Minutes No. 3 1997-98
Thursday, February 26, 1998

• Nine faculty members were given graduate faculty status.
• Course changes were approved in Computer Sciences, Economics and Health Sciences and a program change was approved in Computer Science's Information Security concentration. This concentration has noticed an increase in applicants and it is felt that this increase can be partially attributed to the electronic format of the concentration. Many minor changes were approved to facilitate registration procedures that will coincide with People Soft implementation.
• Changing the registration period for graduate students to coincide with that of undergraduates and continuing education students was approved to begin with the Fall 1998 semester. It was felt that using the same time period will help with financial aid processing, ensure a single tuition refund deadline, assist with correct census day figures and space considerations, etc. This decision will be reviewed at the end of the 1998-99 academic year to ensure that it does not prove to be detrimental to graduate programs.

• The Dolley Madison Award committee has selected the award recipient, who will receive the award on Founder's Day.
• The Grants committee is reviewing grant proposals and will be awarding Curriculum and Community Enrichment grants in the next few weeks.
• The Annual Report committee is collecting information for this year's annual report.
• The Diversity Day committee has decided for budgetary reasons to postpone Diversity Day until next academic year.

 
Affirmative Action Update:
Since the last University Council meeting, the Affirmative Action Office:

• posted revised faculty recruitment search forms on the web page;
• reviewed 20 randomly selected faculty searches;
• mailed out the first 1998 Affirmative Action Newsletter. The next newsletter will be mailed March 18;
• facilitated a sexual harassment workshop to the Augusta County municipal employees as part of JMU's continuing education program;
• is sponsoring a diversity forum on March 16 in conjunction with the School of Education, the Department of Political Science and the Black Student Alliance on the topic of the 1954 U.S. Supreme court landmark case, Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education and its implications for today's society and public education.

• The SGA is currently involved in evaluating various and sundry topics regarding the financial processes utilized in relation to other clubs and organizations within the university. The committee, which is composed of the 12 students (half SGA, half club representatives), will address the following topics: allocations of contingency fees, communication and relations between the SGA and student groups, the front-end budgeting process, etc. etc. The results of these discussions/meetings will be presented in bill format as recommendations to the senate later this semester.
• SGA Awareness Week will take place March 23-26 in an effort to increase the presence of the SGA on campus. The week will include Committee presentations on the Commons, sponsored events by the Class Councils, and other programs based on promoting the mission of the SGA and its availability to JMU students.
• The SGA and Senior Class sponsored " '98 Days 'til Graduation Dance" was a smashing success. The annual event which was held on February 9th (as a result of postponement due to inclement weather) featured The Breakfast Club, an 80's cover band, and refreshments provided by Special Events. Topping past attendance records, the event was widely appreciated by the Senior Class as the first of a number of programs geared toward sending the Class of 1998 off with a bang.
• Founder's Day, which will be held on March 18th, will feature the recipients of the Samuel Page Duke Award, an award given to the junior(s) with the highest cumulative grade point average. The award(s) will be presented at the Founder's Day Assembly at Grafton- Stovall Theatre.
• The SGA Legislative Action Committee primarily lobbies both the United States Congress, along with the Virginia Delegation, on issues concerning higher education. Not only do the students who participate in these lobbying trips represent the study body of James Madison, but they represent the administration and faculty viewpoints as well. Aside from organizing these trips, the Legislative Action Committee organizes mock elections to inform the University of upcoming elections and candidates.
• The SGA Multi-Cultural Committee will sponsor "Diversity Days," April 6-11. There will be more information presented as it comes about this month. 

The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 16, 1998.



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Linwood H. Rose, Executive Vice President



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Donna E. Burch, Secretary