Meeting Minutes
ACADEMIC SENATE MINUTES
January 5, 2015
Call to Order
The regular meeting of the Academic Senate, held on January 5, 2015, was called to order at 3:02 p.m. by Steve Alder, Senate President. The meeting was held in HSEB 1730.
Present: David Ailion, Chrisoula Andreou, Olga Baker, A.K. Balaji, Keith Bartholomew, Kelly Bricker, Alicia Brillon, Nilufer Cagatay, Marjorie Chan, Thomas Cheatham, Cindy Chen, John Conboy, Michael Cottle, Thomas Cova, Robin Craig, Mollie Cummins, Angel Demirev, Justin Diggle, David Dinter, Maria Dobozy, Randy Dryer, Nadja Durbach, Frances Friedrich, Caren Frost, Disa Gambera, Jennifer Garvin, Stephen Goldsmith, Mary Elizabeth Hartnett, David Hill, Robert Hitchcock, Michelle Hofmann, Lynn Hollister, Brandon Jennings, Peter Jensen, Paul Jewell, Xan Johnson, Katherine Kendall, John T. Langell, Eric Leishman, Melissa Lewis, Sandra McIntyre, Julie Metos, Meredith Metzger , Anthony Minjarez, Jill Moriearty, Alfred Mowdood, Maureen A. Murtaugh, Yongmei Ni, Ingrid E. Nygaard, Richard Paine, Adrian Palmer, Les Podlog, Janiece Pompa, Christy Porucznik, M. Pollie Price, Ravi Ranjan, Lorie Gage Richards, Stephanie Richardson, Steve Roens, Gerald Root, Lauryn Roth, Paul J. Shami, Lien Fan Shen, Debra Simmons, Justin Spangler, John Sperry, Lina Svedin, David Temme, Andrejs Treibergs, Norman Waitzman, Ming Wen, Joanne Yaffe
Absent: Peter Alfeld, Karin Baumgartner, Ana Christine Bentz, Lyda Bigelow, Joan Brenner-Coltrain, Kate Canas, Ryann Cooley, Devin Daniels, Xiao Fang, Anna Ferguson, Ole Fischer, Camille George, Jordan Gerton, Leanne Hawken, Michael Hawkins, Avery Holton, Christian Johnson, Nisha Kavalam, Jindrich Kopecek, Lori Kowaleski-Jones, Maritza Lara, Xiaoyue Liu, Uri Loewenstein, Gary Lowder, William Lowrance, Matthew Markham, Joe Marotta, Patrick Panos, Matthew Potolsky, Reva Rauk, Jody Rosenblatt, Michael Shapiro, Kristin Smith-Crowe, John Paul Soares, Robert A. Stephenson, David Stevenson, Satin Tashnizi, Edward M. Trujillo, Raymond Tymas-Jones, Rachel Wootton, Taryn Young, Jingyi Zhu
Ex-officio: Stephen Alder, Robert Flores, Harriet Hopf, William Johnson, Paul A. Mogren, Allyson Mower, David Pershing, Amy Wildermuth, Shawnee Worsley
Excused with Proxy: Greg Clark for Orly Alter, Lex Newman for Anne Jamison, Franz Goller for Jack Longino, Peter Stang for Joel Miller
Excused: Vivian S. Lee, Ruth Watkins
Others: Maureen Condic, Jeff Herring
Approval of Minutes
The minutes of the Academic Senate meeting on December 1, 2014, were approved without any objections.
Request for New Business
No new business
Consent Calendar
The resignations, retirements, and faculty and administrator appointments dated January 5, 2015, received approval to forward to the Board of Trustees on motion by Joanne Yaffe and seconded by Jill Moriearty. The motion passed unanimously.
Executive Committee Report
William Johnson, Academic Senate President Elect, provided a summary of the Executive Committee meeting held December 15, 2014.
