Invited Guests:

Paul Thorn, Suzanne Knosp, Denise Roe, Duane Sherrill, Joel Meister

Members Present:

Andrew Comrie, Nathan Cherrington, David Chisholm, Dennis Doxtater, Stephanie Fryberg, LouAnnGerken, Arthur Gmitro, Dianne Horgan, Paul Ivey, Carl Liaupson, K. Tsianina Lomawaima, Donna McArthur, Barbara Norrander, Donato Romagnolo, Richard Shoemaker, Douglas Taren, Kevin Vinson, Gail Varin, Marvin Waterstone, Gail Varin, Elaine Ulrich, Randi Tanglen

Members Absent:

Barbara Cone-Wesson, Steven Dvorak, Price Fishback, Richard Hallick,

Chuck Hutchinson, M. Luna J. Iris, Lane Kenworthy, Marwan Krunz, Donald Slack, Maria Teresa Velez, Roger Yelle, Terrie Thompson

I. Call to Order.

The meeting was called to order at 5:05 p.m. by Dean Andrew Comrie. In lieu of roll call, members were asked to initial the membership list to indicate their attendance at the meeting.

II. Approval of April 21, 2006 Minutes.

The minutes were approved as submitted.

III. Dean's Report.

Member Andrew Comrie (Dean of the Graduate College) welcomed members to the first meeting of the Graduate Counsel for academic year 2006-2007. Because there were many new members, each member introduced himself and stated his department. Member Comrie gave the Counsel a brief overview of the Graduate Council. He stated that each meeting will have a set agenda and if a member has an issue s(he) wants to go before the Council, the member should call either Member Comrie or Member Horgan (Associate Dean, Graduate College) in advance of the next meeting. He then gave a brief review of the Rules and Responsibilities of Graduate Council Members.

IV. GPSC Report -

Member Tanglen introduced herself and the other GPSC representative on the Council, Elaine Ulrich. She stated that students are dissatisfied with the current Student Health Insurance Policy. One issue the GPSC will be working on this year is to get prescription and dental health coverage incorporated into the plan. Member Tanglen announced that The Student Showcase is November 10 - 11, 2006 and is an opportunity for both undergraduate and graduate students to showcase their research activities. If any Graduate Council member would like to serve as a judge for the showcase, she can be reached at rlt@email.arizona.edu.

V. New Business

A. Proposal from GSPC for third representative on Graduate Council was presented by GPSC by its President, Paul Thorn. Guest Thorn indicated that the reason for the request is that the GPSC felt that having three members on the Graduate Counsel rather than the two would increase the probability that more diversity of issues and opinions would be presented. In response to Member Horgan's question as to whether the three representatives would be from different colleges, Guest Thorn said not necessarily. He stated that the main objective to adding a third member from GPSC is to provide more diversity of experience in its representation which would lend itself to more diversity in the issues the GPSC put forth. A discussion then ensued about what would be the process used by the GPSC to select its third Graduate Counsel representative if the proposal was approved. After discussion, Dean Comrie called for the vote to accept the proposal. The vote was 10 in favor and 9 against. After further discussion the Counsel decided to delay the final vote until next month to give the GPSC the chance to submit a refined version of the proposal to include a more explicit explanation as to why three members could provide more diversity of issues than could two, and to describe the mechanism that would be used to select the third representative. The Council must have a quorum to vote on this proposal as approval would result in a change in the Bylaws.

B. Planning proposal for MFA in Dance. Guest Suzanne Knosp (Associate Professor in Dance) indicated that this Planning proposal is presented as a followup to the 2002 accreditation group's recommendation that they provide a second major (MFA in Dance) to differentiate those in Dance from those in Theatre Arts (set design, production, etc.) Dean Comrie called for the vote for the Planning Authorization, the vote was 20-0 in the affirmative and the motion carried.

C. Implementation Proposal for DrPH in Public Health and the PhD in Biostatistics in the College of Public Health. The Planning Authorization Proposal for these programs was approved by the Graduate Council on April 21, 2006. Guests Denise Roe, Duane Sherrill and Joel Meister gave a brief background on the proposals and responded to questions about the programs. Dean Comrie called for the vote and the Implementation for the PhD in Biostatistics passed 19 -0 and the DrPH in Public Health passed 18-0.

D. Grievance Committee Formation. Member Horgan reported that the Graduate Grievance Committee is short one Graduate Council representative. Member Paul Ivey volunteered.

VI. Old Business

A. Election of Graduate College representative to ICPC. Member Horgan told the Council that the Faculty Senate has requested a Graduate Council member be appointed to the Instruction Curriculum & Policy Committee. Member Kevin Vinson volunteered. The motion for Member Vinson to serve as a Graduate College representative passed unanimously.

VII. Announcements

A. Information about The Marshall Foundation Dissertation Fellowships was sent to the Graduate Council members prior to the meeting. The members were encouraged to get the word out to their respective departments and that the deadline is October 16, 2006.

B. NRC --Member Horgan is coordinating with the colleges. The taxonomy portion is done and she is currently working on faculty lists. More information can be found at NRC.arizona.edu and if anyone has questions, Member Horgan can be reached at dhorgan@email.arizona.edu.

C. An impromptu discussion of the ERE rates for Graduate students took place. In response to a question from Member Romagnolo, Member Comrie reported that the ERE is hovering around 40%. Increased costs for health benefits and tuition remission for TAs are contributing to the high ERE. Member Comrie plans to do an analysis of the increasing ERE.

D. The next meeting of the Graduate Council is at 3:00 p.m. on October 20, 2006 in the Ventana Room, Student Union.

VIII. Adjournment. The meeting was adjourned at 4:50 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Linda Nultemeier

Graduate Council Secretary