Minutes
Urbana-Champaign Senate Meeting
December 4, 2006

A regular meeting of the Urbana-Champaign Senate was called to order at 3:10 p.m. in Levis Faculty Center with Provost Linda Katehi presiding in the absence of Chancellor Richard Herman.

Approval of Minutes

12/04/06-01          The minutes of the October 30, 2006, Senate meeting were approved.

Senate Executive Committee Report

Senator Vernon Burton (LAS), Chair of the Senate Executive Committee (SEC), provided the following report.

Welcome to our last regularly scheduled meeting of this semester.

Among the important items on today’s agenda are nominations for the Senate Review Commission and the report of the Senate Executive Committee Global Campus Task Force.  We received many comments from faculty on this report – we will collect all the comments and make them available.

There are two handouts at the door today – 1) an Executive Summary of the Global Campus Task Force report with a list of nine key issues printed on the reverse of the page, and 2) an October 27 letter from President Joe White to the chairs of the three campus senates and the University Senates Conference regarding four key questions to which he was seeking responses.

I move that we re-order today’s agenda so FB.07.01, Resolution II Regarding AIG Sun America, be considered after AF.07.01, Resolution on Academic Freedom, Tenure, and Shared Governance Pertaining to the Global Campus Initiative.  (There was no objection.)

Please remain for the entire meeting today, because we will be considering nominations for honorary degrees in executive session as the last business item.  All non-senators must depart prior to this session.  As you were previously notified, a very limited number of reference copies of the bios of the honorary degree candidates will be available at today’s meeting.

Floor privileges have been requested for Mr. Dave Johnson, Assistant Dean for Communications in the College of Law, to speak during Senate consideration of honorary degree candidates to be held in Executive Session.  I move that such privileges be granted. (There was no objection.)

Tellers for today’s meeting are Senators Frank Calabrese (LAS), Ann Reisner (ACES), and Harry Hilton (ENGR).

Chancellor’s Remarks

Provost Katehi deferred remarks.

Questions/Discussion

Senator A. Belden Fields (LAS), Chair of the Senate Committee on Equal Opportunity, read a prepared statement concerning several matters, including recent incidents of racial and ethnic stereotyping at events sponsored by some campus organizations. (The full text of this statement is available in the Senate Office.)

Consent Agenda

The Presiding Officer announced that, absent objections of any senator, the following proposals were approved by unanimous consent:

12/04/06-02          EP.07.06*, Formation of the School of Earth, Society, and Environment,

12/04/06-03          EP.07.15*, Realignment and Consolidation of Doctoral Degrees in Music Education.

Proposals for Action

12/04/06-04          The Provost presented for action CC.07.05*, Nominations for Membership on the Research Policy Committee.  Senator Kim Graber (AHS), Chair of the Senate Committee on Committees, moved approval of the slate.  There were no floor nominations and nominations were declared closed.

12/04/06-05          By voice vote, the slate was approved.

12/04/06-06          Next presented for action was CC.07.06*, Nominations for Membership on the Sixth Senate Review Commission.  Senator Graber moved approval of the slate.  There were no floor nominations and nominations were declared closed.

12/04/06-07          By voice vote, the slate was approved.

12/04/06-08          SC.07.04/XGC.07.01*, Report of the Senate Executive Committee Global Campus Task Force.  Senator Burton moved approval of the measure and indicated that President B. Joseph White would be participating in the discussion via teleconference.

President B. Joseph White conveyed his appreciation for all the hard work done by the UIUC Global Campus Task Force as well as others who were involved in this process.  He welcomed any questions or comments.

Concerns expressed included course compression, omission of names of academic programs that have shown interest in the plan, the for-profit element of the initiative, perceived lack of partnership and faculty involvement, and maintenance of quality once the Global Campus receives its own accreditation.

Senator Richard Schacht (LAS) Chair of the Senate Committee on General University Policy and member of the Senate Executive Committee (SEC), made the following motion from the SEC upon the recommendation of the Global Campus Task Force:

That this Senate endorses the Global Campus Task Force Report and expressly withholds its endorsement of the Global Campus Initiative proposal as set forth in the May 2006 “Final Report” on the Global Campus Initiative from the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs (OVPAA), urging its reconsideration, with a view to attaining greater consensus than now exists with respect to its model, structure, guiding principles and relation to the existing campuses prior to the submission of any such proposal to the Board of Trustees for approval; and

That notification of this action, together with the full Task Force Report, be transmitted to the other two senates of the University, the University Senates Conference, and the president, for submission along with the OVPAA proposal (as the “advice” of the Urbana-Champaign Senate with respect to that proposal) if or when the president submits that proposal to the Board for action, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Statutes (with respect to the formation of new “Campuses” and other new “University-level units”).

12/04/06-09          By voice vote, SC.07.04/XGC.07.01 was approved.

12/04/06-10          AF.07.01*, Resolution on Academic Freedom, Tenure, and Shared Governance Pertaining to the Proposed Global Campus Initiative.  Senator Elizabeth Delacruz (FAA), Chair of the Senate Committee on Academic Freedom and Tenure (AFT), after stating that no AFT members were at odds with the goals and wisdom of the Global Campus, moved approval of the resolution.

12/04/06-11          By voice vote, AF.07.01 was approved.

12/04/06-12          FB.07.01*, Resolution II Regarding AIG Sun America: Safeguarding the Interests of Employees and Retirees of the State of Illinois/University of Illinois.  Professor Barclay Jones (ENGR), Chair of the Senate Committee on Faculty Benefits, recapitulated the proposal’s background and directed the attention of senators to its recommendations; he moved approval.

12/04/06-13          By voice vote, FB.07.01 was approved.

Proposed Revisions to the University Statutes

12/04/06-14          Next on the agenda for Second Reading and Action was SP.07.03*, Revisions to the Statutes, Article III, Section 2.a. (2) – University Senates Conference.  Senator William Maher (LIBR), Chair of the University Statutes and Senate Procedures Committee, reported that this proposal would eliminate term limits in the Statutes for members of the University Senates Conference, while campus Senates would be able to retain such term limits in their respective Bylaws if they wished.  He moved its approval.

12/04/06-15          By show of hands, SP.07.03 was approved.

Reports for Information of the Senate

12/04/06-16          HE.07.02*, October 20 FAC/IBHE.

Executive Session

The Senate approved a motion to enter Executive Session at 5:05 p.m. for the purpose of considering candidates for honorary degrees.

The Senate exited this session at 5:15 p.m.

The meeting adjourned at 5:15 p.m.

Robert C. Damrau, Senate Clerk
*Filed with the Senate Clerk and incorporated by reference in these Minutes.