Meeting Minutes
ACADEMIC SENATE
December 4, 2017
Call to Order
The regular meeting of the Academic Senate, held on December 4, 2017, was called to order at
3:02 pm by Senate President Margaret Clayton. The meeting was held in the Moot Courtroom of
the College of Law.
Present: Sarah Hinners, Brenda Scheer, Robert Allen, Nitin Bakshi, Brian Cadman,
Annie Fukushima, Alberta Comer, Darryl Butt, James Winkler, John
Funk, Lauren Liang, Rajeev Balasubramonian, Chuck Dorval, Sudeep
Kanungo, Hanseup Kim, Ken Monson, John Regehr, Frank Sachse, James
Sutherland, Denny Berry, Laurel Caryn, Winston Kyan, Bo Foreman,
Stacy Manwaring, Jim Martin, Susan Naidu, Nelson Roy, Alex Terrill,
James Anderson, Katharine Coles, Gema Guevara, Anne Lair, Maureen
Mathison, Randy Dryer, Tom Lund, Luke Leither, Brandon Patterson,
Julie Barkmeier–Kraemer, Pinar Bayrak–Toydemir, Nadia Cobb, Julio
Facelli, Per Gesteland, Antoinette Laskey, Kalani Raphael, Brad
Rockwell, Amnon Schlegel, Debra Simmons, Jessica Wempen, Lauren
Clark, Susanna Cohen, Sara Simonsen, Donald Blumenthal, Ann Engar,
Sarah Bush, Tommaso de Fernex, Richard Ernst, Dmytro Pesin, Pearl
Sandick, Jennifer Shumaker–Parry, Gunseli Berik, Sheila Crowell, Korkut
Erturk, Kim Korinek, Sharon Mastracci, Duncan Metcalfe, Kathleen
Nicoll, Zhou Yu, Jason Castillo, Mary Beth Vogel–Ferguson, Micah
Smith, Chandler Dean, Melanie Barber, Valerie Guerrero, Chase Peterson,
Emina Tatarevic, Jacob Lopez, Elizabeth Pohl, Carley Herrick, Trevor
Annis, Nathan Ong, Ailien Luu, Michael Stapley, Summer Mikkelsen,
Kaitlin McLean, Abigail Stover, India Kozlowski
Absent: Shundana Yusaf, Elena Asparouhova, Shmuel Baruch, Jeff Nielsen, Todd
Zenger, Olga Baker, Mark Durham, Leticia Alvarez, Michael Chikinda,
Ning Lu, Melonie Murray, Eric Hinderaker, Sean Lawson, Lex Newman,
Terry Kogan, Ken Johnson, Shaji Menon, Ravi Chandran, Andrea Bild,
Yekaterina Epshteyn, Dragan Milicic, Adrienne Cachelin, Baodong Liu,
Ananya Roy
Ex Officio: Margaret Clayton, Xan Johnson, Robert Flores, Paul Mogren, Tom
Richmond, Amy Wildermuth,
Excused with proxy: Diego Fernandez, Jon Seger
Excused: Patricia Hanna, John Bramble, Mia Hashibe, Nicole Mihalopoulos,
Thomas Winter, Linda Tyler, Joel Brownstein, David Goldenberg, Joanne
Yaffe, Zach Berger
Others: Jim Pechmann, David Carrier, Emily Beard, Dean McGovern
Approval of Minutes:
The minutes dated November 6, 2017 were approved with a motion from Jim Anderson and a
second from Amnon Schlegel.
Consent Calendar:
No items on the Consent Calendar
Executive Committee Report
Tom Richmond gave an update on the activities of the Executive Committee. He took a poll
regarding whether members of the Senate regularly attend with an electronic device and would
be willing to work with an electronic system for voting and attendance. Most people were in
favor. He also noted that a scheduled presentation for today’s meeting, on new test proctoring
procedures, has been moved to the January Senate meeting due to illness. Everything else that
the Executive Committee has discussed will be heard by the Senate at today’s meeting.
