TAMU Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes

May 13, 2019

3:15pm

Rudder 601

http://facultysenate.tamu.edu

 
 

CALL TO ORDER

Speaker Harlin called the meeting to order at 3:15pm.
 

AWARD PRESENTATIONS

Speaker Harlin announced the Aggie Spirit Awards were being given to four deserving students, thanks to the generosity of Senators who donated.  She read excerpts from the nominators’ letters for the four winners, inviting each recipient up in turn to accept their award.
 
Theresa Coleman, Dentistry, nominated by Dr. Katie Julien
Dillon Duncan, Agriculture and Life Sciences, nominated by Dr. Leo Lombardini
Kyndall Foust, Education & Human Development, nominated by Dr. Meg Patterson
Virginia B. Neese, Medicine, nominated by Dr. Bryn Esplin
 
Speaker Harlin then introduced the Richard Stadelmann Faculty Senate Service Award winner, Senator Jay Ramadoss, who was invited to the podium to receive his award.
 

GUEST SPEAKERS

Speaker Harlin introduced the team of guest speakers from TAMU Human Resources who spoke on Workday issues relevant to faculty.
 
Jeff Risinger, Vice President of Human Resources & Organizational Effectiveness
Ms. Elizabeth Schwartz, Director of Total Rewards, Human Resources
Mr. Bradley Blair, Executive Director, TAMUS Human Capital Management
VP Risinger expressed appreciation for the Senate survey that solicited feedback from faculty.  He believes we are transitioning from stabilization to optimization. Ms. Schwartz spoke to the concerns raised in the survey results, and Mr. Blair spoke more globally about the state of Workday.  All communicated that it is their top priority to make sure Workday is working for everyone.
 
The team then fielded questions from the following Senators:
David Earnest, College of Medicine
Angie Hill Price, College of Engineering
Beverly Irby, College of Education and Human Development
Jorge Alvarado, College of Engineering
 
Speaker Harlin thanked the team for their efforts and for speaking to the Senate.  She then welcomed Dean Bobby Adieh to the podium.  
 
Robert B. Ahdieh, Dean and Anthony G. Buzbee Endowed Dean’s Chair, TAMU School of Law
Dean Ahdieh presented information about the TAMU School of Law: past, present, and future.

• Past: The Law School was established in 1989 as a freestanding school, was then acquired by Texas Wesleyan in 1992, and acquired by Texas A&M University in 2013.  Since then the Law School has embraced Texas A&M and has flourished.
• Present: He shared multiple slides depicting the growth of the Law School in national rankings, outcomes, faculty size and diversity, and reputation and rankings.
• Future. There are three particular areas they are focusing on going forward:
  1. Expanded Master’s Degree, Executive Education & Distance Programs
  2. Partnership possibilities with College Station colleges and departments such as joint degrees, joint appointments and programs, and research collaborations.
  3. Texas A&M engagement with the Dallas/Fort Worth area – he invited all to consider holding gatherings such as conferences, symposia, and speakers at the Law School when a metropolitan location is appropriate.  Also executive education programs, student externships, etc.

 
Dean Ahdieh then opened the floor to questions from the following Senators:
Jay Ramadoss, College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences. 
Jorge Alvarado, College of Engineering
Rajesh Miranda, College of Medicine
David Staack, College of Engineering
 
Speaker Harlin thanked Dean Ahdieh for speaking to the Senate. 
 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

No announcements.
 

SPEAKER COMMENTS

Speaker Harlin had brief comments, as she would be presenting the State of the Senate address later in the meeting:

• Elections for Senate and Committee seats were completed and an email with the results was sent to all faculty.  Results can also be found on the home page of the website.
• Senators were encouraged to complete the Inactive Status for the summer form; Betsy would resend that link the following day.
• There would be a reception following the meeting for all Senators, to which deans, department heads and administrators were invited, as well as our distance Senators.
• She met with System Administrators several weeks prior to discuss the MyEvive health assessment requirement.  She believes their concerns were heard, but rather than eliminate it, they were working on adding an assessment through Blue Cross Blue Shield, and on how to communicate this to faculty and staff.
• As Speaker-Elect Klein was still in Antarctica, the gavel would be passed to him at the June meeting; Robin Means Coleman will be speaking at the June meeting.

