TAMU Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes
May 8, 2023
3:00pm
Via Zoom
http://facultysenate.tamu.eduThe 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 Rice called the twelfth meeting of the 40th session to order at 3:00pm. 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.
SPEAKER’S ANNUAL STATE OF THE SENATE ADDRESS
Colleagues, As I wrap up two terms as speaker and close out the 40th session of the Faculty Senate, I’d like to ask you to join me in a few minutes of reflection on the idea of progress, what it means and whether we are making any.
Texas A&M University has undergone massive change in the past two years as President Banks puts her stamp on the institution. Has it caused stress and anxiety? Of course, it has, and plenty of it, especially for faculty and staff. For many in our academic community, the negative aspects of change have dominated their lives and imbued a sense of pessimism in their outlook for the future.
Today, I choose to not be one of those individuals.
Change is difficult, and I’d be the first to say – as I’ve noted repeatedly to you over the last two years publicly and as I’ve repeatedly said privately to many in the Administration – it has not been managed well in many ways at this university. But I do see reasons for optimism. I think the new school of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts holds immense promise for long-term benefit far beyond the university. I was highly critical of the change in status for our librarians. But in talking to many of them, what I see is a group that has seized what could have been a lingering, resentful commitment to limited service and instead have reorganized with optimism about a reimagined role in the institution. I look at my own college, Arts & Sciences, the result of an anguished consolidation of three longstanding colleges with independent identities. While many concerns remain, I see positive things happening, including an emphasis on the equitable treatment of APT faculty and a strong stand for academic freedom and what it represents for all faculty, regardless of track or rank. And speaking of APT faculty, how can we not applaud a new minimum salary that will result in significant increases for dozens of faculty, many of whom have had to work second jobs to make ends meet. Those are just some of the examples of why I do not share the belief that all is lost within our university.
But there are outside factors that worry me greatly with higher education under attack from many across our state and nation. I worry about any changes to tenure that could damage our ability to attract leading scholars. I worry that efforts to limit diversity, equity and inclusion may result in a less welcoming environment for those from under-represented groups. I worry that any efforts to contain what is taught in our classrooms – places that are supposed to make young people think critically about ideas and the world around them – will result in self-censorship out of fear. That’s why you, my fellow senators, are so valuable to the institution. You have defended the university’s commitment to DEI and you have contributed significantly to a system of promotion and review that should assure everyone that only deserving individuals are tenured at this university. Depending on what happens in the Legislature in the next few weeks, you may have to redouble your efforts on those fronts and push even harder in defense of academic freedom.
And one way we can do that is through shared governance. Do we have a smoothly functioning form of shared governance here? Not yet, in my view. But it’s only fair to note that some of the biggest issues that concern me did not begin with this president. There is a generations-old, top-down culture here that we will have to continue to work to dismantle. For me, though, the question is whether we’re making progress. And I wholeheartedly believe we are. I’ll just cite one recent example of that. The appointment of a search committee for provost. President Banks asked me – as speaker of the Faculty Senate – to co-chair the panel. And following the SAP, with input from the Senate Executive Committee, five people were named to represent faculty on the committee: Senators Townsend of Galveston, Herrera of Law, Ofilia of Pharmacy and Hague of Agriculture and Life Sciences and former Senate Secretary Alva Ferdinand. And I can assure you they did an admirable job of representing your interests.
Last August, the Senate passed a resolution calling on the President and her Administration to be more transparent and to engage more forthrightly in shared governance. Since that time, President Banks has met monthly with the Executive Committee for discussion of a wide range of topics. At our request, she restored another aspect of shared governance that had died under one of her predecessors – private monthly meetings with the speaker of the Faculty Senate. In those one-on-one sessions, she and I have had open and honest conversations about the university and the challenges it faces from the reorganization and many other factors. We charged several of our committees to establish new relationships with key administrators in their areas, and I have seen evidence repeatedly of these new channels of communication benefitting both the Senate and the Administration. In my college, the Arts & Sciences caucus meets monthly with the dean for what also have been very frank discussions, where strong opinions have been voiced without fear of retribution. If your caucuses are not having meetings like that with your deans, I urge you to insist on them. Shared governance only works when we all take it seriously.
That’s why your role is so important to the future of the institution. While it’s easy to be consumed by negative narratives that grab attention, I hope you will look at the whole picture and draw your own conclusions. That’s what I’m doing when I say that I am proud of the work of this body and why I believe the current state of the Senate is one of progress.
I would like to end by voicing my gratitude to all of you for giving me two years as your speaker. It has been a heck of a ride, but it has repeatedly confirmed my belief that you are playing a critical role in determining whether this university stays on the path to a better tomorrow. Keep up the good work.
