Meeting Minutes
ACADEMIC SENATE MINUTES
September 9, 2013
Call to Order
The regular meeting of the Academic Senate, held on September 9, 2013, was called to order at 3:02 p.m. by Allyson Mower, Senate President. The meeting was held in room 110 Spencer Fox Eccles Business Building.
Present: David Ailion, Peter Alfeld, McKay Allred, Chrisoula Andreou, A.K. Balaji, Keith Bartholomew, Tim Benvegnu, Lyda Bigelow, Michael Blomgren, Kelly Bricker, Nilufer Cagatay, Tully Cathey, Marjorie Chan, Thomas Cheatham, Marcus Chen, Mary Ann Christison, Robin Craig, Sierra Debenham, Kevin DeLuca, Alison Denyer, Justin Diggle, Maria Dobozy, Megan Dolle, Florence Fernandez, Ole Fischer, Francis Friedrich, Sabine Fuhrmann, Jennifer Garvin, William Gershan, Franz Goller, Joan Gregory, Thad Hall, Michael Harris, Mary Elizabeth Hartnett, Leanne Hawken, Rachel Hayes-Harb, Tom Henderson, Robert Hitchcock, Jared Hurdman, Thunder Jalili, Anne Jamison, Xan Johnson, Christian Johnson, William Johnson, Bradley Katz, Jack Longino, William Lowrance, Raina Mahanes, Erminia Martinez, Ashley McMullin, Meredith Metzger, Joel Miller, Jill Moriearty, Alfred Mowdood, Patricia Murphy, Ingrid Nygaard, Sam Ortiz, Patrick Panos, Wanda Pillow, Christina Porucznik, Matthew Potolsky, Mariana Ramiro, Lorie Richards, Stephanie Richardson, Steve Roens, Gerald Root, Gary Rose, Jody Rosenblatt, Clough Shelton, Debra Simmons, Gregory Smoak, David Stevenson, Taylor Thurman, Rachel Wootton, Joanne Yaffe, Jingyi Zhu
Excused with Proxy: Marlene Plumlee (David Plumlee)
Absent: Orly Alter, John Conboy, William Crowley, Jordan Gerton, Gary Grikscheit, Michael Hawkins, Amy Johnas, Lori Kowaleski-Jones, Evert Lawton, Ross Marabella, Theresa Martinez, Jannah Mather, Heather Melton, Duncan Metcalfe, Dragan Milicic, A. Chris Nelson, M. Pollie Price, Paul Shami, Kristin Smith – Crowe, John Paul Soares, 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
Others: Martha Bradley, Eric Denna, Kurt Hegmann, Rod Larson, Octavio Villalpando
Approval of Minutes
The minutes of the Academic Senate meeting on May 6, 2013 were approved following a motion from Joanne Yaffe which was seconded by Sam Ortiz.
Request for New Business
No new business to address
Consent Calendar
This being the first Senate meeting of the year, Allyson Mower, Academic Senate President, held a vote to ratify the decision of the President to make two annual Senate officer appointments: (i) Paul Mogren to continue serving as senate parliamentarian and (ii) Bob Flores to continue serving as Senate Institutional Policy Committee liaison, for the year. The motion was made to approve by Joanne Yaffe and seconded by Jill Moriearty. The motion passed unanimously.
The resignations, retirements, and faculty and administrator appointments dated September 9, 2013, received approval to forward to the Board of Trustees on motion by Joanne Yaffe and seconded by Jill Moriearty. The motion passed unanimously.
Report from Administration
President David Pershing welcomed new and returning senators. President Pershing introduced the new Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Ruth Watkins. Ruth was the dean for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Illinois and professor of speech and hearing science, psychology and linguistics. Michael Hardman, who had served as the Interim V.P., has moved into the position of Chief Global Officer for our new Office for Global Engagement.
We don’t have the final numbers for enrollment this year. As of today, the enrollment is over 32,000 for undergraduates. The biggest change is the freshman class with over 500 students who have been admitted but deferred enrolling. The graduate student numbers have increased, making the combined overall undergraduate and graduate enrollment consistent with last year. Administration has begun work on legislative requests. The number one priority for the University is faculty and staff salaries. Other items include funding formulas based on distinctive missions, funding to complete infrastructure updating, and the Crocker Science Center.
The Spencer Eccles Fox Business Building Phase II and the Spencer Eccles Football Center were recently dedicated and the ground breaking for the Dental School was held August 23rd. Other construction on campus includes the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts and Education Complex, George Eccles Student Life Center, Sutton parking structure and the new Law School. Items in the planning stages include parking structure in business loop, Lassonde Living Learning Center, Orson Spencer Hall and the basketball facilities renovations.
Executive Committee Report
Steve Alder, Executive Committee Secretary, provided a summary of the Executive Committee meetings held June 17, 2013 and August 19, 2013.
Report from ASUU
Sam Ortiz, the ASUU President for 2013-2014 presented his initiatives to the Senate. Some of those initiatives include student retention, peer to peer mentoring, diversity, parent engagement, PAC 12 student leadership and high school recruitment.
Special Order
A special election was held to fill a vacancy on the Senate’s RPT Standards Committee. Lee Ellington of Nursing was elected.
