TAMU Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes
March 8, 2021
3:00pm
Via Zoom
http://facultysenate.tamu.edu
The full video recording of the meeting can be accessed on the Faculty Senate website: https://facultysenate.tamu.edu/Faculty-Senate-Meeting-Recordings.
CALL TO ORDER
Speaker John N. Stallone called the tenth meeting of the 38th Session to order at 3:00pm. Due to ongoing social distancing practices resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the meeting was conducted via Zoom. Speaker Stallone reminded Senators of the Zoom features to be used during the meeting, with a special focus on the new location of the raise hands feature, then a new Senator was sworn in.GUEST SPEAKER
Speaker Stallone welcomed guest speaker Ms. Debbie Hoffman, Director, Transportation Services. Ms. Hoffman presented the Transportation Mobility Master Plan for the College Station campus. (The presentation may be accessed here.) She covered:- The scope of the plan.
- The three-phase process including Phase 1, Discovery and Diagnosis; Phase 2, Scenario and Future Planning; and Phase 3, Plan Development and Path Forward. Transportation Services is currently in Phase 1.
- The objectives, which include increasing access while reducing traffic and anticipating future demand.
- Communications and engagement with the campus community. Transportation Service’s “Aggies on the MOVE” website is the hub for these.
- Walker Consultants conducted three opportunities for virtual engagement, collecting feedback on the possible successes and the fears related to the project.
- Transportation Services is moving into Phase 2, creating scenarios based on data analysis from the first phase, to be followed by feedback on the scenarios and final recommendations in Phase 3.
Ms. Hoffman encouraged anyone who is interested in the plan to request engagement from Transportation Services. She then took questions from the following Senators: Senator Clint Magill, College of Agriculture & Life Sciences; and Senator Matthew Taylor, College of Agriculture & Life Sciences.
Speaker Stallone thanked Ms. Hoffman for speaking to the Faculty Senate.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jocelyn Widmer, Assistant Provost for Academic Innovation, and Dr. Juan Garza, Assistant Vice President for Academic Services & Director of Provost Information Technology Office – Attachment A – FS.38.542 (for information only)Dr. Widmer provided her monthly update on the progress of Canvas (LMS) via a video, and the meeting time was devoted to questions only. The following Senators posed questions or offered comments: Senator Matthew Taylor, College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, and Senator Janice Epstein, College of Science.
SPEAKER COMMENTS
Speaker Stallone commented that the COVID vaccine seemed to be arriving in Texas and vaccination hubs were busy scheduling shots. He encouraged everyone to continue to follow the CDC guidelines regarding masking, social distancing, and hand-washing even after receiving the vaccine.He shared that the appointment of the new TAMU President was announced: Dr. Katherine Banks, current Vice Chancellor and Dean of the College of Engineering. He welcomed her and expressed that the Faculty Senate was looking forward to working with her.
The Joint Meeting of the Faculty Senate and UT Faculty Council, originally scheduled for February 22nd was postponed until Monday, March 29th in an effort to allow Senators to catch up after the winter storm. He shared the agenda.
Speaker Stallone expressed the hope that Senators were able to pick up the no-cost surplus masks made available to the TAMU community last month.
He announced the second Open Forum with Interim President Junkins and Interim Provost Weichold, to be held at 11am on Wednesday, March 10, encouraging everyone to make sure their colleagues are aware of the forum.
His next announcement was that the Faculty Senate, with support from the Provost’s Office, had funds available for faculty enduring hardship due to the recent winter storm. He encouraged those in need to apply for the funds, reminding Senators than an anonymous donation of $54,000 was given via the Foundation to assist faculty and staff impacted by COVID-19. Applications for the Faculty Emergency Fund (FEF) could be accessed via the email sent out by the Dean of Faculties.
Speaker Stallone reminded Senators that the nomination period for open Senate places and seats on University Committees had begun, encouraging everyone to speak to their colleagues about serving in these important roles.
The Senate Select Committee on Faculty Investigations held their first meeting the week prior. Speaker Stallone would be providing updates on this committee’s work.
He thanked Student Affairs for all their work in supporting students struggling with both COVID-related challenges and those impacted by the winter storm.
