Behrend Faculty Council Meeting Minutes

Monday, September 12, 2022
4:30 p.m. via Zoom

  1. Call to Order – Lisa Elliott, Faculty Council & Senate Chair @ 4:30 p.m.
  2. Approval of minutes from prior Faculty Council Meeting on April 12, 2022.
    1. Linda Hajec; Ed Evans
  3. Discussion of Michelle Stine's visit on September 6 (University Park Faculty Council Chair)
    Issues brought up to the attention of Dr. Stine:
    1. Non-tenure track funding for promotions; there does not seem to be a line in the budget for that. Dr. Stine answered that she would address that with the Vice-President for Faculty Affairs
    2. Non-tenure track faculty would like to receive information on contract renewal earlier. Dr. Stine answered that she will mention this problem to the Vice-President for Faculty Affairs. Currently, instructors on a one-year appointment are notified whether there will not be renewal within 12 weeks. The policy is not in place for continuing renewals. Dr. Stine also mentioned that now the budget for NTT is not on a temporary line, but on a permanent line.
      Q: Can you clarify on the 12 weeks?
      A: 12 weeks before the contract ends for those on one-year appointments.
      The budget for NTT is no longer temporary and it’s a permanent budget, so there is no incentive for one and two-year contracts unless it’s a temporary line. Three or five-year contracts are the norm/standard.
    3. Discussion on the procedures that were followed to close a program at the Altoona campus. Does University Faculty Senate have oversight on closing programs? They are notified but don’t have any say. It’s up to each campus if they wish to close a program. We have a process at Behrend: When programs are closed, we follow that process. The closure of ARTSA did follow the process. We don’t know if Altoona has a process and if they followed that process or not.
    4. A faculty member brought up the issue of hiring students being difficult; sometimes it takes two months. Dr. Stine will mention this problem to the Vice-President of Faculty Affairs and other relevant parties at UP letting them know we are having problems getting through the process. This is the first time she has heard of this problem; leadership is not aware that this is a challenge.
    5. A faculty member observed that NTT expectations for promotion are not clear. In particular, scholarly production seems to be unclear by School. The former NTT promotion chairperson stated that there is a policy but the culture in different Schools seems to differ from the policy. The policy and the School culture should be aligned.
    6. Q: What initiatives is Dr. Stine working on in University Faculty Senate?
      A: She will focus on equity across student services; making it easier for faculty to get grad status. She is working with leadership on the budget to make sure the budget is more equitable. She is concerned about curricular drift; a course offered at UP should be similar to a course offered at Altoona. She wants to unify the syllabi across these courses to make sure they cover similar topics. A faculty member said that he would be interested in exchanging faculty across campus. That might help unify some of the curricular issues and help getting to know faculty on other campuses.
    7. Q: Do we have a procedure to add or close programs? Where do we find it?
      A: The form is now drafted and close to being rolled out. Each of the Schools will be using the same form in the future to ensure consistency.
      Lisa Jo Elliott explains: In HSS it goes through our curricular committee and then it’s voted on at a school meeting; then it goes to the Behrend Curricular Committee. That’s what happened with Artsa
  4. Discussion of committee charges and the procedure
    1. Lisa Jo Elliott waited to have a good grasp of contexts and situations before making the charges. She will be reaching out with committee chairs (in the next two weeks) to discuss charges one-on-one. Luciana Aronne will stand in for Sharon Gallagher for some time.
    2. The charges that were suggested by the previous chairperson are adopted, and in some cases, there are additional charges.
  5. Chancellor's Budget Presentation in Faculty Senate
    1. President Bendapudi will hold a town hall on budget questions on September 14, 2002.
    2. Chancellor Ford will provide information on budgets at the Senate meeting. Chancellor Ford explains budgetary adjustments during Covid, then touches upon the reorganization of the budget office. Chancellor Ford shows the Behrend financial dashboard with revenues and expenditures. Behrend is in a good financial state, having complied with requirements set by the central administration. Behrend is in a good financial shape and is doing well in terms of how we contribute to the university. Behrend continues to be strong.
  6. New Business
    1. Q: When will Lisa Jo Elliott meet committees for charges?
      A: Within the next two weeks.
    2. Concerns – Two colleagues have concerns about the first-year seminar
    3. Behrend Faculty Senate has a new Canvas page; Faculty members should consult the Canvas page to find links to the recordings, committee reports, and several other documents.
    4. Charlotte De Vries created a Teams group to help new faculty and promote socialization, but also to ask questions about life in Erie.
  7. Motion to adjourn at 5:10 p.m.
    1. Linda Hajec and Charlotte De Vries