THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER AT HOUSTON M. D. ANDERSON CANCER CENTER GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES PRESENT: GRADUATE FACULTY MEETING April 8, 1999 MINUTES Beck, Actor, Gigli, Hewett-Emmett, Karin, Koehler, Loveland, McCrea, McMillin, Norris, Richie, Ullrich Graduate Student Association: Dayal Guests: Linda Brannon, Lisa Garvin Staff: Baronitis, Chappell, Darlington, Ramsay, Silverman, Spitzenberger CHAIR: Norris 1. Approval of the minutes of the meeting of February 11, 1999. MOTION to approve minutes by Dr. Hewett-Emmett; seconded by Dr. Karin. MINUTES APPROVED. 2. Report of the Graduate Student Association. A. Mr. Dayal said that the GSA held an election to select the Faculty member to receive the John P. McGovern Outstanding Teacher Award. The award this year will go to Dr. Mien-Chie Hung. B. The GSA has been meeting with prospective students who are visiting the campus and are impressed with the quality of the applicants and pleased that the GSA can be involved in this important activity. C. The HSC Student Intercouncil held a skating party recently and the GSBS students were well represented. 3. Report from the Executive Vice President for Research and Academic Affairs, Health Science Center. Linda Brannon reported for Dr. Burks: A. After June 30, 2000, GSBS students will be exempt from FICA deductions. 4. Report from the Senior Vice President and Chief Academic Officer, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. No report.
5. Dean=s Report. Dr. Darlington reported: A. There is not much new information about the search for a new Dean and the location of a new building. Negotiations are continuing between the principal candidate for the deanship, and the issue has to do with the resources that will be available to the Graduate School. There should be a decision by the end of April. The latest on building plans is that there are ongoing discussions on land sites for MDA and HSC new building projects and the GSBS is in the middle of these discussions. The Health Science Center is developing a campus plan that could involve land that MDA owns. Conversely, the HSC owns land that could be used by MDA for future buildings. Perhaps the UT Board of Regents will be involved in the final decisions. It is likely that the permanent location of the GSBS will be either in the HSC Nursing and Biomedical Science Building or in the MDA Research Building. The HSC Executive Council will look at plans in May. The GSBS administration is intent on seeing that the permanent home for the School is in a suitable place. The Houston Medical Center Building will probably be the temporary quarters for the School since it seems unlikely that the building we now inhabit will remain. B. We have had the most successful recruitment session ever this Spring with the best group of student applicants. Anne Baronitis and her staff are to be congratulated. C. The 1999 GSBS Graduation Ceremony will take place on May 8 in the Hornberger (TMC) Conference Center. So far, it appears that 51 faculty and 48 students will be marching in regalia. The Graduate School is paying for the rental of regalia for faculty who march. Dr. John Mendelsohn will be the commencement speaker; his talk is entitled AThe Meaning of Life.@ D. On May 25, the GSBS will sponsor a Kroc Lecture. The lecturer will be Dr. Thomas Gardner of Penn State University College of Medicine. The lecture will be held at 12:00 noon in Room 2.103 of the Medical School. The title of Dr. Gardner=s lecture is ADiabetic Retinopathy: A Chronic Inflammatory Disorder, Not Just a Blood Vessel Problem.@ E. A golf charity event to honor Sylvan Rodriguez, the Channel 11 anchor who is being treated for pancreatic cancer, will create some scholarships in the Graduate School for students who are involved in cancer research. The dates of the golf event are September 10-11, 1999, and it will be held at the Cypresswood Golf Club. 6. Report of the Standing Committees. A. Academic Standards Committee. Dr. McCrea reported that the committee met once since the last faculty meeting and approved: 13 of 15 proposed Advisory Committees 9 of 10 proposed Supervisory Committees
1 Petition for M.S. Candidacy 3 Petitions for Ph.D. Candidacy 2 Petitions to Bypass the M.S. degree 2 requests to waive one tutorial 1 of 2 requests for an extension to resolve academic probation In other business, the Committee recommended revisions to the guidelines for the Acommittee member outside the student=s department@ so as to include a consideration of the faculty member=s Program affiliation. Also, the Committee recommended a clarification of the GSBS grade policy regarding students who retake a graduate course. B. Admissions Committee. Dr. Norris reported that the Admissions Committee met four times since the last Faculty meeting. A summary of the Committee=s actions on applications for the 1999 calendar year follow: 323 total applications reviewed by the Committee 291 (M.S.)Ph.D. applications 116 not recommended for admission 175 recommended by the Committee for admission 1 rejected by the Dean 48 put on hold 3 deferred by the Dean 123 offered admission by the Dean 2 accepted offers for the Spring Semester 1 accepted offers for the Summer Term 25 accepted offers for the Fall Semester 79 have not responded to offer 16 declined offer 32 M.S. and S.M.S. applications 17 recommended by the Committee for admission 14 not recommended for admission 1 put on hold 15 offered admission by the Dean 0 accepted offer for Spring Semester 0 accepted offer for Summer Term 2 accepted offer for Fall Semester 2 rejected offer 11 have not responded to offer C. Curriculum Committee. Dr. Norris reported that the Committee as a whole has
