Minutes of Senate Council (February 21, 2017)

Tuesday, February 21, 2017 – 1:30 p.m.

102 Kern Graduate Building

Members Present: Ansari, M. Aynardi, R. Bascom, C. Eckhardt, S. Geisinger, G. Grimes, K. Jablokow, N. Jones, B. Le, J. Myers, J. Miles, J. Nousek, N. Rowland, E. Seymour, R. Shannon, J. Strauss, B. Szczygiel, A. Taylor, R. Troester, M. Wilson, M. Woessner, D. Wolfe

Guests/Others: B. Bowen, P. Brown, R. Engel, D. Hagen, M. Hanes, R. Pangborn, F. Preciado, S. Sigurdsson, M. Whitehurst

Absent: Knodt, P. Koch, E. Smithwick


CALL TO ORDER

Chair Strauss called the meeting to order at 1:39 p.m. on Tuesday, February 21, 2017, in 102 Kern Graduate Building.

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF January 10, 2017

The minutes of the January 10, 2017, meeting were approved on a Wilson/Szczygiel motion.

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMARKS

Chair Strauss welcomed all members and special guests and expressed appreciation for the increased funding for CAPS that was announced the previous week.  He also commented on the success of 2017 THON.

Additional announcements by Chair Strauss:

The following topics were discussed at the Faculty Advisory Committee meeting: Diversity & Inclusion Issues; Rethinking E and G Budget Model: Zero Sum Game of State Appropriations, Zero Tuition Increase Goal, Faculty Salaries, Faculty Benefits; Terminal degree qualifications for graduate faculty status; Update on Searches– Schreyer Honors College Dean; Executive Director, Faculty Senate; College of Engineering Dean; Earth and Mineral Sciences Dean; University Budget Officer; and Updates— Admissions; Canvas; and LionPATH; and WorkLion.

Chair Strauss announced that an FAC meeting and Senate Council meeting are scheduled for Tuesday, April 4, 2017.

Executive Vice President and Provost Jones reviewed the status of administrative searches and commented on Canvas.  He will give a presentation on LionPATH to the Board of Trustees at its meeting on February 24.  The new student interface for LionPATH will be available in the spring.  Accessibility of data in LionPATH continues to be a challenge and a solution to that issue is being pursued.  WorkLion will be launched after June payroll has been processed.  Councilors asked about an improved LionPATH interface for faculty and plans to accommodate international students who might not want to return to their home countries over the summer in light of the executive order on travel and immigration.  The faculty and advisor interface is being developed, but the student interface is a higher priority. Accommodations for international students over Spring break are the priority at this time, but planning for the summer is underway.

Vice Provost Blannie Bowen announced a Big Ten Academic Alliance seminar for Administrative fellows will be held at Penn State in April.  The selection process for Administrative Fellows for the 2017-18 year is underway.  The process for selecting the Penn State Laureate is also underway.

Vice President Madlyn Hanes announced successful completion of Chancellor searches for the Wilkes-Barre and Dubois campuses.  She spoke about the Research Experience for Undergraduate Students program and the seed grant program for Invent Penn State.

Vice President Rob Pangborn reported 102,000 applications have been received to date, an increase of 2.3% over last year for baccalaureate students   To date, 5,300 paid accepts have been received, approximately 1/3 of the target number.  Councilors asked about the planned reduction in first-year enrollment at University Park and countries that represent the greatest number of applications from international students.  The reduction at UP is to adjust for the higher than planned enrollment at UP for 2016-17.  The number of applications from China (over 9,000) is larger than other countries.  Applications have decreased from countries listed in the recent executive order.

Vice Provost Marcus Whitehurst announced the“All In at Penn State: A Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion” conference http://sites.psu.edu/allin/ on Tuesday, April 18.  At the request of Chair Strauss, he will provide information to the Senate office for distribution to senators.

Interim Vice Provost Renata Engel reported World Campus experienced a lower than expected increase in enrollments in the past year, but enrollments are rebounding.  A Student Affairs Office has been opened in World Campus.

Senate officers had no comments.

Executive Director Hagen asked Councilors to remind their units that the names of Senate Council representatives for 2017-18 should be sent to the Senate office as soon as possible.

Councilor Myers expressed concern about reported disparity in faculty compensation for World Campus and Resident Education teaching.  After discussion, Rob Pangborn and Renata Engel offered to prepare a report on this topic for the April 4 Senate Council meeting.

ACTION ITEMS

The election of members for Committees and Rules was held.  The following were elected for two-year terms:  Victor Brunsden, Ann Clements, Amy Dietz, Rick Robinett, and Nicole Webster.

DISCUSSION ITEMS: none

REPORT OF THE GRADUATE COUNCIL

Minutes from the January 18, 2017, Graduate Council meeting are available on the Graduate School website.  Steinn Sigurdsson gave some remarks about the meetings of January 18.

