Minutes of the Provost’s Council Meeting of September 20, 2010

Present: Ted Guffy, Moustafa Abdelsamad, Arthur Hernandez, Carlos Huerta, Paul Meyer, Kelly Quintanilla, David Billeaux, Mary Jane Hamilton, Louis Katz,Christine Shupala, Luis Cifuentes, James Needham

Note taker: Cely Smart

Guests: Mary Beth Davis

Paul Orser

I. Call to Order

Dr. Guffy called the meeting to order, and the minutes of the Council from August 17thwere unanimously approved.

II. Presentation on Istanbul Study Abroad Experience

Ms. Davis reviewed a presentation on the study abroad trip to Istanbul.

III. Enrollment Update

Dr. Guffy reported for Ms. Dechant that enrollment is over 10,000 for now.

IV. System Academic Financial Data Compilation

Dr. Orser discussed issues with data calculation of the system academic financial data report. He announced that faculty are generating more income than they are being paid.

V. Proposed School of Applied Public Policy

Dr. Quintanilla discussed proposal for a Hector P. Garcia school of public policy. There is a push to open something with his name attached, may be an interdisciplinary program. She was tasked with moving forward with a proposal and determining the funding cost.

VI. Complaint Resolution Form

Dr. Guffy described what should be included in the forms. Dr. Hernandez discussed problems with forms regarding entering information into the complaint portion.

VII. Parent’s Weekend Announcement

Dr. Guffy announced that parents weekend with be October 14th-16th and he is encouraging deans attend for breakfast and lunch.

VIII. Other Issues of the Council

  1. Dr. Guffy reported that employees at Texas A&M University in College have started to be laid off and presented a letter about layoffs beginning 8/2011. There is an option in HR when posting a position to restrict to System Only employees, but he suggests not limiting the field to that group only.
  2. Dr. Guffy discussed the budget hearings and the budget projection with the 5%, 10%, and 15% budget cuts.
  3. Ms. Shupala reviewed the usage statistics of the textbooks on reserve in the library.