Approved by the Senate on May 2, 2022
Senator Andrew Klein will be monitoring the raised hand function and will monitor the chat. Registration function is being used to track attendance
Slaydon provided an overview of the MGT four different working groups.
Questions and comments were offered by the following: Secretary Tracy Hammond, College of Engineering, Senator Rajesh Miranda, College of Communication, Senator Catharina Laporte, College of Libraries, N.K. Anand, Vice President for Faculty Affairs, Senator Angie Hill Price, College of Engineering, Senator Asha Rao, College of Science, Senator John Stallone, Former Speaker.
Speaker Dale Rice Thanks Damon Slaydon and invites him to join back in June or July.
Speaker Dale Rice notes: The Vice President for Faculty Affairs put in the chat that the University leadership is currently assessing the 10-year tenure track faculty situation. That is why there is a freeze on those positions, and it is not an HR issue.
Dr. Alan Sams introduced himself and explained his position which is to bring academic institutional leadership. He described his first tasks as follows:
Speaker Rice welcomed Senator David Earnest.
Senator David Earnest discussed the Delta Dental Plan and asked for volunteers to serve on the committee. For meeting April 20, 2022.
(Full Consent Agenda with FS#’s can be found under Adjournment below.)
The motion passed to approve the Core Curriculum Course Report as presented.
(Full CCC Report can be found under Adjournment below.)
Total – 11,229
TAMU Main-9,824
TAMU Galveston – 204
TAMU-HSC- 831
TAMU-Law – 271
TAMU- Qatar- 99
Approval of Minutes
March 21, 2022. Attachment B- Passed
Senator Angie Hill-Price shared concerns about the hiring freeze for faculty positions. N.K. Anand, Vice President for Faculty Affairs responded that if there is a targeted hire an exception will be made.
Senator Annie McGowan shared that all diversity candidates that were included in the Science Fellows Program were approved last summer, and the hiring freeze didn’t constrain their hiring. She also mentioned that the Diversity Office have grant opportunities available for the Hispanic Community and a link would be placed on their website.
Secretary Tracy Hammond spoke of great things happening across the system that could potentially be done on the main campus. Senator Annie McGowan commented that best plan would be to have a monthly meeting across campus between diversity officers.
Senator Julie Harlin mentioned the Chancellor’s Summit and how she appreciated the efforts of the Engineering Education Institute on making the event happen.
Senator Catharina LaPorte Discussed participating in Prairie View events She also mentioned Dr. Timothy Scott, Interim Provost, Posse Liaison. They are expanding the Posse program.
Senator Rajesh Miranda Discussed two Aces Fellows joining the College of Medicine. He mentioned how it is hard in stem fields to promoted diversity.
Senator Trevor Hale attended the Texas Council Faculty Senate and was elected as the President Elect. Also mentioned that the National Council of Faculty Senate after being dormant for two years will be holding an event for which he will send out information.
Senator Adam Kolasinski Thanked the Faculty Senate for the emergency resolution during the last meeting and stated that it led to a good result. It was guaranteed that only those who wanted to run would be elected and that members of the Executive Committee in the Senate would audit the election. Speaker Dale Rice stated that he would be involved in the first audit to make sure everything runs smoothly. He was there during the openings and closing of the nominations and would be there for the opening and closing of the ballots.
Senator Andrew Klein reads concerns about the hiring freeze from chats as to when the hiring freeze would be lifted. N.K. Anand, Vice President for Faculty Affairs said that there will be a meeting on April 19, 2022, and hopefully he would have an answer soon after. Question regarding Canvas reporting spring grades. Patrick Louchouarn, Interim Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Interdisciplinary Initiatives, responds that we have begun working with Academic Innovations and Information Technology in resolving the Canvas issues of Fall and found potential discrepancies between grades in Canvas and the way grades were uploaded in Howdy. And will be reaching out to faculty to get them to test a new product which will be rolled out at the end of April.
Senator Maria Irene Moyna asks about response from leadership regarding the resolution from the senate about libraries. Speaker Dale Rice responded that there has not been a response from the administration.
Senator Eduardo Gildin asks that the Graduate Professional School revisits their website and consider redesigning. When it was OGS there were links to calendars and forms and now everything is embedded, and you must click on several links to find what you need which is counterintuitive.
