IUPUI Faculty Council Metropolitan Affairs Committee

 

October 3, 2005

9:00 AM – 10:30 AM

 

Members Present: Lorraine C. Blackman, Chairperson;

 

Members Absent: Robert Bringle ( On Sabbatical until January 2006)

 

Ex Officio Members Present: Amy Warner, Liaison to IUPUI Administration

 

Ex Officio Members Absent: Clifford Godwin, Liaison to IUPUI Faculty Council Executive Committee

 

  1. Introductions (See Committee Roster)

 

  1. Discussion of IU Mission Differentiation Report
    1. The committee concurs with the following underlying assumptions of the report:

                                                    i.     The eight campuses of Indiana University will be well served to collaborate more closely to accomplish the University’s mission of teaching, research and public service, particularly in the shifting U.S. and Indiana economies .

                                                  ii.     As an entity, IU must be fiscally accountable to the Indiana General Assembly, the Indiana  Commission on Higher Education, and the residents of the State of Indiana.

                                                iii.     The outgrowth of the seven campuses from the natal campus

in Bloomington has been marked by increasing autonomy and competition for resources. This process has created duplications in processes and academic programs in efforts to meet regional needs.

                             iv.   The current Mission Differentiation process, aimed at creating an

 identity as One University with eight campuses is a positive step toward greater accountability and efficiency.

            b.  The committee concurs with the stated vision for the IUPUI campus:

“IUPUI: This campus should continue its development as the urban research campus of Indiana University and the state. The core and system schools concept for terminal degrees should be continued and strengthened. IUPUI is now ready and should be permitted to offer selected Ph.D. and other terminal graduate degrees consistent with the environment of central Indiana and the strengths of the campus. This campus is clearly set for a future as the urban and medical science campus of the state of Indiana and of IU.”

c. The committee is concurs with the recommendation that “All IU campuses should have faculty research requirements that relate to the core mission of the campus, and research expectations that relate to promotion and tenure must be clearly articulated by each campus.” However, we further believe that as One University, faculty promotion and tenure should be recognized across campuses.

c.   The committee is concerned about the implications for displaced faculty and staff  existing associate degree programs are eliminated as the Indiana Community College system assumes the role of providing 2-year degree programs.

d.   The committee concurs with the recommendation that IU create “more rigorous standards of educational quality by including Core 40 as basic admissions standard on all IU campuses.”

e.   We agree that “ care must be taken to prevent underrepresented and disadvantaged students from being relegated to the Community College with no options for a four-year, public higher education.”

 

     In fact, we think that the articulation be improved among K-12, Community Colleges, and 4-year public higher education to insure a clearer path to higher education for students.

 

f.   We strongly concur with the report’s recommendation that “IU campuses should continue to offer remedial courses that fill gaps in learning of their students and that prevent them from achieving success in college.”

 

g. We also agree that “Campuses should not provide remedial course work that is intended to overcome years of substandard education, where students have multiple deficiencies.” This is a clear and important mission for the Community College system, so long as transfer policies welcome students into 4-year higher educational opportunities at IU.

 

h. As an internationally recognized research institution, IU’s eight campuses certainly have an important role to play in making creative use of available faculty resources and applied research capabilities to promote Indiana’s economic development. However, Each this should not deter faculty from exercising academic freedom in pursuit of important scientific, funding, and global initiatives.

 

 

      i. The committee is highly supportive of the report’s emphasis on full diversity at 

         every level of university life.

 

 

We will continue to evaluate the report and will submit a final response to it at the conclusion of our next meeting on November 7, 2005.

 

 

The committee’s chairperson will meet with Charlie Nelms, IU’s Vice President for Student Development and Diversity, and Mike Sample, Vice President for University Relations & Corporate Partnerships, on October 10, 2005 as a follow up to a prior meeting with Mr. Sample to discuss ways in which the committee might facilitate the process of Mission Differentiation for IU.