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Senate hears numerous title changes

Jordyn Grzelewski, Senior Staff Writer

The Miami University Senate heard reports about name changes to various departments, divisions and schools at its meeting Monday.

James Oris, dean of the graduate school, gave a report about the designation of academic divisions as either schools or colleges.

According to Oris, the terms 'division,' 'college' and 'school' have been used interchangeably at Miami, resulting in confusion for students.

Oris proposed the term 'division' be applied to units at the university directed by a vice president, the term 'college' be used for units directed by academic deans and the term 'school' be used for units directed by an academic dean or units, which are incorporated as a subunit within a college.

Several Senate members raised the point that designating certain departments as a college or school will increase the clout of those departments, such as the department of music or the department of architecture.

Senate members said renaming these departments would put them on par with other universities in the eyes of prospective students.

The Senate also heard a report from Michael Pratt, dean of the regional campuses, about a new academic division on the regional campuses.

The proposed name of this new division is the college of professional studies and applied sciences.

Under this new division, three departments are being transferred from the school of engineering and applied sciences (SEAS) and two departments will be renamed.

According to Pratt, the new division will include the departments of business technology, computer information technology, nursing, engineering technology, integrative studies and justice and community.

The Senate also accepted the proposed name change of the school of engineering and applied sciences to the college of engineering and computing and the proposed name change of the department of chemical and paper engineering to the department of chemical, paper and biomedical engineering.

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In a continuation of its discussion from its last session, the Senate discussed some changes in the compositions of Senate committees.

One point of debate was whether or not the Senate should designate one spot on the Liberal Education Council for a member of the University Honors Program.

One member of Senate pointed out that Honors students might have a special interest in being represented on this committee because some Honors students face the challenge of having to complete the liberal education requirements of the Honors program on top of the requirements of their division.

Other members disagreed, saying that the Associated Student Government (ASG) should decide on its own which students should be represented on the council and that the need for representation of certain student groups might change from year to year.

The Senate voted to include three students on the council, without specifying whether one would be an Honors student.

Another discussion arose regarding the representation of Oxford students on Senate committees versus the representation of regional campus students.

The Senate approved all of the proposed changes to the composition of Senate committees with the exception of the codification committee, which the Senate voted to dissolve.

The Senate also voted to eliminate the restriction that only University Senate members can sit on the University Board of Appeals. They voted to expand the pool of potential appointees to faculty, undergraduate students and graduate students.