Executive Committee Minutes

09/07/2016 03:30 PM - Peabody Board Room, Administration Building
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The University Council Executive Committee met on September 7, 2016 in the Peabody Boardroom located in the Administration Building. A quorum being present, Chair Janet Frick called the first meeting of the Executive Committee for the 2016-2017 academic year to order at 3:30 p.m. Standing committee chairs in attendance included William Vencill of the University Curriculum Committee and Jean Williams-Woodward of the Educational Affairs Committee. Guests to the meeting included Elaine Adams, Allan Aycock, Brian Bledsoe, Allan Cohen, Dalton Corbin, Nick Fuhrman, Shelby Funk, Rachel Gabara, Aaron Hale, Kris Irwin, Kyle Johnson, Donald Leo, Fiona Liken, Jason Locklin, Tony Mallon, Martha Michael, Ramana Pidaparti, Patricia Richards, Usha Rodrigues, Rahul Shrivastav, Thiab Taha, Brad Wright, and Harrison Young.

Dr. Frick opened the meeting by stating to both new and continuing members that the purpose of the Executive Committee is to vote on whether or nor a proposal is ready to be placed on the University Council agenda. She also stated that one of the goals for this term of Council is to ensure that the Council's standing committees are meeting at least once a semester and are providing minutes of their meetings to the Council Secretary for distribution to the public. Dr. Frick then recognized Usha Rodrigues, University Council Parliamentarian, who spoke to the Executive Committee about her role as Parliamentarian and reiterated Dr. Frick's remarks regarding the meetings of standing committees and the submission of committee minutes.

