Attendance: Joseph Bernt, Mehmet Celenk, Tiao Chang, William Condee, Kenneth Hicks, Donald Jordan, Rajindar Koshal, Donald Miles, Averell Overby, Patrick Washburn, Jerrel Mitchell, Jessica Haigney, Gary Schumacher, Leona Cibrowski, Julia Zimmerman, Bobbi Conliffee.

Staff: Gordan Schanzenbach, Jennifer Francone.

Excused: Douglas Green, Scott Sparks, Daniel Innis, Josep Rota, Jenny Lau.

Absent: Margaret Appel, Richard Miller, Maureen Weissenrieder, Glenn Doston.

Meeting Convened: 2:08 P.M.

Chair’s Report: The minutes for the last council meeting were voted on and approved.

The Chair updated the council on Carolyn Lewis’s appeal. A review of the Faculty Handbook indicated that the next step in the appeal is to the Provost. That appeal will go forward. Graduate Council Chair Ken Hicks and the Provost will meet prior to the Provost’s decision to summarize the position taken by Graduate Council. If the Provost overrules the Graduate Council’s decision, the council will need to discuss how to respond to the Provost’s decision.

The Chair informed the council that their web site should be updated by the end of the academic year since it is outdated. He asked the council for suggestions on the content of the council’s web site. There was a suggestion to have guidelines for extension of time. Ken Hicks suggested that procedures for the committees be posted. He would also like for the committees to give him an outline of their duties. There was also a suggestion for doctoral review guidelines to be posted. The minutes and meeting schedule should be posted. There was concern about the content of the minutes and whether they may need to be edited. There was also a request to have a link for the Graduate Council web site to the University Curriculum Council’s web site. The Chair will work with the Associate Provost’s to update the web site.

The committee is being formed that will review the selective enhancement proposals. The committee will review the proposals and make recommendations to the Provost. The committee is being formed by Ken Hicks, Chair of Graduate Council, Gary Schumacher, Associate Provost for Graduate Studies, and Gary Pfeifer, Chair of Faculty Senate. Any recommendations on committee members should be e-mailed to Ken Hicks. Gary Schumacher will attend the selective enhancement committee meetings but will submit a separate recommendation to the Provost.

Associate Provost for Graduate Studies’ Report: The computer science program proposal has received most of the reviews on its preliminary proposal and things look positive. They hope to have a full proposal to the Board of Regents soon. The Master’s in Accountancy program is moving along quickly. There are already responses coming in from the Board of Regents and they are very positive. Due to the council’s quick action, classes should be able to begin in spring. The Funding Commission is meeting on January 28, 2000. The topic for the meeting is the importance of graduate education on Ohio’s economy. Please let Gary Schumacher know if you know of any evidence showing the importance. The stipend proposals have been reviewed and granted. Nine proposals were granted for a total of $105,000. There were a total of thirty-four requests submitted. Gary Schumacher is hoping to obtain more monies from the reallocation fund to continue additional stipend grants. The web based application process is getting underway. Students will be able to apply online. The new process will not immediately effect departments and will begin for next year’s applicants. Gary Schumacher met with representatives from each of the colleges to discuss Office of Graduate Studies (OGS) stipends for next year. Memos with final numbers will be out by the end of January. This year’s graduate ceremony has changed. The College of Osteopathic Medicine will have a separate ceremony. The graduate ceremony will allow mentors to do the hooding of their own students. Karin Sandell and Gary Schumacher are forming a committee to review TA orientation and training. The Office of Graduate Studies is trying to prepare a newsletter. It would go to alumni and current graduate students. Gary Schumacher is hoping to have the first one out by the end of this academic year. He is hoping for a higher profile for graduate education.

Assistant Provost for Graduate Studies’ Report: The Graduate Appointments office is working on a system for graduate contracts to be on the web for departments to download and fill out. This will help reduce errors in contracts. Summer scholarships and mini-stipends will continue for this year as they were last year. Personnel in the Graduate Appointments Office and a small sub-committee are developing a new system to identify students who will be applying for the special summer tuition scholarships and mini-stipends.

Committee Reports:

Extension of Time: David DeOreo requested an extension of time to make the changes on his master’s thesis. The council voted to grant Mr. DeOreo a time extension to Fall 2000.

Conflict of Interest. There were eight potential conflict of interest cases. The committee did not find that any had a conflict of interest. The council voted that none had a conflict of interest. The following have been approved for graduate work: Angie Lynn Cantrell, Sanjeev Gunawardena, Jamie Huff, Heather Keller, Virginia Obeius, Oscar Parades, Brian Phillips, and Marsha Willan.

New Business: The Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Committee is having an open forum on January 27, 2000. Ross Shanley-Roberts from Miami University will speak on their implementation of electronic storage of theses and dissertations. The Forum will be held in the Friends of the Library room from 2:00 P.M.- 3:00 P.M.

Adjournment: 2:46 P.M.