MINUTES OF MEETING NUMBER 135
OF The
Senate OF mICHIGAN tECHNOLOGical university
28 March 1984
(Senate Minute pages: 2306-2317)
President Nelson called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m., March 28, 1984 in the Ballroom of the Memorial Union.
Roll: Twenty six members/alternates were present. Absent were: Roy D. Adams, Ralph E. Asplund, Bradley H. Baltensperger, Dennis A. Miller, Phillip N. Parks, and Bruce T. Petersen. No visitors were present.
Minutes of Meeting No. 134:
Under Section V.A., the proposed grading system should be referred to as an 0.5 increment grading system (rather than a +/- system).The minutes were approved as corrected.
Committee Reports
A. Curricular Policy
A proposed Ph.D. in Engineering is being considered by the committee (see Appendix A - Available by Request from the Senate Office).
B. Institutional Evaluation.
Suzanne J. Beske-Diehl presented a document on academic freedom in sponsored research which was recently received by the MTU Senate from the ACLU. The document contains a suggested university policy statement. Senator Beske-Diehl also reviewed the current MTU policy statement on academic freedom. A lengthy discussion followed. Several members of the Senate stated that they were not aware of any problems concerning academic freedom in research at MTU. The subject will be discussed further at meeting No. 136 (See Appendix B - Available by Request from the Senate Office).
C. Elections
President Nelson intends to mail requests for nominations to all academic faculty members next week. The following positions need to be filled: Tenure Committee (one position); Sabbatical Leave Committee (one position); Athletic Council (one position).
D. Retrenchment Planning
Senator Monson reported that the retrenchment planning document has been revised to incorporate the university lawyer's suggestions, and he reviewed the current document. The committee hopes to have the lawyer's response to this document in time to present a proposal at meeting no. 136 on May 2, 1984.
E. Teaching Effectiveness
Senator Belote reported that the committee has added two student members and one graduate student council member. The committee is meeting weekly, and has finished its literature review and peer institutions review. The committee has begun making departmental visits.
Old Business
Senator Predebon reported that the ombudsman selection committee has some suggested candidates and hopes to name an ombudsman by the end of Spring quarter.
New Business
MTU President Stein reported on recent actions in Lansing: a 10% increase in funding to all state universities has passed the House and will go to the Senate next week. He also reported that a tax roll-back proposal will be on the November ballot, and that such a roll-back would undoubtedly have a serious effect on the funding of higher education.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:45 p.m.
Gary G. Gimmestad
Senate Secretary