GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
FALL MEETING OF THE GENERAL FACULTY,
GENERAL FACULTY ASSEMBLY, and the
ACADEMIC SENATE
Tuesday, October 22, 2013, 3:00 pm
Student Center Theater
MINUTES
1. Provost Bras opened the meeting at about 3:05 PM, stating that he was filling in for President Peterson who was attending the AAU Presidents’ Meeting in Washington. Dr. Bras then provided the following remarks on matters of interest to the campus:
a) Georgia Tech recently celebrated the tenth anniversary of Technology Square. It had become a vital center within Midtown Atlanta and a hub for entrepreneurial development. He added that the Crum and Forrester Building on Spring Street in that area was in the process of being transformed into a possible future front façade of a new high-performance computer building.
b) The Provost discussed the impacts that could come from a government shut down like that which recently occurred. He explained that the Institute had limited funds to sustain operations if the government was unable to actually pay its bills for an extended period of time. The Institute had contingency plans but the time over which this would sustain operations was limited.
c) He reported that the Board of Regents had decided to recommend two capital projects for the proposed university system budget for fiscal year 2015: 1) Renovation of the Caddell Building used by the College of Architecture’s School of Building Construction; and 2) the renovation of the Price-Gilbert Library and Crosland Tower. The latter would open up possibilities for new modalities for the library.
d) The search for a new Dean of the Scheller, Jr. College of Business was underway. Dean Steve Salbu would be stepping down July 1, 2014. Dean (of Engineering) Gary May was chair of the search committee. Provost Bras encouraged faculty with suggestions of candidates to come forward.
e) The new online MS degree program in Computer Science was off to a good start and slated to begin classes January 15, 2014. The period of admissions opened two weeks ago and would be open another week. The application rate was encouraging, and the quality of many applicants, high. The ultimate accepted enrollment would be 400 to 500.
f) A town hall meeting concerning experiences and trends in Massively Open Online Classes (MOOCs) would be held Thursday, October 24, from 3-5 p.m. in the Student Center Theater.
g) Preparation for SACS accreditation reaffirmation was underway. Provost Bras asked for the cooperation of all faculty, staff, and students.
h) The new Georgia Tech Starter program was operational, providing crowd sourced funding of research
i) The France-Atlanta celebration was going on involving the French Consulate in Atlanta and Georgia Tech for the fourth year in a row. Dean Royster in the Ivan Allen College was also instrumental in leading a new Africa-Atlanta program.
j) The Office of the Arts at Georgia Tech was looking for a new director. Georgia Tech was receiving assistance from a new external advisory board for Arts@Tech.
k) Provost Bras asked VP for Institute Diversity, Archie Irvin, to comment on diversity trends in the undergraduate student population at Tech relative to 2008: women students were up by 19% in first year classes; Hispanics up by 35%; African-Americans up by 24%; and under-represented minorities as a whole by 31%. In terms of all students in the present year compared with 2008: women were up by 25%; Hispanics up by 46%; African-Americans by 13%; and under-represented minorities as a whole by 26%.
l) A Georgia Tech Climate Assessment Survey had been completed and Provost Bras thanked Dr. Archie Irvin, VP for Institute Diversity, Dr. Julie Ancis, Assoc. VP, and Mr. Jonathan Gordon, Director of Assessment. The Provost also commended the faculty for their participation. See Attachment #1 for a copy.
m) Dr. Bras noted that Georgia Tech was participating this year for the first time in Common App, an online college application system that helps candidate students apply to a wide range of colleges and universities. The Georgia Tech Office of Information Technology, Enrollment Services, and Admissions worked together to adapt Georgia Tech systems and make this possible. Unfortunately some problems were experienced by the company that ran the Common App system, but Tech made necessary adjustments to compensate. The numbers of applicants so far were up compared with last year.
2. Provost Bras asked for the minutes of the April 23, 2013 meeting to be approved. He indicated that the minutes were posted on the faculty governance web site and no additions or corrections had been received. (See Attachment #2 below for web site reference). The minutes were approved without dissent.
