February 12, 2024
February 12, 2024TAMU Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes
February 12, 2024
3:00pm
Via Zoom
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 Elect, Dr. Angie Hill Price called the eighth meeting of the 41st session to order at 3:00pm the meeting was conducted via Zoom.
Senator Andrew Klein monitored the raised hand function and the chat. Zoom’s registration function was used to track attendance.
SPEAKERS COMMENTS
Hello Senators,
A lot has happened this week. But before I get into it, I want to congratulate and thank faculty affairs for being incredibly proactive on two different occasions. First off, a myriad of faculty members have been attacked in the press, and faculty affairs new guidelines have been greatly appreciated by our faculty. Next. TAMU Qatar. As I am sure you all know, the Texas A&M Board of Regents recently voted for TAMU to exit the Qatar Foundation Campus. At this point, the contract states that this will happen slowly over the next four years to ensure success for the current TAMU Qatar students. This will cause difficult changes for many of the faculty members at TAMU Qatar. I want to make it clear that since the decision was made, Faculty Affairs has been working non-stop to figure out how to best support the faculty. So Faculty Affairs, I thank you again. I, also, have been reaching out to our senators in Qatar, and they and I are dedicated to supporting the faculty in Qatar. There is a lot we will have to work through. There was also a townhall on Sunday morning for Qatar campus that I attended. The townhall invited questions from all Qatar faculty, staff, and students, with the four panel members being Cesar Malave, Alan Sams, NK Anand, and President Mark Welsh. I understand that faculty have a lot of questions and opinions on this. However, please hold discussions about Qatar until the end of our meeting, so that appropriate time can be taken on the subject.
On good news, Texas Land Grants Day occurred on Friday, February 2, 2024. It was a tremendous success. Texas Land Grants Day was originally founded in 2020 by me and Karan Watson. You may or not know that there are exactly two Land Grants in Texas. And no, it is not A&M and UT. In 1876, A&M became a Land Grant institution in Texas because of the Morrill Act of 1862. However, Texas A&M refused to let black people into A&M. Thus, The Morrill Act of 1890 established a land-grant university system of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in states where African Americans were banned from accessing public higher education. Thus in 1890, the Alta Vista Agriculture & Mechanical College of Texas for Colored Youth was established. Now, we call this university Prairie View A&M. Prairie View was established because Texas A&M did not want black people at the university. This was during the separate but equal times. Prairie View’s treatment was certainly separate, but far from equal.
Today, Prairie View is one of the best HBCU’s in the country. They are an R2 university and on track to be the first R1 HBCU in the nation. Universities all over the nation are currently clamoring to collaborate with faculty from Prairie View. As our sister school, only 40 miles up the road, we need to engage better with faculty from Prairie View. But we have a long history of not interacting with faculty fairly, and that history is hard to correct. Thus, Karan Watson and I formed Land Grants Day in 2020 to support faculty from A&M and Prairie View in forming long-lasting authentic collaborations. The emphasis here is on authentic.
A little story from me, soon after TAMU became an HBCU, I was called by a faculty member from another school in another state. He was working on a project relevant to my work and wanted to know if I wanted to be on the proposal. Since it was so close to my research, I enthusiastically said yes and asked him to send me the proposal so that I could work on it. He responded that the proposal was done, he just needed an HSI. Feeling used and abused, I thanked him for his offer and declined. This is what faculty from Prairie View experience over and over, a request to be an unequal partner because of their demographics.
Land Grants Day is about learning about the excellence that each school has in terms of research and opportunities. It is about forming long lasting authentic relationships with faculty at the amazing school 40 minutes down the road. Texas Land Grants Day is about forming equal partnerships, built in the excellence that each school has. On Friday February 2, 2024, Karen Butler Purry and our Senator Deb Banerjee along with faculty from Prairie View chaired the fifth instantiation of Texas Land Grants Day, and it was a rousing success. There were between 100 and 200 participants, with the room vibrant and full through the entire day. I, personally, really valued the time I spent at this year’s Texas Land Grants Day. I made many valuable connections that I have already followed up with and had subsequent meetings with. This year was even more amazing for me since this was the first year I was not chair (not sure what else I was doing at that time, lol). I really appreciated how other faculty stood up to continue the tradition. This showed how valuable Texas Land Grants Day is to faculty across both institutions. And it gave evidence that Land Grants Day, which is so long in coming, is becoming sustainable. So, thank you, Karen and Deb.