Thank you.
SPEAKER COMMENTS
We’ll move on to the Speaker Comments portion of the meeting, which I’d like to use to take note of several things.
First, our own Catharina LaPorte has been named this year as one of two new Presidential Professors for Teaching Excellence. Congratulations, Senator LaPorte. This is a most deserved honor.
Senator David Earnest did not run for re-election this year so he will be stepping down as our representative to SEBAC. Senator Earnest has done a great job representing faculty concerns with benefits to he system and I want to thank him for his service. The Executive Committee will be looking for someone to replace him. If you’re interested, please email the Senate office to let them know.
Our final outside event of this year – the reception on April 24 at the Hotel and Conference Center -- was a great success, bringing together senators, as well as several key administrators, in an opportunity for networking and fellowship.
And finally, I want to remind all senators that anything you write in the performance of your job as a public employee is subject to open records. You never know when someone will seek your emails, as I was reminded again recently when mine and those of the Senate office were sought by one of our fellow senators.
Minutes – Faculty Senate Meeting April 10, 2023 -Attachment B- Approved as presented FS.40.374
CONSENT AGENDA
The motion passed to approve the May 8, 2023; Consent Agenda- Approved as presented.Other than MARS 358 which Senator Grace Townsend of Galveston asked to have pulled from the agenda.
OLD BUSINESS
Bylaw Committee Revisions – These items were pulled from the March agenda for further review by the committee. All titles have been researched and presented today by the committee as being correct to the best of their knowledge.- Rules and Regulations Committee Revisions Attachment D1 -Adopted FS.40.394
- Undergraduate Admissions Advisory Committee Revisions Attachment D2-Adopted FS.40.395
NEW BUSINESS
- Approval of degree candidates for Spring 2023. D3- Approved FS.40.396
Secretary Epstein moved to approve the totals.
TAMU Main Campus - 10,961
TAMU Galveston - 186
TAMU Qatar - 106
TAMU Law - 357
TAMU HSC- 325
Senator Klein launched a poll, and all candidates were approved.
- Presentations of Candidates for Speaker-Elect FS.40.397
A, Senator Adam Haney – TAMUG – Statement
B. Senator Angie Hill Price- Engineering - Statement
C. Senator Mark Sicilio – Medicine - Statement
3. Presentations of Candidates for Secretary FS.40.398
A. Senator Trevor Hale – Mays – Statement
B. Senator Andrew Klein – ARTSCI – Statement
4. Presentations of Candidates for Executive Committee FS.40.399
A. Senator James Abbey – MAYS - Statement|
B. Senator Mark Burge – LAW – Statement
D. Senator Robert Carpenter – Medicine – Statement
F. Senator Shelley Holliday – ARCH – Statement
H. Senator Jessica Simpson – Library - Statement
I. Senator Matt Taylor – AGLS – Statement
J. Senator Grace Townsend – TAMUG – Statement
K. Senator Pauline Wade – Engineering – Statement
The poll for officer elections was sent out on Tuesday, May 9th and ran until Wednesday, May 10th at 5:00pm.
The poll for members at large was sent out on Friday, May 12th and closed on Monday, May 15th at 5:00pm.
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE -
Speaker-Elect Tracy Hammond – Asked if there are any positive actions or items of concern that are occurring on campus related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility?Senator Trevor Hale, Mays Business School – In his capacity as President of the Texas Council of Faculty Senates (TCFS) is at the capital to oppose Texas Senate Bill 17 which directly relates to DEI.
GENERAL TOPICS
Senator Andy Tag – Arts & Sciences – Speaking on behave of the caucus in regard to the Opportunity Majors Program which was created to place students who were admissible but whose chosen major is full. There are three items of concern:
1. The publicity of the program to both departments and outside of the program have not been effective.
2. Multiple faculty from outside of the program and inside of the program are unaware of its existence.
3. Many more had questions regarding its implementation. The two biggest questions that have arisen are: What prevents a student from taking general classes towards their desired major and not the one that they were admitted into. And if they don’t make the cut, what does this do regarding delaying their time to graduation? How will the Opportunity Majors Program be evaluated in regards to retention?
Senator Andrew Klein – Arts & Sciences – Thanked Dale for his two long years of service. Stated that he couldn’t imagine doing two back-to-back, so he thanked him for everything he has done for the senate. Speaker Rice responded Thank you and you’re very welcome.
Senator Richard Waer – Engineering, brought an issue of concern and a warning. The concern: On April 13th, the School of Medicine, received an active shooter threat. First responders did respond however, the Code Maroon was never issued. He didn’t find out about it until he read the news. He doesn’t know who made the decision not to issue the Code Maroon. Luckily this turned out to be a hoax but feels no one should have stopped the warning from going out.
