Faculty Meetings: April 21, 2011 Agenda

Our next faculty meeting will be held this coming Thursday, April 21, starting at 4:00 p.m. in the Gottwald Science Center Auditorium (A001).

Our agenda will be:

• Approval of minutes from our March 22, 2011 meeting. (please see below)Approval of Academic Council actions shown below
• Honoring Ray Dominey and Mike Davison for 25 years of service
• Honoring four retiring faculty members: Gary Greenfield, Steve Nash, and Gary Shapiro
• Motion to approve awarding of degrees
• Election of A&S committee nominees (see attached)
• Proposed revisions to the A&S T&P process (see attached)
• Other Business

This is the final A&S Faculty Meeting of the 2010-2011 academic year.

Actions for Academic Council approval on April 5, 2011

English

Proposed revisions to creative writing minor:

The coordinators of the Creative Writing Program propose two changes in requirements for the Creative Writing minor. They want to drop the required creative writing seminar and one of the literature courses since literature is taught in all of the creative writing workshops. But six courses will still be required for the minor.

Film Studies

FMST 203 With Images and Sound: Introduction to the Language of Film
1 unit
Prerequisites (if any):  None

Religion

New course proposal:

RELG 281 Islam: Muhammad to the Modern Age
1 unit
Prerequisites (if any):  None

Revised course proposals (title and/or catalog changes only):

RELG 241 Introduction to New Testament (formerly Introduction to Early Christian Era)
1 unit
Prerequisites (if any):  None

RELG 242 Jesus in History and Tradition (formerly Jesus and Christian Origins)
1 unit
Prerequisites (if any):  None

RELG 243 Ancient Mediterranean Religions (formerly The World of the New Testament)
1 unit
Prerequisites (if any):  None

RELG 247 Women in Early Christianity (formerly Women and Christianity: Origins through Middle Ages)
1 unit
Prerequisites (if any):  None

RELG 340 Lost Christianities (formerly Varieties of Early Christianity)
1 unit
Prerequisites (if any):  None

Actions pending Academic Council approval on April 19, 2011

Music

New course proposal:

MSEN 204 Little Big Band (see justification)
0.5 units
Prerequisites (if any):  Permission of instructor

Religion

Proposal for department name change (Department of Religious Studies):

Rationale:  The Department of Religion has voted to change its name to the Department of Religious Studies. The rationale for this decision is that the term “religion” is often interpreted to involve faith commitments to the subject matter, as opposed to more academic approaches that are detached from any particular religious tradition. The change is intended to align our department with a trend in nomenclature that differentiates departments located in secular institutions of higher education from those of institutions that retain a strong denominational heritage. In addition, the use of “studies” emphasizes the diverse interdisciplinary nature of the department’s course offerings, which interpret religious phenomena through methods borrowed from a variety of fields including history, philosophy of religion, literary theory, queer theory, material culture studies, psychology, and sociology.

Documents

Academic Council: April 19, 2011 Minutes

Dean Newcomb called the meeting to order at 10:33 a.m. The minutes of the April 5, 2011 meeting were approved.

General Informational Items

N/A

Consent Agenda

The following proposals were approved without further discussion:

Music

New course proposal:

MSEN 204 Little Big Band (see justification)
0.5 units
Prerequisites (if any): Permission of instructor

Religion

Proposal for department name change (Department of Religious Studies):

Rationale: The Department of Religion has voted to change its name to the Department of Religious Studies. The rationale for this decision is that the term “religion” is often interpreted to involve faith commitments to the subject matter, as opposed to more academic approaches that are detached from any particular religious tradition. The change is intended to align our department with a trend in nomenclature that differentiates departments located in secular institutions of higher education from those of institutions that retain a strong denominational heritage. In addition, the use of “studies” emphasizes the diverse interdisciplinary nature of the department’s course offerings, which interpret religious phenomena through methods borrowed from a variety of fields including history, philosophy of religion, literary theory, queer theory, material culture studies, psychology, and sociology.

Discussion Agenda

The Office of Institutional Effectiveness (OIE) has assumed responsibility for the administration of SEIs (Student Evaluation of Instruction). Dean Newcomb discussed a minor glitch with the initial implementation this semester; the new software does not allow for student comments after each question. In a last minute decision to remedy the problem, OIE has grouped like questions together and students may enter comments after each section. Ordinarily, such a change would have come before Council; however, that was not an option due to the timing of the SEIs. Council did not voice any opposition to the decision. Council did raise other concerns about the evaluations for both cross-listed and research courses. The dean encouraged Council to contact Dustin Engels in the A&S dean’s office regarding those concerns.

