September 2020
September 2020
FACULTY REPRESENTATIVE ASSEMBLY MEETING
September 11, 2020
Attendance: Venkat Reddy, Tom Christensen, Stephanie Hanenberg, Mary Ann Cutter, David Weiss, David Moon, Mary Coussons-Read, Minette Church, Norah Mazel, Henriikka Weir, Lynn Gates, Margaret Harris, Deborah Kenny, Kathy Prue-Owens, Monique French, Martin Key, James Van Scotter, Andrea Bingham, Monica Yoo, Diane Stutey, John Lindsey, Leah Chandler Mills, Suzanne Cook, Leilani Feliciano, Claire Rau, Christine Robinson Coon, Roger Martinez, Erica Allgood, Wendy Haggren, Lei Zhang, Kirsten Ortega, Matthew Jabaily, Michael Landon-Murray, Thomas Aicher, Glen Whitehead, Laura Eurich, Larry Eames, Deborah Tuffield, Karin Larkin, Dave Anderson, Joel Tonyan
Call to Order / Approval of Minutes:
Motion to approve the minutes from May 8, 2020 meeting by Minette Church
Seconded by David Weiss
Motion passed with 17 in favor, 0 opposed and 5 abstentions
Reports of Visitors:
Venkat Reddy, Chancellor:
The Chancellor expressed his appreciation to the assembly representatives for their service this year. The campus community has really risen to the “new normal,” thanks to everyone. We are working with a consulting firm regarding the online initiative and they are bringing a lot of practical material forward. They will be presenting their results in the middle of the month. We are down -3.7% on enrollments, which is much better than expected. The COVID-19 Dashboard website puts all of our testing information out there for public domain. We are working on improving our testing capabilities. We successfully opened the new Hybl Sports Medicine and Performance Center with several separate groups participating, due to the pandemic social gathering restrictions. Our new Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) training program is making good progress and the Cabinet is now going through it. We are working on expanding the MOSAIC center. Human Resources is designing new supervisory training, along with revised search committee processing and reviewing performance management issues. The Deans and faculty chairs are part of this process. The Listening Session forum was well-received. It was good to hear faculty, staff and students’ feelings during these challenging times. It helps build the campus community and is a very courageous thing to do. The CU online system programs will be commercial programs and will not compete with campus programs. We will give flexibility to students and we should have a lot of faculty control, initiative, engagement and involvement in our campus online programs. We are looking at how do we do evaluations this year. Spring semester will be similar to Fall semester.
Tom Christensen, Provost:
The Provost thanked the assembly members for their service this academic year and all the faculty work done to prepare for this unusual semester. Spring semester will be a lot like Fall semester. We realize that some classes can’t translate to remote learning, such as labs. It may also be necessary to re-arrange class assignments to accommodate the needs and concerns of faculty so that they can choose their own teaching modality. We have also found that it may be hard for students to transition between modes and we are working on that. If faculty are in quarantine, they are still able to teach remotely. Faculty, staff and students are doing a good job with the face covering requirements. We now have 3 levels of Instructors – the Principle Instructor is the new 3rd level. We can always amend the title later. Instructor multi-year contracts are still in discussion. All the college department RPT criterias have been revised, except for two departments. We are reviewing the part FCQs will play in the annual merit evaluations, since this is not a normal year and we are working on the issues raised. The online process is now more inclusive with the provosts and faculty. The new budget model is more incentive-based and we are running the new model in the background. We still have some things to do on the governance and financial sides. The budget teams have met with all the colleges. The budget cut is about $20 million, which is still deep, but not as deep as we were expecting. We were conservative in our original planning, and would like to relax the furloughs as soon as we possibly can.
Stephanie Hanenberg, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Health & Wellness:
There are many functions going on regarding the COVID-19 pandemic as it relates to campus operations. For the most current information, please be sure to refer to the COVID-19 website. We are isolating anyone who is sick with cough, fever, and shortness of breath. Anyone who exhibits 2 of these symptoms will be isolated for 10 days. Anyone within 6 feet for at least 15 minutes of a positive COVID-tested person will need to be quarantined. There are lots of technicalities and rules change constantly, so please be sure to check the website. So far, we have had 2 staff and 3 students test positive, which also changes frequently. Our main focus is community spread, so please be sure to send any concerns to the Wellness Center. Facilities has been working hard to keep areas clean and will do a deeper clean for any suspect space. We have ordered rapid testing (15-minute test with 93% efficacy). We are also starting the program to check sewer water. The contact tracing program takes many labor hours to do. Overall, the students are wearing face coverings.
Mary Ann Cutter, Professor of Philosophy & Co-Chair of Provost Search Committee:
The Provost Search Committee consists of 15 members who represent multiple factions of the campus, along with Dean Rabern as the other Co-Chair. We are also working with the Parker Executive Search Firm. We have been speaking with major campus stakeholders in listening session formats and have now been able to summarize the important traits for a Provost. These include the top three priorities, which we will release to the search firm. The top three priorities are: 1) an advocate for Academic Affairs, 2) good leadership qualities, and 3) budget experience. Other items added are the realization that liberal arts are important; the need for national awareness; the understanding of multiple disciplines and their interaction/collaboration; and the importance of online education. The committee started in July and we want to be sure to reach all major components of the search. We expect to conclude by March 2021. Please feel free to send e-mails regarding the Provost Search to Mary Ann Cutter.
Officer Reports:
President-Elect’s Report
Plus additional attachment
Past President’s Report:
No report
Reports from Standing Committees:
EPUS:
No report
Personnel & Benefits:
Not met yet – no report
Faculty Advisory Committee on the Budget:
Not met yet – no report
Faculty Minority Affairs Committee
PRIDE:
Not met yet – no report
Intercollegiate Athletics:
Not present – no report
Sustainability:
No report
Committee on Disability:
Not present – no report
Misconduct in Research, Scholarship & Creative Activities:
Not present – no report
Reports from Representatives:
None
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
None
NEW BUSINESS
None
Adjournment:
Motion to adjourn the Faculty Assembly Meeting by Norah Mazel
Seconded by David Weiss
Motion passed unanimously
Meeting adjourned at 2:00 p.m.