MINUTES OF THE FACULTY MEETING -- OCTOBER 14, 2004

ATTENDEES: Drion Boucias, Marc Branham, Eileen Buss, John Capinera, Billy Crow, Jim Cuda, John Foltz, Debbie Hall, Don Hall, Marjorie Hoy, Phil Koehler, Norm Leppla, James Maruniak, Heather McAuslane, Bob McSorley, Faith Oi, Michael Scharf, Frank Slansky, Cindy Tucker, Susan Webb, Graham White, Lois Wood, Simon Yu, and Myrna Litchfield.

Meeting convened at 1:20

Capinera announced that Freddy Johnson had undergone surgery but was doing fine. He is at home recuperating.

Capinera reminded everyone of the Departmental picnic to be held on Sunday, October 17, at Lake Wauburg to start at noon.

Capinera announced that the Search and Screen committee for the VP of IFAS has chosen three finalists to interview. These are: Dr. Elsa Murano; Dr. William "Randy" Woodson; and Dr. Jimmy Cheek. He has a file on each candidate that can be viewed by the faculty. Candidates will be interviewed and there will be a public forum later where faculty will have an opportunity to voice their concerns.

The latest student enrollment for Fall 2004 for the college was passed out. The Graduate enrollment has increased and we are the largest in the college. Undergraduate enrollment is decreasing. The department needs to think about some recruitment tools for the undergraduate program.

A list of most important insect pests in Florida was passed out. This was created as a request for the DPM program as a list to be given to the students so they would know what to study for. This is the first draft and Capinera requested that the faculty look it over and add to or subtract from the list and return it to him.

Phil Koehler reported on the results of the Medical Entomology Position. This position is 40% teaching, 50% research, and 10% extension. The Search and Screen Committee voted that their first choice was Phil Kaufman and the second choice would be Jeff Tomberlin in case Dr. Kaufman decided not to take the position. There were some objections to Jeff Tomberlin being a second choice because it was felt that he did not have enough experience to handle this position. The faculty and students were in favor of hiring Phil Kaufman. It was voted to offer the position to Dr. Kaufman.

Jim Cuda attended a workshop on Grant Writing and he presented the information that he had learned. He passed out some handouts that he had received while attending the workshop. The workshop was held in Atlanta, GA, and was sponsored by the University of Georgia, Clemson, and NRI. Jim stated that there was a 23% success rate for initial submission and 40% chance for resubmission. The granting agencies prefer a Post Doc on the budget as opposed to a graduate student. You need to make every word count and use the active voice or first person. Clearly state impact and significance. It is best to have a colleague review the proposal before you submit it. The grants that are submitted in the middle of the submission period had a higher likelihood of being funded. It is a good idea to send a letter of thanks even if you are not funded. Some of the reasons for not funding a grant are: unclear message of procedure, lacked experience in the proposed area, proposed research does not match proposal, unfocused research plan, and incomplete literature survey.

Don Hall reported on the Graduate Committee Meeting. They proposed that the department seminar course be graded instead of an S/U grade. Some faculty find that students are not taking the course seriously and feel that if they had to receive a grade that it may make a difference. Faculty voted unanimously to change the departmental seminar course to a graded course and will be effective spring of 2005.

The Graduate Committee felt the department should start enforcing the Biology GRE rule or do something else. The committee suggested the students take the biology GRE and pass it in the 25 percentile. It was strongly recommended for the MS and required for the PhD. Students should either take it before applying or be required to take the biology GRE during their first semester. If the student does not reach the 25 percentile it should be required that they take it again ASAP. The current ruling is that students are required to reach a score of 550 and it should be taken during the first semester. New students need to have taken the Biology GRE by January 4th, first day of classes, or they cannot register. International students would have to go home. Should an email be sent out to let students know that they need to take the exam and the 550 score on the Biology GRE will be enforced? Discussion followed with the pros and cons of having students take the Biology GRE and what the score should be. Should the policy be enforced starting spring of 2005? This is not a UF policy, only departmental. If the department requires students to take this exam, the policy should be enforced. A lot of universities do not require the Biology GRE. Can a student's record show that they have a good biology background? A motion was made that the Biology GRE requirement be dropped. Faculty voted against dropping requirement. Motion was made that all students be required to take the Biology GRE with a 25 percentile and that it be recommended for Masters students and required for PhDs. Students must take the exam in their first semester or before they come to UF. If they do not reach the 25 percentile they must take it again as soon as it is offered. Students must take the test and have 25 percentile before taking qualifying exams. Motion passed but will be provisional as most felt that the center faculty should be consulted and asked to vote on issue. Will be discussed at next faculty meeting.

Question was raised about graduate students' vacation, do they get one or should they get one? Don Hall said that he would discuss this with the Graduate Committee and bring it back at the next faculty meeting.

Capinera brought up the faculty that are requesting Tenure and/or Promotion. These are: Dr. F.W. (Bill) Howard from Ft. Lauderdale - promotion to full professor; Tom Fasulo - promotion to Senior Associate In; Dr. Oscar Liburd - promotion to Associate Professor with Tenure (Dr. Liburd has prior service that makes him eligible for Tenure and Promotion); Dr. William (Bill) Overholt located in Ft. Pierce - promotion to Associate Professor and Tenure (Dr. Overholt has prior service that makes him eligible for Tenure and Promotion). Each individual was discussed and Capinera reminded the faculty to turn in their votes to Myrna by the end of the day.

Meeting adjourned at 2:50.