The Warning: Said there are forces trying to silence voices on campus.
Thanked all senators for their efforts and asked that they continue to charge forward.
Senator Matthew Taylor – Agriculture, offered to answer some of Senator Tag’s questions or put him in touch with someone that could assist him in regards to the Opportunity Majors Program.
Senator Theresa Ofili – Pharmacy, thanked all senators and said it has been very enlightening going to each and every one of the meetings. Wanted to thank Dale Rice for doing a phenomenal job of navigating the system.
Senator Jorge Alvarado – Engineering. Asked if the meetings would go back to being held in Rudder 601 in the Fall of this year. Speaker Hammond responded yes however, during the summer months they will remain online. She reminded those that aren’t available to attend the meetings during the summer months to let the senate office know.
Senator Angie Hill Price – Engineering, reminded senators that even though they are stepping down as senators or have lost the elections, the term runs until August 31st. So they can still attend meetings until that time.
Senator Catharina Laporte – Arts & Sciences, asked about communication on campus as there seems to be quite a bit of clamping down on what we can and can not say regarding listservs. Said she recently organized an event and found it almost impossible to advertise her event due to the lock downs on communication. How will we be facilitating campus-wide communication going forward?
Senator Jorge Alvarado – Engineering, wants to know if there is any type of timeline on appointing the provost and deans there are a lot of searches. Has the administration decided on when to fill those positions? Speaker Rice stated, the committee submitted a final list of candidates to President Banks on Friday for the Provost position. Over the next few days, she will review the information. The Dean of Engineering was delayed until fall because the search went national. The Dean of Arts & Sciences is ongoing and if you would like to be on the search committee you need to submit your information by Wednesday. Once the committee has been established, the call for candidates will go out.
Senator Jorge Alvarado asked if the provost search meetings were well attended, and the response was no they were not.
Senator Rajesh Miranda – Medicine, following up about the swat incident that happened at the Health Science Center, as Senator Waer mentioned someone called in an active shooter threat and no one within the building knew anything about it including the security for the building. One of the security guards went outside to see what was going on and he was armed and had several guns with lasers pointing at him. He’s thankful that nothing bad happened. Because this was a swat incident, about 40-50 police were present which seemed like a large amount of armed police on campus. He was concerned about persons of color being a target to those police who may shoot first then ask questions later. Now the building is completely locked down and faculty and students can not come to the building to meet with faculty that are housed in that building.
Senator Megan Reynolds – AGLS, spoke about memorandum that went out about use of course materials that were created by the instructor. Said with OER they are wanting instructors to create affordable ways for students to purchase course materials however, the instructors aren’t being compensated. Associate Provost Tim Scott stated it is an opt in only and is not meant to undercut what the instructors choose.
Senator Grace Townsend – TAMUG, wanted to speak about senate meetings being held in person in the fall. She understands that we have been working under a waiver to hold all meetings via Zoom. However, the remote campuses were taken by surprise with the comment that all meetings would go back to in-person/hybrid. Felt there should have been a discussion from all senators. Speaker Rice, stated that the decision to remain online was made by the full senate and he’s assuming that any decision to go back in person would have to be made by the full senate and not by an individual. Also mentioned that Zoom allowed more people to attend especially those on remote campuses or those with childcare issues.
Senator Angie Hill Price – Engineering, spoke regarding the S.A.P., there had been a faculty member who was writing course materials and then requiring students to purchase their course materials which was quite expensive. The S.A.P. came in to place to help protect faculty members from conflict of interest, as well as to check the materials to make sure they are appropriate.
Senator Catharina Laporte – Arts & Sciences, mentioned zoom meetings and the level of consistency it provides. One issue she has with Zoom is the back and forth on conversation. When we met in person, we were able to have a topic discuss that topic and then move onto the next topic. However, now with Zoom the conversation is all over the place and confusing. Senator Adam Haney-TAMUG, suggested changing the structure of Committee of the Whole to have a topic that is discussed before moving on.
ADJOURNMENT
Speaker Rice stated now that we enter our 41st session of the Faculty Senate beginning our fifth decade in shared governance, I pass the gavel to Speaker Hammond with best wishes for a successful year ahead.Speaker Hammond- Thank you Former Speaker rice. She thanked everyone for joining the meeting and stated that she looks forward to serving as your speaker.
