Faculty Assembly Minutes 2-17-12

College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Assembly February 17, 2012

Registering Attendance:

ANTHROPOLOGY:
 F. Crespo, J. Haws, J. Peteet, C. Tillquist, J. Zhao
BIOLOGY: C. Corbitt, R. Fell, J. Steffen
CHEMISTRY:
R. Buchanan, C. Burns, C. Grapperhaus, M. Maurer
CLASSICAL & MODERN LANG:
R. Buchanan, W. Cunningham, M. Dalle, B. Fonseca-Greber, C. Hardin, G. Hutcheson, D. Lalonde, A. Leidner, A. Mastri, W. Pfeffer, R. Roebuck, C. Sullivan, L. Wagner, W. Yoder, L. Zeng
COMMUNICATION:
J. Ferré, J. Hart
ENGLISH:
D. Anderson, T. Byers, K. Chandler, J. Dietrich, A. Griner, P. Griner, D. Hall, K. Kopelson, K. Petrosino, S. Ryan, B. Williams, E. Wise
HISTORY:
A. Allen, J. Cumbler, C. Ehrick, T. K’Meyer, Y. Ma, E. McMinnis, D. Vivian, J. Westerfeld
HUMANITIES:
P. Beattie, N. Polzer, P. Pranke
MATHEMATICS: C. Biro, M. Bradley, C. Li, Jiaxu Li, Jinjia Li, T. Riedel, D. Swanson, D. Wildstrom
PAN-AFRICAN STUDIES:
J.B. Hudson
PHILOSOPHY:
R. Kimball, D. Owen
PHYSICS:
D. Brown
POLITICAL SCIENCE: T. Gray, S. Hua, M. Merry, R. Payne
PSYCHOLOGY:
P. DeMarco
SOCIOLOGY: J. Busch, M. Evans-Andris, C. Negrey, D. Potter, J. Rieger
THEATRE ARTS:
R. Vandenbroucke
WOMEN’S & GENDER STUDIES: C. Fosl, D. Pecknold, N. Theriot

Professor Byers, Chair, called the meeting to order

The minutes of the Assembly of November 18, 2011, were approved as posted.

The Chair requested and received consent of the house for Professor Hall to act as parliamentarian in the absence of Professor Stenger.

The Chair announced that a list of college and university committee vacancies for AY 12-13 had been circulated to the faculty and asked colleagues to consider volunteering for committee service.

Dean Hudson discussed the budget situation. In the questions that followed , he was also asked about the document regarding changes to the University Undergraduate Council that had been circulated to faculty.

The Chair announced that this meeting was the first reading of proposed changes to the College By-Laws, reminding the Assembly that there must be two readings prior to a vote on any of the items. There was no call for discussion of the proposed changes at this time.

Professor Roebuck, Chair of the Curriculum Committee, and Professor Allen, Chair of the Planning and Budget Committee, moved, seconded by the committees, the approval of the proposal for a B.A. in Latin American and Latino Studies. Hearing no call for discussion of the motion for approval, the Chair put the question and the motion carried.

The Chair recognized Professor Roebuck who moved, seconded by the Curriculum Committee, approval of a proposal originating in the Office of Admissions to remove ACT/SAT scores as a requirement for the admission of international students. The proposal applies to applicants with fewer than 24 semester credit hours who are not citizens of the United States; it is not intended for applicants who are permanent residents of the United States. Under the new policy, international applicants will be required to demonstrate English proficiency and to meet the minimum grade point average (high school gpa or transfer gpa) as established by the unit.

Discussion included Professors Roebuck, Pecknold, Cumbler, Riedel, and A. Griner.

Hearing no call for further discussion, the chair put the question and the motion carried on a voice vote.

Professor Steffen called for a division of the house. The motion carried with 34 in favor and 19 opposed.

The Chair recognized Professor Theriot who asked that a response to the document regarding changes to the Undergraduate Council be introduced as new business. The motion to approve the addition of this item to the agenda of new business was seconded and carried.

Professor Steffen spoke to the development of the document in the Faculty Senate.

Professor Theriot moved “That the Assembly instruct the A&S Faculty Senators to insert language in the proposal for a newly structured Undergraduate Council to make clear that any proposal on curriculum or academic policy not receiving unanimous approval by the Undergraduate Council must go back to the individual units for final approval.”

The motion was seconded.

Hearing no call for further discussion, the chair put the question and the motion carried without a dissenting vote and with one abstention.

[02/21/12]