Regular Meeting
September 24, 2004
Lewis Towers, 13th Floor Ballroom,
Water Tower Campus

MINUTES
[Approved, 10/29/04]

Members Present: Gad Bensinger, Barney Berlin, Andrew Cutrofello, Robert Di Vito, Janis Fine, Allen Frantzen, Terry Grande, Thackery Gray, Grayson Holmbeck, Jong-Ho Lee, Robert Ludwig, Bernard McMahon, Ruben Mestril, Patricia Mooney-Melvin, Ronald Morgan, E.J. Neafsey, Timothy O'Brien, Ken Olsen, David Ozar, Kayhan Parsi, Susan Penckofer, Loretta Stalans, George Thiruvathukal, Carl Toney, Nicole Truog, Karen Visick, Alan Wolfe.

Members Excused: George Battaglia, Susan Cavallo, Robert Halpern, Maureen Hellwig, Mary Manteuffel, Peter Sanchez, Jamie Scaletta, Elizabeth Vera, Judith Wittner.

Members Not Present: James Keenan, Terry Northcut.

Graduate School Deans: Max Caproni, Marianne Gramza, Fred Kniss, Frederick Wezeman.

Visitor: William Honig (Department of Computer Science).

Call to Order

Allen Frantzen, chair of the Council, called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m. He introduced the members of the Executive Committee, and other members of the Council introduced themselves.

Approval of the Minutes of the Past Meeting

Dr. Frantzen asked if there were any revisions to the draft of the minutes of the February 27, 2004 regular meeting. There were none. Patricia Mooney-Melvin moved that the minutes be approved as drafted. The Council approved the minutes as drafted by a unanimous voice vote.

Dean's Report

Interim Dean Fred Kniss distributed a written report and discussed its contents. He also announced the upcoming Graduate School Dean's Convocation, which will feature President Garanzini discussing his vision for the future of graduate education and research at Loyola. Discussion followed.

Chair's Report

Dr. Frantzen delivered his report. He summarized the Executive Committee's meeting with Isiaah Crawford, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and chair of the Graduate School dean search committee. Dr. Frantzen noted that Dr. Crawford sought input from the Executive Committee regarding possible members of the search committee as well as important skills and experience candidates should possess. Discussion followed. Dr. Frantzen invited Council members to provide input via e-mail within the next week.

Dr. Frantzen asked for a summary of the current state of committee memberships. Patricia Mooney-Melvin, chair of the Committee on Program Review, noted that she would be discussing this issue in her report. Max Caproni, reporting for Elizabeth Vera (chair of the Curriculum Review Committee), noted that four of the five positions on the committee are filled. Barney Berlin, chair of the ad hoc Committee on By-Laws, stated that the committee currently has no business to consider and therefore is not in need of members at this time.

Dr. Frantzen reminded the Council of the use of a "consent calendar" for some reports and actions at future meetings. There were no objections to this practice.

Proposed Revisions to the By-Laws

Dr. Frantzen noted that at the February 27, 2004 meeting the ad hoc Committee on By-Laws recommended several revisions to the by-laws, and that formal consideration of the proposed revisions is to take place at the current meeting, as stated in Article VII of the by-laws. He asked if there was any discussion or questions. Hearing none, he asked for a vote. The Council approved the proposed revisions as drafted by a unanimous voice vote.

Program Review Committee Report

Dr. Mooney-Melvin distributed to the Council an update on program review at the university. Discussion followed.

Dr. Mooney-Melvin distributed to the Council information on the impact of the university's academic planning and review (AP&R) process on the Council's role regarding program review and proposals in response to the university's process. Discussion followed. Based on the document's first proposal and on the description of the Council's role in university's AP&R process in October, Dr. Frantzen noted that if there is not sufficient time for the full Council to meet to discuss the questions, the Council should be consulted as follows: the Graduate School dean forwards the questions to the Executive Committee, which solicits input from Council members via e-mail and then makes recommendations to the dean.

Ronald Morgan moved that the Council support general sense of Dr. Mooney-Melvin's proposals and that specific proposals be considered at the next meeting. The Council approved the motion by a unanimous voice vote.

Dr. Mooney-Melvin noted that the Committee on Program Review received and reviewed the departmental response to the committee's request for further information regarding the review of graduate program in Cell Biology, Neurobiology, and Anatomy. The committee recommends continuation of the graduate program. The Council recommended continuation of the program by a unanimous voice vote.

Curriculum Committee Report

Dr. Frantzen, chair of the Executive Committee, noted that the Executive Committee, serving as the Curriculum Committee pro tem, reviewed a proposal to establish new Master of Science degree programs in computer science. Dr. Frantzen then asked George Thiruvathukal to introduce the proposal.

Dr. Frantzen distributed the Executive Committee's report on its review of the proposal. Discussion followed.

Dr. Frantzen proposed that the Executive Committee recommends that the Council support the general thrust of the proposal and the plan to promote MS in Computer Science through the development of three M.S. programs: Software Technology, Scientific and Technical Computing, and Information Technology. The Council recommended approval of the proposed program by a unanimous voice vote.

New Business

There was no new business.

Adjournment

E.J. Neafsey moved that the meeting be adjourned. The Council approved by a unanimous voice vote adjournment at 2:50 p.m.