Faculty Senate Minutes, January 25, 2024

January 25, 2024 3:30 p.m., Zoom

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

Excused:, C. Dougherty, K. Engemann, D. Gunn,

A. Rosenfeld called the meeting to order at 3:37 pm. Quorum was met.

Announcements

Liz Olivieri wants faculty to speak at the Student Leadership and Diversity conference; see campus announcement email for details.

Discussion Item: Constitution Updates

Updated UC constitution; minor changes from things previously approved were noted, including equivalent title changes. Substantive changes, including changes to committees, will be offered as amendments that require UC approval. Will continue working on the Senate constitution.

Action Item: Faculty Speaker/Valedictorian Committee

Aaron Rosenfeld and Hannah Park volunteered to serve as the Senate Representatives on this committee, and were approved by the Senate. Honors Council will select two faculty and two student representatives, and the committee will be fully staffed.

Discussion Item: Faculty Awards Committee

This committee is staffed and will begin meeting soon.

Discussion Item: Constituency Reports

Major concerns about consistency in AI policy. Faculty noted mixed messages from Dean’s office about how to handle violations of academic integrity by AI usage.
Hynes Institute wants to ensure opportunities for participation by its faculty among school-wide committees. The changes coming to the University Council Constitution should help with this.
There is a desire to have faculty support/get involved with clubs. Discussion about how students are faculty’s primary concern and that with all the time spent preparing, meeting with students, and working with them, it is difficult to show up for some of the other things we are being asked to do.
There is an Excel sheet for providing summary information that Amanda designed, which will be shared. Please fill in other concerns that you found.
Athletics and student priorities: student missing classes for games a lot- why are students leaving on Thursday for a game on Saturday? Why do injured players still have to go to games? Some students need to consistently leave class early or even miss a day each week. A number of faculty fear that priorities have shifted, culture has changed, and academics are taking a back seat.
Transition to more clinical faculty being hired. Question was asked, how many faculty are tenure-track vs. clinical do we currently have how has that changed over the last 10 years?
Physical space issues, where extra sections of some classes (eg. Labs) are needed, but rooms have limited space and squeezing students into lab space is a concern. FPA also has space issues, since the flooding of the Arts Center. And there may be more issues to come with the changes coming to Spellman first floor classrooms, making it difficult for faculty who want to do things together to have rooms near each other.
There is no consistency in terms of what’s available in classrooms… some with chalkboard, some with tv, rolling board vs. full board. It might be good to have sense of what is available in each classroom.
There was a Cornerstone Town Hall about getting more people to teach the Cornerstone, what will happen if they don’t get volunteers? With all the retirements of full-time tenured faculty, why so rigid in terms of who can teach it?

Discussion Item: Executive Committee

We currently have an unfilled position for representing the Senate on the Executive Committee. If interested, please let us know, ideally we’ll have someone in place for the first University Council meeting on 1/31.

Current senate members of Executive Committee: Aaron Rosenfeld, Ben Gaines, Christina Carlson, Amanda Howerton-Fox, Yourha Kang, Tony Kelso, Arif Qayyum

Provost Visit

Dr. Mulligan shared that faculty development initiatives are well underway for hybrid/distance learning. AI self-pace course has launched with workshops to come. Working group on workload continuing to meet, moving along trying to figure out some potential recommendations if consensus can be reached in next few weeks.
From an institutional perspective, Dr. Mulligan also shared that we have 92% freshmen retention from fall, highest in 7 years. Substantial grant activity underway, working with WCC on grant facilitating LA transfer pathways and eliminate barriers for students coming from community colleges. On the graduate-front, exceeded budget for SHS, but mostly met budget for A&S; currently at 70% of budget for Business. This is an area of concern, since we dropped the target and are still not meeting. Key administrators involved in recruitment visits and looking for corporate partnerships.
Questions and Answers:

AI Policy: Subcommittee of CAA has been working on this, share work-in-progress, will likely have to be revised. Focus on ethics/best use, with faculty empoweredto decide whether/how AI should be used. Libguide available. Some learning focused on how AI should not be used. Opportunity to highlight importance of humanities and what humanities provides that AI can’t.
Spaces: Will involve Libraries and registrar, but would be nice to have list of what room capabilities are, what technology is in the room. Faculty requests more input in long- and short-term space planning, and would like input when designing new classrooms. Provost agreed to follow-up.
Big project: La Penta Student Union being remodeled, new cafeteria. Vitanza dining will be replaced by esports, commuter space. Working on other significant items as well. Stressed importance of including people using spaces as part of the dialogue. Administration may constitute a planning committee that includes faculty/students/staff. Related: The faculty reception room will become temporary bookstore, the two classrooms on other side will be esports for now. Push to revitalize classrooms as well.
Retirements: Different factors regarding whether and when we replace the lines of those retiring this year. 50% of those eligible (11) are taking incentive and retiring this year. A number of lines are in departments with quickly declining enrollment will not be replaced. It is unlikely all will be replaced, and unlikely those replaced will all be tenure-track lines. There is no plan to raise course caps. No administrative discussion about going over 25 in core in near future is planned.
Athletics vs. Academics: Two academic advisors from athletics; both are very schools first, sports second, but message needs to be consistent with coaches as well. School should come first. Provost will follow up on those issues.
Performing Arts issues: More communication between faculty and administration is key.
Shared governance/timing issues: Important to work with administration to make sure meetings are scheduled in a way that ensures governance processes are respected. Need for better coordination and dissemination of governance information.

There being no other business, A. Rosenfeld adjourned the Faculty Senate meeting at 5:50 p.m. The next Senate meeting will be held over Zoom on 2/29/2024 at 3:30 p.m.

Minutes prepared by B. Gaines