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Chair: Susan Camp
Recorder: Kimberly Kenney
Members Absent: W. Silky, R. O'Connor, C. Mack, D. Zych, T. Darvill, J.
McKeown
The meeting was called to order at 3:12
p.m.
I. Approval of Agenda
A motion was made and carried to move Gerontology Minor to the first item
under Unfinished Business. The agenda was approved as amended.
II. Approval of September 10th, 2007 Minutes
The minutes of September 10th, 2007 were approved
unanimously.
III. FA Chair’s Report – S. Camp
Dr. Camp started off by discussing the DSI
procedure. She said that the subdivision and school peer review committee
chairs met and made several recommendations to PPC. First, to eliminate the
subdivision review of DSI applications; (although a straw vote at the meeting
was 4 against elimination-2 for elimination). Second, eliminate the ranking of
1-N and substitute “highly recommended,” “recommended,” or “not recommended.”
Thirdly, require the use of the “outline of Annual Summary of Faculty
Activities” for consistency and ease of use. They also recommended to include
in the “Outline” a faculty workload summary which includes the duties each
faculty performed over the DSI period, a table that includes assigned time and
extra service assignments to teach, administrate, conduct research, etc. They
have also recommended that there be an increase of time in the DSI calendar for
departmental and subdivision review.
Dr. Camp then raised the issue of the Conflict of Interest and Professional
Ethics proposal, to be discussed later in the meeting. She included the website
http://www.dos.state.ny.us/ethicsnews.html
for reference.
The Chair then told the Assembly that the Professional Development Center
Proposal had been sent to Priorities and Planning Council and we are now
waiting for a response.
Dr. Camp reminded the Assembly that the Proposed New School Chairs’ response
was distributed at the present meeting, and would be discussed later.
Finally, Dr. Camp noted about the Graduation Outcomes proposal. She reminded
the Assembly to have their departments and councils review the proposal and
give suggestions for revisions by early November to whiting@oswego.edu for APC deliberation and
recommendations to the Faculty Assembly by the end of the semester.
IV. Reports of Councils, Committees and Task Forces
Academic Policies Council: met on September 21st and
elected J. Smith as the chair and Paul Tomascak as the note taker. The council
also discussed an African and African American studies minor.
Priorities and Planning Council: heard from D. King and Y. Petrella
who discussed the Metro Center. They also heard from Walter Opello about
internationalizing the curriculum.
General Education Council: Begining in fall of 2008, “Gen Ed 98” will
no longer be offered. Also, critical thinking will soon be infused. Individual
departments/programs would plan core/cognate courses for majors and incorporate
them into the curriculum. There is an evaluation rubric for critical thinking
that should be referenced if any help is needed. The next meeting is Tuesday,
October 2nd, at 8 a.m.
Information Technology Council: hopes to meet within the week.
Graduate Council: has approved the following course:
CPS 587:
Individual Cognitive Assessment
The Council has also approved a Revision for the Master of Science in
Chemistry that was distributed at the meeting for a vote by the Assembly in two
weeks.
Library Council: has a meeting on October 9th, 2007
Undergraduate Curriculum Council: reported that the online course
proposal form is available and course proposals can be submitted. They also
reported that Anthony Ouellette was elected UCC chair for the 2007-2008 term.
The council also reported that, of three course proposals reviewed, two were
approved:
ENG 389:
Documentary Traditions
ENG 489:
Women and Screen Studies
Writing Across the Curriculum Steering Committee: reviewed the task
force proposal. J. Belt has been named the Chair and the committee also
discussed the new writing center location.
Campus Concept Committee: met on September 28th and heard
a summary of the West Academic Quad focus groups from Nancy Bellow and a
summary of the Library Planning work from Mary Beth Bell. They will convene
again on October 28th.
V. Elections
Elections were held for the following positions:
Graduate Council Non-FA: Ding Zhang
Academic Outreach Council FA: Rob Auler
Admissions and Student ServicesNon-FA: Jessica Reeher
VI. Unfinished Business
The revisions to the Gerontology Minor were made and a new copy was
distributed at the meeting. The proposal was approved unanimously.
The Conflict of Interest and Professional Ethics Task Force Proposal was
discussed. Dr. Camp distributed a brochure about sexual harassment and noted
that the Task Force essentially stemmed from discussion that preceded the
Sexual Harassment Policy and brochure, and the Task Force has been working for
a year and a half. After reviewing the packet, there was a proposal that the
current public officers law policy be included in the faculty and staff
handbook, along with an annual reminded about the law policy, and that it be
included in the new staff orientation. After some discussion this proposal was
withdrawn and replaced by a motion that the entire proposal be adopted as
written. Concerns were raised with the original heading; that the charge
was too broad. It was noted that the charge was supposed to be broad because it
encompasses a lot of information. The Biological Sciences Department wanted an
amendment about anonymous third party reporting to be more specific,
particularly regarding consequences if someone abused this anonymous reporting.
They also wanted to know how intimate relationships would be proven if both
parties involved denied any relationship. Their final question was whether this
proposal and its regulations were consistent with other colleges. It was noted
that yes, it was consistent with the regulations of other colleges. There was
some discussion about having to write one’s sexual orientation on a form at the
end of the proposal not being “equal.” There was a motion to amend to strike
the words and Professional Ethics” from the title and leave only “Conflict of
Interest Policy,” and striking “and Professional Ethics” from everywhere it
appears inside the document and all outside documents making reference to it.
It was noted that the sexual harassment policy and brochure had already covered
the issue of professional ethics, so the charge was only dealing with conflict
of interest issues. This motion passed. There was then a motion to delete the
conflict of interest disclosure form from the procedure, this motion also
passed. There was a motion to adopt the policy as amended with change of name
and deletion of form. This motion failed. There was then a motion that the
public officers law policy be included in the faculty and staff handbook and be
included in new staff orientation, with an annual reminder about the law and
that a brochure be developed that included information about the policy and the
examples of specific sections of the public officers law from the proposal
appendix. This motion passed.
The last item of business was the Proposal for a School of Communications
and Creative Arts. Last spring, the individual departments had retreats to
discuss the development of a new school. The four departments met for a retreat
on June 5th. The potential benefits of this new school are that it
would pull in new students, it would better meet the needs of these students,
it would promotes excellence on campus, the capital improvements for the campus
would be good for all departments, and it would establish Oswego as a cultural
center. The goals of the new school are to explore cultural values, promote
civic engagement and global awareness, and also develop students that are more
questioning, flexible, reflective and innovative. It was noted that the
connections, collaborations and identity for the school would be strengthened
because of the interconnectedness on campus between the departments. In support
of Liberal Arts Education and Professional Practice of the new school, the
proposal boasts BA degrees, three of the four departments are accredited, the
health of all the departments is dependent on the quality of the liberal arts
program, and many of the classes are responsive to the world and world issues.
In terms of General Education, this would no longer be a burden for a single
unit, but rather the responsibility would fall on the collective
university. Change is inevitable, so the new school is embracing the
change. The presenters mentioned a bit of Oswego’s history, including that
Edward Sheldon questioned traditionally accepted notions about education, and
these notions change every year often to the benefit of the campus. Having a
new school would continue the winning tradition. In conclusion, the proposal
states that the new school is merging and emerging art and communication. At
the heart of the new school are four departments with excellent records and
academic achievement. The proposal encourages distinction within SUNY
Oswego.
There was a motion to adjourn and it was decided that the Assembly would
further discuss the proposal at the next meeting.
VII.New Business
There was no new business.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:02 P.M.
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