Minutes of the Auburn University Senate Meeting
Tuesday, August 28, 2018
238 Broun Hall
3:30 P.M.
A full transcript is available for this meeting.
Attendance Record
Senate Officers:
Michael Baginski, Chair; Nedret Billor, Chair-elect; Beverly Marshall, Secretary; Adrienne Wilson, Secretary-Elect; Daniel Svyantek, Immediate-Past Chair
Administration attending: Taffye Clayton, VP & Assoc. Provost of Inclusion and Diversity; George Flowers, Dean of the Graduate School; Vishnu Suppiramaniam substituting for Richard Hansen, Dean Harrison School of Pharmacy; Gretchen Van Valkenburg, VP Alumni Affairs
Administration absent, not sending substitute: Kelli Shomaker, VP Business and Finance and CFO; Royrickers Cook, Associate Provost and VP for Outreach; Gregg Newschwander, Dean School of Nursing; Paul Patterson, Dean College of Agriculture; Calvin Johnson, Dean College of Veterinary Medicine
Ex-Officio attending; Bill Hardgrave, Provost; Nancy Noe, Interim Dean of Libraries; Schyler Burney substituting for Dane Block, SGA President; Elizabeth Devore, GSC President; Tammy Williams, Staff Council Chair; Lawrence Hamberlin substituting for Robert Kulick, A&P Assembly Chair; Jung Won Hur, Steering; Michael Tillson, Steering; Jared Russell, Steering; Robert Norton, Steering
Ex-Officio Absent, not sending substitute: All present
Senators, by Department:
Attending or Represented by Substitute
Lisa Miller, Accountancy; Anwar Ahmed, Aerospace Engineering; Denis Nadolnyak substituting for Valentina Hartarska, Ag Economics and Rural Sociology; Chad Faradori, Anatomy Physiology and Pharmacology; Rebecca O’Neal-Dagg, Architecture; Kathryn Floyd, Art; Anthony Moss, Biological Sciences; Yi Yang, Biosystems Engineering; Mark Tatum, Building Science; Bryan Bechingham, Chemical Engineering; Doug Goodwin, Chemistry; J. Bryan Anderson, Civil Engineering; Mary Sandage, Communication Disorders; Kai Chang, Computer Science and Software Engineering; Young A Lee, Consumer and Design Sciences; Charles Chen, Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences; Jamie Harrison, Curriculum & Teaching; Forest Smith, Drug Discovery and Development; Gilad Sorek, Economics; Jim Witte substituting for Ellen Reames, Educational Foundations, Leadership; Craig Bertolet substituting for James E. Ryan, English; David Held, Entomology & Plant Pathology; Lee Colquit, Finance; Ash Bullard, Fisheries and Allied Aquaculture; Zachary Zuwiyya, Foreign Lang & Literatures; Wayde Morse, Forestry & Wildlife Science; Haibo Zou, Geology & Geography; Kimberly Garza, Health Outcomes and Research Policy; Monique Laney, History; Carlton Lay, Industrial Design; Gregory Purdy substituting for Mark Schall, Industrial and Systems Engineering; Andreas Kavazis, Kinesiology; Greg Schmidt, Library; Alan Walker, Management; Jeremy Wolter substituting for Dora Bock, Marketing; Dmitry Glotov, Mathematics and Statistics; Daniel Mackowski, Mechanical Engineering; Matthew Hoch, Music; David Crumbley, Nursing; David Mixson, Outreach; Vicky van Santen substituting for Peter Christopherson, Pathobiology; Spencer Durham, Pharmacy Practice; Eric Marcus, Philosophy; Michael Fogle, Physics; Ken Macklin, Poultry Science; Tracy Witte, Psychology; Malti Tuttle, Special Ed. Rehabilitation Counseling/School Psych.; Rafay Ishfaq substituting for Shashank Rao, Systems and Technology; Jeff Welborn, Lieutenant Colonel, ROTC Air Force; Roshun Steele, Lieutenant Colonel, ROTC Army; Arianne Gaetano, Socio/Anthro/Social Work; Robin Jaffe, Theatre; Annette Smith, Veterinary Clinical Sciences.
Absent, not sending substitute: Molly Gregg, ACES; Jacek Wower, Animal Sciences; Ed Youngblood, Communication and Journalism; Lloyd Riggs, Electrical & Computer Engineering; Daniel Wells, Horticulture; Katrina Akande, Human Development and Family Studies; Michael Greene, Nutrition, Dietetics, & Hospitality Mgmt.; Stacey Hunt, Political Science; Captain Willie Billingslea, ROTC Navy;
Remarks and Announcements
Comments by University Senate Chair, Michael Baginski
Chair Michael Baginski called the meeting to order at 3:31 pm. Chair Baginski recognized President Leath and thanked him for his work on issues with fixed price residual, in-state per diem issues, and night parking available for faculty returning to campus in the evening.
