council

Summary of 2002-2003 University Council Resolutions and

Recommendations and Administrative Actions
Taken on Them

"RESOLVED, that at the first fall meeting of the Council, the Secretary shall distribute to the Council the actions of Council passed during the previous academic year, including a list of all recommendations and resolutions, the implementation of which would require administrative action.  The president or the provost shall indicate what action they have taken or plan to take with respect to each recommendation and resolution."

(University Council: May 8, 1974)

Resolutions from the 2002-2003 Academic Year

1.  University Council voted on proposed revisions to the University Council bylaws. Council affirmatively voted to change all reference to the A-3 Assembly to the Weekly-Paid Professional Staff Assembly to reflect the organization's new name.  It also voted to change all reference to A-1 staff members to representatives of the Penn Professional Staff Assembly for consistency.

It agreed to eliminate the following ex officio positions on the following standing committees: the director of the Penn Plan from Admissions and Financial Aid; the directors of recreation, the Annenberg Center, Community Housing, and the manager of WXPN-FM from Community Relations; the comptroller from Personnel Benefits; the directors of Academic Support Programs and the Office of International Programs from Pluralism; and the dean of admissions from Recreation and Intercollegiate Athletics.

It agreed to add the following ex officio positions on the following standing committees: the director of Institutional Research and Analysis to Admissions and Financial Aid; the vice president for Information Systems and Computing to Communications; the associate provost to Personnel Benefits; the chaplain and directors of the Office of Affirmative Action and the Greenfield Intercultural Center to Pluralism; and the director of Counseling and Psychological Services to Quality of Student Life.

It also agreed to eliminate graduate/professional student representation and to restrict undergraduate representation to seniors on Admissions and Financial Aid; and reduce the number of graduate/professional student representation from three to two on International Programs.

Finally, Council affirmatively voted to make corrections to minor changes to committee names and mentions of committees no longer under Council's purview.

Action:  All amendments were passed and officially were added to the bylaws.

2.  Committee Chair Diane Spatz presented a report of the Committee on Quality of Student Life on proposed changes to the Fraternity/Sorority Advisory Board (FSAB) Charter.  The committee's recommendations were intended to increase faculty involvement in the FSAB and to expand the responsibilities of the FSAB to improve its effectiveness. Council affirmatively voted to endorse the committee's recommendations.

Action: Vice Provost for University Life Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum, to whom the board makes recommendations, enacted the committee's recommendations.

3.  Committee Chair Dennis Culhane presented the Committee on Pluralism's proposal to adopt gender identity and gender expression in the University's non-discrimination clause. Council affirmatively voted to endorse the proposal and to recommend a mechanism for working out details when necessary.

Action: Gender identity was added to the University's Nondiscrimination Statement.

4.  Graduate and Professional Student Assembly  (GAPSA) Chair Jeremy Korst motioned to pass the following resolution concerning the Patriot Act:

"University Council supports the administration of the University in its efforts to join the administrations of other colleges and universities throughout the United States in order to urge the executive and legislative leaders of the government of the United States to work together to monitor present and future governmental actions in order to ensure that freedom of speech is fully protected and that the research and educational missions of colleges and universities are not jeopardized. Areas of concern include restrictions on who may do research using certain biological materials, restrictions on the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act with respect to academic research, limitations on visas for foreign students and scholars, increased monitoring of public and private communications, and the proposal to broaden current security classifications to include areas of sensitive information.  University Council will remain seized of this matter."

Action: Council passed the resolution with a friendly amendment to change the word "seized" to "involved."

-- Leslie Laird Kruhly, Secretary to University Council

  Almanac, Vol. 50, No. 4, September 16, 2003