Minutes
Senate Meeting: November 15, 2022
3:30 p.m. via Zoom Meeting
A Panopto recording for this meeting is available.
Please refer to recording for details not included in the minutes.
Presentations are available from the agenda for the meeting.

Attendance Record at the end of the minutes.

A quorum was established, with 48 Senators.  48 Senators responded to the quorum poll.

The Chair called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m. The Chair gave attendees an overview of the basic procedures for the Zoom meeting format and then began the meeting. First, he introduced the members of the Senate Executive Committee and the Senate Steering Committee. 

 Approval of the minutes from October 18, 2022, with 
No corrections were raised, and the minutes were approved.

The Chair invited the AU Administrators to make remarks.

Chris Roberts, Auburn University President Remarks:
President Roberts welcomed everyone and shared information about the enrollment and Facilities for Auburn University.

• Enrollment - 35,000 freshman applications 10% higher than the previous year.

Over 400 of the freshmen admitted were through the Auburn First Program

• Facilities – The BOT approved 9 facilities projects. Seven of the 9 were related to the Academic enterprise. President Roberts make note that approval was given for a new building for the College of Education, Gulf Coast Engineering Research Center, College of Architecture Design Commons, Renovations in Lowder Hall for student advising suites. He mentioned that at the next BOT meeting, the STEM Agriculture building would be discussed for approval.

President Roberts mentioned the excitement of celebrating the AU faculty at the upcoming Faculty Awards Celebration.

The Chair thanked Dr. Roberts and asked Interim Provost Nathan to share her comments. 

Vini Nathan, Auburn University Interim Provost Remarks:

Dr. Nathan gave the following report:

• Discussion of the purchased property by AU in Huntsville AL.
• The approval of a degree program in Library, Media and Technology in the College of Education
• Dr. Nathan shared information on the College of Human Science (Nutritional Sciences) completed their accreditation had their exit interview showing that they had a strong program.
• Dr. Nathan shared information on the Mission Enhancement funds for which16 units of the university received funding.
• Dr. Nathan gave an update about internationalization efforts at Auburn as it related to a previous question concerning Auburn’s international programs.  She mentioned that Dr. Andy Gillespie of the office of International Programs will be looking at strategies for continual support of Auburn’s international programs to support Auburn in a more competitive and meaningful ranking as it relates to the US and Times rankings.

The Chair then asked if there were questions that should be recognized from President Roberts or Provost Nathan.

Dr. Tony Moss asked a question for clarification of the approved facilities from the BOT concerning College of Architecture Design Construction. President Roberts shared that there was a proposal to create studio and laboratory spaces for the College of Architecture Design Construction. Dr. Moss thanked Dr. Roberts for the clarification.

The Chair then asked if there were any other questions. Hearing none, the Chair continued with the agenda for the meeting.

Information Items
Update on Academic Policies
Presenter: Norman Godwin, Associate Provost for Academic Effectiveness
Dr. Godwin discussed that many of the Academic policies have outdated language and processes. He discussed that there is a review of the policies in his office and discussed that there is work being done to create good policy statements and create a better usable website.  He furthered mentioned that an ad hoc committee had been established that includes Faculty, the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Director of Student Services, and the Registrar’s office to develop and suggest revision of the policy.
The chair asked for any questions in response to Dr. Godwin’s presentation.
Dr. Tony Moss asked the question if the new policies would come across to the Senate for ratification by vote. Dr. Godwin responded that it depended upon the policy. He gave an example of the Academic Standards Committee being included in the review of policy which fall under the Senate.
Dr. David Blersch asked a question about the anticipated schedule for the review process and how policies are revised along with how are policies announced or presented to the university? Dr. Godwin explained that announcements would be made based on potential changes that will have gone through the review process. Dr. Godwin gave various examples of how this would be implemented as far as making announcements.

Report for Senate DEI Committee
Presenter: Melody Russell, Chair of Senate DEI Committee
Dr. Melody Russell gave a presentation from the DEI committee, providing an update. She explained the charge, committee membership, along with the university Senate Inclusive Excellence Award. She explained the criteria, eligibility, application process and application timeline. She furthered explained that the award would be administered by the University Senate Committee and housed in the Office of Inclusion and Diversity. The recipient would receive 10,000 per year for three years.
The chair asked for questions. No questions were asked, and the chair continued with the agenda.

