Faculty Senate Minutes, April 4, 2024

April 4, 2024, 3:30 p.m., Zoom

Present:  A. Rosenfeld (Chair), B. Gaines (Secretary), G. Barry, D. Brophy, C. Carlson, K. Engemann, J. Haber, M. Higgins, A. Howerton-Fox, L. Ivanov, J. Klein, Y. Kang, A. Kelso, N. Kyaw, H. Park, S. Petrovic, A. Qayyum 

Excused: G. Grimaldi,

A. Rosenfeld called the meeting to order at 3:35 pm. Quorum was met. 

Nominations/Elections

• Lots of open seats, even after nominations.  Especially on elected committees. Please see if you can find people interested in these seats, ballot will go out soon.

Learning Center

• If you want to have input, reach out to Jim Mustich.  A lot is happening, and reaching out early is the way to make sure that your voice is heard.

Workload Committee Report

• New workload policy: 24 credit load to 21 credit load for all full-time faculty except for those clinical faculty whose contract specify 24 credits specifically.  This includes all contact-hours credits, whether undergraduate credits or graduate credits.  Now there is an equivalency between credits and contact hours. Some departments will be more affected by this than others, will lower workload of some, but increase workload of others.
• Implemented one year from this Fall, in Fall 2025.
• Levers used: one was graduate classes, aligning contact hours with credits.  Instead of automatic 2/2 load for chairs, every department will have some number based on a formula.  A department will get the remissions, don’t all have to go to chair. Likely done in consultation with the deans.
• This would likely get rid of most remissions of 1 course.
• Service component required to get 21 credits. Based on the level of the committee, the amount of service needed will change.   
• Will also need better records of committee meetings for the service requirement.
• Town Hall next Thursday (4/11) at noon.
• Clinical faculty are professionals, might be difficult to retain if they have higher teaching load than other faculty.

Constitution Amendments

• Changes include:
• Replacing college with university throughout document
• Altering the formula for choosing senators and including representation for SHS
• Clarifying the consultation process between administration and faculty senate when hiring for upper level positions in Dean’s and Provost’s Office.
• Following a motion made and seconded, the senate unanimously voted to approve these changes.
• They next will go to all full-time faculty for approval.

Survey

• Debate over whether to share publicly or not.
• Questions about What to ask in the survey? Same as old, ADP, HERI survey, some combination? 
• Significant support for removing some questions to make it shorter, and increase response rate.
• Subcommittee to work on questions, decide what to include:  J. Klein, A. Howerton-Fox, J. Haber, C. Carlson, and A. Rosenfeld

New Business

• Faculty handbook, will the senate be able to review it? Want to follow up. 

There being no other business, A. Rosenfeld adjourned the Faculty Senate meeting at 5:50 p.m. The next Senate meeting will be held in person in the Charter Room on 4/25/2024 at 3:30 p.m.

Minutes prepared by B. Gaines