University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee College of Letters and Science 2002-2003 Academic Planning Committee Meeting: Friday, March 28, 2003, 9:00 a.m. Holton Hall 241 Minutes No. 6 Present: Swarnjit Arora, Gerald Bergtrom, Douglas Cherkauer, Christopher De Sousa, Pat Kissinger (ex officio), Erl Olfe (ex officio), Stacey Oliker, Jeanne Schueller, Gabrielle Verdier Excused:   Margaret Atherton, Thomas Holme Guests: Connie Jo, Richard Meadows, Denise Mueller, Caterina Sukup Call to Order - The Chair, Stacey Oliker, called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. in Holton Hall 241. Automatic Consent Approval of Minutes #5, 2002-2003 (March 10, 2003) - Jeanne Schueller moved to amend Section IV.A. paragraph 4 of the minutes to substitute, for the last three sentences of that paragraph, text that she distributed to the committee. The motion was seconded. Stacey proposed alternative language for the first three sentences of that same paragraph. This suggestion was incorporated into the original motion. The motion was approved. The revised paragraph reads as follows: Stacey asked what units in L&S would have reviews of their budgets conducted. Richard stated that all units could be reviewed, but he affirmed his commitment to BAGS and to the Center for 21st Century Studies since it is the only real research center for the humanities at UWM. Richard mentioned that he has discussed the efficiency of current foreign language course offerings with chairs of the foreign language departments. He has made suggestions regarding ways to decrease spending, perhaps by rotating the offering of foreign language courses and planning for years in advance so that students could anticipate when the courses they wanted would be available. Richard also questioned the efficiency of the Language Resource Center and said that a review of its functioning should be undertaken. Procedural Matters - None Old Business Report and Discussion of Dean's APC Budget Briefing - Dean Richard Meadows presented to the Committee a proposal for budget cuts in the College (copy attached to these minutes). Richard explained that the extent of the cuts depends on the size of the tuition increase set by the Board of Regents. He explained each item in the proposal. Stacey Oliker expressed her concern that courses converted to 189 funding would be difficult to reinstate on 101 funding. She also asked if APC would review recruitments this year. Richard responded that position requests would be solicited, but presently there are no plans for hiring. Swarnjit Arora expressed concern about eliminating centers that generate revenue. Gerald Bergtrom stated that closing the Center for Science Education would spawn a strong negative response from the community. Richard replied that the Medical College of Wisconsin has such a center that could serve the same role. Richard acknowledged that the budget cuts would be painful, but they are necessary to address the budget deficit. New Business Proposal to Establish a Center for Advanced Spatial Information Research (CASIR) - Christopher De Sousa summarized the proposal to establish the CASIR, jointly proposed by the Geography and Urban Planning Departments. He explained that the Center would be supported on research grants. Swarnjit Arora and Jeanne Schueller asked if establishing a new center could be justified when Dean Meadows had suggested that other centers were on the verge of being eliminated due to budget cuts. Chris responded that the Center would be self-supporting. Swarnjit asked if the Center would require university funding if the grants did not materialize. Chris said GIS is a hot area; faculty members will not have a problem generating the money to support CASIR. Swarnjit asked if other departments had been consulted; other departments have faculty doing spatial information research. Chris replied that faculty from other disciplines could participate in the Center. Several members expressed concern that the Center's name encompassed a broader scope than the description suggests. Gerald Bergtrom suggested that the name of the Center should be changed to GIS Spatial Information Research. Chris responded that the CASIR proposal originally involved only the Urban Planning Department; Geography asked to be part of the collaboration; other departments would be welcome. After much debate Committee members agreed to return the proposal to the Geography and Urban Planning Departments with the suggestion that the name of the Center be narrowed or other departments contacted to ascertain their interest in participating. Adjournment - The meeting was adjourned at 10:30 a.m. Respectfully submitted Connie Jo Special Assistant to the Dean Secretary to the L&S Faculty Distribution: Dean G. Richard Meadows Associate Deans Harris, Miller, O'Bryan Assistant Deans Horstman, Kissinger, Olfe Secretary to the University Minutes #6, 2002-03.apc