Minutes

The University of Texas= at Brownsville/Texas Southmost College

Academic Sena= te Minutes

April 8, 2005=

I. = Call to Order

Ms. Cantu called the April 8, 2005 meeting of the Acad= emic Senate to order in the SETB 3^rd Floor Conference Room.

Members of the Senate in attendance included: Mr. Steve Benton (s), Ms. Ethel Cantu (*), Ms. Carol Collinsworth (s), Mr. Roberto Cortina (s), Dr. Charles Dame= ron, Dr. William C. Davis (s), Dr. = Therese Gallegos (s), Dr. Gerald Hollier (s), = Dr. Edward Hymson (*), Mr. Joe Lacher (s), Dr. Charles Lackey, Ms. <= st1:PersonName w:st=3D"on">Julie Larson (*), Dr. Emir Macari, Dr. Jose Ma= rtin, Dr. Eldon Nelson, Dr. Rafael Otero, Ms. Cheryl Phelps (s), Mr. Jay Phillips, Dr. Carl Stockton, Ms. Mary Sullivan, Ms. Thelma Sullivan (s), Dr. John Sutterby (s), and Mr. Tom Welther (*).

Visitors included: Mr. Hector Castillo, Dr. Eli Pena a= nd Dr. Marilyn Woods.

II. = Review and Approval of the Minutes

Ms. Cantu called for review of the minutes from the Fe= bruary 11, 2005 Academic Senate meeting. Hearing no corrections or additions, the minutes were approved as distributed.

Ms. Cantu called for review of the minutes from the Ma= rch 11, 2005 Academic Senate meeting. Before the minutes were approve, Ms. Larson thanked Ms. Collinsworth= for recording the minutes in her absence and Dr. Davis suggested that next time information not directly presented at the meeting be put in the appendix. Hearing no further corrections or additions, the minutes were approved as distributed.

III. = Presentation/Discussion: Campus Compact

Dr. Marilyn Woods and Mr. Hector Castillo from the Presidents’ Office presented an update on the Campus Compact. Dr. Woo= ds said it is to look at the Campus Compact and revise it for the next two year cycle as UT institutions are required by the Chancellor to submit their com= pact every two years.

Dr. Woods said that senators have been emailed copies = of the 2004-05 and 2005-06 and asked that senators review it and suggest changes a= nd revision. Dr. Woods said that= the Vice President for Academic Affairs will be meeting with deans and departme= nt chairs to prioritize goals and initiatives at UTB/TSC. Dr. Woods noted that in December, 2004 UT System Vice Chancellor Teresa Sullivan and Assistant Vice Chancellor Gerry Malandra were at UTB/TS= C to assist in clarifying what is needed in the compact. Dr. Woods said the Dr. Sullivan an= d Dr. Malandra suggested that the budget should be in line with the university’s priorities and that the measures used in the compact be = more specific.

Dr. Woods said the University would welcome any sugges= tions that faculty might have in regard to the compact. She said that they can contact the= Vice President for Academic Affairs with their suggestions. She concluded her presentation by = saying that the rough draft of the compact is due on May 1, 2005 and Dr. Garcia wi= ll present the final draft to the UT Board of Regents in July.

Ms. Cantu thanked Dr. Woods and Mr. Castillo for their presentation.

IV. = Senate President’s Report

Ms. Cantu had three items in her report.

TSC Board Meeting March 2, 2005-= the Board passed a resolution to purchase a Fort Brown Villa, approved the final payment for the Orive Technical Training Center at ITECC, and pa= ssed an amendment to the TSC budget for membership fees for the Texas Association of Community Colleges.&nb= sp; The TSC Board heard a briefing on the Fine Arts program by its chair, Suzanne Urbis. The Music Department had a 100 % pass rate on the ExCET exam and was uniqu= e in the State of Texas for that accomplishment. The first student to complete an MAIS in fine arts will graduate in May. The Academic Affairs Partners= hip Committee reported on the Associate of Arts in Teaching degree. This two year program has been designed to meet the requirements of the “No Child Left Behind” legislation which requires that paraprofessionals have associates degrees. This degree also encourages paraprofessionals to continue their education as the associate degree will transfer to a bachelor’s degree that w= ill meet the requirements for Texas teacher certification. T= he Institutional Effectiveness Partnership Committee reported on the camp= us visit of Gerry Malandra, UT System Vice Chancellor for Accountability = and Institutional Improvement. Discussions with her focused on accountability measures, with a particular interest in value-added measures that would adequately asse= ss our unique educational mission. The next meeting of the Board will be Thursday, May 19.

