Academic Senate Youngstown State University Youngstown, Ohio  44555

October 1, 2003

Note 1:  Please submit agenda items and cover sheets for the November 5, 2003, Senate meeting to Bob Hogue by noon on Friday, October 24, at the latest.  Provide both a hard copy and a disk or electronic copy of your report and cover sheet in Word or rich text format.  A downloadable cover sheet is available at the Academic Senate web site [hit "cancel" if asked for a password]:

Note 4: If you want to read or print the pdf version of these minutes and don’t have Adobe Acrobat Reader, you may download the program at the following link: <http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html>.

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Major topics presented/discussed and reports attached: 

Senate Executive Committee report; Ohio Faculty Council report; Report on status of Articulation and Transfer procedures within Ohio; General Education Committee report.

• Nominations were received for Senate Chair and for Charter and Bylaws Committee.

• A Resolution of Appreciation for Dr. Bege Bowers was introduced and passed unanimously.

• A special committee to revisit student academic grievance procedures was established.

• Senate Chair Tom Shipka appointed Dennis Henneman to examine the recent Board of Trustees policy on "Selection of Administrative and Executive Officers of the University".

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Tom Shipka, chair of the Academic Senate, called the Senate to order at 4:07 p.m.

Nominations for Senate Chair and Vice-Chair and the Charter & Bylaws Committee:

Jane Reid, co-Chair of Elections and Balloting Committee, supervised the taking of nominations for Senate Chair and Vice-Chair, as well as nominations for vacancies on the Charter and Bylaws Committee.

Nominations for Chairperson:

Tom Shipka
Chet Cooper

Nominations for 4 members of Charter and Bylaws:

Rick Walker
Eleanor Congdon
Bill Buckler
Chris Bache

Nominations were then closed.

One vacancy still exists on Executive Committee for A&S.

Tom Shipka thanked Louise Aurilio for her work on the Elections and Balloting Committee and for assisting with the transition to the new committee.

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Minutes of the Previous Meeting:

Minutes of the May7, 2003, meeting were approved as posted.  To view the Mayminutes, go to <http://www.www.ysu.edu/acad-senate/minmay03.htm>. 

Presentation of Special Resolution:

Dr. Gabriel Palmer-Fernandez introduced a resolution of appreciation for Dr. Bege Bowers for her years of service as Secretary of the Academic Senate. The text of the resolution follows:

RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION
FOR
DR. BEGE BOWERS

WHEREAS, Dr. Bege Bowers, Assistant Provost for Academic Programs and Planning, served with distinction as Secretary of the Youngstown State University Academic Senate from September 1995 through May 2003, and

WHEREAS, during her service in that office, Dr. Bowers assembled meeting agendas, committee reports, and special announcements, and provided clear, accurate, and timely minutes of meetings, and

WHEREAS, Dr. Bowers designed, built, developed, and maintained the web site for the Academic Senate, and

WHEREAS, Dr. Bowers managed these duties during a time of significant changes at the University, including the conversion from Quarters to Semesters and the implementation of new General Education requirements, and

WHEREAS, the Academic Senate and the entire University Community have benefited immensely from Dr. Bowers' extraordinary organization, thoroughness, and dedication,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Academic Senate expresses its sincere appreciation to Dr. Bowers for her years of service to the Senate and for her commitment to the welfare of Youngstown State University, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution shall be provided to Dr. Bowers, along with the best wishes of the members of the Academic Senate.

Thomas A. Shipka, Chair
Academic Senate
Youngstown State University
October 1, 2003

The resolution passed unanimously. Tom Shipka also presented a special thank-you shirt to Dr. Bowers.

Senate Executive Committee (SEC) / Report from the Chair:  Tom Shipka, chair of the Senate, reported:

(1) Welcome to all continuing and new Senators. Thank you for your attendance today. My name is Tom Shipka and I was elected last year to serve as chair for a one year term.

