Instead of introducing two resolutions opposing Chancellor Dennis Shields’ decisions on changes to the University of Wisconsin-Platteville general education curriculum, Faculty Senate introduced and approved one resolution on April 12 with minimal discussion and did not present the second resolution.

Philosophy Professor Shane Drefcinski introduced a resolution opposing Shields’ decision to change the foreign language requirement for students pursuing a Bachelor of Sciences degree.

“If you go through these four paragraphs, you’ll see they are indisputable,” Drefcinski said about the resolution, which can be found on the Faculty Senate website.

The paragraphs address reasons for keeping the current foreign language requirements. These include a general education learning outcome that states that UW-Platteville students should be able to “Read, write, listen and speak at a basic level in a language other than English,” and that the University Undergraduate Curriculum Commission and the Faculty Senate voted to keep the current foreign language requirements. The resolution concludes by stating that “the Faculty Senate [opposes] the proposed reduction in the foreign language requirement and urges the Chancellor to reverse his decision before it goes into effect.”

Shields arrived at the Faculty Senate meeting as the Senate voted on the resolution. It passed with three opposing votes.

The second resolution, which would have opposed making the changes retroactive to Fall 2014 was not introduced and will not be introduced in the future, Faculty Senate chair Teresa Burns said.

“There was a concern that if we succeeded [in passing the resolution] it would add another layer of confusion,” Burns said. She also said that she does not think that the resolution would have been acted on, and that it would have been “divisive.”