Minutes for University Faculty Council Meeting,
12:30pm - 2:00pm, Friday 5 September 2008

Members Present: Javad Abbasian (ChBE), Paul Anderson (CAEE), Guillermo Atkin (ECE), Patricia Bach (Psyc), Warren Edelstein (AMat), William Grimshaw (SS), Joyce Hopkins (Psyc), Nasrin Khalili (Stuart), Robert Krawczyk (Arch), Arthur Lubin (AMat), Martina Nieswandt (MSEd), Joseph Orgel (BCPS, for A.Howard), Boris Pervan (MMAE), Dietmar Rempfer (MMAE), John Snapper (Hum), Xian-He Sun (CS), David Venerus (ChBE), Catherine Wetzel (Arch), Wai Gen Yee (CS).

Student Government Association Visitors: Aubre Chapman, Linda Goldstein

Faculty and Staff Visitors: Alan Cramb (Provost), Mary Anne Smith (Counsel).

Members Absent: Mark Anastasio (BME), Shlomo Argamon (CS), Howard Chapman (Kent), Ali Emadi (ECE), Dale Fahnstrom (ID), Andy Howard (BCPS), Judith Lederman (MSEd), David Rudstein (Kent).

Discussion and Action Items:

1. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 12:35 pm on Friday 4 April 2008 in the Trustees' Dining Room of the Hermann Union Building after lunch. In the absence of the secretary, the Chair, Chris White (BCPS), appointed Jack Snapper (Hum) as secretary. Chris noted that a quorum was present.
2. Schedules: The first order of business was to settle on meeting dates for the fall semester. The chair proposed that the Council meet on the first Friday of each month. This proposal was approved by unanimous consent. The meeting dates through the end of the calendar year were thus set for Oct 3, Nov 7, and Dec 5.
3. Provost's Concerns: Provost Alan Cramb spoke to the Council concerning his major concerns, with an emphasis on (a) the importance of following university policy and (b) the need to live within the university budget. The Provost emphasized his present work on (a) assessing immediate resource needs within the units and (b) working on the strategic plan. The Provost discussed a variety of issues with the Council. The Provost plans to have separate meetings with the assistant and associate professors to discuss with them the administration's expectations and standards for promotion and tenure moving forward.
4. Committees: Nominations for the Search Committee for the Armour College Dean were solicited by e-mail prior to the first UniFC meeting. Similarly, nominations for the Review Committee for Harold Krent as Dean of Chicago-Kent College of Law were solicited by e-mail prior to the first UniFC meeting. It was noted that anyone with additional recommendations for either position should send them to Chris White by Monday 8 September. Nominations for UCoPT were also solicited by e-mail prior to the first UniFC meeting. The members retiring from the committee are Mahjoub Elnimeiri (Arch), John Grimes (ID), Howard Eglit (Kent), Carlo Segre (BCPS), and Greg Fasshauer (AMat). The Provost indicated that he wishes to appoint replacements to keep the college representation unchanged (i.e. 1 x Kent, 1 x ID, 1 x Arch, 2 x CSL). It was noted that additional nominations for UCoPT should be forwarded to the UniFC Chair.
5. UniFC Membership: It was noted that some academic units have yet to elect a replacement UniFC representative. The Chair and Secretary are in communication with the appropriate academic-unit chairs to resolve this issue. The elected UniFC vice-chair left the university over the summer, leaving vacant the vice-chair position. Chris requested that Council members consider standing for this position. Nominations and an election to fill this position will occur at the October meeting.
6. Academic Calendar: The Council discussed at length the proposed changes to the academic calendar. The Council had particular concerns over (a) the imbalance between the number of class days in the fall and spring semesters and (b) the four day empty period between exams and the commencement ceremony and (c) the need to make any changes at all. The Council notes that the Calendar has not traditionally been presented to the UniFC for review. It is moved and seconded that the Council, following that tradition, take no formal vote on the proposed calendar. The Council will continue to seek faculty input on the proposed changes, and forward them to the Calendar Committee.
7. Priorities: Chris White asked the UniFC to establish a list of priority concerns for the present academic year. The Council suggested four items: the strategic planning process, policy on student honesty, customer satisfaction (particularly with Banner), and the promotion and tenure procedure. The Chair reviewed the list of UniFC subcommittees, asking the members to reflect on the value of each and to be prepared at the October meeting to populate each.
8. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned by general consent at 2:00pm.