February 16 2015 | Arts & Sciences Senate

A&S Senate
Agenda
February 16, 2015

3:30-3:35
Approve Agenda and Minutes
President’s Report

3:35-4:00
Dean Kopp
Curriculum Proposals
Senior Lecturers
Faculty Presence on Campus
Role of Advising

4:00-5:00 PTCs
Step by Step Vote on makeup and roles of the split committees
(next meeting will be the vote on the exact language that goes in the bylaws)

5:00
Old Business
New Business

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A&S Senate
Minutes
November 18, 2014

I. Approval of agenda: approved.

II. Approval of minutes from October 26, 2014: approved:

III. On-Line Curriculum (P. Stephens)

The Curriculum Committee has not reviewed the document that Dr. Stephens wrote. Dr. Stephens offered a sense of what the Curriculum Committee thinks.
The Curriculum Committee seeks to be consultative and helpful. They seek to promote consistency among departments.
In light of the various initiatives regarding on-line education, such as winter and summer on-line teaching initiatives starting with online learning development, the Curriculum Committee should review such courses to ensure they meet the same generally accepted standards.
Departments ought to identify significant changes and have the Curriculum Committee review them.
Dean Kopp asked if each department had their own Curriculum Committee. Dr. Stephen didn’t know, but they do have undergraduate and graduate program directors.

IV. Present Changes to the academic home of the Educational Leadership Program (D. Kaufman)

Dr. Kaufman read the changes to the document.
There was a motion to approve the changes: all in favor, none opposed.

V. Changes to the PTC (T. Sears)

The PTC is loaded with cases. The best way is to split load into two PTC’s. PTC Junior will review the cases for promotions from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor with tenure and the PTC Senior will review cases for promotion from Associate Professor to Full Professor.
To bring it into alignment we have to change the senate by-laws. We need to change the language for definition of the departments within each of these sub-categories.
Discussion ensued regarding the representation on the committees especially the Libraries and Journalism. What about having an ad hoc faculty member from the Libraries and Journalism?
Someone suggested that the PTCS be filled with only senior faculty members.
There was a motion to table this entire discussion until somebody figures out what the by-laws are and distributes them for all to see so that further discussion of amending the by-laws is on a rational basis. Motion seconded. Vote taken: All in favor, none opposed.
Please send comments/recommendations to Dr. Schedel.

VI. Dean’s Report (S. Kopp)

Tenure process: We are asking prominent faculty to resign their tenure who already have tenure from other Universities that are at our level or higher and we are asking them to do that through good faith that we will probably tenure them. Asking this body to find a process in real time with the recruitment process such that when the Dean’s letter goes to the Provost and the Provost’s letter goes to the candidate with an offer to Associate or Full Professor with tenure. Will further offer a way in which this can be expedited. It is the practice of the department and this body to request additional letters when we want to tenure someone. Find this unusual because in the process of recruiting this person to our campus, we solicit a large number of letters already from a broad spectrum of colleagues from across a broad spectrum of institutions.
Working with chairs to come up with a set of baseline expectations for how departments govern themselves. A good number of departments do not have by-laws. Asked a subcommittee of all the chairs to be formed and give advice on what would be a good set of baseline expectations to be found in by-laws. By-Laws should contain in them an articulation of who has voting rights in the department. By-laws should have some clear process for the selection of a chair, executing a recruitment and for promotion and tenure. There should also be some process for decisions on curriculum at the graduate and undergraduate level.
Have asked for the chairs to give advice on what constitutes faculty excellence in all of our disciplines.
Also have asked departmental sub-committees to work on issues of faculty workload.
Task force formed on staff affairs in CAS to collect information on the workplace, culture and what it means to work at Stony Brook. Kane Gillespie is the Chair. Task Force formed on Lecturers in CAS. Kristina Lucenko is the Chair.
In the process of instituting reorganizational changes in the CAS office.

VII. New business: M. Schedel: The SOM is considering what to do with the Department of Anatomy. It is felt that the research that Anatomy does is not in line with the research from the SOM and it might be appropriate to merge them with the Department of Anthropology. Should this body be involved?

N. Goodman: The Dean of the School of Medicine, Dean of CAS, the Provost and the Chairs of Anatomy and anthropology will see if they can work at something that is reasonable.

S. Kopp: Would like to see this body comment on whatever arrangements are made.

Meeting adjourned.

Submitted by:

Laurie Cullen, Secretary
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PTC Changes
February 16, 2015

The senate has agreed to split the PTC into two groups and double the membership
            PTCJ
                      Tenure
            PTCS
                       Promotion
Vote #1) Should PTCS be consisted of only full professors?
a)    Yes
b)    No
c)    Yes – with a floating associate member similar to the floating junior member of the current PTC

The role of Libraries, Journalism, SOMAS are in question
            All schools, not in CAS
            CAS PTC decided their tenure and promotion

Vote #2) How should non CAS members be represented in the PTC

a)
• Libraries gets added to Fine Arts and Humanities
• Journalism gets added to Social and Behavioral
Sciences
• SOMAS gets added to Natural Sciences and Math

If a or b from Vote #1
• PTCJ has 7 members (including floating junior)
• PTCS has 6 members
• PTCJ chair is tie breaker for PTCS

If c from Vote #1
• PTCJ has 7 members (including floating junior)
• PTCS has 7 members (including floating associate)
• PTCJ chair is tie breaker for PTCS and PTCS chair is tie breaker for PTCJ

            b)
• create 4th Category : SOMAS, JOURNALISM,
LIBRARIES (and future entities)
If a or b from Vote #1
             • PTCJ has 8 members (including floating junior)
            • PTCS has 7 members
            • PTCS chair is tie breaker for PTCJ

If c from Vote #1
• PTCJ has 8 members (including floating junior)
• PTCS has 8 members (including floating associate)
• PTCJ chair is tie breaker for PTCS and PTCS chair is tie breaker for PTCJ

            c)
• SOMAS, JOURNALISM, LIBRARIES (and future
entities) are not represented on the PTC

If a or b from Vote #1
• PTCJ has 7 members (including floating junior)
• PTCS has 6 members
• PTCJ chair is tie breaker for PTCS

If c from Vote #1
• PTCJ has 7 members (including floating junior)
• PTCS has 7 members (including floating associate)
• PTCJ chair is tie breaker for PTCS and PTCS chair is tie breaker for PTCJ

C. Currently can’t hire people with Tenure. Should PTCS be able to grant tenure to incoming candidates?

Candidates would be given 2 options

Option 1) Candidate wants tenure upon arrival and agrees to make candidacy public – SBU can request letters from people in the field

Option 2) Candidate wants to remain confidential – must wait one year and then will be reviewed

Vote #3 Should we be able to hire candidates with tenure as described above
a) Yes
b) No

Thank you all for your patience as we go through this time of transition! I think the PTC will be able to function more effectively after we double the size, and I think it is important to address these questions while we make this change.

Senate Minutes