Senator Cling Magill thought that there would have been some mention of the vote on the library in the Eagle or in the news and asked if there was still a representative in the faculty meetings. Speaker Dale Rice responded that he knows that representatives from the news are watching center meetings and taking notes because he often hears from them afterwards. But doesn’t know what the deciding factor is if someone from local news takes notes. Senator LaPorte states that librarians are now asking for faculty positions, and it is very difficult for her department to make decisions because there are no guidelines on how to evaluate them during tenure and promotion since some of them don’t teach. N.K. Anand, Vice President for Faculty Affairs states they are having meetings to discuss guidelines for librarians for tenure and promotion. Senator Rajesh Miranda issue is the time crunch with librarians moving into departments and that those library roles will be retained when librarians retire. None of this has been worked out. Raised concerns of the destruction as an institution as our phenomenal library system makes us a highly ranked university. Senator Adam Kolasinski asks what the rationale is in forcing librarians into academic departments if they wish to retain faculty titles.
Secretary Tracy Hammond suggests that President Banks make more newsletters or announcements on the website.
Patrick Louchourn, Interim Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Interdisciplinary Initiatives, mentions that there are several dean searches going on right now. Senator Jose Alvarez asks if faculty will have an input on the searches and if this would be done during the summer when most faculty aren’t around, or would they wait until the Fall? N.K. Anand, Vice President for Faculty Affairs states that it should take place the last week of fall. Patrick Louchourn, Interim Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs states that faculty will be expected to give their input.
Speaker Dale Rice spoke with President Banks when she first took office and spoke of the concerns of the senate about moving forward to select a provost so that a permanent provost was in place and not an interim be part of the dean hiring.
Senator Andrew Klein reads chat comment from Senator Carpenter, though we have received an extra round of funding for the Texas A&M Health Maroon Line Clinic, COVID-19 vaccination education outreach efforts with expanded focus on serving under resource populations, parents of young children, veterans, and women of child-bearing age of elevated risk of severe. We are working to provide easier access. If any groups on campus are interested in having events in their divisions, feel free to reach out to Senator Carpenter.
Speaker Rice Thanked Kayla Gaines for her assistance since Betsy’s departure with processing the agendas and other items in addition to her duties in her own position.
ADJOURNMENT
Speaker Rice thanked everyone for joining virtually the meeting was adjourned at 4:30pm.
CONSENT AGENDA
GRADUATE COUNCIL
New Courses – Passed FS.39.328
INTA 723: Covert Action
ORTH 660: Introductory Growth and Development
PHAR 774: Spanish for Pharmacists II
Change in Courses – Passed FS.39.329
INTA 712: A Non-Technical Introduction to Cyber Policy
INTA 721: History, Strategy, and American Statecraft
GEOG 643: Advanced Geographies of Energy
INTA 673: Chinese Domestic Politics in Transition
INTA 709: China's Military
Change in Courses – Course Inactivation Proposal – Passed FS.39.330
College of Science
Department of Statistics
STAT 623: Statistical Methods for Chemistry
Change in Courses – Course Inactivation Proposal – Passed FS.39.331
College of Science
Department of Statistics
STAT 658: Transportation Statistics
Change in Programs - Passed FS.39.332
Mays Business School
College of Business
CERT-FINC: Finance - Certificate
Change in Programs – Passed FS.39.333
Mays Business School
College of Business
CERT-MKTG: Marketing - Certificate
Change in Programs – Passed FS.39.334
Mays Business School
College of Business
MBA-BUAD: Master of Business Administration in Business Administration
Change in Programs – Passed FS.39.335
Mays Business School
College of Business
MBA-EMBA: Mays Executive MBA Program
Change in Programs – Passed FS.39.336
Mays Business School
College of Business
MBA-PMBA: Mays Professional MBA Program
Change in Programs – Passed FS.39.337
College of Engineering
Department of Computer Science & Engineering
MCS-CPSC: Master of Computer Science in Computer Science
Change in Programs – Passed FS.39.338
Colleges of Medicine and College of Engineering
Departments of Medicine and Multidisciplinary
MEN/MD-ENGR/MDMD-ENGR/MDMD: Master of Engineering and Doctor of Medicine Combined Degree Plan
Change in Programs – Passed FS.39.339
Mays Business School
College of Business
MS/MBA-ANLY/BUAD-ANLY/BUAD: Master of Business Administration in Business Administration and Master of Science in Analytics Combined Degree Program
