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April 11, 2001 Minutes

Senators Present: Hays, Stutzman, Brennan, McKinney, Skerpan-Wheeler, Reese, Blevens, Blanda, Renick, Stone, Gillis, Peeler, Sawey.

Absent: Stimmel

Guests: Mike Moore, John Beck, Roy Martin, Charles Dolezal, Carolyn McCall, Thomas McCabe, Lawrence Estaville

Meeting was called to order by Senate Chair Hays at 4:00 pm.  After a brief discussion of the procedure used to evaluate developmental leave proposals the Senate heard proposals from the following faculty:
 
Steven Beebe: I propose a Development Leave for the 2002 Spring semester to focus on four projects: I plan to return to Oxford University, Oxford, England as Visiting Scholar during Trinity Term (April and May, 2002) to conduct research on interpersonal, intercultural, and group communication as well as C. S. Lewis.  I will conduct research and present lectures in Pyatigorsk, Russia in late January or early February.  I will coordinate the first Russian Communication Association conference in Pyatigorsk, Russia in June, 2002. I will polish my instructional technology skills focusing on Blackboard and Group Decision Support software.

Paul Cohen: I am working on a book on portraiture in postmodern literature. Unlike their predecessors, postmodernist writers, neither wholly rejecting nor naïvely accepting received assumptions about the nature of representation in the arts, have been impelled to rethink those assumptions, and portraiture has proved to be the ideal test case. I will demonstrate this and explain its significance. Most of my research is done, and I have published a few sections, but I need time to write. Next Spring I would write at least three more chapters and submit at least two of them to journals.

Michel Conroy: Project #1:  I am requesting a Developmental Leave to conduct the research and administrative responsibilities that I will undertake as principal curator of an exhibition of the work of artists who trace their aesthetic lineage to the founders of the Japanese Mingei movement.  The Mingei International Museum in San Diego to host this exhibition in 2003. Project #2:  Additionally, I will devote increased time to my studio work.  I have embarked on a series of installation sculptures that employ space, light and sound. Time to work is the major resource I need to make progress with this series of personal works.

Lesley Jones: Supervision of the clinical practice of counselors-in-training, i.e., the process of observing and facilitating students' counseling skills as they work with actual clients, is a vital component of a student's training. This supervision often takes place in a group format, but there is a lack of systematic analysis to support its efficacy.  This project is designed to develop a model of the factors associated with effective group supervision by  analyzing quantitative and qualitative data gathered from trainees and their supervisors.  It will also investigate the hypothesis that the efficacy of  these factors is mediated by a trainee's developmental level.

Roselyn Morris: This study will examine the effects of formal sanction threats on financial executivesí willingness to manipulate reported earnings.  The proposed study will provide valuable empirical evidence on the perceived likelihood and severity of various sanctions imposed as a consequence of aggressive financial reporting.  For the study, I will prepare a comprehensive literature review regarding regulatory mechanisms of formal sanctions of aggressive financial reporting; develop and pre-test a financial reporting case based on the financial statements of a company sanctioned by the SEC for fraudulent financial reporting and subsequently declared bankruptcy; select a random sample of financial executives and practicing CPAs employed in industry; evaluate results; and write article(s) related to the findings.

N. Chinna Natesan: I intend to pursue two research projects in the area of e-commerce. The first one is a survey of online shopping experiences on the World Wide Web and the second is a survey of student perceptions of web-based education. Both investigate customer relationships, in an effort to understand the value proposition of the netcentric model. These projects are an in-depth study of a few key questions in the national research agenda developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. This research will also enable me to develop a new Internet Marketing course that has been approved by the College for Fall 2002.

Walter Rudzinski: I would like to work for one semester in the department of Chemistry of the University of Texas at Austin during the Spring of 2002 in order to pursue a research project entitled " A Liquid Chromatography/Atmospheric
Pressure Ionization/Mass Spectrometry Study of Biomolecules and Antibiotics. I will be working with Dr. Jennifer Brodbelt, a recognized expert in the field of mass spectrometry. The research experience will provide me with the opportunity to become acquainted with the latest developments in mass spectrometry and further my own interests in the analysis of corrosive compounds in crude oil as well as provide me with a knowledge of theory and new techniques which I can then impart to my students in several upper division courses.
 
Benjamin Zhan: During the development leave, I will devote my time and energy working on the proposed research project and writing several manuscripts related to the project.  First, I  will conduct spatial cluster analyses of cancer mortality cases and cancer incidences in the state of Texas and identify cancer "hot-spots" throughout Texas.  Second, I will examine possible environmental processes and/or agents that may have contributed to the formation of a detected liver cancer cluster in the greater San Antonio area.  Specifically, the Kelly Air Force Base and its connection with the detected liver cancer cluster will be examined.

After a brief break Dr. Roy Martin, chair of the Curriculum Committee, presented the six most recent curriculum proposals to be considered by his committee with the committee recommendations.  These proposals included:

    Change the Interdisciplinary Studies major under the Bachelor of Science
    Add a Water Resources Policy Certificate
    Add the Social Science teacher certification Program
    Change the Psychology Minor
    Add a Biochemistry major under the Bachelor of Science
    Change the mathematics major under the Bachelor of Science.

After questioning the departmental chairs who initiated these proposals the Senate moved to endorse the Curriculum Committee report to accept these curriculum change requests. Stone/Gillis 13-0

The Senate then heard the developmental leave proposal made by Steven Beebe.

Some discussion followed concerning the eligibility of chairs for developmental leave and other issues to place on future agendas. The minutes for March 28 were approved and the meeting was adjourned at 6:04 pm.