ACADEMIC SENATE MINUTES

November 30, 2015

The regular meeting of the Academic Senate, held on November 30, 2015, was called to order at 3:05 p.m. by Bill Johnson, Senate President. The meeting was held in CTIHB 109.

Present: Ole Fischer, Sarah Hinners, Lyda Bigelow, Scott Schaefer, Jeff Nielsen, Todd Zenger, Olga Baker, Gary Lowder, Yongmei Ni, Janiece Pompa, Orly Alter, A.K. Balaji, Robert Hitchcock, Xiaoyue Liu, Edward M. Trujillo, Denny Berry, Ning Lu, Joe Marotta, Steve Roens, Kelly Bricker, Stacy Manwaring, Julie Metos, Les Podlog, Reva Rauk, Lorie Gage Richards, James Anderson, Karin Baumgartner, Maria Dobozy, Nadja Durbach, Disa Gambera, Avery Holton, Lex Newman, Adrian Palmer, Robin Craig, David Hill, Terry Kogan, Alicia Brillon, Luke Leither, Jill Moriearty, Jennifer Garvin, Michelle Hofmann, Katherine Kendall, John T. Langell, Antoinette Laskey, Nicole Mihalopoulos, Maureen A. Murtaugh, Ravi Ranjan, Debra Simmons, Robert A. Stephenson, Frederick Strathmann, Marjorie Chan, Paul Jewell, Margaret Clayton, Mollie Cummins, Lynn Hollister, Andrea Bild, Linda Tyler, Randy Dryer, Peter Alfeld, Yekaterina Epshteyn, David Goldenberg, Joel Miller, Thomas Richmond, Michael Shapiro, John Sperry, David Temme, Andrejs Treibergs, Nilufer Cagatay, Thomas Cova, Frances Friedrich, Baodong Liu, Duncan Metcalfe, Lina Svedin, Patrick Panos, Mary Beth Vogel-Ferguson, Marley Arango, Chris Bell, Cindy Chen, Aubrey Keaney, John Muhs, John Peterson, Hannah Stinson, Gaby Zumaeta

Absent: Jeff Coles, Melissa Lewis, Leticia Alvarez, Meredith Metzger, Michael Cottle, Lien Fan Shen, Anne Jamison, William Lowrance, Jody Rosenblatt, Scott T. Youngquist, Jindrich Kopecek, Dmytro Pesin, Joan Brenner-Coltrain, Wade Cole, Daniel Barber, Douglas Chan, Devin Daniels, Conrad Dean, Ambra Jackson, Jaycee Lynn Christensen, Andy Moyle, Julie Olaf, Christina Ripley,

Ashlee Ruff, Amy Simonsen

Ex-Officio: Robert Flores, William Johnson, Paul A. Mogren, Xan Johnson,

David W. Pershing, Amy Wildermuth, Harriet Hopf

Excused with Proxy: Joanna Ganning for Brenda Scheer, Shu Jiang for Sudeep Kanungo, Christine Jones for Chrisoula Andreou, Marnie Powers-Torrey for John Bramble, Jaewhan Kim for Christy Porucznik, Jim Pechmann for David Dinter, John Belz for Jordan Gerton, Brian Codding for Lori Kowaleski-Jones, Kristen Hawkes for Norm Waitzman, Rosey Hunter for Jason Castillo

Excused: Stephen Alder, Carrie Byington, Vivian S. Lee

Others: Ed Barbanell, John Hollerbach, Laura Marks, Patti Cayente, Joan Gregory, Krista Pickens, Katie Carreau, Mary Burbank, Lee Dibble

Approval of Minutes

The minutes of the Academic Senate on November 2, 2015 were approved with a motion by Jim Anderson and a second by Harriet Hopf.

Consent Calendar

The current list of appointments and resignations dated November 30, 2015 were approved with a motion by Maureen Murtaugh and a second by Lyda Bigelow.

Request for New Business

No new business

Executive Committee Report

Xan Johnson, Senate President-elect, gave an update on the Executive Committee’s activities. He stated that everything the EC reviewed is on the agenda, with the EC’s recommendations.

Report from Administration

President David Pershing gave an update on the administration’s activities. He stated that on November 20, the administration held a march for solidarity in support of anti-racism that started at the Park Building and ended in the Union Ballroom, where a public forum immediately followed. There were approximately 500 students, staff, faculty, and administrators in attendance. Students brought forth the issue that faculty need to be sensitive and aware of diverse students and that there should be more safe spaces on campus for diverse students.

President Pershing also briefly discussed the upcoming legislative session. One of the most important requests is for compensation, followed by performance funding. In addition, Tom Parks will be retiring by the end of the academic year. The search for his replacement is ongoing and will be a nation-wide search. The football team will hear about which bowl game they are playing in next Sunday, and the basketball season has begun.