Change in Programs – Passed FS.39.340
Mays Business School
College of Business
MS-ANLY: Master of Science in Analytics
Change in Programs – Passed FS.39.341
Mays Business School
College of Business
MS-BUSI: Master of Science in Business
UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM COMMITTEE
New Courses – Passed FS.39.342
SPAN 305: Spanish for Legal Professions
Change in Courses – Passed FS.39.343
PBSI 225: Lifespan Development
Change in Programs – Galveston – Passed FS.39.344
Undergraduate Studies
Department AP- Undergraduate Studies
MINOR-ENTR: Entrepreneurship - Minor
Change in Programs – Inactivation Proposal – Passed FS.39.345
College of Liberal Arts
Department of Liberal Arts
BS-USLA-HHM*: University Studies-BS, Health Humanities Concentration
W&C COURSES
Courses Submitted for W Recertification – Passed FS.39.346
ANTH 436-W: Ancient Egypt
Courses Submitted for W Recertification – Passed FS.39.347
ATMO 456-W: Practical Weather Forecasting
Courses Submitted for W Recertification – Passed FS.39.348
GENE 491-W: Research
Courses Submitted for W Recertification – Passed FS.39.349
MARA 440-W: Global Economy and Enterprise Management
Courses Submitted for W Recertification – Passed FS.39.350
SPED 310-W: Instructional Strategies for Students with Disabilities
TAMU Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes
April 11, 2022
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 Dale Rice called the eleventh meeting of the 39th session to order at 3:04pm. Due to ongoing social distancing practices resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the meeting was conducted via Zoom.Senator Andrew Klein will be monitoring the raised hand function and will monitor the chat. Registration function is being used to track attendance
GUEST SPEAKER
Speaker Rice welcomed guest speaker Damon Slaydon, Vice President for the Division of Human Resources and Organizational Effectiveness.Slaydon provided an overview of the MGT four different working groups.
- First working group focuses on structure which will enable individuals embedded within each college and across the university to be moved from being often time part-time HR to full-time HR reporting through various levels to the centralized HR models.
- Working group number two focuses on cross-training within colleges and departments to provide an extraordinary level of customer service.
- Reinventing the HR Liaison network so that HR professional have a dedicated means to deliver HR Services.
- The fourth group deals with succession planning to have as available resources for faculty and staff, research assistants and postdocs.
Questions and comments were offered by the following: Secretary Tracy Hammond, College of Engineering, Senator Rajesh Miranda, College of Communication, Senator Catharina Laporte, College of Libraries, N.K. Anand, Vice President for Faculty Affairs, Senator Angie Hill Price, College of Engineering, Senator Asha Rao, College of Science, Senator John Stallone, Former Speaker.
Speaker Dale Rice Thanks Damon Slaydon and invites him to join back in June or July.
Speaker Dale Rice notes: The Vice President for Faculty Affairs put in the chat that the University leadership is currently assessing the 10-year tenure track faculty situation. That is why there is a freeze on those positions, and it is not an HR issue.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Speaker Rice welcomed Dr. Alan Sams, new Vice President for Operational Innovation.Dr. Alan Sams introduced himself and explained his position which is to bring academic institutional leadership. He described his first tasks as follows:
- Pathforward and visiting with the 41 working groups to bring coordination and consistency between groups.
- Developing performance metrics for units and the university.
Speaker Rice welcomed Senator David Earnest.
Senator David Earnest discussed the Delta Dental Plan and asked for volunteers to serve on the committee. For meeting April 20, 2022.
SPEAKER COMMENTS
- Discussed email from election committee and thanked everyone for their support in electing him for second term as speaker.
- Recognized Senator Patti Smith for her service as Speaker Elect.
- Discussed working groups impacting many faculty in different ways. It is paramount that the senate continues to watch the process and support things when they are working and speak out when they are not.
- Announced Jeannine Scambray joining the department as the new Executive Assistant.
CONSENT AGENDA
The motion passed to approve the April 11, 2022; Consent Agenda as presented.(Full Consent Agenda with FS#’s can be found under Adjournment below.)
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Core Curriculum Council Couse Report -Attachment C – Passed-FS.39.351The motion passed to approve the Core Curriculum Course Report as presented.
(Full CCC Report can be found under Adjournment below.)
