FAC Minutes 12-10-15

College of Natural Science
Faculty Advisory Council

Meeting Minutes
December 10, 2015

 

Present: S. Beceiro Novo, D. Bello, G. Garrity, J. Kirkpatrick, S. Levental, B. Montgomery, K. Osteryoung, F. Peterson, C. Piermarocchi, M. Stuart, and T. Zacharewski

Approval of Minutes. The minutes from the November 12, 2015 meeting were approved as written.

Old Business

Support for ESL 291

No communication has been received from ESL. The item will be tabled until feedback is received.

NatSci Policy for Undergraduate Research Volunteers

Suggestions from committee members have been incorporated into the document and it has been distributed to OISS, HR and EHS for review. The subcommittee will meet after the first of the year.

Discussion took place regarding volunteers being defined, in part, as persons eligible for employment in the U.S. This stipulation may be legally necessary to show due diligence for not creating volunteer positions instead of paid positions. The subcommittee is further investigating this matter and alternative options.

New Business

Review NatSci Guidelines on Departmental and Program RPT Procedures and Their Documentation

Committee members reviewed the guidelines and offered the following suggestions. A motion was passed to approve them. F. Peterson will send the suggestions to Associate Dean Chivukula.

  • Item #3, the “should” could be changed to “must” or rearrange the sentence to specify that the items “must be included to meet the minimum requirement of inclusion.”
  • “Draft” should be removed from item #4e.  
  • Although stated in item #3a, it could be stated more clearly that chairperson or director is responsible—that the faculty advise the chair or director.

Assign Sections for Unit Bylaw Review

The following committee members agreed to review the PSL bylaws and report back at the January FAC meeting. F. Peterson will send the marked up bylaws and instructions. Dean Kirkpatrick noted that PSL is a joint department not administered by NatSci. Communication with the deans of the other colleges is necessary.

Composition of Faculty and Voting/Other ® C. Piermarocchi and T. Zacharewski

Chairperson/Director Appointment/Review/Duties ® B. Montgomery and S. Levental

Unit Committees and Councils/Grievance Procedures/Bylaw Review ® G. Garrity and E. Litchman

Review Physics Bylaws

The three subcommittees appointed to review the Physics and Astronomy Bylaws reported on their section and offered comments/suggestions where appropriate. A motion was passed to approve the bylaws. F. Peterson will compile comments and forward them to the Department of Physics and Astronomy.

Next Meeting: January 14, 2016