President P. Nelson distributed copies of the President's Report ( Appendix B - Available by Request from the Senate Office).

 

Election of three candidates to be considered by the President of the University to fill one vacancy on the University Sabbatical Leave Committee

V. Snyder, Chairman of the Elections Committee, conducted the election. Synder reported that the nominations from the faculty had been requested by a memo from Pres. Nelson. Eight nominations were made. There were no nominations from the floor. Daavettila assisted in distributing and counting the ballots. The following results were reported:

Kenneth O. Alexander (BA)   - 13           George J. Love (HU)              - 8
Robert T. Brown (BL)              -  9            Harold P. Nufer (SS)             - 7
Wilber T. Haas (CE)               - 10           Lawrence Rakestraw (SS)   - 7
Konrad J. Heuvers (MA-CS)    - 3           Albert P. Ruotsala (GE)         - 7

Election of three candidates to be considered by the President of the University to fill one vacancy on the University Athletic Council

This election was held at the same time as the election in the item above. There were nominees from the faculty in response to Pres. Nelson's memo; there were no nominations from the floor. The following results were reported:

Gary P. Agin (PH)                    - 13           David T. Halkola (SS)          - 10
Michael L. Agin (ED)               -   9           Donald E. Mikkola (MY)       -   4
William E. Barstow (BA)         -   7          Roswell K. Miller (FR)          -   6
Phyllis O. Boutilier (MA-CS)   - 12          Bertwell K. Whitten (BL)       -   8
Theodore A. Grzelak (EE)       -  7

Report on Meetings of the Academic Council. - Sachs distributed copies of reports on the two meetings of the Academic Council (Appendix C - Available by Request from the Senate Office)

Report on Meeting of the Board of Control.

Sachs distributed copies of his report on the meeting of the Board of Control (Appendix D - Available by Request from the Senate Office). Sachs stressed his statement to the Board of Control on the desirability of faculty input at the Board's meetings. The Board seemed open to input from both faculty and students. He also stated that a proposal on this subject will be discussed later in the meeting; he disclaimed any personal interest in serving as the Senate Representative to the Board of Control (his term as Vice President will expire at the end of the academic year).

 

B. Instructional Policy

M. Sloan distributed copies of the committee report (Appendix E - Available by Request from the Senate Office). The committee has reviewed all matters brought before it.

Nufer asked a question on the Summer Session. Sloan replied that one problem of implementation of the Summer Session Review Committee report is money to support the program since it means 50% more salary. The Instructional Policy Committee will review the report after administrative reviews have been made. The 33% salary will be reviewed. Vice President Stein commented that the report does not provide for implementation. He had requested that this be considered but the Summer Session Review Committee has not dealt with the problems of implementation.

Sachs commented on the Good Friday Holiday, and stated that this is the second time this year that the union contract has affected the academic program. He recommended communication between the Senate and the union before the next contract is negotiated; the faculty preferences for holidays should be indicated since this affects academic performance. Nelson stated that there is no formal mechanism for this.

D. Elections Committee - Snyder formally reported the results of the two elections. It was moved, seconded and carried to accept the results of the election.

It was moved, seconded and carried to destroy the ballots.

The three candidates to be submitted to the President for the one vacancy on the University Sabbatical Leave Committee are K.O. Alexander, R.T. Brown, and W.E. Haas.

The three candidates to be submitted to the President for the one vacancy on the University Athletic Council ar L.M. Agin, P.O. Boutilier, and D.T. Halkola.

Snyder pointed out that the following departments or divisions need to conduct an election for Senator: IWR, Physics, Physical Education, ME-EM, Business Administration, Social Sciences, and Mining.

Two Senators-at-Large will be elected this Spring (Snyder's and Brown's terms expire this year). Notices will go out to all the faculty.

A Senator will be elected to the University Tenure Committee at the next meeting.

All newly elected Senators should be invited to the next meeting.

Nelson pointed out that since the next meeting will be Meeting #100, it represents a milestone for the Senate.

Volunteers are needed for the Nominating Committee for next year's election of officers.

