RUTGERS UNIVERSITY SENATE
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
MINUTES
December 2, 2022

MEMBERS PRESENT: Bachmann, Boikess, Den Bleyker, Foster, Giraud, Oliver, Olivera, Ortiz, Roth, Schwartz, Simonds (Chair), Struble, Szatrowski, Thompson

ALSO ATTENDING: F. Amjad (BOT Undergraduate Student Representative), Natalie Borisovets (ICAC Co-Chair), A. Calcado (Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Institutional Planning and Operations), J. Michael Gower (Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Finance and Administration), V. Hewitt (University Senate Executive Secretary), P. Moghe (Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs), T. Ozel (BOT Faculty Representative), T. Pistell (BOT Graduate Student Representative), S. Rabinowitz (BOG Faculty Representative), M. Smith (University Senate Administrative Assistant)

The regular meeting of the University Senate Executive Committee was held on Friday, December 2, 2022 at 12:00 p.m. remotely via Zoom.

Chair’s Report– Adrienne Simonds, Senate Chair

Chair Simonds called the December 2, 2022 Senate Executive Committee meeting to order at 12:03 p.m. She thanked members for their hard work and patience in anticipation of a full meeting agenda. She has a meeting scheduled with Chancellor Strom and will communicate issues raised with regard to the proposed merger of the medical schools. She reviewed items on the agenda for the Executive Committee to consider. She wished everyone a happy and healthy holiday season.

Secretary’s Report– Vicki Hewitt, Senate Executive Secretary

• Approval of Agenda
• Approval of the Nov. 4, 2022 Senate Executive Committee Minutes
• Policy Update
  • University Policy 80.1.6 Communications and Relations with the Media
  • University Policy 40.4.2 Rutgers University Faculty and Staff International Travel Policy
• Administrative Responses
  • Response to S-2109: Communication Mechanisms Regarding Major Changes in IT Applications
  • Update on Response to S-2101: Review of University Policy 10.2.4 – Units of Credit

Administrative Report– Prabhas Moghe, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

Dr. Moghe provided the Administrative Report consisting of the following topics:

• Student and faculty award recipients
• Academic and Workplace Behavior survey
• University-wide council on online education at Rutgers
• Updates from the Office for Research
  • Renovations complete in Research Tower
  • Implementation of the patent policy
  • Research incubator in the climate and health spaces launched its application for symposium presenters, with seed grants available
  • Busch Biomedical Grant award recipients
  • NIH proposal development toolkit
  • Propelify Innovation Festival
  • Research grants awarded

Dr. Moghe then answered questions on the following topics:

• Inclusion of PTLs in surveys and training requirements

Discussion with Antonio Calcado, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Institutional Planning and Operations, and J. Michael Gower, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Finance and Administration

Chair Simonds will follow up on the question of instructional costs as percentage of the University budget over the past 20 years.

Administrative Requests for Follow-Up

None.

Faculty and Personnel Affairs Committee Co-Chair

Paul Boxer and Anna Haley were appointed FPAC co-chairs.

Chancellor Strom’s Approach to Responding to the Senate’s Questions

Chair Simonds will communicate concerns to Chancellor Strom in their meeting on Tue. Dec. 6.

Format of University Senate Meetings for Spring 2023

University Senate meetings will be held remotely via Zoom in January, February, and March 2023. The EC will revisit the meeting modality for the April Senate meetings at its February meeting.

Update on the Ad Hoc Committee on Senate Bylaws

Standing Committees/Panels

Proposed Charge:

Science Communication Efforts at Rutgers University – Submitted by Senator Lauren Adamo, School of Arts and Sciences-NB, Faculty

Charge: To review the barriers to incorporating science communication training into STEM and relevant STEM-related majors, and build upon efforts by the Rutgers Science Communication Initiative to promote science and research communication training, programs and outreach. We are looking to identify and advance a list of preliminary measures that will raise awareness of the current limitations in the field of science communication across the entire Rutgers research community.

Rationale: Science is not finished until it is communicated (Walport, 2013). However, communication training is not a key component of training of scientists, and so the act of communicating science to non-scientists is more likely to be done poorly or not at all. Unfortunately, in the 15 years since Dr. Alan Leschner (then CEO of AAAS; Rutgers alumnus) said in a 2007 Science editorial that communications training should be added to the scientific training agenda, there is still a lack of skills development for scientists to be effective communicators. Since that time, concerns about how we communicate science, and the failures when we do it poorly, have increased nationally and internationally. Institutions and groups, including the

• National Academy of Sciences,
• Public Communication of Science and Technology,
• American Association for the Advancement of Science,
• Wellcome Trust,
• UK Office of Science and Technology Science and the Public,
• UK House of Lords, National Science Foundation,
• Association of Science and Technology Centers,
• and journals such as Public Understanding of Science, Science Communication, Science, and Journal of Research in Science Teaching

repeatedly address this issue through conferences, workshops, articles and special issues. Generally advocated in order to generate a scientifically literate public who can participate in democratic processes; however, it has come to be recognized that content alone is insufficient to make a scientifically literate public. Incorporating science communication skills-based programs before graduating from formal education is critical to create “competent outsiders”, that is, someone who can access and use science as needed (Feinstein, Allen & Jenkins, 2013). To achieve this goal, what is required is formal training in science communication, not only to promote the ability of scientists to actively communicate their work to other scientists, but also to the general public (Feinstein, 2011; Ryder, 2001), all of which promotes science cognition and participation in decision-making processes for non-scientists. It builds an interactive network with the community and supports further recognition of Rutgers programs outside academic spaces.