Report from Ad Hoc Committee on Rank above Professor
Presenter: Jada Kohlmeier, Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee
Dr. Kohlmeier gave a summary of the committee and recommendations. She gave the charge of the committee that was formed by the past university senate leadership. The committee was asked to research ranks above professor. Dr. Kohlmeier discussed that they did an extensive look at different ranks from various institutions. The committee is recommending a rank above Professor. Dr Kohlmeier gave a very detailed presentation including all details that were discussed among the committee members.
The chair then asked if there were questions. Dr. Luca Guazzotto asked several questions;
1.) Is the process the same as the standard tenure and promotion process? And
2.) How do you qualify for this promotion?
Dr. Kohlmeier responded to the questions by first explaining that the committee was charged with whether having rank above professor was a good idea. The committee was not charged to develop a detailed accounting of the guidelines, standards, and the committee process. She also suggested if the Senate decided to move further with this concept,  the details would be decided by the senate.
Dr. Melody Russell asked a question about the rationale for rank above professor. Then she made the comment that she was still not clear on what needed to done next. She stated that she was not clear on how this idea came up and why would you want to move forward with this since criteria was not in place. One major question Dr. Russell posed was, does this mean we automatically move forward?
Dr. Kohlmeier reiterated that the committee felt like this would be an excellent way to honor a professor who had achieved an extra level of exceptionalism. Dr. Kohlmeier did mention that one part of the rationale was keep the professor from leaving the institution and going into private industry.
Provost Nathan asked to make some clarification about the level of rank above Professor. Provost Nathan expressed that this was a beginning process and has not been vetted through the Deans, President, and other university leadership to see what the implications may be. This is an idea not a mandate nor a call to action. There are things that must developed before one can move on. There needs to be ongoing clarity about whether this concept is a rank or award.
Clarification was made by the Chair that this was informational because there are several things that must be done before the idea could be brought back to the Senate.
The Chair recognized Dr. Zachry Schulz for a question. Dr. Zachry Schulz offer a motion that the senate consider this for action in the next Senate meeting to start the discussion. Dr. Tony Moss seconded the motion.
Dr. Melody Russell asked what the discussion would be since the concept of level above Professor will move forward to an action item? The chair asked for other questions. No questions on this item and the chair moved on with the agenda.

Action Items
Vote for replacements to Senate Committees
Presenter: Octavia Tripp, Senate Secretary
Dr. Tripp presented the nominees for replacement for Senate Committees.
Academic Program Review – Chris Lepczyk CFWE
Administrator Evaluation – Evelyn Bornier Foreign Languages
Competitive Research Grant – Vinicia Blancardi CVM
Faculty Handbook Review – Allison Plumb Speech Language and Hearing
The chair explained the voting process for the Senate Committee Replacements.
The Chair set up “Vote for replacements to Senate Committees”
The vote was 45 approved and 1 respondent abstained. The Chair thanked the new members for their cooperation.

Vote on FALL 2023 Calendar Change (Change start date from Aug 21 to Aug 16)

Presenter: Karen Battye, Registrar. Karen Battye brought up the fall calendar for 2023. She explained the beginning date and the ending date using a PowerPoint for the revised Fall Calendar 2023. She presented a very detailed explanation for needing to revise the calendar. After the presentation the chair asked for questions.

Sunny Stalter – Pace asked a question. Is the start date the same as the start date for fall semester 2022 with only one day for fall break?
Karen Battye address Dr. Stalter-Pace question by saying that that this trade off is only going to be every fourth or fifth year. Karen Battye also said that it might be an issue with faculty but it is the faculty choice of how they may want to handle the situation. There was much discussion about the start date by various faculty members. After much discussion it was time to vote.

The Chair opened the vote for “Change for Fall 2023 start date”.
Results were as follows; 41 yes, 8 no.  and 1 abstained. Therefore, the start date for August 16th, 2023, passed.

