Inside Iowa State

March 7, 2008

Senate considers curriculum, research

by Erin Rosacker

It was the final item on the Faculty Senate's March 4 agenda that generated considerable interest.

The senate's research planning and policy committee presented the first draft of a proposed university policy on sponsored funding of research and publication rights. The group has been working on the policy since last summer, when executive vice president and provost Elizabeth Hoffman pointed out that, unlike some universities, ISU did not have one in place.

"We have to insist that our faculty at the university need to be free to publish. That's what universities are all about. That's part of academic freedom, and that's why we're here," said Jack Girton, chair of the committee.

The committee gathered policies from peer institutions to help construct the policy, which provides a method to apply for exceptions.

"A lot of this mirrors the language other universities have," Girton said. "We tried to come up with one that was pretty straight forward."

If approved, the policy would be added to the Faculty Handbook. Girton said the policy will be cross-referenced with the Office of Sponsored Programs. His committee has been working with OSPA, University Counsel and the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost.

"The intent is to make clear to people applying for grants and to people who are going to sponsor funding that we have certain standards with regards to restrictions on publication," Girton said. "The bottom line is, we do not accept grants if -- as a precondition -- we must guarantee that the work cannot be published."

Senators will continue discussion of the policy -- and perhaps vote on it -- at the March 25 meeting.

Religious accommodation

Senators approved a revision to the class attendance portion of the Faculty Handbook that addresses religious accommodation. Although changes were introduced last fall, the senate postponed any action when the Government of the Student Body questioned the language in the Human Resource Services policy that the handbook links to.

GSB passed a resolution Jan. 30 (21-2-1) to add a paragraph encouraging instructors and employers to consider accommodations of diverse religious observances, including time commitments and travel. The Faculty Senate unanimously endorsed the added language, which will be sent on to HRS' office of equal opportunity and diversity for adoption in the policy. The change to the Faculty Handbook also passed, pending modification of the HRS link.

Academic considerations

The senate's slate of new business was chock-full of items from the academic affairs council. Senators will vote on these curriculum proposals at their March 25 meeting:

• New bachelor of science degrees in culinary science, global resource systems, and biological systems engineering
• New bachelor of arts degree in world languages and cultures, with concentrations in primary languages (replaces individual language majors)
• Name changes for the plant physiology graduate degree program (to plant biology), agricultural education undergraduate degree (to agricultural and life sciences education) and entomology undergraduate degree (to insect science)
• New minors in bioengineering; music technology; meat science; and sport and culture
• A new undergraduate certificate in occupational safety

Other business

Senators also will vote on these items at the next meeting:

• Change to the foreign travel grants policy that would allow faculty to apply for funds to cover airfare from destinations other than the Des Moines airport
• Changes to the senate by-laws that creates the representative committee (officers and caucus chairs), and appoints the president-elect as chair of the committee on committees (caucus chairs)

A slew of curriculum changes will be up for vote at the Faculty Senate's March 25 meeting, along with a proposed research policy.

"We have to insist that our faculty at the university need to be free to publish. That's what universities are all about. That's part of academic freedom, and that's why we're here," said Jack Girton, chair of the committee.

Jack Girton