NEW BUSINESS
Recommendation of Spring 2022 Degree Candidates – Attachment D – FS.39.352Total – 11,229
TAMU Main-9,824
TAMU Galveston – 204
TAMU-HSC- 831
TAMU-Law – 271
TAMU- Qatar- 99
Approval of Minutes
March 21, 2022. Attachment B- Passed
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
Secretary- Tracy Hammond asked the committee if there are any positive actions or concerns related to diversity and inclusion on campus.Senator Angie Hill-Price shared concerns about the hiring freeze for faculty positions. N.K. Anand, Vice President for Faculty Affairs responded that if there is a targeted hire an exception will be made.
Senator Annie McGowan shared that all diversity candidates that were included in the Science Fellows Program were approved last summer, and the hiring freeze didn’t constrain their hiring. She also mentioned that the Diversity Office have grant opportunities available for the Hispanic Community and a link would be placed on their website.
Secretary Tracy Hammond spoke of great things happening across the system that could potentially be done on the main campus. Senator Annie McGowan commented that best plan would be to have a monthly meeting across campus between diversity officers.
Senator Julie Harlin mentioned the Chancellor’s Summit and how she appreciated the efforts of the Engineering Education Institute on making the event happen.
Senator Catharina LaPorte Discussed participating in Prairie View events She also mentioned Dr. Timothy Scott, Interim Provost, Posse Liaison. They are expanding the Posse program.
Senator Rajesh Miranda Discussed two Aces Fellows joining the College of Medicine. He mentioned how it is hard in stem fields to promoted diversity.
Senator Trevor Hale attended the Texas Council Faculty Senate and was elected as the President Elect. Also mentioned that the National Council of Faculty Senate after being dormant for two years will be holding an event for which he will send out information.
Senator Adam Kolasinski Thanked the Faculty Senate for the emergency resolution during the last meeting and stated that it led to a good result. It was guaranteed that only those who wanted to run would be elected and that members of the Executive Committee in the Senate would audit the election. Speaker Dale Rice stated that he would be involved in the first audit to make sure everything runs smoothly. He was there during the openings and closing of the nominations and would be there for the opening and closing of the ballots.
Senator Andrew Klein reads concerns about the hiring freeze from chats as to when the hiring freeze would be lifted. N.K. Anand, Vice President for Faculty Affairs said that there will be a meeting on April 19, 2022, and hopefully he would have an answer soon after. Question regarding Canvas reporting spring grades. Patrick Louchouarn, Interim Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Interdisciplinary Initiatives, responds that we have begun working with Academic Innovations and Information Technology in resolving the Canvas issues of Fall and found potential discrepancies between grades in Canvas and the way grades were uploaded in Howdy. And will be reaching out to faculty to get them to test a new product which will be rolled out at the end of April.
Senator Maria Irene Moyna asks about response from leadership regarding the resolution from the senate about libraries. Speaker Dale Rice responded that there has not been a response from the administration.
Senator Eduardo Gildin asks that the Graduate Professional School revisits their website and consider redesigning. When it was OGS there were links to calendars and forms and now everything is embedded, and you must click on several links to find what you need which is counterintuitive.
Senator Cling Magill thought that there would have been some mention of the vote on the library in the Eagle or in the news and asked if there was still a representative in the faculty meetings. Speaker Dale Rice responded that he knows that representatives from the news are watching center meetings and taking notes because he often hears from them afterwards. But doesn’t know what the deciding factor is if someone from local news takes notes. Senator LaPorte states that librarians are now asking for faculty positions, and it is very difficult for her department to make decisions because there are no guidelines on how to evaluate them during tenure and promotion since some of them don’t teach. N.K. Anand, Vice President for Faculty Affairs states they are having meetings to discuss guidelines for librarians for tenure and promotion. Senator Rajesh Miranda issue is the time crunch with librarians moving into departments and that those library roles will be retained when librarians retire. None of this has been worked out. Raised concerns of the destruction as an institution as our phenomenal library system makes us a highly ranked university. Senator Adam Kolasinski asks what the rationale is in forcing librarians into academic departments if they wish to retain faculty titles.
Secretary Tracy Hammond suggests that President Banks make more newsletters or announcements on the website.
Patrick Louchourn, Interim Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Interdisciplinary Initiatives, mentions that there are several dean searches going on right now. Senator Jose Alvarez asks if faculty will have an input on the searches and if this would be done during the summer when most faculty aren’t around, or would they wait until the Fall? N.K. Anand, Vice President for Faculty Affairs states that it should take place the last week of fall. Patrick Louchourn, Interim Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs states that faculty will be expected to give their input.