No New Business
Mark Carpenter, Senate Chair
The meeting was adjourned by Chair Mark Carpenter at 5:01 pm

Respectfully submitted,
L. Octavia Tripp
Senate Secretary

Attendance for Senate Mtg. November 15, 2022
Attendance of Senators
Senate Mtg - November 15, 2022

Senate Officers
Mark Carpenter                                Chair
Lucretia (Octavia) Tripp                    Secretary
Linda Gibson-Young                          Secretary-elect

Absent without substitute:
Lisa Kensler                          Chair-elect
Dan Svyantek Immediate Past-Chair

Administration
Kelli Shomaker                                  VP for Bus & Fin & CFO
Paul Patterson                                  Dean, College of Agriculture
George Flowers                                Dean, Graduate School
Jeffrey Fairbrother                           Dean, College of Education
Todd Steury for
Janaki Alavalapati                             Dean, College of Forestry, Wildlife, and the Environment
Calvin Johnson                                  Dean, College of Veterinary Medicine

Absent without substitute:
Bobby Woodard                   SVP for Student Affairs
James Weyhenmeyer          VP Research
Greg Newschwander            Dean, College of Nursing

Ex-Officio Members
Vini Nathan                                       Interim Provost
Shali Zhang                                       Dean of Libraries
Makeda Nurradin                             GSC President
Evelyn Hunter                                   Steering Committee
Arianne Gaetano sub for
Danilea Werner                                Steering Committee

Absent without substitute:
Jake Haston                          SGA President
Ashley Reid                           Staff Council Chair
Clint Lovelace                       A&P Assembly Chair
Robert Cochran                    Steering Committee
Robert Norton                      Steering Committee

Senators by Departments
Kerry Inger sub for
Elizabeth (Lisa) Miller                       Accountancy
Mary (Molly) Gregg                          ACES
Jacek Wower                                    Animal Sciences
Vinicia Biancardi                               Anatomy, Physiology & Pharmacology
Lauren Woods                                  Art
James Birdsong                                Aviation
Anthony Moss                                  Biological Sciences
Regina Gramling                               Business Analytics and Information Systems
J. Brian Anderson                             Civil Engineering
Kevin Smith                                      Communication and Journalism
Christine (Chris) Schnittka                Curriculum & Teaching
Liliana Stern                                     Economics
Andrew Pendola                               Educational Foundations, Leadership & Technology
Michael Baginski                               Electrical & Computer Engineering
Sunny Stalter-Pace                           English
Nathan Whelan                                Fisheries & Allied Aquaculture
Zhaofei (Joseph) Fan                        Forestry, Wildlife, and the Environment
David King                                        Geology & Geography
Kimberly Garza                                 Health Outcomes Research and Policy
Zachary Schulz                                  History
Elina Coneva                                     Horticulture
Diana Samek                                    Human Development & Family Studies
Rich Sesek                                        Industrial and Systems Engineering
Kasia Leousis                                    Library
Liesl Wesson                                    Management and Entrepreneurship
Jeremy Wolter                                 Marketing
Hans Werner van Wyk                      Mathematics and Statistics
Sabit Adanur                                      Mechanical Engineering
Lee Johnson                                      Music
Kelly Noll sub for
Chris Martin                                     Nursing
Kevin Huggins                                   Nutritional Sciences
David Mixson                                    Outreach
Peter Christopherson                       Pathobiology
Lena McDowell                                Pharmacy Practice
Jennifer Lockhart                              Philosophy
Luca Guazzotto                                Physics
Peter White                                      Political Science
Alejandro A. Lazarte                         Psychology
Rebecca Curtis                                 Special Ed. Rehab. Counseling/School Psych
David Strickland                                Supply Chain Management (new)
LTC, Laura Fryar                               ROTC Army
Janice Clifford                                   Socio/Anthro/Social Work
Adrienne Wilson                               Theatre
Zachary Zuwiyya                               World Lang & Literatures

Absent without substitute:
Roy Hartfield                        Aerospace Engineering
Valentina Hartarska              Agricultural Economics & Rural Sociology
Kevin Moore                         Architecture
David Blersch                       Biosystems Engineering
Mark Tatum                         Building Sciences
Bryan Beckingham               Chemical Engineering
Wei Zhan                              Chemistry
Shehenaz Shaik                     Computer Science & Software Engineering
Taneshia West Albert sub for
Peter Weber                        Consumer & Design Sciences
David Han                             Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences
Murali Dhanasekaran           Drug Discovery and Development
John Beckmann                    Entomology & Plant Pathology
Damion McIntosh                Finance
Clark Danderson                   Hospitality Mgmt.
Ben Bush                              Industrial Design
Christopher (Brooks) Mobley           Kinesiology
Amit Morey                          Poultry Science
Gregory Spray sub for
Laura Plexico                        Speech Language and Hearing Sciences
LTC, Michael Quinn              ROTC Air Force
Captain, Matthew Roberts      ROTC Naval
Robert Cole                          Veterinary Clinical Sciences