Meeting of the CCAS Faculty Senate
Approved Minutes
November 28, 2023
The meeting was called to order at approximately 12:45 p.m., with CCAS Faculty Senate President Robert Emmons presiding. There are 32 Senators, including 2 officers and 2 senators-at-large. Of the 32 voting members, 21 were present. A quorum was met.
- A motion to approve the minutes of October 31, 2023, was made. The motion to approve the minutes was approved.
Voting record: 21 ayes, 0 opposed, 0 abstention.
- Courses and Programs presented by Alex Roche, Chair of the APC, for approval by the Faculty Senate:
|
Courses presented for discussion and approval by APC to Faculty Senate |
Voting Record |
||||||
|
Department |
Course # |
Course Title |
Credit Value |
New/ Revision |
Aye |
Nay |
Abstention |
|
English and Communication |
50:192:200 |
Race and Visual Culture |
3 |
NEW |
21 |
0 |
0 |
|
World Languages and Cultures |
50:590:289 |
Latin American Studies Learning Abroad |
3 |
NEW |
21 |
0 |
0 |
|
World Languages and Cultures |
50:590:385 |
Latin American Studies Learning Abroad Mexico and Central America |
3 |
NEW |
21 |
0 |
0 |
|
World Languages and Cultures |
50:590:386 |
Latin American Studies Learning Abroad The Caribbean |
3 |
NEW |
21 |
0 |
0 |
|
World Languages and Cultures |
50:590:387 |
Latin American Studies Learning Abroad South America |
3 |
NEW |
21 |
0 |
0 |
|
World Languages and Cultures |
50:590:388 |
Latin American Studies Study Away |
3 |
NEW |
21 |
0 |
0 |
|
Psychology |
50:830:327 |
Applied Behavior Analysis |
3 |
NEW |
21 |
0 |
0 |
|
Psychology |
50:830:346 |
Stigma and Health |
3 |
NEW |
21 |
0 |
0 |
|
Psychology |
50:830:356 |
Social Relationships and Health |
3 |
NEW |
21 |
0 |
0 |
|
Psychology |
50:830:410 |
Black Mental Health: Risk & Resilience |
3 |
NEW |
21 |
0 |
0 |
|
Social Work |
50:910:223 |
Aging & Society |
3 |
NEW |
21 |
0 |
0 |
|
Social Work |
50:910:224 |
Housing Inequity & Homelessness |
3 |
NEW |
21 |
0 |
0 |
|
Programs presented for discussion and approval by APC Committee to Faculty Senate |
Voting Record |
||||||
|
Department |
Minor |
Date when program will begin |
Aye |
Nay |
Abstention |
||
|
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
||
I. Unfinished Business
a. Meeting “In-person” Poll Results
60% voted for Zoom meetings vs. 40% voted for in-person meetings. Senate meetings will continue via Zoom.
b. Online Courses Update
The President shared a summation of a report obtained from the Registrar’s Office containing data for Fall 2023 courses. The report showed that out of 9,974 courses from students in schools 50 and 64, there were 2,295 (just over 20%) online courses across all three campuses. The total number of courses students took in either NB or Newark, both in-person and online, is just 133 (1.33%). Concerns have been raised regarding the trend of RU-C becoming an online campus. While the data for Fall 2023 suggests otherwise, there are still pressures for offering more online courses. The President will request the same data for Spring 2024 to compare the data. Associate Dean Allred has offered to share historical data with the Senate for courses from Fall 2019 to Fall 2023.
c. Shared Governance Committee: Final organizational decisions
There was an open issue regarding membership: six (6) elected faculty members, two (2) from each division, would serve three (3) year overlapping terms. As there were no questions or concerns over this, it would stand as is. Bill Fitgerald will continue to make calls to the faculty to staff the Shared Governance Committee.
d. Athenaeum: Discussion of Implementation. Objections/Changes?
-
-
- Alex Roche: Upon going through the list of the many awards and distinctions students can receive, it is hard to see what the role/motivation of the Athenaeum is. A recommendation to departments would be to reenergize and boost up departmental honors offerings.
- Jim Brown: Honors across departments is uneven and can create inequities.
- Robert Emmons: We need to decide if there will be a role for the Senate in continuing to offer general Athenaeum Honors to our students based on GPA only. The President will investigate the future of Athenaeum and report to the Senate.
-
II. New Business
a. Kwangwon Lee, Faculty Director of Equity – Presentation: Faculty DEI Subcommittee
Received $2.5 million from HHMI (Howard Hughes Medical Institute).
-
-
- Driving Change work: Year-long cell study on where we stand in terms of cell education and inclusive STEM education. From the cell study, three main objectives were developed: 1. Equitable pedagogy & course design, 2. Inclusive curricular & program design, 3. Equitable University policies. The committee produced a 60-page report with high-quality data pointing out the barriers our students have for success in STEM. The full report can be read at: https://drivingchange.camden.rutgers.edu/.
- Campus-wide Faculty DEI Subcommittee: Six voting members and a council of non-voting members, working on recruitment and promotion.
- University-wide Faculty Diversity Collaborative: Central organization with many incentives and faculty resources that can be found at: https://diversity.rutgers.edu/fdc. For example, coming in January is a Mutual Mentoring Grant.
-
III. Announcements
a. Beth Rabinowitz Book Talk
Professor Beth Rabinowitz will hold a lecture promoting her new book, on Wednesday, November 29th, during the free period at West ABC in the Campus Center.
IV. Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 1:45 p.m.
Present: Craig Agule, Ross Allen, Paul Bernstein, Margaret Betz, Jim Brown, Brian Corbett, Iman Dehzangi, Robert Emmons, Rafey Habib, Evan Jewell, Hunter King, Ana Laguna, Randy Mershon, Susan Mokhberi, Xingyun Qi, Alex Roche, Stass Shpanin, Sarah Tosh, Zara Wilkinson, Anthony Wright
Absent (Senators): Margery Amdur, Michelle Carlin, Sean Duffy, Jamie Dunaev, Anthony Grasso, Osama Hamed, Lorraine Minnite, Adam Okulicz-Kozaryn, Amy Savage, Nathaniel Wright
Excused Absent (Senators):
Present Senators-at-Large: Bart Everts
Absent Senators-at-Large: Nathan Fried
Excused Senators-at-Large:
Present (Invited Guests): Associate Dean Allred, Duwayne Battle, Kwangwon Lee
Drafted by Melinda Aviles, 1/25/24