 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

The motion passed to approve the April 8, 2019 minutes as distributed.  Attachment A – Passed 
 

CONSENT AGENDA

The motion passed to approve the Consent Agenda.  (Consent Agenda can be found below Adjournment.)
 

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

No unfinished business was conducted.
 

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Core Curriculum Council Course Report – no report
 

Other Committee Reports

Task Force for SAP: Selection, Evaluation, and Retention of Deans and Department Heads – Appendix – Attachment M – passed – FS.35.529
Speaker Harlin recapped the results of the faculty survey on the Appendix for the SAP on the Selection, Evaluation and Retention of Dean and Department Head Standard Administrative Procedure.  The motion then passed to approve the Appendix for the SAP on the Selection, Evaluation and Retention of Dean and Department Heads.  The Task Force members stood to applause for their work on the committee.  
No further committee reports were heard, but Speaker Harlin requested all committees to submit their spring semester committee report by the June 10 meeting.
 

OLD BUSINESS

No old business was conducted.
 

NEW BUSINESS

 
Recommendation of May 2019 Degree Candidates
Secretary Sicilio moved approval for the following degree candidates:
TOTAL – 10,903
TAMU-Main – 9,129
TAMU-Galveston – 283
TAMU-HSC – 758
TAMU-Law – 160 
TAMU-Qatar – 89 
TAMU-VMBS – 484
 
The motion passed to certify the May 2019 degree candidates.
 
 
State of the Senate Address – Speaker Julie Harlin (full text found at end of minutes)
 

Appreciation of Out-going Speaker

Speaker Harlin was awarded with a resolution on her tenure as Speaker, read by Speaker-Elect Andrew Klein via a video recording from Antarctica, and was presented with several gifts.
 

Appreciation of Out-going Executive Committee Members

Speaker Harlin presented Certificates of Appreciation to all of the year’s Executive Committee Members, and a photograph was taken of the group.
 

Election of Speaker-Elect, Secretary/Treasurer, and Executive Committee

Elections were handled online for the first time, with Senators being provided the URL’s to ballots for each respective race.
 

Announcement of Election Results

Speaker-Elect: 
John Stallone
Secretary/Treasurer: 
Alva Ferdinand
At-Large Members:
Dan Collins
Catharina Laporte
Rajesh Miranda
Angie Hill Price
Heather Ramsey
Dale Rice
Mark Sicilio
Grace Townsend
Jim Woosley
 

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

New Speaker-Elect John Stallone was invited to the podium for the Committee of the Whole.  
 
Claire Katz, College of Liberal Arts
Senator Katz shared a difficult story of becoming a target for right wing media sites after leading discussions on the intersection of anti-Semitism and Islamaphobia.  Senator Katz proposed creation of a code of ethics for the University’s journalism students.  She thanked a number of administrators who have been supportive.
 
Speaker-Elect Stallone turned the meeting back over to Speaker Harlin.
 

ADJOURN

 

The meeting was adjourned at 6:26pm.
 
 
ATTACHMENTS BELOW: Approved Consent Agenda, Speaker Harlin’s State of the Senate Address
CONSENT AGENDA
            GRADUATE COUNCIL 
            New Courses – Attachment B – passed – FS.36.518
CSCE 711            Introduction to Modern Cryptography
MGMT 682           Seminar in Strategic Entrepreneurship
MGMT 683           Seminar in Organizational and Strategic Leadership
OCNG 680            Paleoclimate
 
