The Scholarship and Community Committee met on February 27.   The following topics were discussed:  1) An invitation to Mayor Bill White to address the Senate.  2) A follow-up with the State Legislators who visited last spring. 3) Hosting a citywide Faculty Retreat.  4) Inviting the new heads of the Houston Alumni Organization and the Office of Special Events to talk to the committee.  The committee is scheduled to meet on Monday, Monday March 31, with Beth Burroway, the new Director of Special Events.

DATE:              15th February 2008
TIME:                1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
LOCATION:       Conference Room, 3rd floor, Cullen Performance Hall

Agenda Item 1): Dr. Craig provided some background on the formation of this committee and the projects that the committee worked on during the last year. He indicated that the last project undertaken by the committee was to assess the number of graduate students at the university and assess how many were funded thorough scholarships and assistantship.  He indicated that obtaining data from various University constituencies was difficult.

Agenda Item 2): It was determined that a need exists for a senate committee to participate in the strategic planning process and to provide a faculty perspective to the University planning effort. After a brief discussion of relevant issues raised by various members of the committee, a motion was made by Dr. Chandler and seconded by Dr. Rea that a new standing Faculty Senate Committee be established to conduct this work.  The motion carried with a vote of 6-0. 

Agenda item 3): A motion was made by Dr. Craig and seconded by Dr. Sabatino that the new committee shall be named as the "Strategic Planning and Development Committee". The motion carried after a brief discussion with a vote of 6-0.

Agenda item 4): There was extensive discussion on the composition of this committee. Issues such as the Senates’ role and expertise in strategic planning, as well as the role of this committee were raised. A motion was made by Dr. Chandler and seconded by Dr. Sabatino that the committee structure would be similar to that of other standing senate committees with at least 6 voting members from the Senate. Further, the Chair should have the option to invite the participation of non-senate faculty, as and when necessary, to enhance the expertise of the committee.  The motion carried with a vote of 6-0.

Agenda item 5): The committee determined that the charge of the new standing committee will be as follows: “This is a committee charged with strategic thinking that will ultimately assist the University toward enhanced strategic planning and development, a committee that will envision the changes that are possible and necessary for the University of Houston to grow and remain competitive on the global stage.”

Three major objectives of the committee emerged from this discussion.

1)     The committee will provide input on at least one specific charge each year provided by the faculty senate.

2)     The committee will seek input from the faculty for the purpose of providing guidance to the University during the development and execution of strategic plans.

3)     The committee would work from time-to-time on projects that are requested by the University administration or the faculty senate executive committee.

The committee members identified the following projects that may be of interest to the committee. Although it is understood that it may not be feasible to work on all, the members  agreed that the committee would be better off selecting and focusing on one project that the can be accomplished during a given year.

1)     Faculty governance input into the allocation of capital budgets, especially HEAF funds.

2)     Provide guidance for University strategic goals for the legislative session.

3)     Provide strategic input in the University’s "Master Plan”.

4)     Provide suggestions for improving the quality of the University Community and the Environment.

5)     Develop an information base for professional and graduate programs and opportunities for expansion.

6)     Develop an information base for undergraduate programs and study the need for residential housing and other issues.

The members of the committee requested the current Chair Dr. Sansgiry to provide this input to the executive committee and the faculty senate.

Based on the deliberations of the committee, the following resolution was proposed:

The Faculty Senate should establish a new standing committee, the “Strategic Planning and Development Committee”.

Meeting adjourned.