Deans’ Council Minutes
August 22, 2006

Attendance: Dr. Frank Ashley, Dr. Hal Langford, Dr. James Klein, Dr. James Vornberg, Dr. Allan Headley, Dr. Joe Webber, Dr. Mary Hendrix, Dr. Yvette Underdue Murph and Mr. Craig Wheeler. Dr. Jerry Parish attended a portion of the meeting during the absence of Dr. Langford.

Faculty Workload Analysis – Mr. Glenn Dowling, TAMU-System presented information to the Council which showed Formula Faculty versus Actual Faculty for departments during fall semesters for 2003, 2004, and 2005. Data reflected the THECB formula standards. Credit hour production includes teaching not research. The data indicated the credit hours per faculty based upon total credit hours divided by number of faculty. All credit hours do not have the same weight. Reallocation can be used as a planning tool by administrators. All funding is based upon weighted semester credit hours by discipline and level. TAMU-C's credit hours per faculty can be obtained from TAMU-C's Office of Planning and Institutional Research.

Logo Options – According to Randy Jolly , Director for Media Publications, President McFarland has asked that he visit various groups on campus to present several options regarding a new collegiate logo for TAMU-C. A visual presentation revealed three (3) options: 1) collegiate banner with lion in a box on the side of the banner; 2) collegiate banner without the lion; 3) new graphic lion for a more corporate look. According to Mr. Jolly, the college seal would be used by the President's office and on diplomas. At the request of the Provost, Mr. Jolly will forward an electronic presentation of the options so that the Provost can share the various options with Deans/Department Heads/President's Cabinet. Voting and comments will be compiled and shared with Media Publications staff.

Fall Faculty Meeting – This year's Fall Faculty Meeting will held on Thursday, August 24. Introduction of new faculty and staff will be made by the Deans. The Provost Office will send the Deans a list of new faculty and staff that they can use to cross reference against their lists.

Lion's Roar 2006 – Lion's Roar is scheduled for the week of August 28 – 31, 2006. Dr. Webber shared this year's brochure and schedule with council members.

Office of Diversity & Cultural Affairs – A proposal was made by Dr. Webber to change the name of the Office of Minority Affairs to the Office of Diversity & Cultural Affairs. The proposal was made to reflect a more practical and theoretical approach that will encourage members of the campus community to participate in culturally educational programs, leadership development opportunities and provide support to students of diverse backgrounds at the University. The name change was approved by the Deans Council unanimously.

Core Curriculum Rules – Deans were instructed to inform their college advisors that substitutions can not be made for core curriculum classes. Core curriculum classes are required by the State; therefore, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board is the only entity with the authority to change core curriculum rules. If any substitutions are needed, requests are to be forwarded to the Associate Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs for review. If deemed appropriate, the Associate Vice President for Academic and Student will forward to THCB for their review/approval.

Distribution & Expenditures of Indirect Costs of External Grants – Discussion was held regarding the current distribution of indirect costs. Following guidelines in Procedure 15.01.01.RO.02, Deans reviewed the existing apportionment and voted to change the apportionment of the Academic and Student Affairs portion for this upcoming academic year as follows:

• University General Revenue 25%
• Principal Investigator(s) 25%
• Academic and Student Affairs 15%
• Graduate Studies and Research 15%
• Department (of Principal Investigator) 20%

Provost will send written notice to Faculty, Department Heads and Deans and make changes to the existing procedure.

Personnel Action Forms – Lisa Rabe, Coordinator of Faculty Reports, asked Deans to inform their staff to wait on ALL paperwork before sending personnel action forms to the Provost Office for processing.

Other Business:

President's Advisory Council (PAC) will hold a retreat sometime in mid-October. The retreat will include Department Heads and Deans.

Liberal Studies - The Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies will be considered by the Texas A&M Board of Regents in September.

Rollovers – The deadline for submitting rollovers requests to the Provost Office is September 11. For more details council members were instructed to refer to email “Guidelines for Re-appropriations” dated 8/18/2006.

Student Affairs (SA) – Dr. Webber stated the SA Directors' Retreat on 9/11/2006 and Leadership Summit on 8/12/2006 were successful. This year each Wednesday is considered “Blue and Gold Day” and faculty, staff and students are encouraged to wear the University's colors to support the phrase “Got Pride”.

Social Events – Dr. Ashley reviewed many social events for the upcoming academic year and council members were asked to mark their calendars as appropriate.