Highlights of the May 10, 2001, meeting of the College Park Senate

The Short Version:

  • Senate elections: Kent Cartwright was elected Chair 2002-2003; Ellie Weingaertner is now the current Chair 2001-2002.

  • Gregory L. Geoffroy, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, announced his imminent departure to become president of Iowa State.

  • Report of Outgoing-Chair, Mark Leone

  • Moved and Approved: Proposal to establish a citation template for undergraduate studies; passed with one vote against.

  • Moved and Approved: Proposal to restructure and rename French Language and Literature PhD to "Modern French Studies"; passed with one abstention.

  • Moved and Approved: Revision of the policy on the review of department chairs and directors; passed with strong dissent (35-28).

  • Moved and Approved: Revision of the policy on the review of deans of academic units; passed unanimously.

  • Moved---but vote deferred (lack of quorum): revisions to the policy on the review of academic units.

    The Detailed Version:

  • Senate elections: Kent Cartwright was elected Chair 2002-2003; Ellie Weingaertner is now the current Chair 2001-2002. Ballots were cast for members of committees and councils, but results are not yet announced for: (1) senate executive committee, (2) athletic council, (3) committee on committees, and (4) campus parking advisory committee.

  • Gregory L. Geoffroy, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, announced his imminent departure to become president of Iowa State.His farewell remarks focused on issues concerning the level of excellence of University of Maryland compared to that of peer institutions; as an example, he cited the percentage of enrolled students who eventually graduate.

  • Report of Outgoing-Chair, Mark Leone. Dr. Leone's speech covered a number of areas, including: (1) A request to pass the ceremonial resolution on the 100th Anniversary of the department of communication (moved and passed); (2) An appeal to the campus to fund the volunteer fire department; (3) A call for a task force to look at post-tenure reviews and provide senior-level incentives for high achievement; (4) A call for an examination of the salarly structure, esp. at the senior level. He gave thanks to the many who helped him during his term of office and turned the floor over to the chair, Ellie Weingaertner, who led the remainder of the meeting.

  • Moved and Approved: Proposal to establish a citation template for undergraduate studies; passed with one vote against. The proposal includes the designation of a "Citation Advisor" for internal processing and approval of student requests; the citation advisor will inform and advise students about citations offered in a degree program.

  • Moved and Approved: Proposal to restructure and rename French Language and Literature PhD to "Modern French Studies"; passed with one abstention. The proposal is intended to reflect a new focus of the program around the modern period, for better positioning of students who face a more globally interpreted job market.

  • Moved and Approved: Revision of the policy on the review of department chairs and directors; passed with strong dissent (35-28). The revision includes new wording about term of office, academic integrity, grievance reports. There was a great deal of discussion, including objections over whether the criteria used for reviewing chairs and directors should exclude grievances against the chair. Ultimately, the senate voted in favor of the proposed change, with some minor modifications; the wording that was agreed upon is such that the review committee will be provided with reports of any grievances filed with the senate.

  • Moved and Approved: Revision of the policy on the review of deans of academic units. Again, the revision includes new wording about term of office, academic integrity, grievance reports. This discussion went much more quickly, with the same wording modifications used in the previous proposal.

  • Moved---but vote deferred (lack of quorum): revisions to the policy on the review of academic units. The revisions include a carefully defined self-study with a time limit of one year.

    Bonnie Dorr & Don Perlis
    Senators, Department of Computer Science