Comments by University President, Steven Leath
President Leath announced that with a freshman class of roughly 4800 we were the biggest we have ever been. He also talked about the strategic planning process and its mission of determining the right size for Auburn. He mentioned the 14 listening sessions that are ongoing to gather input on strategic objectives including efforts to raise the profile of Auburn. He also discussed some of the organizational changes that have occurred or are going to occur. Ron Burgess is still COO and acting Chief of Staff but there are now about 30 application for that office. He also mentioned that all of student affairs is now in one office under Bobby Woodward. He praised the new Athletics Director Allen Greene in his new role at Auburn. President Leath continues to place a high priority on the new Vice President of Research position. He also announced that Kelvin King joins Auburn on October 1 as the new Executive Director of Public Safety. Going forward he described enrollment management as a potentially big issue. Finally, he announced that at the next Senate meeting, he would give a “State of the University” address and perhaps this would be something we would have each fall.
Minutes
Chair Baginski recognized the past chair and chair-elect. A quorum, requiring 45 senators, with 56 senators recorded as present was established. The Senators unanimously approved the minutes for the May 15, 2018 and June 12, 2018 meetings without modification.
Agenda Action Item:
Faculty Handbook Amendments
Ralph Kingston, Chair of the Faculty Handbook Committee, presented proposed changes to the description of the Faculty Research Committee (FRC) in the handbook to include a person from the library. He reminded the Senate that the Library requested this amendment following the addition of a Research Data Management Librarian. Mike Fogel, Chair of the FRC, elaborated that this was an important addition to the committee. Senate voted in favor 61-0.
Pending Action Item presented as information:
Ralph Kingston, Chair of the Faculty Handbook Committee, also presented as an item; an amendment to the description of the Faculty Salaries and Welfare Committee composition to address organizational changes. The Senate will vote on this amendment at its next meeting on Tuesday, September 11.
Agenda Action Items:
Senate Vote on Members of Senate Committees
Beverly Marshall, Secretary and Chair of the Rules Committee, presented nominees for vacancies on various committees. The Senate voted in favor 61-0.
Recommendation for Departmental Bylaws
Dan Svyantek, Immediate Past-Chair, presented a recommendation as an action item regarding Department Bylaws. Dr. James Goldstein presented this recommendation at the June 12 meeting by Dr. James Goldstein. The Senate voted in favor 54-6.
Information Items:
Tools to Enhance Teaching and Learning
Lindsay Doukopoulos, Assistant Director of Biggio Center for Teaching and Learning, informed the Senate about digital badges that allow the participant to provide evidence of teaching effectiveness. She also informed faculty about the availability of Canvas Design training in an effort to improve the quality, consistency, and accessibility for students. Ms. Doukopoulus also encouraged faculty to teach students how to give effective feedback using the feedback tool in Canvas. She suggested this could help increase the response rate and quality of AUeValuate feedback.
Avoiding Academic Extra Benefits
Rich McGlynn, Executive Associate AD Compliance, presented new NCAA guidelines regarding academic misconduct and impermissible academic assistance violations. He reiterated that it is the responsibility of all institutional staff members and student-athletes to act with “honesty and integrity in all academic matters.” He reminded everyone that conduct by an institutional staff member that violates our written policies and procedures can result in an academic misconduct violation. Impermissible academic assistance can occur with substantial assistance that results in the certification of eligibility, including grade changes, when it is not generally available to other students. He ended the presentation by reminding the audience to ask before they act and if they see something to say something.
Some Things to Remember from the Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR)
Beverly Marshall, FAR, reminded those in attendance of the ticket reselling policy. She also reminded faculty that intercollegiate athletic events are university-excused absences and that faculty need to follow AU policies as outlined in the Auburn Bulletin. Dr. Marshall receives notification of all grade changes involving student-athletes and follows up with the faculty member effecting the change for background to make sure that the justification for the change was appropriate and did not occur simply because the student was an athlete.
Michael Baginski, Senate Chair
Unfinished Business: Chair Baginski reminded Senators about the Senator survey due by Tuesday, September 4. Officers are interested in receiving input regarding issues that the Senate could address.
New Business: none
Michael Baginski, Senate Chair
Declared adjournment of the meeting at 4:33 pm.