University Senate

Meeting 553 Minutes

The University Senate
of Michigan Technological University

Minutes of Meeting 553
October 22, 2014

PDF version of Minutes 553

Senate minutes are time-indexed [in square brackets] to the relevant segments of the streaming video of the meeting.

Synopsis:
The Senate

  • Presentation by Kerri Sleeman, “Recent changes in Facilities Management in general and Transportation Services in particular.” 

1. Call to order and roll call. [00:00 – 02:18]
President Craig Waddell called the University Senate Meeting 553 to order at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 22, 2014. The Senate Secretary Marty Thompson called roll. Absent were Senators Oliviera, Caneba, Cadwell and Stancher and representatives of Army/Air Force ROTC, Materials Science and Engineering, ME-EM, Visual and Performing Arts, Academic Services A, Academic Services C, Enrollment, Finance, Graduate Faculty Council, Staff Council and Undergraduate Student Government. 

2. Recognition of visitors.
Guests included Max Seel (Provost’s Office), Tim Griffin (Facilities Management) and Kerri Sleeman (Facilities Management).

3. Approval of agenda. [02:19 – 02:53]
Waddell asked for approval of the agenda. DeWinter moved; Nooshabadi seconded. No discussion. The agenda was approved unanimously by voice vote.                                                        

4. Approval of minutes from Meetings 552. [02:54 – 03:24]
Waddell asked for approval of the minutes. Snyder moved; Riehl seconded. No discussion. The minutes were approved unanimously by voice vote.

5. Guest Presentation [03:25 – 22:31]
Kerri Sleeman, Executive Director of Facilities Management, presented a follow-up to a March 5, 2014 presentation which can be found at: https://www.admin.mtu.edu/usenate/minute/14/sleeman03-05-14.pdf

Her main focal points were updates in facilities management and transportation services. Questions and discussion centered on parking and parking fees.

6. New Business
a. Proposal 9-15 “Revising Senate Policy 108.1: General Policy for Academic Program Planning” [22:32 – 23:44]

The proposal comes from Curricular Policy Committee. Barkdoll, chair, detailed the need for units initiating new programs to provide the Senate Curricular Policy Committee with uniform data.

b. Proposal 10-15 “Revising Senate Procedure 414.1.1: Procedures for Eliminating and Shelving Degrees and Certificates”

The proposal comes from Curricular Policy Committee. Barkdoll, chair, detailed the need for units seeking to shelve and eliminate programs to provide the Senate Curricular Policy Committee with uniform data.

c. Proposal 11-15 “Amending the Senate’s Bylaws” [23:45 – 27:55]

The proposal originates with the Senate Executive Committee. Waddell justified the need for such a proposal by discussing the following items:

  1. Remove mention of an Emeritus Committee. The rationale for this is that there is no such committee.

  2. Selection process for university-wide committees. The rationale is to have a uniform method to select members.

  3. Enhance speaking rights for non-Senators. Robert’s Rules limit participation of non-Senators during Senate meetings. This permits non-members to speak freely prior to a motion.

  4. Enhancing the efficiency of proposal introduction. The Senate President permits the committee chair or other entity introducing the proposal so questions can be fielded directly rather than through the action of the Senate President.

7. Committee Reports [27:56 – 32:32]
Academic Policy Committee.  None.

Administrative Policy Committee.  Hodur said discussed the progress on the presidential evaluation procedure.

IT Committee.  Nooshabadi said the committee is working on a mechanism to improve consultation and enhance communication with IT services.

Curricular Policy Committee.  Barkdoll said the committee is working on issues related to coursework and overlaps that have been identified with certain degrees, minors and certificates.

General Education & Assessment Committee.   Scarlett said the committee is holding information meetings with units for background research. Currently, he is trying to find times where the General Education Council and the Assessment Council can meet with the committee.                      

Elections Committee.  Riehl announced results of the constitutional referendum in support of Proposal 2-15. The constitutional referendum passed with 83% of the voting constituency in support. 172 support. 20 reject. 15 abstentions for a total of 201 votes from the Senate constituency of 1021. Barkdoll asked if the vote was valid considering 20% of the constituency voted. Waddell confirmed that at least a 2/3 majority of the votes, not eligible voters, is needed to pass.

Finance Committee.  None.

Fringe Benefits Committee.  None.

Institutional Planning Committee.  None.

Instructional Policy Committee. None.

Professional Staff Policy Committee.   None.

Research Policy Committee.  Froese said the committee is working on assessing information referred by the Research Advisory Council. A report will be generated and presented to the Senate.

8. Public Comments [32:33 – 33:06]
Riehl offered to replace the Robert’s Rules of Order books previously distributed due to a binding error. See him for replacement books.

9. Adjournment.
Velat moved to adjourn. Barkdoll seconded. President Waddell adjourned the meeting at 6:54 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted
by Marty Thompson
Secretary of the University Senate