The future of the ISU communications curriculum was discussed and debated Tuesday at a meeting of the Faculty Senate.

Rob Wallace, head of the LAS Representative Assembly, spoke before the senate to request that ISUComm present better scientific evidence to prove that its curriculum is significantly better than the current communications curriculum.

John Schroeter, chairman of the Faculty Senate curriculum committee and associate professor of economics, said the faculty must decide how much significance is enough.

“How heavy a burden of proof should ISUComm have?” Schroeter said.

Wallace also questioned where the resources will come from to support the new curriculum.

There were other questions for ISUComm from the Faculty Senate, such as why there were three variations of the test results.

Michael Mendelson, director of ISUComm, said the curriculum committee will meet with the LAS Representative Assembly to discuss questions further.

Provost Ben Allen, vice president for academic affairs, addressed the Faculty Senate about the second draft to the 2005-2010 strategic plan.

Allen said his office had received more than 200 e-mail responses after the first draft was released.

He also said the planning committee is taking a new approach this year in that a special office will be accountable for each goal in the strategic plan and the strategies to reach them.

Gregory Palermo, chairman of the Faculty Senate Academic Affairs Council, said new additions to the second draft, which outlines the measures needed to reach the strategic plan’s goals, are a weakness.

“They are overwhelmingly number-oriented,” Palermo said.

He also said the measures are lacking in a qualitative aspect. They don’t include the impact of the goals, some disciplines are unequal in external funding and the differences are not obvious.

Jack Girton, agriculture senator, presented a motion to the Faculty Senate to support the ISU students in inviting a controversial speaker to the university.

Some alumni have been vocal in their opposition to Michael Moore’s scheduled appearance on campus Sunday.

Girton said the faculty should support that students are willing to listen to free speech, even though it can be controversial.

The Faculty Senate approved the motion.