Executive Committee Meeting Minutes: September 12, 2003

Whetten Graduate Center - Giolas Conference Room
1:00 P.M.

  1. The meeting was called to order at 1:12 P.M. Vice Provost Janet L. Greger presided.
  2. It was moved, seconded, and passed without dissent on a voice vote to approve as distributed the minutes of the 8-4-2003 meeting.
  3. It was moved, seconded, and passed without dissent on a voice vote to approve the Doctoral Plans of Study and Dissertation Proposals.
  4. GA Health Insurance-

    It was moved, seconded, and passed without dissent on a voice vote to approve the following policy:

    "Effective September 2003, the University of Connecticut will offer health and dental insurance to fellows on federal training grants. This insurance will be the same as that offered to graduate assistants. Faculty must include this cost in their training grant budget. The training grant will pay the amount covered by the university for graduate assistants and the fellows will be responsible to pay a portion of the premium."

    A series of questions on graduate assistant health insurance was forwarded to the insurance vendors. The response was handed out.

  5. NRC field of study affiliation survey-

    Approximately 500 faculty still have NOT responded to the NRC affiliation survey. We will email a survey to those who have not yet responded and seek the help of department heads and center directors at Helpline, and Graduate Faculty Council.

    NOTE: The NRC survey is available on our website: http://www.research.uconn.edu/

  6. Alumni database cooperation with UConn Foundation-

    The IRB has decided that follow up on alumni is a "quality improvement" activity. Consent forms are NOT required because it is considered an "exempted" activity. The Graduate School can incorporate this information request as students turn in their final forms for completion and the UConn Foundation will maintain the database.

    J. Henkel distributed a handout highlighting an example from the UConn Foundation database.

  7. How the Graduate School should provide leadership on post-doc issues-

    8. The draft definition was submitted for comments and we have not yet received any response from the Provost's Office or Human Resources.

    The definition must consider the following concerns: 1) employment, insurance & bargaining unit and 2) recognition that fellowships and trainingships are opportunities and not "cheap" labor.

    A sub-committee was formed (E. Smith, J. Marsden & G. Maxwell) to craft a definition of fellows and trainees. (Note: Job descriptions of Adjunct, Research Assistants, In-Residence and Assistant Research Professors and Research Associates were obtained and passed along to assist the sub-committee in the definition revision.)

  8. GFC meeting agenda items were discussed for the upcoming October meeting:
    • Changes in Graduate School (highlights included in the new brochures)
    • Revised Policy of the Graduate School-report of the work done on the task forces
    • New Dissertation/Thesis rules
    • GA Health Insurance
    • Update on NRC survey response
  9. Adjournment was at 3:00 pm.

Present: J.G. Clifford, E. Pagoulatos, E. Smith, J. Marsden, G. Anderson, D. Herzberger, D. Cournoyer
J. Greger (Vice Provost), J. Henkel (Associate Dean), G. Maxwell (Associate Dean)

Regrets: L. Strausbaugh

Respectfully submitted,
Carleen Morneau
Administrative Assistant