The dean reminded Council that staff performance reviews are to be completed in Planet Spider by May 26, 2011. Once the review has been completed, a hard copy must be printed and sent to Terri Weaver in the A&S dean’s office. There is still no option to print within Planet Spider, so it was suggested to copy and paste the information into a Word document for saving and printing. The performance reviews are required for staff merit increases.

Professor of English, Suzanne Jones opened a discussion regarding the 17.5 single subject rule (“In no case may a student count more than 17.5 units from a single subject area toward the minimum number of units necessary for graduation”). Some members of Council believe that the rule is antiquated and unnecessary since the establishment of general education requirements, while others believe the rule ensures that the student receives the full breadth of knowledge a liberal arts college has to offer. While some were in favor of eliminating the rule altogether, there were also numerous suggestions for how to work with the existing rule such as changing course attributes to account for variations among departmental courses, having the student petition, or simply educate advisors about the rule and encourage them to share it with students. The dean stated that it was a matter worth looking into and that the best option going forward would be to consult with the deans of the other undergraduate schools. Dean Newcomb will bring the issue to the attention of the other deans to see if there is a similar issue in their areas. This discussion should be carried forward into the fall.

The meeting adjourned at 11:08 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Cheryl Burns

Academic Council: April 19, 2011 Agenda

Our next meeting will be Tuesday, April 19, 2011, from 10:30-11:45 in the Tyler Haynes Commons, Room 305 (THC 305). Please review the agenda below and the cited materials in advance of the meeting.

Approval of minutes from the April 5, 2011 meeting.

General Informational Items

N/A

Consent Agenda

We will use the Consent Agenda to deal with routine business that requires Academic Council action and would not be expected to generate discussion. Any item can be moved from the Consent Agenda to the Discussion Agenda.  All course proposals are on the Arts & Sciences website at http://as.richmond.edu/resources/policies/academic-council.html

Music

New course proposal:

MSEN 204 Little Big Band (see justification)
0.5 units
Prerequisites (if any):  Permission of instructor

Religion

Proposal for department name change (Department of Religious Studies):

Rationale:  The Department of Religion has voted to change its name to the Department of Religious Studies. The rationale for this decision is that the term “religion” is often interpreted to involve faith commitments to the subject matter, as opposed to more academic approaches that are detached from any particular religious tradition. The change is intended to align our department with a trend in nomenclature that differentiates departments located in secular institutions of higher education from those of institutions that retain a strong denominational heritage. In addition, the use of “studies” emphasizes the diverse interdisciplinary nature of the department’s course offerings, which interpret religious phenomena through methods borrowed from a variety of fields including history, philosophy of religion, literary theory, queer theory, material culture studies, psychology, and sociology.

Discussion Agenda

• SEIs for Spring
• Staff performance reviews
• 17.5 single subject rule (Suzanne Jones)
• Other business

Documents



Next Meeting

This is the final Academic Council meeting of the 2010-2011 academic year.

Academic Council: April 5, 2011 Minutes

Dean Newcomb called the meeting to order at 10:32 a.m. The minutes of the March 15, 2011 meeting were approved.

General Informational Items

N/A

Consent Agenda

The following proposals were approved without further discussion:

English

Proposed revisions to creative writing minor:

The coordinators of the Creative Writing Program propose two changes in requirements for the Creative Writing minor. They want to drop the required creative writing seminar and one of the literature courses since literature is taught in all of the creative writing workshops. But six courses will still be required for the minor.

Film Studies

FMST 203 With Images and Sound: Introduction to the Language of Film
1 unit
Prerequisites (if any): None

Religion

New course proposal:

RELG 281 Islam: Muhammad to the Modern Age
1 unit
Prerequisites (if any): None

Revised course proposals (title and/or catalog changes only):

RELG 241 Introduction to New Testament (formerly Introduction to Early Christian Era)
1 unit
Prerequisites (if any): None

RELG 242 Jesus in History and Tradition (formerly Jesus and Christian Origins)
1 unit
Prerequisites (if any): None

RELG 243 Ancient Mediterranean Religions (formerly The World of the New Testament)
1 unit
Prerequisites (if any): None

RELG 247 Women in Early Christianity (formerly Women and Christianity: Origins through Middle Ages)
1 unit
Prerequisites (if any): None

RELG 340 Lost Christianities (formerly Varieties of Early Christianity)
1 unit
Prerequisites (if any): None

Discussion Agenda

Dean Newcomb shared with Council that soon-to-be-dean Skerrett would prefer to wait until she arrives to decide about department “profiles.”

