APPROVED MINUTES FOR THE 8th REGULAR MEETING
OF THE FACULTY SENATE
FACULTY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES-CAMDEN
April 17, 2007
CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 12:20 p.m. in room
121 Armitage Hall, Dr. Charles Jarrett, President, presiding.
1. Dr. Jarrett welcomed everyone to the April 17th meeting noting that
this was a special meeting to discuss items not covered at April 10th
meeting. The minutes from the meeting on April 10th, 2007 were
APPROVED, VOICE VOTE.
2. Rules of Procedure Committee Chair, Dr. Rich Epstein, stated that
progress of work is not going so well. Lack of participation is an
ongoing concern; even important committee vacancies are not being
filled. There is an election coming up very soon, and a lot of positions
need nominees. There are at least a dozen positions available.
Committees are supposed to have a specific number of members;
these numbers are not being filled. This is a serious problem. What is
the return on the investment? It was stated that service to the campus
is part of what we do but many faculty feel that participation is a
waste of time, especially since committee input is rarely used by the
administration.
3. Dr. John Van Til suggested that we take a moment to remember the
Virginia Tech community, which experienced the horrific death of 32
students by the hand of one disturbed student. It was the consensus
that we should send a letter of sympathy to the Virginia Tech Faculty
Senate.
4. Dr. James Rushing, Chair, Academic Policy Committee, noting that a
minor in National Security should be disregarded, presented the
following new courses for the Political Science Department:
National Security Establishment: Congress, the Presidency, the
Courts and the Bureaucracy 50:790:388 – designed to introduce
students to the new threat environment following the 9/11 terror
attacks, focus on the political actors involved in the making, conduct
and administration of national security policy within our constitutional
system, and examine the institutional changes which included the
creation of the Department of Homeland Security and a Director of
National Intelligence.
Civil Liberties in Times of Emergency 50-790:426 – examines the
effect of war and other national emergencies on the protection of
individual rights and the balance that should be struck between
national security and individual liberties.
Resource Scarcity and National Security 59:790:427 – examines
how natural resources are closely linked to economic prosperity and
international security. This course will study three major aspects
linking natural resources and national security; U.S. energy security
and energy policy, types of violence associated with conflict over
scarce resources, and strategies for conflict resolution.
Radical Islam Challenges the West 50:790:428 – introduces
students to the place of radicalism within the Islamic world, and
examines and analyzes why, when, how and even whether it poses
significant security challenges to the liberal democratic tradition of the
West.
Anti-Americanism 50:790:429 – explores what anti-Americanism
means as a challenge toward American power and global leadership
following the collapse of Communism. The course will examine three
different forms of anti-Americanism – “liberal,” “social,” and
“sovereign-nationalist.”
Contemporary Propaganda 59:790:430 – will define propaganda,
examine and analyze how and why it is disseminated, and investigate
whether democracies or dictatorships are better at conducting
propaganda campaigns.
The above courses were APPROVED, VOICE VOTE.
Dr. Rushing stated that an Ad hoc Committee on Advising brought
forward to the Academic Committee to insure timely progress that a
student with 76 credits must declare a major. He also stated that
small departments that offer courses every other semester create a
real problem for students trying to graduate in four years. The lack of
course availability almost guarantees five years to graduate. A motion
to table this discussion was PASSED, VOICE VOTE.
5. Approval of May 2007 Graduates by Assistant Dean Nancy Gulick. A
list of all graduates was distributed for approval, which is contingent
upon each student’s successful completion of all required courses, the
Faculty Senate APPROVED, VOICE VOTE.
6. As chair of the Faculty Life Committee, Dr. Christopher Fitter, had the
following comments to make as indicated on the questionnaire that
was circulated:
1. There is widespread faculty discontent with inadequate parking
capacity on campus, and considerable anxiety expressed about
campus security in parking lots after dark.
2. It has been complained that the escort service has refused on
occasion to provide an escort.
3. It has been complained that the shuttle bus is delayed arbitrarily
by drivers’ conversations.
4. Invite Dean Marsh to a Faculty Senate meeting.
5. Among many complaints about dilapidated or erratically heated
campus buildings, there were specific allegations of rodent
infestation in the Sculpture Labs and of roaches infesting the
Science Lecture Hall. The Senate agreed that Dean Marsh be
notified of the public health issues immediately.
6. Follow up to see if work is being done.
7. Questionnaire should be sent out every year.
Meeting ended at 1:10 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT:
Jarrett, Tarbell, Schiavo, Saidel, Maslen, Kortsarz, Chiu, Fiske, Amdur,
Rushing, Cowley, Sheinbaum, Bezrukova, Van Til, Caputo, Meloy, L.
Garcia, Fitter
MEMBERS ABSENT:
Vanderven, Verbrugghe, Still, Herrera, Li, Burrell, C. Brown; Thierry,
Hippolyte
MEMBERS EXCUSED:
Singley, Espiritu, Adelson, Glasker, Shankman
Submitted by,
Joseph C. Schiavo, Secretary
Faculty Senate (AY 2006-2007)