Minutes of the Auburn University Senate Meeting
Tuesday, June 11, 2019
238 Broun Hall
3:30 P.M.
A full transcript is available for this meeting.
Attendance Record
Senate Officers:
Michael Baginski, Chair; Don Mulvaney substituting for Nedret Billor, Chair-elect; Beverly Marshall, Secretary; Adrienne Wilson, Secretary-Elect; Daniel Svyantek, Immediate-Past Chair
Administration attending: Kelli Shomaker, VP Business and Finance and CFO; Venus Hewing substituting for Royrickers Cook, Associate Provost and VP for Outreach; Caralise Hunt substituting for Gregg Newschwander, Dean School of Nursing; Paul Patterson, Dean College of Agriculture; Maria Witte substituting for George Flowers, Dean of the Graduate School; David Givens substituting for Calvin Johnson, Dean College of Veterinary Medicine; Tim Moore substituting for Richard Hansen, Dean Harrison School of Pharmacy; Gretchen Van Valkenburg, VP Alumni Affairs
Administration absent, not sending substitute: Taffye Clayton, VP & Assoc. Provost of Inclusion and Diversity;
Ex-Officio attending; Bill Hardgrave, Provost; Shali Zhang, Dean of Libraries; Carlos Smith substituting for Mary Margaret Turton, SGA President; Omer Khan substituting for Nima Aliadeh, GSC President; Robert Kulick, A&P Assembly Chair; Michael Tillson, Steering; Jared Russell, Steering; Robert Norton, Steering
Ex-Officio Absent, not sending substitute: Tammy Williams, Staff Council Chair; Jung Won Hur, Steering;
Senators, by Department:
Attending or Represented by Substitute
Lisa Miller, Accountancy; Roy Hartfield substituting for Anwar Ahmed, Aerospace Engineering; Emily Nichols substituting for Molly Gregg, ACES; Jacek Wower, Animal Sciences; Rebecca O’Neal-Dagg, Architecture; Kathryn Floyd, Art; David Blersch substituting for Yi Yang, Biosystems Engineering; Bryan Bechingham, Chemical Engineering; Doug Goodwin, Chemistry; J. Bryan Anderson, Civil Engineering; Ed Youngblood, Communication and Journalism; Kai Chang, Computer Science and Software Engineering; Young A Lee, Consumer and Design Sciences; Jamie Harrison, Curriculum & Teaching; Gilad Sorek, Economics; David Held, Entomology & Plant Pathology;Lee Colquit, Finance; Russell Wright substituting for Ash Bullard, Fisheries and Allied Aquaculture; Lourdes Betanzos substituting for Zachary Zuwiyya, Foreign Lang & Literatures; Todd Steury substituting for Wayde Morse, Forestry & Wildlife Science; Kimberly Garza, Health Outcomes and Research Policy; Matt Malczycki substituting for Monique Laney, History; Cathy Browne substituting for Daniel Wells, Horticulture; Mark Schall, Industrial and Systems Engineering; Greg Schmidt, Library; Dora Bock, Marketing; Dmitry Glotov, Mathematics and Statistics; Matthew Hoch, Music; David Crumbley, Nursing; David Mixson, Outreach; Peter Christopherson, Pathobiology; Wesley Lindsey substituting for Spencer Durham, Pharmacy Practice; Michael Fogle, Physics; Ken Macklin, Poultry Science; Tracy Witte, Psychology; Malti Tuttle, Special Ed. Rehabilitation Counseling/School Psych.; Shashank Rao, Systems and Technology; Lieutenant Kenneth McDonald, ROTC Air Force; Christian Ramos substituting for Celina M Creech, Lieutenant Colonel, ROTC Army; Captain Willie Billingslea, ROTC Navy; Carole Zugazaga substituting for Arianne Gaetano, Socio/Anthro/Social Work; Robin Jaffe, Theatre;
Absent, not sending substitute: Valentina Hartarska, Ag Economics and Rural Sociology;Chad Faradori, Anatomy Physiology and Pharmacology; Anthony Moss, Biological Sciences; Mark Tatum, Building Science; Mary Sandage, Communication Disorders; Charles Chen, Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences; Forest Smith, Drug Discovery and Development; Ellen Reames, Educational Foundations, Leadership; Lloyd Riggs, Electrical & Computer Engineering; James E. Ryan, English; Haibo Zou, Geology & Geography; Scott Ketring, Human Development and Family Studies; Carlton Lay, Industrial Design; Andreas Kavazis, Kinesiology; Alan Walker, Management; Daniel Mackowski, Mechanical Engineering; Baker Ayoun, Nutrition, Dietetics, & Hospitality Mgmt; Stacey Hunt, Political Science; Eric Marcus, Philosophy; Robert Cole, Veterinary Clinical Sciences.
