SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY ENVIRONMENTAL FORUM
MINUTES
September 25, 2000

I. Meeting called to order at 1:15.  Present: Gerry Selter, Udeme Ndon, Scot Rafkin,  Dennis Jaehne, Richard Keady

II. Minutes of of the May 16 meeting were approved.

III. Announcements:
 Prof. Ndon announced that two of his students from the Environmental Engineering Club won scholarships in a recent competition.  The information was posted to the SJSU This Week Announcement Board.  We will also post it to the Environmental Forum Website.   Prof. Keady announced early plans for the Silicon Rush Seminar, a nine-month faculty and community collaborative learning event proposed for 2001-02.  Seminar themes will include environmental ethics and social justice.   The planning group has some seed money and is seeking an additional $100,000.

IV. Forum Annual Report for AY 1999-2000.
 Former Provost Linda Bain received the report before leaving office, but did not comment.  Current Interim Provost Lela Noble authorized continued support of the Forum at .2/AY, but made no other comment about the report.

V. Election of Forum Chair.
 Members present requested that D. Jaehne continue as Chair through the Fall semester.   Prof. Rafkin agreed to serve in Spring 01 with .1 support from the College of Science, pledged by Dean Selter.

VI. Ongoing Discussions
 Environmental Health and Safety Program.  Neither Prof. Rowntree or Prof. McNeil could be at the meeting so discussion was postponed.  The Forum has heard that the Chancellorís Office has turned down the program as proposed by Environmental Studies.  Further Forum action awaits an informed discussion of the situation.  One question that arose was whether students already in the program would be taken care of and Forum members believed that several options were available with respect to majors and minors.   It was also noted that Prof. Jennings is the new Chair of Chemical and Materials Engineering and might have a comment on that departmentís component of the E.H. & S. program.
 
Curriculum Inventory and Website Updates were postponed pending a report from Assoc. Dean Schwarz, who could not attend the meeting.
 
Outreach Brochure.  Prof. Rafkin thanked those faculty members, including Prof. Rowntree, who had reviewed the first draft of the outreach brochure and submitted corrections and suggestions.   We discussed changing the categories and titles used in the first brochure to reflect more accurately the distinction between degree and major programs and isolated courses.  The Forum felt that it should not make some of these category decisions for individual programs.  Therefore Prof. Rafkin will circulate the brochure once again for input from departments prior to developing a second draft.  We hope to have the revised brochure printed in time for the next university Advising Day.  In addition, College of Science departments are developing departmental brochures.  Dean Selter will pass the current Forum brochure to the COS Chairs on Sept. 21 for their input. The Forum also approved the idea of developing a second brochure focusing on environmental careers.  Prof. Jaehne will check with the Career Center regarding materials that may already exist.

VII. New Business
Discussion of the proposed Merger of the Environmental Forum with IREES was tabled pending Prof. McNeilís attendance as Chair of IREES.   The proposed invited speaker, Wayne Ott ("Human Exposure Assessment and Indoor Air Quality: The Birth of a New Science") was tabled pending the attendance of Prof. Bornstein to make the case.

The Forum discussed a proposal from Mr. Patel regarding support for an Air Pollution program in India.  The Forum appreciated the serious nature of the problem and expressed its support for the establishment of such a worthwhile program, but the Forum does not have sufficient funding or human resources to contribute.  Members suggested that a more timely and tailored proposal could lead to individual instructors making classroom time available to discuss some of these issues as part of the curriculum.

Pres. Caret forwarded, and the Forum discussed, a request that SJSU join the National Council for Science and the Environment.  After consideration of the upfront costs ($8500) and the potential benefits to the campus and the Forumís mission, we decided not to join the organization.

VIII. Forum Agenda for AY 2000-01: Forum members set the following agenda targets for this academic year:

Our next meeting, planned for late October, will be a lunch meeting hosted by the College of Science.