In closing, Speaker Stallone thanked everyone for their efforts to maintain safe conditions on campus as the pandemic continues.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The motion passed to approve the February 8, 2021 minutes as distributed. Attachment B – Passed – FS.38.543CONSENT AGENDA
The motion passed to approve the March 8, 2021 Consent Agenda as presented.(Full Consent Agenda with FS #’s can be found under Adjournment below.)
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
None.OLD BUSINESS
None.COMMITTEE REPORTS
Core Curriculum Council Course Report – Attachment C – Passed – FS.38.560The motion passed to approve the Core Curriculum Course Report as presented.
(Full CCC Report can be found under Adjournment below.)
OTHER COMMITTEE REPORTS
None.NEW BUSINESS
Approval of Faculty Senate Membership in the Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics – Attachment D – Tabled – FS.38.561
Senator Andrew Klein, College of Geosciences, and a current Board member of COIA, presented this item. He recommended that the TAMU Faculty Senate become a member of the Coalition. A discussion by Senators followed, resulting in confusion over the Coalition’s stance regarding student athletes. In light of this, a motion was made to table the item until the following month so that greater clarity could be had. The motion was approved, and Attachment D was tabled.
Approval of Revisions to the Faculty Senate Constitution – Attachment E – Postponed – FS.38.562
Senator Bruce Neville, University Libraries and Chair of the Bylaws Committee, presented the process of amending the Constitution, the proposed timeline, and the series of proposals before the Senate. Some were characterized as minor, while others represented major changes to the Senate Constitution.
A motion was made to divide the question, meaning the block of five “minor” items would be voted on as one item, while the remainder of the proposals would be voted on individually. Following these votes, another motion would then be made on how to move the approved items on to the full faculty. This motion passed.
There was a great deal of discussion over the procedure for approving these constitutional items. Based on the Senate Constitution and Bylaws, it was determined that the written proposal must be presented and discussed at a regularly scheduled Senate meeting, then be voted upon at the following month’s meeting.
Senator Neville proceeded to present the remaining proposals, with each resulting in an extended discussion of the pros and cons of the potential revision. In all, approximately an hour and one quarter was spent discussing these constitutional revisions.
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
Speaker-Elect Dale Rice convened the Committee of the Whole.Senator Kathryn Galvo, TAMU Galveston, asked if it might be possible for the Senate to look into a different platform for voting, as Zoom is not the best option for this. Senator Janice Epstein, College of Science, echoed this opinion. Senator Adam Kolasinski, Mays Business School, shared that his college uses Qualtrics and it works very well. Senator Andy Tag, College of Science, pointed out some logistical problems of the Senate using Qualtrics.
Senator Larry Fickel, College of Architecture, recommended to the Executive Committee to work with the university administration on the need for a single mode of communication to faculty, staff, and students in cases such as the recent winter storm.
Senator Allen Honeyman, College of Dentistry, expressed on behalf of his college a sincere thanks to the faculty, staff, and students of the College of Pharmacy who, on two weekends, traveled from south Texas to Dallas to vaccinate the entire College of Dentistry.
