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FSEC members urged to attend Sept. 11 memorial
By DONNA LONGENECKER
Reporter Assistant Editor
Members of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee, who met yesterday for the first time this semester, were encouraged to attend the university-wide memorial service being held to remember the first anniversary of the national tragedy of Sept. 11.
Bill Regan, director of the Office of Special Events, detailed plans for the day of "Remembrance and Healing," being held at 3 p.m. Sept. 11 in the Mainstage theater in the Center for the Arts, North Campus.
"I'm encouraging faculty and staff to observe and allow students and others to attend the program," said Regan. "I hope you encourage your students to attend," he told committee members.
The memorial service, which will honor the lives of the victims, including 11 UB alumni who perished that day, will include a display of the names of those lost, prayers of healing and hope, and remarks by President William R. Greiner.
Following the service, a procession of members of the university community will escort a memorial stone to the circle in front of the Center for the Arts, where it will be installed near the bronze buffalo.
Faculty Senate President Michael Cohen, professor of neurology, also noted that next week's regular meeting of the FSEC, which falls on Sept. 11, has been cancelled.
In other news, Provost Elizabeth D. Capaldi reported that a variety of projects are planned or under way to address the quality of life on the South Campus—in particular student housing and classroom space.
She also noted that UB had enjoyed such a "good year" on several fronts—including successful lobbying efforts at the federal level, an increase in grant monies and the university's continued success in generating revenue—that the university was able to cover the costs of salary increases included in collective bargaining contracts.
"Our solution is to generate enough revenue so that we're not subject to the vagaries of the state," said Capaldi.
In addition, discussions are under way regarding ways to increase summer programming at the university, she said, calling summer "a vast untapped resource" during which more continuing and regular education programs could be added. She also pointed out that winter break was an opportune time to add programming, especially for international students who remain at UB during the break.
She invited faculty to become involved in helping to design such programs.
In other business, Regina Toomey, associate vice provost for new student recruitment programs, reported on the College Admissions Board's plans to change the format of the SAT, which is scheduled to be implemented by 2005.
Changes will include a revamped verbal portion of the exam with a written essay required for the first time, as well as the inclusion of multiple-choice grammar questions. Analogies are to be eliminated from the exam.
The current SAT math exam will be expanded to cover not just two years of high school math, but three, adding Algebra II to Geometry and Algebra I. According to Toomey, a College Board survey found that 97 percent of high school students take math through Algebra II.
Toomey said the College Board is changing the SAT exam to more accurately reflect curriculum at the secondary level, with its increased emphasis on writing across the curriculum, critical reading and writing skills and college-level prep math.
To give students entering in 2006 an advanced crack at the new SAT, an updated PSAT, inclusive of most of the proposed changes to the SAT, will be given in the fall of 2004. The new SAT is scheduled to be administered in March of 2005.