Minutes of the Auburn University Senate Meeting
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
238 Broun Hall Auditorium
3:30 P.M.

A complete transcript is available for this meeting.

Attendance
Officers:
Patricia Duffy, Chair; Larry Crowley , Immediate-Past Chair; Larry Teeter, Chair-Elect; Gisela Buschle-Diller; Secretary; Laura Plexico, Secretary-Elect.
Administration:
Betty Lou Whitford, Dean, College of Education; Gregg Newschwander, Dean, School of Nursing;  Lee Evans, Dean, School of Pharmacy; Nicholas Giordano, Dean, COSAM; Chris Roberts, Dean, College of Engineering, Calvin Johnson, Dean, College of Vet Med.; George Flowers, Dean, Graduate School.
Ex-Officio
Present:
Tim Boosinger, Provost; Bonnie MacEwan, Dean, Libraries; Leonard Towns, Graduate Student Council President; Ashley Hamberlin, A&P Assembly Chair; Keven Yost, Steering Committee; Michael Baginski, 2nd, Steering Committee.
Absent, sending substitute:
Joe Hanna for Bill Hardgrave, Dean, College of Business; Charles Israel for Joseph A. Aistrup, Dean, College of Liberal Arts.
Absent, not sending substitute:
Logan Powell, President, Student Government Association; Michael Freeman, Staff Council Chair; Sara Wolf, Steering Committee; Emily Myers, Steering Committee.
Senators, by Department:
Present: Robert Cochran, Accountancy; Valentina Hartaska, Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology; Paul Brown, ACES; Don Mulvaney, Animal Sciences; Dean Schwartz, Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology; Rebecca O’Neal-Dagg, Architecture; Barb Bondy, Art; Cliff Defee, Aviation Management and Logistics; Bob Locy, Biological Sciences; Allan David, Chemical Engineering; Cliff Lange, Civil Engineering; Ed Youngblood, Communication and Journalism; Allison Plumb, Communication Disorders; Wi-Suk Kwon, Consumer Sciences; Jada Kohlmeier, Curriculum and Teaching; Michael Stern, Economics; Lisa Kensler, Educational Foundations and Leadership; Thomas Baginski, Electrical and Computer Engineering; Hilary Wyss, English; Leonardo  De La Fuente, Entomology and Plant Pathobiology; Jung Park, Finance; Rusty Wright, Fisheries and Allied Aquaculture; Latif Kalin, Forestry and Wildlife Science; Brent Fox, Health Outcomes Research and Policy; Amy Wright, Horticulture; Tom Smith, Human Development and Family Studies; Jerrod Bradley Windham, Industrial Design;  Sean Gallagher, Industrial Systems and Engineering; John Quindry, Kinesiology; Gregg Schmidt, Library; Peter Stanwick, Management; Dmitry Glotov, Mathematics and Statistics; Daniel Mackowski, Mechanical Engineering; Matthew Hoch, Music; Constance Hendricks, Nursing; Kevin Huggins, Nutrition and Foods; Vicky van Santen, Pathobiology; Muralikrishnan Dhanasekaran, Pharmacal Sciences; Wesley Lindsey, Pharmacy Practice; Michael Fogle, Physics; Murray Jardine, Political Science; Gwynedd Thomas, Polymer & Fiber Engineering; Tung-shi Huang, Poultry Science; Jill Meyer, Special Education, Rehab and Counseling; Kristina Shuler, Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work; Annette Smith, Veterinary Clinical Sciences.
Absent, sending substitute:
Jackie Hundley for David Umphress, Computer Science and Software Engineering; David Han (?)  for Beth Guertal, Crops, Soil and Environmental Sciences; Pedro Cebollero for Traci O’Brien, Foreign Languages and Literature.
Absent, not sending substitute:
Andrew Sinclair, Aerospace Engineering; Mark Dougherty, Biosystems Engineering; Mark Taylor, Building Sciences; Eduardus Duin, Chemistry; David King, Geology and Geography; Tiffany Sippial, History; James Carver, Marketing;  Chippewa Thomas, Outreach; Eric Marcus, Philosophy; Daniel Sventek, Psychology; Jeffrey Hemmes, ROTC Air Force; Scott Copeland, ROTC Army; Paul Michael Esposito, ROTC Navy Adrienne Wilson, Theater.

Minutes
At 3:30 P.M. Chair Patricia Duffy called the meeting to order, reminded the Senators of the rules of speaking at Senate meetings and to speak into the microphones for better recording. She then established a quorum using iclickers. There are currently 87 members of the Senate and a quorum requires therefore 44 members to be present. The minutes of the November 4, 2014 Senate meeting were approved without modifications.

