Minutes
Senate Steering Meeting
November 9, 2021, 3:30pm
Via Zoom
Present: Todd Steury (Chair), Don Mulvaney (Immediate Past Chair), Mark Carpenter (Chair elect), Octavia Tripp (Secretary elect), Ralph Kingston (Secretary), Emmett Winn, Cheryl Seals, Robert Norton, Robert Cochran, Laura Kloberg
Not present: Danilea Werner, Bill Hardgrave
Guests present: Jim O’Connor
Senate Chair Todd Steury called the meeting to order at 3.30pm.
Chair’s announcements
Steury shared that the Executive Committee received official notification of a request from the Dean of Agriculture in relation to the search for an open administrative position in the college.
He shared a conversation he had with Professor Beth Guertal who asked if the Senate might promote awareness of the Green Dot program among faculty. Green Dot is a training program, organized by the Office of Student Affairs. It promotes a violence-free, sexual assault-free, and stalking-free campus. Members of the committee suggested that the Office of Student Affairs might present to Senate on Green Dot at a future date.
Approval of Steering Minutes from October 5, 2021:
Hearing no objections, approved by unanimous consent.
Discussion, edit, and approval of Senate Agenda for November 16, 2021, at 3:30 pm
Action Item: Nominees on Senate committees
Kingston presented the name of one nominee to the University Curriculum Committee, which will be presented for Senate approval on October 19. The new member would join the committee in January.
Information Item: Current and Future OIT and cybersecurity concerns
Jim O’Connor presented on the importance of internet security on campus. His presentation will also preview new changes required by the federal government, and, in particular, new requirements for Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) version 2. OIT and the office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development were notified of version 2 changes on 4 November. They are currently seeking additional guidance from the federal government on various issues and will be ready to present on the implications of these for faculty and faculty research practices in the new year.
Ralph Kingston asked for a timeline on when CMMC v.2 will be required and how long we can wait to discuss it with faculty. Jim O’Connor noted that they had been working on that for a year and a half version 1 of CMMC, but version 2 was significantly different. One of the major changes will be that the university will no longer be able to self-certify but instead use an external government-approved certifier. CMMC v. 2 would not be required until it was included in the language of a specific research award. O’Connor was certain there would be sufficient time for pilot programs.
Robert Norton advised that details of how Auburn defends itself against cyber attack should not be shared in unnecessary detail in an open forum. He noted that the most important thing to stress in terms of CMMC v. 2 is that there will not only be guidelines, but also a period and a process in which changes and new requirements are explained in person to faculty.
Steury asked for clarification on whether the new requirements would apply to all faculty or just to those working on federal contracts. O’Connor confirmed that it would only apply to those working with federal contracts that involve certain types of controlled information. Robert Norton noted, however, that there would be some faculty who would be surprised to find that CMMC did apply to them.
There was agreement that it would be useful of Dr. Jim Weyenmeyer, VP for Research and Economic Development could be present at the Senate meeting.
Information Item: Vaccine Mandate
The Provost, Kelli Shomaker, Jaime Hammer, Karla McCormick will be present in Senate. Steury noted that it would be useful if some specific information could be provided in the meeting, for example how many letters of termination were sent out on 15 November.
Other business
Classroom Guidelines
Steury noted that he and the chair of the Faculty Handbook Review Committee met with Jaime Hammer, the University counsel, during the week on changes to the faculty handbook on classroom policies approved by the Senate earlier this fall. The Counsel’s office had problems with some of the wording.
The Provost will not sign the policy change in its current form. While it was decided that the change to the faculty handbook should be dropped, it was agreed that guidelines should be written confirming current rules which allow faculty to run their own classrooms and control who comes into their classrooms.
The guidelines are not yet ready for circulation, but Steering agreed that, when they were, they would be shared with Senate.
Chair Steury closed the “other business” section of the agenda by meeting by sharing some information about a range of new initiatives the executive is exploring. More information will be shared with Steering and with senate as and when these initiatives are developed.
Approval of Agenda for 11/16/2021 Senate meeting.
The Steering Committee voted unanimously to adopt the Senate agenda for November 16, 2021.
Adjournment – Chair Steury adjourned the meeting at 4.25pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Ralph Kingston
Secretary, University Senate