[VPAAEtal] Graduate Council Minutes

[Academic Affairs]

GRADUATE COUNCIL MINUTES

September 9, 2008

 

The Graduate Council met Tuesday, September 9, 2008, in the MSC
Boardroom at 3:00 p.m. with Dean Allan D. Headley presiding.  Members
present were:  Dr. Ken Alford, Dr. Harry Fullwood, Dr. John Humphreys,
Dr. Ben Jang, Dr. Jeff Kopachena, Dr. Sharon Kowalsky, Dr. Larry Watson
for Dr. Linda Openshaw, Dr. Chester Robinson, Dr. Derek Royal, Dr. Jon
Travis, Dr. Janet Walker, and Dr. Dayle Yeager.  Members absent were:
Dr. John Hanners and Dr. Steven Shwiff.  Dr. Mary Beth Sampson, Interim
Vice Chair, was also in attendance.  Graduate School staff members that
joined the Council for refreshments and introductions were:  Ms. Natalie
Henderson, Ms. Amy Sims, Ms. Vicky Turner, and Ms. Carley Tucker.

 

President Dan Jones addressed the Council.  Dr. Jones began by stating
that he was impressed with the number of graduate students and the
quality of our graduate programs; healthy graduate programs are
important to a university.  He stated that it is important to make good
decisions on hiring new faculty and that it is critical that we create a
supportive environment for faculty.  Discussions between the President
and the Council concerned the need for a facility in the Dallas area,
the need for adequate release time for faculty to be involved in
scholarly activities and that it should be attached to some measurable
outcome, and the need for rigorous mid-tenure reviews with lots of
feedback.

 

Dean Headley thanked Dr. Jon Travis for his service to the Graduate
School and as Vice Chair of the Graduate Council.  He announced that Dr.
Mary Beth Sampson has accepted the position of Assistant Dean of
Graduate Studies and Research to begin January 1, 2009.  She has been
appointed Interim Vice Chair of the Graduate Council for Fall 2008.

 

Dr. Headley discussed his philosophy of graduate education and mentioned
that the Office of Graduate Studies should provide a welcoming, and
customer friendly environment for our faculty and students.  The
professional development of our students to meet their career goals is
important to us and we have various programs to assist in their
professional development.  Assisting the faculty in their recruiting
efforts and producing a quality degree for our students are only a few
of the ways that we assist our faculty.

 

Student travel funds are available for graduate students presenting at
national conferences.  

            

The base pay for graduate assistants remains the same; however,
departments are able to offer stipends for master's graduate assistants
from $8,000-$14,000 and doctoral graduate assistants from $10,000 -
$16,000.  The additional amount over the base amount can be supported by
departmental research funds or other departmental funds.  An additional
$100,000 in funds has been divided among the colleges to assist in
allowing departments to hire additional GAs or to pay their GAs at a
higher rate.

 

To assist departments to recruit quality students, the Graduate School
is again providing matching funds for department graduate recruitment
activities.  The Lafferty and Pathways scholarships are available to
help recruit quality graduate students.  The Graduate endowment fund has
been vested and Council members were encouraged to contribute to the
fund.

 

Dr. Headley presented information on the Characteristics of Texas Public
Doctoral Programs developed by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating
Board Graduate Education Advisory Committee.  The characteristics are
the number of degrees per year, graduation rates, average time to
degree, employment profile (in field within one year of graduation),
admissions criteria, percentage full-time students (FTS) with financial
support, average financial support provided, student-core faculty ratio
and core faculty publications.  Data for each of our doctoral programs
representing these characteristics will need to be easily available to
the public.

 

The Federation of North Texas Area Universities is currently being
restructured to provide more money for the programs.  There will not be
a Fall Seminar this year.

 

Action Items

The minutes from the last Graduate Council, April 29, 2008, were
approved.  

 

Committee chairs gave a brief report on their respective committee

Committee on Administration (Jon Travis)

Committee on Curriculum (Dayle Yeager for John Hanners)

Committee on Faculty, Research & Instruction (Derek Royal)

 

Information Items

Pathways Student Research Symposium at A&M-Commerce, November 7-8, 2008.
October 19th is the deadline for abstracts and registration for
students, faculty, and judges.  For additional information, visit
http://www.tamu-commerce.edu/gradschool/Pathways/.  Registration will be
paid for A&M-Commerce faculty and students participating in this event.

Pathways Junior Faculty Workshop at A&M-Commerce, November 7, 2008

 

ADJOURNMENT

The Council adjourned at 4:00.   

 

Louise Skinner

Secretary to the Graduate Council

 

 

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