Speaker Hammond motioned to Adjourn the meeting at 4:31pm
CONSENT AGENDA
Graduate CouncilNew Courses FS.40.375
VIBS 698: Gene, Cell, and Molecular Therapies
VIBS 675: Single-Cell Data Analysis via Machine Learning
Change in Courses FS.40.376
MATH 615: Introduction to Classical Analysis
MATH 619: Applied Probability
Change in Programs FS.40.377
College of Engineering/School of Law
Department Multidisciplinary Engineering
BS/JD-ITDE/JDLW-EJD: Interdisciplinary Engineering - 6-Year Bachelor of Science and Juris Doctor
Change in Programs FS.40.378
College of Engineering/School of Public Health
Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering/Environmental & Occupational Health
BS/MPH-INEN/OCSH-PPH: Industrial Engineering - 5-Year Bachelor of Science/Master of Public Health in Occupational Safety and Health
Change in Programs FS.40.379
College of Engineering/School of Public Health
Department of Multidisciplinary Engineering/Environmental & Occupational Health
BS/MPH-ITDE/OCSH-PPH: Interdisciplinary Engineering - 5-Year Bachelor of Science and Master of Public Health in Occupational Safety and Health
Change in Programs FS.40.380
College of Arts & Sciences
Department of Anthropology
CERT-COTR: Conservation Training - Certificate
Change in Programs FS.381
College of Agriculture & Life Sciences
Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics
MS-GGEN: Master of Science in Genetics and Genomics
Undergraduate Curriculum Committee
New Courses FS.40.382
CHEN 468: Zymology
PBSI 310: Career Readiness and Preparation
PVFA 483: Interdisciplinary Arts Practicum
Change in Courses FS.40.383
AFST 209: Psychology of Culture and Diversity
CSCE 483: Computer Systems Design
ECCB 203: Forest Trees of North America
EDCI 365: Using Technology Classrooms
FINC 464: Commercial Credit Analysis
GEOL 106: Historical Geology
GEOL 443: Global Biogeochemical Cycles
HLTH 342: Human Sexuality
HLTH 353: Drugs and Society
HLTH 354: Medical Terminology for the Health Professions
HLTH 403: Consumer Health
HLTH 415: Health Education Methodology
MKTG 335: Professional Selling
PHLT 332: Occupational Safety and Health II
PHLT 410: Public Health Communication
PHLT 412: Health Advocacy and Policy
PHLT 413: Public Health Informatics
PHLT 414: Applications of Epidemiology in Public Health
SCMT 305: Forecasting and the Statistical Foundation of Business Analytics
Change in Programs FS.40.384
College of Arts & Sciences
Department of Economics
CERT-QECM: Quantitative Economic Methods - Certificate
Change in Programs – Inactivation Proposal FS.40.385
College of Engineering
Department of Biomedical Engineering
CERT-QERM: Quality Engineering for Regulated Medical Technologies - Certificate
Change in Programs – Special Consideration Item FS.40.386
College of Agriculture & Life Sciences
Department of Ecology & Conservation Biology
BS-ECCB-TEA: Ecology and Conservation Biology - BS, Teaching Track
Change in Programs – Special Consideration Item FS.40.387
College of Engineering
Department of Computer Science & Engineering
CERT-CYOP: Cyber Operations - Certificate
New Courses – Galveston Pulled and sent back to originator 5/8/2023
MARS 358: Natural Disasters
Change in Courses – Galveston FS.40.388
MARB 406: Life in Extreme Environments
New Courses – Qatar FS.40.389
MEEN 484: Internship
W & C Courses
Course submitted for C – Recertification FS.40.390
ANSC 406-C: Beef Cattle Production and Management
Courses submitted for W – Certification FS.40.391
CSCE 331-W: Foundations of Software Engineering
ECCB 405-W: Forest Resource Assessment and Management
MEEN 485-W: Directed Studies
MGMT 373-W: Managing Human Resources
MXET 375-W: Applied Dynamic Systems
SCSC 311-W: Principles of Crop Production
SPAN 403-W: Advanced Writing in Spanish
Courses submitted for W – Recertification FS.40.392
FREN 418-W: Seminar in French Civilization
ISEN 330-W: Human Systems Interaction
MATH 300-W: Foundations of Mathematics
RELS 312-W: Contemplation in the Modern World
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Core Curriculum Report – Attachment C FS.40.393
Foundational Component Area: Language, Philosophy and Culture
ENGL 352-GE: Literature, World War II to Present.
Foundational Component Area: Life and Physical Sciences
GEOL 207-GE: Dinosaur World
Foundational Component Area: Mathematics
MATH 168-GE: Finite Mathematics
MATH 148-GE: Calculus II for Biological Sciences
MATH 172-GE: Calculus II
Foundational Component Area: Social & Behavioral Science
PBSI 107-GE: Introduction to Psychology
End of Consent Agenda_____________________________