Senate (not a meeting) [no quorum–proceedings only]
January 21, 2020
3:30pm
Broun Hall
There is no transcript for these proceedings.
Presentations are available from the Agenda for the proposed meeting.
Attendance Record at the end of the minutes.
A quorum was not established, with only 35 in attendance.
The gathering of those attending was called to order at 3:31pm by Chair Nedret Billor.
Due to lack of quorum, approval of minutes from the Senate meeting of November 12, 2019 was deferred to a later date.
Remarks and Announcements
Chair Billor centered her remarks on the faculty response to the Board of Trustees proposal to remove the “Interim” designation from Interim President Jay Gogue’s title.
Regarding the Open Forum called by the Senate Executive Committee for December 3rd, Chair Billor reported that faculty in attendance were generally supportive of the Board of Trustees proposal. Concerns were expressed by both those who supported and opposed the proposal regarding the length of President Gogue’s term and regarding the process of selecting President Gogue’s eventual replacement. Faculty expressed a desire for a clear and open selection process involving all campus stakeholders. Regarding President Gogue’s term, faculty expressed desire for it to be limited so not to impede a search for a permanent replacement.
Chair Billor reported on the one-question survey sent to faculty on the question of the removal of the interim designation. Between December 3rd and January 6th, the survey received 575 responses. 48% in support, 32% in opposition, and 9% deferring or expressing no opinion. Comments to the survey commended President Gogue’s leadership at Auburn, but recommended a limited term of 2-3 years so not to impede a rigorous national search for his eventual replacement.
The executive committee has delivered these findings to the Board of Trustees.
Chair Billor made several announcements:
Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebrarion Week activities are underway across campus. There events/activities and speakers planned throughout the week. Please see the OCM website for details.
Auburn’s Diversity Promising Practices 2020 Conference will happen on February 10th and 11th at the AU Hotel and Conference Center. The theme is AN INSPIRED PATHWAY: PURSUING LEADERSHIP INTELLIGENCE THROUGH INCLUSION. Chair Billor urged Senators to register for the conference.
There were no remarks from Interim President Gogue and Provost Hardgrave, as they were unable to attend the meeting.
Action item:
The vote for replacement members to Senate and University Committees was deferred due to the lack of a quorum.
Information Items:
Academic Honesty
Presenter: Jim Ryan, Provost Liaison
This presentation gave an overview of the Academic Honesty system at Auburn. The presentation slides, available on the Senate website, covered members of the Academic Honesty Committee, SGA management of the code, and changes to the options available in regard to the way cases of academic honesty code violations are handled. The full academic honesty code is available at the Provost’s website
The presentation closed with a slide outlining Academic Honesty Best Practices.
For more information see the presentation posted at the Senate website.
Biggio Center Support for Academic Honesty and Test Proctoring
Presenter: Asim Ali, Director of Auburn Online
The presentation introduced the 5 Units of the Biggio Center and gave an overview of the support they offer for academic honesty and testing. The Biggio Testing Services Unit was the main focus of the presentation, including information on costs for in-person proctoring, virtual live proctoring, and on-demand with check-in and A.I.
The presentation closed with contact information for Biggio Testing Services.
For more information see the presentation posted at the Senate website.
Early Alert / Midterm Grade Program
Presenters: Judith Sanders and Brandon Simmons
This presentation highlighted participation in the Early Alter / Midterm Grade program and discussed the merits of the program for student success. There is a high level of participation for core and 1st year courses, and other courses are welcome to participate. The Biggio Center and OIT are available to offer support for anyone wishing to participate in early alert.
Early Alert Midterm Grade Program participation enables communication with those who have a stake in a student with a midterm D/F/FA grade including
Students
Academic Advisors
Associate Deans
Parents (if the student has enabled parent access to grades)
Campus Partners
Program outcomes include grade improvements for students, the opportunity to withdraw from classes before deadlines, increased awareness for and proper use of excused absences, and improvements among at-risk student populations.
Brandon Simmons discusses the Canvas and Banner grade submission options available to faculty and instructors, and stressed the availability of help and training from Biggio and OIT.
For more information see the presentation posted at the Senate website.
Polling Station on Auburn Campus
Presenters Beth McDaniel and Elizabeth Devore, Doctoral Students
This presentation discussed the process and potential merits of getting a polling station on campus. Having a polling station on campus would serve to encourage civic engagement of students and may help eliminate barriers to voting for on-campus students. The Lee County Commission, which decides polling locations, has given conditional approval for an on-campus location, but wants to see support from Auburn University administration, faculty and staff.