Request for New Business
No new business
Report from Administration:
Associate Vice President for Faculty Amy Wildermuth gave an update on the activities of the U
administration. She discussed the U’s app for emergency management, called U Heads Up. It
includes an emergency response guide and a “see something, say something” tool. She
recommended everyone download the app, in light of recent events such as the campus shooting
and first snowstorm of the year. She discussed building updates, including the new 992–bed
residence hall for first–year students, which will include a large dining facility. It will hold three
thematic residence halls, and also include academic space. There has been an increase in demand
for students seeking housing on campus, and the Salt Lake rental market is currently difficult.
Additionally, students who live on campus for one year are 12 percent more likely to graduate.
Additionally, the Crocker Science Center is almost ready to open, and will serve faculty and
students from all units in the College of Science, as well as from all over campus. The new
rehabilitation hospital has recently broken ground. There will also be a new photovoltaic canopy
over the Merrill Engineering parking lot, which will generate two–three megawatts of energy; it
is scheduled to be constructed this summer. The U recently received a $5 million grant for the
Miller Diabetes Institute, which is focused on research, community outreach, and prevention
regarding diabetes. Utah Women’s Volleyball team advanced to the next round of the NCAA
tournament. The U football team is playing West Virginia in the Heart of Dallas Bowl on
December 26. There are five new presidential scholars, which is an award to recognize early– to
mid–career faculty and support their scholarly endeavors; this year’s scholars are Brian Codding,
Feifei Li, Karl Schwede, Shima Baughman, and Zach Imel. Faculty member Chris Hacon was
recently awarded the 2018 Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics, which is a $3 million prize
recognizing his work in algebraic geometry. Finally, administration wishes everyone health and
happiness during the holiday season.
Approval of Minutes:
The minutes dated November 6, 2017 were approved with a motion from Jim Anderson and a
second from Amnon Schlegel.
Consent Calendar:
No items on the Consent Calendar
Executive Committee Report
Tom Richmond gave an update on the activities of the Executive Committee. He took a poll
regarding whether members of the Senate regularly attend with an electronic device and would
be willing to work with an electronic system for voting and attendance. Most people were in
favor. He also noted that a scheduled presentation for today’s meeting, on new test proctoring
procedures, has been moved to the January Senate meeting due to illness. Everything else that
the Executive Committee has discussed will be heard by the Senate at today’s meeting.
Request for New Business
No new business
Report from Administration:
Associate Vice President for Faculty Amy Wildermuth gave an update on the activities of the U
administration. She discussed the U’s app for emergency management, called U Heads Up. It
includes an emergency response guide and a “see something, say something” tool. She
recommended everyone download the app, in light of recent events such as the campus shooting
and first snowstorm of the year. She discussed building updates, including the new 992–bed
residence hall for first–year students, which will include a large dining facility. It will hold three
thematic residence halls, and also include academic space. There has been an increase in demand
for students seeking housing on campus, and the Salt Lake rental market is currently difficult.
Additionally, students who live on campus for one year are 12 percent more likely to graduate.
Additionally, the Crocker Science Center is almost ready to open, and will serve faculty and
students from all units in the College of Science, as well as from all over campus. The new
rehabilitation hospital has recently broken ground. There will also be a new photovoltaic canopy
over the Merrill Engineering parking lot, which will generate two–three megawatts of energy; it
is scheduled to be constructed this summer. The U recently received a $5 million grant for the
Miller Diabetes Institute, which is focused on research, community outreach, and prevention
regarding diabetes. Utah Women’s Volleyball team advanced to the next round of the NCAA
tournament. The U football team is playing West Virginia in the Heart of Dallas Bowl on
December 26. There are five new presidential scholars, which is an award to recognize early– to
mid–career faculty and support their scholarly endeavors; this year’s scholars are Brian Codding,
Feifei Li, Karl Schwede, Shima Baughman, and Zach Imel. Faculty member Chris Hacon was
recently awarded the 2018 Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics, which is a $3 million prize
recognizing his work in algebraic geometry. Finally, administration wishes everyone health and
happiness during the holiday season.
