Present:

J. Murphy, R. Timko, C. Moulton, D. Dietz, T. Doerksen, L. Labuski-Brown, P. Savoye, K. Thorne, H. Pieper, J. Phillips, M. Loeschke, M. Renner, P. Keller, D. Seigart, P. Overwise, C. Hoy, A. McEvoy, V. Jenkins, M. Whitehouse, C. Geroux, A. Ghods, B. Ganong, D. McKee, N. Werner-Burke, B. Barton, W. Keeth, F. Chua, S. Kasperek, N. Rinnert, S. Brown, L. Schankman, R. Keller, A. Molla, M. Moore, K. Wright

I.

I. J. Murphy called the meeting to order 4:00 p.m.
Approval of Senate minutes of Dec 7, 2006: Minutes approved (Doerksen/Hoy)

APPROVED

II.

Treasurer's Report (D. Dietz)

Total of dues collected is up to $610.

To Contents

APPROVED

III.

Announcements (J. Murphy)

Senate had approved a set of motions concerning the Mathematics program which was turned down by President Loeschke, because two courses were being added in place of an exisiting one, but there was no accompanying paperwork to remove the old course. She wants the old one removed so we are not financially penalized. We are penalized for having courses on the books if we are not actually teaching them. Mathematics will remove the other course and it will all be dealt with in time, but other departments need to be aware of this for their own course changes!

To Contents

IV.

Committee and Other Reports

Academic Planning (P. Savoye)

No report.

B.

Administrative Affairs & Elections (K. Thorne)

No report--not present.

To Contents

C.

Student Affairs & Admissions (L. Labuski-Brown)

No report.

D.

Information Technology (J. Phillips)

No report.

E.

Library Advisory (H. Pieper)

No report.

F.

Provost (M. Renner--not present)

D. Seigert: Please attend the Pandemic Summit!!! This comes out of Harrisburg, and it's a tele-event with our sister schools!!! It's not a local event!

Academic Affairs (T. Doerksen)

B.S. in Geography (Watershed Management concentration)
(See below for course numbers and descriptions.) Faculty are already available for teaching these courses. This is a new direction for this department catalyzed by a variety of factors, including retirement of some faculty. The deletions are postdated anticipating more curricular changes upcoming in the next 6 months. This has been cleared
by Ryan. All students falling between programs will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Questions arose from Timko about the numbering of these courses. Dodson said that there is not attempt to arrange courses by number to correspond to difficulty other than by class year (1000, 2000, 3000, 4000). So, 3520 and 3260 would be the same level of difficulty in GEL/GEG. 3000 level courses have prerequisites as usual, however, 3510 and 3272 intentionally have none.

All agenda items PASSED, including additions of courses and deletions.

ATTACHMENT

New Program:
B.S. Geography (Watershed Management concentration)

Rationale for program: Issues of water quality and availability are becoming increasingly important in our world. It is essential that we have adequate numbers of properly-trained professionals to manage this vital resource. Mansfield University is an especially appropriate location for this program. Among the reasons are: our graduates already compete for jobs in this field—but they can be even more successful with have a stronger/more appropriate background; many students chose Mansfield University precisely because they want to work in an outdoor-oriented career; our geographic location is ideal (diverse water chemistry within 20 miles of campus, multiple flood control/water managements projects in Tioga County; Army Corps of Engineers, USGS, PaDEP and local groups are all active nearby; diverse bedrock and structure within county; varied land uses within county; boundary between glaciated/non-glaciated landscapes within county; part of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, a focus of much research and remedial work; we already have a working relationship with the Susquehanna River Basin Commission and have received a Teamwork Award from them; Pine Creek is part of the Scenic River Program; serious watershed problems exist in the county--acid mine drainage and nutrient loading of steams from intense farming operations, in particular; Mansfield University has runoff and water quality problems).

Mansfield University already offers many courses appropriate for this concentration, including: hydrology, geomorphology, weather and climate, limnology, chemistry, map/air photo interpretation, GPS and mapping, remote sensing, GIS, environmental geology, environmental issues, and introduction to regional planning.

New Courses:

GEG 1600 Introduction to Watershed Management (3 credits)

The beginning course in the concentration in Watershed Management. Topics include: delineation of watersheds; movement of surface and subsurface water; and the interaction of water, land and biota. The class is appropriate for anyone interested in the environment and water resources.

GEG 3272 GIS/GPS (4 credits)

Combines two existing 3-credit courses (GEG 3270 Geographic Information Systems and GEG 3400 GPS and Mapping) into one 4-credit course.

GEG 3260 Principles of Soil Science (3 credits)

A survey course that examines the physical, chemical and biological properties of soil. Relationships between soils and plant growth, land use, watershed management, water pollution and environmental protection form an integral part of the course.

GEG 4300 Watershed Restoration (3 credits)

Will cover various aspects of watershed restoration including: what it is, how it’s accomplished, who makes it successful and who carries it out.

GEG 3510 Wetlands (1 credit)

Covers the identification, delineation, classification and protection of wetlands.

GEG 3520 Watershed Ethics and Law (1 credit)

Covers legal and ethical issues pertaining to watershed management. Pertinent regulations, court decisions, and ethical concerns will be addressed.

GEG 3530 Watershed Policy (1 credit)

Examines how we use environmental and social factors to develop appropriate watershed policies and practices.

GEL 3310 Hydrology (4 credits)

Adds a lab and increases the breadth and depth of the existing 3-credit Hydrology course. Allows for coverage of additional content needed in the new Watershed Management program without having to add a new 3-credit course.

GEL 3310L Hydrology Lab (0 credits)

Includes both lab and field work. Evaluation of lab/field activities will be incorporated into the grade for the course.

Course Deletions:

GEG 3270 GIS (3 credits)

GEG 3400 GPS and Mapping (3 credits)
Rationale—GEG 3270 and GEG 3400 are being combined into a new 4-credit course, GEG 3272 GIS/GPS

GEL 3300 Hydrology (3 credits)
Rationale—GEL 3300 is being replaced by a new 4-credit course, GEL 3310 and GEL 3310L Hydrology which will have increased content and a designated lab.

V.

Old Business

There will be a Faculty Assembly this semester. Details will come later.

Timko handed out a new matrix summarizing information on Success/Failure rates for the past 3 summers. Much discussion ensued. J. Murphy informed us that AAC will review this. Timko suggested putting requirements in place similar to what we have in place for the year. This is what M. Loeschke has been asking for. The concern is that MU could look like a diploma mill if there is a big loophole for summer courses. Better students could always petition for the chance to do this, just as they can in the semester. Timko and Keeth and others concurred that there are many more issues which need to be tackled in the same vein, such as placing limits on credits by examination, since these count as work done at Mansfield University, even though they are supposed to be testing material done before arrival.

VI.

New Business

Council of Trustees needs a student representative. The search committee for this position needs a faculty member to serve. (About 3 meetings between Feb-Mar).
This is because Rebecca Stender is leaving this position.

VII.

Meeting adjourned: 4:47 (Brown/Ghods).

Minutes respectfully submitted,
Donna A. Dietz, Senate Treasurer