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Attendance: Approximately 110
1. Minutes of the previous meeting
2. Election of the Parliamentarian
3. Recommendation on requiring the composition exam as a graduation requirement
4. Report from the Committee on Examinations and Standing
5. Consideration of Academic Calendars for 1994-95 and 1995-96
President George Rupp called the meeting to order at at 4:04 p.m. in 124 Herring Hall.
Actions Taken on Agenda Items
The minutes of the November 9, 1992 meeting were approved without corrections.
After reviewing the history of Alan Chapman's election to two terms as parliamentarian, Don Johnson nominated Alan Chapman to serve for another three-year term as parliamentarian. Chapman was elected by acclamation.
The Undergraduate Curriculum Committee has considered the resolution proposed by the Faculty Council Committee on Athletics, which recommended that passing the English Composition Examination be a graduation requirement. The Committee declines to recommend this resolution until after the review of the undergraduate curriculum, which will take place during the 1993-94 Self-Study Program.
The Committee on Examinations and Standing reported to the faculty that it felt extenuating circumstances would inevitably arise and that some group would have to adjudicate difficult issues in the application of academic rules and graduation requirements. The Committee believes that it is representative of all philosophies and opinions on campus and constitutes an appropriate group for such adjudication. It accepts willingly the charge to approve waivers to graduation requirements only when circumstances are truly extenuating.
The calendars were approved after a proposed amendment was defeated. The new calendars differ from the present one in that the second semester is one day shorter and begins one week later. Martin Luther King's birthday is designated an academic holiday (no classes).
Don Johnson, Speaker of Faculty Council, reviewed the reasons for developing by-laws for faculty governance. Several faculty members discussed the problems associated with finding people willing to serve and expressed concern about exacerbating this problem with the creation of new positions. John Ambler spoke in favor of linkages between Faculty Council and University Council that exist in the present structure. Gale Stokes described the valuable but generally unrecognized service provided by those who work on Tenure and Ethics problems.
Ian Duck of the Department of Physics announced a faculty initiative to increase the number of inner city children attending the Rice University Summer Camps and requested that faculty members each support one child by contributing $100. No overhead costs whatsoever will be deducted from contributions. This initiative is an expansion of a successful program launched last year by the Department of Physics.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:10 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Linda Driskill, Secretary of the Faculty