Minutes
Chair Michael Baginski called the meeting to order at 3:39 pm. Due to technological difficulties the meeting was conducted in analog without overheads and clickers. He reminded the members of the senate or substitute for a senator to sign in in the back of the room and for substitutes to sign in by printing his/her name in the column by the senator. He also reminded the Senate about rules for speaking at Senate meetings.
A quorum, requiring 45 senators, was established by show of hands. The Chair called for the approval of the May 21, 2019 minutes. The minutes were approved by unanimous consent.
Remarks and Announcements
Comments by University Senate Chair, Michael Baginski
Chair Baginski reminded the Senate that it was his last meeting as senate chair and Beverly Marshall and Dan Svyantek’s last senate meeting as senate officers. He thanked them for all they have done for the Senate.
He congratulated coach Butch Thompson and the Auburn baseball team for winning the Chapel Hill Super Regional and wished them well in the College World Series.
He thanked President Steven Leath and Provost Bill Hardgrave for all they have done. President Leath worked to revoke the Fixed Price Residual Takeback policy and to increase in sate travel and lodging reimbursement. President Leath also put General Ron Burgess in charge of solving the parking problem and he has already made significant progress. Provost Hardgrave is always willing to help the senate leadership in any way he can, attends the steering committee meetings, and meets with Senate officers whenever he is asked. Provost Hardgrave oversaw changes that allowed Multi-year contracts for NTTF, the new Professor of Practice title series, and Guidelines for Tenure on Hire.
Finally, he wished Nedret Billor well as she becomes senate chair at the next meeting. I want to wish her well. He encouraged everyone to let Senate officers know if they see potential problems on campus or have any concerns.
Chair Baginski called for a moment of silence in honor of Officer William Buechner who was killed and prayers for Officers Sistrunk and Elliott who were injured. Chair Baginski recognized the officers of the University Senate.
Comments by University Provost, Bill Hardgrave
Provost Hardgrave reiterated the four R’s in the Auburn Strategic Plan: Research, Recognition, Rewards, and Retention. He mentioned that he appreciated the efforts of the Faculty Salaries and Welfare committee and had worked on increasing the Promotion and Tenure salary adjustment. The P&T salary adjustment had not been changed in 15 years. He is anticipating making that change to a 10 percent pay increase from Assistant to Associate and a 12 percent pay increase from Associate to Full. Although this is pending budget approval, this would be a very aggressive change in our promotion pay.
He also mentioned that 89 faculty received merit-based market adjustments to the tune of about 1 million dollars last year. Provost Hardgrave anticipates that more will be forthcoming, consistent with Auburn’s Strategic Goal 4 - moving pay in line with our SREB peers.
Action Items:
Extension Title Series
Dean Paul Patterson, College of Agriculture, presented the Extension Title Series promotion track that blends the existing research title series and the clinical title series by creating three titles: Assistant Extension Professor, Associate Extension Professor, and Extension Professor. He described the process the series had gone through to get to this stage. The Extension Title Series was presented as a pending action item at the May meeting.
Rusty Wright, substitute Senator, Fisheries, asked how this would affect folks that had already moved into these positions, particularly those without terminal degrees.