Presenters noted that our peer institutions, The University of Alabama, University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, and Texas A&M, have polling locations. There are no statutes prohibiting Auburn from having an on-campus polling location. The presenters request that faculty lend support to add a polling station on Auburn’s campus, and that a location be selected based on administrative assessment of facilities, parking, and transit.
Question (Senator J. Brian Anderson, Civil Engineering): Where will the location be and will this polling station be solely for students?
Answer (Elizabeth Devore): That is up to the Lee County Commission to draw the boundaries. We are not advocating for a student-only location. Parking is a part of the discussion for location suitability, as are transit options.
For more information see the presentation posted at the Senate website.
Unfinished Business
None
New Business
None
Adjourned
By Chair Billor , 4:17pm
Submitted by Greg Schmidt, Secretary-elect
Attendance Record
Senate Officers: Nedret Billor, Chair; Don Mulvaney, Chair-elect; Greg Schmidt, Secretary-elect; Michael Baginsky, Immediate Past Chair
Absent: Adrienne Wilson, Secretary
Administration:
Joe Aistrup, Dean College of Liberal Arts
Annette Ranft, Dean Harbert College of Business
Chris Roberts, Dean Samuel Ginn College of Engineering
Ben Farrow for Vini Nathan, Dean College of Architecture Design and Construction
Gregg Newschwander, Dean School of Nursing
Absent:
Nick Giordano, Dean, College of Sciences and Mathematics
Jim Weyhenmeyer, VP of Research
Jane Parker, VP for Development
Susan Hubbard, Dean College of Human Sciences
Ex-Officio Members:
Nima Aliadeh, GSC President
Mark Bransby, A&P Assembly Chair
Jung Won Hur, Steering Committee
Jared Russell, Steering Committee
Robert Norton, Steering Committee
Absent:
Michael Tillson, Steering Committee
Kim Brumbeloe, Staff Council Chair
Shali Zhang, Dean of Libraries
Mary Margaret Turton, SGA President
Bill Hardgrave, Provost
Senators:
Rebecca O’Neal-Dagg, Architecture
Yi Wang, Biosystems Engineering
J. Brian Anderson, Civil Engineering
Mary Sandage, Communication Disorders
Kai Chang, Computer Science and Software Engineering
Jamie Harrison, Curriculum & Teaching
Feng Li, Drug Discovery and Development
Gilad Sorek, Economics
Lloyd Riggs, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Susan Youngblood, English
Haibo Zou, Geology & Geography
Kimberly Garza, Health Outcomes Research and Policy
David Lucsko for Monique Laney, History
Andreas Kavazis, Kinesiology
George Stachokas, Library
Virginia Kunzer, Music
David Crumbley, Nursing
David Mixson, Outreach
Spencer Durham, Pharmacy Practice
Michael Fogle, Physics
Robert Norton for Ken Macklin, Poultry Science
Tracy Witte, Psychology
Kenneth McDonald, Lieutenant, ROTC, Air Force
Earl Ingram III for Calina Creech, LTC, ROTC, Army
Arianne Gaetano, Socio/Anthro/Social Work
Robin Jaffe, Theatre
Absent:
Lisa Miller, Accountancy
Anwar Ahmed, Aerospace Engineering
Jacek Wower, Animal Sciences
Valentina Hatarska, Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology
Molly Gregg, ACES
Chad Foradori, Anatomy, Physiology & Pharmacology
Kathryn Floyd, Art
Anthony Moss, Biological Sciences
Mark Tatum, Building Sciences
Bryan Beckingham, Chemical Engineering
Doug Goodwin, Chemistry
Robert Agne, Communication and Journalism
Melanie Duffey, Consumer & Design Sciences
David Han, Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences
Ellen Reames, Educational Foundations, Leadership & Tech
David Held, Entomology & Plant Pathology
Lee Colquitt, Finance
Ash Bullard, Fisheries & Allied Aquaculture
Zachary Zuwiyya, Foreign Language & Literatures
Wayde Morse, Forestry & Wildlife Science
Daniel Wells, Horticulture
Scott Ketring, Human Development & Family Studies
Carlton Lay, Industrial Design
Rich Sesek, Industrial and Systems Engineering
Alan Walker, Management
Jeremy Wolter, Marketing
Yanzhao Cao, Mathematics and Statistics
Daniel Mackowski, Mechanical Engineering
Baker Ayoun, Nutrition, Dietetics, & Hospitality Mgmt
Peter Christopherson, Pathobiology
Eric Marcus, Philosophy
Stacey Hunt, Political Science
Malti Tuttle, Special Ed. Rehab. Counseling/School Psychology
Shashank Rao, Systems and Technology
Willie Billingslea, Captain, ROTC, Naval
Robert Cole, Veterinary Clinical Sciences