Members present: Jeff Budiman (CAE), Kevin Cassel (MMAE), Howard Chapman (Kent), Warren Edelstein (AMat), Joel Goldhar (SGSB), Ruthann Gordon (Psyc--proxy for Joyce Hopkins), Bill Grimshaw (SocSci), Andy Howard (BCPS), Sanjiv Kapoor (CS), Robert Krawczyk (Arch), Art Lubin (AMat), William Newman (MSED), Victor Pérez-Luna (ChEE), David Rudstein (Kent), Jay Schieber (ChEE), David Sharpe (Arch)
Jack Snapper (HUM), Phil Troyk (BME), Chris White (BCPS), Geoff Williamson (ECE)Members Absent: Joyce Hopkins (Psyc), Bogdan Korel (CS), Vijay Kumar (ID), David Peterson (Psyc), Ganesh Raman (MMAE), Miles Wernick (ECE)
Student representatives present: Alejandro Taboada
Student representatives absent: Govind Wakhlu.
Guests: Fernando Alessandrini (Graduate Student, CSLPR), Brandon Lloyd (Undergraduate Student, CSLPR), Donna Robertson (ARCH), Fouad Teymour (ChEE), Mary Anne Smith (Counsel),
Opening: The meeting began at 11:50am in the ballroom of the McCormick-Tribune Campus Center.
Minutes: The minutes from the 9 January 2006 were approved.
Master of Landscape Architecture:
Donna Robertson, Dean of the School of Architecture, presented a proposal for a Master of Landscape Architecture. This proposal has received approval from the Graduate Studies Committee. The documents supporting this proposal had been posted on the UniFC website for several weeks, although owing to a miscommunication, one of the documents has been posted for somewhat less time. Donna fielded questions from the floor regarding this program, primarily regarding the economics of the program, the market for the program, and the academic status of the program. The fact that the program requires 90 semester-hours of work for students with no previous background in landscape architecture was noted, but Donna pointed out that many of the students would be entering the program with some background in the subject. After further discussion it was moved and seconded that the program be approved as proposed; the motion carried unanimously.
Professional Masters Programs in Biological Engineering:
Fouad Teymour, chair of the Chemical and Environmental Engineering Department, and Victor Pérez-Luna presented a modified proposal for a professional masters program in Biological Engineering. This proposed program has received approval from the Graduate Studies Committee, but when it was brought before the UniFC in January, questions regarding the participation of biology and BME faculty in the development of the program delayed its approval. A document in support of the modified program had been posted on the UniFC website for about two weeks. Fouad affirmed that he has now discussed it with the chairs of BME and BCPS and with others, and that the concerns raised at the January meeting have been resolved. After further discussion it was moved and seconded that the program be approved as proposed; the motion carried unanimously.
Proposal from CSLPR:
Alejandro Taboada, student government association representative to the UniFC, introduced Fernando Alessandrini and Brandon Lloyd from the Student Government Association. They presented a proposal for endorsement of recent activities of the CSLPR regarding multicultural awareness. The UniFC discussed the proposal with some enthusiasm for its content, but questioned whether the Council had any particular standing regarding the issues raised in the proposal. After some discussion it was agreed that the Council would take no official action regarding the student proposal until it had had more of an opportunity to consider it.
IPRO Task Force Report:
Jack Snapper presented a report from the IPro task force, as presented at the 9 February Undergraduate Studies Committee meeting. Unlike earlier proposals, the task force's current recommendation does not include a proposal to reduce the number of semester-hours of IPros in the General Education Requirements from 6 to 3; instead, it leaves the General Education requirement intact, and asks for changes in the structuring of budgets for IPros and in the amount of financial support provided by the administration to IPros. It also asks for a tighter system of academic oversight on the IPro program. The Council discussed the proposal extensively. It was moved and seconded that the task force's recommendations be approved and brought before the full faculty for consideration at the 24 February University Faculty meeting. The proposal passed unanimously.
Un-addressed old business: At its January meeting, the Council tabled a discussion of changing the statutory quorum level for University Faculty Meetings from the current 25% down to 20%. This issue was not addressed at the 10 February meeting.
Adjournment: The meeting adjourned around 1:25 pm.