University Council Minutes

02/08/2007 03:30 PM - Mahler Auditorium - Georgia Center for Continuing Education

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The University Council met on February 8, 2007 in the Mahler Auditorium of the Georgia Center for Continuing Education.  President Adams called the meeting to order at 3:32 p.m.

The minutes from the December 7, 2006 University Council meeting were approved as distributed.

President Adams' report included the following:

1. Dr. Adams thanked everyone who made the Carter Conference such a roaring success.  It was a great substantive discussion of the Carter presidency thirty years later.  The conference brought together the Carters and the Mondales, members of the Carter administration, other high-ranking government officials, as well as nationally prominent scholars and journalists. 
2. Compliments were given to the students for the four year vote of confidence of the Student Government Association.  Dr. Adams congratulated Katie Bowers and Ali Gibbons on their elections, and said he looks forward to working with them throughout the year.  Dr. Adams noted that he appreciates working with student leaders, and has a high regard and respect for students who take on those roles.
3. The following people were congratulated:
• Brent Culpepper and Kevin Rabinowitz, from the UGA debate team, who won one of the most select individual tournaments in the country at Dartmouth the last week of January.
• Jere Morehead was named the permanent Vice President for Instruction.  Dr. Adams stated that he believes this appointment will strengthen what is already a strong feature of the University.
• Jason Burnett, a 2006 graduate, was selected as a clerk for Chief Justice John Roberts.  Mr. Burnett's selection makes the third consecutive year a UGA law student was chosen to be a Supreme Court clerk.
4. Dr. Adams noted that he is spending a lot of time on budgets as he has spent five days in Washington on federal budgets and five days in Atlanta on the state budget since the first of the year.  Dr. Adams will be back before the House Appropriations Committee on Monday, February 12.  There are a number of things at risk:  salaries for faculty and staff, a $37 million dollar pharmacy building, the medical initiative and collaboration with the Medical College of Georgia, as well as major repair and renovation funding. 
5. Dr. Adams provided the following construction updates:
   • The men's and women's basketball and women's gymnastics facility should open by late July.
   • The Lamar Dodd School of Art's new Visual Arts Building is being raised on East Campus to provide student studio and art history programs as well as faculty studios and administrative offices.
   • Work on a new pharmacy building should commence soon.
   • The expansion of the Tate Student Center will start before the end of spring semester.
6. Dr. Adams noted a few upcoming events:
   • Charlayne Hunter-Gault will receive DiGamma Kappa’s Distinguished Achievement in Broadcasting Award at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication tonight at 6:30 p.m.
   • Art Laffer, economic policy adviser to President Ronald Reagan, will give an economics lecture at 3:30 p.m. on February 14th in the Chapel.
   • Andrew Young, former Atlanta mayor and U.N. ambassador, will be the guest speaker at the NAACP Image Awards on February 24th at 7:00 p.m. in the Georgia Hall of the Tate Student Center.
7. Dr. Adams noted that he listened very carefully to suggestions from the faculty and made a number of pages of notes on the Chancellor’s proposed criminal background check policy at the President’s Faculty Advisory Committee earlier in the day.  Even though Dr. Adams believes he and the faculty are in agreement about the proposed policy, he welcomed any additional thoughts from the Council as the proposed policy is discussed as an action item on today's meeting agenda.
8. Progress has been made financially and as a result the Provost has released some of the withheld funds.  The University continues to address rising health care costs and energy increases and Dr. Adams stated that conservation is not only appreciated but is instrumental to the University’s bottom line.  Dr. Adams expects the University to operate at 99% of budget next year, an increase of 1%, which indicates some progress, but he noted there is still additional progress to make to get back to equilibrium, following the increases in healthcare and energy costs which total almost $19 million. 

The floor was opened for standing committee reports as follows:

Executive Committee (attachment a1)(attachment a2)
Committee on Facilities (attachment b)
Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics (attachment c)
University Curriculum Committee (attachment d)

Benefits Committee - no report
Committee on Statutes, Bylaws and Committees - no report
Committee on Student Affairs - no report
Educational Affairs Committee - no report
Faculty Admissions Committee - no report
Faculty Affairs Committee - no report
Faculty Conference - no report
Faculty Grievance Committee - no report
Faculty Post-Tenure Review - no report
Faculty/Staff Parking Appeals Committee - no report
Strategic Planning Committee - no report
University Libraries Committee - no report

William Vencill presented, on behalf of the University Curriculum Committee, the following proposals (attachment e).

