April 7, 2014

Present: Cook, Fair, Meyerand, Petty

Absent: Bernard-Donals, Farrar Edwards

The meeting began at 1:04 p.m.

1. Minutes of the previous meeting (Document 130479)—Mark moved, Grant seconded, to approve the minutes as distributed.  Motion carried.

2. Review of Professor of Practice Draft—deferred.  Mark noted that the current draft doesn’t indicate that professors of practice would be academic staff or not tenure track staff.

3. Provost Update—Due his heavy schedule, the Provost had to cancel his meeting with the UC.

4. VCR/DGS—Members began a review of recent developments related to the recommendations of the Working Group.  Feedback suggests that the recommendations of the Working Group are controversial in some sectors.  As a result the University Committee will ask the Senate to accept the Working Group’s report only.  They will not ask the Senate to adopt the recommendations in the report.  Instead, the University Committee will work over the next several weeks to prepare their own independent set of recommendations.  

Mark outlined a plan of action for accomplishing the task.  The plan includes meetings and outreach with key actors, new town hall(s), and drafting and refining recommendations as feedback is obtained.   Grant moved and Beth seconded to adopt the plan as outlines.  Motion carried.

It was also noted that there is feedback which suggests that there is a need for a transition plan at the Grad School.  It would be good to reach out to Assistant Deans Steve Hahn , Kelly Haslam, and Melissa Ewer to talk about what kind of transition plan is needed if recommendations are adopted which change the present structure.

5. Chancellor Update—Chancellor Blank reported that she was cautiously optimistic that she would be announcing the name of our new Provost by the middle of this week.

“Project on Fair Representation” a conservative group has put out a call for to students who have been denied undergraduate admissions to Harvard, UNC-Chapel Hill and UW-Madison to come forward with first-hand knowledge about the use of race in admissions policies and procedures at these universities.  It is appears that this group is interested in triggering a class action suit relative to admissions policies.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 3:07 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

William A. Heiss, M.S.S.W.

Interim Secretary of the Faculty