APPROVED MINUTES FOR THE 5th REGULAR MEETING
OF THE FACULTY SENATE
FACULTY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES-CAMDEN
JANUARY 28, 2009
CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 12:20 p.m. in room 121 Armitage Hall, Dr.
Andrew Lees, President, presiding.
1. The December 10, 2008 Faculty Senate meeting minutes were APPROVED, VOICE
VOTE.
2. Dean Palis reported on the Camden College of Arts and Sciences.
A. Regarding the budget, Dean Palis had some good news: the cut experienced by
the CCAS in fall 2008 will not be deepened during this spring semester. The story could be
different for the 2009-10 academic year, however, with our college undergoing another budget
decrease in response to the anticipated drop in state revenues. The “silver lining” in this is the
fact that our enrolments are up (19% for incoming freshmen in fall 08 and another 5.1% this
spring for undergraduates, 2.5% for graduate students), and now that our budget is based on
enrolment, our tuition revenue may very well cushion any additional cuts. Aiding enrolment
should be the additional minor programs in Media Studies and Terrorism Studies, as well as the
upcoming doctoral programs in Public Affairs and Computational Biology (slated for approval
by fall 2010). Dean Palis recommended that CCAS and UC work with the School of Business to
increase enrollments, especially because students in the latter take courses in Arts and Sciences.
B. Our most important work, said Dean Palis, has to do with retention of our
students, i.e., what we can do to make sure they not only enroll in Rutgers, but stay. He would
like to see more interactions with students through advising, clear communication about
deadlines, and more communication with students in general. Toward this end, a Retention Task
Force headed by Interim Chancellor Marsh has been created and is working with department
chairs. This group will bring recommendations to the Faculty Senate in reference to issues like
whether students should declare majors according to a deadline and whether junior reviews
should be put into place. Two new positions have been created to help with retention: 1) a third
assistant dean for advising to help deans N. Gulick and D. Thurman; and 2) an assistant dean for
off-campus and on-line programs. The university would also like to expand its presence and
increase its visibility in New Jersey, adding programs to additional counties.
C. Dean Palis suggested that the Faculty Senate review the criteria for reduced
course loads per the new workload policy. Are they fair? Should they be adjusted? Thus far, the
program is popular and reveals our faculty’s scholarly productivity: some 95% of faculty
members have qualified for a 2/2 load. Most department recommendations for course loads were
approved.
D. As for what the administration will look like when a new chancellor is selected,
Dean Palis explained that he will rejoin the faculty, Margaret Marsh will go back to being dean
of the CCAS Arts and Sciences, and Tyler Hoffman will serve as the associate dean.
3. Dean Luis Garcia brought the Faculty Senate up to speed on the search for a chancellor.
He indicated that Kristin Walker dispatched a campus-wide email announcing interview
schedules and containing a website link for sending comments to the Search Committee.
Dean Garcia stated that because we are competing with other universities for these
candidates, it is important that the selection process move quickly and that we all work to give
the candidates a good impression of our campus. Thirteen candidates were screened by the
committee; five individuals were selected for on-campus interviews, one of whom withdrew. The
pool of candidates is stronger this time around, partly due to the fact that we have a better search
firm and because the position is now for a chancellor, rather than a provost.
At the end of the search, the Search Committee is supposed to forward three (unranked)
names to President McCormick, who will come to campus. Discussion among the Faculty Senate
involved questions about how and when to submit all-faculty comments on the candidates. It was
decided to convene a meeting of the Faculty Senate that will be open to the campus as a whole
on February 11, two days after the fourth candidate’s interview. Dr. Lees said he would send an
email to all faculty announcing this special meeting.
4. Dr. Joseph Schiavo, Chair of the Scholastic Standing Committee, was scheduled to report
on the proposal to allow students to repeat courses. Having consulted with Registrar Garcia,
however, he found that certain issues still needed to be clarified, e.g., how a repeat option would
affect the policy that stipulates a minimum number of courses when establishing residency and
how the Registrar’s office would handle and list the repeated courses. Dr. Schiavo said he would
bring this issue back to the table at the next regular Faculty Senate meeting.
The meeting adjourned at 1:15 p.m.
REPORT ON ATTENDANCE:
Members Present: Lees, Saidel, Bernstein, Burke, Vallone, Kortsarz, Espiritu, Lagune,
Verbrugghe, Karel, Li, Burrell, Chao, Roseman, Caputo, Hippolyte
Members Absent: Ledoux, Habib, Sill, Vardanyan, J. Smith, Evans, Dunn, Cosminsky,
DeMaray, Rushing, Shankman, VanderVen, Still, Kehl, Duffy, Turner
Submitted by,
Laurie Bernstein, Secretary
Faculty Senate (AY 2008-2009)
*Please note that Jean-Louis Hippolyte was excused during his leave in Fall 2004.