Speaker Dale Rice spoke with President Banks when she first took office and spoke of the concerns of the senate about moving forward to select a provost so that a permanent provost was in place and not an interim be part of the dean hiring.
Senator Andrew Klein reads chat comment from Senator Carpenter, though we have received an extra round of funding for the Texas A&M Health Maroon Line Clinic, COVID-19 vaccination education outreach efforts with expanded focus on serving under resource populations, parents of young children, veterans, and women of child-bearing age of elevated risk of severe. We are working to provide easier access. If any groups on campus are interested in having events in their divisions, feel free to reach out to Senator Carpenter.
Speaker Rice Thanked Kayla Gaines for her assistance since Betsy’s departure with processing the agendas and other items in addition to her duties in her own position.
ADJOURNMENT
Speaker Rice thanked everyone for joining virtually the meeting was adjourned at 4:30pm.
CONSENT AGENDA
GRADUATE COUNCIL
New Courses – Passed FS.39.328
INTA 723: Covert Action
ORTH 660: Introductory Growth and Development
PHAR 774: Spanish for Pharmacists II
Change in Courses – Passed FS.39.329
INTA 712: A Non-Technical Introduction to Cyber Policy
INTA 721: History, Strategy, and American Statecraft
GEOG 643: Advanced Geographies of Energy
INTA 673: Chinese Domestic Politics in Transition
INTA 709: China's Military
Change in Courses – Course Inactivation Proposal – Passed FS.39.330
College of Science
Department of Statistics
STAT 623: Statistical Methods for Chemistry
Change in Courses – Course Inactivation Proposal – Passed FS.39.331
College of Science
Department of Statistics
STAT 658: Transportation Statistics
Change in Programs - Passed FS.39.332
Mays Business School
College of Business
CERT-FINC: Finance - Certificate
Change in Programs – Passed FS.39.333
Mays Business School
College of Business
CERT-MKTG: Marketing - Certificate
Change in Programs – Passed FS.39.334
Mays Business School
College of Business
MBA-BUAD: Master of Business Administration in Business Administration
Change in Programs – Passed FS.39.335
Mays Business School
College of Business
MBA-EMBA: Mays Executive MBA Program
Change in Programs – Passed FS.39.336
Mays Business School
College of Business
MBA-PMBA: Mays Professional MBA Program
Change in Programs – Passed FS.39.337
College of Engineering
Department of Computer Science & Engineering
MCS-CPSC: Master of Computer Science in Computer Science
Change in Programs – Passed FS.39.338
Colleges of Medicine and College of Engineering
Departments of Medicine and Multidisciplinary
MEN/MD-ENGR/MDMD-ENGR/MDMD: Master of Engineering and Doctor of Medicine Combined Degree Plan
Change in Programs – Passed FS.39.339
Mays Business School
College of Business
MS/MBA-ANLY/BUAD-ANLY/BUAD: Master of Business Administration in Business Administration and Master of Science in Analytics Combined Degree Program
Change in Programs – Passed FS.39.340
Mays Business School
College of Business
MS-ANLY: Master of Science in Analytics
Change in Programs – Passed FS.39.341
Mays Business School
College of Business
MS-BUSI: Master of Science in Business
UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM COMMITTEE
New Courses – Passed FS.39.342
SPAN 305: Spanish for Legal Professions
Change in Courses – Passed FS.39.343
PBSI 225: Lifespan Development
Change in Programs – Galveston – Passed FS.39.344
Undergraduate Studies
Department AP- Undergraduate Studies
MINOR-ENTR: Entrepreneurship - Minor
Change in Programs – Inactivation Proposal – Passed FS.39.345
College of Liberal Arts
Department of Liberal Arts
BS-USLA-HHM*: University Studies-BS, Health Humanities Concentration
W&C COURSES
Courses Submitted for W Recertification – Passed FS.39.346
ANTH 436-W: Ancient Egypt
Courses Submitted for W Recertification – Passed FS.39.347
ATMO 456-W: Practical Weather Forecasting
Courses Submitted for W Recertification – Passed FS.39.348
GENE 491-W: Research
Courses Submitted for W Recertification – Passed FS.39.349
MARA 440-W: Global Economy and Enterprise Management
Courses Submitted for W Recertification – Passed FS.39.350
SPED 310-W: Instructional Strategies for Students with Disabilities