E. Roles of the Senate and Faculty Association - See above.

Old Business - None

 

New Business

In order to comply with Senate Bylaws (See Appendix B, Item 1 - Available by Request from the Senate Office), it was moved, seconded and unanimously carried to consider Proposals 15-78 through 21-78 as "Emergency Submissions."

A. Proposal 15-78 Bachelor of Arts and Technology (Technical Theater Option).

It was moved and seconded that Proposal 15-78 be adopted.

A. Young, Head, Humanities Department spoke in favor of the proposal. The program has been under development for two to three years. The program is the most appropriate arts types of program for Michigan Tech. He also stated that this program will serve as a base for cultural enrichment of the students in the community.

Nufer questioned the requirement for twenty credits in mathematics. Young replied that this type of a program needs more mathematics and science than the current Liberal Arts Degree and is one of the reasons for a new degree program. He also stated that he hopes the students take more mathematics.

Tampas questioned the "Technology" label on the degree and felt that the title infringed on the School of Technology. He suggested a change in the name to avoid confusion with the School of Technology programs.

Nelson stated that the students in this program would be taking a large number of courses in some area outside of humanities such as in engineering or other areas, perhaps even technology. He felt that the use of the word "Technology" in the name of the degree is appropriate.

Young stated that "Theater Technology" is a recognized term throughout the country. Other options such as Sound Engineering would fit into this program. He stated that a lot of courses in the Technology area would be appropriate for the program but the "Technology" label on the program was not intended to refer to the School of Technology.

Proposal 15-78 was adopted by the following vote: For - 18; Against - 0.

 

B. Proposal 16-78, Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science Degree: Dual Degree, Arts Engineering.

It was moved and seconded that Proposal 16-78 be adopted.

Pintar asked if the proposal had been approved by the College of Engineering, Humanities, etc. Nelson replied that the same introductory comments for Proposal 15-78 also apply to Proposal 16-78.

Pintar asked about the meaning of "Professional Interest Group". Young replied that this is the same as described in the catalog for the three-two degree as it now exists for the Lake Superior Consortium of Colleges. Sachs commented that Michigan Tech's participation in the Consortium may not last much longer according to the Academic Council meetings. Nelson stated that the program is not limited to the Consortium; any engineering student at Michigan Tech could enter the program. Brown commented that we have a lot of students in this type of dual degree program who do not formally register as such. He asked if it would be advantageous to Michigan Tech to formally register them in a dual degree program.

V. Pres. Stein commented that it should not make any difference.

A question was raised on the actual requirements of the program referred to in the proposal. Nelson replied that they would be basically the same as for the Bachelor of Science in Engineering; the student would complete the degree requirements set down by the Humanities Department and by the College of Engineering.

Proposal 16-78 was adopted by the following vote: For - 19; Against - 0.

C. Proposal 17-78, Bachelor of Science in Economics.

Nelson introduced the proposal and stated that the proposal is not a new curriculum but simply a change in label on an existing option in the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. Economics is to be set up as a separate degree program outside of the general Business Administration degree. One reason for the proposal is that the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business, which evaluates the School of Business Administration at Michigan Tech, recommended this change; any degree program which uses the words Business Administration in it must satisfy stringent curriculum requirements including a substantial number of courses covering the whole field of Business Administration. The intent of the present Economics option is to provide the equivalent of a Bachelor of Science in Economics. Another reason for the proposal is to attract a greater number of students into the Economics program; current promotional literature does not show that a student can major in Economics. Economics is one of the larger degree programs at other universities.

It was moved and seconded to adopt Proposal 17-78.

It was moved and seconded to editorially amend the proposal by adding the four footnotes listed in the President's Report (Appendix B, Items 4a-4d - Available by Request from the Senate Office).

Nelson commented that he had inadvertently left out these four footnotes from the catalog description of the current Economics program. The footnotes apply to the entire Business Administration program.

Lide pointed out that there is no advanced placement test for HU101 and HU102 (Footnote b). Nelson commented that this is the exact wording used in the current catalog. Lide replied that the SAT scores are used rather than a placement test. Nelson recommended that the wording be left as it is and that the Office of the Vice President of Academic Affairs do the editing for the catalog copy.