Report from ASUU
Chandler Dean gave an update on the recent activities of ASUU. Stressbuster Week, or Geek
Week, is starting this week, and includes free food, puppies in the Marriott Library for stress
relief, and other activities. Chandler also noted that the ASUU Senate recently passed a
resolution regarding the proposed federal tax bills, which have the potential to affect all students
on campus, including graduate students and students who take more than four years to graduate.
The resolution includes a statement of opposition and will likely pass the ASUU Assembly
tomorrow. It will then be sent to Utah’s congressional delegation. Another resolution
recommends a new student fee be created for mental health support, to bring more mental health
assistance and counselors to campus. Zoe Kozlowski and Saeed Shihab, the two ASUU vice
presidents, are happy to accept feedback on this issue. Finally, Chandler noted that ASUU is
starting revisions on Redbook, the ASUU constitution.
Notice of Intent
No items of intent
Debate Calendar
Denise Dearing, Leslie Sieburth, and Mike Shapiro presented a proposal to change the name of
the Department of Biology to the School of Biological Sciences. Biology is currently the largest
department on main campus, with 48 tenure–line faculty, and has tremendous breath of
disciplinary areas. Becoming a school will recognize the breadth and size of the unit, and puts
the unit on par with other Pac–12 institutions, where biology is often organized into a school. The
new structure will also help the unit recruit faculty and postdocs; and will hopefully also
facilitate the attraction of a donor to name the unit. Motion was made by Jim Anderson to
approve the proposal and forward to the Board of Trustees. Motion seconded by Lauren Clark.
Motion passed unanimously.
Heather Melton presented a proposal for a new BA/BS in Criminology and Criminal Justice.
Heather was hired by the U in part to run the Criminology certificate in the Department of
Sociology. There has long been student demand for this BA/BS, and its absence has served as a
deterrent for some students who have looked at attending the U but have ultimately enrolled
elsewhere. Establishing a major will create a pathway for students at Salt Lake Community
College who earn an associate’s degree in this area and transfer to the U. This degree is also
desired by local industry, so it will make students more marketable following graduation.
Finally, the degree is interdisciplinary, which reflects the nature of the field. The degree will
include courses from four colleges on campus. Katharine Coles asked a question about potential
overlap with the Weber State University degree in Criminal Justice; Heather said that this degree
is more broad, and thus fills a distinct need. Motion was made by Jim Anderson to approve the
proposal and forward to the Board of Trustees. Motion seconded by Randy Dryer. Motion
passed unanimously.
Amie Klein, Elena Enioutina, and Edward Clark presented a proposal for a new PhD in Clinical
Pharmacology. It is designed specifically for those interested in translational research and
Chandler Dean gave an update on the recent activities of ASUU. Stressbuster Week, or Geek
Week, is starting this week, and includes free food, puppies in the Marriott Library for stress
relief, and other activities. Chandler also noted that the ASUU Senate recently passed a
resolution regarding the proposed federal tax bills, which have the potential to affect all students
on campus, including graduate students and students who take more than four years to graduate.
The resolution includes a statement of opposition and will likely pass the ASUU Assembly
tomorrow. It will then be sent to Utah’s congressional delegation. Another resolution
recommends a new student fee be created for mental health support, to bring more mental health
assistance and counselors to campus. Zoe Kozlowski and Saeed Shihab, the two ASUU vice
presidents, are happy to accept feedback on this issue. Finally, Chandler noted that ASUU is
starting revisions on Redbook, the ASUU constitution.
Notice of Intent
No items of intent
Debate Calendar
Denise Dearing, Leslie Sieburth, and Mike Shapiro presented a proposal to change the name of
the Department of Biology to the School of Biological Sciences. Biology is currently the largest
department on main campus, with 48 tenure–line faculty, and has tremendous breath of
disciplinary areas. Becoming a school will recognize the breadth and size of the unit, and puts
the unit on par with other Pac–12 institutions, where biology is often organized into a school. The
new structure will also help the unit recruit faculty and postdocs; and will hopefully also
facilitate the attraction of a donor to name the unit. Motion was made by Jim Anderson to
approve the proposal and forward to the Board of Trustees. Motion seconded by Lauren Clark.