University Council April 1, 2005= - During the time allotted for one-minute presentations, I informed the group of administrators about the recent work of the Academic Senate, highlight= ing the revision to HOOP policy 7.5.1 to provide for election of department chairs to three year terms. Other presentations featured the STARS scholarship program open= to full-time students with at least 12 credits and a GPA of 2.7; the application to NAIA for participation in athletics with four-year scho= ols to be able to retain our student athletes; the reunion celebration of = the Development Board to honor those who have served and to inspire those = new to the board to continue the work; and the work of TSC Trustee Roberto Robles in raising money for the Music Department. Tony Zavaleta gave an update = on the higher education bills before the legislature, including a surprise bi= ll sponsored by Senator Lucio to study the possibility of a law school at UTB. Provost Marti= n led the group in an exercise to explore possible accountability measures.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> We were asked to review a lis= t of 13 measures and then rank order our top six measures. We then broke into small grou= ps to discuss problems and recommendations related to retention. Among the recommendations tha= t the group reported were to increase the number of faculty so that more cou= rses and multiple sections of courses could be offered.

Campus Visit of Dr. Raymund Pare= des, Commissioner, THECB, April 7, 2005- I attended the breakfast meeti= ng welcoming Commissioner Paredes to our campus. In this remarks to the group = he referred to the letter I sent to him expressing concerns about prejudi= cial attitudes of the Coordinating Board staff regarding approval of gradua= te programs at UTB/TSC. He assured the group that our applications for new programs would be revi= ewed fairly and no preference would be given to large metropolitan areas. He expressed the view that the Coordinating has an obligation to serve the needs of all Texas regions for both undergradu= ate and graduate education.

In response to Ms. Cantu’s report, Dr. Nelson commented that he was delighted with the fact that the Senate voiced it con= cern over the doctoral programs and that we received a response. Dr. Nelson thanked Ms. Cantu.

V. = Partnership Committee Reports

There were no reports.

VI. = Academic Standards and Student Records Committee Report

Mr. Welther reported on the work of the Academic Stand= ards and Student Records Committee. Mr. Welther said that the committee has been looking at the suspension and probation policy. He said tha= t the Registrar addressed the committee at it last meeting. Mr. Welther said that the committe= e will meet again on April 15, 2005 (tax day).&nb= sp;

Following Mr. Welther’s report, senators discuss= ed the suspension, absence, and probation policy.= Ms. Cantu thanked Mr. Welther for his report.

VII.     Academic Senate Committee Reports

A.     Memori= al Fund- Mr. Benton reported on the work of the Memorial Fund Committee. He said that the committee met and= had a discussion regarding how long an employee has to be here before they could = be memorialized. He said that he will have a full r= eport for the Senate at the next meeting.

B.     Welfare Committee- Dr. Hymson reported on the work of the Welfare Committee. He said that at the last meeting o= f the Welfare Committee pay increases are discussed. He also said that the committee dis= cussed whether we should continue parity or go to higher base merit increases for = all involved. Dr. Hymson conclude= d by saying that the committee will meet following the conclusion of this meetin= g.

VIII.         HOOP Policy 7.2.2- “Graduate Faculty” 1^st rea= ding

This was the first reading of HOOP Policy 7.2.2- “Graduate Faculty” before the Senate. Dr. Lackey presented this policy a= nd said that some may remember this policy from a recent Senate meeting but he said the policy underwent substantial changes since that time and the proce= ss now starts over. The purpose = of this policy is to provide guidelines for appointment to the graduate faculty.

After a lengthy discussion regarding changes to the po= licy, the Senate agreed on the following changes:

delete subsections 2 and 3 under section “B”- Appointment of Grad= uate Faculty,

delete subsection 3 under section “C”- Selection and Retention of Criteria,

delete the words, “Vice President for Academic Affairs” in subsec= tion 1 section “B”- Appointment of Graduate Faculty,

delete the words, “membership consonant with the basic criteria for graduate faculty membership developed by the Graduate Committee”= in subsection 1 section “C”- Selection and Retention of Crite= ria and replace the words with “who actively participate in graduate education”.

With the discussion complete, Dr. Hymson moved to appr= ove first reading of the policy as amended.&nb= sp; Dr. Sutterby seconded the motion and the motion carried. We will look forward to a second r= ead of this policy.

IX.        =    New Business

There was one item of “New Business”.

Dr. Gallegos reported that she received a call Veronica Rocha from the bookstore informing her that there will be a meeting on Tuesday regard= ing complaints about the bookstore. Dr. Gallegos reported that she will attend the meeting and wond= ered if anyone had any concerns or comments that needed to be addressed. She also mentioned that on Ap= ril 25, 2005 there will be a meeting with representatives from Barnes and = Nobles and Doug Arney and Rosemary Martinez regarding significant problems wi= th the bookstore. Hopefully= the problems will be straightened out.

X.        =     Provost’s Report

Dr. Martin had eleven items in his report.

Dr. Ragland asked me to express her regrets that she cannot be here today. Her husband Fred = is in the hospital for chest discomfort and he is undergoing tests. He is doing fine but will be = in the hospital overnight. She reports that she is very thankful for our UTB/TSC medical programs. Our graduates and students are providing excellent care.

It is my honor to announce that Dr. Manuel Medrano, Professor in the Soci= al Sciences Department, is the recipient of the 2005 Chancellor’s Council Outstanding Teaching Award.&n= bsp; He will be honored and give the keynote address Tuesday night at the Honor’s Convocation. All of you are encouraged to attend. It will be at 6:00 p.m. at th= e SETB Lecture Hall.

