Meeting Minutes
ACADEMIC SENATE MINUTES
April 1, 2013
Call to Order
The regular meeting of the Academic Senate, held on April 1, 2013, was called to order at 3:04 p.m. by Robert Fujinami, Senate President. The meeting was held in room 115 C. Roland Christensen Center.
Present: David Ailion, Stephen Alder, Lisa Aspinwall, Keith Bartholomew, Clayton Beckett, Tully Cathey, Kathy Chapman, Thomas Cheatham, Kuan Chen, Miguel Chuaqui, Ronald Coleman, Marianna Di Paolo, Justin Diggle, Kristina Evans, Aria Flatau, Sabine Fuhrmann, Bruce Gale, Michael Gardner, Timothy Garrett, Franz Goller, James Graves, Joan Gregory, Gary Grikscheit, Charles Grissom, Thad Hall, Steven Sternfeld, Tom Henderson, Howard Horwitz, Eric Hutton, Thunder Jalili, William Johnson, Sharee Lane, Anthea Letsou, Karl Lins, John Longino, Robin Marcus, Kim Martinez, Theresa Martinez, Heather Melton, McKenna Menees, Duncan Metcalf, Tatiana Mixco, Alfred Mowdood, Patricia Murphy, Ingrid E. Nygaard, Patrick Panos, M. Pollie Price, Matthew Potolsky, Hannah Pratt, Stephanie Richardson, Sonia Salari, Paul Shami, Janet Shaw, Clough Shelton, Orine Shine, Kristin Smith – Crowe, Gregory Smoak, Jeff Stratman, Orest Symko, Geneva Thompson, Taylor Thompson, Norm Waitzman, Molly Wheeler, Wynchester Whetten, Bryce Williams, Joanne Yaffe, Angela Yetman, Aaron Young, Jingyi Zhu
Absent: Barton Blackburn, Reaz Chaudhuri, John Conboy, Charlotte Conerly, Alicia De Leon, William Gershan, Leanne Hawken, Michael Hawkins, L. Eric Huang, Evert Lawton, Melissa Meeks, Dragan Milicic, Harvey Miller, Anne Mooney, Trevor Myrick, Lester Partlow, Marlene Plumlee, Martin Rechsteiner, Gerald Root, Gary Rose, David Rudd, Li Wang
Excused: David Pershing, Vivian Lee
Ex-officio: Robert Flores, Robert Fujinami, Harriet Hopf, Paul Mogren, Allyson Mower, Amy Wildermuth, Shawnee Worsley
Excused with Proxy: Kevin DeLuca (Jim Anderson), Richard Dorsky (Sheryl Scott), Mary Elizabeth Hartnett (Margaret DeAngelis), Bradley Katz (Alison Crum), Chris Myers (Joe Zachary), Alison Regan (Jill Moriearty)
Others: Martha Bradley, Barbara Wilson
Approval of Minutes
The minutes of the Academic Senate meeting on March 4, 2013 were approved following a motion from Joanne Yaffe which was seconded by Steve Alder.
Request for New Business
No new business to address
Consent Calendar
The resignations retirements, faculty appointments, auxiliary and limited term appointments, appearing in the Appendices dated April 1, 2013, received approval to forward to the Board of Trustees on motion by Joanne Yaffe and seconded by Sonia Salari.
Report from Administration
Interim Senior Vice President Michael Hardman spoke to the Senate regarding the Legislature. Overall Higher Education received its highest increase in history. The U is pleased with response on our targeted initiatives including the medical school class size increase, the $18 million for Mission Based funding, and the approved addition for Huntsman Cancer. USTAR also received an additional $5 million for loss funding and to support more research. Regarding compensation, the U was excluded from the 1% increase that the other state employees will receive. The Legislature did give the U a portion of money that will be used for benefits but cannot be used as a salary increase. The overall tuition increase will be 4.4%, less than the national average. We are seeing a national trend with tuition increases and although we would like to not increase the tuition we are pleased to keep it lower than the national average.
Executive Committee Report
Allyson Mower, Executive Committee Secretary, provided a summary of the Executive Committee meeting held March 18, 2013.
Report from ASUU
Geneva Thompson updated the Senate on the student body elections of the ASUU. Nick Ferre will serve as President, Sam Ortiz as Vice President and Kendahl Melvin as Senior Class President. ASUU has held three events in the past week; The Rock the U, Non-traditional Easter egg hunt, and Shine for Shriners. The next big event will be Geek Week and it will be held at the Marriott Library starting April 21st at noon until April 26th at 10 p.m.
Notice of Intent
The Proposal on auxiliary faculty nomenclature and Senate representation (Phase 1, revised Policies 6-002, 6-300) was presented by Hank Liese, Bonnie Mitchell, and Bonita Austin. In December 2010 the Executive Committee of the Academic Senate requested proposal to provide for Auxiliary Faculty representation in the Academic Senate. In spring 2012, Associate VP for Faculty convened the Ad Hoc Auxiliary Faculty Committee to address multiple issues, including faculty nomenclature and representation of full-time Auxiliary faculty in the Academic Senate. The Ad Hoc Committee now brings for Senate action these two distinct but related proposals: (i) change the official nomenclature for faculty members to three major categories (policy 6-300), and (ii) establish Academic Senate representation for full-time auxiliary faculty (policy6-002).