not met since the last Faculty meeting but Committee members reviewed two GSBS courses in March: Cell Biology (Dr. Roger O=Neil), and Genetics and Human Disease (Drs. Craig Hanis and Eric Boerwinkle). Reports currently are being prepared, but the students interviewed were very supportive of both courses. D. Membership Committee. Dr. McMillin reported that the Committee met on April 1, 1999 and took the following action: 6 applications for Regular Membership were reviewed and 5 were recommended for three-year appointments 1 was recommended for a three-year appointment as an Associate Member Of applications for reappointment 1 was recommended for a three-year reappointment 3 were recommended for three-year reappointments with encouragement 5 were recommended for five-year reappointments 2 were recommended for five-year reappointments with highest commendation 1 was terminated for inactivity 1 Associate Member=s status was upgraded to Regular Member at the faculty member=s request (after Membership Committee reviewed recent credentials). 2 members were removed from the active roster 1 left MDACC 1 failed to respond to reappointment forms The Committee approved the proposed AProgram in Environmental and Molecular Carcinogenesis. The Committee reviewed Dr. Norris= March 18 letter to all GSBS Standing Committees and will forward any suggestions to him via e-mail. Program Coordinating Committee. No report. F. Student Affairs Committee. Dr. Norris reported that in the current academic year, the Committee has approved 53 student travel award applications totaling $17,700. This year=s remaining travel budget is $10,300. 7. Report of the Executive Committee. Dr. Norris reported that the Committee met on March 18 and items to report to the Faculty are: A. Guidelines were developed for the involvement of an outside reviewer for the two programs to be reviewed this year: Molecular Pathology and Toxicology. This will be the first year that an outside expert in the field being reviewed will participate in the review. We feel this will add a positive element to the Program review process.
B. A request from a Program for a change in the Ph.D. candidacy examination format was tabled for further information and will be considered at the next Executive Committee meeting. C. Lisa Garvin, of the University of Texas-Health Science Center Public Affairs Office met with the committee and discussed ways in which the GSBS can build a public identity for the GSBS through the media. Ms. Garvin has come to the meeting today to discuss these ideas with the Faculty. D. Standing Committees and the Graduate Student Association have been asked to review current and future admissions policies as well as whether we should be providing training for alternate careers. When the Executive Committee receives these reports, the information will be compiled and given to new Dean. E. Two modifications of the current academic policy were approved, one regarding grade procedures and the other affecting the definition of the Aoutside member@ of student committees. These were considered relatively minor changes and are mentioned here for your information. F. Dr. Ellen Richie presented a proposal for a new program in AEnvironmental and Molecular Carcinogenesis.@ This proposal is to be voted on today following this report. The entire proposal was available on the GSBS web site as indicated on the web site agenda for this meeting. Dr. Richie is here today to discuss the program and answer questions. The Executive Committee enthusiastically recommends approval of this program. Dr. Richie gave an overview of the proposed program prior to the call for the vote. VOTE on approval of new Program, AEnvironmental and Molecular Carcinogenesis.@ MOTION to approve Program by Dr. Karin; seconded by Dr. McCrea. MOTION APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY. 8. Report of the Academic Affairs Office. No report. 9. Old Business. A. VOTE on request from the Virology Program for a name change to AProgram in Virology and Gene Therapy.@ MOTION to approve request by Dr. McMillin; seconded by Dr. Hewett-Emmett. MOTION APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY. 10. New Business.
Lisa Garvin was introduced as the public relations person assigned to Graduate School. She said one of her major goals is to better publicize the GSBS. She suggested that a good way to get some appropriate publicity is for attribution to be given to the GSBS on all scientific publications authored or co-authored by GSBS students. Ms. Garvin asked that Faculty inform her of any potential public relation stories involving the GSBS. Dr. Norris read a memorandum Dr. Buja has written regarding using office space in the Medical School for Graduate Students. Dr. Norris has subsequently written a letter for clarification to Dr. Buja, and Dr. Buja has responded with notations on Dr. Norris= letter. All of this documentation is attached and made a part of these minutes. MEETING ADJOURNED. Steven Norris, Ph.D. President-Elect, GSBS Faculty