minutes92-10-05.htmlTEXTWPC2U>c>c+ Regular Meeting of the University Faculty Senate: October 5, 1992

Regular Meeting of the University Faculty Senate

October 5, 1992

Minutes

Senators not in attendance were:

Gene Bartlett, Barbara Curry, Peter Roe

Senators excused were:

Charles Boncelet, Christine Cannon, Alexander Doberenz, Beth Haslett, Larry Holmes, James Kirby, Betty Paulanka, Michelle Provost-Craig, Chandra Reedy, Daniel Rich, Elaine Safer, Jack Smith, Roger Steiner

  1. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA

    The Senate adopted the Agenda as printed.

  2. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES

    The Senate approved the Minutes of the Meeting of September 14 as distributed.

    Senate President Lomax yielded the floor to President Roselle who outlined the events that occurred at West Towers on the morning of September 20, 1992. Continuing with a description of the ensuing meetings between University personnel and concerned students and parents, the walk around campus by Concerned Black Students, and the written demands made by them, President Roselle explained that the University could not acquiesce to the Concerned Black Students' demands since doing so would infringe on the rights of others to due process and would contravene the University's investigation. President Roselle delineated the steps of the University's inquiry into the incidents and indicated the status of pending civil and criminal charges against some of those involved.

  3. REMARKS BY UNIVERSITY PROVOST PIPES

    University Provost Pipes discussed contemporary criticism of higher education and particularly of higher education's performance of the implied "contract" between faculty and students. He stated that his intention to both discern the truth of and allay such criticisms prompted him to make certain that course syllabi containing necessary information were being provided at the beginning of the term and to see if the full semester course hours were being utilized. He called upon the Faculty Senate to engage itself in an evaluation of course delivery and procedures and general instructional policies. The Provost invited the faculty to work with administration to improve course scheduling and facility use and responded to questions concerning the status of program review, about whether more complaints have been received about instruction at the University of Delaware, and about whether instructional facilities and support should also be considered.

  4. ANNOUNCEMENTS

    Senate President Lomax had no announcements.

  5. OLD BUSINESS

    There was no old business.

  6. NEW BUSINESS

    1. The Senate considered the following motion from the Faculty Senate Executive Committee:

      WHEREAS,
      the University should have a statement identifying its purpose and goals, and
      WHEREAS,
      several committees developed a statement of mission for the University during the processes of first the Focused Vision effort, and then the Middle States Accreditation Self-Study, and
      WHEREAS,
      the content and principles of a statement of mission should reflect the consensus of the faculty, and
      WHEREAS,
      it is the responsibility of the Faculty Senate to consider a statement of mission, be it therefore
      RESOLVED,
      that the University Faculty Senate approves as the statement of mission, the "Mission Statement for the University" and also recommends its approval by the Board of Trustees.

      After hearing about the genesis and history of the proposed document and asking the purpose of such a statement, and where it would appear, Senators commented that the document tries to say too much, is too general, should be much shorter, is too repetitive, is doomed to be too repetitive and general, doesn't rule anything out, is irrelevant, has some problematic phraseology, and doesn't define clearly what the University should be. After discussion, the Senate approved a motion to send the proposed statement of mission back to a Committee, to be determined by the Faculty Senate Executive Committee. Such Committee will revise the statement of mission, taking into account the Senate's comments about the statement and about potential community participation. The Senate defeated a motion that proposed a wide community distribution of the document.

    2. Vice President Sharkey proposed the following motion:

      WHEREAS,
      the University does not have a concise statement that communicates ideals to which the community should aspire, and
      WHEREAS,
      the University Faculty Senate is interested in the campus community as it influences the learning and social growth of individuals, therefore be it
      RESOLVED,
      that the University Faculty Senate authorize the Executive Committee to appoint an ad hoc task force to prepare a statement that expresses the ideals to which the University community should aspire, and be it further
      RESOLVED,
      that the ad hoc task force prepare this statement for the February meeting of the University Faculty Senate.

President Lomax adjourned the meeting at 5:25 p.m.


Respectfully submitted,


Judith Roof
Senate Secretary

rg


July 20, 1995