At the May 19 faculty meeting, University President Frederick Lawrence reported that the May 20 Board of Trustees meeting would include interactive breakout sessions to discuss strategic issues at the University. The Board, he said, would also begin to interact more with faculty to assist in strategic planning.University Registrar Mark Hewitt presented the list of degrees to be awarded at the University's 60th commencement on May 22. According to Hewitt, the University awarded 776 undergraduate degrees and 53 percent of graduates received Latin honors.

Prof. Bernadette Brooten (NEJS) said that she could not vote to approve the list of degrees.

Brooten proposed an amendment that read, "This vote to award the degrees does not extend to a student whose name appears on this list of degree candidates but has been accused of serious violations of Rights and Responsibilities and whose disciplinary process has not yet been concluded. Should the process be resolved in favor of said student, the vote of this body would extend to the student." The name of the student and the charges against that student were not stated due the information's confidential nature. Hewitt explained that because the issue is a behavioral matter and not an academic one, it would not change the student's graduation status.

Provost Marty Krauss spoke against the amendment and said that if passed, the amendment would be a punitive action against someone not yet found responsible. She noted that the motion would be "premature" and would "prejudge the sanction."

The motion proposed by Brooten failed when it went to a vote. The faculty then voted to approve the degrees as originally submitted by Hewitt.

Lawrence then reported that the search committee for a new Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment is at an "advanced stage"-a list of finalists has been compiled and there should be an "expeditious completion" to the search process.

Prof. Peter Conrad (SOC) reported that the search committee for a new Dean of Arts and Sciences had interviewed six candidates and that the names of some of these candidates will be submitted to the president and the provost for the next stages of the search process.

Prof. Sacha Nelson (BIOL) said the search committee for the next provost is in its final stages. The committee received nearly 70 applicants and interviewed 13.

As of May 19, three of the finalists visited campus and met with faculty and student leaders, said Nelson. The final list has been presented to Lawrence.

Krauss then reported that the role of the University Advisory Council would be altered and the Council would serve as an academic strategic planning group. Faculty can now be nominated to the council through the faculty senate nomination process, said Krauss. Additional members such as the vice president for Global Affairs, the chair of the University Budget Committee and the senior vice president for Institutional Advancement will also be added to the council, explained Krauss.

The faculty also unanimously approved the second reading of the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee proposal to establish an interdisciplinary minor in Sexuality and Queer studies.

-Andrew Wingens