Motion passed unanimously.
Heather Melton presented a proposal for a new BA/BS in Criminology and Criminal Justice.
Heather was hired by the U in part to run the Criminology certificate in the Department of
Sociology. There has long been student demand for this BA/BS, and its absence has served as a
deterrent for some students who have looked at attending the U but have ultimately enrolled
elsewhere. Establishing a major will create a pathway for students at Salt Lake Community
College who earn an associate’s degree in this area and transfer to the U. This degree is also
desired by local industry, so it will make students more marketable following graduation.
Finally, the degree is interdisciplinary, which reflects the nature of the field. The degree will
include courses from four colleges on campus. Katharine Coles asked a question about potential
overlap with the Weber State University degree in Criminal Justice; Heather said that this degree
is more broad, and thus fills a distinct need. Motion was made by Jim Anderson to approve the
proposal and forward to the Board of Trustees. Motion seconded by Randy Dryer. Motion
passed unanimously.
Amie Klein, Elena Enioutina, and Edward Clark presented a proposal for a new PhD in Clinical
Pharmacology. It is designed specifically for those interested in translational research and
clinical pharmacology. The program specializes primarily in clinical pharmacology in pediatric
patients, and there are very few programs with this area of focus. It will be the only such PhD
program in the Utah System of Higher Education. Its creation is in response to significant student
demand in this area, as well as workforce shortages. The program will initially accept two
students per year, and students will be in close contact with peers and faculty in the College of
Pharmacy. They will also interact with clinical pharmacology postdoctoral fellows. The program
requires 64 credit hours. Motion was made by Julio Facelli to approve the proposal and forward
to the Board of Trustees. Motion seconded by Per Gesteland. Motion passed unanimously.
Angela Smith and Kathryn Stockton presented a proposal to transfer responsibility over the
Disability Studies curriculum from the College of Health to the School for Cultural and Social
Transformation. This is a pivotal moment to establish Disability Studies as a permanent feature
of an R1 institution; its existence is not assured if it does not find an institutional home. There is
an undergraduate minor and a suspended graduate certificate that will be moved to the SCST.
There is strong support in the divisions within the SCST, and the school is in the process of a
faculty search for a scholar in this area. It has become quite central to the study of gender,
ethnicity, and race, so it fits well within the work of the SCST. Senate members made several
suggestions for partnerships, including with the Marriott Library, the College of Nursing, the
College of Architecture + Planning, and the College of Law, which the presenters agreed to
explore. Motion was made by Katharine Coles to approve the proposal and forward to the Board
of Trustees. Motion seconded by Brenda Scheer. Motion passed unanimously.
Steve Carson presented a proposal for a new minor in Professional Sales in the College of
Business. The proposal is a result of requests from the professional community, and has the
support of several corporate partners. Sales is not often taught on campus, but graduates from
across campus often find themselves in positions that require sales knowledge. It is an important
service that will be offered to the U community. There are 18 credit hours, including a core
marketing course, personal selling course, and between two and four electives. The program
hope to attract students from majors across campus. Motion was made by Xan Johnson to
approve the proposal and forward to the Board of Trustees. Motion seconded by Sara Simonsen.
Motion passed unanimously.
Information and Recommendations Calendar
The following items were presented for the information and recommendations of the Academic
Senate:
Steve Carson presented a new emphasis in professional sales for the Marketing BA/BS.
The new emphasis frees up two courses from the major that eliminates a marketing and a
statistics course, to be replaced with two sales courses. This proposal was created due to
industry demand.
