The Urbana-Champaign Senate will convene for the final time this academic year on Monday.
At its meeting, the 2012-13 academic governing body will consider eight proposals after March’s meeting was canceled due to a snow day.
The senate will discuss and vote on a new electronic communications policy recommended by the IT Security and Privacy Committee. This policy will guide faculty and staff in ethical use of University electronic communication devices.
A resolution for the establishment of the Institute of Universal Biology will also be considered Monday. The $8 million institute would be funded by NASA, and it would be a part of the Institute for Genomic Biology. The goal of the institute, according to the proposal, is to help answer questions like, “Is there life beyond Earth?” Because the institute will be located inside IGB, all types of biologists would be able to collaborate on the institute’s work.
The senate will also vote on a resolution from the College of Education to create a new program of study. Learning and Education Studies would expand the college beyond only focusing on schools and more about learning as a whole, according to the proposal. The new degree would be a bachelor of science and have four concentrations: applied learning science, education globalization and social justice, workplace training and development, and international and cultural perspectives on early schooling.
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Clarifications for the academic integrity portion of the student code will also be voted on by the senate.
The University Statutes and Senate Procedures Committee are providing two of the proposals. Committee Chairman William Maher said both of the proposals are “housework” to help improve the senate’s functionality. The first proposal changes the way that senate documents are reviewed because of confusion on the way documents are changed during discussion. The second proposal would change the senate bylaws to allow the director of the Center for a Sustainable Environment and the chair of the Student Sustainability Committee to join the Committee on Campus Operations to help the committee — which makes decisions about construction on campus — make sustainability a part of its decisions.
Because the March senate meeting was canceled, the senate will take up the business from last month’s meeting as well, including considering the nominations of four students and four faculty members for two student and two faculty spots on the Athletic Board. If the senate does not have any additional nominations, the eight nominations will be forwarded to Chancellor Phyllis Wise, who will make the final decision.
Johnathan can be reached at [email protected].