Remarks and Announcements
Office of the President, Jay Gogue, President
The President welcomed everyone back and said that Don Large has been working with a group of people on the new holiday schedule for 2015 which will stay mostly the same. The new schedule will come out next week. HR and Employment Benefits have been merged and moved to the old Bruno’s building. Bus service out to Bruno’s is available. Some space on campus is retained.
In the search for Vice President of Alumni Affairs, three candidates have been interviewed and a decision could be made early February. He will discuss the agenda for the Board of Trustees meeting at the February Senate meeting. The President further mentioned that freshmen housing on campus is not sufficient. Auburn University does not have mandatory housing requirements for freshmen. There are actually not enough beds; only around 3100-3200 beds are available. Therefore a RFP has been created to investigate private options/affiliate housing, but no decision has been made yet.

Office of the Provost, Tim Boosinger, Provost
The Provost first thanked everyone for completing the cyber security training. At this point training is complete at 99% and is showing a positive impact. He next mentioned Strategic Priority #2: Enhance faculty success – Department Head/Chair leadership training. Dr. Cathy Trower, former Co-PI of the COACHE study, has been invited to facilitate the training, and a session was held in December with the focus on developing leadership skills in the academic environment. Three future topics may include increasing faculty awards and recognition, issues related to HR, and enhancing culture in academic units to be more productive.
The Provost then remarked on the Cluster Hire initiative held in the Library and reported that the 8 sessions with 50 presenters total were well done and thoughtful and have been well attended. The main focus was on identifying opportunities for cooperation among faculty for interdisciplinary work and how faculty can be hired in a more strategic manner in the future for the approximately 50-60 faculty positions that are filled each year (research and instruction). (presentation)
Questions: none

University Senate Chair, Patricia Duffy
Patricia Duffy briefly introduced the Senate officers and mentioned that the nomination process for next year’s Senate Chair-elect and Secretary-elect is still open and nominations (self- or other) are still welcome. Faculty vote electronically in advance of the Spring Faculty meeting. The nominating committee consists of Ann Beth Presley (Chair of the committee), Anwar Ahmed, Bob Cochran, Bruce Gladden, Bob Locy, and Hillary Wyss. Further, Rules committee nominations can also be made. Nominations for the Rules Committee are made from the floor of the February Senate meeting with a vote to follow at the March Senate meeting. For membership in the Rules Committee, only sitting Senators at the day of the election are eligible to be nominated (or they can nominate themselves).
There have been questions to the calendar, such as the start date of the semester, and Patricia Duffy referred to Robin Jaffe as the Chair of the Calendar Committee for specific inquiries. There are numerous rules and guidelines concerning the calendar that need to be considered.
Questions: none

Action Items
1. Revision of Conflict of Interest Policy; Presenter: Art Chappelka, Chair of Faculty Research Committee
The revision of the COI policy had been introduced at the last Senate meeting and posted on the Senate website. Art Chappelka repeated briefly the goals and details of the policy (presentation ).
Questions: none                                                                     
Patricia Duffy called for a vote. The revision passed as presented.
2. Graduate Council: Adding a representative from University Libraries to the Graduate Council; Presenter: George Flowers, Graduate Council
George Flowers summarized the proposal of adding a Library representative to the Graduate Council as introduced at the November Senate meeting. Memo (pdf) Graduate Council Description (word)
Questions: none
Patricia Duffy called for a vote. The proposal passed.

Pending Action Items
Academic Standards two proposals; Presenter: Constance Relihan for Xing Fang, Chair of Academic Standards

Constance Relihan presented two new proposals of the Academic Standards Committee, the first being on limiting repeats of classes with grades D or F, and the second on a revision of wording of the preamble to the CAP policy (presentation (ppt)).
Currently students are permitted an unlimited number of repeats of a course in which they received a D or F. The new policy suggests academic advising through the student’s Academic Dean by the third attempt. Most frequently repeated courses include Calculus III, Differential Equations or English Composition II. Withdrawal (W) would not count as a repeat.
The second proposal is concerned with changing the wording in the preamble to the CAP policy from “in good standing” (GPA equal or higher 2.0, not suspended, not on Academic Warning) to “currently enrolled” to allow students to change majors that might be better suited for them and as long as that major does not have a specific CAP on it.
Both proposals were anonymously approved by Academic Standards in October. Patricia Duffy added that the two proposals are not linked together.
Questions:
Ed Youngblood (Senator, Communication & Journalism) remarked that in his department there are no CAPs for majors but an application process.
Constance Relihan replied that they have an application process because their majors were approved for limitations under the CAP policy; so technically there is a CAP, just not associated with a number.
Ed Youngblood (Senator, Communication & Journalism) asked whether their program would then not be affected.
Constance Relihan said that students are eligible to transfer into majors that don’t have a CAP if they are able to take classes. All majors in this department have policies and would not be affected. The goal is not to alter the current approved enrollment limitation policies for majors that have good and legitimate reasons to have them. It is to make sure that students that are currently enrolled are able to transfer into any other major that is an open enrollment major.
Larry Crowley (Immediate-Past Chair) asked how the gap policy works in regard to the repeats policy.
Constance Relihan replied that this policy does not have any bearing on the gap policy. A student could gap the course twice if they failed it twice. They should still have a conversation with their advisor or Academic Dean whether their chosen major is really best suited for them.
Larry Crowley (Immediate-Past Chair) said that he asked students in his Senior classes what they thought of the upcoming changes and what they would do. Their answer was that they would take these courses at Community Colleges to get around the challenge or to take fewer hours, or to go to a College that was more interested in their success (remark of one of the better students). In essence, Larry Crowley wanted to know if students and representatives of student groups have been asked their opinion.
Constance Relihan replied that there is a student representative on the Committee, but they had not specifically gone out to talk to other students.
Michael Stern (Senator, Economics) asked why the Academic Dean has to get involved when it comes to repeats.
Constance Relihan answered that the Academic Deans usually work most closely with the advisors and the students and are better equipped to have a tough conversation with the student about whether this major is the best for him/her.
Michael Stern (Senator, Economics) said that in his time as undergraduate student all talking was done on the department level and the faculty that oversees the curriculum and never with a Dean and he does not see that much at Auburn. Auburn uses third party and issues like this are taken away from the departments and the people that are teaching the courses and manage the curriculum in question.
Constance Relihan said that different colleges handle advising differently. Some delegate more advising responsibilities than others do. It is known from surveys that faculty advising can be very uneven. Some advisors are exceptionally good, others know less which might not serve the student as well. She acknowledged that it is a big philosophical question. She encouraged having this conversation at College level.
Allan David (Senator, Chemical Engineering) wanted to know if this revision would also affect courses with S/U grades and courses with minimal grade requirements.
Constance Relihan replied that S/U courses do not fall into this policy at all. Besides, permission can always be granted. Again, if the student is not able to achieve the minimum requirements after two trials, it is all about the student being in the right discipline.