Update from Senate Re-Investment Dialogue Ad hoc Committee

Tomorrow, in the Marriott Library Gould Auditorium, four campus groups—the Sustainable Campus Initiative Fund, the Geography department, the Marriot Library, and the Academic Senate Re-Investment Dialogue Ad hoc Committee—have collaborated to host the screening of “This Changes Everything,” a film that attempts to reimagine the challenge of climate change. After the film, there will be opportunities to talk to the Sustainability Resource Center, the Marriott Library, the Geography department, and the Senate Committee, along with local community based organizations about their work.

Report from ASUU

Cindy Chen, ASUU Senate Chair, filling in for ASUU President Ambra Jackson, gave an update about ASUU’s activities. She stated that ASUU has released an infographic about the ASUU student fee in the spirit of transparency and allowing students to see which events their fees go to. Geek Week will also be ongoing from December 7 to 11. ASUU will be offering pizza, therapy dogs, supplies, free printing, and more. In addition, ASUU Childcare is offering their services free of charge for anyone offering or taking a final, so faculty are welcome to use the services as well.

Notice of Intent

No items of intent

Debate Calendar

Mary Burbank, Lina Svedin, and Krista Pickens presented a Safety of Minors Policy proposal. Mary stated that she has been chair of an ad hoc committee that was charged with taking the Senate’s suggestions from the May 4, 2015 meeting, in which the Senate did not approve a previous proposal, and make changes to the policy. Her committee worked throughout the summer to come up with an acceptable proposal and collaborated with different departments and campus entities. They also conducted a survey to assess what the most acceptable policy would be.

In addition, the committee looked at ways background checks could be done for programs engaged with minors. They decided that only covered programs, as defined by the policy, will need background checks of individuals for sexual and violent offenses. The checks will be valid for three years, and individuals are expected to self-report instances of new offenses in the interim. The background check information will not be stored by Human Resources, but instead be held by the vendor who conducts the check. The Office of Equal Opportunity/ Affirmative Action will review any individuals who are red-flagged and make a decision on whether they can participate in a program. The revised proposal now provides for an appeals committee authorized to hear appeals of decisions made by the OEO/ AA office regarding “covered programs” and individuals who might be excluded from involvement due to past history of offenses. OEO/AA has also asked for a six-month grace period that ends in July 2016 to fully implement the policy. Motion made and seconded to approve the proposal and forward it to the Board of Trustees.

Ed Barbanell presented the proposed change to Policy 6-100 regarding limiting course attempts (repeating courses). The policy change was initially pushed for by faculty, specifically from the College of Science. The proposal went through the Institutional Policy Committee, the Undergraduate Council, and was vetted in several different areas of campus. If the proposal is approved, Ed will work on creating an implementation process and try to deter an increase in class withdrawals. Motion was made by Lina Svedin and seconded to approve the proposal and forward it to the Board of Trustees.

Harriet Hopf presented the name change proposal for the Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences. She stated that the name “Radiology” doesn’t fully encompass what the department does and that adding “Imaging Sciences” will correct this issue. The change was also brought forth because the area of study has significantly changed in the past 50 years and continues to change. Other institutions nationally have already made this same switch, and the faculty of the department support a name change. Motion was made by Randy Dryer and seconded by Jill Moriearty to approve the proposal and forward to the Board of Trustees.

John Hollerbach presented the proposal for permanent approval of the Utah Robotics Center. The creation of the Center was prompted by national robotics initiatives and STEM programs. The Center holds competitions in which over 50 teams compete, 24 of them being from Utah. They also started a graduate program called the “Robotics Track” in 2004. Motion was made and seconded by Jill Moriearty to approve the proposal and forward to the Board of Trustees.

Lorie Richards presented the proposal for a BA/BS in Recreational Therapy. Recreational Therapy used to be an “emphasis” in the Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Department but there was an ever-increasing need for the program so it was switched to a full degree. The department will seek full accreditation and official certification. Motion was made by Lina Svedin and seconded by Randy Dryer to approve the proposal and forward to the Board of Trustees.

Lee Dibble presented the proposal to transfer the existing Athletic Training BS degree to be administered within the Department of Physical Thereapy and Athletic Training. They stated that the change was prompted by the realignment of the College of Health where 7 departments were reduced to 5. Motion was made by Julie Metos and seconded by Lorie Richards to approve the proposal and forward to the Board of Trustees.

Information and Recommendations Calendar

The following items were presented for the information and recommendations of the Academic Senate:

Harriet Hopf presented the Athletics Advisory Council report. In the previous year, the Council took on three initiatives: a task force on tutor/mentor programs, a task force on gender and equity, and a task force on transparency. The three goals for the upcoming year are the task force on academic advising, the task force on gender and equity, and the task force on transparency. The Council is also working on to make certain programs like teaching more accessible to student athletes.
The Discontinuation of the Provisional Center for Global Justice

Adjournment

Meeting adjourned at 4:24 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Wogai Mohmand