Sarah Projansky and Kevin Hanson presented a new emphasis in Media Arts Production
for the Department of Film and Media Arts. The outside reviewers for the department’s
seven–year review suggested the creation of new emphases, in Film Production and
Media Arts Production. The Film Production emphasis has already been established. A
patients, and there are very few programs with this area of focus. It will be the only such PhD
program in the Utah System of Higher Education. Its creation is in response to significant student
demand in this area, as well as workforce shortages. The program will initially accept two
students per year, and students will be in close contact with peers and faculty in the College of
Pharmacy. They will also interact with clinical pharmacology postdoctoral fellows. The program
requires 64 credit hours. Motion was made by Julio Facelli to approve the proposal and forward
to the Board of Trustees. Motion seconded by Per Gesteland. Motion passed unanimously.
Angela Smith and Kathryn Stockton presented a proposal to transfer responsibility over the
Disability Studies curriculum from the College of Health to the School for Cultural and Social
Transformation. This is a pivotal moment to establish Disability Studies as a permanent feature
of an R1 institution; its existence is not assured if it does not find an institutional home. There is
an undergraduate minor and a suspended graduate certificate that will be moved to the SCST.
There is strong support in the divisions within the SCST, and the school is in the process of a
faculty search for a scholar in this area. It has become quite central to the study of gender,
ethnicity, and race, so it fits well within the work of the SCST. Senate members made several
suggestions for partnerships, including with the Marriott Library, the College of Nursing, the
College of Architecture + Planning, and the College of Law, which the presenters agreed to
explore. Motion was made by Katharine Coles to approve the proposal and forward to the Board
of Trustees. Motion seconded by Brenda Scheer. Motion passed unanimously.
Steve Carson presented a proposal for a new minor in Professional Sales in the College of
Business. The proposal is a result of requests from the professional community, and has the
support of several corporate partners. Sales is not often taught on campus, but graduates from
across campus often find themselves in positions that require sales knowledge. It is an important
service that will be offered to the U community. There are 18 credit hours, including a core
marketing course, personal selling course, and between two and four electives. The program
hope to attract students from majors across campus. Motion was made by Xan Johnson to
approve the proposal and forward to the Board of Trustees. Motion seconded by Sara Simonsen.
Motion passed unanimously.
Information and Recommendations Calendar
The following items were presented for the information and recommendations of the Academic
Senate:
Steve Carson presented a new emphasis in professional sales for the Marketing BA/BS.
The new emphasis frees up two courses from the major that eliminates a marketing and a
statistics course, to be replaced with two sales courses. This proposal was created due to
industry demand.
Sarah Projansky and Kevin Hanson presented a new emphasis in Media Arts Production
for the Department of Film and Media Arts. The outside reviewers for the department’s
seven–year review suggested the creation of new emphases, in Film Production and
Media Arts Production. The Film Production emphasis has already been established. A
Media Arts scholar was recently hired, and has created new curriculum in this area; a new
Media Arts producer is in the process of being hired. The new emphasis also has
significant student demand.
Michael Free presented new emphases for Metallurgical Engineering. The new emphases
are driven by student interest in specializing in various areas, and in reducing the number
of core courses (currently 33 hours; the new emphases will reduce this number to 27
hours). Most emphases have three electives that students may select; this gives students
greater flexibility in their schedules, and more choice to specialize in their area of
interest. The areas of emphasis are biomedical devices and sensors, chemical processing,
energy conversion and storage, mineral/particle processing, nuclear materials, and
physical metallurgy.
Scott Schaefer presented new emphases for the Qualitative Analysis of Markets and
Organizations (QAMO) major. The major is designed to teach students how to utilize
economics to analyze business decision–making. Existing emphases include Finance and
Accounting; this proposal will add emphases in Marketing, Management, and
Entrepreneurship. This will enable students to combine knowledge of economics with
knowledge of specific aspects of business disciplines to seek careers and make a
difference.
Katie Ullman presented the Graduate Council report of a seven–year review of the
Department of Biochemistry.
Robin Burr presented an update on the new south campus housing project. Research
shows that undergraduate students who live on campus in their first year perform better
academically over time, and are retained and graduate at higher rates. There is also a
shortage of housing on campus; the U has undertaken creative occupancy strategies to
address demand, but has still turned students away who desire to live on campus.
