The meeting was called to order at 3:40 P.M. by Doug DeVinny, Chair. Also attending were Christine Evans, Fran Kavenik, Mary Lenard, Dennis Rome, Anne Statham, members and Evelyn Zepp, Secretary of the Faculty. Guest was the Provost Rebecca Martin.

1) MINUTES

The minutes of the meeting of April 25, 2006 were approved.

2) ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Chair distributed an e-mail from Megan Mullen re the Compensatory Advisory Committee. Items which were discussed were (i) strategies for convincing state legislators of the value of supporting the UW-System, (ii) why we are so far behind other states in baccalaureate degree holders, (iii) Full Professors paying a "loyalty tax," and (iv) a proposed "Star Fund." The alternative proposed for the latter was a "good pay plan" that would retain most.

3) UNFINISHED BUSINESS

a) New Governance Email Distribution List:

(i) a designee is needed for training to setup and maintain the Governance Group in PeopleSoft--Evelyn and/or Tara were suggested.

(ii) confirmation of access/usage security for this list is needed--internal staff (what students should have access?).

(iii) guidelines for appropriate use of this distribution list

b) Sabbatical Committee appointments--still must wait for the completion of the election

c) Administrator Evaluations:

(i) The committee decided that the results should be shared with the Academic Staff Governing Committee. They will be invited to the next meeting.

(ii) Given comments on some persons not involved in the evaluations, in particular, the Committee suggested that a general summary of comments could be created for general distribution. Administrators will of course receive all comments and numbers. Complete copies of comments could be left in the Governance office for anyone who wanted to see them. Anne and Dennis are working on the summaries. The U.C. will inform the Academic Staff Committee about what it is considering doing and see if they agree.

4) NEW BUSINESS

a) Teacher Education Preparation Steering Committee

Dean Cress has expressed the desire to wait for any elections or appointments until after the new Director has arrived on campus.

b) The possibility of having a Nomination Committee was briefly discussed as a possible way of getting more people included in the governance process.

c) The idea of having a "First Friday" in the middle of the Fall semester, aimed at new faculty, to talk about governance, was also suggested.

5) Guest: Provost Rebecca Martin

The Provost came to the Committee to inform its members about the conclusion of the Program Review process for Modern Languages. She noted that she had met several times with the Dean and had met in April with Profs. Siegfried Christoph and Evelyn Zepp. The declaration of majors in French Studies and German Studies will be suspended as of June 1, 2006. Current majors will have the next two years to complete their majors. The minors will be maintained, although "courses may not be offered with the same frequency." She stated she was not willing to eliminate the second year of language study in French and German, as had been suggested by CAP, because this study is an important part of the university's program. Ways to enhance enrollment in the second year will be explored. The Modern Languages Department will also be asked to offer at least one course a year which will have "higher enrollment"--a course such as World Literature in Translation which will call upon the expertise of the department's faculty. She also noted that it is important that actions taken with these programs respect the senior faculty in the department who have dedicated their careers to this institution.

Prof. DeVinny, who was present at the April meeting as a former augmenting member of the department's executive committee commented that he was pleased with the spirit in which the discussion was handled.

Members asked about the possible implications for other small programs. The Provost responded that this was an issue separate from any others.

Some of the possibilities for increasing enrollments were examined: the large percentage of students who are exempt due to high school work, the enforcement of the 60-credit rule for the language requirement, possible multiple sections of first-year language to generate a larger pool of students who might continue, giving meaning to the requirement by assessing proficiency at its completion, supporting Study Abroad, etc.

Members noted that it is bizarre that we keep pushing global and international awareness, but never seem to link it to the language part. They further noted that broader conversations on this would be appropriate, in the context of what we want our students to leave with.

The Provost repeated that the administration is not looking for programs to cut, that the elimination of the Department of Engineering and the French and German Studies majors was the natural evolution of program planning. She noted that the action on French and German is a suspension of majors and that we are far from asking for the elimination of these majors. She stressed her feeling that it was incumbent upon her to inform the University Committee and regretted she did not have better news.

She noted that the additional 1.25% (3% to 4.25%) for the salary package was at least some good news.

The Provost left the meeting.

The members noted that the planning on the first-year governance committee should be placed on the agenda for next week. Vice-Chancellor Streeter and Richard Cummings have also requested to come before the committee to discuss the new sick leave policy.

The Committee briefly discussed how a Teller's Committee for the all-faculty election could be found.

6) ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 5:15 P.M.

Submitted by Evelyn Zepp, Secretary of the Faculty.