(2) Our new secretary, Professor Bob Hogue, and I have sent mixed signals to members of Senate Committees recently as to which member should convene the first meeting of the year of a committee to elect a committee chair. In separate communications Bob indicated by an asterisk next to a name which person should take the initiative while I opted for the person whose last name is first in the alphabet. Bob and I apologize for the confusion. The ideal solution would be for Bob's designee and my designee to contact one another to settle the issue. Meanwhile, if you are on a Senate committee but your committee has not yet been convened, I ask the person whose last name appears first in the alphabet to convene the first meeting.

(3) The Professional Conduct Policy approved by the Senate last school year has gone through a series of revisions and will reach the Board of Trustees for approval at its December meeting. A committee appointed by President Sweet, including Tom Maraffa, as chair, Jim Morrison, Bege Bowers, Sandy Denman, and myself agreed on changes based on suggestions from deans, Bill Jenkins, Charles Singler, the Cabinet, and others. The revised policy provides for a standing Senate Professional Conduct Committee to receive and adjudicate charges of professional misconduct. Anticipating Board approval of the draft policy, today I ask the Senate Charter and Bylaws Committee to draft the changes in the Senate Charter and Bylaws which are necessary to establish the Professional Conduct Committee and to submit these proposed changes to the Senate at a meeting later this school year. Dr. Maraffa can supply copies of the draft policy to the Charter and Bylaws Committee.

(4). The rosters of the Senate and Senate Committees for 2003-2004 are still in flux. Among changes which should be made in the published rosters are these:

• Peter Beckett replaces Jane Kestner as the Psychology Department Senator.
• Nancy Wagner from Nursing replaces Carol Mikanowicz from Health Professions as an at large Senator from Health and Human Services.
• Michael Serra is properly listed as the departmental Senator from Chemistry but improperly listed as an at large Senator from Fine and Performing Arts.
• Jane Reid and Renee Eggers are co-chairs of the Elections and Balloting Committee.
• Patricia Sarro replaces Frank Castronova as the representative from Fine and Performing Arts on the General Education Committee.

Please send additional corrections or updates to our secretary, Bob Hogue, via e-mail or campus mail.

(5) It has been brought to my attention by Ron Chordas, Michael Finney, and Gabriel Palmer-Fernandez, separately, that the procedures for processing student academic grievances need to revisited to assure that a) there is consistency among the Code, Senate policy, and the labor agreement covering the full-time faculty, and b) such procedures are both clear and fair. Today I am appointing a special committee for this purpose. It will study the matter, consult appropriate faculty, staff, and students, and make appropriate recommendations to the Senate later this year. The committee will be chaired by Joe Mosca, a member of the Senate Executive Committee from Health and Human Services, and will include the chair of the Senate Student Academic Affairs Committee or his/her designee, the chair of the Senate Student Academic Grievance Subcommittee or his/her designee, the President of YSU-OEA, the chair of the Senate Charter and Bylaws Committee or his/her designee, Gabriel Palmer-Fernandez, and two student Senators - Emily Eckman and Adam Vukovic. I ask that Joe Mosca convene this ad hoc committee in the next two weeks to begin its work.

(6) At its most recent meeting, the YSU Board of Trustees approved revisions in the university policy on "Selection of Administrative and Executive Officers of the University" which permits the administration to forego the traditional search process in special cases. Some members of the campus community are worried about the implications of this revision. Accordingly, I have asked Dennis Henneman, a member of the Senate Executive Committee from Fine and Performing Arts, to review this policy, discuss it with appropriate persons, and report his findings and recommendations to the Senate Executive Committee and, if he wishes, to the Senate as a whole.

This concludes my report as chair.

Ohio Faculty Council (OFC):   Tom Shipka reported:

(1) The Ohio Faculty Council is an entity established about five years ago by Roderick Chu, Chancellor of the Board of Regents. The OFC advises the Chancellor on matters in public higher education in Ohio and promotes the cause of public higher education in a variety of ways. Each of the thirteen public universities and two freestanding public medical schools in Ohio send two faculty representatives to the OFC - the chair or president of the campus Senate and one other faculty member elected as an OFC delegate who may or may not be a member of the campus Senate. Currently Daryl Mincey and I are the YSU delegates. Because Daryl is on sabbatical this year, it is necessary for us to designate a new YSU representative to serve out Daryl's term which runs from 2002-2004.

