University Council Minutes

05/03/2016 03:30 PM - Tate Theatre, Tate Student Center
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The University Council met on May 3, 2016 in the Tate Theatre for its final meeting of the 2015-2016 academic year. A quorum being present, Provost Pamela Whitten, substituting for President Jere Morehead, called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m.

As the first item of business on the agenda, the minutes of the March 16, 2016 meeting were approved as distributed.

Provost Whitten then updated the Council with the following remarks on behalf of President Morehead:

  • The Provost welcomed members to Council and informed them that the President regretted that he could not attend the meeting because he was attending the funerals of Kayla Canedo and Brittany Feldman, two of the students who tragically passed away last week.
  • The Provost stated that President Morehead wished to share his deep appreciation to all members of the University community in the way that the community has come together and supported one another since last week's tragedy that took the lives of Kayla Canedo, Brittany Feldman, Halle Scott, and Christina Semeria. The Provost asked that everyone keep Agnes Kim in their thoughts as well as she remains in critical condition. The Provost then ask that the Council observe a moment of silence in remembrance of Kayla, Brittany, Halle, and Christina.
  • The University's annual candlelight memorial service at the Chapel will be held May 3 at 7:00 p.m. to remember the twenty-six faculty, staff, and students who have passed away in the last year.
  • As she closed her comments, the Provost stated that the President wanted to thank Council members for all of the contributions they have made in the past year and then made her final remarks:
    • Merit-raises will be offered to faculty and staff for the third consecutive year. There will be a 3% raise pool with a range of merit from 0-5%.
    • A word of appreciation was extended to David Shipley for his service as the chair of the Executive Committee for the past two years and to Usha Rodrigues for her service as parliamentarian of the Council.
    • Staff Appreciation Day will be held on May 25 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Intramural Fields.
    • Commencement will be held on Friday, May 13.
  • This concluded the Provost's report to the Council.

The floor was then opened for the following standing committee reports:

  • Executive Committee presented by chair David Shipley
  • University Curriculum Committee presented by chair William Vencill
  • Educational Affairs Committee presented by chair Rodney Mauricio
  • Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics presented by chair Jennifer Samp
  • Faculty Affairs Committee presented by chair Fausto Sarmiento. Following the report, a discussion occurred regarding the posting of the committee's minutes. Dr. Sarmiento stated that minutes had been submitted to the Registrar's Office and would be included in the minutes of the Council meeting along with the report from the Faculty Affairs Committee. As well, Dr. Sarmiento thanked Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs Sarah Covert for her work with the Faculty Affairs Committee.
  • Human Resources Committee presented by chair Brenda Keen. A discussion occurred regarding the gender equity study that was conducted at the University and which was discussed and included in the Human Resources Committee's report along with a letter to the Provost requesting that analyses of salary data by another group or individual be performed. Providing context to the study, the Provost described the background and circumstances leading to the study's inception, including details of a study conducted in the 1990s, and invited Robert Toutkoushian of the Institute of Higher Education to provide his opinion on the validity of the study. During the discussion, several Council members expressed their dissatisfaction with the methods used in the study.
  • Strategic Planning Committee presented by chair Malcolm Adams
  • Staff Council presented by chair Michael Lewis
  • Student Government Association presented by president Houston Gaines
  • Graduate Student Association presented by president Audrey Lewis

The following Action Items were presented to the Council for consideration:

There being no old or new business, the meeting adjourned at 4:59 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Dr. Jan Hathcote, Registrar
Secretary to University Council


University Council Roster

Allen, Sheila

Ivy, Stuart

Rhicard, Laura

Allen, Wesley

Jackson, David

Rizer, Jasmine

Babiarz, Patryk

Jackson, Stan

Roman, Paul

Barbour, Suzanne

Kaplan, Holly

Rose, John

Bayer, Lisa

Kavoori, Andy

Rossbacher, Brigitte

Bharadwaj, Sundar

Keen, Brenda

Rutledge, Bo

Bierema, Laura

Kelley, Laura

Samp, Jennifer

Buda, Nate

Kennedy, Craig

Santesso, Esra

Carson, Jamie

Lastinger, Matt

Sarmiento, Fausto

Carswell, Andy

Lee, David

Sharma, Suraj

Chepyator-Thomson, Rose

Lee, Leslie

Shelton, Robin

Dahlen, Joseph

Lewis, Audrey

Shetterley, Karen

Dellaria, Nancy

Lewis, Michael

Shipley, David

Diaz-Perez, Juan Carlos

Li, Ke

Shrivastav, Rahul

Dorsey, Alan

Liggett, Sharon

Sikes, Kris

Dougherty, Anjali

Little, Elizabeth

Snell, Michael

Dove, Robert

Malone, Barrett

Spooner, David

Dunham, Richard

Matthews, Paul

Stanger-Hall, Kathrin

Durham, Stephan

McNulty, Tom

Starai, Vincent

Dvoracek, Douglas

Miller, Deborah

Sterling, Kyla

Farmer, Mark

Moore, Mary

Taha, Thiab

Fisher, Christen

Moore, Myra

Tobin, Beth

Frick, Janet

Muszynski, Artur

Tolley, Beth

Funk, Shelby

Nesbit, Ryan

Turner, Julia

Gaines, Houston

Oliver, Kerry

Turner, Kari

Giraudo, Silvia

Pardue, Samuel

Vencill, William

Gragson, Ted

Parks, Andrews

von Waldner, Trina

Graham, Toby

Pendergrass, Jan

Whitten, Pamela

Granthan, Tarek

Peterson, Thomas

Wilde, Susan

Greene, Erik

Poland, Mary

Williams, Brian

Hansen, Nathan

Poulsen, Annette

Williams, Phillip

Hathcote, Jan

Pruitt, Hunter

Williams-Woodward, Jean

Hollander, Barry

Rathbun, Stephen

Wilson, Mark

Holmes, Shannon

Ratliff, Joanne

Yager, Patricia

Hoyt, Rob

Reidenbaugh, Patrick

Yi, Hyangsoon

Hughes, Linda

Reyes De Corcuera, Jose

Øie, Svein



Represented by Proxy

Beckstead, Robert

Bliss, Thomas

Clark, Bill

Dennis, Carla

Freeman, Melissa

Frum, Jennifer

Gomez-Lainer, Lilia

Griffin, Michele

Mandal, Abhyuday

Mao, Leidong

Morehead, Jere

Munneke, Henry

Nuss, Michelle

Pagnattaro, Marisa

Snyder, Margaret

Speakman, Jeff

Toews, Mike

Wilson, Victor