3. Dr. Bras called on Dr. Leslie Sharp, Chair of the Charitable Campaign, to explain the campaign this year. Dr. Sharp asked the faculty to give to any of the approximately one thousand charities supported by the campaign. Methods of contribution could be selected through TechWorks and included payroll deduction, one-time credit card or debit card payment, and electronic check. It was also possible to make a pledge to pay by check or cash via a commitment on www.charitable.gatech.edu. Such payments could be sent to Dr. Sharp, Asst. Vice-Provost, French Building, Room 112, Mailcode 0740. Giving through this campaign symbolized the commitment of the Georgia Tech community to helping those in the area who were less fortunate. Dr. Sharp introduced her co-chairs: Ms. LaJauna Ellis in the College of Engineering and Dr. Joe Hughes in ECE. Dr. Sharp announced that those who contributed would have a chance to win prizes in drawings November 22 and December 15 (the formal end of the campaign). Dr. Bras added his strong support to giving to this campaign.
4. The Provost called on Ms. Susan Wells Parham, Librarian, to discuss open access at Georgia Tech. She reminded the meeting participants that the faculty last year approved a policy for open access to faculty publications. Since the inception of this program on January 1, 2013, 104 faculty members had submitted publications to the open access repository SMARTech, and 43 had submitted waivers to the policy. The required Open Access Policy & Implementation Committee had been set up with members drawn from the Library Faculty Advisory Board, Georgia Tech Research Corporation, the Academic Services Committee, and the Library; the committee would initiate meetings soon. [Further information will be found at www.library.gatech.edu/scdc/open_access or at http://openaccess.gatech.edu.] Ms. Parham then announced the coming Open Access Week events at Georgia Tech as documented in Attachment #3. Provost Bras commended the faculty at Georgia Tech for their support of open access to peer-reviewed publications. He mentioned a recent article in Science by John Bohannon that decried the lack of scruples in for-profit open-access journals lacking peer review.
5. The Provost then called on representatives of each of the General Faculty’s Standing Committees to present their annual reports and any minutes requiring approval. There were no specific action items that needed further approval. In most cases the representatives followed closely the reports in the committees’ files on the faculty governance website noted in Attachment #4 below and so this text is not repeated here. The following is an outline of the material presented showing the representatives that appeared to make the presentations.
Standing Committees of the General Faculty
a. Faculty Benefits – Ms. Stella Richardson (member of the committee) presented the Annual Report and the following minutes:
Minutes: 4/1/13, 5/6/13, 9/9/13. No action items.
Ms. Richardson moved for the adoption of the listed minutes. All were approved without dissent.
b. Faculty Honors – Prof. Joel Sokol (2012-13 Chair) presented the Annual Report.
Provost Bras reported that he was appointing a committee to identify national awards that faculty might be eligible for and to facilitate nominations.
c. Faculty Status & Grievance – Prof. Robert Wood (Executive Board Liaison to the committee) presented the Annual Report
d. Statutes – Ms. Jeanne Balsam (2012-14 Chair) presented the Annual Report and the following minutes:
Minutes 1/7/13. No action items pending. Concerning the work of a subcommittee on faculty definition, Ms. Balsam noted that this matter would come to the next meeting of the faculty on November 19 and would also be briefed in two town halls planned for November 6 at 3 p.m. and November 14 at 11 a.m., both in Clough 102.
Ms. Balsam moved for the adoption of the listed minutes. All were approved without dissent.
Provost Bras commended this committee for the important work accomplished and in progress.
e. Academic Services – Dr. Amy D’Unger (2012-13 Chair) presented the Annual Report and the following minutes:
Minutes: 12/3/12. 1/22/13, 2/12/13, 3/12/13, 6/18/13. No action items.
Dr. D’Unger moved for the adoption of the listed minutes. All were approved without dissent.
f. Welfare & Security – Dr. Ron Bohlander (Secretary of the Faculty) presented the Annual Report on behalf of the committee.
6. The Provost then called on representatives of each of the Academic Faculty’s Standing Committees to present their annual reports and any minutes requiring approval. Explicit approval of the faculty for specific action items was also sought where required. In most cases the representatives followed closely the reports in the committees’ files on the faculty governance website noted in Attachment #4 below and so this text is not repeated here. The following provides an outline of the material presented showing the representatives that appeared to make the presentations. Where presenters utilized additional presentation materials, they are noted below and provided as attachments.
Standing Committees of the Academic Faculty
a. Institute Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (IUCC) – Prof. Pradeep Agrawal (2012-13 Chair) presented the Annual Report and Prof. Laura Hollengreen (2013-14 Chair) presented minutes and action items utilizing Attachment #4a.
