December 1, 2025

Dec 01 2025
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Meeting Minutes

ACADEMIC SENATE

December 1, 2025

Minutes

 

  1. CALL TO ORDER AND Announcements
    The regular meeting of the Academic Senate, held on December 1, 2025, was called to order at 3:00 pm by Senate President Richard Preiss. The meeting was held using the Zoom online meeting platform. The meeting is recorded only for the purposes of meeting minutes. Although Senate meetings are not required to be public under Utah law, the Senate has elected to conduct its business in a transparent way and all attendees are welcome.

 

Present: Taslim Al-Hilal, Elizabeth Archuleta, Ademuyiwa Aromolaran, Donna Baluchi, Cynthia Berg, Christian Brockmann, Timothy Brusseau, Sarah Bush, Ravi Chandran, Thomas Cheatham, Sydney Cheek-O’Donnell, Doug Christensen, Richard Clark, Marla De Jong, Therese De Raedt, Teresa DeAtley, Frank Drews, Jeffrey Druck, Katie Durante, Lee Ellington, Teppo Felin, Nina Feng, Pamalatera Fenn, Jon Fisk , Matthew Flatt, Rick Forster, Leslie Francis, Maggie French, Henry Fu, Alborz Ghandehari, Ramesh Goel, Ken Golden, Laura Grantier, Brenda Heaton, Teresa Hebron, Andy Hong, David Kieda, Peggy Kong, Rebeccah Kurzhals, Joshua  LaReaux, Hailey Lawrence, Mark Loewen, Lisbeth Louderback, Crystal Lumpkins, Jay Mace, Douglas Mackay, Maureen Mathison, Christine McMillan, Lacey Murphy, Curtis Newbold, Thi Nguyen, Michael Nigra, Juniper Nilsson, Rodrigo Noriega, Chris Pantelides, Xiaoxia Peng, Wayne Potts, Edward Quigley, Firas Rassoul-Agha, Lynn Reinke, Lorie Richards, Ariel Richer, Thomas Richmond, Marcy Rogers , Yvette Romero Coronado, Alex Rose, Suva Roy, Breann Schiffer, Sherin Shaaban, Sarah Shreeves, Elizabeth Siantz, Ginger Smoak, Caroline Stephens, Kathleen Strickland-Cohen, Karley Swallow, Jason Tanner, Matthew Thiese, Rhet Tucker, David Turok, Norman Waitzman, Roseanne Warren, Berkley Wiseman, Rachel Wittman, Kari Woodruff, Julie Wright-Costa, Dave Young

Excused with proxy: Katharine Coles, Jack O’Leary

Excused: Henry Becker, Kennon Buss, Ingrid Weinbauer

Absent: Rohit Aggarwal, Eli Asay, Ana Sanchez Benet, Bryan Bonner, Jace Boyd, Cameryn Coffey, Mark Crowley, Elisabet  Curbelo González, Brigham Daniels , Brooke Davies, Brooke Fernandez, Maddy Hadwick, Rachel Hayes-Harb, Davidson Heath, Eric Herschthal, David Hill, Jill Jeffe, Sarang Joshi, Sejin Kim, Kateryna Malaia, Huong Meeks, Mayette Pahulu, Sofia Perez, Bryce Perkins, Mike Scarpulla, Naomi Schlesinger, Chris Simon, Paula Smith, Oleg Starykh, Robert Wuebker, Allie Menzdorf

Ex Officio: Bob Carter, Ashley Glenn, Angie Fagerlin, Sarah Projansky, Mitzi Montoya

Senate Officers: Harriet Hopf, Brent Milne, Allyson Mower, Paul Mogren, Richard Preiss, Jane Laird

Senate Office: Maddie Hile, Bailey Lavallee

 

After offering remarks honoring the late Janet Theiss, an esteemed Associate Professor of History, Senate President Richard Preiss noted that a follow-up to a Senate question about a previous proposal for an English Education BS clarified that the B- minimum grade requirement is due to K-12 accreditation. He also summarized the recent Utah Council of Faculty Senate Leaders (UCFSL) meeting with USHE representatives. Announcements highlighted the January 28 Senate Social at UMNH, the upcoming Political Letter Writing Advocacy short course opportunity, and ASUU leadership nominations deadlines. Written reports from ASUU and UUSC, posted in lieu of their presentations at the November Senate meeting, were added to the meeting materials.

 

  1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Upon a motion from Jeff Druck, seconded by Mark Loewen, the November 3, 2025, Senate meeting minutes were approved.

 

  1. SPECIAL ORDER

Preiss and Senate Program Coordinator Maddie Hile explained the need for a special election to fill Senate Executive Committee Member Sydney Cheek O’Donnell’s upcoming vacancy for the spring term. Voting will be conducted electronically via a Qualtrics ballot, with a 24-hour voting window. Results will be announced after that time after verifying a quorum.

 

  1. REQUEST FOR NEW BUSINESS

There was one request for New Business submitted, explained Preiss, and that had been incorporated elsewhere on the agenda.