AGENDA ITEMS FOR MARCH 14, 2017

FORENSIC BUSINESS

SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATIONAL EQUITY AND CAMPUS ENVIRONMENT, Educational Equity and Faculty.  This report was placed on the Agenda on a Grimes/Wilson motion.  Ten minutes was allocated for presentation and discussion.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON FACULTY BENEFITS, WorkLion: Development and Implementation Plan.  This report was placed on the Agenda on a Wolfe/Wilson motion.  Ten minutes for presentation and five minutes for discussion were allocated.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON OUTREACH, Penn State Adult Learners.  This report was placed on the Agenda on a Szczygiel/Eckhardt motion. Fifteen minutes was allocated for presentation and discussion.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Chair Strauss reminded Councilors that the report, Revisions to Senate Bylaws Article II Section 1, introduced by Committees and Rules at the January meeting, will be voted on at the March 14 meeting.

LEGISLATIVE REPORTS

SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES AND RULES. Revisions to Senate Standing Rules Article II Section 6(k) Committee on Outreach.  This report was placed on the Agenda on a Wilson/Aynardi motion.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION, Change to Senate Policy 43-00 (Syllabus).  This report was amended on a Wilson/Wolfe motion to include a link to Policy 42-10 and a footnote regarding location of programs.  The amended report placed on the Agenda on an Aynardi/Wilson motion.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION. Change to Senate Policy 43-70 Online Student Progress Report. This report was placed on the Agenda on an Eckhardt/Wilson motion.

ADVISORY/CONSULTATIVE REPORTS

SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATIONAL EQUITY AND CAMPUS ENVIRONMENT, Revision of AD 84 Preferred Name and Gender Identity Policy. This report was placed on the Agenda on a Miles/Wilson motion.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON FACULTY AFFAIRS, Proposed Revision to HR21 Recommendation for Standardizing Titles for Nontenured Faculty across Units. This report was placed on the Agenda on an Ansari/Aynardi motion.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON INTRA-UNIVERSITY RELATIONS, Provision of Multi-Year Contracts for Fixed Term Faculty. This report was returned to committee.  It was recommended that the committee consult with the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and the Vice President for Commonwealth Campuses.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON LIBRARIES, INFORMATION SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY, Library Space Planning.  This report was returned to committee, with the suggestion that the scope of the report be reduced to be aligned with the committee’s charge.

SENATE COMMITTEES ON OUTREACH, and EDUCATIONAL EQUITY AND CAMPUS ENVIRONMENT, Office of Educational Equity Middle and High School Pre–College Programs TRIO Upward Bound, Upward Bound Migrant, Upward Bound Math and Science, and Talent Search. This report was placed on the Agenda on a Grimes/Ansari motion.

INFORMATIONAL REPORTS

SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES AND RULES, New Member Information.  This report was placed on the Agenda on an Aynardi/Grimes motion as web only.  There will be no presentation.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES AND RULES, Nominating Report for 2017-2018.  This report was placed on the Agenda on a Le/Grimes motion.  Nominations will be accepted from the floor during the Senate meeting.  This report will be placed on the Agenda as the second informational report to be presented at the meeting.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATIONAL EQUITY AND CAMPUS ENVIRONMENT. CLGBTQE Commission Reads.  This report was placed on the Agenda on a Wilson/Wolfe motion Ten minutes was allocated for presentation and discussion.

ELECTIONS COMMISSION, Roster of Senators by Voting Units for 2017-2018. This report was placed on the Agenda on an Aynardi/Wolfe motion as web only. There will be no presentation.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON FACULTY AFFAIRS, Student Rating of Teaching Effectiveness (SRTE) Evaluations: Effective Use of SRTE Data. This report was placed on the Agenda on an Ansari/Aynardi motion.  Ten minutes was allocated for presentation and discussion.

FACULTY RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES, Annual Report for 2015-2016.  This report was placed on the Agenda on an Aynardi/Wilson motion as web only.  There will be no presentation.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON LIBRARIES, INFORMATION SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY, PSU Libraries Collection Budget Report, 2016.  This report was placed on the Agenda on a Nousek/Wilson motion as web only. There will be no presentation.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON OUTREACH, Online Education at Penn State.  This report was placed on the Agenda on an Ansari/Wilson motion.  Ten minutes was allocated for presentation and discussion.

SENATE COUNCIL, Report on Fall 2016 Campus Visits.  This report was placed on the Agenda on a Nousek/Wilson motion.  Ten minutes was allocated for presentation and discussion.

SENATE COUNCIL, Nominating Committee Report for 2017-2018.  This report was placed on the Agenda on a Nousek/Wilson motion.  Nominations from the floor will be accepted at the meeting on March 14.  This report will be placed on the Agenda as the first Informational Report to be presented.

SENATE COUNCIL, Policy Harmonization.  This report was placed on the Agenda on an Ansari/Szczygiel motion.  Ten minutes was allocated for presentation and discussion.  This report will be placed on the Agenda as the third informational report to be presented at the meeting.

SENATE COMMTTEE ON UNIVERSITY PLANNING, All Gender Restrooms at The Pennsylvania State University Status Report.  This report was placed on the Agenda on a Szczygiel/Aynardi motion.  Five minutes was allocated for discussion.

SENATE COMMTTEE ON UNIVERSITY PLANNING, OPP Report: Connecting Operations with Students, Faculty, and Researchers.  This report was placed on the Agenda on a Le/Wilson motion.  Ten minutes for presentation and five minutes for discussion were allocated.

NEW BUSINESS:  none

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 3:45 p.m. Next meeting:  April 4, 2017

Dan Hagen
Executive Director