CALL TO ORDER/APPROVAL OF MINUTES

The meeting was called to order by Senate President Michael Hibbard at 3:37 p.m., in Gilbert 133 on February 9, 1993. The minutes of the January 13, 1993 Senate meeting were approved as distributed.

REPORTS

Mr. David Conley, DEPM, was recognized to give a short report on the HB3565 (The Katz Bill). This law was passed by the 1991 State Legislature and is to be used to re-structure K-12 public education in Oregon. During the past 18 months individuals have been working in groups on the implementation of the law and some of those involved have been studying the laws impact on public higher education. HB3565 cannot help but have a major influence on the future of higher education within Oregon.

Mr. Conley stated that thus far the involvement of higher education has not been intense, but will become more directly involved within a short time. One question asked of Mr. Conley concerned the involvement of academic departments from higher education with those forming the future of public education in Oregon. Mr. Conley replied that so far very little input from the academic side has been forthcoming, but that the input from the academic side would be necessary eventually. Another question involved the lack an equivalent to the present diploma ("initial mastery" at age 16 and "advanced mastery" at age 18 would be given for those eligible) might cause difficulties for Oregon students applying to out-of-state institutions of higher education. Mr. Conley said that all public in-state institutions would have to accept the "mastery" as the diploma, but, it could be possible that private institutions within Oregon and all of the institutions outside of Oregon could reject the "mastery" as the equivalent of anything. In concluding the presentation it was pointed out that if funds are not available to pay for the changes necessary to implement HB3565 the law will not be enforced and all of the work now taking place will have been fruitless.

Senator Patricia Gwartney-Gibbs reported on the February meeting of the Interinstitutional Faculty Senate. She said that faculty productivity was a major topic of discussion and that a bill has been introduced into the State Legislature that would require an emphasis on teaching and that research would be relegated to a very secondary role.

OLD BUSINESS

President Hibbard stated that he would appreciate the approval of the Senate to handle the motion that was about to be introduced in the following manner: 1) the motion would be introduced; 2) the Senate would give permission to ASUO President Bobby Lee to address the Senate; 3) that Ms. Sandra Morgen and Mr. Quintard Taylor, both members of the Committee that drew up the motion on changing the Race, Gender, non-European requirement, would speak to the motion; and 4) the Senate would resolve into a Committee of the Whole so as to allow a less formal and thus one not tied tightly to Parliamentary procedure for the discussion of the motion. The Senate approved of these procedural motions without dissent.

Ms. Sandra Morgen, CSWS and a member of the President's Multicultural Curriculum Committee, introduced the following motion for the Committee:

Motion to revise the Race, Gender and non-European Requirement

Prepared and submitted by the President's Multicultural Curriculum Committee.

It is incumbent upon the University of Oregon to respond to the changing demographic and political realities of the U. S. and the world as we shape a curriculum for the 21st century. To begin this process, the Multicultural Curriculum Committee requests that the University Senate approve the following changes in the Race, Gender, and non-European requirement to be effective for freshmen entering the University of Oregon beginning in the academic year 1994-1995:

The current requirement calls for one course that addresses either race, gender, or non-European subject matter.

• 1. We move that the requirement be increased to two (2) courses to be chosen from a list of courses to be approved by a Senate appointed five (5) member standing committee which will review and recommend to the Committee on the Curriculum approval of existing and new classes for the requirement. The standing committee will review all courses which currently fulfill the requirement as well as new courses which are to be considered to fulfill the requirement. The standing committee will review approved courses periodically, minimally every two years. The standing committee shall be composed of the Chair of Women's Studies (or appointee), the Chair of Ethnic Studies (or appointee), the Chair of International Studies (or appointee), one student appointed by the ASUO President and Student Senate, and one faculty member appointed by the University Senate. A member of the Committee on the Curriculum will be appointed to the standing committee as an ex-officio, non-voting member.
• 2. One of the two courses will focus on contemporary race relations in the U. S.; or historical roots of contemporary race relations in the U. S., specifically linking the historical matters to contemporary issues; or it will address in depth the social, economic, political, cultural, and/or psychological conditions of, and/or the artistic, musical, oral or written expressions of African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Native- Americans and/or Latinos/Chicanos. In addition, courses that examine the theoretical conceptualization of race as a biological, historical, and cultural category, and that include material about people of color int he U. S. can be counted towards fulfillment of the requirements.
• 3. The other course will foster a student's understanding of diversity by examining gender, race, class, and/or ethnicity in Western and/or non-Western societies. These courses may be taught in a wide variety of disciplines; they will be considered for fulfillment of this requirement as long as the course explicitly aims to help students understand how gender, race, ethnicity and/or class shape contemporary experience and/or structure relationships among peoples.

Ms. Morgen, speaking to the motion, stated that the present requirement did not infuse multicturalism into the curriculum as strongly as required by conditions in the U. S. and the world. Race as a subject was not a part of many of the courses that are a accepted as fulfilling the requirement and 20th century scholarship is not a part of many classes. Students have worked hard on changing the requirement and students were the spark that caused the requirement to be re-visited. The second or added course would, hopefully, make the student think critically about diversity in the world into which they will merge throughout their lives. The world of the 21st century will be vastly different than the latter 20th and the students must be prepared to adjust to the rapid developments that await them.

Mr. Quintard Taylor, History and a member of the President's Multicultural Curriculum Committee, was recognized to speak to the motion. Mr. Taylor said that the committee was attempting to create a model that would be stronger than the present requirement. The motion was the result of countless meetings and hours of the committee as they debated, discussed, compromised, proposed and disposed in attempting to arrive at a common place for changing the present requirement. The motion does address present day problems and the current requirement does not do this. A list of courses that were found already in the catalog could form the basis for the new requirements. The motion did not require a wholesale change of the curriculum or the development of a multitude of new courses he concluded.

Mr. Bobby Lee, ASUO President, urged the Senate to look upon the motion as a move to teach students how to resolve conflict, to give the students an opportunity to expose themselves to diverse cultures, race, etc., so as to allow students to overcome prejudice or stereotypes.

At this point the Senate resolved into the Committee of the Whole. Ms. Morgen was appointed reporter. The following is the report of Ms. Morgen:

ADJOURNMENT

The business of the Senate did not come to a conclusion by 5:00 p.m. so the business of the meeting shall carry over to March 10, 1993.