September 13, 2005

The September meeting of the Graduate Council was called to order by Dean David Wittrock, at 8:30 a.m., September 13, 2005, in the Plains Room in the Memorial Union.

In Attendance: Mark Aune, Joe Brennan, Ross Collins, Amanda Dillard, Charlene Wolf-Hall, Harlene Hatterman-Valenti, Ayanava Majumdar, JoAnn Miller, Stephen O'Rourke, Judy Pearson, Donna Terbizan, Rodney Traub.

The minutes for the April 13, April 20 and May 11, 2005 meetings were considered. Joe Brennan made a motion to approve the minutes, and Harlene Hatterman-Valenti provided the second. Motion carried.

Associate Graduate Faculty Requests

• The Council heard the request from the Department of Plant Sciences and the Genomics program to grant associate graduate faculty status to Justin Faris and Stephen Xu. Joe Brennan made a motion to approve this request. Judy Pearson provided the second. Motion carried.
  
  
• The Council considered the request from the Education program to grant associate graduate faculty status to Ellen Chaffee and Lisa Feldner. Joe Brennan made a motion to approve this request. Donna Terbizan provided the second. Motion carried.
  
  
• The Council considered the request from the Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics to grant associate graduate faculty status to Simeon Kaitibie. Joe Brennan made a motion to approve this request. Judy Pearson provided the second. Motion carried.
  
  
• The Council considered the request from the English Department to grant associate graduate faculty status to Debra Peterson. Ross Collins made a motion to approve this request. Judy Pearson provided the second. Mark Aune abstained. Motion carried.
  Dr. Wittrock asked for direction as to how to handle teaching waiver and associate graduate faculty requests received during the summer months. Should he grant provisional approval? Rodney Traub agreed that provisional approval could be given at the Dean's discretion, but it should be clear that it is provisional and full approval of the Graduate Council will be considered in the fall.

Course and Program Changes

• Dr. Wittrock decided to postpone discussion on the R credit course proposal until the October 12 meeting. Registrar Kristi Wold-McCormick will be asked to attend the meeting to discuss the proposal.
  
  
• The Council considered the Electrical and Computer Engineering request to change the master's program name from Electrical Engineering to Electrical and Computer Engineering. Joe Brennan made a motion to approve this request. Jake Glower provided the second. Motion carried.

Other Items

• The Council considered the request from a Plant Sciences student to take the preliminary exam for a third time, as stated in the Graduate Bulletin. After discussion it was determined that the oral exam the student has taken was not part of the preliminary exam as defined by the Graduate School.
  
  
• The Council reviewed the Graduate Bulletin section regarding Scholastic Standards, specifically the passage regarding conditional admission. As written, it states students admitted conditionally for academic reasons will is automatically on academic warning until admission status is changed to full standing. Joe Brennan made the motion to remove the statement "because of grade deficiency" from the section. Jake Glower provided the second. Motion failed.
  
  
• Dr. Wittrock updated the Council on the reorganization of the Graduate School to include Distance and Continuing Education and College of University Studies. Dr. Wittrock has hired Janis Bork to be the assistant to the dean in the graduate school. She will be attending Graduate Council meetings while Melissa Selders-Ortez is on leave.

Meeting was adjourned at 9:50 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Melissa Selders-Ortez, Student Services Associate