Meeting Minutes
ACADEMIC SENATE
Minutes
January 9, 2023
- CALL TO ORDER AND Announcements
The regular meeting of the Academic Senate, held on January 9, 2023, was called to order at 3:00 pm by Senate President Sonia Salari. As had been announced on the Senate website and by email, this meeting was held using the Zoom online meeting platform. Attendance was confirmed by requiring Senate members (and invited guests and public attendees) to register in advance for the online meeting.
Present: Michael Abrahamson, Soheila Amirsoleimani, Andrew Anderson, Yoshimi Anzai, Michael Battistone, Pinar Bayrak-Toydemir, James Bekker, Adrian Bell, Matthew Bettini, David Bowling, Jonathan Brogaard, Kenneth Bromberg, Jen Brown, Richard Brown, Timothy Brusseau, Marc Calaf, Jon Chaika, Owen Chan, Holden Cheney, Gerald Cochran, Kevin Coe, Frank Drews, Nanette Dudley, Katie Durante, Nadja Durbach, Atif Ellahie, Melinda Fagan, Zak Fang, Stacy Firth, Julia Franklin, Gina Frey, Manu Goyal, Jesse Graham, Lela Graybill, Amos Guiora, Sara Hart, Tucker Hermans, Anna Hodgson, Heather Holmes, Harriet Hopf, Howard Horwitz, Rory Hume, Susan Johnston, Bryan Jones, Jay Jordan, Sam Judd, Srabani Karmakar, James Karner, Seth Keeton, Sejin Kim, Kai Kuck, Shelley Lawrence, John Lin, Jack Longino, Alysse Loomis, Benvin Lozada, Sarah Lucas, Kate Lunnen, Stacy Manwaring, Mikaila McIntyre, Nancy McLaughlin, Meeyoung Min, Eugene Mishchenko, Ed Muñoz, AJ Myers, Anna Neatrour, Dave Norwood, Adrian Palmer, Yihui Pan, Robert Parker, Alek Peterlin, Susie Porter, Codrina Rada, Sean Redmond, Alessandro Rigolon, Ofer Rog, Carol Sansone, Nathan Seegert, Xiaoming Sheng, Chris Simon, Jamesina Simpson, Wayne Springer, Sondra Stegenga , Casey Tak, Anthony Tenney, Maggie Tesch, Patrick Tripeny, Jessica Van Der Volgen, Jim VanDerslice, Seetha Veeraghanta, Muskan Walia, Ryan Walker, Jennifer Watt, Melodie Weller, Peter West, Jaclyn Winter, Zhou Yu
Excused with substitute: Jessica Brown, Janis Louie
Excused: Luca Brunelli, Eric Handman
Absent: Steven Bartlett, Melissa Bobick, Simon Brewer, Lizabeth Cowgill, Janice Darko, Ganesh Gopalakrishnan, Max Hernandez-Nietling, William Holland, Youjeong Kang, Audrey Laney, Titus Larrieu, Alyssa Lee, Feng Liu, Frank McAlpin, Will Nesse, Paul Shami, Matt Tokson, Kilo Zamora
Ex Officio: Mike Braak, Shanti Deemyad, Robert Fujinami, Michael Good, Savannah Manwill, Paul Mogren, Allyson Mower, Christina Porucznik, Sarah Projansky, Taylor Randall, Lisa Rigtrup, Sonia Salari, Mitzi Montoya, Jane Laird
Announcements:
Senate President Sonia Salari asked Senators to reserve January 30 for the next Senate social event. She also expressed the Senate’s gratitude to Martel Teasley for his commitment to shared governance and day-to-day operations during his tenure as Interim SVPAA. Mitzi Montoya began as SVPAA on January 1, 2023, and Sonia welcomed SVP Montoya to the meeting.
- APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The minutes dated December 5, 2022, were approved upon a motion from Shanti Deemyad and a second from James Bekker. There was 1 abstention.
- REQUEST FOR NEW BUSINESS
There were no requests for New Business
- CONSENT CALENDAR
Senate President Salari identified the items on the meeting’s Consent Calendar:
- Faculty Appointments Report
- Distinguished Teaching Awards Nominations
- Program Discontinuation: BS Athletic Training
- Additional Compensation Policy 5-403
- Senate Endorsement of the Undergraduate Council Statement: Academic budget models and faculty values
She explained that the Undergraduate Council has asked that the Senate endorse its statement on academic budget models and faculty values. The University Teaching Committee also recommends Senate approval of the following nominations for the Distinguished Teaching Awards:
- Brian Codding, Associate Professor, Anthropology
- Kevin Hanson, Associate Professor, Film and Media Arts
- Claudio Holzner, Professor, Political Science
- Kirk Nichols, Associate Professor (Lecturer), Parks, Recreation and Tourism
- Alf Seegert, Associate Professor (Lecturer), English
All items on the Consent Calendar were approved after a motion from Jay Jordan and a second from Benvin Lozada. There were two abstentions.
- REPORTS
Report from Administration
President Taylor Randall gave a safety briefing to the Senate, adding that there was a safety event of note over the holidays—an attempted break-in at campus housing. He also discussed the events planned for the upcoming Martin Luther King Day and the University’s Day of Collective Action. He introduced newly appointed SVP for Academic Affairs/Provost Mitzi Montoya. She said that she was looking forward to meeting with individual units and faculty members as she gets more familiar with campus. SVP Michael Good explained that that the UofU health facilities saw decreasing rates of RSV, influenza and Covid cases.
