MINUTES OF THE FACULTY MEETING -- SEPTEMBER 8, 2005

ATTENDEES: C. Barfield, V. Blaeske, D. Boucias, M. Branham, E. Buss, J. Capinera, D. Dickson, J. Foltz, D. Hahn, G. Hall, R. Jones, P. Kaufman, P. Koehler, P. Lawrence, N. Leppla, O. Liburd, J. Maruniak, H. McAuslane, R. McSorley, J. Nation, F. Oi, F. Slansky, J. Stimac, S. Webb, S. Yu, C. Tucker, and M. Litchfield. REC stations that joined by PolyCom were Ft. Lauderdale, Ft. Pierce, and Homestead.

Meeting convened at 10:30

Capinera called for a vote on Dr. Paul Linser to be appointed to the courtesy faculty and to the graduate faculty. Dr. Linser is from the Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience in St. Augustine. The vote was unanimous.

Capinera gave a brief update of changes the new Dean for Research, Dr. Mark McLellan, is making. He has been busy cleaning up the Sponsored Programs office to get it working smoothly and cash has started to flow. He is going to start a grant writing workshop and all faculty are to attend. Dr. McLellan would like to see the faculty become more aggressive in soliciting grant funds. Support for Journal Series page charges and reprints will no longer be available. Page charges will continue until the end of the year but not for reprints. If you wish to send reprints either photocopy them or send them electronically. It was suggested that these charges be included when writing grants. Dr. McLellan would like to develop some Blue Ribbon research teams and have some dialogue at the department level about research areas and guidelines. He is requesting a one-page strategy plan from each unit. His perception of the support staff ratio to faculty is that IFAS has too many staff. Even though downsizing comes and goes we may see this again soon. He would like to see an Advisory Committee for each unit to get feed-back from the individuals and industry we serve. He wants to increase our presence in Washington.

For those who are concerned about the UNIFAS system, Capinera announced that Billy Crow attended an evaluation of the improved system and reported that it was much more useable. Each unit has been charged with having a representative to test out UNIFAS. Capinera asked for volunteers but none were forthcoming.

Capinera talked about the Critical Research Needs for the Department requested by Dean McLellan. He asked for more suggestions, but that they would be formulated in a broad rather than narrow statement of research need. A few suggestions were mentioned and will be included in an updated listing.

Discussion was opened concerning the appointment of Courtesy Professor, and specifically should Post Docs be eligible for Courtesy Faculty Appointments. Discussion followed with the pros and cons discussed. Capinera passed out the Policy for Courtesy Faculty that the Department adopted in 1995. It states that the Graduate Committee is to revisit the Courtesy Faculty every three years and terminate those that are no longer active. This triennial review eliminates one of the principal concerns about appointing Post Docs to courtesy faculty status, i.e., their transient nature. Post Docs are requesting to be appointed to the Courtesy Faculty primarily to become a Co-PI on grants. A vote was taken and it was 10 in favor and 4 against. The Graduate Committee is charged with making sure these Post Docs have the backing of their sponsors. RECs are also capable of appointing courtesy faculty, and this decision brings Gainesville in line with Centers, which have been making such appointments.

Norm Leppla handed out copies of the Entomology-Nematology Department Review Coordinator's Report. He went over the report and encouraged the Moderators and Recorders to write up reviews in their areas. Moderators will be asked to present reviews in their areas. He asked that everyone please provide feedback. Leppla said that he would be emailing this report to everyone with a few minor adjustments. Capinera stated that there would be more discussion about extension and requested that the centers would be contacted to participate by polycom. Clientele are to be invited to interact with the review team to discuss our service to them and also alumni are to be invited to report on their experience here. Capinera requested nominations for both clientele and alumni to be invited.

Steve Lasley proposed purchase of a back-up server for files that would be automatically backed up in case your computer crashed. The cost of this would be $2400/year. Discussion followed with a vote taken. Vote was unanimous.

Meeting adjourned at 11:55