Council of Graduate School Programs
Regular Meeting
April 26, 2002
Marquette Center, Room 30, Water Tower Campus
MINUTES
[Approved, 9/27/02]
Members Present: Barney Berlin, Steven Brown, Pamela Caughie (chair), Susan Cavallo, David Chinitz, Andrew Cutrofello, Adam Driks, Mary Elsbernd, O.S.F., Jawed Fareed, Allen Frankfater (for Mary Manteuffel), Mark Frasier, Thackery Gray, Maureen Hellwig, Susan Hirsch, Claudio Katz, James Keenan, Fred Kniss, Michael Maher, Marcia Maurer, Duarte Mota de Freitas, E.J. Neafsey, Jon Nilson, Marie Opatrny, David Ozar, Rebecca Sedam (for Yolande Wersching), Diane Suter, Pauline Viviano, Alan Wolfe.
Members Excused: Randolph Lucente, Mary Manteuffel, Joan McLane, Yolande Wersching.
Members Not Present: Gad Bensinger, Martin Buntinas, Fran Daly, Joseph Durlak, Stephen Jones, Steven Michels, Ta-Tanisha Young.
Graduate School Deans: Trevor Bechtel, Max Caproni, Andrew Chludzinski, William Yost.
Guests: Susan Grossman (School of Social Work), Mark Kuczewski (Neiswanger Institute for Bioethics and Health Policy) Kayhan Parsi (Neiswanger Institute for Bioethics and Health Policy).
Call to Order
Pamela Caughie, chair of the Council, called the meeting to order at 1:05 p.m.
Approval of the Minutes
Two necessary revisions to the draft of the minutes of the February 1, 2002 regular meeting were noted (to correct a typographical error in the last sentence on page 1 and to note that Michael Maher was present). The Council approved the minutes as revised by a vote of 20 in favor, 0 opposed, and two abstentions.
Dean's Report
William Yost distributed a written report and provided an overview of its contents. Dean Yost also reported on the Schmitt Dissertation Fellowship program and issues related to The Graduate School's dissertation-supervision requirements. Discussion followed.
Chair's Report
Dr. Caughie reported on the dissertation-supervision fee and noted that she thanked Fr. Garanzini for attending the Council's April 5, 2002 meeting. [The text of Dr. Caughie's follows these minutes.]
Diane Suter raised the issue of attendance at Council meetings and moved that the Council's by-laws be amended as follows:
Article IV (Elections), section A (Membership), to be added at the end of paragraph 1: "In addition, each department or unit shall also appoint a designated alternate who will attend meetings when the Council representative is unable to do so. Alternates shall be provided with all materials for the Council meeting by the Council representative and may vote for the department or unit.
Article VI (Procedures), section B, paragraph 1 would be changed to read: "Attend and participate in all meetings, or, when attendance is not possible, provide the designated alternate with materials for the Council meeting and ensure that the alternate will attend."
Claudio Katz seconded the motion, and discussion followed.
A motion to table the proposed amendment was made and seconded. The Council rejected the motion to table by a vote of 2 in favor, 19 opposed, and 0 abstentions. The proposed amendment will be considered at the next meeting of the Council, as described in Article VII of the by-laws.
Report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Administrative Stipends
Susan Hirsch, chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Administrative Stipends, reported on the committee's activity and proposed that the Council have input into the University's review of policy for stipends for administrative duties performed by faculty members. Discussion followed.
Report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Graduate Assistant Stipends
Diane Suter, chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Graduate Assistant Stipends, reported on the committee's activity.
Curriculum Committee Report
Marcia Maurer, chair of the Curriculum Committee, introduced a proposal for a M.S.W./M.A. in Women's Studies dual-degree program, and reported that the committee recommends approval of the program. Discussion followed. The Council recommended approval of the proposed program by a vote of 23 in favor, 0 opposed, and 1 abstention.
Dr. Maurer returned to the proposal for a M.A. Program in Bioethics and Health Policy and proposals for several new courses (Dr. Maurer originally introduced the proposals and reported that the Committee recommended approval of the program and courses at the Council's April 5, 2002 meeting; the Council tabled the proposals due to insufficient time for discussion at that meeting). Dr. Caughie proposed limiting the time for discussion of the proposals to 55 minutes; there were no objections. Discussion (interrupted by a fire in the building) followed. Issues raised by faculty centered on the extent of the theological component; the relationship to the campus-based program in the Philosophy Dept.; and the viability of web-based programs.
Steven Brown called the question; there were no objections. The Council recommended approval of the proposed program and new courses by a vote of 18 in favor, 3 opposed, and 2 abstentions.
Program Review Committee Report
James Keenan, chair of the Program Review Committee, summarized the committee's review of the program-review process. As a first step, the committee proposed revisions to the Council's by-laws and documents regarding program review in order to bring them into conformity with actual practice and eliminate ambiguities. The proposed revisions are described in the material distributed to Council members. Discussion followed about whether to continue to suspend the review process.
The proposed revisions will be considered at the next meeting of the Council, as described in Article VII of the by-laws.
Nominating Committee Report
Susan Hirsch, chair of the Nominating Committee, presented the following slate of candidates for Council officer positions for 2002-2003:
- Chair, Pamela Caughie
- Past Chair, Diane Suter
- Chair Elect, Fred Kniss
- Curriculum Comm. Chair, Marcia Maurer
- Program Review Comm. Chair, Joseph Durlak
- Executive Comm. At-Large Member, Patricia Mooney-Melvin
- Executive Comm. At-Large Member, Pauline Viviano
Dr. Hirsch called for additional nominations or volunteers for any of the above positions. There were none. The Council approved the above slate by a unanimous vote.
Adjournment
Dr. Caughie adjourned the meeting at 3:10 p.m.
Council of Graduate School Programs
Chair's Report
Friday, April 26, 2002
1. Due to lack of time I was unable to present an amendment to the by-laws at our last meeting. Since I cannot make motions as the chair, I have asked Diane Suter to present the amendment. The purpose is (1) to improve attendance at meetings and (2) to clarify who may participate in Council meetings when representatives are unable to attend.
2. Since our last meeting GPDs have received copies of a letter written by graduate students in the English department protesting the increase in fees for dissertation supervision, especially the new policy of charging for a 3-credit course and the elimination of 600A for those no longer in the area, and providing comparative data from a wide range of schools. Dean Yost has said he has heard from many other students and GPDs, and I know he'll be hearing from more.
I asked the Dean to review the history of this increase in his report today after the Executive Committee decided not to put this issue on today's agenda. The decision was based on the fact that the Council has been informed of the increases at past meetings and that the Council has little say on this matter. But I would like the dean to address two recommendations made by the students: (1) freezing the increases for currently enrolled students at no more than $1300 and (2) restoring 600A.
When Dean Yost gave us his statement on achieving financial stability last March, the Council was preoccupied with the closing of the Classical Studies graduate program. Although questions were raised, we never returned to this issue as a group. No one asked to have it put on the agenda and no one offered a motion protesting the increases. Had we done so, we might be in a better position to support the students now. I'm not sure what we can do as a Council at this point, but since this is not an agenda item today, we'll have to wait until the end of the meeting, under new business, to propose any action.
3. The Executive Committee for next year will be the same as this year with the following change: Susan Hirsch, Claudio Katz, and Jim Keenan will be leaving the Committee; Fred Kniss will be coming on as chair-elect and Joe Durlak will replace Jim. I remain as chair because no one else came forward. Please email me over the summer if you have agenda items for next year's meetings. I plan to schedule them all at WTC and will adjust the time, if necessary, to fit the shuttle schedule from LSC.
