Meeting Minutes
ACADEMIC SENATE MINUTES
March 3, 2014
Call to Order
The regular meeting of the Academic Senate, held on March 3, 2014, was called to order at 3:04 p.m. by Allyson Mower, Senate President. The meeting was held in room 1750 Health Sciences Education Building.
Present: David Ailion, Peter Alfeld, McKay Allred, Chrisoula Andreou, Tim Benvegnu, Lyda Bigelow, Kelly Bricker, Kate Canas, Tully Cathey, Marcus Chen, Robin Craig, Kevin DeLuca, Alison Denyer, David Dinter, Maria Dobozy, Megan Dolle, Randy Dryer, Xiao Fang, Ole Fischer, Michael Free, Frances Friedrich, Caren Frost, Sabine Fuhrmann, Michael Gardner, Jennifer Garvin, William Gershan, Stephen Goldsmith, Joan Gregory, Thad Hall, Glen Hanson, Michael Harris, Mary Elizabeth Hartnett, Leanne Hawken, Rachel Hayes-Harb, David Hill, Michelle Hofmann, Lynn Hollister, Thunder Jalili, Anne Jamison, Brandon Jennings, Peter Jensen, Xan Johnson, William Johnson, Lori Kowaleski-Jones, Evert Lawton, John Longino, Gary Lowder, William Lowrance, Ross Marabella, Erminia Martinez, Theresa Martinez, Jannah Mather, Sandra McIntryre, Ashley McMullin, Heather Melton, Duncan Metcalfe, Meredith Metzger, Joel Miller, Jill Moriearty, Alfred Mowdood, Patricia Murphy, Sam Ortiz, Patrick Panos, Janiece Pompa, Christina Porucznik, Bruce Quaglia, Mariana Ramiro, Reva Rauk, Lorie Richards, Steve Roens, Gerald Root, Gary Rose, Jody Rosenblatt, Paul Shami, Clough Shelton, Debra Simmons, Gregory Smoak, David Stevenson, David Temme, Rachel Wootton, Joanne Yaffe, Jingyi Zhu
Absent: Orly Alter, A.K. Balaji, Keith Bartholomew, Michael Blomgren, Nilufer Cagatay, Thomas Cheatham, John Conboy, William Crowley, Sierra Debenham, Justin Diggle, Florence Fernandez, Disa Gambera, Luke Garrott, Jordan Gerton, Franz Goller, Gary Grikscheit, Michael Hawkins, Tom Henderson, Robert Hitchcock, Jared Hurdman, Amy Johnas, Christian Johnson, Uri Loewenstein, Raina Mahanes, Dragan Milicic, A. Chris Nelson, Ingrid Nygaard, Marlene Plumlee, M. Pollie Price, Stephanie Richardson, John Paul Soares, Taylor Thurman, Li Wang
Excused: Vivian Lee
Ex-officio: Steve Alder, Robert Flores, Robert Fujinami, Harriet Hopf, Paul Mogren, Allyson Mower, David Pershing, Ruth Watkins, Amy Wildermuth, Shawnee Worsley
Excused with Proxy: Therèse de Raedt for Matthew Potolsky, Jason Goldsmith for Bradley Katz, Aaron Kaplan for Mary Ann Christison
Others: Ed Barbanell, Maureen Condic, Dave Kieda
Approval of Minutes
The minutes of the Academic Senate meeting on February 3, 2014, received no objections.
Request for New Business
The following items of New Business will be discussed:
- Senate Advisory Committee on Budget and Planning Survey Questions
Consent Calendar
The resignations retirements, and faculty and administrator appointments dated March 3, 2014, received no objections and will be forward to the Board of Trustees.
Executive Committee Report
Steve Alder, Academic Senate President-elect, provided a summary of the Executive Committee meeting held February 10, 2014.
Report from Administration
President David Pershing gave an update to the Academic Senate regarding the Legislative session. The number one request for the University is still compensation for the faculty and staff. Distinctive mission is the second highest request with an increase in funding for online education. Currently there are 8,000 students taking online courses and the majority of those students are taking lower division classes. Other priorities include mission-based funding, infrastructure, Huntsman Cancer Institute Phase IV, and funding for the Crocker Science Center.
The ribbon cutting ceremony for the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts and Education Complex took place on Thursday, January 30th. Women’s Week will be held February 28th through March 6.