A couple of other updates. I am sure that you have all heard about the new and underpass being built at the corner of Bush and Wellborn. The current let date is set to be December 2025, with the earliest construction potentially starting in March 2026. This may seem really far away, but we often bid and plan conferences to be held at Texas A&M even further out than that. So, I encourage you to take this information into consideration when planning future conferences at Texas A&M.
We also have some new advances in Mental Health that are also available for faculty. There will be a survey going out April 2, and Dr. Nancy Fahrenwald will come give us more details about the Jed program in our April meeting.
Another change is that I will be asking each of the committees to provide a 1-2 sentence update each month during the announcements section which comes right before the Committee of the Whole. I have also started visiting several of the committee members to see how they are doing and how I can better support them, so don’t be surprised if you see me drop into your next zoom call.
Now on to our two Guest Speakers.
GUEST SPEAKERS
Dr. Julie Harlin, Associate Dean for Graduate and Professional School along with Dr. Radhika Viruru, Clinical Professor, Teaching, Learning & Culture.
(CIRTL Teaching) Email: cirtl@tamu.edu
Center for integration of Research, Teaching & Learning
CIRTL@TAMU Teaching as Research Fellows Program
Comments and Questions made by:
Senator Matthew Taylor – College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Senator Catharina Laporte – College of Arts & Sciences
Ms. Julie Mosbo Ballestro – University Librarian and Assistant Provost of University Libraries – Update on the library
Texas A&M University Libraries – A Season of Transformation
Comments and Questions made by:
Secretary Andrew Klein – College of Arts & Sciences
Senator Jorge Alvarado – College of Engineering
Senator Samarian Sinha – College of Arts & Sciences
ANNOUNCEMENTS
None
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The January 22, 20224 minutes were approved as distributed. Attachment B – Approved FS.41.379
CONSENT AGENDA
The February 12, 2024 Consent Agenda was approved as presented.
Graduate Council – Approved – FS.41.380
New Courses
RWFM 662: Quantitative Methods in Natural Resources
SCMT 601: Doctoral Seminar in Operations and Supply Chain Management
SCSC 617: Advanced Soil Physics
SCSC 659: Optics and Photonics for Agriculture
Change in Courses – Approved – FS.41.381
ANLY 608: Linear and Logistic Regression and Visualization
ANLY 615: Data Wrangling Tools and Techniques
ANLY 626: Time Series, Machine Learning and Visualization
SCMT 675: Supply Chain Security
Miscellaneous Course Request – Approved – FS.41.382
Changes to Distance Education Course Limit for Doctoral Students
Revision of Dissertation Section in Program Requirements
Incorporation of ARCS into Catalog Language
Revision to Final Examination Section in Program Requirements
Change to Distance Education Language
W&C Courses
Courses with W – Certification – Approved -FS.41.383
PHIL 409-W: Studies in Gender and Philosophy
Courses with W – Recertification – Approved – FS.41.384
AGEC 117-W: Critical Thinking and Decision Making in Agricultural Economics
COSC 222-W: Social Issues in the History of the Construction Environment
SOCI 230-W: Classical Sociological Theory
SPAN 303-W: Spanish Composition
End of Consent Agenda_____________________________
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
None
COMMITTEE REPORTS –
Core Curriculum Council Report – Attachment C - Approved – FS.41.385
Foundational Component Area: Language, Philosophy, Culture
ENGL 374-GE: Women Writers
Foundational Component Area: Life and Physical Sciences
NUTR 222-GE: Nutrition for Health and Health Care
PHYS 123-GE: Physics for Future Presidents
Foundational Component Area: Social and Behavioral Sciences
SOCI 214-GE: Social Problems
Cultural Discourse: New Core Component Proposal
ARAB 215-CD: Introduction to Modern Arab Culture
RELS 350-CD: Religions, Utopias, and Happiness
International and Cultural Diversity: New Core Component Proposal
GLST 210-ICD: Languages of the World
NEW BUSINESS
None.
