MINUTES OF THE FACULTY MEETING -- FEBRUARY 16, 2006

ATTENDEES: C. Barfield, E. Buss, J. Capinera, S. Choate, B. Crow, J. Daniels, D. Dickson, T. Fasulo, J. Foltz, D. Hahn, D. Hall, G. Hall, M. Hoy, P. Lawrence, N. Leppla, O. Liburd, J. Maruniak, H. McAuslane, B. McSorley, F. Oi, M. Scharf, J. Stimac, S. Yu, C. Pickles, and P. Howell.

Meeting convened at 10:35

Dr. Capinera introduced Carl Barfield, who spoke about a decision that the Board of Governors has made concerning student learning outcomes (SLO). They feel that students are graduating with inflated grades. They want to implement a testing process that will, for all intents and purposes, be an FCAT at the university level, to ascertain that students are qualified to graduate based on some measure other than course grades. This will affect undergraduates only. The SLO program calls for documentation of technical knowledge and skills, critical thinking, and communication. The proposed method of meeting the program requirements are to (1) document knowledge of insect identification, morphology, physiology and behavior through testing outside of standard courses; (2) require that students access and interpret data from entomological journals; and (3) present a summary/analysis of the journal articles. Dr. Barfield said he will develop a test but the department needs to be involved in the development. He suggested that everyone take a month and determine how they would like to see it revised, and then bring back their suggestions. Dr. Maruniak asked if the score is a percentage or a grade. Dr. Hoy asked what is a passing grade. Dr. Capinera said he thinks they should only need a pass/fail grade. Dr. Hoy asked when the test will be given, does it involve multiple exams, and what happens if the student fails, and Dr. Barfield indicated that this had not been determined. Dr. Hoy said that she will bring the subject before the Senate Faculty meeting next week. Dr. Barfield said he will meet with the undergraduate committee on this topic, but needs to have faculty input within a month. Dr. Capinera suggested that articles or journals be chosen that are in the tracks the students choose. Dr. Barfield cautioned that it will be necessary to have the test remain general because you can’t become too detailed for undergraduates.

Dr. Capinera spoke about the appointment of Janete Brito to the graduate faculty and asked for any input. Dr. Crow said that she has served on several of the committees for his graduate students and that she is a great resource for his programs. It was put to the vote and it was approved unanimously.

Dr. Maruniak asked if there would be a vote on adding Sandra Allen to the courtesy faculty list. Dr. Capinera said it would be put before the faculty in a subsequent meeting. Dr. Liburd asked about the large number of courtesy faculty with regard to the comments by the Departmental Review Team during their recent visit that the large number cuts down on the average amount of productivity per faculty. Dr. Capinera explained that this was erroneous and that courtesy faculty are not included in this determination.

Dr. Capinera said that he will be getting a report from the Review Team shortly. At that time, we can respond to any questions or concerns the team may have. He stated that the Vice President is pleased by the outcome. He did bring up some of the concerns that the team mentioned while here, thinking that the faculty may want to start thinking about their response. He mentioned that we need to continue strategic planning. One of the things mentioned by the team is that we have six large program areas, and that we may want to consolidate some of these so that we have a narrower set of goals that we can focus more attention toward. He mentioned that we have had the six program areas for at least 10 years, if not longer. Dr. Crow said that it may be a good thing to revisit our goals and redefine them. Dr. Hoy mentioned that nationwide, entomology departments and programs are declining. Dr. Barfield said that we are one of the few departments still offering an undergraduate degree program. Dr. Buss asked if we can focus our research. Dr. Stimac said he is concerned about our department not having a long-term plan in place. Dr. D. Hall said that consolidating won’t really change what we do. Dr. Stimac mentioned that we have a very strong biologically based IPM program. There was discussion about our fundamental research versus applied research. Dr. Barfield asked if the Review Team ever finds anyone who does any better than we do. Dr. Capinera said that the nature of the team is to find something to comment about. He said that over time, we will lose people and gain new people, and these new people will do things differently. At the end of the discussion, it was decided that we should continue our strategic planning. Drs. Leppla and Tabachnick were nominated to continue with the coordination of the strategic planning effort that they had initiated early in the review process.

One thing the Review Team brought up was a Center for Invasion Biology. After some discussion, it was decided to form a committee of 2-3 people to look into the subject. There obviously will be no money derived from this activity, and perhaps only a small bit of prestige, so probably no benefit to us. If there is a tangible benefit, it may be worth doing, and should include other invasives such as weeds and diseases. Dr. Cuda was named to head this, and Drs. Crow and Stimac volunteered to help; others are welcome to participate.

Another thing the Review Team brought up was the more detailed course requirements for sub-disciplines. There was discussion about how the requirements are often based on the potential jobs to be gained in the discipline. Dr. Capinera asked if there was any enthusiasm for looking further into this subject, and the response was affirmative. The graduate committee will take the lead in identifying additional course requirements through discussion with faculty in the sub-disciplines.

Meeting adjourned at 11:15