 

  1. CONSENT CALENDAR

Senate President Preiss reviewed the Consent Calendar items for the meeting and introduced the nominees for this year’s Distinguished Teaching Awards, noting that the awards recognize exceptional teaching:

  • Erin Carraher (Architecture)
    • Michael Gruenwald (Chemistry)
    • Susan Johnston (Special Education)
    • Michael White (LEAP Program / Honors College)
    • Natalie Stillman-Webb (Writing & Rhetoric)

All Consent Calendar items were approved after a motion from Maureen Mathison and a second from Pamalatera Fenn.

 

  1. REPORTS (ADMINISTRATION; SENATE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE; ASUU; UUSC)    

 

Report from Administration

 

EVP for Health Sciences Bob Carter provided updates that highlighted faculty recognition and a substantive gift to support adolescent mental health initiatives. Discussions on expanding regional medical education in Idaho and federal research advocacy are ongoing. Provost Mitzi Montoya highlighted notable events such as the launch of an enterprise ChatGPT platform for faculty, staff, and students. The President and his office anticipate providing a formal response to the Senate letter on shared governance to Senate President Preiss and Senate Past President Hopf within the week.

 

Vice Provost Sarah Projansky updated the Senate on the progress of SB192-mandated policy revisions, involving University Policies 2-003, 2-004, 6-001, and 6-002. Updates focus on removing ambiguities and meeting state requirements; Projansky emphasized that these are clarifications rather than material changes to Senate authority. The revisions have been reviewed by the President and the Executive Vice Presidents, and faculty feedback will be collected in townhalls on December 2nd and 8th, as well as from the Senate Advisory Committee on Academic Policy and forthcoming presentations to the Senate. An aspirational goal is to present final policy versions to the Board of Trustees for its approval in February.

 

Report from the Senate Executive Committee

Senate President-elect Brent Milne reviewed the meeting’s agenda item placements identified by the Senate Executive Committee (EC) at its November 18th  meeting. He reported that the Senate EC has affirmed reviewing the Policy 6-100 revisions with the Senate in three different subsections to ensure faculty is able to conduct thorough discussions as the policy update is further developed.

 

Report from ASUU

ASUU President Alex Rose provided an update on ASUU leadership activities and priorities, emphasizing ongoing student engagement in shared governance. For instance, the recent ASUU-sponsored Town Hall on the new open weapons carry laws was very successful. He noted that ASUU presidential nominations were open, with a deadline of December 5, and highlighted the importance of faculty encouragement in motivating students to run.

 

Report from UUSC

No UUSC report was given at this meeting.

 

  1. INTENT CALENDAR

There were no items on the Intent Calendar.

 

  1. DEBATE CALENDAR

 

Policy 7-001 Research Misconduct Updates
A review of federally mandated policy updates required by the federal Office of Research Integrity (ORI) was presented by Associate Vice President of Research Integrity & Compliance Caren Frost and Research Integrity Officer Zachary Mitchell. The updates introduce new and revised definitions, formalize the assessment stage in the proceeding, provide clarity to multiple principles and procedures, improve documentation requirements, elevate evidentiary standards, enhance due process rights, and explicitly grant institutions with greater flexibility in making decisions regarding proceedings. After a second from Shaiban Kahn (proxy for J. O’Leary), Maureen Mathison’s motion to approve the policy updates passed. There was 1 abstention.

 

New Program: Criminology MS

Meeting student and workforce demand is a primary goal of a proposed new MS in Criminology program, explained Heather Melton, Director of Criminology. The 30-credit MS program proposal will serve both undergraduates and working professionals. It fills a regional gap in advanced criminology education offerings and builds on the current successful BA/BS Criminology program. Mark Loewen’s motion to approve the proposal was seconded by Pamalatera Fenn and passed.

 

Program Restructure: World Languages and Cultures

Department of World Languages & Cultures Chair Christopher Lewis, Director of Undergraduate Studies Natalya Kuznetsova, and Academic Program Manager Olivia Davis presented a program restructure for the World Languages and Cultures BA. The 11 proposals for Senate review were:

 

  1. Restructure: World Languages and Cultures BA
  2. Discontinue: Chinese BA
  3. Discontinue: Classics BA
  4. Discontinue: French BA
  5. Discontinue: French Teaching BA
  6. Discontinue: German BA
  7. Discontinue: Japanese BA
  8. Discontinue: Religious Studies BA
  9. Discontinue: Russian BA
  10. Discontinue: Spanish BA
  11. Discontinue: Spanish Teaching BA

The department proposes to consolidate all language majors as emphasis tracks under the existing World Languages & Cultures (WLC) BA to streamline resources and student pathways. This will take advantage of the Department’s efficient single-unit model. The French Teaching and Spanish Teaching BAs will be eliminated due to lack of demand. The proposed core follows established university policy, aligns with approved structures in existing majors, and is endorsed by UGS and the Registrar. Teach-out plans and advising capacity were also explained. After a second from Shaiban Kahn (proxy for J. O’Leary), Marcy Roger’s motion to approve the 11 proposals on the Senate Debate Calendar passed.

