Executive Committee Minutes

04/12/2007 03:30 PM - Peabody Board Room - Administration Building

The University Council Executive Committee met on April 12, 2007 at 3:30 p.m. in the Peabody Board Room of the Administration Building. Susan Mattern, Chair, called the meeting to order at 3:33 p.m. Standing committee chairs in attendance were Peter Shedd and William Vencill. Visitors included Meg Amstutz, Debbie Bell, Tom Clees, Cathy Clutter, Kristen Coulter, Mel Crask, Cham Dallas, Larry Dendy, Tom Gausvik, Chuck Kutal, Finoa Liken, Sarah McKissick, Ray MacNair, Jere Morehead, David Newman, Duane Ritter and Jayne Smith.

The minutes from the March 8, 2007 meeting were approved as distributed (attachment a).

Due to the heavy agenda Dr. Mattern requested that the order of the agenda be re-arranged for the most effective use of time.

Action Items:

Jayne Smith, Director of the Faculty Affairs Office, presented a proposal from the Faculty Affairs Committee requesting changes to the Appointment, Promotion and Tenure Guidelines (attachment b). Following discussion the vote was called and the requested changes were approved.
Dr. William Vencill presented a proposal from the Educational Affairs Committee requesting changes to the University academic honesty policy A Culture of Honesty (attachment c). The vote was called and the changes were approved.
Dr. Adrian Childs presented a request from the Benefits Committee seeking Council endorsement to send a request to Chancellor Davis for Domestic Partner health benefits (attachment d). An overview of Domestic Partner health benefits provided by other institutions can be viewed here. The vote was called and the request was approved.
A request from the Benefits Committee seeking Council endorsement of a Staff Council request that the Board of Regents take actions to improve the Tuition Assistance Program so that it provides equal and viable educational benefits to all of the employees of the University System of Georgia (attachment e). Following discussion the Benefits Committee withdrew the request for further discussion by their committee.
The election of a Chair Elect for the Executive Committee was conducted and, following a tie breaker vote, Bruce Hollett was elected.

Information Items:

A report of the Ad Hoc Committee for the Pay and Benefits of Low Wage Employees was presented by Tom Gausvik. The report will be presented at University Council.
Dr. Peter Shedd stated that the second and final reading of the changes to the University Council Bylaws (attachment f) and a corresponding change to the University Statutes (attachment g) will be an action item at the April 24, 2007 Council meeting.
A motion was made and seconded to forward a request from a College of Education faculty member for Council to discuss ways that faculty and staff can be protected from spam and spear phishing to the Faculty Affairs Committee. The vote was called and the request was referred to the Faculty Affairs Committee.

Action Items:

Dr. William Vencill presented the following proposals from the University Curriculum Committee (attachment h):

A proposal to offer a major in Urban Forestry under the B.S.F.R. as an external degree on the Griffin campus. The vote was called and the proposal was approved.
A proposal to modify the L.L.M. program. The vote was called and the proposal was approved.
A request to divide the Department of Health Administration, Biostatistics, and Epidemiology into two departments: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and the Department of Health Policy and Management. The vote was called and the request was approved.
A proposal for a Center for Urban Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at Griffin. The vote was called and the proposal was approved.
A proposal for an Undergraduate Certificate Program in Agrosecurity. The vote was called and the proposal was approved.
A proposal for an Undergraduate Certificate Program in Integrated Pest Management. The vote was called and the proposal was approved.
A proposal to change the name of the Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages to the Department of Germanic and Slavic Studies. The vote was called and the proposal was approved.
A proposal for Termination of the major in Physical Education and Sport Studies under the Ed.S. degree. The vote was called and the proposal was approved.
A proposal for Termination of the major in Exercise Science under the M.Ed. degree. The vote was called and the proposal was approved.
A proposal for a Graduate Certificate Program in Clinical Trials Design and Management. The vote was called and the proposal was approved.
A proposal for an Interdisciplinary Certificate Program in Organic Agriculture. The vote was called and the proposal was approved.
A proposal for a Center for Integrative Conservation Research. The vote was called and the proposal was approved.
A proposal for an Institute for Health Management in Mass Destruction Defense. The vote was called and the proposal was approved.
A proposal to deactivate the Master of Family and Consumer Sciences degree. The vote was called and the proposal was approved.
A proposal to offer a major in Special Education under the M.Ed. as an external degree on the Gwinnett campus. The vote was called and the proposal was approved.
A proposal to offer a major in Special Education under the B.S.Ed. as an external degree on the Griffin campus. The vote was called and the proposal was approved.
A proposal to offer a major in General Business under the B.B.A. as an external degree on the Griffin campus. The vote was called and the proposal was approved.
A revised proposal to offer a major in Biology under the B.S. as an external degree on the Griffin campus . The vote was called and the proposal was approved.
A revised proposal to offer a major in Microbiology under the B.S. as an external degree on the Griffin campus. The vote was called and the proposal was approved.
A proposal for Academic Affairs Policy #18, General Procedures for Reorganization for Academic Units. A friendly two-part amendment was made and accepted to strike two sentences from section four that read "After approval by the Provost, the proposal shall be submitted to the University Curriculum Committee for consideration and to the Executive Committee of the University Council for information. If routing to the Graduate School is not applicable, the proposal shall be submitted to the Provost for considerations and approval." The second part of the amendment was to insert "if applicable" in the sentence before the stricken sentences to read "After approval by the Dean of the Graduate School, if applicable, the proposal shall be submitted to the Provost for consideration and approval." The vote was called and the proposal was approved as amended.

Information Items:

The Benefits Committee sought clarification from Provost Mace of the Board of Regents policy on Educational and Professional paid leaves regarding whether "extraordinary justification" is needed for faculty members to be granted a semester of full paid leave.
It was noted that Kathryn Bowers, President of the SGA, will address Council at the April 24, 2007 meeting following the standing committee reports.
Dr. Mattern stated that she has requested the Faculty Affairs Committee have open discussion with the Student Government Association to seek ways to resolve the types of problems in House Bill 154 at the college level. Even though this bill did not cross over from the house this year it is a reoccurring issue that needs to be addressed.

Action Item:

Appointments for replacement members of the Program Review and Assessment Committee were made and will be forwarded to Allan Aycock in the Program Review Office.

There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 4:52 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Rebecca L. Macon
University Council Secretary

Executive Committee roster	Members represented by proxy
Bride, Brian Brooks, Dwight Calhoun, Georgia Childs, Adrian Frick, Janet Harris, Ruth Hilton, Nelson Hollett, Bruce Langston, David Lipp, Erin Mace, Arnett Macon, Rebecca Mattern, Susan Momany, Cory Scott, Lindsey Scott, Shannon Vencill, William Zinkhan, George	Daniels, Dick Peper, Jamie