INFORMATIONAL ITEMS
1. Proposal to committee a permanent standing committee on Digital Learning Attachment D1 – Withdrawn. This has been turned over to the Planning Committee. Senators Catharina Laporte and Asha Rao have joined this committee. Also Mr. Joe Pettibon will be a permanent guest to the meetings.
2. Texas A&M Faculty Code of Conduct – Attachment D
3. Committee Monthly Updates
The following Committee Chairs provided updates on the work of their committees.
- Academic Affairs – Senators Adam Haney and Matthew Taylor
- Budget Committee – Senator Dean Baskin
- Bylaws Committee – Senators Mark Sicilio and Samiran Sinha
- Core Curriculum – Senator Tamy Frank-Cannon
- Legislative – Senator Mark Burge, met with Julie Kopycinski, Chief Government Relations Officer.
Personnel & Wellness – Senator Leslie Easterwood – Will send insurance issues to Mr. Billy Hamilton. Deputy Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer.
- Planning Committee – Senator Jessica Simpson, Byron Prestridge, a member of the management team in the Department of Transportation - status of micromobility, PEV.
Research Committee – Senator Matthew Sachs
EMERGENCY ITEM
Board of Regents votes to close Qatar Campus by 2028.
Comments by Speaker Hammond: With the closing of Qatar Campus by 2028, this means we will not be taking in any new students and would graduate the current students. There was a town hall for faculty, staff and students and Faculty Affairs has been working over the weekend to make sure that there is a plan to support faculty.
Guest: Dr. César Malavé, Dean of Qatar Campus
Dr. Malavé Stated:
“Like most of you, I am very disappointed by the decision of the Board of Regents. But at this point, I must look at the future and how we are going to continue to support our students. We need to graduate the current students and offer the same quality of education. Which means student programs need to continue. We have a strong study abroad program that must continue. We must continue supporting faculty and faculty development. We have close to over 180 staff that support all operations and we need those staff to continue operations here.”
If you had a chance to listen to the President, you know people are our first priority. Dr. Malavé told President Welsh that there are concerns about employment. A plan needs to be put together if faculty would like to transfer. What is going to happen to the staff at the end of the four years? If faculty and staff would like to transfer to the main campus, would there be a plan? All of these things need to be worked out.
Dr. Malavé has meetings scheduled with student groups and staff upon his return to the Qatar campus.
We will put together a faculty group consisting of faculty leaders which will include the two senators from Qatar. I meet with both senators on a regular basis.
He asked for the main campus not to stop helping him and their students.
Senator Brittany Bounds presentation: I’m a proud Aggie member of the class of 2014 and I have been affiliated with the university since I was a graduate student in the History Department. I was the President of the Graduate and Professional Student Council in 2012. I came to TAMUQ in 2019 and have been the Faculty Senate Caucus Leader for our campus since November 2022.
Because our Aggies get the same degree as main campus engineers, they are also trained to think critically, evaluate political decisions, become culturally sensitive and communicate effectively. We instill the same Aggie core values that we hold so dear in Texas. We are the same as you.
After the news that came out of the Board of Regents meeting last Thursday, faculty, staff, myself included have been riding an emotional roller coaster constantly fluctuating through the stages of grief, denial, sadness, bargaining, anger, acceptance and then back again. We are devastated, life has been hard. The last several years we have endured waves of COVID, the reorganization under the last president that stripped us of the prestige we had worked so hard for and now the ultimate insult in closing down our campus. The students have checked in on the faculty and staff to make sure that we are okay.
In the classrooms and hallways, students have voiced how sad, angered and betrayed they feel. They are afraid that they won’t be able to graduate, won’t have the true college experience and most importantly that their degree will be devalued and worthless on the job market.
