The provost announced at Thursday’s Faculty Senate meeting that the dean of the AddRan College of Humanities and Social Sciences will be stepping down from her position.Mary Volcansek, dean of the AddRan College, will finish out the year before returning to teaching, said Nowell Donovan, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs.

“I want to take this time to publicly thank Mary for her service as the first dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences,” Donovan said.

A national search for her replacement will begin soon, he said.

Volcansek has served as the dean of the AddRan College for seven years.

Donovan also said at the meeting that TCU’s Vision In Action plan is currently working to provide more students with the opportunity to study abroad by adding scholarships.

“Studying abroad should not be financially out of sight for students,” Donovan said. “The notion ‘global’ is in our mission statement.”

The plus/minus grading system was also a topic of discussion. Donovan acknowledged that he has received many e-mails from students and parents concerned about the change.

However, Bob Neilson, a chemistry professor and the chairman of the Academic Excellence Committee, said he will continue to guide the new grading system through the approval process.

“Hopefully, that will soon be a done deal,” Neilson said.

Communication between the Faculty Senate and the Student Government Association will continue to improve, said David Bedford, a Spanish instructor and the chairman of student relations.

He said he wants to engage SGA in discussions about student advising and retention rates.

Bedford said he is considering SGA’s suggestion of replacing official advisers for incoming freshmen with unofficial peer advising composed of upperclassmen.

The Faculty Senate will meet again Oct. 12.