This proposed charge recognizes that incorporating science and research communication training into STEM and STEM-affiliated majors will lead to foundational literacy and successful outcomes in STEM (content knowledge, interest in science and scientific identity). It will also elevate Rutgers to the level of excellence expected from a university of its size and national ranking.

Outcome: The Executive Committee amended the charge to 1) replace “review the barriers” with “review any barriers” and 2) replace “We are looking” to “Look.” The Instruction, Curricula, and Advising Committee was issued this charge with a deadline of September 2023.

Proposed Charge:

Investigate Pending Change in Rutgers Admissions Policy and Make Recommendations – Submitted by Senator Robert Scott, School of Arts and Sciences-NB, Faculty

Charge: On Thursday Oct 27 at Rutgers-ND SAS Chairs meeting it was announced that the Chancellor-Provosts Office has decided to change admissions policy. It appears that:

1. 500 fewer students will be admitted in Fall.
2. This will be offset by admitting 500 more students in Spring.
3. The stated aim is to maintain or improve Rutgers ranking by keeping % admitted students low in Fall which is what influences ranking while maintaining increased revenue from a larger entering class which was much larger in Fall 22 (about 10%)

The proposed charge should include investigation of lower Camden admissions as well as the New Brunswick change.

Rationale: The changes announced appear to have been made without consultation and in isolation by the Chancellor-Provost Office. The changes will have dramatic consequences for students and degree programs. They run the risk of creating a “second class” of Spring admits, appear to possibly game the rankings system, and will be very consequential for many major programs that have set course sequences. The idea of such a change should have been referred to the Senate for study prior to a decision being made.

Outcome: The committee declined to charge this to a committee at this time. The committee requests more information from the proposer on what the proposed investigation should be. The committee also asks the proposer to clarify if this charge is only with regard to New Brunswick, or if it should be University-wide. The committee expressed support for a charge along these lines that emphasizes the importance of consultation and addressing inequities across Chancellor-led units and recommends revising to clarify these aspects.

Proposed Charge:

Examining the Efficacy of the LSAT – Submitted by Senator Sanjib Bhuyan, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Faculty

Charge: Examine the effectiveness of the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) and its impact on Rutgers University’s Law Schools. Investigate other peer aspirants.

Rationale: Given what the Senate decided in November with regard to GRE requirements, may I propose that the Senate Executive Committee charge a Senate Committee (maybe ASRAC or an ad-hoc committee like it did for the GRE) to look into the efficacy of the LSATs (and perhaps MCATs) and their use at Rutgers.

Outcome: The committee declined to charge this to a committee at this time. The proposer is asked to revise and resubmit to include the MCAT and the GMAT, in addition to the LSAT.

Committee Report and Recommendations:

Instruction Curricula and Advising Committee (ICAC) – Natalie Borisovets and Taryn Cooper, Co-Chairs

Report on S-2106: Office of Disability Services

The ICAC was charged as follows:

Consider the work of the Office of Disability Services and how it has been affected by the pandemic. Examine the patterns of responsibility and interaction between the office, undergraduate and graduate students, and faculty. Identify any perceived issues that might impact ODS’s mission to provide and maintain equal opportunity and access across the University, and potential strategies to support their work.

Outcome: The Executive Committee docketed this report for the Dec. 9 agenda.

Open Charge Request:

S-2114 Review of Interim Code of Student Conduct Policy

ASRAC and SAC were charged as follows: Investigate proposed changes to the current code of student conduct policy based on the report from the Cannabis Decriminalization Impact Task Force.

ASRAC investigated this charge and found no need to alter student policy since students were not being dismissed or punished. ASRAC suggests discharging both committees.

Outcome: The Executive Committee discharged both committees.

Open Charge Request:

S-2204: Impact of CourseAtlas

FPAC and SAC were charged as follows: Explore the impact of CourseAtlas to benchmark institutional goals of the system, on academic units and departments, on faculty work-life balance, and make recommendations as appropriate. Specifically, (i) Investigate to what degree CourseAtlas has achieved the goals it was designed and implemented to achieve, (ii) explore the impact of CourseAtlas on academic units and departments’ ability to manage their own academic programs, (iii) assess the impact of CourseAtlas on the work-life balance of faculty, and (iv) propose feedback mechanisms which allow timely and meaningful faculty input on scheduling changes.

The Student Affairs Committee has reviewed S-2204 and believes that the focus of the charge is on the impact on faculty, not students. The Student Affairs Committee requests to be removed from this charge, as it is more appropriate for the Faculty and Personnel Affairs Committee.

Outcome: The committee declined to discharge the Student Affairs committee at this time. The Executive Committee suggested that FPAC and SAC meet jointly to discuss this topic.

Open Charge Request:

The following was charged to the Budget and Finance Committee without a deadline. The Executive Committee is requested to set a deadline for:

• S-2208 Divestment of Retirement Funds from Fossil Fuels

The following was charged to the University Structure and Governance Committee without a deadline. The Executive Committee is requested to set a deadline for:

• S-2209 Implementing Democratic Standards for University Senate Committee Governance

Outcome: S-2208 was assigned a deadline of October 2023. S-2209 was assigned a deadline of February 2023.

Old Business

None.

New Business

None.

Adjournment

The Executive Committee adjourned at 3:02 p.m.

Minutes prepared by: Vicki Hewitt, Executive Secretary of the University Senate