Meeting Minutes
ACADEMIC SENATE
Minutes
January 7, 2019
Call to Order
The regular meeting of the Academic Senate, held on January 7, 2019, was called to order at 3:05 pm by Senate President Thomas Richmond. The meeting was held in the Moot Courtroom of the College of Law.
Present:
Alan Abbinanti, Rima Ajlouni, Bob Allen, Elena Asparouhova, Nitin Bakshi, Julie Barkmeier-Kraemer, Amy Barrios, Shmuel Baruch, Pinar Bayrak-Toydemir, Gunseli Berik, Bryan Bonner, Darryl Butt, Adrienne Cachelin, Laurel Caryn, Mike Caserta, Susanna Cohen, Katharine Coles, Sheila Crowell, Tommaso De Fernex, Chuck Dorval, Randy Dryer, Ann Engar, Diego Fernandez, Candace Floyd, Kenneth Foreman, Leslie Francis, John Funk, Per Gesteland, Thomas Crane Giamo, Amanda Goodner, Valerie Guerrero, Gema Guevara, Kim Hackford-Peer, Patricia Hanna, Eric Hinderaker, Christel Hohenegger, Christopher Hull, Howie Huynh, Kaelin Kaczka, Anne Kirchhoff, Kim Korinek, Rich Landward, Dale Larsen, Tom Lund, Brad Lundahl, Kaden Madson, Jim Martin, Sharon Mastracci, Maureen Mathison, Kaitlin McLean, Dragan Milicic, Ken Monson, Krystal Moorman, Connor Morgan, Susan Naidu, Kathleen Nicoll, Rick Paine, Brandon Patterson, Lauren Perry, Wanda Pillow, Elizabeth Pohl, Jon Rainier, Angela Rasmussen, John Regehr, Brad Rockwell, Nelson Roy, Frank Sachse, Amnon Schlegel, Jon Seger, Peyden Shelton, Jennifer Shumaker-Parry, Debra Simmons, Carol Sogard, Dustin Stokes, James Sutherland, Thomas Swensen, Emily Thomas, Sylvia Torti, Aryana Vadipour, Neil Vickers, Jessica Wempen, James Winkler, Tom Winter, Joanne Yaffe, Zhou Yu
Excused with proxy: Rajeev Balasubramonian, Sarah Bush, Kirsten Butcher, Devon Cantwell, Nadia Cobb, Emily Kam, Anne Lair, Stephane LeBohec, Lauren Liang, Pearl Sandick, Julie Wright-Costa
Excused: Olga Baker, Donald Blumenthal, Mia Hashibe, Michael Larice, Helene Shugart, Brenda Van Der Wiel
Absent: Joel Brownstein, Brian Cadman, Ravi Chandran, Mark Durham, Korkut Erturk, Haley Feten, Ken Johnson, Hanseup Kim, Winston Kyan, Sean Lawson, Claire McGuire, Ravi Ranjan, Kalani Raphael, Georgi Rausch, Alejandra Sanchez, Sara Simonsen, Taylor Stringham, Alex Terrill, Taryn Young, Shundana Yusaf
Ex Officio: John Boyack, Margaret Clayton, Julio Facelli, Robert Flores, Robert Fujinami, Dave Hill, Harriet Hopf, Jane Laird, Paul Mogren, Daniel Reed, Thomas Richmond, Ruth Watkins
Others: Martha Bradley, student Presidential Ambassadors Maddie Lamah and Michelle Ngo
Announcements: Tom Richmond reminded the senators that today’s meeting was scheduled to conclude at 4:00, that immediately following the meeting President Watkins would be presenting a State of the University address which Senate members were invited to attend, and that following that address there would be a special presentation regarding the University’s research activities, with a reception to which Senate members were also invited.
Approval of Minutes:
The minutes dated December 3, 2018 were approved upon a motion from Joanne Yaffe and a second by Harriet Hopf.
Consent Calendar
The Consent Calendar was approved upon a motion from Joanne Yaffe and a second by Kathleen Nicoll.
Report from Administration [By special arrangement, this month’s report was presented as part of a State of the University Address, which President Watkins delivered immediately following the Senate meeting.]
Senate Executive Committee Report
Julio Facelli reported that in the December 10, 2018 Senate Executive Committee meeting, members reviewed the agenda items for the January 7, 2019 Senate meeting, including the Building Access & Surveillance Policy and the revisions of Policy 6-002 III-C.
Report from ASUU
With only a couple of months left in the academic year, ASUU President Connor Morgan discussed some remaining items on the ASUU calendar. Some of the issues that relate to the Academic Senate include student input in RPT and course feedback. The ASUU will also be moving forward with resolutions regarding sustainability on campus and commitment to the University’s carbon neutrality goals. Campus safety remains an important issue. He looks forward to further feedback and discussion with Senate members.
Notice of Intent Calendar
Policy 6-002 III-C Eligibility of CL Faculty for Senate Presidency
Randy Dryer and Leslie Francis, chairs of the Senate special committee on Eligibility of Career-Line Faculty for Senate Presidency, presented the committee’s proposed policy revision that now identifies criteria by which a career-line faculty member is eligible to run for Academic Senate President. The revised policy also establishes some minimum requirements for a Senate presidency regardless of whether held by a tenure-line or career-line faculty member—something that is not specifically identified in the current policy. Another item addressed was that of codifying proposed duties and loyalties by a sitting president. The proposed revisions being presented to the Senate were unanimously recommended by the subcommittee, comprised of 16 faculty members, 10 tenure-line faculty members, and six career-line faculty members, including several past presidents of the Senate. If this policy is adopted as proposed, it would bring the University in line with the rest of the institutions in the PAC 12, none of which ban career line faculty members from serving as Senate President. The revised policy additionally reflects best practices of the American Association of University Professors. The proposed policy is also consistent with the prior actions taken by the Senate in 2013 and 2016 to more fully integrate career-line faculty into the University governance system.
