Tuesday, December 5, 2006
Attendance: Jane Evans (Chair), Karen Turner (Vice-Chair), Paul LaFollette (CST), Robert Aiken (CST), Bonnie Averbach (FSBM), David Baron (Med), Zdenka Delalic (Eng), Judith Goode (CLA), Pauline Hurley-Kurtz (Ambler), Luke Kahlich (BCDM), Diane Maleson (Law), Lois Millner (SSA), Ira Shapiro (STHM), Joan Shapiro (Educ), Roy Stevens (Dental), Karen Schaefer (CHP), Maxine Chisholm (Coord)
1. Call to Order:
The meeting fell into order as we were completing our end of semester luncheon.
2. Guest Provost Englert:
The meeting began with a request from Englert that we carefully consider our position about the inclusion or exclusion of administrators as voting members of the Faculty Senate. He points out that President Hart has tried to build bridges between the faculty and the administration -- has done much to reach out to the faculty. This, therefore, is a bad time for the faculty to try to create a chasm. Among other things, it might be seen by the Board as a repudiation of Dr. Hart's bridge-building. This statement resulted in great discussion. On the one hand, all agreed that we do not want to be ungracious in our response to the wonderful new atmosphere of cooperation and appreciation that appears to be developing in the wake of Dr. Hart's arrival. On the other hand, there was also a general understanding that, in the words of one discussant, "rules are written for good times and bad times;" that it is generally a poor idea to base enduring policies on the personality and philosophy of a particular and impermanent president. We found it difficult to reconcile these two opposing considerations. Eventually, there was wide but not universal agreement that possibly Englert's statement reflected the belief of Dr. Hart, especially with respect to the Board's possible misinterpretation of our motives as being uncooperative. If this be the case, perhaps it is important to express our belief in and support of Dr. Hart's moves toward reconciliation. No motion was made. No vote was taken.
3. Approval of Minutes:
Amidst the pleasure and fellowship of dessert, we somehow forgot to approve the minutes from November 28, 2006.
4. President’s Report:
Evans introduced and welcomed Lewis Gordon, our new Editor of the Faculty Herald. Evans and Turner met with Dr. Hart. They had a pleasant and productive meeting. She agrees that the policies on Office Hours and Syllabi should be removed from the Temple website if EPPC agrees to their removal. The job description for the Provost is available on the Provost's web site. We expect a new Provost by April. It was pointed out that the tuition at the Dental School is so high that it is impossible for that school to compete effectively for the highest quality students. The agenda for the upcoming Senate meeting will include a report from Gaffney about the EPPC's business. This will lead into a discussion of their motion with respect to free electives. The FSSC is in support of this motion. We will also bring to the Senate a motion to accept the proposed changes to the Emeritus portion of the faculty handbook. It will be pointed out that the wording of these changes has been approved by the Handbook Committee, the President's office, and the Provost's office.Therefore, it would be difficult to support any amendments to the motion as it is currently written.
5. Vice-President’s Report:
Paul Swann and Toby Eisenstein were approved for membership on the Research and Creative Awards Committee.
6. Old Business:
There was no old business.
7. New Business:
Several issues were identified for future discussion. A committee of Deans is looking into various Gen Ed issues. These include such things as the buy-in of faculty, resource allocation, and ways of facilitating cooperation between colleges in providing funding and release time for interdisciplinary Gen Ed courses. President Hart has indicated that some degree of "double dipping" may be allowed within Gen Ed. In particular it may in some cases be possible for Gen Ed courses to count toward a major. The relationship between the GEEC, the EPPC, the FSSC and Senate, and the Provost's office badly needs to be clarified. This will be further discussed during the Spring semester.
8. Adjournment:
The meeting adjourned at 2:08 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Paul LaFollette, Jr.
Secretary