Notice of Intent
No Items for Notice of Intent
Debate Calendar
The proposal for a new undergraduate Interdisciplinary Certificate in Entrepreneurship, to be offered and administered by the David Eccles School of Business, was presented by Bill Schulze. This certificate for non-business majors will become effective Fall 2013. The certificate provides formal recognition of concentrated coursework and proficiency in the creation and launch of small business and growth ventures. The Certificate requires the completion of a minimum of 18 credit hours of coursework, comprised of four classes taught by the Business College and two classes taught by affiliated Colleges and Departments. The first three classes required for the Certificate provide students with foundation skills and knowledge in the areas of business creation, marketing, and accounting and finance. Students will then take two classes in affiliated Colleges and Departments that provide an overview and knowledge about career and new business opportunities within their major areas of study. The Certificate program will conclude with a capstone course, taught by the Business College, which will teach students how to rigorously test their ideas and plan the launch of a small business or growth venture. The education provided is viewed as a complement to a wide-range of academic disciplines. While the College currently offers courses in entrepreneurship, they are not freely available to students outside of the College due to the College’s special admission requirements and the added cost of upper division classes taught by the College. The College proposes to overcome these barriers by offering open enrollment in the Certificate-related courses to all University of Utah undergraduates and reducing costs by scheduling three of its four required classes in the lower division. The motion to approve and forward to the Board of Trustees was made by Joanne Yaffe and seconded by Xan Johnson. Motion passed with one abstention.
Information & Recommendations Calendar
The proposal for the new Pierre Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute was approved by the Senate Executive Committee June 17, acting on behalf of the Senate during the summer term because of the time-sensitive nature of the proposal (per Policy 6-002), and was presented today for the information and recommendations of the Senate. It was presented by Troy D’Ambrosio. The Center provides and teaches real world business experience to help young entrepreneurs through its competitions and its business discovery program. The business plan competitions are exceptional in that they are conducted by scholarship recipients from various schools in Utah, so these are statewide and collaborative competitions involving both private and public higher education institutions. Four separate business plan competitions are available to undergraduate students.
The proposal for the new James Lee Sorenson Global Impact Investing Center was approved by the Senate Executive Committee June 17, acting on behalf of the Senate during the summer term because of the time-sensitive nature of the proposal (per Policy 6-002), and was presented today for the information and recommendations of the Senate. It was presented by Lewis Hower, Director of the Center. The mission of the SGII Center is to promote the understanding and application of the principle of free enterprise, and study the impact of geographically focused investments aimed at generating measurable social and environmental impact alongside a financial return. The SGII Center will address a range of broad global needs, from healthcare, education, and housing to sustainable energy and agriculture. Research at the center will focus on how free enterprise can be employed to create large-scale societal change.
University Interim Rule 4-004D: Health Sciences Encryption of Protected Health Information was presented by Phyllis Vetter, office of General Counsel. This Interim Rule will implement Policy 4-004 and is meant to prevent the unauthorized use or disclosure of protected health information by implementing appropriate encryption technologies. A federal agency is requiring the University to implement such a regulation by September or face a series of expensive fines. After consultation with the Senate Executive Committee in August, as recommended by the Committee pursuant to Policy 1-001, President Pershing enacted the Interim Rule on August 20, and set plans for the administration to develop a permanent version of the Rule and present it within one year for Senate processing (by the time of the September 2014 meeting of the Senate).
Senate President Mower reported that at its June 17 meeting, acting on behalf of the Senate during the summer term, the Executive Committee approved a proposal from the Senate’s Annuities & Salaries Committee to change its name to Salaries & Benefits Committee and begin using that new name for the 2013-2014 year. (The membership structure and names of this and all of the Senate’s committees will be undergoing study and likely revision during 2013-2014 as a second phase of the project described below for revising policies to integrate Career-line faculty into shared governance).
PAC – 12 Faculty Senate Leaders Coalition Mission Statement was presented by Allyson Mower.
Robert Payne presented the report regarding revised University Policy 3-232 Operating Regulations for Bicycles, Skateboards, Roller-skates and Scooters. The proposed revised Policy was initially presented at the May Senate meeting, and certain problems with that version were identified. A revised version was presented to and approved by the Senate Executive Committee at its June 17 meeting (acting on behalf of the Senate during the summer term because of the time-sensitive nature of the proposal, per Policy 6-002), and was subsequently approved by the Board of Trustees to take effect August 17, in time for the start of fall classes. The policy has had minor revisions to balance the interests of recreation and campus use. Signage and education materials have been distributed. Additional education material will continue through parking services. It was explained that after experience with implementation of this Policy during this academic year a report on its implementation will be presented to the Senate and contents of the the Policy may be proposed for further revision.
Paul Mogren reported on the Resolution for Brooke Hopkins.. This is to honor retired Emeritus Professor (and former Senate member) Hopkins and express to his family condolences regarding his recent death. The Executive Committee acting on behalf of the Senate approved the resolution at its August 19 meeting, so that the resolution could be included in a memorial service for Prof. Hopkins which was held at the University on August 25.
All of the above items were presented without formal recommendations being made by the Senate members.
New Business
Assoc. V.P. Amy Wildermuth updated the Senate on the two tasks forces created last year as a result of the report on Student Course Feedback from James Anderson. The committee that will be looking at the data included in student course feedback will be chaired by Paul Gore and Hank Liese will chair the other committee to evaluate the use of student course feedback. If anyone would like to serve please contact Amy’s office.
An oral update regarding the Senate’s Faculty Budget and Planning Advisory Committee was given by Howard Horowitz, Chair.
A written updateregarding the Senate’s Academic Freedom and Faculty Rights Committee was submitted by Mardie Clayton, Chair.
An oral update and preview regarding the ongoing projects of revising multiple policies to (i) integrate Career-line faculty into Senate and committee membership, and (ii) change official nomenclature of categories of faculty plans, was given by Robert Flores and Hank Liese. Further updates on these projects will be provided regularly throughout this year.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 5:12 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Shawnee Worsley