Attending: Dr. Tom Metzger, Chair; Ms. Ellen Baylis; Dr. David Crossman; Dr. Jack L. Daniel; Dr. Kerry W. Holzworth; Dr. Susan Neuman; Dr. Thomas Schott; Dr. Evelyn Talbott and Dr. Anthony Silvestre

1. Update from the Chair:

A. Dr. Metzger reported that Stargate has been awarded a contract from the University to provide Internet access at a discount to faculty and staff. The service will provide access to the Internet from local and out of town phones and to Pitt databases. However, no discounts on DSL are provided. The no-fee services through current modems will continue.

B. Dr. Metzger reported that the Teaching for Excellence Committee has received 53 proposals. The proposals will be considered on March 17 and the $200,000 in awards will be distributed soon after that.

C. Governor Ridge announced a proposed budget that will reduce allocations to the University compared to last year. The cut is primarily because of the elimination of several line items.

D. Dr. Metzger submitted the names of two nominees for our Committee (suggested by our members) to the Senate. The nominees will be asked if they are willing to run before their names are added to the ballot. In addition, four other faculty have self-nominated themselves. Dr. Metzger thanked current members who are not eligible for re-election. They are Dr. Jean Blachère, Dr. Susan Neuman, and Dr. Anthony Silvestre.

2. Survey of Part Time Faculty

The Committee discussed the draft survey prepared by Dr. Talbott and decided to pilot it with faculty from a few departments. Dr. Metzger will arrange to do so. Suggestions were made for some changes in wording. The survey will be mailed out through the Senate Office by March 7 with the request for return by March 20.

3. New Business

Dr. Silvestre reported that discussions with several African American graduate students indicated that these students felt socially isolated and unable to navigate the University or the Pittsburgh community for, at least, their first year here. It is not clear if these feelings are common among undergraduate racial and ethnic minority students or among other minority groups such as the disabled, non-traditional students, gay students, and international students. It is also not clear if these feelings affect retention. Dr. Silvestre reviewed the University's web site since it is an important source of information for students and found that except for photographs used on the site, issues of concern to minority students were not prominent. The description of the history of the University does not refer to minorities or minority issues except to mention women twice. Links to recreational activities do not include minority groups or their social/cultural organizations. While there is a link to In Pittsburgh, there is no link to the Courier. While many of the excellent programs for minority students are included on the website, they are not found in a single place and, instead, scattered throughout the site. Dr. Crossman spoke about his experiences with international students and their families who often experience serious isolation. After some discussion, Dr. Silvestre was asked to prepare a memo for the Chair so that the Committee could begin gathering more information from appropriate administrators.

The next meeting is on March 20, 2001 at noon in Room 650, William Penn Union.