Our students can’t understand local Texas and Politics can unilaterally determine a weighty decision about a very successful campus that excels in education without any discussion or negotiation, especially since we just renewed our contract for 10 years with an increased budget at no cost to taxpayers in Texas.
The Regents voted to pull out of the agreement early citing instability in the region which was never raised as an issue before.
Education City is by far the most exciting and high-quality collection of international branch campus in the world.
Our campus is the first and largest in Education City. Many institutions would make great sacrifices to be here sadly, TAMU’s stake in this enterprise is being thrown away for no clear gain and at a great cost to the Aggie family of students, staff, and faculty.
We have worked for years to become the leader in the Multiversity Initiative across Qatar Foundation, working with other universities to collaborate network and education students from other peer universities.
We provide engineering, liberal arts and science education to bright young innovators who aspire to bring positive improvements to the world. We teach them ethics and integrity in our classes and their projects. The research projects that have concerned certain watchdog groups involve medical advancements, environmental improvements, and engineering grand solutions. These efforts should be internationally celebrated, not criticized. Yet faculty placed on these lists have been deemed a threat to national security and fear the safety of their family in their home countries, let alone the ability to find another position.
International conflicts are not close in proximity to Qatar, and the country has been historically instrumental in attempting to negotiate peace between nations. The largest US. Military base in the region is located here, and they also just extended their contract to remain. TAMUQ has survived here since the wars began in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Gulf blockade, and many other regional conflicts that did not impact the education of our students or their legacy as allies and leaders in Qatar. As President Welsh pointed out in his public statement the incorrect accusations of dangerous associations and the risk of leaked research are preposterous and irresponsible. In 4 years when this campus closes, no one is going to remember why this decision was made in the first place. Students in Qatar do not have an alternative for engineering education here and families who have attended our campus for generations are left with no alternative. Some of our current students had plans to get their graduate degrees at our campus and teach now have to figure out alternative plans. Many of our students are not allowed to travel abroad or would have difficulty obtaining a visa to student anywhere else. We are able to provide quality education to these future leaders which a proud Texan seal. They are scrambling to figure out another option and feel that we have let them down. In my conversation with Speaker Hammond, she asked me how they can support us right now. We need encouragement, reassurance for the future. We need a reputation and faculty titles that will allow us to move on to our next positions. We need commitment from the leadership. For example, revisiting University Rule 12.0.1.99.M, to write in a 30-day notice for non-renewal of a part-time faculty is not helpful and induces unnecessary fear and stress. As you know, faculty hiring occurs in cycles and we have missed the cycle for hiring this fall. It’s impossible to leave Qatar in 30 days. Selling our car, wrapping up bank accounts, ending housing contracts, and repatriating all take long processes as an expatriate. But many, if not most do not want to leave here. Doha has become our home our campus is our community. We have moved our families here, put down roots in schools, friends, and social circles. In contrast to rumors and misperceptions of this country, Qatar has been welcoming, hospitable, extremely safe, prosperous, and offered us opportunities not available in the US. We chose to come here for work. We are proud of this campus, and it is a shame that the Aggie pride that we hold here is not respected or seen by those who made the decision to shut this place down. I want to commend the only Regent brave enough to vote with integrity, Michael Planck who visited this campus last year and saw how impactful our presence is in Qatar. We know President Welsh supports our mission and we will rely on you right now to make the right decisions in taking care of us in this transition. The leadership’s address to us on February eleventh was called a town hall, but it was really a one-way broadcast, and it left many dissatisfied, understandably. There are a lot of unknowns about how this transition will work. However, TAMUQ needs real dialogue and responsiveness from leadership not more one-way broadcasts. A town hall should be a chance for faculty, staff and students to also share their concerns, offer suggestions and support each other. We look forward to more substantive interactive meetings soon and collaborations with N.K. Anand with a non-transition team which should include representative from each of the affected groups here. As the transition team will not be arriving until May, many people are hoping that 2024 to 2025 will proceed with the same faculty and staffing levels. However, this is still unclear. We need prompt comprehensive information about faculty and staff appointments for this next academic year. The longer we go without this essential information, the more hurtful and chaotic this transition will be.
