APPROVEDMINUTES

OF

THE FACULTY SENATE MEETING

OF

November 1, 2005

This meeting of the Wentworth Faculty Senate was convened by Chairman P. Rourke in the Faculty Lounge of Beatty Hall at approximately 2:10pm. Those present and voting were:

S. Dasgupta / M. Greene / A. Khabari / C. Petersen / D. Suresh
M. Ellabidy / T. Greene / T. Lesko / A. Pitt / P. Rourke
C. Gleason / A. Hattaway / B. Moran / J. Ripley
G. Goldenberg / F. Hopcroft / A. Penta / J. Santacroce

Two guests of the Faculty Senate were also present:

Mike Kupferman, Interim Provost

MichaelBellefeuille, Student Affairs Officer, Wentworth Student Government

Chairman Rourke opened the meeting by asking that the minutes of the meeting of October 4, 2005 be accepted. A motion was made and approved to amend the minutes. Following the amendments, it was MOVED, SECONDED and VOTED (unanimously) to accept the minutes as amended.

◦ Senator Lesko has obtained 22 signatures from faculty and staff desiring dedicated parking spaces be allocated behind the Ira Allen building. A proposal has been prepared which identifies 20 parking spaces in the lot that could be marked as reserved. A MOTION was made, SECONDED, and APPROVED (unanimously) to submit the proposal to the Provost’s Office for consideration.

◦ Senator M. Greene informed the members that the Provost’s Office would be looking for Senate recommendations regarding future activities of the Community Service and Learning initiative which was originally funded as a three year plan.

◦ Interim Provost Kupferman expressed his desire to learn how the Senate functions and conveyed his commitment to help support the Senate initiatives. With respect to Monday holidays, Provost Kupferman informed the Senate that there is a growing concern among several of the Chief Academic Officers of the COF which may result in changes to the current scheduling policy.

◦ Senator M. Greene introduced MichaelBellefeuille, the Student Affairs Officer of the Wentworth Student Government (WSG). Senator Greene complimented Mr. Bellefeuille and the entire WSG for the exemplary work they did in the development of their first resolution of the 2005/06 academic year. In short, the embodiment of the resolution would allow for input from students and faculty with respect to future building and construction on the WIT campus. The resolution also references designs that would showcase the talents available on campus as well as incorporate efficiency and sustainability. The complete resolution can be viewed at the link below:


A MOTION was made, SECONDED, and APPROVED (unanimously) for the Wentworth Faculty Senate to endorse the resolution put forth by the Wentworth Student Government regarding facilities and campus planning.

◦ Chairman Rourke addressed the issue of the Senate website. To insure the longevity of the website throughout various Senate officer terms, it was decided that Jim Steele would be asked to assist the Senate in designing a site and would further be asked to maintain it for the Senate.

◦ Senator Hopcroft informed the Senate of the status of the “On-Line Learning” Colloquium scheduled for Wednesday, January 11, 2006:

  1. The day will include three main key-note speakers to address three topics of strategies, concepts, and pitfalls related to on-line learning.
  2. The Associate Provost has been asked to coordinate travel expenses and a modest honorarium for the speakers.
  3. The Interim Provost has been asked to invite other Chief Academic Officers of the COF to the Wentworth’s Colloquium.
  4. A formal agenda will be issued shortly by the Colloquium Committee.

A suggestion was made to invite the members of the WSG to the colloquium.

◦ Senator Turan opened a discussion related to scheduling of rooms on campus. Provost Kupferman asked that a committee be established with a fact-finding mission to identify room assignment deficiencies. Chairman Rourke indicated that a Senate sponsored committee will be established and charged with this task so that a report can be provided to the Provost’s office at a later date.

New Business:

◦ Senator D. Suresh reminded the senate of the upcoming November 4th COF conference on education: "Student Centered Teaching". She encouraged us all to attend, and to talk to your colleagues about the event. Registration materials are available on LConnect.

With no further business appearing, the meeting was adjourned at approximately 4:35 pm