Change in Courses – Attachment C – passed – FS.36.519
ECEN 641     Microwave Solid-State Integrated Circuits
EDAD 623     Advanced Fieldwork Methods
EDCI 604      E-Learning Classroom Management
EHRD 638    Issues in Adult Education
FINC 645      International Finance
ISEN 645      Lean Engineering
PETE 603     Advanced Reservoir Engineering I
PETE 633     Data Integration for Petroleum Reservoirs
PETE 657     High Performance Computing for Earth Science and Petroleum Engineering
SCSC 646     Advanced Studies in Cotton Fiber Quality and Its Measurements
SCSC 654     Analysis of Complex Genomes
SCSC 655     Analysis of Complex Genomes—Lab
STAT 631     Statistical Methods in Finance
 
Change in Programs – Attachment D – passed – FS.36.520
   Mays Business School
Department of Business
           MS-ANLY   Master of Science in Analytics
 
 
   UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM COMMITTEE 
   New Courses – Attachment E – passed – FS.36.521
GEOL 208  Life on a Dynamic Planet
 
New Courses – Attachment F – passed – FS.36.522
Texas A&M University at Galveston
MART 265  Introduction to Dynamic Positioning OSVDPA Phase I
 
Change in Courses – Attachment G – passed – FS.36.523
ANTH 202              Introduction to Archaeology
ANTH 210              Social and Cultural Anthropology
CHEN 320             Numerical Analysis for Chemical Engineers
CHEN 323             Chemical Engineering Heat Transfer Operations
CHEN 364             Kinetics and Reactor Design
CHEN 451             Introduction to Polymer Engineering
CHEN 459             Gas and Petroleum Processing
COSC 450             Facility Management Principles and Practices
CSCE 110              Programming I
CSCE 221              Data Structures and Algorithms
CSCE 312              Computer Organization
CSCE 313              Introduction to Computer Systems
CSCE 314              Programming Languages
ESET 210              Circuit Analysis
ESET 219              Digital Electronics
HIST 242               United States Maritime History
MKTG 335             Professional Selling
MMET 275             Mechanics for Technologists
MUSC 226             History of Rock
OCEN 201             Introduction to Ocean Engineering
OCEN 221             Engineering Mechanics: Statics
OCNG 443             Oceanographic Field and Laboratory Methods
OCNG 453             Hydrothermal Vents and Mid-Ocean Ridges
POLS 206              American National Government
POLS 207              State and Local Government
THAR 281              History of the Theatre II
 
 
Change in Courses – Attachment H – passed – FS.36.524
Texas A&M University at Galveston
MARA 301             Ocean Transportation I
MARA 363             The Management Process
MARA 416             Port Operations, Administration and Economics
MARA 421             Admiralty Law
MARA 424             Economics of Transportation
MARA 450             Maritime Supply Chain Management
MARE 205             Engineering Mechanics I
MARE 207             Electrical Power I
MARE 452             Senior Design Project II
MAST 345              Texas Maritime Culture and History
MAST 441              Maritime Piracy
     
Change in Programs – Attachment I – passed – FS.36.525
      College of Science
         Department of Statistics
           MINOR-STAT          Statistics - Minor
 
Change in Programs – Inactivation Proposal – Attachment J – passed – FS.36.526
      College of Education and Human Development
         Department of Educational Psychology
           CERT-CU11            Creative Studies - Certificate
 
 
W&C COURSES  
 
Courses Submitted for C Certification – Attachment K – passed – FS.36.527
ECEN 404-C                      Electrical Design Laboratory II
ESET 419-C                       Engineering Technology Capstone I
 
Courses Submitted for W Certification – Attachment L – passed – FS.36.528
ANTH 436-W         Ancient Egypt
ATMO 463-W         Air Quality
BUSN 225-W         Business Competency
DCED 401-W         Dance Pedagogy
INTS 409-W           Culture, Neoliberalism and Globalism
ISTM 410-W           Management of Information Systems
RELS 481-W          Senior Seminar
WFSC 485-W         Directed Studies
 
______________________________End of Consent Agenda____________________________________
 
 
 