Dean Patterson clarified that upon approval of the Senate he would make a recommendation to the Provost on how those appointments would be specified. The guidelines describe how those without terminal degrees can be placed and begin their careers in the title series.
Rusty Wright, substitute Senator, Fisheries, asked what their title would be.
Dean Patterson gave an example of an agronomist that does not currently hold a Ph.D. being appointed as an Assistant Extension Professor. The guidelines require for promotion that you do hold the terminal degree for other qualifications.
With no further questions, Chair Baginski called for a vote. The amendment passed with 65 Senators voting - 63 in favor and 2 opposed.
Information Items
Clery Act Overview
Susan McCallister, Director, Campus Safety & Compliance, Campus Safety and Security provided an overview on the Clery Act. Under the Clery Act, Auburn is required to keep and disclose information about crimes on and near our campus. The definition of campus can extend to other properties controlled or used by Auburn. Clery Geography can be confusing but is very important when it comes to reporting and collecting statistics. She provided background around the law itself and outlined differences between the Clery Act and Title IX.
She provided a handout to the Senate that described reporting options for crime reporting as a victim or witness, as a Campus Security Authority (CSA), or as a Responsible Employee. She introduced Mike Adams, Auburn’s Clery Compliance Specialist. She explained that AU Campus Safety & Security needs to know about any of the following:
It is the Auburn employees’ responsibility to report but not to investigate. Their office will follow up with local law enforcement so that Auburn’s off campus crime statistics include any crimes in these areas for the dates used. She asked if there were any questions.
Mike Adams, Clery Compliance Specialist, clarified that the important thing is to notify their office when you travel. They will contact local law enforcement to get crime data for the travel period. Faculty do not need to investigate but their office does need the lodging information.
Mike Fogle, Senator, Physics, asked for clarification regarding students involved in research and conferences. Ed Youngblood, Senator, Communication & Journalism, also asked about conferences and thesis research where there was no funding.
Susan McCallister said basically anything outside of the classroom activity should be reported – so conferences, definitely. She indicated that there was no need to report in instances where the student went on their own. When the cost of their hotel is covered, however, then that means Auburn is controlling the space. Internships do not count as Clery geography.
Dave Crumbley, Senator, Nursing, asked about contractual space for study abroad.
Susan McCallister indicated that leasing space for classrooms or housing does count in Clery geography.
Tracy Witte, Senator, Psychology, asked about an employee that was a project manager working remotely.
Susan McCallister clarified that Clery only applies for spaces that are frequently used by students. If students are not going to be there then no need to report.
CPT Chris Ramos, Senator substitute, Army ROTC, asked about training using Army funds. Susan McCallister indicated that Clery did not apply.
Rusty Wright, Senator, Fisheries, asked about day trips on an Auburn boat.
Susan McCallister indicated that if it was a University-owned research vessel the only responsibility was to report any crimes on the boat. She also clarified that Auburn has several separate campuses that have to comply with Clery independently including the Rural Urban Studio and the Aricia campus as examples.
Ed Youngblood, Senator, Communication & Journalism, asked about a student getting a $500 travel grant for research. Susan McCallister indicated that since they had control and Auburn was not directly paying for housing then it was not a Clery reporting issue.
Ed Youngblood, Senator, Communication & Journalism, asked that the handout provided to the Senate be posted to the Senate website with the agenda.
Michael Bagiski, Senate Chair, asked where he would go to find a list of Campus Security Authorities. Susan McCallister indicated that he could ask Mike Adams, Auburn’s Clery Compliance Specialist.
Robin Jaffe, Senator, Theatre, asked what she did with all this information. She indicated that they compiled off campus statistics. Auburn does not have a lot of instances in this category. Susan McCallister indicated that this data is available on Auburn’s website and can be used by parents to compare across campuses that their prospective college student may be interested in attending.
Michael Baginski, Senate Chair
Unfinished Business: none
New Business: none