Faculty Senate Minutes November 5, 2020

November 5, 2020
Via Zoom

Present: T. Moretti (Chair), D. DeFino (Secretary), M. Bard, A. Bishop, D. Brophy, H. He, A. Howerton-Fox, M. Hughes, L. Ivanov, J. Kaalund, A. Kelso, J. Klein, R. Lacey, E. Mariola, C. Martins, H. Park, S. Petrovic, A. Rosenfeld, O. Soluade, M. Veyvoda

T. Moretti called the meeting to order at 3:36pm. Quorum was met.

Approval of Minutes

Minutes to 10/08 meeting of the Faculty Senate were approved via e-mail on 10/23

Announcements

The deadline for students to register for the P/U grading option for Fall 2020 is 11/13

Discussion Item: Shared Governance Concerns

T. Moretti reported on his conversation with D. Wheeler concerning recent administrative decisions made without consulting faculty. T. Moretti highlighted the importance of shared governance to better decision-making, and the College’s historical commitment to including all constituents, when possible. D. Wheeler agreed to consider these concerns.

The Senate expressed concerns about its efficacy in the College, and whether it might be time to revise the governance structure to strengthen the model and improve procedures.

Discussion Item: Improving Faculty Morale

The Senate discussed several ways of improving faculty morale, particularly prior to and during the long Winter break. These included:

Mystery Motivators: a voluntary, randomized gift exchange based on information shared by participants
A campus-wide “Taskmaster” event
Happy Hour Fridays at the Mirage Diner
Geographically clustered socially distanced get-togethers for smaller groups of faculty
End-of-term drinks at a campus location

Discussion Item: Improving Faculty and Student Morale

Following a conversation with members of SGA, T. Moretti solicited suggestions for how to improve the classroom experience for both faculty and students. The following suggestions were made:

Dedicating class time to mindfulness exercises
Encouraging self-care
Using lower-impact classroom activities that facilitate more student-to-student communication
Taking time to occasionally check in on classroom dynamics
Having students do more intentional self-assessment

Discussion Item: Zoom Camera Policy

The Senate discussed frustrations over the number of students who continue to disable the video function on Zoom and will ask the administration to make it official policy that all students must leave cameras on, unless they notify faculty otherwise ahead of time.

Discussion Item: Student Concerns About Mixed-Mode Teaching

The Senate reflected on the following concerns, expressed by students:

Audio issues with OWL
In-person students unable to see all faces of students on Zoom
Ease of distraction, especially for students on Zoom
Faculty not always responsive to e-mails in a timely manner
Faculty frustrations with the mixed mode environment sometimes comes across as rude or dismissive

Action Item: Faculty Survey

The Senate discussed changes to the survey, and two new questions were suggested. The questions will be added, the survey re-distributed to senators, and pending approval, will be distributed to faculty early in the spring term.

Item remains open.

T. Moretti adjourned the Faculty Senate meeting at 5:45 p.m. The next Senate meeting will be held via Zoom on 1/28/21 at 3:30 p.m.