Faculty senate talks tobacco-free campus, major, minor revisions

      The members of Faculty Senate approved the revisions of several university majors during Tuesday’s meeting in Gore Hall. The senators also discussed the student government approved tobacco-free campus motion, as well as admissions for next year’s incoming freshman class.

Interim Provost Nancy Brickhouse started the meeting by discussing the statistics for the incoming freshman class of 2013-2014, which has the highest number of honors admissions in the university’s history. Delaware residents have been notified on a rolling basis since January and will continue to be admitted in this fashion, she said.

Brickhouse said the motion for a tobacco-free campus, passed by the Student Government Association, may be more closely considered in the near future. She said comparative universities like the University of Maryland have adopted a smoke-free campus policy.

However, she said the university’s push for a smoke free campus is unusual, as it was started and continues to be supported by students.

“Our [SGA] in November, passed a resolution in favor of a tobacco-free campus,” Brickhouse said. “We are working on a policy right now and we welcome your input.”

While the university does not sell tobacco products on campus, Brickhouse said they are allowed to be used on campus and this will continue until new policies are passed.

Another announcement made during the meeting was a potential revision of the amount of time students are given to get to class, Brickhouse said. She said other universities give their students 10 minutes to go between classes, rather than the 15 minutes allowed by the university.

“We’re going to be looking at that particular policy and consider whether a change in this policy could redirect certain resources,” Brickhouse said.

Senate President Sheldon Pollack said another item for further consideration is grade forgiveness, which was brought before him by a request from the student government. He said based on this potential addendum, if a student receives a grade below a C-, it would stay on the student’s transcript, but if the student retakes the class and receives a higher grade, the new grade would factor into the student’s GPA.

Pollack also said at the next meeting, five proposals for adjustments to the university’s policies on faculty tenure will be brought before the senate. He said there will be eight to nine proposals total, but the remaining adjustments will be discussed at a later date.

“Their proposals mostly have to do with technical glitches and things like that,” Pollack said. “Hopefully there won’t be too much debate over them and we can discuss the remaining addendums at a later meeting.”

A number of revisions for various majors, minors and other academic programs were also brought before the senate, Katherin Rogers, senate vice president said. She said a few majors, such as Medical Diagnostics, will also be available for students pursuing honors degrees in the subject.

“Students choosing the Medical Diagnostics major are likely to pursue an advanced degree in healthcare and may desire to pursue an honors degree,” Rogers said. “Therefore, the Faculty Senate recommends approval of the establishment of an Honors Degree in the Medical Diagnostics major, effective September 2013.”

Pollack said President Patrick Harker will attend the next meeting. Pollack said he hopes faculty members take advantage of his presence and be ready to meet with Harker at 3:30 p.m., a half hour before regularly scheduled meetings.