Meeting Minutes: September 23, 2021

WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY       

FACULTY SENATE MINUTES

Presentation slideshow by President Schulz and Provost Chilton  

1. The Faculty Senate was called to order by C. Horne, Chair-Elect on Thursday, September 23^rd, 2021 in Lighty 403 and via Zoom at 3:30pm. Sixty-three (63) members were present with eighteen (18) absent and nineteen (19) nonvoting members present.
2. Approval of Minutes from the April 8, 2021 Meeting

Approved with unanimous consent

3.  Announcements
   1. Information Items.
      1. Faculty Senate Officers met with the WSU president and provost on August 17^th, 2021 and September 20^th, 2021.
      2. Matthew Hudelson will serve as the 2021 – 2022 Faculty Senate Parliamentarian.
      3. (Item # 2021.09.23_102_AAC) Minor Change Bulletin No. 1 AAC (Exhibit 102A).
      4. Summer Items passed by Steering Committee
         1. (Item #2021.09.23_103_Steering) Proposal to rename the Women’s Studies Degree and Course Prefix to Bachelor of Arts in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; Course Prefix WGSS (Exhibit 103A 103B 103C).
         2. (Item # 2021.09.23_104_Steering) Major Change Bulletin No. 7 concerning Chemistry 501 and Fine Arts 500 (Exhibit 104A).
      5. Faculty Senate Athletic Ad Hoc Committee met with the President and Provost on August 20^th to discuss the Athletic Budget.
   2. Reports
      1. Remarks by the Chair Elect – Christine Horne
4. Additions or Changes to the Agenda.
   1. Motion from the floor: Tammy Barry moves to shift the Steering Committee recommendation to Approve Faculty Senate Committees from a discussion item to an Action item; Faculty Senator, Cigdem Capan seconds this motion.
      1. 54 Approved; 0 Reject.
   2. Motion from the floor: Von Walden moves to amend the minutes to include an information item regarding the athletic ad hoc committee.
      1. Approved with unanimous consent  
5. Agenda Items.
   1. Action Items
      1. (Item # 2021.09.23_105_Steering) Recommendation from the Steering Committee to approve the Faculty Senate Committees (Exhibit 105A).
         1. 56 Approved; 0 reject.
   2. Discussion Items.
      1. (Item # 2021.09.23_106_AAC ) Recommendation from the Academic Affairs Committee to Approve the Revision to Rule 2, Requirements for Freshman Admission (Exhibit 106A) –E. Lopez
         1. No Discussion
6. Constituent Concerns.
   1. Concern from Jeannette Marie Mageo: Concern with the address of Athletic debt and the effect that may have on academic programs.
      1. Response from Von Walden: The athletic debt during President Schulz time at WSU currently stands reduced to $84 million from the $130 million as of last spring. $45 million of this debt was recently refinanced. Additionally, WSU still has $150 million of debt from the Elson S. Floyd era of athletic delinquency that has been refinanced. It is unclear what unit (academic dept. / athletic dept.) is contributing to paying the original refinanced loan.
      2. Response by Dave Turnbull: While the debt ratio from prior years still stands, this year, WSU will be returning its expenses for this year which would mean that WSU athletics is currently operating on an even budget for this year despite having overarching debt from prior years. Pac-12 renegotiations of contracts with media programs is one way that WSU hopes to recover on WSU athletic debt moving forward.
   2. Concern from Renee Magnan: what are the repercussions for students who are not following COVID related guidelines other than academic holds which do not seem
      1. Response by Christine Horne: Admission to football games, and other motivators encouraging students to following guidelines is something that leadership and the provost office is being especially sensitive in addressing.
      2. Response from Terese King: Students who are not compliant with COVID-related guidelines will receive a hold on their account. This hold will prevent non-compliant students from moving forward with Spring Semester admission until compliance is met.
   3. Concern from Rachael Sanchez: What is being done to address antigen testing and rapid testing availability for WSU employees in order to mitigate the stress and anxiety surrounding family and communities.
      1. Response from Christine Horne: This is a topic that will be re-addressed with WSU leadership.
   4. Concern from Cigdem Capan: Request for administration to provide more information / transparency on the rescue plan dollars from the federal government.
      1. Response from Christine Horne: This is a topic that will be re-addressed with WSU leadership.   
7. Adjournment.
   1. Meeting adjourned on Thursday, September 23, 2021 at 4:46pm

Respectfully submitted,

Matthew Hudelson, Faculty Senate Executive Secretary