Report from ASUU
Sam Ortiz, ASUU President spoke to the Academic Senate regarding the recent activities of ASUU. The voting for General Elections will close on March 6th with final election results release on March 7th. The Annual Grand Kerfuffle will be held on April 4th on the Union lawn. It will feature Hoodie Allen with Talib Kweli, Burnell Washburn, and The Druthers. Tickets are available at the Union Front Desk. Geek week will take place the week of finals for Spring semester.
Notice of Intent
No Items on Notice of Intent
Debate Calendar
Howard Horwitz presented the Senate Advisory Committee on Budget and Planning Survey Questions. The Senate Advisory Committee on Budget and Planning (SACBP) consults with the university administration and represents the views and interests of the whole faculty in the administration’s long range academic budget and planning. Through the questionnaire the SACBP is trying to acquire feedback from faculty about the budget process and some initial data about faculty views of budget priorities. The motion to approve and move forward with the survey was made by Joanne Yaffe and seconded by Maria Dobozy. Motion passed.
The Revisions of Policy 6-100 was presented by Ed Barbanell. With the disbanding of the Academic Evaluations and Standards committee, Policy 6-100 will need to be updated. The updated policy will read, The Academic Evaluations and Standards Committee is eliminated, effective July 1, 2014, by Revision 22 of Policy 6-100. The Committee’s former functions have been assigned to various other committees and offices within the University. The motion to approve and forward to the Board of Trustees was made by Xan Johnson and seconded by Bill Johnson. Motion passed.
The Songdo Academic Calendar was presented by Steve Alder and Tim Ebner. The Academic year will start in September and end in June. The Fall term begins September 1st 2014 and will end December 12th. Spring term begins March 2nd and ends June 10th. Spring term will be delayed until after the lunar holiday. The motion to approve and forward to the Board of Trustees was made by Joanne Yaffe and seconded by Jill Moriearty. Motion passed.
Allyson Mower presented the Faculty & Student Response Pool Ad Hoc Committee. The Faculty and Student Response Pool will be an Ad hoc 2-year Senate committee to provide a pool of faculty and students to draw from when administrators or university committees need feedback, perspective, or advice of faculty and students. The motion to create the ad hoc the Faculty & Student Response Pool was made by Xan Johnson and seconded by Patricia Murphy. Motion passed.
David Kieda presented the Learning Enhancement and Outcome Assessment Ad Hoc Committee. The University of Utah’s accreditation body, Northwest Commission of Colleges and Universities (NWCCU), recently moved from a ten-year accreditation to a seven year cycle. Part of the transition includes changing the accreditation requirements for a once per decade snapshot to an ongoing stewardship of the accreditation process by NWCCU at each university. This new accreditation process includes mandatory interim reviews and targets goals every two years and will require the commitment of resources beyond those needed in the past. NWCCU has implemented new academic performance requirements, including development and use of Expected Learning Outcomes and Outcomes Assessment for every academic program at the University. The charge to the committee includes: Develop a campus-wide structure for coordination and evaluation of assessment practices in each department and college; Provide recommendations for a university-wide oversight body that will track periodic review results of Outcomes Assessments in each program and evaluate ongoing improvements in student outcomes; Provide recommendations for improving access and accuracy of Office of Budget and Institutional Activities to departments and colleges to assist in their yearly program evaluations; Recommend a periodic interval (yearly) for departmental and college reports to the institution wide assessment oversight body. The motion to create the ad hoc committee was made by Joanne Yaffe and seconded by Bill Johnson. Motion passed with one abstention.
Keith Bartholomew presented the Senate Ad-Hoc Vehicle Idling Committee. The Senate Ad-Hoc Vehicle Idling Committee (SAVIC) will review existing university policy on vehicle idling on campus and make recommendations to the full senate for possible policy development to help advance the campus’ overall commitment to clean air and climate stability. The committee expects to complete its work by the May 2014 senate meeting. The motion to create the ad hoc committee was made by Joanne Yaffe and seconded by Xan Johnson. Motion passed.
Information Calendar
The following items were presented for the information and recommendations of the Academic Senate:
- Revising Policies 6-001, 6-300, and others on academic governance and authority of the Senate and faculties
- 2014 Distinguished Innovation and Impact Award
- John R. Park Teaching Fellowship
No questions or recommendations were raised. The 2014 Distinguished Innovation and Impact Award and John R. Park Teaching Fellowship items will be forwarded to the Board of Trustees.
Adjournment
Meeting adjourned at 5:06 p.m. after the BoardDocs training session.
Respectfully submitted,
Shawnee Worsley