January 13, 2005
CEFO Minutes
E. Braun, President
J. Carter, President Elect
D. Binkley, Secretary
B. Sherlock, Parliamentarian
MINUTES
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING FACULTY ORGANIZATION (CEFO)
Thursday, January 13, 2005, 12:30 PM
Cameron Applied Research Center, Room 101
Regular Meeting
The following individuals signed the attendance sheet:
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING: R. Johnson, C. Blat, E. Haro, R. Smelser, P. Tolley, T. Rufty CAMERON A.R.C.: COMPUTING & ENGINEERING LABS: CIVIL ENGINEERING: D. Young, J. Anderson, D. Boyajian, J. Bowen, J. Daniels, M. Kane, V. Ogunro ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING: L. Casperson, D. Binkley, K. Daneshvar, M. Hasan, J. Hudak, Y. Kakad, V. Lukic, A. Nasipuri, E. Stokes, T. Weldon, J. Xie ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY: F. Ahmad, A. Barry, E. Braun, N. Byars, B. Gehrig, J. Kimble, S. Kuyath, D. Murphy, C. Orozco, R. Priebe, D. Sharer, B. Sherlock, G. Watkins, J. Woodall MECHANICAL ENGR & ENGR SCIENCE: J. Raja, H. Cherukuri, J. Cuttino, M. Davies, G. Elliot, Y. Hari, J. Hill, J. Miller, E. Morse, B. Mullany, J. Raquet, Y. Sireli, Stuart Smith, R. Wilhelm, B. Woody, T. Xu GUESTS:
Documented attendance: 54
Documented attendance of voting faculty: 46 (57.5% of voting faculty)
Total Voting Faculty: 80
Quorum of voting faculty: 40
1. Call to Order and Approval of Past Minutes (Ed Braun) CEFO president Ed Braun called the meeting to order at 12:36 PM following refreshments outside Cameron room 101. Minutes of the November 9, 2004 Regular Meeting were approved. These and all CEFO meeting minutes are available at http://www.coe.uncc.edu/faculty_staff/CEFO. 2. Dean’s Update (Robert Johnson) Dean Bob Johnson welcomed everyone back to the spring semester. ABET visitors come next fall to accredit the Engineering Technology program. The College Review Committee (promotion and tenure committee) is revising college promotion and tenure policies for UNC system compliance and for addressing new, college-wide programs. College enrollment climbed past 2,100 students. UNCC campus enrollment fell short of enrollment goals. The legislature is considering providing the $10 M recurring monies due UNCC as a result of doctoral intensive status. The college has a ratio of 21 FTE (full-time equivalent students at 12 hours or more) per faculty member. 16-17 FTE per faculty member is targeted for Ph.D. granting departments. College research funding is down at $1,381 k as of 10/31/04 compared to $2,026 k one year earlier. However, proposed research is up at $10,464 k compared to $5,727 k one year earlier. Bob thanked faculty for their hard work in seeking funding and encouraged everyone to continue pursuing funding. Lower research funding combined with the higher level of proposed research indicates a lower success rate in securing funding. 3. College Reorganization Update (Bob Johnson) The reorganizational review was motivated by the fact the college will be spread out over one mile. Following the one-year review, the college reorganization is moving forward. The reorganization review, involving representatives from the college, has been led by Associate Dean, Ron Smelser. Additional details for the proposed reorganization are in the CEFO November 9, 2004 meeting minutes, available on-line. Bob acknowledged and praised Jane Stewart and Elizabeth Haro for their hard work on business issues surrounding the college reorganization effort. Each department will have at least one Student Services Specialist. They will provide one-stop student advising leaving faculty free to provide career advising instead of responding to individual course requirements. The provost is providing two new Student Services Specialists for the college, in part due to 60% student satisfaction with advising. The dean’s office reduced its budget to provide a third Student Services Specialist so that all three of our Ph.D. granting departments have one. The dean’s office is also committed to getting a Student Services Specialist at the first opportunity for our ET department. Departments will also have Business Services Specialists. They will assist in faculty hiring, reviews, and the management of departmental and grant monies. Our Ph.D. granting departments, ECE, ME, and CE, will have a total of three specialists, most likely one Student Services Specialist and two Business Services Specialists. Student Services Specialists and Business Services Specialists are not secretaries and should enjoy state position upgrades to 61 from 59. This will permit the college to better support these staff members. 4. Update on Buildings (Bob Johnson) ECE will likely move in April. ME and the Center for Precision Metrology will likely move in summer, following July monies for furnishings. A major HVAC renovation project is planned for the Smith building. The one-year project will shut down the classroom wing during Spring 2006. ET faculty may be temporarily located in Cameron during part of the renovation. CE will be moving into Cameron as ECE and ME faculty vacate Cameron. 5. College Strategic Planning (Bob Johnson) Departments and the college are preparing new strategic plans. Some of the department drafts have been submitted. The College Academic Council (CAC) is working closely with the dean’s office to re-craft the college vision, mission, and goals. Bob mentioned these better reflect where we are now versus stating what we aspire to become. Bob presented the college vision, mission, and goal statements. After some discussion, a mission statement change to “Maintain and promote a safe, friendly, and non-discriminatory environment ..” from “Provide a safe, friendly, and non-discriminatory environment ..” was suggested. This was seen as a more positive statement, while still addressing parent and student concerns when selecting a university. Additional suggestions were offered on the dissemination of research results, etc. CAC and the dean’s office plan to implement these suggestions. Bob invited everyone to provide suggestions for college strategic planning. 6. Adjournment (Ed Braun) Ed Braun adjourned the meeting at 1:35 PM. Everyone was invited to enjoy refreshments outside CARC 101.
Please submit additions or corrections to David Binkley, CEFO Secretary at dmbinkle@uncc.edu.