The Urbana-Champaign Senate reiterated its support of Chancellor Nancy Cantor at its Feb. 17 meeting at Foellinger Auditorium. Robert Fossum, professor of mathematics and chair of the Senate Executive Committee, presented a statement delivered by Acting Chairman Kenneth Schmidt at the Feb. 13 UI Board of Trustees meeting that apologized to Cantor and her family for the university’s inability to stop the recent billboard campaign against her. Schmidt also restated the trustees’ confidence in Cantor’s leadership, a sentiment echoed by a Senate Executive Committee resolution, which Fossum also read for the Senate and asked the senators to affirm by applause.
Senate support for the resolution also was confirmed by a vote.
Other business
- The senate passed a proposed calendar for the 2005-2006 academic year.
- Cantor and Paula Kaufman, university librarian, discussed the American Patriot Act and its impact on the university community. Kaufman said that library staff members and counsel have developed a policy that defers requests by federal or other law enforcement agents for library-related information to university counsel and university police. Cantor said the administration is also working with the AAU to develop a consistent set of responses that allow universities to cooperate as much as possible with the law while protecting academic freedom and maintaining open and inclusive environments for international students. Alfred Kagan, African Studies bibliographer and professor of library administration, also thanked Cantor for establishing a voluntary fund to assist international students who need emergency financial assistance because of immigration-related problems. Donations to the fund may be made through the UI Foundation.
- The senate passed a revision to the bylaws changing Senate Executive Council composition to include five standing committee chairs as permanent SEC members, three standing committee chairs that are elected by the senate and the chair of the information technology committee. Under the new rules, senate committee chairs who are students or who are non-senators are eligible for election to the SEC while chairs of ad hoc senate committees are ineligible.
- Emily Watts, professor of English and chair of the academic freedom and tenure committee, and Leslie Struble, professor of civil and environmental engineering and past chair of the library committee, presented a report on electronic scholarly publications and related issues such as their use in promotion and tenure decisions, copyrighting and permanent archiving. The senate, by voice vote, supported a committee proposal to survey academic units about matters relative to electronic publications.
- The senate endorsed proposals renaming the department of aeronautical and astronautical engineering to “the department of aerospace engineering,” the undergraduate concentration in theater from performance studies to “theater studies” and the Women’s Studies Program to “Gender and Women’s Studies.” The senate also passed proposals revising the requirements for the minor in mathematics and the materials science and engineering undergraduate curriculum. A proposal creating the Doctor of Audiology Degree Program also was passed. These changes are pending approval by the UI Board of Trustees.