1. A proposal for a Graduate Certificate in Disability Studies.  The vote was called and the proposal was approved.
2. A proposal for a Dual Degree: Pharm.D./M.P.H.  The vote was called and the proposal was approved.
3. A proposal to offer a major in Latin with a non-thesis option under the M.A.  The vote was called and the proposal was approved.
4. A proposal to offer a major in Archaeological Resource Management under the M.S.  The vote was called and the proposal was approved.
5. A proposal to change the name of the major in Reading Education to Language and Literacy Education under the Ph.D.  The vote was called and the proposal was approved.
6. A proposal to establish the Eugene P. Odum School of Ecology  Following discussion, a motion was made and seconded to divide question to vote on the name change separately from the creation of a stand-alone school.  The vote was called and the division of question was approved.  The vote was then called on changing the name from the Institute of Ecology to the Eugene P. Odum School of Ecology and was approved.  The vote was called on the establishment of a stand-alone school.  Division was called and a vote by show of hands was taken.  The motion passed with 63 in favor and 41 against.

Louise Wicker presented, on behalf of the Program Review and Assessment Committee, proposed changes to the Program Review Conflict of Interest Policy (attachment f).  The vote was called and the proposed changes were approved.

There was extensive discussion on the proposed policy by the Board of Regents to require criminal background checks of all University System of Georgia employees (attachment g).  John Morrow, President of the UGA chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), shared their resolution submitted to the Georgia AAUP Executive Secretary, Professor Hugh Hudson of Georgia State University.  The resolution urged that the policy recently adopted by the Chancellor become the basis for system-wide discussion and formulation of a policy that will protect not only the system but also the rights of its constituents.  The resolution can be viewed here.  A motion was made and seconded to endorse the AAUP's request that the present statement of policy be discussed and another policy be formulated.  The vote was called and the motion passed.  Dr. Adams closed the discussion by saying he would take into consideration the comments from faculty and staff as well as the AAUP as he formulates his response to the Chancellor.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:48 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

 

Rebecca L. Macon
University Council Secretary

University Council roster

Members represented by proxy

Adams, Michael Akers, Mary Anne Allen, Sheila Anderson, Jim Anderson, Wyatt Bamber, Michael Barstow, William Bennett, Rodney Bergmann, Carl Bothe, Anne Bowers, Kathryn Bride, Brian Brown, Mark Budsberg, Steve Butchart, Ron Calhoun, Georgia Capomacchia, Anthony Cason, Caroline Castenell, Louis Childs, Adrian Chinnan, Manjeet Daniels, Dick Daniels, Maurice Davis, Jolene DerVartanian, Dan Dookwah, Hugh Duncan, Dennis Dunham, Richard Ely, Lane Feldman, Daniel Felson, Nancy Fowler, Laurie Frick, Janet Fu, Zhen Fuller, Rahmel Gattie, David Gibbons, Alison Giraudo, Silvia Grasso, Maureen Harriman, Jay Harrison, Georgia Hathcote, Jan Hill, Janette Hilton, Nelson Hodler, Thomas Hollett, Bruce Hoyt, Robert Hume, Janice Johnson, Loch Jones, Catherine Keith, Charles Lauth, Thomas Lewis, Steven Lipp, Erin Mace, Arnett Macon, Rebecca Maier, Robert Mattern-Parkes, Susan Mauricio, Rodney McDougald, Larry Merkle, Scott Mewborn, Denise Miller, John Milton, Jason Morehead, Jere Munneke, Henry Nielsen, Kristin Noakes, Scott Norman, Naomi Pryzbyla, Alan Quick, Paul Quinlan, Susan Rathbun, Stephen Risler, Edwin Ritz, Casey Roulston, Kathy Saltz, David Scott, Lindsey Scott, Shannon Shamp, Claudia Shedd, Peter St. Pierre, Elizabeth Stokes, Garnett Taha, Thiab Vail, Cynthia Vencill, William Weinberg, Scott Williams, Phillip Woolumns, Amelia Wraga, William Zinkhan, George

Allen, Christopher Angle, Jay Bailey, Laura Brooks, Dwight Brosius, Peter Burgess, Timothy Clark, E. Culpeper Correa-Diaz, Luis Dunning, Arthur Houser, Thomas Landrum, Thomas Langston, David Lariscy, RuthAnn Lee, David Maltese, John Momany, Cory Newman, Amanda Oie, Svein  Peper, Jamie Potter, William Warren, Robert Weaver, Jace Wright, David