All fall semester meetings start at 10:00 am in DW 1001.
- Call to order
- Approval of minutes
- President’s remarks
- Motion to approve the proposal for the CERES research center (see below)
- Approving this year’s Senate voting membership of Associate Faculty colleagues
- Constitution of the Academic Senate, two proposed changes: a) Updating titles and other non-controversial changes to the Constitution as part of the transition to a new online format (links below), and b) Adding item 2.2.C of faculty legislative authorities from the Constitution of the Indiana University Faculty verbatim to the list of faculty legislative authorities contained in V.2.a of the Constitution of the Academic Senate for IU South Bend: “Standards and procedures for creation, reorganization, merger, and elimination of academic programs and units.” This would become the ninth item in that list, with the intention of following this change with a consideration of existing IU policies for these kinds of changes, such as ACA-79.
- Update on the proposal to have a shared calendar among regional campuses and online programs
- Update on the new faculty travel money process
- Update on the Engaged Faculty Fellows Program
- Update from the General Education Task Force
- The Committee on Teaching discussion of the use of bar graph data in the campus’s PTR and awards process–statement below
- Announcements (see below) and motion to adjourn
CERES motion. “The Senate supports the creation of a Center for Excellence in Research and Scholarship as described in the proposal presented to the Senate at the September 2017 meeting.”
Versions of the Constitution for item 6.a. Three versions: 1) the current Constitution of the Academic Senate, 2) the Constitution with proposed changes in names, titles, and other easy corrections with those changes visible in red, and 3) the Constitution as it will appear if the Senate approves these changes.
Note from the Senate Committee on Teaching: “The Senate Committee on Teaching recommends that the tables and bar graphs be removed from the end-of-semester student course evaluations. These tables and graphs draw a direct comparison of said course and said instructor with the corresponding department, corresponding school, and also the whole campus. The committee feels that this information may be misleading, comparing faculty teaching first year to graduate, required to elective, etc. It could be difficult to identify a great teacher among a pool of great teachers. Overall, calculating the average of the ratings among all courses and/or among all instructors within a specific department or across different departments and divisions does not seem fair, especially since student course evaluations have become such an integral part of all applications for reappointment, promotion, tenure, and awards. It is also our concern that these visual effects may direct the reader’s eyes away from a careful reading of the students’ important comments.”
Nominees: Associate faculty members to serve as voting members of the Senate this year.
Matthew F. Benedict (Theatre and Dance), Marcia A. Holland (English), Kristy L. Ganoe (Communication Studies), Carlos M. Lisoni (Political Science), Peter C. McCasland (Chemistry), Allison R. Moss (Sociology and Anthropology), Dan T. Parker (Business and Economics), Colin Raybin (Theatre and Dance), Doug P. Scripture (Business and Economics), Craig A. Sumerix (Mathematics), Kim D. Wooden (Business and Economics)
Dark Matter Day Powerpoint slide here (also as pdf).