President Randall also advised Senator Kate Lunnen that his office will follow up with her to give a status on state plumbing code updates that affect ASUU’s implementation of multiple gender free multi-stall restrooms on campus.
President Randall also reminded Senators that the 2023 Utah legislation period is underway. The University has one spokesperson, Jason Perry, who communicates on its behalf with the Utah Legislature. It is important for University employees to remember that they are always encouraged to express their opinions as private citizens, but also need to strictly avoid using UofU email and other official institutional resources and titles when expressing those.
Executive Committee Report
Senate President-elect Shanti Deemyad summarized the disposition of the items presented at the Senate Executive Committee December 12 meeting, outlining the matters placed on the Consent, Intent, Information, and Debate calendars.
Report from ASUU
ASUU VP Benvin Lozada updated the Senate on the recent student concerns expressed about housing and Housing Residential Education (HRE). Representatives from ASUU and HRE met with President Randall in December 2022 to form a working group to address these student concerns and improve communications. The ASUU Campus Safety Survey has been distributed and ASUU election season is underway. ASUU Senate Chair Muskan Walia updated the Senate about other ASUU initiatives and upcoming resolutions.
- NOTICE OF INTENT CALENDAR
There were no items for the Notice of Intent Calendar
- DEBATE CALENDAR
New Minor Educational Psychology
Director of BA/BS Educational Psychology Program Julia Hood explained that the success of the a major in this area prompted the department to propose a new minor in Educational Psychology. This minor will give students training and expertise in behavioral and mental health, services that are currently in high local and national demand. This is especially helpful for students who want it to complement another major. The minor course work can lead directly to employment opportunities including earning a certification as an assistant behavior analyst. After a second from Jen Brown, Harriet Hopf’s motion to approve the proposal passed.
- INFORMATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS CALENDAR
Athletics Compliance Report
Jason Greco, Senior Associate Athletics Director for Compliance, and Jason Burrow-Sanchez, Faculty Athletic Representative updated the Senate on the status of NCAA athletics rules compliance. Jason Greco gave a summary of the Athletics Compliance program structure. The Compliance Office goals focus on taking a proactive and collaborative approach to education, monitoring, and communication to ensure rules compliance. He also delineated the breakdown of the three levels of NCAA violations and types of responses. Discussion continued with exploration or reasons why there are a high number of athletes in the transfer portal and what the long-term impact of changes within the membership of the PAC 12 might be.
Mental Health Resources Report
Sherrá Watkins, AVP for Health and Wellness, and Scott McAward, Executive Director of University Counseling Center, were joined by Vice President for Student Affairs
Lori McDonald to present the Mental Health Resources report. Sherrá walked the Senate through recent student mental health survey results. Scott outlined changes in utilization of counselling resources, the new step model, and challenges students currently face based on the Healthy Minds Survey. Sherrá emphasized the importance of prevention and outreach with departments and a wide range of campus stakeholders. Scott laid out the three primary agencies for mental health services, and changes to the service delivery strategy to increase access. He highlighted the overall reduction in wait times while utilization has increased. The My Student Support Program (My SSP) supports all students, even those in other states and countries, such as the University of Utah Asia campus. Senate members indicated appreciation for the strategies applied to increase student access to these resources and other developments.
Family & Graduate Student Housing Report
The Senate had issued an invitation to Jennifer Reed, AVP Auxiliary Service, to discuss student concerns about the increases to on-campus housing costs associated with the new constructed housing facilities. Auxiliary Services oversees family and graduate student housing, whereas Housing Residential Education manages undergraduate dorm facilities. The family and graduate housing concern is the result of the closing of outdated housing units, which are antiquated and expensive to maintain. The replacement units will have noticeably higher rents because the new buildings will be financed by a bond issue and, by state statute, must be priced to be self-supporting–therefore the increase in monthly rates. In response, President Randall has established a task force to look at graduate student compensation, and Auxiliary Services is reviewing housing affordability options proposed by student representatives. Graduate School Dean David Kieda also attended to discuss any questions on graduate student compensation. These compensation conversations encompass all stipends, and not just compensation for students living in on-campus housing.
Other topics of discussion included the broader structure of legislative policy around USHE institutions, the market factors impacting housing costs, and the financial difficulty for faculty and other employees in finding housing in the current market.
Graduate Council 7-Year Reviews
David Kieda, Dean of the Graduate School, summarized Graduate Council 7-year reviews and highlighted the strengths of two programs: Professional Master of Science and Technology Program and the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. Details are available in both full reports.
Reports and Information
Informational reports included with the meeting’s materials were:
- University Report to the Board of Trustees December 2022
- NEW BUSINESS
There was no new business offered at this meeting.
- OPEN DISCUSSION
Senate President Salari offered concerns relating to the current legislative discussion and issues about faculty compensation. She pointed out salary issues such as increases in cost-of-living, and UofU health benefits costs, and more. These are juxtaposed to Utah Governor Cox’s request there be no tuition increases and faculty salaries are dependent upon tuition levels. She asked for fulsome Senate discussion on this problem.
Senator Howard Horowitz’s question about the current state of UofU budget models prompted Senator Richard Brown, College of Engineering Dean, to update the Senate on the status of that discussion. Senator Brown explained that Deans were told that there would not be an immediate overhaul of the current model. It would be done more incrementally and gradually. AVP Sarah Projansky asked the Senate office to send her any specific questions about that so she could compile up-to-date feedback.
- ADJOURNMENT
Meeting adjourned at 5:05 pm.