Highlights of the College Park Senate meeting on April 23, 2007

1. Report of the Chair (James Gates)
   • Nothing to report.

2. Special Report on Campus Security (Ann Wylie)
   • Campus reviewed security arrangements in the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy, including emergency response plan & threat assessment team. Believes current system is sound.
   • Working on improved education of campus on available resources for counseling and emergencies.
   • Campus sponsored two blood drives, a vigil for VTech students, and offered support to campus Asian student associations.
   • Features of response system include
     • Incidence Response Team with members from the Health Center, Campus Police, and Administration
     • Psychologist available at each College
     • Siren system (established after tornado hit campus) for warning personnel to go indoors
     • Mail servers upgraded so that mass email to campus now takes 45 minutes instead of 3 hours
     • Campus police trained in "active shooter" response
     • Many campus building doors (and campus gates) can be electronically closed in minutes
     • Voicemail can be sent to all campus voice mailboxes in minutes
     • Text messaging system purchased and being set up. Personnel will be able to register cell phone/wireless PDA to receive text messages
   • Faculty comments
     • Difficult to obtain help from campus when dealing with disturbed or mentally ill students. Administrators were not able to suggest procedures. Campus health center refused to provide information on students recommended for counseling.
     • University web page poorly organized in terms of listing resources/procedures for dealing with mentally ill students.

3. Reports from Senate Executive Committee
   • Proposal being developed to broaden overseas study opportunities for undergraduates.

4. Reports from Senate Committees
   • Programs, Curricula, and Courses Committee
     • Add a Post Baccalaureate Certificate in Literacy Coaching
       • Designed for high school & middle school teachers.
       • Proposal passed unanimously.
     • Add an area of concentration in Marine and Coastal Management to the B.S. in Environmental Science and Policy
     • Reorganize the Dept of Education Policy and Leadership as two departments, the Dept of Educational Policy Studies and the Dept of Educational Leadership, Higher Education, and International Education.
       • Designed to reduce obstacles to students arising from dual focus of original department.
       • Each department would have about 10 faculty.
       • Proposal passed near-unanimously.

5. New Business
   • Faculty urged to submit their textbook orders for next semester soon. Will help students save a lot of money.

Chau-Wen Tseng