April 1, 2024

Apr 01 2024
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Meeting Minutes

ACADEMIC SENATE

Minutes

April 1, 2024

 

  1. CALL TO ORDER AND Announcements
    The regular meeting of the Academic Senate, held on April 1, 2024, was called to order at 3:00 pm by Senate President Shanti Deemyad. The meeting was held using the Zoom online meeting platform. 

 

Present:Michael Abrahamson, Jensie Anderson, Pinar Bayrak-Toydemir, Erin Beeghly, James Bekker, Melissa Bobick, Kenneth Bromberg, Jen Brown, Luca Brunelli, Timothy Brusseau, Marc Calaf, Marjorie Castle, Jon Chaika, Doug Christensen, Kevin Coe, Katharine Coles, Frank Drews, Nanette Dudley, Katie Durante, Jada Easterly, Atif Ellahie, Lee Ellington, Zhigang (Zak) Fang, Noreen Farley, Stacy Firth, Rick Forster, Leslie Francis , Julia Franklin, Gina Frey, Eric Handman, Kerry Herman, Heather Holmes, Martin Horvath, Rory Hume, Bryan Jones, Jay Jordan, Sarang Joshi, Seijin Kim, Kai Kuck, Shelley Lawrence, Mark Loewen, Alysse Loomis, ShawnaKim Lowey-Ball, Sarah Lucas, Nancy McLaughlin, Huong Meeks, Brent Milne, Meeyoung Min, Anna Neatrour, Will Nesse, Curtis Newbold, Dave Norwood, Yihui Pan, Patrick Panos, Kevin Perry, Wayne Potts, Lynn Reinke, Lorie Richards, Alessandro Rigolon, Hollis Robbins, Carol Sansone, Naomi Schlesinger, Nathan Seegert, Paul Shami, Chris Simon, Jamesina  Simpson, Paula Smith, Ginger Smoak, Wayne Springer, Talea Steele, Sondra Stegenga , Abigail Taylor, Patrick Tripeny, Hannah Truax, David Turok, Jim VanDerslice, Margaret Wan, Roseanne Warren, Peter West, Jaclyn Winter, Julie Wright-Costa, Zhou Yu, Kilo Zamora 

Excused with substitute: Rachel Hayes-Harb, Sarah Bush, Robert Campbell,  Lela Graybill, Tucker Hermans, Stacy Manwaring, Susie Porter, Jessica Van Der Volgen

Excused: Andrew Anderson, Maggie Tesch

Absent: Rohit Aggarwal, Lourdes Alberto, Yoshimi Anzai, Ademuyiwa Aromolaran, Lillian Ault, Adrian Bell, Bryan Bonner, Cate Carson, Korkut Erturk, Andrea Garcia, Jesse Graham, William Holland, Jack Israelsen, Lindsey Kisielewski, Feng Liu, Janis Louie, Eugene Mishchenko, Spencer Mukai, Austin Neff, Jack O’Leary, Anna Roelofs, Savannah Romney, Caroline Stephens, Casey Tak, Samantha Watrin, Melodie Weller, Jennifer Williams, Mia Woychick

Ex Officio: Mike Braak, Shanti Deemyad, Angie Fagerlin, Michael Good, Harriet Hopf, Savannah Manwill, Paul Mogren, Mitzi Montoya, Allyson Mower, Sarah Projansky, Taylor Randall, Sonia Salari, David Thomas, Jane Laird

 

  1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
    The March 11, 2024, Academic Senate meeting minutes were approved upon a motion from Sonia Salari, seconded by Harriet Hopf. There were 2 abstentions.  

 

  1. REQUEST FOR NEW BUSINESS

Senate President Deemyad relayed that she had added a New Business item at the end of the agenda. She had received a request from some Senators to discuss concerns about the level of consultation and collaboration between faculty and parts of senior administration.  

 

  1. CONSENT CALENDAR

Senate President Shanti Deemyad explained the items on the meeting’s Consent Calendar: 

  1. Faculty Matters Report Review 
  1. Program Discontinuation: MS Biology Teaching Program 
  1. Discontinue Graduate Certificate: Geographic Information Science  
  1. New Graduate Certificate: Resilient Energy             
  1. New Graduate Certificate: Advanced General Dentistry in Endodontics  
  1. Faculty Leave Policy- Phase 1                   

The Consent Calendar items were approved after a motion from Harriet Hopf and a second from Katherine Coles. 

 

  1. REPORTS (ADMINISTRATION; EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE; ASUU)    

Report from Administration 

President Taylor Randall, SVPHS Michael Good, and SVPAA Mitzi Montoya attended the meeting to offer highlights of recent notable events and honors at the UofU. These included celebrating Pride Week, holding a Campus Kindness Summit, the recent Annual Safety Summit, the One Utah Fellowship Program, the opening of the Meldrum Theater, and the upcoming groundbreaking ceremony for the Sorenson Center for Medical Innovation. Kurt Dirks has been named as the new dean of the David Eccles School of Business. As part of the strategic planning process, titled Impact 2030, there will be listening sessions scheduled over the next four to six weeks. There is more information at strategy.utah.edu.  

