Executive Committee Minutes

11/05/2014 03:30 PM - Peabody Boardroom
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The University Council Executive Committee met on November 5, 2014 in the Peabody Boardroom in the Administration Building. With a quorum being reached, chair David Shipley called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m. Standing committee chairs in attendance included William Vencill of the University Curriculum Committee, Rodney Mauricio of the Educational Affairs Committee, and Brenda Keen of the Human Resources Committee. Visitors to the meeting included Kiz Adams, Santanu Chatterjee, Anne Cooper, Aaron Hale, Ashley Hannings, Laura Jolly, Fiona Liken, Kathy Pharr, and Mollie Simon.

  1. The minutes of the September 10, 2014 meeting were approved as distributed.
  2. Action Items:
    1. Proposals from the University Curriculum Committee:
      1. Proposal for a new Dual Degree in Master of Laws (LL.M.) and Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.). A vote was called and the proposal was approved to be placed on the November 19, 2014 University Council agenda.
      2. Proposal for a new Undergraduate Professional Certificate in Pharmacy Entrepreneurship. A vote was called and the proposal was approved to be placed on the November 19, 2014 University Council agenda.
      3. Proposal to revise the Academic Affairs Policy Statement No. 14, General Education Curriculum. A discussion occurred on the proposal, specifically the bullet point under the "Humanities and the Arts" section that reads, "Ability to communicate with others in English, both verbally and nonverbally, in an articulate, clear, and coherent manner." A friendly amendment was made to remove the words "in English" from this sentence. The friendly amendment was approved. A vote was then called and the proposal with the friendly amendment was approved to be placed on the November 19, 2014 University Council agenda.
    2. Proposal from the Educational Affairs Committee:
      1. Proposal to revise the Academic Affairs General Policy No. 4.02-3, University Policy on Course Drops and Withdrawals. Following a discussion on the proposal, including a brief discussion on the current withdrawal practice and policy and the changes contained in the proposal, a vote was called and the proposal was approved to be placed on the November 19, 2014 University Council agenda.
    3. Proposal from the Human Resources Committee:
      1. Proposal for Updated Parental Policies. An extensive discussion on the proposal occurred among members of the committee. Several members questioned certain aspects of the proposal, including whether the University Council has the authority to approve and implement the proposal or if the USG needs to be consulted first, what the cost impact of such a proposal would be, and why staff members are not included in the second portion of the proposal regarding modified duties for faculty members. In response to these concerns, other members stated that it was extremely important to place this item on the agenda as an aspirational statement describing how faculty feel about the issues involving the proposal and as a signal for the administration to recognize the support that exists for the implementation of the policy changes contained in the proposal. A friendly amendment was then made to add a disclaimer to the proposal noting that the proposal serves as an aspirational statement and request for policy to be developed and that further steps involving implementation will need to occur. The friendly amendment was approved. A vote on the proposal with the friendly amendment was then called and the committee approved the proposal to be placed on the November 19, 2014 University Council agenda.
  3. There was no Old Business to come before the committee.
  4. There was no New Business to come before the committee.

There being no further business to discuss, the meeting adjourned at 4:20 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Dr. Jan Hathcote, Registrar
Secretary to University Council


Executive Committee Members Present
Peyton Bell
Barbara Biesecker
Bonnie Cramond
Roxanne Eberle
Janet Frick
Silvia Giraudo
Jan Hathcote
David Hazinski
Michael Lewis
Lettie Lockhart
Rodney Mauricio
Joe Nairn
Marisa Pagnattaro
Jerry Saliki
David Shipley
Brock Tessman
Pamela Whitten