November 7, 2007

Gary Weaver called the meeting to order at 2:15 p.m.

Present: Professors Weaver, Silvia, Loesberg, Douglass, Forst, Girard, Hall, Kim, Klein, Leap, Mintz, Reece, Riddick, Sha, Stallings, Steinhorn, Wanis-St.John, Young, Dean Mardirosian, and Provost Broder.

Welcome and Introduction, Gary Weaver

Professor Weaver welcomed everyone to the meeting. Senators approved the September and October minutes.

Report of the Chair, Gary Weaver

• Professor Weaver reminded the Senators about the Emeriti Luncheon on November 12.

• The Senators approved Leonard Steinhorn as the faculty representative to the Board of Trustees’ new Communications Committee.

• Professor Weaver announced the three faculty members whom the faculty elected to the Provost Search Committee: Tony Ahrens, Bob Griffith, and Phil Brenner.

• Professor Weaver announced that the first meeting of the Faculty Senate’s committee on Strategic Planning met and elected Leigh Riddick as chair.

Report of the Provost, Dr. Broder

The Army Corps of Engineers Project

Work is taking place at the former President’s residence and the house next door. On October 29, the Army Corps of Engineers took up residence at both of those houses to begin a 14-week project. They will dig test pits in the former President’s house and remove debris from the house next door that may contain chemicals and other contaminants from First World War era shells and other debris. The university is very active in ensuring that additional safety precautions be in place for this project, such as having additional monitors, having marshals on campus in case of an emergency evacuation, and training in case of any chemical leak. The University has provided everyone either teaching or working within the range of the project with information regarding procedures in case the Corps of Engineers discovers hazardous materials. The University has temporarily moved the child-development center from the building just above Jacobs Intramural Field back to its old location in Leonard Hall.

Botero Exhibit

The Katzen center is exhibiting work by Fernando Botero until the end of December. Botero created a series of paintings and sketches that depict the torture at Abu Ghraib. The artwork is controversial; it is only being shown at Berkeley, the Marlboro Galleries in New York, and American University. Each of the AU schools and colleges has developed programs in conjunction with this exhibit.

Admissions Update

The deadline for early decision is November 15, and to date, the number of applications were slightly higher than last year.

AU has increased the number of off-campus recruitment events from eight last year to eighteen this year. The number of students attending these events and the percentage of prospects visiting campus this year has increased.

The University has advertised for a vice provost of enrollment services, a position that became vacant last year A search firm, Hartwick Day, will assist the University in identifying candidates.

Report on Multi-Year Appointments, Haig Mardirosian

Dean Mardirosian discussed the option of putting temporary faculty on multi-year appointments after their fifth year. When this concept was originally discussed last year, one of the concerns was over how many temporary faculty would be put on such appointments and what effect this would have on numbers of faculty in other lines. After the regulations were crafted and approved, there was a provision that requires the Dean of Academic Affairs to report to the Faculty Senate at the beginning of each academic year to outline the number of temporary faculty who have been appointed and who are eligible to work under multiyear contracts. The regulations governing multiyear contracts limit the total number of temporary faculty to a maximum of ten percent of the number of tenure/tenure track faculty.

Dean Mardirosian circulated an accounting of full time faculty in all categories going back to AY 2004-05 and stated that for AY07-08 there were eight temporary faculty appointed as multi-year temps, three in CAS, two in KSB, two in SOC, and one in SPA. The number of faculty who are currently eligible for consideration is twenty-three.

Writing Proficiency Proposal, Jane Hall & Kiho Kim

The proposal, presented by the Joint Committee on Curriculum and Academic Programs (JCCAP), came about because of a discussion between the Honors Program and Merit Awards Program talking about the writing proficiency of students entering the University with AP/IB credits in English. Current regulations exempt these students from College Writing courses. JCCAP proposed three changes: require these students to take the English Competency exam (as it is now called) within the first 30 credit hours of matriculation, change the title of that examination to the Writing Proficiency Examination, and reduce the maximum total number of credits accepted from AP/IB tests from 6 to 3 and thus require the students with 6 AP/IB credits to take a newly developed course directed at those students.

The Senate passed the proposal unanimously, with one abstention. The proposal will be forwarded to the provost for the provost’s review and action.

Committee Reports

Strategic Plan Report

Leigh Riddick mentioned that the committee has met once and organized the framework of the committee.

The Senator

Brian Forst and Richard Sha announced that the first issue will be coming out in the first week of December and is about governance.

Budget & Benefits Committee

John Douglass reported that the committee reviewed the Care First and Kaiser renewals. Regarding the Wellness Program, a search for a health-promotion manager is currently under way. For the upcoming months, the committee will be looking into life and disability insurance renewals, review of the 403B changes to reflect changes in retirement regulations, and the marketing of the current health and dental plan.

For the Good of the Order

Kiho Kim distributed a proposal from ECO Sense, the on-campus environmental and sustainability group, about the possibility of the Faculty Senate supporting the American College and University President’s Climate Commitment report.

The meeting adjourned at 3:45.