The amendment was passed unanimously by voice vote.

Lide raised a question on the requirement of only nine credits of HU/SS electives in the program rather than fifteen. Nelson replied that this is the current requirement in the School of Business Administration because BA courses are on the approved HU/SS list and all programs offered in the School of Business require a large number of BA courses. Lide also asked if it was possible for a student to take no HU courses beyond HU102-HU103 by taking only SS courses for the HU/SS elective. Nelson replied that this is true for all of the BA programs. He recommended that the Curricular Policy Committee be asked to look at this requirement for all of the School of Business programs.

Brown asked about the courses listed in the proposal that are on the list of approved HU/SS courses. Nelson replied that BA304, BA305, BA307 in Item I; SS281; SS291 under Item II, and all except BA216 under Item III are on the approved HU/SS list.

Proposal 17-78 as editorially amended was adopted by the following vote: For - 19; Against - 0.

 

D. Proposal 18-78, Senate Committee on the University Budget.

It was moved and seconded that Proposal 18-78 be adopted.

President Smith commented that the budget comes from the departments to the Deans to the Vice President of Academic Affairs to the President before it is submitted to Lansing. The faculty should currently have input at the department level on the recommendations to the budget.

Sachs replied that there is generally very little faculty input at the department level.

Smith also stated that the university requests a university-wide salary increase (currently 10%). Sachs commented that faculty input at an earlier stage is required. Smith replied that the faculty has more input than is generally believed.

Proposal 18-78 was adopted by the following vote: For - 13; Against - 0.

 

E. Proposal 19-78, Senate Committee on the Faculty Handbook

It was moved and seconded that Proposal 19-78 be adopted.

Sachs pointed out that the Faculty Handbook will be revised in the near future. He also stated that Dr. Kuipers welcomes faculty assistance in carrying out the revision. He recommended that procedural types of material be removed from the Handbook and be added to the Procedures Manual; one copy of which is available in each department.

The proposed committee will also review the Procedures Manual and add any of the appropriate sections to the Faculty Handbook.

Proposal 19-78 was adopted by the following vote: For - 19; Against - 0.

 

F. Proposal 20-78, Senate Committee on Faculty Fringe Benefits.

It was moved and seconded that Proposal 20-78 be adopted.

Sachs commented that V. Pres. Stein would prefer to have the faculty work with him on the matter of fringe benefits and then he could go to Employee Relations with their requests.

Fringe Benefits are a factor in obtaining the best faculty.

Proposal 20-78 was adopted by the following vote: For - 20; Against - 0.

 

G. Proposal 21-78, Senate Representative to the Board of Control

It was moved and seconded that Proposal 21-78 be adopted.

Sachs stated that the Board of Control is willing to have faculty input. He also stated that the proposal will result in improved communications if the Senate makes reports as a regular part of the Board of Control meeting. Under the proposal the Vice President of the Senate will be the representative to the Board of Control.

Nufer commented that the proposal has an inherent weakness in that the Vice President may not always be able to attend. Nelson replied that the Senate could always send an observer under previous Senate policy.

Proposal 21-78 was adopted by the following vote: For - 21; Against - 0.

 

H. Miscellaneous New Business

1. Sachs called the attention of the Senate to a recommendation from the Faculty Women's Club on reduced tuition for spouses and dependents of faculty at MTU.
   
   
2. Nufer asked if the North Central Accreditation Report will be made available to the faculty. V. Pres. Stein replied in the affirmative and stated that a hearing will be held on April 9. The report will be out at some time after the hearing.
   
   
3. V. Pres. Stein distributed copies of a request on Faculty Effort in Administrative/Committee Work (Appendix F - Available by Request from the Senate Office) based on the Faculty Service Reports.
   
   
4. It was moved, seconded, and unanimously carried to have the President of the Senate send a letter of condolences to the family of Dr. Ian Shepherd, deceased Head of the Physics Department.

The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,