DR. JULIE HARLIN, SPEAKER OF THE FACULTY SENATE
THE ANNUAL STATE OF THE SENATE ADDRESS
MAY 13, 2019
 
The State of the Senate…it sounds like a presidential television special, doesn’t it?  For me, the State of the Senate is a reflection of our accomplishments over the past year.  When I considered our year together, I am, quite frankly, overwhelmed and humbled by what we have accomplished together.  I recall shortly after I was elected Speaker Elect, President Young asked me what my goals for the Senate were.  I articulated then that it was to improve the relevance and responsiveness of the Senate for Faculty and Administrators.  I feel confident in saying that we have made strides in reaching that goal.  
 
Often we throw around terms like “shared governance,” “collaboration,” and “cooperation.”  The big surprise for me this year was to see these terms in action and see the results of what can happen when faculty, administrators, students, and staff work together to solve the issues before us.  Not only did we review and approve hundreds of courses, course changes, programs, program changes, and student rules, we also engaged in important dialog regarding issues important to faculty across our institution.
 
Let me start with some of our highlighted accomplishments, the first being the Entrepreneurship Minor.  You will recall that the Faculty Senate rejected the initial proposal.  Rather than sit on that, we worked with a task force to develop a framework that not only improved the proposal, but may serve as a framework for a university level minor in the future.  
 
The second major issue we faced were the changes to the Dean and Department Head Rules, first initiated by our System last year.  Though we faced some challenging times with this issue last fall, it serves as another example of the Senate functioning in the spirit of shared governance.  The Task Force we created worked to develop a document that will serve the best interests of faculty in the selection, evaluation, and reappointment of deans and department heads in the future.  
 
The Senate initiated a number of faculty surveys this year:  Student Rule 7, RELLIS Parking, Workday Issues, and the Selection, evaluation, and reappointment of Deans and Department Head.  In each case, the results of the surveys and the comments provided by faculty were used to inform our Senate leadership as well as our administrators.  I am excited to see the purposeful responses from our administrators to the many issues of concern to faculty.  Some of the results include approval of significant changes to Student Rule 7, changes in the process for RELLIS parking, opportunities to work with our administrators to improve Workday, and faculty service on many of the Student Success Initiatives currently underway.
 
Not only did we work on internal collaborations, we also found ways to collaborate and forge partnerships with colleagues at our System institutions as well as University of Texas at Austin.  These opportunities arose as we experienced the challenges associated with the Field of Study requirements at the Higher Education Coordinating Board and the MyEvive Health Assessment.  
 
Our year together was not perfect.  We still have some unresolved issues in some of our colleges; occasionally we experience uncivil discourse within the Senate; we still have some questions about partnerships we are working to understand; we still struggle with communicating effectively and efficiently.  But, I believe we have moved forward this year in many of these areas.  By creating task forces and ad hoc committees, paired with wide faculty input through the Senate surveys, we have worked to become both relevant and responsive to the faculty we serve.  This has helped us become more relevant to many of our administrators.  I personally believe that the Senate is well positioned for the future because of your work and participation in the shared governance process.  
 
Quite honestly, not much of this would have been possible without the support of our Executive Assistant, Betsy Peterson, who has had a whirlwind year learning the ins and outs of her position.  When I think back to one year ago, when we were without a dedicated support person and were scrambling to do so many of our important functions, I am thrilled at our current situation of Senate support.  I look forward to better years ahead with Betsy’s guidance and help to future Speakers.
 
Personally, this has been a landmark year.  I cannot recall a year as busy or productive as this one.  I am reminded of the importance and value of service.  Though there have been challenges and it hasn’t always been easy, I am humbled to have had the opportunity to serve you over this past year.  I have learned so much from this experience and from you. Perhaps the best part has been all the friendships I now have with so many of you.  Thank you for the opportunity to serve you this year.  I know I leave the Senate in the capable hands of Speaker Andrew Klein for the year ahead.