find another college to expand the experiment. No pre-tenure faculty members took part in the electronic system. Turning to types of responses, the question was posed: What happens when the responses of the students are factually inaccurate? The issue of fact versus opinion was discussed. The need for a process to determine what is fact and what is opinion was part of the conversation. The importance of faculty responses was also discussed. FSSC members mentioned: It was suggested that there be a local area in each department/program where faculty could go to provide responses rather than use CD’s; It was emphasized that faculty need to provide ongoing feedback on the development of the process and there is need of a Faculty Feedback Committee, with approximately five members, that could serve in an advisory capacity; The voices of those coming up for tenure and reappointment should be heard in this process. They are the ones who are worried about student feedback; The importance of being proactive about course changes was stressed. Sometimes there are major changes in the curriculum that can upset students and create negativity on the forms. There should be a way to make these changes known in advance before students fill in the forms; A suggestion was made that faculty place on their syllabus the reasons for a course change so students will understand what has occurred; Because of time constraints at today’s meeting, Peter Jones asked that other comments be sent to him concerning the Student Feedback Forms. Dr. Jones moved to a conversation about the Honors Program. He said there were two committees who did a great deal of work. One was the Honor’s Revision Committee chaired by Dean Robert Stoker (BCMD) and the other was the Honors’ Oversight Committee. Suggestions from these committees were sent by the Provost to the President. There were short, medium and long-term suggestions. The ones that were approved were primarily short term with one medium suggestion. They included: A medium idea was for four year housing for honors students which already has begun; Some short-term suggestions that were approved are: Add Honors to the list of programs to give money to; Create Honors Faculty Fellows, around 4 or 5 in number. Although the Russell Conwell’s Act 101 has received two major cuts from the state, the Provost still plans to keep the Temple commitment for next year. It will cost another $200,000 to support this endeavor. While an Inquirer article made it sound as if our student enrollment is down for the coming year that is not the case. William Black, Senior Vice Provost for Enrollment Management, has targeted certain students and many of those students who were part of this group are coming to Temple. The quality of the student body is up and there will be 450 honors students joining the freshman class. The FSSC added their comments. There was concern that there might not be enough staff to deal with Honors. Peter Jones, in response, said he is creating some incentives for advisors to move up the ranks. He has asked for 10 advising positions for next year, with two targeted for Honors. There is also a focus on the Office of Scholarship and Fellowships. The Honors Program students have done very well winning all kinds of fellowships, but he feels it is important to bring in first year students and work with them to achieve these awards; An FSSC member wanted to know how honors students are targeted. Peter Jones said that the program will write to those students who are eligible before they arrive at Temple and he also said others will be invited in later on because of high grades. However, if students do not stay on track, they will no longer be in the academic pool. The need for many advisors for Honors was suggested based on experiences of one of the FSSC members at another university. Peter Jones was concerned that the Honors Oversight Committee had not met this year. He also was concerned that he could not predict a year ahead as to what courses and sections would be available for Honor’s students. From his perspective, faculty fellows would be “icing on the cake.” Guests: Provost Lisa Staiano-Coico and Deputy Provost Richard Englert The first item on their agenda was the search for the Director of General Education. Provost Lisa mentioned how difficult it would be to replace Terry Halbert (FSBM). She then provided a timeline for the search process. The plan is to recruit members for the search until March 29th. She felt it is important to have on board faculty members who are involved in general education and who have taught undergraduates. FSSC members made a number of suggestions: One member said that diversity should be considered and that 2-3 faculty might not be enough for the slate. Another faculty member suggested that students be involved in the process. Provost Lisa and Deputy Provost Englert decided that students should be invited to be part of the interview process with the candidates. A Liberal Arts representative said that faculty in his area often felt underrepresented as they taught so much General Education. Provost Lisa said that she hoped that the Dean of Liberal Arts would join the committee. A representative felt that a year to year contract in the position was not sufficient and that three years would be much better. It was thought that a tenured faculty member would need time to change his or her career for this new position; It was mentioned that for the first year requiring teaching might not be a good idea. This faculty member would need time to get on a sure footing in the new position; Someone wanted to know if this was an internal search, and indeed it is; It was strongly suggested that anyone who applies should be a full professor. There will be no time for research in this 12 month position; The time-table for the selection of the candidate seemed a bit tight to some; It was suggested that The Faculty Herald would be a good place to advertise this position. Provost Lisa and Deputy Provost Englert gave an up-date of the Middle States visit. Apparently, the comments were wonderful and there was even applause. Temple is now correcting facts. A special thank you was extended to Jodie Levine Laufgraben, Associate Vice Provost. The Fox School of Business also went through a positive accrediting process. Provost Lisa went over the outstanding quality of the students who would be entering next year’s classes. Admissions is 9% ahead in deposits and there are many transfers. There are 1,600 students on waiting lists. There has been a shift in strategy looking for students who are a good match for Temple. Graduate education is up 5%. She then provided some more news: The new Senior Vice-Provost for Research Administration and for Graduate Education has accepted the position. He will be with us in May. His name has yet to be announced; Fellowships have increased. There are fifty fellowships this year; The global campus is doing well. Japanese language is now a major in Temple Japan. Chinese and Arabic have been added to the curriculum as well; There will be more hiring of new faculty again; The Dean searches will be on hold for next year; The opening of the Baptist Temple will take place on April 16th. Karen Turner asked Provost Lisa about what is needed for the Search Committee volunteers for the General Education Search. It was determined that a paragraph of interest and a Curriculum Vitae or link to a CV would suffice. The tentative date for the Retreat with the Council of Deans is for Wednesday, May 5th, in the morning, probably for Brunch. This coincides with the last Open Faculty Senate meeting in the afternoon. Vice President’s Report: Paul S. LaFollette The time-line for the election was discussed. Diane Maleson needs to have the names for committees soon. It was decided that the election will be held from March 29th through April 5th. Vice President LaFollette stressed that there is a need for 3-5 faculty members for the Education Programs and Policies Committee (EPPC). He asked representatives to do their best to find faculty willing to serve. The University Tenure and Promotion Advisory Committee has attracted more faculty than we need. One of our faculty members will be converted to a provost slot. Old Business: There was none. New Business: There was concerned expressed that the Honors’ Oversight Committee has not met this year. Paul LaFollette will talk to the chair of the committee. Karen Turner will ask Peter Jones back on April 13th. Trish Jones volunteered to serve on the General Education Search Committee. President Turner will send out an email to everyone explaining how to nominate someone or yourself to serve on the search committee. Adjournment: The meeting ended at 2:55 p.m. Joan P. Shapiro Secretary

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Faculty Senate Steering Committee

Tuesday March 16, 2010