Regarding the nomenclature proposal, currently faculty nomenclature in Policy 6-300 includes Regular faculty (tenured or tenure eligible), Library Faculty (continuing appointment or continuing appointment eligible) and Auxiliary Faculty (Research Faculty, Clinical Faculty, Lecturer Faculty, Adjunct Faculty, and Visiting Faculty). Existence of Emeritus Faculty is mentioned. The proposed changes of Policy 6-300 are to change the official nomenclature for faculty members to three major categories: (i) Tenure-line (including Libraries faculty members formerly listed with the tenure-equivalent “continuing appointment” status), (ii) Career-line (for full-time Clinical, Lecturer, Research positions), and (iii) Adjunct, Visiting, and Emeritus. This would eliminate the existing name “auxiliary” currently applicable to the Clinical, Lecturer, and Research positions. It is important to note that the nomenclature change itself is simply a title change and does not directly affect any of the rights or responsibilities of any group of faculty.
The Committee makes these two recommendations for a number of reasons:
- Existing nomenclature causes misuse of titles and confusion about responsibilities and status of Libraries Faculty as well as Clinical, Lecturer, Research, and Adjunct Faculty;
- Existing nomenclature creates inconsistent hiring, record-keeping and reporting practices.
- “Auxiliary” or “Contingent” labels imply supplemental, secondary, and fleeting institutional affiliation and identity;
- Full-time Clinical, Lecturer, and Research Faculty comprise about 40% of full-time faculty;
- “Career-line” is an inclusive, positive, and accurate description of full-time, long-serving faculty who are not hired with the expectation of tenure.
- The existing term “Regular” as a label for Tenured and Tenure-Eligible Faculty negates the important concept of tenure and the accompanying status;
- The term “Regular” for full-time faculty for whom it does not apply carries negative implications, as does the term “Auxiliary.”
The motion to move the nomenclature change proposal (Policy 6-300 revisions) immediately from the Intent Calendar to the Debate Calendar was made by Thad Hall and seconded by Joanne Yaffe. Motion passed with required 2/3 vote and item was moved to Debate.
A lengthy discussion followed on the official nomenclature for faculty members to three major categories.
A motion was made to approve and forward to the Board of Trustees, the nomenclature change proposal, as originally presented in the agenda materials, with a friendly amendment that to meet specific program needs, such as were described today for the School of Medicine we can still have exceptions to the ordinary requirement that only faculty appointed with at least .5 FTE will be appointed in the Career-line categories (Clinical, Lecturer, Research). The motion also included a request that the taskforce on auxiliary faculty issues (which is to be formed to carry on the ad hoc committee’s work as described in the proposal materials in today’s agenda) should report back to the Senate with a census on the number of people who are not tenure line. The motion was made by Joanne Yaffe and seconded by Ron Coleman. Motion passed.
Discussion then proceeded on the second proposal– that the membership structure of the Senate be modified to add a set of representatives of the Career-line faculty, with voting rights. Specifically, one representative should be elected from each of the college-level units (consisting of the 16 academic colleges, the Libraries as a unit, and the Interdisciplinary Teaching Programs established under Policy 6-310 as a unit). When fully implemented, this will establish 18 positions. The faculty members eligible to serve as representatives should be full-time Career-line and committed to a long-term affiliation with the University, with minimum qualifications of having been in a position of at least .75 FTE continuously for at least three preceding years. They should have the same terms as Tenure-line representatives; three years, and one-year minimum between terms. These representatives should be elected by their peers within their college-level unit. The voters eligible to participate in selection of the representative from each unit should be Career-line faculty in positions at least .50 FTE at the time of election.
From an historical perspective, there have been two other highly significant policy changes in the Senate membership structure, and then another change in the leadership role. The Senate added representation of academic librarians (with continuing appointment status) in 1977. The next major step occurred through a Policy revision in 1987, which added a set of student representatives to the Senate. The third and most recent progressive step occurred in 1990 with a significant change in leadership of the Academic Senate. Previously, the Vice President for Academic Affairs (provost) led the Senate. As of 1990, the Senate President is not an officer of the central administration but a faculty member, elected by the Senate members.
The current proposal would revise Policy 6-002 to add representatives of Career-line faculty to the Senate, to be elected by fall 2013 and seated in January 2014. Stephanie Richardson made a motion to move this agenda item from the Intent Calendar to the Debate Calendar immediately. Motion was seconded by Joanne Yaffe. Opponents argued that such a significant decision should not be rushed to decision in a single Senate meeting and senators should have the usual month between meetings to study further and consult with constituents. Motion did not pass by the required 2/3 majority, and so the proposal will now appear on the May 6 Debate Calendar per usual procedures. Concluding the discussion, a ‘friendly amendment’ request was made and agreed to add to the proposal an explanation of a specific plan to achieve staggered terms for the newly elected Career-line Senate representatives.
