Recap of University Senate's Jan. 27 meeting

February 4, 2014  


Here is a recap of the University Senate's meeting held Jan. 27.

* A moment of silence. David Williams, Senate chair, started the meeting with a moment of silence dedicated to Andrew Boldt, a senior in the College of Engineering who was killed Jan. 21 in a shooting on campus. Following the moment of silence, President Mitch Daniels reiterated the details of existing safety procedures on campus. He also detailed procedural questions that University officials will consider, including whether campus-wide emergency alerts can be sent faster and how to ensure that all faculty follow through with emergency procedures.

* President's trip to Colombia. Daniels' remarks also addressed his recent trip to Colombia, where he signed six agreements with universities to foster research, exchange programs and supercomputer collaboration. Daniels also met with government officials, business leaders and other prominent figures during his time in Colombia. More on the president's trip is here.

* The search for Purdue's next provost. Purdue continues to make progress in its search, Williams said, and applications will be accepted through Feb. 21. A short list of candidates is expected to be available by early March. On-campus visits will take place through mid-April.

Williams invited all faculty and staff members to suggest provost candidates. Nominations should be directed to Timothy Zwier, search committee chair, at zwier@purdue.edu, or to search committee members, who are listed here. Nominations and comments also may be sent through a confidential email account at provostsearch@purdue.edu.

* A task force to examine moving to a year-round academic calendar. Williams also announced that he has formed a task force that will consider the possibility of moving the University to a year-round academic calendar. Andrew Hirsch, professor of physics and interim department head, will chair the committee.

A list of the committee's members and more information about its charge are here.

* The possible creation of a new Senate standing committee. The Senate is considering creating a standing committee to handle matters related to equity and diversity. The matter will be discussed further at the Senate's February meeting, Williams said, and more details will be available then.

* An update on the Student Growth Task Force. Hal Kirkwood, associate professor of library science, said the Student Growth Task Force and the Senate's Educational Policy Committee continue to work on a report that outlines how Purdue will measure student intellectual growth, among other things.

The Educational Policy Committee was expected to discuss the matter at its regular meeting. Identifying actionable items to include in the report, including guiding principles for assessment and the creation of a faculty committee to clarify the assessment's framework, are among the goals.

Kirkwood said he hopes to provide a further update at the Senate's February meeting.

* Parking and Traffic Committee presentation. James McGlothlin, associate professor of health sciences and industrial technology, gave a presentation about the Parking and Traffic Committee's activities in 2012-13. The summary of the presentation is available here. The presentation is available here.

Writer: Amanda Hamon, 49-61325, ahamon@purdue.edu

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