 

Program Restructure Theatre BA/BS
Department of Theatre Chair Chris DuVal and Director of Undergraduate Studies Sydney Cheek-O’Donnell summarized three proposals:

 

  1. New Program: Theatre BA/BS
  2. Discontinue: Performing Arts Design Emphasis of Theatre BFA
  3. Discontinue: Theatre Studies BA

The new Theatre BA/BS program restructure proposal will discontinue the Theatre Studies BA and the Performing Arts Design BFA emphasis. The proposed curriculum restructure will address the needs to increase graduation rates, attract more majors to the Liberal Arts degree in Theatre, right-size the allocation of faculty workloads, make more efficient use of limited resources, broaden access, and modernize curriculum pathways. Senators discussed student teach-out plans for this transition. A motion from Shaiban Kahn (proxy for J. O’Leary), seconded by Pamalatera Fenn, to approve all of the proposals of the restructuring package passed, with 1 abstention.

Program Restructure: Studio Art BFA

Department Chair of the Department of Art & Art History Temma Balducci presented a program restructuring the Studio Art BFA. The seven proposals for discussion were:

  1. Program Changes, Name change: Art Minor
  2. Suspend: Arts Technology CRU
  3. Discontinue: Arts Technology Minor
  4. Discontinue: Sculpture Intermedia Minor
  5. Discontinue: Printmaking Minor
  6. Discontinue: Photography Minor
  7. Discontinue: Ceramics Minor

The proposals encompass a program redesign to respond to needs identified by university and accreditation requirements, while improving student access, flexibility, faculty workload planning and degree completion. A motion from Mark Loewen to approve the 7 proposals for the restructured program passed after a second from Maureen Mathison.

 

Program Restructure: International and Area Studies BA/BS

Director of Diplomacy and International Studies Hugh Cagle, Director of Asian Studies Cindi Textor, and Director of Middle East Studies Chris Low outlined the benefits of the proposed International and Area Studies BA/BS restructure. The proposals reviewed were:

 

  1. Restructure and Title Change: International and Area Studies BA/BS
  2. Discontinue: International Studies BA/BS
  3. Discontinue: Middle East Studies BA
  4. Discontinue: Latin American Studies BA
  5. Discontinue: Asian Studies BA

International and Area Studies (IAS) presently includes Asian Studies, International Studies, Latin American Studies, and Middle East Studies as separate majors. Under the proposed structure, all four of these will become formal areas of emphasis within a single International and Area Studies major. This restructuring will not incur any new expenses and promotes several core university objectives. A motion from Shaiban Kahn to approve the set of restructuring proposals passed after a second from Maureen Mathison.

 

  1. INFORMATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS CALENDAR

 

Policy 6-100 Revision: Sections N-Z

Vice Provost Chase Hagood, Assistant to the Vice Provost Lindsay Coco, and Policy Director Allyson Hicks explained that Policy 6-100: Instruction and Evaluation is a foundational policy for the university’s academic and teaching mission and needs to be comprehensively reviewed and updated. Developing a carefully considered full policy update began in 2024. A working group of faculty, administrators, and students reviewed the entire policy and is proposing revisions to ensure that it clearly communicates academic requirements, aligns with university practices, promotes student success, and adheres to legislative requirements.

 

Because of the extent of the changes, this important policy overhaul will be brought to the Senate Executive Committee and Senate in stages. Sections N–Z, the sections presented at the meeting, represent only the first portion of a series of policy reviews to gather input. President Preiss described the Policy 6-100 review as a cautious, multi-stage, collaborative process aimed at clarity and alignment with state law and asked that each partial review be treated as informational only. After review and feedback is complete at the various stages, the final entire set of the policy updates will be reviewed by the Senate for its approval at that time to avoid contradictory or piecemeal adoption.

Extended discussion covered incomplete grades, withdrawal deadline setting, financial aid implications and communication to students, CR/NC timing, course repeatability limits, and Latin honors definitions. Senators raised concerns and questions regarding the potential impact of proposed changes on faculty academic discretion and student outcomes, along with a need to understand possible academic, financial, and equity impacts on students. The presenters promised to address requests for data, clarification and impact analysis. Also, the policy group will continue to incorporate feedback into future versions during the collaborative policy development process.

Information and Reports

Senate President Preiss noted the reports and information items included in the meeting materials:

  1. Administration Report to BoT
  2. Academic Senate Report to BoT
  • Nov. 3 ASUU Report to Senate
  1. Nov. 3 UUSC Report to Senate

 

  1. NEW BUSINESS

There were no requests for New Business for this meeting.

 

  1. OPEN DISCUSSION

There was no Open Discussion at this meeting.

 

  1. ADJOURNMENT

Meeting adjourned at 5:38 pm.