 President Randall said he was very grateful for conversations he has had with Senate leadership about issues that have been coming up while implementing internal and external changes. He noted the need to improve avenues of good communication and feedback. He and Senate leadership are working on five implementation steps to improve communication and change processes. First, there will be a change to administration communication methods so that messages are broader and more detailed. Next, a deans’ group will be helping with the implementation and ideation process for these changes. Regular meetings will be scheduled with Senate leadership to continue the dialog about how the pace of change is affecting the organization. Two new feedback mechanisms are the current Coffee and Cocoa sessions with SVP Montoya and a plan to implement an anonymous feedback system.  

 Senator Alysse Loomis, along with other Senators, asked the President to discuss a situation where an event sponsored by a possibly controversial group will be held at the College of Social Work. Students are very concerned for instance. She asked why this was not more broadly communicated and about the possibility of a lack of security resources for it. President Randall and AVP Student Support & Engagement Jason Ramirez helped review some of the issues presented by that. The President reaffirmed the requirement to protect free speech, even if it not agreed with. Jason discussed possible ways to improve notification and safety processes, although there will be difficulties in discerning at what level community members need to be broadly informed. There will be a forum later in the week with the Social Work building community so the matter can be further discussed.  

 

Report from VPR 

VPR Erin Rothwell announced that a new research engine hub has been launched. The Peak Water Sustainability Engine is an enlargement of the Global Sustainability and Change Center. Research scientist Marian Rice will lead this hub.  

 

Report from ASUU 

There was no ASUU report at this meeting. 

 

  1. INTENT CALENDAR

There were no items for the Intent Calendar

 

  1. DEBATE CALENDAR

Combined Degree Program: English Teaching B.A. and Educational Psychology M.Ed 

Professor of Educational Psychology Colli Lucas explained proposed combined degree program for an English Teaching B.A. and Educational Psychology M.Ed. She discussed the current factors in the teaching field that would position graduates from this program to earn higher wages and meet the need for specialized professionals. Katherine Coles moved to approve the proposal; the motion was seconded by Naomi Schlesinger and approved with 1 opposition. 

 

Academic Unit Change: College of Science, College of Mines and Earth Sciences Merger, with Approved New College Charter  

Dean of the College of Science Peter Trapa outlined the history of the merger between the College of Science and the College of Mines and Earh Sciences. The transition was planned in two phases and so far the units have been consolidated under one dean and current integrated services such as advising and marketing. The Senate Executive Committee approved a new College Charter and its unit governance structure at its March 18th meeting. The new Charter and the proposed academic unit change being presented to the Senate has strong support from faculty. He asked that the Senate consider the unit change defining the College of Science to consist of eight academic units, governed by the Charter approved by the EC. After a second from Katherine Coles, Paul Shami’s motion to approve the College of Science academic unit change passed.  

 

  1. INFORMATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS CALENDAR

Program Change: Biology Emphases Restructure  

David Goldenberg, School of Biological Sciences, outlined the emphases currently offered within the Biology Major, and the challenges that the current framework has presented for some students and advisors. He noted that multiple emphases experienced persistent low enrollment, and that course offerings have not been able to support or justify the continuation of the nine existing options. The proposal to restructure Biology emphases aims to streamline the offerings and provide revamped emphases in Cell and Molecular Biology; Integrative Organismal Biology; Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology; and Health, Anatomy and Physiology, as well as a no emphasis option.  

Senate Personnel and Elections Committee Updates 

Senate Personnel and Elections Committee (SPEC) Chair Ken Monson updated Senators on status of this year’s nominations and elections processes. He reviewed the current SPEC roster identifying the representative from each college, and asked for interested Senators from Nursing, Humanities, Libraries and Pharmacy areas to self-nominate for upcoming SPEC vacancies. Using the data supplied from the annual Faculty Committee Interest Survey, SPEC held its nominations meeting on March 21. Nomination lists were developed for Senate committee elections and University committee Presidential appointments. Ken explained that Senators will get an electronic ballot on April 5 to cast their vote for Senate committee nominees. That election will close April 22 and the results will be announced at the April 29 Senate meeting.  

For the Senate leadership positions of 2024-25, Senate President-elect and Senate Executive Committee faculty members, there will be an in-meeting election at the last Senate meeting of the year on April 29. Ken walked through the requirements for election eligibility and asked those interested to send self-nominations to him or Jane Laird. The forms needed to run for Senate President-elect are posted with the meeting materials or available on request. SPEC’s firm self-nomination deadline, including the submission of Senate President-elect eligibility forms, is April 12. He asked that any questions on this be forwarded to him or to Jane Laird, Senate Secretary.  

 

Senate Leadership 2024-25 Nominations: Senate Executive Committee and Senate President- elect 

Senate President Shanti Deemyad, Senate Past President Sonia Salari, and Senate President-elect Harriet Hopf presented more details on what being part of Senate leadership positions entails. Sonia walked through the departments’ FTE compensation for the Senate presidential three-year commitment—correspondingly reducing workload for those elected to presidential positions—the opportunity to get acclimated during the initial year, and the notably helpful consultative resources available that include other officers such as the Senate Parliamentarian, Policy Liaison, Secretary, and operations staff. Senate leaders get to meet with top administration, ASUU President, UUSC President, and outside organization leaders as the elected representative for the UofU Academic Senate. Harriet gave insights on the benefits of serving on the Senate Executive Committee and further addressed the requirements to run for those positions. Shanti also explained that shared governance is more important now than ever and it is time to strengthen that, and that President Randall has noted that too. She encouraged interested faculty to contact any of them to get more insight into their experiences.  