Attending Academic Council were Director of Pre-Health Education, John Vaughan and Associate Professor of Political Science, Rick Mayes. Two areas of concern arose regarding the medical humanities major proposal: 1) The title “Medical Humanities” may not accurately depict the program; and 2) it was unclear whether resources would be available to consistently carry out the program. The majority of Council was in favor of continued work on the proposal and of determination of the resources that would be needed to support the program.

Also attending Academic Council was Professor of History, Woody Holton. Woody reviewed the proposed changes to the committee selection process. The dean tallied up the approximate number of faculty in each of the tripartite divisions and found the distribution to be equitable (DIV I=86, DIV II=78, DIV III=78). Council requested further clarification regarding the existence of the quadripartite divisions. The proposed elimination of the quadripartite division would mean that the committees would need to have at least one member from each of the three divisions and one at-large member (e.g., Tenure & Promotion Committee). The committees affected by this change would be the Dean’s Advisory Council, the Nominating Committee, and Planning & Priorities. Council was in favor of simplifying the election process, but requested historical information about the establishment of the quadripartite divisions and the election process before making modifications.

Council suggested developing an ad hoc committee to establish committee selection criteria for use by the Nominating Committee. It was also suggested that committees, in general, set face-to-face meeting dates (as opposed to operating via email).

Council felt strongly about eliminating item #4 (email opt out) as it was believed many people would, in fact, opt out of the balloting process, leaving very few options. The dean suggested that item #4 be withdrawn from the document, Woody agreed.

Council encouraged Woody to continue to explore the original rationale behind the creation of the quadripartite divisions. In addition, Woody will look into creating an ad hoc committee to establish committee selection criteria.

Dean Newcomb distributed a handout and reviewed the latest changes to the language contained within the T&P faculty handbook guidelines and requested Council feedback (summarized below).

Section A., paragraph two (preamble) – Council suggested that the language be changed to (in bold): Faculty members are expected to show that their performance in each of the areas, teaching, scholarship, and service meets the standards set forth below.

Section A., 1. Teaching, new section-paragraph three – Council suggested replacing the word “manuscript” with the word “submission.”

Section A., 1. Teaching, new section-paragraph five – Council asked that the language be revised to address a number of possible scenarios. The process, as written, does not clearly explain what would happen should there be a change in vote at the department, committee, or dean level. If the candidate response prompts a change in vote, it is not clear what written reports should be generated and how they should be included in the portfolio moving forward.

The meeting adjourned at 11:46 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Cheryl Burns

Academic Council: April 5, 2011 Agenda

Our next meeting will be Tuesday, April 5, 2011, from 10:30-11:45 in the Tyler Haynes Commons, Room 305 (THC 305). Please review the agenda below and the cited materials in advance of the meeting.

Approval of minutes from the March 15, 2011 meeting.

General Informational Items

N/A

Consent Agenda

We will use the Consent Agenda to deal with routine business that requires Academic Council action and would not be expected to generate discussion. Any item can be moved from the Consent Agenda to the Discussion Agenda. 

English

Proposed revisions to creative writing minor:

The coordinators of the Creative Writing Program propose two changes in requirements for the Creative Writing minor. They want to drop the required creative writing seminar and one of the literature courses since literature is taught in all of the creative writing workshops. But six courses will still be required for the minor.
Film Studies

FMST 203 With Images and Sound:  Introduction to the Language of Film
1 unit
Prerequisites (if any):  None

Religion

New course proposal:

RELG 281 Islam: Muhammad to the Modern Age
1 unit
Prerequisites (if any):  None

Revised course proposals (title and/or catalog changes only):

RELG 241 Introduction to New Testament (formerly Introduction to Early Christian Era)
1 unit
Prerequisites (if any):  None

RELG 242 Jesus in History and Tradition (formerly Jesus and Christian Origins)
1 unit
Prerequisites (if any):  None

RELG 243 Ancient Mediterranean Religions (formerly The World of the New Testament)
1 unit
Prerequisites (if any):  None

RELG 247 Women in Early Christianity (formerly Women and Christianity: Origins through Middle Ages)
1 unit
Prerequisites (if any):  None

RELG 340 Lost Christianities (formerly Varieties of Early Christianity)
1 unit
Prerequisites (if any):  None

Discussion Agenda

• Update on "handshake" profiles for new dean
• Medical Humanities proposal (see attached)
• Proposals to changing committee selection process (Proposed changes to committee selection process #1; Proposed changes to committee selection process #2)
• Other business

Documents



Next Meeting

We will meet on Tuesday, April 19, 2011 at 10:30 a.m. in Tyler Haynes Commons, Room 305 (THC 305).