Debate Calendar
Proposal for new Policy 3-010 & Rule 3-010 A- Expenditure of University Funds & Personal Reimbursements was presented by Assoc. V.P. Jeff West. The new policy defines a University business expense and the standards for expenditures of University funds as well as outlining responsibilities. Personal reimbursements are subject to all requirements of expenditures made directly via University funds. The rule establishes minimum documentation requirements for reimbursements and provides guidance for appropriate handling and approval of those below or above certain dollar amounts. The motion to approve and forward to the Board of Trustees was made by Joanne Yaffe and seconded by Jim Anderson. Motion passed unanimously.
The Proposal for an undergraduate Minor in Environmental and Sustainability Studies was presented by Dan McCool. The minor will consist of 14 credit hours offered by the ENVST Program and one 3 hour elective course for a total of 17 hours. The required courses must be taken at the University of Utah. The curriculum is designed so a student can earn this minor by taking all online courses or all in class course or combination. Currently there is no minor at the University of Utah focused specifically on environmental issues and sustainability. Weber State University has an emphasis in Environmental Studies, and Southern Utah University has a minor in Sustainability Studies. The motion to approve and forward to the Board of Trustees was made by Thad Hall and seconded by Joanne Yaffe. Motion passed with one abstention.
Andrea Brunelle presented the Proposal for an Undergraduate Certificate in Climate Change. The proposed certificate takes advantage of a recently developed curriculum in climate change courses in Geography along with climate change courses in other departments on campus to provide an interdisciplinary, value-added educational opportunity for students wanting to increase their expertise in climate change and their marketability for careers requiring this type of expertise. The motion to approve and forward to the Board of Trustees was made by Ron Coleman and seconded by Joanne Yaffe. Motion passed unanimously.
Proposal to establish a BS Completion to MS Degree in Nursing was presented by Barbara Wilson, Assoc. Dean of Nursing. The targeted audience is Registered Nurses with associate degrees who are interested in pursuing graduate education in an of our master’s degree emphases areas. The purpose of the proposed program is to offer opportunities for students to move seamlessly from their baccalaureate program to a master’s program. This would accelerate the transition into advanced nursing roles by eliminating the usual gap between BSN completion and graduate admission. The motion to approve and forward to the Board of Trustees was made by Joanne Yaffe and seconded by Kim Martinez. Motion passed unanimously.
Information Calendar
The proposed deletion of obsolete Policy 3-061 Stipends and Tax Exempt Payments was presented by Assoc. V.P. Jeff West. This policy was last updated in 1976. It is out of date and contains many errors and is not compliant with current law. The new policy 3-010 will cover any issues 3-061 was meant to address. No recommendations were made by senators.
Proposal for Emphasis name change from Teaching Nursing to Nursing Education within the Master program was presented by Barbara Wilson, Assoc. Dean of Nursing. No recommendations were made
TA Scholars Projects were presented to the Senate by Raichle Farrelly. The TA Scholars Program consists of an interdisciplinary cohort of outstanding graduate students with at least one year of experience teaching undergraduates. Over the course of two semesters, the TA Scholars Program gives teaching assistants and graduate student instructors the opportunity to explore various pedagogical issues. Each TA Scholar also develops an individual project that addresses a specific teaching or learning need of his or her department. For more information you can visit the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence website.
The annual report on the faculty complement per Policy 6-300 was presented by Assoc. V.P. Amy Wildermuth. No recommendations were made.
The description of the Biennial Apportionment of Senate per Policy 6-002 was presented and no recommendations made.
The following Graduate Council Review reports were accepted by the Senate: Graduate Council Review of Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Graduate Council Review of Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Graduate Council Review of David Eccles School of Business School-wide Programs, Graduate Council Review of Department of Management, Graduate Council Review of Department of Modern Dance, and Graduate Council Review of School of Accounting.
Recommendations for the 2013 Distinguished Innovation and Impact Awards, Calvin S. and JeNeal N. Hatch Prize in Teaching, and 2013 Early Career Teaching Awards Recipients were accepted by the Senate.
New Business
As agreed during the March meeting, further discussion about the report on Student Feedback Measures presented at that meeting was carried over to today’s meeting. Miguel Chuaqui as current chair of the Course Feedback Oversight Committee led a lengthy discussion, including describing Committee responses to various aspects of the report, and described the Committee’s views about further work needed on related issues. Assoc. V.P. Amy Wildermuth explained that in response to the questions that have been raised about how student feedback is used, especially in the RPT process and in merit increases for faculty, a taskforce will be created that will be chaired by Hank Liese. A second taskforce will be created, chaired by Paul Gore, to collect the data on a regular basis from the student course feedback reports and provide the information in a useful format to the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence (CTLE). If you would like to participate in these taskforces please contact Amy.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 5:29 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Shawnee Worsley