·      We had Commissioner Raymund Paredes of the T= HECB on our campus for a visit yesterday. He attended a Wednesday night 10^th reunion of the UTB/TSC Development Board at the Young House and the Alonso House. Yesterday, he met our Deans and fa= culty, students and VPs and toured the campus.&nb= sp; He also mentioned the letter that the Academic Senate sent regarding their resolution on doctoral programs.&nbs= p; He assured us that doctoral programs are not just for metropolitan areas.

We are trying to determine what the impact of our GEAR UP Program will be= on our freshmen class. At t= his time we believe that we will have about a 35% increase in enrollment of first time college students because of our successful GEAR UP Program. We are tentativ= ely expecting about 2235 freshmen this Fall. We expect to have more inform= ation and a possible presentation for you soon.

There are three bills in the Texas Legislature concerning UTB/TSC that you m= ay hear about.

        =             &nb= sp;

1.      The Wellness = Recreation Center bill appears to be progressing well through the legislative process. Dr. Silva, Dr. Zaveleta, and our s= tudent government president Michael Camarillo have been in <= st1:place w:st=3D"on">Austin to testify on the bill and the response had been positive.

2.      A bill that would establish a Texas Academy of Math and Science on our campus= has been introduced and we expect to testify soon on it. The bill would provide for an acad= emy for about 50 outstanding high school juniors and seniors to take courses on= our campus as part of our regular classes.&nbs= p; Our academy would be modeled on a very successful one at the University of North Texas.

3.      A bill that calls for s study for possible location of law school at UTB/TSC = has been proposed by Senator Eddie Lucio. We are in the process of formulating plans for a law school for our under served area. You will be hearing more about this later.

·         &nb= sp;          Our third annual Filemon B. Vela Pre-Law Academy will be hel= d on our campus May 16-27^th. This year we have professionals from Kaplan to help prepare our stud= ents for the LSAT exam. We have ten $1,000 scholarships for ten students. Others will be allowed to participate if they pay their own $900.00. We have selected 10 excellent applicants for the scholarships and several others have applied to attend on their own.

·         &nb= sp;          The budget process for the institution has begun. Deans, directors, and = VPs are working on budgets now. A budget hearing will be open to the entire campus on April 18^th.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> You will be receiving announcements.

·         &nb= sp;          I want to give you an update on the HOOP pol= icy that has passed the Senate regarding selection of department chairs and pro= gram directors. The Deans Council = has considered it and has concerns about requiring that 2/3 of the faculty in a department vote. The HOOP wil= l go to the Deans and Chairs Council for further discussion on April 29^th.

·         &nb= sp;          It is time to update our Compact with UT-System. Academic Affairs w= ill be forming a group of faculty, deans, staff, and administrators to update the compact. Any volunteers?

·         &nb= sp;          We are seeking input concerning the Maymester for Academic Calendar 2006. T= he problem is how to handle Memorial Day.&nbs= p; The calendar committee suggests two options to accommodate the holid= ay: 1). that Maymester classes be extended fifteen minutes for a total of 3 hours and 15 minutes per session = or 2). that the final exam will = be held on the Saturday instead of Friday.&nb= sp; Friday would be a regular class day. This year, as last year, we will h= ave classes on Memorial Day, however, regular staff will not be on campus. In the past, we have had complaint= s that we were not respectful of veterans by having classed on Memorial Day. We need your input. Would you prefer to have longer cl= asses during Maymester or would you prefer to have the final exam on Saturday?

{At this point a discussion followed. Various points of v= iew were discussed included the abolishment of Maymester. Dr. Sutterby asked that senators h= ave time to discuss this matter with their constituents. This matter was postponed and will appear on the agenda of the next Senate meeting.}

·        Bids are in for the construction of a parking site for 1500 parking places.

XI.        =    Announcements

There were six announcements.

·        The Welfare Committee will meet immediately following the Senate meeting.

·        Deadline for voting for Academic Senate executive officers and senators is April 8, 2005.

·        The next Academic Senate meeting is May 6, 2= 005 at 1 p.m. in the SETB 3^rd Floor Conference Room.

·        All divisions will make presentations for th= eir budget needs on April 18 from 9-5 in the Gorgas Board Room. Each entity has 15 minutes to high= light their critical needs. Session= s of interest to faculty are scheduled as follows: Academic Affairs 11:30, Instructio= nal Resources 1:30, Developmental Education 1:45, Business 2:00, Education 2:15, Health Sciences 2:30, Liberal Arts 2:45, and Science, Math and Technology 3= :15.

·        At the May Academic Senate meeting appointme= nts will be made to committees needing appointees. Chairs of committees needing repre= sentatives should email Ms. Cantu addressing their needs.

·        STARS Scholarship applications are due on Ma= y 2, 2005. Please encourage your students to apply.

XII.        = Adjournment

The meeting stood adjourned at 3:30 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Julie Ann Larson

Academic Senate Secretary