December 7, 2001 UNT Inhouse publication: Future engineering school, TI plant purchase topics of November Faculty Senate meeting

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Future engineering school, TI plant purchase topics of November Faculty Senate meeting

The success of faculty forums on a proposed UNT engineering school and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's enthusiastic response to UNT's purchase of the Texas Instruments plant were two issues discussed during the Faculty Senate's November meeting.

David Kesterson, provost and vice president for academic affairs, told the senate that the request to purchase the TI property was unanimously approved by the board without requiring any discussion.

"I've never seen members of the facilities committee so excited about a property," Kesterson said, referring to two coordinating board and facilities committee members who toured the property prior to the coordinating board meeting. "They said this is something the university could not turn its back on and it is in the best condition of any acquisition they had seen in all their years on the board."

Kesterson also commended the faculty for the discussion and ideas that arose during two engineering school faculty forums held in October.

On another matter, Kesterson told the senate that a national search is scheduled to begin next fall to fill his position of provost and vice president for academic affairs when his current term ends in 2003. Kesterson said that his main goal when he agreed to serve in the position was to help the university through a transition in administration, which had a direct bearing on academic affairs and the university as a whole. He said now that the transition has been made he is ready to return to the English department as a professor and perhaps to assist the university in other ways.

"The job of provost is difficult and demanding, but there are also many elements of enjoyment associated with it," Kesterson said, "such as working with bodies like the Faculty Senate, deans and faculty on a number of committees."

In other business, the senate:

• approved the committee on committees' nominations for service on various senate and administrative committees.

• approved a report evaluating the awards process for five faculty awards.

• heard a report regarding proposed guidelines for fulfilling assessment objectives for all new courses to be added to the core curriculum.

• learned about items from the university curriculum committee that require Faculty Senate review.

• heard a report regarding the completion of changes to the UNT faculty discipline policy.

The next meeting is at 2 p.m. Dec. 12 in Wooten Hall, Room 322. Meetings are open to all members of the university community. Information can be found on the Faculty Senate web site, www.unt.edu/facsenate/facultysenate.htm.