Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes October 20, 2021

University of Louisiana at Lafayette Faculty Senate
Approved Minutes, Wednesday, October 20, 2021, Zoom Meeting 
Presiding: Philip Auter, Secretary: Clai Rice

I. Call to Order

• 4:10

II. Quorum Call

• 64

III. Agenda Approval

• No opposed.

IV. Welcome and Report from Executive Officer (FS President PA)

• Check that you are receiving emails from FS Moodle. PA sent one today to everyone.
  • If you aren’t, especially full professors who might not be on our roster, please email Auter or Rice.
• Equity adjustment appeals are being reviewed.
• We worked with Academic Affairs and Athletics to create a Faculty-Staff appreciation day with free game tickets for Saturday, October 30 11:00 am. Tickets must be obtained in advance by going to the ticket office with your ID and the filled out flyer.
• Senator Kiwana McClung (Assoc Prof Architecture) has been appointed interim director of the Office for Campus Diversity. As such, she now sits on the University Council.
• Senator Natalia Sidorovskaia (Physics), is the first ever UL recipient of the American Council on Education (ACE) Fellowship.
• Dr. Hebert will be providing Faculty Senate with a budget. VP Maloy will be putting together a proposal.
• We are beginning to work with Academic Affairs on untangling the university committee structures. Provost Hebert plans a summer retreat so we can work on these intensively.

V. Approval of Sept. Minutes (GH, F. Stueben)

• Approved unanimously.

VI. Committee Reports

Faculty Senate Committees

Committee on Committees – JoAnne DeRouen

• Election to fill Committee spots will be needed.
• Ad Hoc committees can take volunteers.

Ways and Means – James Kimball

• No meeting.

Governmental Concerns – Robert Slater

• No report.

FS Executives

• Focus on Committees.
• VP J. Maloy reports on problems with Constitution and Handbook conflicts.
  • He will be working on suggestions/fixes.
  • Faculty Handbook is more fundamental, so all details about University Committees should be given there.
  • Contact Jason if you have concerns or are aware of conflicts or dysfunctions in the area.

Faculty Advisory Council Committee - 

• No report.

VII. (Reports Interrupted) McKinney presents issues with University Committee on Academic Affairs and Standards, which hears academic appeals among other things.

• McKinney shows a chart summarizing disagreements on the make-up of the committee between its own by-laws, its own tradition, and the Faculty Senate Constitution. He asks for a motion and vote:
  • For this year only, shall we populate the committee using the CAAS guidelines? (Ish, Stein) Senate affirms with no objections.

VIII. (Senate committee reports continue)

Ad-Hoc Committees

• No reports.

University Committees

Graduate Colloquium Committee - 

• GH reports the committee is advising the abolishment of this committee and its function.

Distance Learning Leadership Council – F Crocco

• Please fill out the form for non-academic courses to be moved to new Moodle.
• Faculty Learning Communities have kicked off. Out of about a dozen proposals, 4 were selected. Almost 50 faculty have signed up to be members.

IX. Old Business

• Ad Hoc Committee on Faculty Salary and Compensation
  • It needs to have a charge or not continue to operate.
  • Summer and Intersession pay may be a perennial conversation.
  • Equations for raises, summer and interterm salaries should be determined.
  • It is decided that a further charge will be offered next meeting.

X. New Business

• The Ad Hoc Committee on Underrepresented Faculty has a charge. To quote from the minutes of February 24, 2020:
  • Motion Regarding the Ad Hoc Committee on Underrepresented Faculty Group, submitted by Clai Rice, seconded by Matthew Green
    • “Whereas the University has taken steps to address issues raised by the Faculty Senate’s Ad Hoc Committee on Underrepresented Faculty Groups (CUFG) 2014 report, and Whereas the University has established an Office of Diversity that coordinates and implements policies and procedures regarding the development, recruitment, hiring, retention, and support specifically of faculty from underrepresented groups;
    • The Senate moves that the CUFG, after meeting with representatives from the Office of Diversity and gathering other information as might be needed, such as faculty surveys, prepare a review of the University’s response to the 2014 report that evaluates the effectiveness of the ongoing efforts regarding faculty from underrepresented groups, highlighting especially any additional actions or areas of concern that should be addressed, to be submitted to the Faculty Senate in the Fall of 2021.”
  • If anyone wishes to join Abington-Pitre on the Committee, please contact her or the Senate President.
  • If additional time is needed to prepare the report, it can be requested from the Senate.
• Ad Hoc Committee on Women.
  • The chair of that committee not being present, we will follow up on it next meeting.
• VP Maloy reports that VP of Finance offered to hold a meeting to deal with faculty/staff problems with the reimbursement process for purchasing and travel money.
  • We should gather information and people who might want to participate in such a meeting then charge them to represent the Senate in such a meeting.
  • The charge would say something like “The Faculty Senate recognizes these people to raise these concerns with purchasing.”
  • Please contact Jason Maloy directly if you have details of routinely problematic transactions or would like to be present for such a meeting.

XI. Adjournment

• 5:49 (Auter, Baker)

Submitted by Clai Rice
10/22/2021