Additionally, the Salt Lake City rental market is very tight, and housing costs are very
high. The U is also attracting more students from out–of–state and overseas, which
contributes to increasing demand. The new project will have 992 beds, and a 650–seat
dining space. The dining space will also serve two existing student housing facilities, the
Lassonde Studios and the Marriott Honors Community. The new complex will be located
near the Marriott Honors building and the Student Life Center, and will take over the old
women’s soccer field and part of the adjacent parking lot. The building design will
consist of a central hub, where most entry and exit will occur, as well as three wings.
Each residential wing will have a theme; there will be an Honors wing, a health and
wellness wing, and a community engagement wing with ties to the Bennion Center.
There will be a variety of room configurations available to residents. The U plans to ask
the legislature for a bond to support the construction of this building, to be repaid with
revenue from the housing fees. The complex is expected to open in fall 2020. Senate
members offered numerous questions and comments about the planned new facility, and
about on–campus student housing generally. Some common themes of the discussion
were that the U is quickly changing from a predominantly commuter campus to a campus
with a significant portion of undergraduate and graduate students residing in on–campus
housing, and that students who reside on campus increasingly are relying strictly on
Media Arts producer is in the process of being hired. The new emphasis also has
significant student demand.
Michael Free presented new emphases for Metallurgical Engineering. The new emphases
are driven by student interest in specializing in various areas, and in reducing the number
of core courses (currently 33 hours; the new emphases will reduce this number to 27
hours). Most emphases have three electives that students may select; this gives students
greater flexibility in their schedules, and more choice to specialize in their area of
interest. The areas of emphasis are biomedical devices and sensors, chemical processing,
energy conversion and storage, mineral/particle processing, nuclear materials, and
physical metallurgy.
Scott Schaefer presented new emphases for the Qualitative Analysis of Markets and
Organizations (QAMO) major. The major is designed to teach students how to utilize
economics to analyze business decision–making. Existing emphases include Finance and
Accounting; this proposal will add emphases in Marketing, Management, and
Entrepreneurship. This will enable students to combine knowledge of economics with
knowledge of specific aspects of business disciplines to seek careers and make a
difference.
Katie Ullman presented the Graduate Council report of a seven–year review of the
Department of Biochemistry.
Robin Burr presented an update on the new south campus housing project. Research
shows that undergraduate students who live on campus in their first year perform better
academically over time, and are retained and graduate at higher rates. There is also a
shortage of housing on campus; the U has undertaken creative occupancy strategies to
address demand, but has still turned students away who desire to live on campus.
Additionally, the Salt Lake City rental market is very tight, and housing costs are very
high. The U is also attracting more students from out–of–state and overseas, which
contributes to increasing demand. The new project will have 992 beds, and a 650–seat
dining space. The dining space will also serve two existing student housing facilities, the
Lassonde Studios and the Marriott Honors Community. The new complex will be located
near the Marriott Honors building and the Student Life Center, and will take over the old
women’s soccer field and part of the adjacent parking lot. The building design will
consist of a central hub, where most entry and exit will occur, as well as three wings.
Each residential wing will have a theme; there will be an Honors wing, a health and
wellness wing, and a community engagement wing with ties to the Bennion Center.
There will be a variety of room configurations available to residents. The U plans to ask
the legislature for a bond to support the construction of this building, to be repaid with
revenue from the housing fees. The complex is expected to open in fall 2020. Senate
members offered numerous questions and comments about the planned new facility, and
about on–campus student housing generally. Some common themes of the discussion
were that the U is quickly changing from a predominantly commuter campus to a campus
with a significant portion of undergraduate and graduate students residing in on–campus
housing, and that students who reside on campus increasingly are relying strictly on
public transportation rather than owning personal vehicles which require on–campus
parking spaces.
The October President’s Report was brought forward with no discussion.
New Business
No new business
Open Discussion
The following remarks were made during the Open Discussion portion of the meeting.
