Professional Forum

Wednesday, February 9, 2005

10 – 11am, Parlor

Attendees:

Joshua Been, Jason Neal, Karen Hopkins, Ruthie Brock, Gerald Saxon, Bradley Gulliford, Diane Neal, Jim Wellvang, Dwayne Schrag, Leveta Hord, Gary Spurr,

Catherine Walter, Julie Alexander, Carleen Dolan, Lea Worcester, Scott Holmes, Sue Sappington, Ann Hodges, Mary Jo Lyons, Maggie Dwyer, Bonnie Dreitner,

Reanne Cormier

Program:

Patricia O’Neill (Pat), Assistant Dean of Student Affairs, spoke to the Professional Forum.

• Jason Neal introduced Pat
• Pat discussed the transition of Student Affairs here at UTA and around the country.  This transition is moving Student Affairs towards more cooperative relationships with Academic Affairs.  Here at UTA, Pat pointed to the emergence of Freshman Interest Groups (FIGs) as an example.
• Pat also spoke at length praising the Libraries, calling the Libraries the “living room of the University,” and encouraged more cooperation with student dormitories.
• Questions:
  • Ruthie Brock asked about the current direction of student quality.  Pat stated that the quality of our current students is not better or worse than in previous years.  Pat did point out, however, that she has concerns about the reading/writing skills of our current students.
  • Gerald Saxon asked about the Student Congress.  Pat praised the high caliber of student body executives over the last 10 years.
  • Julie Alexander asked about in-loco parentis (parental supervision in fraternities/sororities).  Pat stated that UTA is moving towards “constructing a safety net” for students in fraternities/sororities.

Future Business:

Diane Neal announced the agenda for the next Professional Forum on March 8, at 2pm in the Parlor.  Ramona Holmes will make a presentation about the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) Conference.