President’s Advisory Team Minutes October 15, 2009 President’s Advisory Team Members in attendance

Dennis Pataniczek, Dean, Seidel School of Education and Professional Studies

Marvin Pyles, Director, Human Resources

Kara Siegert, Director, University Analysis, Reporting and Assessment

Agata Liszkowska for Brian Stiegler, Director, International Education

Robert Tardiff, Associate Provost

Rosemary Thomas, Vice President, University Advancement

1. 
   Welcome and Opening Remarks – Dr. Janet Dudley-Eshbach, President
   

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  President Dudley-Eshbach provided the welcome.
  
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  On October 1, SU’s Facilities Master Plan was presented to the Board of Regents’ Finance committee. The presentation is one of the topics that will be covered at the President’s State of the University speech to be held on November 5, 2009 at 4:30 p.m. in Holloway Hall Auditorium for the campus and surrounding community. A request for the construction of a residence hall on the Allenwood portion of campus was also presented and approved. In the afternoon, President Dudley-Eshbach reported to the Board of Regents on the progress of Salisbury University. This information, as well as updates from other University System of MD (USM) institutions, will be used in updating their consolidated report to the Board of Regents.
  
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  Operating budgets continue to be the main concern for administration. Salisbury University continues to receive low State appropriation funding which exacerbates the ability of the institution to provide financial aid to prospective highly sought after students. SU ranks high on the list of institutions whose students carry a larger percentage of their college tuition assistance in loans.
  
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  On October 30, representatives from the Department of Budget and Management will tour Blackwell Library as a preliminary site visit to answer SU’s request for funding a new Academic Commons. Blackwell Library was originally built to support 2500 students, and is wholly inadequate to support the current 8200 students.
  
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  SU is exploring the possibility of becoming Maryland’s Hispanic Serving Institution. PAT members are encouraged to look at the draft plan which is located on the SU website on the President’s office page. Any comments should be sent to Amy Hasson at ashasson@salisbury.edu.
  
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  President Dudley-Eshbach is participating in a statewide Graduate Assistant and Adjunct Faculty work group. This group is required to submit a report to Governor O’Malley on best practices with regard to compensation and work conditions for these groups.
  
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  The Perdue School Dean search is continuing with five finalists coming to campus for on-campus interviews.
  
1. 
   Fulton School Curriculum Reform – Maarten Pereboom
   
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     Dr. Pereboom provided an update on the success of curriculum reform undertaken in the Fulton School. Over 500 courses are currently being offered for four credits, rather than the previous three credits. The significant advantage to this curriculum is the enhancement added to each course. Students are experiencing more out of the classroom assignments that make the subject matter more engaging. While students are reporting that the four credit courses require significantly more work, they have a stronger sense of retaining the material learned. Faculty have reported that the initial work load in the first year creating the new curriculum is tremendous, but the second year has proved so far to not be so time consuming.
     
2. 
   University Governance
   
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     Faculty Senate – J. Craig Clarke
     
     1. 
        The Faculty Senate at their October 13 meeting addressed a concern about the consistency between the bylaws and constitution of the correct number of CUSF representatives.
        
     2. 
        The Faculty Senate would like to go on record concerning the impact that furlough days and “temporary” salary reductions are having on the ability of faculty to provide a consistent high level of service to the institution. While they are supportive of the administration in their efforts to contain costs to continue to run the institution, a threshold has been reached where they have to object to any more cuts.
        

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  Staff Senate – Jackie Eberts
  

1. 
   The Staff Senate at their last meeting worked on housekeeping items, such as committee memberships and bylaws approval.
   
2. 
   The Staff Senate has prepared a simplified application process for the Board of Regents Staff Awards. A preliminary one-page application will be accepted until November 2; those applications will then be reviewed and selected applicants will be asked to formally apply for the award.
   

4. 
   Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Plans – Jerry Waldron
   
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     In the wake of the disaster created by Hurricane Katrina, all University System of Maryland institutions are required to conduct surveys to identify critical processes, and determine what computer systems are utilized to perform those processes and how long the institution can function without them. Documentation is requested on how the institution would, or would not perform, for one/three/seven days. An initial survey was conducted in the Registrar’s Office.
     
5. 
   Campus Wide Events – Rosemary Thomas
   
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     Sea Gull Century was held on October 9 through the 11, with over 8300 riders. Proceeds from this event contribute between $200 to $300 thousand back to the institution, targeting scholarships.
     
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     Homecoming, held from October 22 through the 25, was very successful with a significant increase in reunion participation. The Student Government Association was tremendously supportive and held successful Spirit Week events on campus.
     
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     Family Weekend was held on Friday, October 2 through the 4. Pictures are available for viewing on the SU website at http://www.salisbury.edu/parents/familyweekend/.
     
6. 
   Public Safety Update – Chief Lashley
   
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     Chief Lashley provided an update on recent crime incidents. The University is fortunate in that no student has suffered any bodily injury. SU Police are asking for the campus community’s participation by reporting any suspicious behavior, no matter how trivial it may seem. Video technology has been successful in capturing criminal behavior on tape and will be utilized in more areas.
     
7. 
   The next meeting of the President’s Advisory Team is scheduled for Thursday, November 12, 2009.
   

Recorder: Tracy Hajir