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DEANS COUNCIL

Deans Council Meeting

December 5, 2012

 C 131

 

 

Note:  At times, issues of confidentiality may require that some items discussed in these meetings be excluded from these minutes.

 

Members:  Rich Cole, Tom Currin, Ruston Hunt, Thomas Nelson, Jeffrey Ray, Han Reichgelt, Zvi Szafran

 

Members Absent:   Jeffrey Ray

 

Guests:  Joel Fowler, Tom Ball for Jeff Ray

 

Item 1. Approval of Minutes

The minutes from the October 25, 2012 and November 7, 2012 were approved.

 

Item 2. Updates

Dr. Szafran updated the Council on the following:

  • Grants
  • ETCMA received a $25,000 grant from the Vassar Woolley Foundation to support the New Media Arts program
  • UTeach received another $25,000 grant from AT&T
  • Future Cities – will be on January 26, 2013
  • Digital Engineering Center – prospectus is posted and Russ Hunt is receiving feedback
  • January faculty hiring – one search is complete and others are in progress.  Szafran reminded the deans that they must send their hire recommendations to him and he will complete the paperwork for the President’s approval.  After the President signs off, the Deans can make the offers instead of the VPAA if they wish.
  • Staff Needs – the budget is not clear right now so no decisions regarding staff hires can be made at this time

 

Item 3.  Discussion of Centers

Russ Hunt previously collected operating data from each Center and combined this into a report that was distributed to the deans.  Hunt stated that there is a need to have some guidelines for the operation of the Centers the following were brought up as items to address:

  • Exclusivity for Centers?
  • How long should Centers be allowed to continue operating once they are no longer receiving funding?  Pause or delay in funding may be temporary.  If Center is not receiving funding we need to know why the Center is viable and what assets the Center is bringing to the University. 
  • What is a measure of success (besides funding)?
  • Need review process that clearly states expectations, timeline, deadlines, etc.
  • What percentage of funding goes to the Institution?  Need to review this for the Center and have full accountability of where/how funds are being used/allocated.
  • External versus internal funding – breakdown needed for all Centers.
  • Generate a template for Center directors to use in the future when preparing their report.
  • Treat review of Centers like reappointment process for faculty.
  • Succession when Center director leaves?  This needs to be addressed.  There should be a succession plan in place.
  • Center directors should be reviewed as well as the Centers.
  • Add award dates and funding dates to reports.
  • Look at other universities when considering a new Center on our campus.
  • Space usage should be identified and noted for each Center.
  • See how Centers are set up at other institutions.
  • Zvi would like to see responses to questions/issues from certain Centers.
  • Policy about naming Centers?  Endowments?  SPARC and the Foundation should work together on this.
  • Annual report about all of the activities of the Centers?  Szafran stated this would be valuable to the University as a whole and suggested an electronic publication.

The topic of whether an activity or research could fit within a Center must be channeled through that Center was postponed due to time constraints.  Hunt will collect questions and issues that were raised by the Deans regarding the Centers and give them to the Center directors.  Their responses will be reviewed by the Council at a later date.

 

Item 4.  New Business

  • Mini grants – Nelson talked about the mini grant proposals received and asked how they should be reviewed.  By the deans or by a committee?  It was decided best to form a committee made up of one faculty from each school.  The deadline will be January 15.  
  • Vista – announced there will be no access for faculty after the 15th but Brichaya will have access until the end of spring.  Zvi will check to see what the official cut-off date is for Vista.
  • Locks in Building J – have been changed to lock automatically after 10 minutes.  Is this a mistake or new procedure?  It is believed to be a new procedure that could have been utilized at the time the locks were installed.  Zvi will talk to Bill Prigge about the lock changes in Building J to see if they can be customized or if different options are available and report back.

 

Action Item(s):

  • Hunt will collect questions and issues that were raised by the Deans regarding the Centers and give them to the Center directors. 
  • Zvi will check to see what the official cut-off date is for Vista.
  • Zvi will talk to Bill Prigge about the lock changes in Building J to see if they can be customized or if different options are available and report back.

 

 

Future Agenda Item(s):

 

 

 

Meeting adjourned at 4:10 P.M.