1. Call to Order - Dean Richard Meadows called the meeting to order at 3:35 p.m. in CRT 175.
   1. Announcements - Dean Meadows reported that a revenue shortfall is expected by the State, perhaps amounting to $300,000,000 to $400,000,000 for the biennium. The Governor met with heads of State agencies and proposed a freeze on hiring, travel, and space leasing. He indicated that the University of Wisconsin and some health agencies would be held harmless. Therefore, Dean Meadows stated that we are proceeding on the assumption that we can continue recruiting and traveling.

      Dean Meadows also discussed the UWM DIN proposal that was funded in the State budget. He indicated that the fund would be used in four ways: 1) base funding for the research growth initiative (RGI) to replace the one-time funding that the campus identified to start the initiative; 2) graduate student support (the campus still is negotiating what form this will take); 3) research cluster hires; 4) undergraduate research initiative. In addition, the campus asked departments to develop proposals to compete for potential funding for WIBHT positions. The awards for all of these sources of funding are expected to be announced in about two weeks. Dean Meadows indicated that he expected the College to do very well in these competitions. As soon as the awards are announced, the College and departments will scramble to try to fill some of the positions this year, assuming the hiring freeze is not extended to UWM. Because it will be late in the recruiting cycle, there will be a number of positions that will not be filled until next year.

      Dean Meadows said we still are waiting for instructions for distributing salary increases for 2008-09, but he expects we will get them soon. He anticipates going through the merit exercise, if there is one, later this spring with the College reporting its results by April 15. Margaret Atherton asked why the dean thought there would be a merit exercise, given such a small percentage increase. Dean Meadows replied that he believes the Regents think a merit exercise is important. Additionally, even if salary monies are to be distributed evenly, he finds a merit exercise helpful in identifying individuals for whom a base adjustment is needed. He reminded the faculty that the Regents had supported an additional 1.5% increase for the faculty and some academic staff members, and this recommendation has been forwarded to the legislature's joint committee, but he has been told that this increase is "dead in the water" because of the State's financial situation.

      Dean Meadows advised giving considerable attention to the master planning process. Departments have been asked about their plans for new programs and research initiatives in the next five and ten years. This is an opportunity for departments to ensure that their space, faculty, and other needs are part of the planning discussion. The dean encouraged departments with multiple research groups to make sure that all of those groups are represented in the information they report in the survey, indicating they should ignore the 300-word limit if necessary. He reminded departments that the deadline is February 14, but he thought that the unofficial deadline more likely was March 1.

   2. Question Period (10 minutes maximum) - There were no additional questions.
2. Automatic Consent Business

   A.	Approval of Minutes #1, 2007-2008 (November 29, 2007) - Margaret Atherton moved the following amendments to the minutes:
   	Section IV. New Business B.   Recommendation to Create a Religious Studies Curricular Area Code - It was ... Anne Hansen stated that the invitation to participate had been extended in May, 2005, but Margaret Atherton said that such an invitation had not been issued. Margaret responded that the department's faculty had indicated it did not intend to seek a faculty member in the area of religious studies at that time, but it nevertheless did not wish to withdraw from participation in the program. Chuck Schuster said that the advisory committee for the program would welcome Philosophy's participation and that he was eager to include Philosophy inn Religious Studies curricular planning if the departments wants to participate. Robert Schwartz said ... The amendments to the minutes were approved unanimously. A document containing these amendments was distributed at the meeting; a copy is attached to the original of these minutes.

3. Old Business - none
4. New Business

   A.	Recommendation to Modify the Charter of the L&S Academic Policies and Curriculum Committee - Jeffrey Oxford moved and Margaret Atherton seconded the recommendation to modify the charter of the L&S Academic Policies and Curriculum Committee. Jeffrey briefly explained the purpose of the changes.		772
   B.	Recommendation to Revise the Second Baccalaureate Degree Requirements Statement - Jeffrey Oxford moved and Tom O'Bryan seconded the recommendation to revise the second baccalaureate degree requirements statement. Jeffrey explained that a challenge by a student seeking a second degree prompted this recommendation to clarify the requirements. There was no discussion; the motion was approved unanimously.		773
   C.	Recommendation to Create an Additional Alternative for Completion of the Foreign Language Requirement - Jeffrey Oxford moved and Kris Ruggiero seconded the recommendation to create an additional alternative for completion of the foreign language requirement. Jeffrey explained the new alternative. There was no discussion, and the motion was approve unanimously.		774
   D.	Recommendation to Authorize an Entitlement to Plan a Ph.D. in Sociology Sociology - Jeffrey Oxford moved and Patrick Bellegarde-Smith seconded the recommendation to authorize an entitlement to plan a Ph.D. in Sociology. Kent Redding made a brief statement about the development of this proposal. There were no questions, and the motion was approved unanimously.		775
   E.	Recommendation to Approve the Implementation Proposal for a Ph.D. in Africology - Jeffrey Oxford moved and Greg Jay seconded the recommendation to approve the implementation proposal for a Ph.D. in Africology. Joyce Kirk gave a statement about the background of the proposal and the growth of Ph.D. programs in this area. Tom O'Bryan asked if any of the other programs offer a master's degree (the UWM proposal does not). Joyce responded that some of the other programs do and others don't. David Mulroy asked if UWM was the only program using the name Africology. Joyce said currently this is one other Africology program, and Temple University started the process of changing its name to Africology, but changes in leadership have halted that process for the time being. She expects that many more programs will be making the change in the coming years. She added that the name reflects the nature of UWM's program. The department's faculty members do comparative research, examining African-American culture as well as cultures in Africa and/or of African origin in other parts of the world. Africology is the term that captures all of these foci. Greg Jay asked Joyce to talk a bit about the size of the program, as five students admitted each year seems to be a small number. Joyce said that this follows the pattern of most of the other programs. Dean Meadows said that he assumed that the number five referred to full-time students and that the department would not turn down well-qualified part-time students. Joyce confirmed that the department would admit part-time students as well. There was no further discussion, and the motion was approved unanimously.		776

5. Adjournment (no later than 5:00 p.m.) - The meeting was adjourned at 4:05 p.m.

L&S Academic Planning and Governance Committees
Sukanya Banerjee
Karen Brucks
Eduardo Douglas
Glen Fredlund
Peter Geissinger
Joyce Kirk
Patricia Kissinger (ex officio)
Kristin Ruggiero
Daad Saffarini
Kathy Wheatley
Connie Jo (staff support)