Meeting of the CCAS Faculty Senate
Approved Minutes
April 25, 2023
The meeting was called to order at approximately 12:45 p.m., with CCAS Faculty Senate President Beth Rabinowitz presiding. There are 37 Senators, including 3 officers and 3 senators-at-large. Of the 37 voting members, 22 were present. A quorum was met.
- A motion to approve the minutes of March 28, 2023, was made. The motion to approve the minutes was approved.
Voting record: 22 ayes, 0 opposed, 0 abstention.
- Courses and Programs presented by Alex Roche, Chair of the APC, for approval by the Faculty Senate:
(per Dean Griffin, this vote is not appropriate as the courses were already approved by the APC)
|
Courses presented for approval by APC to Faculty Senate April 25, 2023 |
Voting Record |
||||||
|
Department |
Course # |
Course Title |
Credit Value |
New/ Revision |
Aye |
Nay |
Abstention |
|
Childhood Studies |
50:163:245 |
Childhoods and Capitalism |
3 |
New |
NO VOTE; N/A | ||
|
English and Communication |
50:192:201 |
Introduction to Critical Race and Media Studies |
3 |
New |
|||
|
English and Communication |
50:192:301 |
Media Activism and Social Justice |
3 |
New |
|||
|
English and Communication |
50:842:240 |
Reason and Rhetoric: The Art of Critical Thinking |
3 |
New |
|||
|
Philosophy & Religion |
50:840:233 |
Introduction to Islam |
3 |
New |
|||
I. Bylaws – President & Dean Griffin
The bylaws were very unclear with many points needing additional review. Before submitting the amended bylaws for a full faculty vote, Dean Griffin performed an analysis to ensure there were no violations of university policy. It was discovered there are university policies for legislative bodies. The Faculty Senate is not classified as a legislative body, but instead an advisory body, which gives it leeway in how meetings are conducted and in what kinds of rights and privileges the Senate has; for example, it allows the Senate to be faculty-run. In contrast, the Faculty Committees are considered legislative bodies, and as such are responsible to the Administration. The bylaws specifically state that Committees report to the Senate, which has resulted in a need for clarification of responsibility. Bearing in mind that nominations are due soon for committee memberships, the Dean has agreed to allow the bylaws to move forward as they are in the proposed amendments, with some revisions to add clarity to committee reporting. The proposal will then be presented to the full faculty for a vote, with the proviso that next semester other reviews and changes are made to the bylaws to make sure they are in concert with university policy.
The Dean clarified that as the Faculty Senate is an advisory body, there is no legislative authority within the Senate. Such as, when new courses are approved by a faculty-elected committee, a second vote in the Senate is not required. The amendments made by the Dean make it clear which committees report to the Faculty of Arts & Sciences, and which committees specifically report to the Senate, e.g.: Committee on Campus Climate, and Shared Governance Committee. The updated document reflecting all amendments and changes will be shared at the upcoming meeting of the full faculty for a vote via Qualtrics.
II. Committee Reports
- APC (Alex Roche) – The committee’s primary charge is to oversee college-wide curricular requirements and academic standards for undergrad A&S. The committee does not approve, but rather reviews and makes recommendations. To date, the APC has reviewed and recommended 40 new/revised undergrad A&S courses this year.
- The approval procedure has been that the APC brings courses to the Senate for approval, however, with the Dean’s clarification that the APC approves and not the Senate, a suggested change in procedure was discussed: before the APC approves new/revised courses, they will be brought to the Senate for review and a discussion, and the APC will approve based on Senate feedback.
- A&P, Humanities (Wendy Woloson) – The committee’s remit is to advise the Dean on reappointment, tenure, and promotion cases. This year the committee reviewed and recommended on two tenure-track reappointment cases (1-History and 1-VMPA); two promotions with tenure to associate professor (1-History and 1-WLC); one promotion to full professor (English); one promotion to distinguished professor (Philosophy & Religion).
- Admissions & Retention (Joan Mazelis) – The committee currently does not have a chair, but has discussed goals and agenda items for next year and beyond:
- Meet with Craig Westman (Enrollment Management) and the Advising Office to review current admissions criteria, status and trends in enrollment and retention rates, as well as discuss goals in retention and admissions.
- Identify current challenges/problems/weaknesses in recruitment, retention, and admissions.
- Develop programs to improve student recruitment and retention. Some ideas include reconsider the recommendations of a past advising task force to make periodic advising meetings mandatory for students; revisit past practice of departments augmenting the work of the advising office; consider implementation of a program, developed by James Mobley, called REAP (Rutgers Early Academic Program) for high school seniors to take introductory courses at RU-C.
- Gen Ed (Susan Mokhberi) – The committee’s primary duty is to approve gen ed courses per faculty request, as well as graduation requirements. The committee works with various offices on campus to streamline the approval of Learning Abroad and Study Abroad for gen ed credit, and experiential learning credit. The committee also works with the Dean’s Office to define and approve independent studies for gen ed credit. Work with the Advising office to approve syllabi for transfer credit, and aid in student requests.
- Scholastic Standing (Chris Lim) – The committee’s responsibility is to review student requests for retroactive withdrawals from a previous semester, as well as student appeals for re-admission for academic forgiveness.
- Committee on Committees (Bill Fitzgerald) – The committee runs the annual ballot and election process, works with the Senate and Dean’s Office to ensure bylaws are clearly posted, and ensures that the committee reporting structure is followed by other committees in a timely manner.
III. Nominations – Bill Fitzgerald
Currently accepting nominations for open seats, especially for the Faculty Senate where there is a need for a new President, VP, and Secretary.
IV. New Business
Not discussed in the interest of time.
The meeting adjourned at 1:45 p.m.
Present: Ross Allen, James Boucher, Jim Brown, I-Ming Chiu, Iman Dehzangi, Sean Duffy, Jinglin Fu, Anthony Grasso, Rafey Habib, Osama Hamed, George Kumi, Randy Mershon, Kayla Preito-Hodge, Beth Rabinowitz, Jovanna Rosen, James Rushing, Stass Shpanin, Lorrin Thomas, John Wall, Zara Wilkinson, Anthony Wright
Absent (Senators): Margery Amdur, Paul Bernstein, Jamie Dunaev, Anthony Geneva, Julie Griepenburg, Aaron Hostetter, Holly B Humes, Nick Kapur, Ana Laguna Smith, Adam Okulicz-Kozaryn, Xingyun Qi, Sarah Tosh, Nate Wright
Excused Absent (Senators):
Present Senators-at-Large: Bart Everts
Absent Senators-at-Large: Nathan Fried, Paul Jargowsky
Excused Senators-at-Large:
Present (Invited Guests): Bill Fitzgerald, Dean Griffin, Christopher Lim, Joan Mazelis, Susan Mokhberi, Alex Roche, Asst. Dean Jennifer Thiel, Wendy Woloson
Drafted by Melinda Aviles, 5/15/23