MINUTES
MEETING OF THE FACULTY SENATE
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
4:00 p.m., Feinstein 400

In Attendance:   John Abbruzzese, Edgar Bailey, Lydia Barovero, Paul Bazin, Joseph Camaranno, Piotr Chelminski, Joseph Cosgrove, Peter Costello, Norman Desmarais, Patrick Ewanchuck, Frank Ford, Jeri Gillin, Catherine Gordon-Seifert, Michael Hayes, Sr. Gail Himrod, O.P., William Hudson, James Keating, Patrick Kelly, thomas king, Lynne Lawson, Steve Lynch, Margaret Manchester, Fr. William Marquis, O.P., Donna McCaffrey, Fr. Thomas McGonigle, O.P., Theresa Moreau, Keith Morton, Wendy Oliver, George Raymond, John Scanlon, Janice Schuster, Raymond Sickinger, Tom Strasser, Sr. Leslie Straub, O.P., Charles R. Toth

Excused:  Eric Hirsch, Paul Maloney

Absent:  Paul Czech, LTC Paul Dulchinos

The following members of the administration were present: VPAA Hugh Lena, Brian Bartolini, Dean Mark Nowel, Chuck Haberle, Adrian Beaulieu, Madeleine Metzler and Russell Bailey.

President Ford called the meeting to order at 4:00 P.M.

Opening Prayer:  Senator Sickinger led the Faculty Senate in the opening prayer.

Minutes:  The minutes of the September 26, 2007 meeting were accepted unanimously.

Announcements:  College President Shanley approved the following legislation from the May 2, 2007 meeting: Bill #06-07/11/20 SCE course proposal SPN319 Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ Narrative in Film. Bill #06-07/06/09 REVISED Changes in Faculty Scholarships was returned to committee for further review.

President Ford also announced that he has reserved a room for the senate to meet every Wednesday until Thanksgiving, hoping to finish the curriculum review by that time. Father Shanley will attend the next meeting to give his views on the core curriculum and Christopher Lydon will address the senate at the subsequent meeting (October 31) to talk about admissions

New Business:

College Calendar: Chuck Haberle reported that the college calendar will reflect a college-wide perspective and will require tradeoffs. He requested faculty and student input. The committee is working on a 1-year calendar and hopes to prepare a multi-year calendar in the spring semester. The committee proposed three models for a calendar last spring: a traditional calendar, one with a pre-Labor Day start and one with a post-Martin Luther King Day start. They looked at the calendars of sixteen Catholic colleges, focusing on these because they all have to account for Easter recess which varies each year.

Some of the options the committee presented for consideration include: a reduced exam schedule which may mean as many as three exams per day, a week-long Thanksgiving recess which would require reducing the reading/exam period and additional modified schedules, a reduced reading period or three reading days - not necessarily in a row.   Chuck noted that our reading and exam periods are longer than those of our competitors who all have one buffer day after exams. It was also suggested to have exams for juniors and seniors on the same day as the Civ. exams.

A modified class day could meet for 40 minutes instead of 50 on some days to accommodate special events such as Mass of the Holy Spirit and convocation.

Chairs Task Force: The Report from Academic Affairs on Department Chairs / Program Directors is posted on the senate's web page at: http://www.providence.edu/facsenat/reports/chair_director07.htm . Chuck Haberle presented six recommendations for the senate's consideration. The committee made an inventory of chair duties, responsibilities, and activities when they examined the chair's roles. The most important proposal for the senate's immediate attention involves establishing a three-year term for department chairs with an opportunity for reappointment. The terms will be filled on a rotating basis with one-third of the chairs coming up for election each year. There are no term limits established for chairs and some departments have a very small number of eligible candidates.

Given the duties of the chair, it's possible to assign associate chairs in large departments. The chair could retain the powers and delegate the clerical work. The policy in the Faculty Handbook is virtually impossible to administer. For example, the psychology department is currently conducting three searches and the chair cannot be on all the search committees. The role of the department chairs is critical to the college and it's difficult to recruit new chairs in the current environment. We need to move to a more leadership-focused model. The post-tenure review process will also change the role of the chair.

Committee Appointments: passed by voice vote with one abstention.

Resolution to recognize deceased faculty: Senator Costello presented a resolution to recognize deceased faculty. The motion was amended to remove the phrase "within three years" in line two. It was also mentioned that somebody may choose not to be recognized in the manner specified. For example, would non-Christians be offended by being remembered in Catholic prayers? An ecumenical service would probably be more appreciated. The motion to postpone the matter to the next meeting passed by voice vote.

The meeting adjourned at 5:29 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,

Norman Desmarais, Secretary
Faculty Senate