 

Weapon Detection  

Chair of the Surveillance System Administrators Committee (SSAC) Harriet Hopf explained that, after meeting with Associate Director of Events Keaton McDonald, Aaron White, Director of Stadium & Arena Event Services, and several other representatives, SSAC asked to present a new weapons detection technology to the Academic Senate. Harriet discussed the nature of the technology and the implementation at Rice Eccles Stadium, the Huntsman Center, and other spaces, including events where speakers or performers request this capability as a provision of their contract. SSAC also concluded that potential concerns such as compliance with statute and policy, privacy, and event disruption were addressed in the new technology plan.  

 

Reports and Information  

Senate President Deemyad reviewed the following informational reports posted for this meeting: 

  1. Geography Programs Discontinuations 

Geographic Information Science Emphasis   

Hazards, Resilience & Human Security Emphasis  

  1. Annual Faculty Makeup Report   
  1. Program Discontinuation: Sustainability Initiatives Emphasis  
  1. Rule 5-200 Updates: Staff Parental Leave 
  1. Athletic Academics Report 
  1. UofU President Report to BoT 

  

  1. NEW BUSINESS

Senate President Deemyad introduced a letter of concern sent to her about communications challenges experienced with senior administration. Those challenges might be impacting the institution if this is a case of diminished faculty-administration consultation. She emphasized that the concerns in the letter were raised in good faith with the intention of promoting collaboration and constructive dialog. She also reiterated the Senate’s unwavering commitment to excellence, integrity, and intent to navigate challenging conversations and further the institution’s goal of increasing its national prominence.  

Senator Katherine Coles read it aloud and indicated that the presented letter of concern (which was subsequently forwarded for posting to the meeting materials during this discussion) was written with the direct input of seven Senators representing six colleges/units on lower campus. The writers oppose instances where academic changes were imposed without Senate consultation. It also asks for sustained and effective communication, respect for individuals and institutional culture, and adherence to policies and procedures. In sum, it is an invitation to reset the faculty-SVPAA relationship to reestablish mutual trust and goodwill. Sarang Joshi moved that the Senate accept the letter of concern. The motion was seconded by Dave Norwood. Leslie Francis added a request that this vote be anonymous when conducted.  

 Some Senators offered personal experiences and observations that echoed the issues that the letter of concern identified. Other Senators expressed that they would need more information and background on the issues identified prior to forming an evaluation. SVPAA Mitzi Montoya thanked Senators for sharing their concerns and apologized for any miscommunications and misunderstandings. President Randall, Sonia Salari, Shanti Deemyad, Harriet Hopf, and she met last week to talk about opportunities to improve communications and ways to do that together. She also noted that some of the communication breakdowns were a gap between deans receiving the information on the changes being discussed and dissemination to faculty. This needs to be worked on, and she noted appreciation for bringing it to her attention. Senator Rory Hume, Dean of the School of Dentistry, added that communication chains do often depend on deans, and so the Council of Academic Deans (CAD) has formed a group to address how to improve this aspect.  

Senators further discussed the issues that had been raised by offering ideas on how to best proceed, questions that still need answering, areas of agreement and disagreement with the administration’s explanations, and inquiries to ensuring dissenting faculty will not be subject to retaliation. Senate President Deemyad and President-elect Hopf added that proposed communication improvements are already being implemented and the presence of President Randall and SVP Montoya at this discussion does indicate that the types of issues raised here are being taking seriously. Shanti also responded to requests for clarifications on the procedures invoked by bringing the concerns directly to the Senate, explaining that Senators are able bring matters directly to the Senate floor for discussion.  

University President Taylor Randall expressed that this conversation is an important one and acknowledged his part of communication issues. There is a need to not only improve communications, but also find ways to work together through changes stemming from external pressures. He estimates that this will require identifying different sets of processes, while building on the institutional values for shared governance as an avenue to continue to improve the university. Because it is important that Senators who have not seen this before are able to review both sides of the conversation, discussing the issues raised and changing processes in depth with the Senate Executive Committee could be a good next step.   

The makers of the motion on floor, Sarang Joshi and Dave Norwood, accepted two friendly amendments to the original motion. The finalized motion was to ask the Senate to acknowledge and forward the letter to the Senate Executive Committee. Shanti Deemyad asked for two Senators to agree with the request to hold an anonymous vote. Anna Neatrour and Jensie Anderson responded. A vote was conducted using a prepared online form and the results were 55 in favor, 4 opposed, 7 abstaining. The motion passed.  

                      

  1. OPEN DISCUSSION

There was no Open Discussion at this meeting. 

 

  1. ADJOURNMENT
    Meeting adjourned at 5:32 pm