Meeting Minutes: February 6, 2020

Faculty Senate Minutes

Regular Meeting

February 6, 2020

The Faculty Senate was called to order by G. Crouch, Chair on Thursday February 6, 2020, in FSHN T101 at 3:30 p.m.   Forty-two (42) members were present with twenty-six (26) absent and ten (10) nonvoting members present.

Remarks by Olivia Yang, Preliminary Results of Scoring Capital Needs

Minutes of January 23, 2020 meeting were approved as circulated.

1. Announcements (Information items).
   1. Information Items.
      1. Minor Change Bulletin #8 (Exhibit B)
      2. Faculty Senate Elections – Chair-Elect and Executive Secretary
      3. Faculty Senate Officers met with the president and provost on January 28, 2020
2. Announcements (Reports)
   1. Remarks by the Chair – Greg Crouch
   2. Election information is available on our website.
   3. Please take the time to provide your input on the draft Strategic Plan. Data from the input will be compiled and sent to the president.
   4. The provost search is continuing and it was reported that some internal candidates have applied. Please remit any questions to this office on questions that you would like to have the candidates answer.
3. Additions or Changes to the Agenda – none
4. Agenda Items (Action Items).
   1. Recommendation from the Academic Affairs Committee to approve the revised Rule 83, Accommodations of Disabilities in the Classroom and Administration (Exhibit D) – K. Hildenbrand
      1. Motion Carried
   2. Recommendation from the Graduate Studies Committee to approve the revised  Graduate Certificate in Bioinformatics (Exhibits E  E1 ) – A.Dimitrov/U. Uchila
      1. Motion Carried
   3. Recommendation from the Graduate Studies Committee to approve the revised plan for MS in Statistics (no-thesis) (Exhibits F  F1  ) – A.Dimitrov/U. Uchila
      1. Motion Carried
   4. Recommendation from the Faculty Senate Steering Committee to approve the revision to the Faculty Senate Constitution to allow the WSU Faculty Senate representation from the Honor’s College (Exhibit G)
      1. Motion Carried
   5. Recommendation from the Professional Health Sciences Committee to approve the PHSC Major Change Bulletin #3 ( Exhibit H ) – J. Mattoon
      1. Motion Carried
5. Agenda Items (Discussion Items).
   1. Recommendation from the Academic Affairs Committee to approve the Under Graduate Major Change Bulletin #7 (Exhibit  I  ) – K.Hildenbrand
      1. No Discussion
   2. Recommendation from the Academic Affairs Committee to approve the Under Graduate Major Change Bulletin #8 (Exhibit  J) – K.Hildenbrand
      1. No Discussion
   3. Recommendation from the Graduate Studies Committee to approve the Graduate Major Change Bulletin # (Exhibit K) – A.Dimitrov/U. Uchila
      1. No Discussion
6. Constituents’ Concerns.
   1. A concern arose regarding the proposed parking rate increases.  Senate officers will follow up on this with the president.
      1. Concerns were raised regarding the inclement weather policy on decisions to closeannounce campus closures the night before. It was noted that this complicates classes, labs and scheduled tests. These concerns will be brought to the attention of administration.
      2. Questions regarding the budget were raised and it was reported to please direct those to VP Stacy Pearson who is the guest speaker at our February 20 meeting.
      3. A concern arose regarding high staff turnover due to lack of adequate salaries.  It was noted that this concern will be discussed with HRS.
      4. A concern regarding budgetary issues to meet special accommodations according to the Office of Civil Rights & Investigation (CRCI) will negatively impact smaller departments.  It was advised this issue should be addressed in the Strategic Plan Survey.
7. Adjournment.                                                  

                      The meeting adjourned at 4:21 p.m.

                                              Amy Nielsen, Executive Secretary