  1. The minutes of the April 13, 2016 meeting were approved as distributed.
  2. Action Items:
    1. Proposals from the University Curriculum Committee:
      1. Proposal to make the following changes to combine programs in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences: Terminate the major in Environmental Chemistry (B.S.E.S.); Create a new Area of Emphasis in Environmental Chemistry under the major in Environmental Resource Science (B.S.E.S.); Create a new Area of Emphasis in Resource Management under the major in Environmental Resource Science (B.S.E.S.) A vote was called and the proposal was approved to be placed on the September 21, 2016 University Council agenda.
      2. Proposal for a new major in Business Analytics (M.S.). A vote was called and the proposal was approved to be placed on the September 21, 2016 University Council agenda.
      3. Proposal for a new dual degree in Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) from the University of Georgia and Seoul National University. Following a brief discussion, a vote was called and the proposal was approved to be placed on the September 21, 2016 University Council agenda.
      4. Proposal for a new dual degree in Engineering (B.S.) and Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.). A vote was called and the proposal was approved to be placed on the September 21, 2016 University Council agenda.
      5. Proposal for a new Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems. A vote was called and the proposal was approved to be placed on the September 21, 2016 University Council agenda.
      6. Proposal for a new Georgia Informatics Institutes for Research and Education. A vote was called and the proposal was approved to be placed on the September 21, 2016 University Council agenda.
      7. Proposal to change the name of the Bioenergy Systems Research Institute to the New Materials Institute. A vote was called and the proposal was approved to be placed on the September 21, 2016 University Council agenda.
      8. Proposal for a new Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Certificate in Environmental Education. A vote was called and the proposal was approved to be placed on the September 21, 2016 University Council agenda.
      9. Proposal to make the following name changes in the School of Social Work:
          Major Name Change
             From: Nonprofit Organizations (M.A.)
             To: Nonprofit Management and Leadership (M.A.)
          Certificate Name Change
             From: Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Organizations
             To: Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management and Leadership
          Prefix Name Change
             From: MNPO, Master of Nonprofit Organizations
             To: MNML, Master of Nonprofit Management and Leadership. A vote was called and the proposal was approved to be placed on the September 21, 2016 University Council agenda.
      10. Proposal for a new Georgia Center for Assessment. A vote was called and the proposal was approved to be placed on the September 21, 2016 University Council agenda.
      11. Proposal to make the following changes to combine programs in the College of Education: Create a new Area of Emphasis in Workforce Education under the major in Education (Ed.S.); Terminate the major in Workforce Education (Ed.S). A vote was called and the proposal was approved to be placed on the September 21, 2016 University Council agenda.
      12. Proposal for a new Graduate Certificate in Cybersecurity. A vote was called and the proposal was approved to be placed on the September 21, 2016 University Council agenda.
    2. Presentation of a petition endorsed by the signatures of fifty or more faculty members to add an agenda item to the next University Council meeting agenda under the Council bylaws, Part I, Section 1.B.7.g.
      1. The petition is requesting University Council to vote on adjusting the 2017-2018 Academic Calendar. Patricia Richards and Rachel Gabara, both of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, presented the copy of their petition containing the signatures of over fifty faculty members to Dr. Frick. Per the bylaws, petitions endorsed by the signatures of fifty or more faculty members that are presented to the Executive Committee are automatically placed on the next University Council meeting's agenda without a vote from the Executive Committee. Dr. Richards and Dr. Gabara presented the specifics of the petition to the Committee which requested changing the fall 2017 start date to August 17 and the spring 2018 start date to January 11. These proposed dates would push the start dates of both fall 2017 and spring 2018 back one week. Dr. Richards and Dr. Gabara included for the Committee information regarding how the current 2017-2018 start dates would create hardships for students participating in study abroad trips, internships, and other experiential learning opportunities. A spreadsheet displaying the days and weeks of the proposed 2017-2018 calendar was then provided to the Committee. They informed the Committee that the petition's calendar is in accordance with Board of Regents guidelines that allow for two, 15 weeks semesters. They stated that UGA currently operates on a 16 weeks schedule, with 15 weeks of instruction plus one week of exams. The petition's proposed calendar includes 14 weeks of instruction plus one week of exams. Dr. Gabara and Dr. Richards stated that this was in line with other USG schools' academic calendars. They also provided a recent history of fall semester and spring semester start dates at UGA. They then stated that for the days and weeks to work in their proposed spring 2018 calendar, an exam day would need to occur on a Saturday; as well, the first Monday only classes would begin the third week of classes. A discussion on the petition then occurred among members of the Committee. While the Committee in general agreed on the desire to move the start dates for fall 2017 and spring 2018, a concern was raised regarding how the petition's calendar would remove a week of instruction from each semester. Some members stated that this indicated that there would be a cost to shortening the semester, including a reduction in the amount of instruction time in each semester, while others stated that the proposed calendar would be in line with UGA's peer and aspirational institutions. A concern was also raised regarding the proposed spring 2018 calendar and how its structure could potentially push back the summer and fall 2018 calendars. The petition as presented to the Executive Committee will appear on the September 21, 2016 University Council agenda.
    3. Proposal from the Educational Affairs Committee:
      1. Proposal to amend the 2017-2018 Academic Calendar- Fall 2017 only. Chair Jean Williams-Woodward explained to the Executive Committee that a subcommittee of EAC has been formed to specifically examine issues with the academic calendar, including drafting a spring 2018 calendar that does not move back the dates of summer 2018 and impact the start date of fall 2018 as well as discussing the five sessions that comprise summer semester and the number of days in the Thanksgiving break. Also, the subcommittee wants to consider such factors as the start date of internships and the issue of going to a 14 weeks plus exams schedule and the ramifications of moving to this model of academic calendar. During discussion, the Committee raised the issue of how quickly the 2017-2018 calendar needed to be modified. It was agreed among the Committee that since a draft of the 2017-2018 was already passed during the last academic year, any changes would need to be approved as soon as possible. EAC did confirm to the Committee that it was their intent to bring forward a new draft of the spring 2018 calendar before the end of the fall semester. Concern was also raised regarding the presence of two different proposed academic calendars on the September 21 Council agenda. A question was raised as to whether or not the petition could be withdrawn in light of EAC's agenda item. Professor Rodrigues advised that the item could not be withdrawn because such a move would require the agreement of all the faculty members who signed the petition because the petition contained specific wording that was agreed upon by all signers. Dr. Frick reminded the Committee that since the University Council serves as an advisory body to the President, he has the ability to approve or veto any proposals passed by the Council. She also  informed the Committee that the petition was initiated before it was clear that EAC would take up the issue of revising the 2017-2018 calendar. Following discussion, a vote was called and the proposal was approved to be placed on the September 21, 2016 University Council agenda.
  3. Information Item:
    1. From the Strategic Planning Committee:
      1. University of Georgia 2020 Strategic Plan: 2016 Report of the University Council Strategic Planning Committee. This report will appear as an information item on the September 21, 2016 University Council agenda.
  4. There was no old business to come before the Committee.
  5. New Business:
    1. A question was raised among the Committee as to the circumstances under which the Committee would decide to not vote forward a proposal to the Council for consideration. A discussion on the question occurred with the point being made that the Executive Committee could vote to send a proposal back to a standing committee if letters or supporting documents were missing from the proposal or if ramifications from a specific proposal's passage were not fully considered. In each circumstance, the merits of the proposal itself would not be debated but rather the proposal itself would be vetted in terms of its readiness to appear before the full Council for consideration.
    2. Dr. Frick raised before the Committee the question of how the petition's academic calendar and EAC's academic calendar should be considered by the Council for the most fruitful and productive discussion. A point of discussion regarding this matter was the order in which each proposal would be presented. The possibility of having discussion on both items before holding a vote on each was raised. As well, the point was made that once both items are on the floor for debate, they are open for friendly amendments that can be made, seconded, and approved by the Council.

There being no further new business, the meeting adjourned at 4:45 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Dr. Jan Hathcote, Registrar
Secretary to University Council

Executive Committee Members Present
Robert Bringolf
Jeff Dorfman
Melissa Freeman
Janet Frick
Houston Gaines
Silvia Giraudo
Jeong-Yeob Han
Jan Hathcote
Michael Lewis
Lettie Lockhart
Henry Munneke
Luke Naeher
Kerry Oliver
Andy Owsiak
Scott Pegan
Amy Rosemond
David Shipley
Michael Snell
Beth Tobin
Beth Tolley
Pamela Whitten
Patricia Yager

Executive Committee Members Represented by Proxy
Stephan Durham (Sidney Thompson)

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