The committee decided that to be eligible to run for Senate President, and represent the Academic Senate, a candidate would need to show some familiarity and experience with the institution. The basic minimal level of qualifications identified in the policy is then five years at the university, demonstrated experience in teaching, and demonstrated participation in University-governance. These qualifications illustrate a commitment to and understanding of the University. A career-line candidate would need to have at least three years left on her or his contract. Other more specific candidate differentiations and qualities would be left to the electorate to evaluate.
Addressing a question from Susanna Cohen, Randy clarified that the committee recognized the importance of a candidate’s employment stability, and the avoidance of undue pressures from other parts of the University. The proposed policy requires that career-line candidates have a faculty appointment and a contract of employment that lasts through the three-year period necessary when serving as president-elect, president and past president. A motion from Joanne Yaffe, seconded by Kate Coles, to move this item to the Senate Debate Calendar of the meeting passed; ayes were expressed by over two-thirds of the vote. Kate Coles then moved to approve the proposed policy, seconded by Pat Hanna. The motion to approve passed.
Debate Calendar
Building Access & Surveillance Policy 3-234
Academic Senate Policy Liaison Bob Flores, Chief Human Resources Officer-Hospitals and Clinics Dale Spartz, and University of Utah Chief of Police and Public Safety Dale Brophy presented the final proposed Policy 3-234 and Rule 3-234 revisions. A year of work and comprehensive outreach ensured that this final version: incorporated input from throughout the University; appropriately balanced security and privacy issues; complied with all State and Federal regulations; addressed the rapid growth and spread of technological change in the areas of access and surveillance. Bob reported that Policy 3-234 revisions have been presented to the Senate for the longest time he knows of in his decades of policy work at the University. Due to their awareness of the outdated current policy, Dale Brophy and facilities management spearheaded the initial policy overhaul, and Dale has been instrumental in the ensuring the completion of final policy proposal. Senate Executive Committee members Randy Dryer and Leslie Francis, plus ASUU Senator Devon Cantwell, joined the subcommittee to address concerns about privacy protection. Bob thanked Dale Spartz, as the representative from the Institutional Policy Committee for the hospitals and clinics, for his work on the final stage of policy development. The final version now reflects specific safety and surveillance requirements for that area of the University.
If this policy revision is approved, the next step would be an administrative process in which a new oversight committee will be established. It will have assured representation from the faculty, students and staff, as well as various administrative officers who are concerned with the operation of the surveillance system.
After that, a process will begin–for the first time–of inventorying the many surveillance systems that are in University facilities, but have been operating without an overarching university policy or an administrative system to oversee these. Oversight will begin to make sure systems are brought into compliance with requirements embodied in the policy. It is initially anticipated that administrative offices involved will provide most of the administrative work; the faculty, staff and student representatives’ role is to provide oversight. Because this will be a multiple year process, deadlines had not been codified. Aryana Vadipour offered that adding one or two more students to the committee is desirable. The policy authors consciously sought to keep the oversight committee small enough to be nimble, but Bob explained that it is possible to adjust the composition of the committee in the future, such as when it reports to the Senate after a year (a time schedule mandated by the proposed policy). Kate Coles recommended that ASSU consider forming a subcommittee that liaises with this oversight committee so to capture broader student input and concern. A motion from Joanne Yaffe, seconded by Pat Hanna, to approve the policy was passed.
Permanent Status for Sorenson Impact Center
This item was postponed to the next Senate meeting, February 4, 2019, due to a presenter’s travel issues that prevented attendance.
Information and Recommendations Calendar
University Teaching Committee Awards
It is always exciting to see the great work that goes on around campus, Senate President Tom Richmond expressed. He announced this year’s University Teaching Committee award winners, who went through a very rigorous screening process. These were: John R. Park Teaching Fellowship awardee Erik Brunvand; Community Engaged Teaching & Scholarship Award awardee Yda Smith; University Distinguished Teaching Award winners Cynthia Furse, Gernot Laicher, Armando Solorzano, Seetha Veeraghanta, and Cecelia Wainryb.
Open Discussion
Tom Richmond announced that Senate elections are coming up. He encouraged anyone who would like to run for Senate President to speak with him or Mardie Clayton–Senate Past President–to learn more about the position; the Senate Leadership team members are all happy to share their experiences. Senate Personnel and Elections Committee Chair Randy Dryer will be sending out a survey this Spring, which will poll faculty members’ interest in serving on Senate and University committees, where a lot of the work gets done. Senators were encouraged to watch for that and participate. Student Governance elections are also coming up.
Tom again reminded the Senate that President Watkins will give the State of the University address later at 4:15 pm, after which the Vice President of Research, Andy Weyrich, will host a Research Celebration. In closing, he thanked student Presidential Ambassadors Michelle Ngo and Maddie Lamah for their help with the microphones during the meeting.
Adjournment
Meeting adjourned at 3:50 pm.