Executive Committee Minutes

03/04/2015 03:30 PM - Peabody Boardroom
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The University Council Executive Committee met on March 4, 2015 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 and student body president in attendance to present action items included William Vencill of the University Curriculum Committee, Silvia Giraudo of the Committee on Statutes, Bylaws, and Committees, and Peyton Bell of the Graduate Student Association. Visitors to the meeting included Michael Bartlett, Aaron Hale, Carol Hoffman, Andy Kavoori, Fiona Liken, Eric MacDonald, Scott Pegan, Kathy Pharr, Stephen Ramos, and Joanna Warren.

  1. The minutes of the February 4, 2015 meeting were approved as distributed.
  2. Action Items:
    1. Proposals from the University Curriculum Committee:
      1. Proposal for a new major in Environmental Design and Planning (Ph.D.). A vote was called and the proposal was approved to be placed on the March 25, 2015 University Council agenda.
      2. Proposal to offer the existing major in Ecology under the Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) degree. A vote was called and the proposal was approved to be placed on the March 25, 2015 University Council agenda.
      3. Proposal for a new dual degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences (B.S.) and Pharmacy (M.S.). A vote was called and the proposal was approved to be placed on the March 25, 2015 University Council agenda.
      4. Proposal to reorganize the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. Following a brief discussion on items d. and e., Professor Shipley recommended that the committee vote on both d. and e. at the same time. A vote being called, both items were approved to be placed on the March 25, 2015 University Council agenda.
      5. Proposal to make the following name changes in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication:
        Department Name Change
        From: Telecommunications
        To: Entertainment and Media Studies
        Major Name Change
        From: Mass Media Arts (A.B.J.)
        To: Entertainment and Media Studies (A.B.J.)
      6. Proposal for a new Master of Cultural Landscape Sustainability (M.C.L.S., Thesis Option). Following a brief discussion on items f. and g., Professor Shipley recommended the committee vote on both f. and g. at the same time. A vote being called, both items were approved to be placed on the March 25, 2015 University Council agenda.
      7. Proposal for a new Master of Cultural Landscape Sustainability (M.C.L.S., Non-Thesis Option).
    2. Proposal from the Committee on Statutes, Bylaws, and Committees:
      1. Proposal for amendments to the University Council Bylaws and the University Statutes. A discussion occurred among the committee regarding the proposal, specifically the amendment requesting that the Committee on Student Affairs be renamed the Committee on Student Life. Following a discussion on the reasoning behind this particular amendment, Professor Shipley called for each of the three amendments comprising the proposal to be voted on individually. The votes being called, each amendment in the proposal was approved for placement on the March 25, 2015 University Council agenda.
    3. Proposal from the Graduate Student Association:
      1. Proposal to amend the University Council Bylaws to allocate specific University Council seats for graduate students and undergraduate students.  A question was raised concerning if this proposal could move forward to the Council without first going through the Committee on Statutes, Bylaws, and Committees. Mr. Bell responded that he consulted with Council parliamentarian Professor Usha Rodgrigues who stated that the Council bylaws provide the mechanism for the GSA to present the proposal directly to the Executive Committee and not go through the Statutes and Bylaws Committee first. He stated that since bylaws changes require two consecutive votes for approval and noting that there are only two Council meetings left this term, he would prefer the proposal not be referred to the Statutes and Bylaws Committee.  A discussion over the proposal transpired among committee members.  Several members expressed support for the amendment, citing the need to have graduate students more engaged on Council and its standing committees because of the professional development and information sharing opportunities the amendment would create. A discussion also occurred regarding the make-up of the proposed new student membership (see chart 1 and chart 2). A question was raised concerning if students who are part of the UGA/Georgia Regents University Medical Partnership could be represented on Council; both the Provost and Registrar confirmed that those students are Georgia Regents students and not enrolled at UGA. A question was also raised as to whether or not in light of the proposed increase of graduate students on Council the Graduate School should continue to have membership. It was discussed and determined that this was appropriate since the Graduate School has faculty representation on both the Council and Council standing committees. The committee also agreed that since the College of Pharmacy now has an undergraduate program, those undergraduate students need to have representation in the proposed amendment. A friendly amendment was made to add an undergraduate student representative for the College of Pharmacy and to remove "College of Pharmacy" from the amendment's language. A vote was called and the proposal with the friendly amendment was approved to be placed on the March 25, 2015 University Council agenda.
  3. There was no Old Business to come before the committee.
  4. New Business:
    1. Professor Shipley stated that he had received a message from Brahm Verma, the president of the UGA Retirees Association, asking him to share with the Executive Committee a notice about changes coming from the USG regarding retiree healthcare plans.
    2. Professor Shipley also announced that at the April Executive Committee meeting a new chair-elect for 2015-2016 will be selected. This new chair-elect will serve as chair of the committee during the 2016-2017 term.

There being no further New Business, the meeting adjourned at 4:20 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Dr. Jan Hathcote, Registrar
Secretary to University Council



Executive Committee Members Present
Gayle Andrews
Peyton Bell
Barbara Biesecker
Bonnie Cramond
Jeff Dorfman
Roxanne Eberle
Silvia Giraudo
Jan Hathcote
David Hazinski
Michael Lewis
Lettie Lockhart
Luke Naeher
David Shipley
Brock Tessman
Catherine White
Pamela Whitten
Lance Wilder

Executive Committee Members Represented by Proxy
Alan Covich (Jim Porter)
Marisa Pagnattaro (Nathaniel Grow)

If you require these minutes in an alternative format, please email Neal Lawson at neal@uga.edu.