We are the Aggies, the Aggies are we. True to each others as Aggies should be.
Thanks and Gig’em.
Senator Mohammed Al-hashimi’s presentation:
I am here to represent the interest and concerns of our community at TAMUQ. Having joined TAMUQ in 2011, I have had the privilege of witnessing and contributing to the growth and development of our campus over the years. Prior to joining TAMUQ, I resided in the United Kingdom and had the privilege of working at Imperial College in London.
As a faculty member within the Chemical Engineering department, my role involves teaching courses in chemistry and material science.
I must express my disappointment and deep concerns regarding the decision to close our Qatar campus by 2028. First and foremost, it is essential to address the baseless rumors and attack on Qatar. It is unfair to let unfounded allegation go unchallenged. Especially when they affect the livelihoods and future of countless individuals. It is our moral obligation to challenge these falsehoods and uphold the truth. Rather than use the news to close Qatar campus which has cast a shadow over our community. Leaving students, staff and faculty feeling unsettled and disheartened.
For the past few days, emotions have run high as we come to terms with the implication of this announcements. Many of us have dedicated years to building a vibrant academic community in Qatar and the prospect of its closure is deeply distressing and disheartening to see the castle campus which its rich legacy of academic excellence and global collaboration deem expendable.
Our work in Qatar has not only produced exceptional Aggie engineers but has also facilitated groundbreaking research and fosters collaboration with top tier universities around the world.
As members of Texas A&M University community, we must hold the institution accountable to its commitment to faculty, staff and students.
The closure of the Qatar campus represents a departure from these commitments and undermines the trust and loyalty of those who have dedicated themselves to the success of the university’s goal initiatives. Every single person within our community deserves to be looked after, not just academically or professionally but also ethically and morally. We owe it to those who have worked tirelessly to ensure their wellbeing and provide support during this transition period.
The town hall meeting held on Sunday was meant to serve as a platform for discussion on the exchange of ideas. However, it fell short of this goal resembling more of a one-way broadcast, than a collaborative dialogue. Attendees found themselves unable to voice their concerns or provide feedback effectively resulting in a sense of disconnection and frustration. The lack of genuine communication underscores the importance of adapting a more inclusive and collaborative approach in future discussions. It is essential that our community feels heard and valued with ample opportunities for interaction and feedback, and transparency regarding the decision-making process is also crucial by fostering an environment of open dialogue and transparency. We can ensure that the voices of all stakeholders are considered and that decisions are made with the best interests of our community in mind.
Students, staff, and faculty deserve a voice in shaping the future of our academic community, especially considering the significant impact this decision will have on our lives and careers.
As we navigate through this challenging period, I hope to see genuine efforts from the university leadership to address our concerns, provide clarity on the transition process and explore alternatives that uphold our commitment to the global education and research.
Thank you for your attention to those pressing matters and I look forward to engaging in future dialogue on this issue.
Questions & Comments made by:
Dr. César Malavé - Dean of TAMUQ
Dr. N.K Anand -Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs
Dr. Tracy Hammond – Speaker
Senator Jorge Alvarado – College of Engineering
Dr. Alan Sams – Provost
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
Senator Tammie Preston-Cunningham – College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Discussion Canvas and no longer having the ability to look for AI. It was decided in December it was too expensive to keep that option. Was this brought to the Faculty Senate. How can we support our faculty who are teaching W courses or some courses with Chat, GPT and other AI running so rampant.
Dr. Michael Johnson, Interim Provost for Faculty Success and Interim Associate Vice President for Faculty Affairs, stated that what happened was that the Beta version of their AI detector was turned on in May and put into our system. It was made available to faculty and then they decided that the Beta version and the free trial was over on December 31 and if we wanted to continue using it, we had to move to a different tier of service moving forward. So, what we have done is our Digital Learning Advisory Committee has put on our agenda to investigate different AI detection software as well as the price of those software tools and their relative reliability. We will investigate if there are tools that are available that meet a reasonable reliability to cost ration and we will move forward with that.