Report from Administration
President Pershing gave an update on campus activities. The Student Life Center will open next week with official dedication in February. The Utah Governor’s budget was released this week and includes a recommendation of 3% increase in salary for state employees. He also recommended funding for the Crocker Science Building in his budget.
The Building Board met again last week, and after initially turning it down, they approved the proposal on replacing Orson Spencer Hall. The proposal will now move forward to the legislative process.
The Northwest Parking structure located by the Park building is on schedule to be completed in July 2015. The Business Loop Garage will be complete in early May 2015.
Report from ASUU
Justin Spangler, ASUU Student Body President, gave an update on student activities. The Students are excited for the opening of the Student Life Center and will be involved in the dedication in February. Geek Week was another huge success with many students participating.
Notice of Intent
No items of Intent
Debate Calendar
The proposed Faculty Club Constitution Revision was presented by Xan Johnson. The only change is the addition of adjunct faculty as eligible for membership in the club (a change which Senate members requested during discussion of a set of other revisions approved at the November 2014 meeting). The motion to approve and forward to the Board of Trustees was made by Harriet Hopf and seconded by Randy Dryer. Motion passed unanimously.
Katie Ward and Pam Hardin presented proposals for the following new Graduate Certificates in Nursing:
Graduate Certificate in Family Nurse Practitioner
Graduate Certificate in Nursing Education
Graduate Certificate in Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
Graduate Certificate in Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
Graduate Certificate in Nurse Midwifery
There will be no impact on instructional activities with the creation of these Graduate Certificates since faculty are already teaching courses that will be delivered in the Certificate programs. The Graduate Certificates were discussed and approved at the Master’s and DNP Curriculum Committee meeting in August 2014 and approved at the general College of Nursing College Council in October 2014. A motion was made by Norman Waitzman to combine the first four proposals into one package for voting (excluding Nurse Midwifery, for which additional discussion would be needed). The motion was seconded by Xan Johnson and passed unanimously. The motion to approve those four proposals and forward to the Board of Trustees was made by Caren Frost and seconded by Lorie Richards. Motion passed unanimously.
The certificate in Nurse Midwifery is targeted towards students in nursing who have earned a Master’s or DNP degree and hold a national certification in other population foci, but are wishing to add this additional area of practice. Each course offered in the NMW certificate program is already offered in the Nurse Midwifery DNP program. The motion to approve this certificate and forward to the Board of Trustees was made by Xan Johnson and seconded by David Ailion. Motion passed unanimously.
Information Calendar
The following items were presented for the information and recommendations of the Academic Senate:
- Proposal for Chemical Engineering Emphasis for Chemistry BA/BS
- Proposal for Statistical Analysis for Economics BA/BS
- 2013-14 annual report of the Athletics Advisory Council
- College of Social and Behavioral Science College Council Charter
- Marriott Library Council Charter
- Recommendation for the 2015 University Distinguished Teaching Awards
Regarding the two council charters, in response to questions it was explained that the final authority to approve such charters rests with the Senate Executive Committee (per Policy 6-003), and that the Senate leadership with assistance of the Office for Faculty and the academic deans is in the midst of a project of reviewing the charters of all of the college councils, leading to revisions to ensure effective functioning of the councils. This project was initiated largely in response to concerns raised during Senate discussions over the past three years by Senate members concerned that various academic proposals were arriving at the Senate without having previously received careful vetting by faculty representatives through the appropriate college council. This led to recognition that councils of some colleges in recent years had not been functioning effectively in their important roles in the University’s overall system of shared governance (see Policy 6-001). Through the joint project, several councils have now been reorganized and revitalized, as reflected in revised charters recently approved by Executive Committee, and others are up for review.
Regarding the Teaching Awards, it was pointed out that none of the recipients for this year are women, and there was discussion on how awards are selected and if there is enough diversity in the selection process. It was suggested and by consensus agreed to ask for guidance to be sent to the selection committee from the Senior VP’s office on ensuring diverse nominations.
Adjournment
Meeting adjourned at 3:50 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Shawnee Worsley