Speaker-Elect Rice returned the meeting to Speaker Stallone.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 6:00pm.APPROVED CONSENT AGENDA for March 2021
New Courses – Passed – FS.38.544
ATTR 642: Clinical Decision Making and Evidence Based Practice I
ATTR 643: Clinical Decision Making and Evidence Based Practice II
ATTR 646: Transition to Practice
ATTR 650: Emergency Management
ATTR 674: Behavioral Health
ATTR 675: Evidence Based Practice and Clinical Research
ATTR 676: Performance Enhancement in Sport
ATTR 677: Research Capstone
CSCE 748: Computational Photography
CSCE 752: Robotics and Spatial Intelligence
ECEN 733: Advanced Micromachining Technologies for the Informational Era
ECEN 743: Reinforcement Learning
HPCH 630: Qualitative Methods in Applied Community Research
INTA 709: China's Military
INTA 716: Latin America - Democracy and Development
ISEN 633: Biomechanics of Work
ISEN 634: Human Performance Modeling
NURS 725: Theoretical Foundations of Healthcare
NURS 726: Principles of Translational Science
NURS 727: Applications of Translational Science
NURS 729: Analytic Methods for Research and Evidence Based Practice
NURS 730: Informatics
NURS 731: Quality and Outcome Improvements in Healthcare
NURS 732: Transformational Leadership in Nursing
NURS 733: Clinical Prevention and Population Outcome Improvement
NURS 735: Scholarly Project Practicum I
NURS 736: Scholarly Project Practicum II
NURS 737: Scholarly Project Practicum III
NURS 738: Scholarly Project Practicum IV
PHEB 617: Research Integrity, Transparency and Reproducibility
Change in Courses – Passed – FS.38.545
BIED 685: Directed Studies
BIED 691: Research
ECEN 637: Numerical Methods in Electromagnetics
ECEN 759: Hardware Security
ITDE 610: Introduction to Engineering Innovation in Medicine
MSEN 619: Materials Modeling of Phase Transformation and Microstructural Evolution
NUEN 601: Nuclear Reactor Theory
NUEN 609: Nuclear Reactor Safety
NUEN 610: Design of Nuclear Reactors
NURS 638: Advanced Clinical Practicum and Project
NURS 652: Scholarship: Integration and Application
Change in Programs – Passed – FS.38.546
Mays Business School
Department of Business
CERT-SCOP: Supply Chain and Operations - Certificate
Change in Programs – Passed – FS.38.547
Mays Business School
Department of Marketing
MS-MKTG: Master of Science in Marketing
Change in Programs – Passed – FS.38.548
College of Liberal Arts
Department of Performance Studies
MA-PERF: Master of Arts in Performance Studies
Change in Programs – Passed – FS.38.549
College of Agriculture & Life Sciences
Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics
PHD-GGEN: Doctor of Philosophy in Genetics and Genomics
Special Consideration Item – Passed – FS.38.550
School of Public Health
Department of Public Health
BS/MPH-PHLT/PHPM-PPH: Public Health - 5-year Bachelor of Science/Master of Public Health in Health Policy & Management
Special Consideration Item – Passed – FS.38.551
College of Liberal Arts
Department of Economics
BA/MS-ECON/ECON-LEC: Economics - 5-Year Bachelor of Arts/Master of Science in Economics
UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM COMMITTEE
New Courses – Passed – FS.38.552
EHRD 111: Learning Community - Foundations of Student Success
Change in Courses – Passed – FS.38.553
ARTS 303: Graphic Design I
BIOL 401: Critical Writing in Biology
BIOL 402: Communicating Biological Research to the Public
ESSM 430: Advanced Restoration Ecology
FINC 449: Financial Modeling
Change in Programs – Passed – FS.38.554
Mays Business School
Department of Finance
CERT-CFIN: Corporate Finance - Certificate
Change in Programs – Passed – FS.38.555
Mays Business School
Department of Finance
CERT-CU58: Trading, Risk and Investments - Certificate
W&C COURSES
Courses Submitted for C Re-Certification – Passed – FS.38.556
CSCE 482-C: Senior Capstone Design
CSCE 483-C: Computer Systems Design
Courses Submitted for W Certification – Passed – FS.38.557
ECMT 461-W: Economic Data Analysis
Courses Submitted for W Certification – Galveston – Passed – FS.38.558
MARS 281-W: Sophomore Seminar in Marine Sciences
WFSC 449-W: Professional Aspects of Aquatic Ecology
Courses Submitted for W Re-Certification – Passed – FS.38.559
ESSM 281-W: Seminar in Ecosystem Science and Management
HLTH 415-W: Health Education Methodology
NURS 461-W: Application of Evidence Based Practice for the RN
NURS 467-W: Leadership and Management for the RN
VIST 235-W: Theory and Practice in Visualization
______________________________End of Consent Agenda_______________________________
COMMITTEE REPORTS
CORE CURRICULUM COUNCIL COURSE REPORT – Attachment C – Passed – FS.38.560
Recertification for Foundational Component Area: Communication
COMM 243-GE: Argumentation and Debate
Recertification for Foundational Component Area: Language, Philosophy & Culture
ANTH 204-GE: The Prehistoric World
Recertification for Foundational Component Area: Life and Physical Sciences
HORT 202-GE: Horticultural Science and Practices Laboratory