Senator Jessica Simpson – University Libraries, mentioned that like last semester, there is going to be another eclipse event taking place that could be observed in College Station and in fact we are close to the path of totality for that on April 8th which is a Monday. The libraries are going to be distributing a proportional number of glasses. Note enough for everyone but we will be posting those distribution times ahead of schedule so keep an eye on the eclipse page at the library.
Senator Adam Kolasinski – Mays Business School, Brought forth concerns to the Senate that he had with proposed revisions to the Academic Freedom rule in section 2.2. There is a clause which I believe has statements that are objectively incorrect but also potentially concerning it says the faculty members comments protective even though they may be highly critical in tone or content or erroneous, but such statements are not protected. Free speech if they are either substantially impeded the faculty member’s performance of daily duties or materially or substantially interfere with the regular operation of the system, academic institution, department, or college.
False statements made with knowledge of their falsity or in reckless disregard of the truth are not entitled to constitutional protection and public statements may be so without foundation as to call into question the fitness of the faculty member to perform their duties.
I have concerns about this paragraph for two reasons, (one) false statements are in fact constitutionally protected so long as they are not libelous or perjury or fraud so that is objectively incorrect. You know the first amendment does protect false statements, except those that are in those categories. (two) I have concerns that a faculty member who is publicly calling into question conventional wisdom or calling into question the consensus of the field might be persecuted or somehow disciplined for it. And there are many examples of truths that were accepted by the academic community and later overturned famously.
The role for the Committee on Academic Freedom may not be robust enough. A faculty member can be disciplined without a hearing first. There should be a hearing before the decision to dismiss or discipline a tenured or non-tenured faculty member.
Senator Patricia Pietrantonio – College of Agriculture & Life Science, Speaker Hammond has sent several requests to comment on the new evaluation guidelines for post-tenure review, and I have two questions. (one) Who wrote those modifications and (two) What triggered the need for those modifications? There is no explanation of why the modifications are necessary and I am afraid it seems to portray that the notion of lazy professors. Dr. N.K Anand -Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs – because of Senate Bill 17, the system changed its regulation, and we are trying to align ourselves with the system so that we are not colliding with the system regulations. All post cases have to come to the Peer Review Committee, the Department Head, the Dean and Provost or Provost designee. That does not mean that we are going to have a committee at every level. In the interim, I have requested the Deans to just send a copy of the post tenure review so in spirit, we are in compliance with the senate bill. Senator Adam Kolasinski – Mays Business School – It used to state that if you had an unsatisfactory rating three years in a row you could be put up for post tenure review which is reasonable. Now it states if you receive an unsatisfactory rating in any of the three categories within two of the last five years. Speaker-Elect Angie Hill Price – College of Engineering, we have been assured that once another draft comes out it will be reviewed by the Faculty Senate.
Secretary Andrew Klein – College of Arts and Sciences, I want to convey from Dining Services some of you may eat at the Pavilion Grill. If you do, they are considering moving hamburgers away and replacing it with chicken fingers. I know some of you may really have loved the grill and the burgers that they had. They will be moved to REV’s and maybe 1876 so they will still be available on campus. The advantage of having chicken strips at the pavilion is it is a much faster throughput.
Senator Jorge Alvarado – College of Engineering, where does the dean search for engineering stand at the moment. For the record, I am a member of the committee and we met with the Provost and the President about four weeks ago. We have not heard anything since them. We don’t know if the Chancellor or President has picked a finalist and when they will be announced. Provost Alan Sams, So it has taken awhile for the President and Chancellor to talk as a lot has been happening last week and the week before with regard to some of the topics that were discussed today. I have two more calls to make and I then I can call candidates and talk to them about their continued interest in the position so the selection can be made. I have a couple of administrative bases to touch and then I will reach out to the selected individual.
Senator Raymundo Arroyave – College of Engineering, if we take too long to make a decision, potential candidates may actually get nervous about what they are getting into and it is a complete surprise that candidates haven’t been reach out to.
Provost Alan Sams, the candidate has been kept informed. We have been in contact.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was returned to Speaker Hammond and was adjourned at 5:28pm.