(2) The OFC convenes on the 2nd Friday of most months during the school year in the Board of Regents Suite on the 36th floor of the Rhodes Office Tower. As current chair of the OFC, I have set the agenda for the first three meetings this school year.

a. On October 10 Dennis Leone, Superintendent of the Chillicothe, Ohio, public schools, and Atty. Jim McCollum, Executive Director of the Inter-University Council, will visit with the OFC. Mr. Leone is the person who published a paper last school year alleging problems in the administration and governance of the State Teachers Retirement System. This paper eventually led to several newspaper exposes, the resignation of the CEO of STRS, and new legislative proposals to regulate STRS. Mr. Leone will update the OFC on the current changes in STRS personnel and practices. Mr. McCollum will update the OFC on the Columbus scene, particularly the work of the Governor's Commission on Higher Education and the Economy.

b. On November 14, Atty. Richard Pogue, chair of the Governor's Commission on Higher Education and the Economy, and the administrator of this Commission will visit with the OFC.

c. On January 9, Mr. Thomas Noe, Chair of the Ohio Board of Regents, will visit with the OFC.

Also, the Chancellor will discuss a variety of issues with the OFC at each of these meetings.

(3) A major objective of the OFC this year is to develop a mechanism to monitor and influence the behavior of the Ohio General Assembly on higher education issues. This mechanism will likely be a "Legislative Scorecard" which receives wide circulation, especially among faculty, staff, students, and alumni of the public universities and medical schools. It is for this reason that I ask the Senate to approve my recommendation of Paul Sracic from Political Science to replace Dr. Mincey during his sabbatical. Paul has been a member of the Executive Committee of the Ohio Education Association and has extensive knowledge of the state political scene. Also, he has the tools as a political scientist to help the OFC develop a workable Legislative Scorecard.

(4) Finally, I hosted one member of the Governor's Commission who visited our campus last month. Mr. David Johnson of Columbiana County, owner and CEO of Summitville Tile, Inc., spent most of Wednesday, September 3, at YSU. President Sweet, Vice-President Terry Ondreyka, and Coordinator of General Education Bill Jenkins made very effective presentations to him, he toured the campus, and he had lunch at the MVR. Ron Cole will be doing a two part interview of Mr. Johnson in issues of YSUpdate on October 6 and October 22.

Report on Articulation and Transfer Policy:

Bege Bowers submitted an informational report on the status of deliberations on statewide articulation and transfer. Attachment 1 contains the text of the report.

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Bitonte College of Health and Human Services:   Dean John Yemma reported on developments and news from the College:

Thank you, and I appreciate this opportunity to report on our College.  The success of the Bitonte College of Health and Human Services is due to the work and innovation of the faculty.  Presently we have 31 programs, 6 master's degrees, and we hope fo a social work master's degree by next September.  We have 350 active partnerships with hospitals and other agencies. Distance learning initiatives include arrangements with Tri-C and Lorain Community College, using both synchronous and asynchronous modes of instruction. There are approximately 3000 students in BCHHS programs total as of this time.  The College would like to continue to explore programs, but budget demands are tight.  Provost Atwater has been very supportive of our programs.  Finally the College hopes to look into a 4-year program in X-Ray technology including CAT and MRI.

General Education Committee (GEC):  A list of newly certified courses appeared in Attachment 6 to the agenda for the October 1 Senate meeting at <http://www.www.ysu.edu/acad-senate/oct03_gec.pdf>.  No action is required.

Bill Jenkins, chair of the committee, reported on the imporance of assessment of General Education courses::

There has been national inquiry also about how well colleges are doing with general education. North Central has also increased its interest in general education assessment. The General Education Committee is hoping to work together with Sharon Stringer's assessment committee on program-specific assessment. For this Fall, the goal is to establish learning objectives for courses and programs. For Spring, the goal is a timeline for specific measurements, examinations of programs, and report of recommendations.  Actual assessment reports will not be due this year; this is an attempt to set up the infrastructure so that it is ready to go for assessment reviews next year.

New business:  None.

Adjournment:  Dr. Shipka dismissed the Senate at 4:47 p.m.