Dean McGovern, Bennion Center– The Bennion Center is now accepting applications for
the Public Service professorship, which is a prestigious award that comes with
recognition at commencement, a $7,500 award to implement a community engagement
project, and a portrait on the fourth floor of the Union. Applications will be accepted
through the end of January 2018. Additionally, the Distinguished Faculty Service Award
application is also open through January 2018; it includes a $1,000 award that is a
donation to a community partner of the awardee’s choice.
Nadia Cobb, Medicine– Last month, Nadia raised a concern regarding security of
buildings and safety of faculty/ staff/ student occupants of buildings in Research Park,
where several buildings are not secure and have nearly 24/7 public access. She urges
attention to these outlying buildings that are not secured. This concern was seconded by
Julio Facelli. Amy Wildermuth requested that faculty send the names of the buildings of
concern to her so that she may address the issue.
Brandon Patterson, Libraries– The leadership of the University’s Anti–Racism Task Force
was recently announced, and Brandon wanted to know if there were ways that the
Academic Senate could complement this work. He wants the Senate to not only condemn
racism but promote diversity and inclusion. He suggested that the leaders of the task
force be invited to speak at the Senate.
Chuck Dorval, Engineering– Chuck brought up the new smoke–free policy and wants to
ensure that there is a real discussion prior to the final implementation of the policy. He
suggested that a mid–year report be brought before the Senate. President Mardie Clayton
responded with the following information: a series of open faculty forums have been
launched, and the first has been held. They have been announced in the @theU
newsletter. A best practices recommendation for implementing a responsible and
compassionate non–smoking environment will be presented to the Senate in March or
April.
Gunseli Berik, Social & Behavioral Science– Gunseli brought up a concern about idling
cars on campus. As an example, Salt Lake City has a no–idle ordinance, and Gunseli is
wondering whether at the University Commuter Services could issue warnings regarding
idling, which is a health and environmental concern.
Adjournment
Meeting adjourned at 4:37 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Maddy Oritt
parking spaces.
The October President’s Report was brought forward with no discussion.
New Business
No new business
Open Discussion
The following remarks were made during the Open Discussion portion of the meeting.
Dean McGovern, Bennion Center– The Bennion Center is now accepting applications for
the Public Service professorship, which is a prestigious award that comes with
recognition at commencement, a $7,500 award to implement a community engagement
project, and a portrait on the fourth floor of the Union. Applications will be accepted
through the end of January 2018. Additionally, the Distinguished Faculty Service Award
application is also open through January 2018; it includes a $1,000 award that is a
donation to a community partner of the awardee’s choice.
Nadia Cobb, Medicine– Last month, Nadia raised a concern regarding security of
buildings and safety of faculty/ staff/ student occupants of buildings in Research Park,
where several buildings are not secure and have nearly 24/7 public access. She urges
attention to these outlying buildings that are not secured. This concern was seconded by
Julio Facelli. Amy Wildermuth requested that faculty send the names of the buildings of
concern to her so that she may address the issue.
Brandon Patterson, Libraries– The leadership of the University’s Anti–Racism Task Force
was recently announced, and Brandon wanted to know if there were ways that the
Academic Senate could complement this work. He wants the Senate to not only condemn
racism but promote diversity and inclusion. He suggested that the leaders of the task
force be invited to speak at the Senate.
Chuck Dorval, Engineering– Chuck brought up the new smoke–free policy and wants to
ensure that there is a real discussion prior to the final implementation of the policy. He
suggested that a mid–year report be brought before the Senate. President Mardie Clayton
responded with the following information: a series of open faculty forums have been
launched, and the first has been held. They have been announced in the @theU
newsletter. A best practices recommendation for implementing a responsible and
compassionate non–smoking environment will be presented to the Senate in March or
April.
Gunseli Berik, Social & Behavioral Science– Gunseli brought up a concern about idling
cars on campus. As an example, Salt Lake City has a no–idle ordinance, and Gunseli is
wondering whether at the University Commuter Services could issue warnings regarding
idling, which is a health and environmental concern.
Adjournment
Meeting adjourned at 4:37 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Maddy Oritt