Information Items
Update on Federal Regulations Affecting Research presenter: Martha Taylor, Assistant VP for Research
presentation (ppt)
Martha Taylor first related the background of the grants reform of 2011 and the combination of a number of circulars to the current situation going in effect on December 26, 2014 for all new federal grants. Implementation of the Uniform Guidance, however, was not released until December 18, 2014  and consists of 1139 pages(!) of guidelines that should be followed. Auburn and most other universities in the country are a little bit late in implementing the required changes due to the timing. At AU an implementation committee has been formed that looks at the “musts” and the “shoulds” of the reform. Pertinent changes include internal controls – compliance from the top all the way to the work bench with rules and regulations; procedures must show that rules are followed. Of greatest concern is the statement of financial certification (slide 8 of the presentation: “I am aware that any false, fictitious, or fraudulent information, or the omission of any material fact, may subject me to criminal, civil or administrative penalties for fraud, false statements, false claims or otherwise.”)
Other changes include procurement: purchases under $3k do not require quotes, >$3k to 150k do. Above $150k bids are required. Performance reporting on federal grants must be monitored through having copies of technical and progress reports to make sure that the promised performance has been achieved. Specifics of the agencies must be spelled out in order to make monitoring possible (not clear yet how to do). Similarly, subrecipient monitoring must be reported. On compensation more emphasis has been placed on internal control. Federal agencies must honor negotiated indirect cost rates with some exceptions, e.g., USDA, and Auburn must honor negotiated rates of subrecipients.
Standard lead times for funding announcements have been increased to 60 days and all forms will be standardized. Unique identifiers will facilitate the process across all agencies. Cost sharing must be included in the RFP and cannot be used as review criteria. Physical absence of the PI for 3 months is allowable without putting the project on hold. Regulations on allowable costs have been slightly relaxed in terms of clerical services, computing devices, travel visa and publication costs. Implementation of the new guidelines will require some time and patience and compliance with principle investigators.
The committee would like to have some input from faculty on the changes that are coming down the pipeline.
Questions:
Michael Fogle (Senator, Physics) asked whether the regulations also apply to current or only to new grants, which is especially interesting in terms of the purchase of computers.
Martha Taylor responded that all federal grants after December 26 are affected, new or modified.
Michael Fogle (Senator, Physics) asked whether that includes modifications in multi-year grants.
Martha Taylor said that yes, the new guidelines will apply to these types of grants. For a short period of transition time, however, it will be the question whether the old or the new rules apply. Luckily, audit will not go into effect for another year.
Rusty Wright (Senator, Fisheries) wanted to know if the regulations apply to non-federal grants as well.
Martha Tayler replied that there is already a cost policy in place that delineates between those two. There is still discussion how much risk as an institution Auburn wants to take because of this internal control clause.
Rusty Wright (Senator, Fisheries) mentioned that the big issue is the word “omission” in the statement (slide 8). How do you know what you do not know.
Martha Taylor responded that this truly is the issue. She encouraged everyone to call in case of questions and she will try to find the answer.
Patricia Duffy recommended that all Senators encourage their departments, if they have federal grants, to take a look at the presentation and the transcript of the meeting.

New Business: Patricia Duffy, Senate Chair
None
Unfinished Business: Patricia Duffy, Senate Chair
None
Adjournment: Patricia Duffy, Senate Chair at 4:35 P.M.