Minutes: 4/30/13, 5/7/13, 6/4/13, 6/18/13, 7/9/13, 7/23/13, 8/6/13, 8/20/13, 9/3/13, 9/17/13, 10/1/13. In outline the action items were as follows:
Action items: From 6/18: Biology – 2 new courses and modification to the BS degree in Biology involving a change in course requirements. From 7/23: CoC – modifications to the BS in Computer Science (Systems and Architecture threaded concentrations) and the Minor in Computer Science, involving changes in course requirements; ME – modification in the BS in Mechanical Engineering, involving a new concentration in Nuclear Energy; Provost Subcommittee – 3 new courses associated with the Grand Challenges Living Learning Community. From 10/1: Applied Physiology – 1 new course; in general – 20 degree programs from multiple colleges were recommended for deactivation – they have no students enrolled.
Prof. Hollengreen moved for the adoption of the listed minutes and action items. All were approved without dissent.
b. Institute Graduate Curriculum Committee (IGCC) – Prof. Jeff Jagoda (2013-14 Chair) presented the Annual Report and minutes and action items utilizing Attachment #4b.
Minutes: 7/25/13, 9/5/13, 9/12/13, 10/3/13. In outline the action items were as follows:
Action Items: From 9/5: Business – 1 new course. From 9/12: EAS – 2 new courses. From 10/3: MSE – 1 new course & 1 deactivation; ME – modifications in the MS degree in Nuclear Engineering adding the Nuclear Enterprise Management Concentration, and modifications in the PhD with a major in Nuclear and Radiological Engineering, adding a Nuclear Enterprise Management Specialization; ISyE, CoC-CSE, & Business – approval of a prospectus for a new MS degree in Analytics.
Prof. Jagoda moved for the adoption of the listed minutes and action items. All were approved without dissent.
c. Student Regulations Committee (SRC) – Prof. Chuck Parsons (2012-14 Chair) presented the Annual Report and minutes and action items utilizing Attachment #4c.
Minutes 8/29/13, 10/11/13
Action items from 10/11: Changes in Sexual Harassment Policy and associated changes in the Student Code of Conduct. Prof. Parsons clarified that the changes were intended to meet current legal standards and definitions.
Prof. Parsons moved for the adoption of the listed minutes and action items. All were approved without dissent.
d. Student Academic & Financial Affairs – Prof. Craig Tovey (2012-14 Chair) presented the Annual Report utilizing Attachment #4d
Dr. Bohlander noted that a few committees, such as this one, had commented on a need to review their charter. He reported that the Executive Board had asked its Vice-Chair, Prof. Bob Kirkman to lead a review of the membership guidelines and charters of all Standing Committees. He had a survey of all the Committees in progress and looked forward to the dialogs needed.
e. Student Activities – Mr. Bruce Henson (2012-14 Chair) presented the Annual Report and the following minutes and action items:
Minutes: 9/8/11, 10/21/11, 11/4/11, 12/2/11, 1/25/12, 2/15/12, 2/29/12, 3/14/12, 3/28/12, 4/11/12, & 4/18/12
Action items: Approval of all student activity charters and constitution revisions recommended by the committee as documented in their minutes and the annual report.
Mr. Henson moved for the adoption of the listed minutes and action items. All were approved without dissent.
f. Student Grievance & Appeal – Prof. Arnie Schneider (2012-14 Chair) presented the Annual Report
g. Student Honor – Profs. David Bucknall (2012-14 Chair) presented the Annual Report
h. Student Computer Ownership – Ms. Lori Critz (2012-14 Chair) presented the Annual Report and the following minutes and action items:
Minutes: 3/15/13, 9/4/13
Action items: Approval of the Student Computer Ownership plan for 2013-14 as documented in the Annual Report.
Ms. Critz reminded the faculty that the student computer ownership guidelines were posted at http://sco.gatech.edu.
Ms. Critz moved for the adoption of the listed minutes and action items. All were approved without dissent.
i. Academic Integrity – Dr. Ron Bohlander (Secretary of the Faculty) presented the Annual Report and the following minutes on behalf of the committee:
Minutes: 11/13/12, 2/22/13
Dr. Bohlander moved for the adoption of the listed minutes. These were approved without dissent.
Dr. Bohlander thanked all the committees for their hard work on important faculty governance matters and for their cooperation in assembling all the annual reports and minutes in a timely way. Dr. Bras reinforced that sentiment.
4. Dr. Bras closed with an additional item: He reported that an effort was underway to bring together the Division of Professional Practices and the Office of Career Services. The intention was to provide better integrated support to students in career preparation.
Dr. Bras adjourned the meeting at about 4:55 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Ronald
A. Bohlander
Secretary of the Faculty
November 18, 2013
Attachments: