Faculty Senate Minutes - March 2025

Behrend Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes

Meeting Minutes for Faculty Senate

Call to Order - Jason Bennett, Faculty Senate Chair
Approval of minutes
1. Matt Ciszek requests correction to prior minutes because of misspelling of his name.
2. Motion with correction of minutes. M. Swinarski and seconded T. Halmi
Constitution Report (J. Bennett)
1. Constitution Update was presented by J. Bennett. The new constitution faced a minor correction regarding athletics coaches' voting status, but is on track for approval by April 2025.
2. J. Bennett acknowledged the hard work of the Constitution Committee - D. Dieteman, M. Swinarski, M. Ciszek, K. McCoy, C. Nikhare, P. Kelly, P. Silver, and D. Blasko.
Academic Affairs (G. Filbeck)
1. Note of congratulations to School of Science director search
  1. T. Halmi, note of credit to Jay Amicangelo for hard work.
2. Highlighted retention strategies using an EI score to identify at-risk students, academic plans for pre-majors, and collaboration with advisers.
Research (A. Rhoades)
1. Family Seed Grant and Housing: Extended grant deadline and announced summer housing arrangements for students at $31/day.
2. Board of Trustees Update was presented: Students represented the campus well at the Board meeting, emphasizing authentic messaging.
Campus (A. Bridger)
1. Scholarships and Manufacturing Center was presented by [Speaker 5]: Promoted $1,000 John Wills scholarships (deadline April 15) and solicited feedback on the Smith Center design.
Call of No Confidence from Previous Meeting (J. Bennett)
1. Many faculty were confused on what the motion for a Call of No Confidence entailed at previous meeting. Considering this, it was advised to rescind the motion and then move forward.
2. Motion to rescind the previous motion for Call of No Confidence (L. Aronne)
3. Discussion - None
4. Voting Results - Nobody voiced objection to the motion. Motion Passed.
Statement of Concern
1. Main Motions
  1. Motion to send the Statement of Concern letter to University leadership (President’s office, Josh Wede, Tracy Langkilde, Sara Thorndike, Margo Dellicarpini, Frank Marco, Ron Darbo) advocating for budget model improvements and Behrend-specific considerations, effective immediately.
    1. Amended to remove specific financial comparison data ('almost $3 million higher than the Eberly College').
  2. Discussion
    1. Discussed the need to voice concerns about budget decisions affecting Behrend without adopting a 'no confidence' stance.
    2. Emphasized ensuring the letter reaches key stakeholders (e.g., President’s office, Sara Thorndike) to influence fiscal year 2027 planning.
    3. Debated including the Board of Trustees but opted to avoid bypassing administrative channels.
  3. Voting Results
    1. Amendment passed to remove a comparative financial statistic to avoid perceived Behrend exceptionalism.
Updates from University Faculty Senate (M. Swinarski)
1. Sustainable course attribute proposal was presented: A votable action to add a sustainability attribute for searchable courses, following Curricular Affairs Committee survey results.
  1. Approve adding sustainable attribute to applicable courses for student searchability. M. Swinarski
    1. Curricular Affairs Committee identified student demand through survey
    2. Attribute does not create new general education requirements
    3. Courses must meet specific sustainability objectives
2. Reaffirmation document clarification was presented: Emphasized Senate policies requiring administration to share closure/reorganization information with Senate prior to announcements. The document requires a response from the President's office.
Compliance training update was presented: Deadline clarified as April 24, 2025, to be eligible for full ASI. An extension is available to May 15, 2025; however, this will result in having ASI delayed until January 2026.
Committee Reports
1. Academic Computing Report
  1. Committee sunsetting soon, planning final meeting
  2. 3D printing in library
  3. Charging station availability in library?
  4. AI awareness
2. Athletics Committee Report
  1. Addressed student-athlete progress reports and potential finals week scheduling conflicts for spring sports
  2. Finals week, request for accommodation for athletes playing sports during finals.
  3. Transitioning coaches from faculty to staff. R. Ford
  4. D1 schools and professional advisers. G. Filbeck is looking at whether coaches can be given adviser Starfish access so they can see when flags are raised.
3. Undergraduate Curricular Affairs
  1. Identified four potential new major paths and collaborated on a student/adviser career website.
  2. Gen Ed assessment results were presented: Critical thinking and social responsibility/ethical reasoning metrics exceeded expectations.
4. Graduate Affairs
  1. No discussion
5. Faculty Affairs
  1. Working on charges
  2. Meet before semester ends
6. Scholarship and Awards
  1. Deadline soon
  2. Reiterate we have good students
7. Student Life
  1. Making progress with quality-of-life surveys, collaborating with SGA and Aaron on financial matters
8. Undergraduate Studies
  1. Meeting on 27^th
  2. Progress on charges
  3. Awards for teaching and advising, April deadline.
New Business R. Ford
1. Discussion on how we engage with faculty, students, and staff of closing campuses.
2. Curricular Affairs
  1. Opportunity for faculty, students, and staff to come here based on phasing out of programs we have in common.
  2. How do we discuss this? T. Halmi
    1. Talk to G. Filbeck
3. Discussed IT optimization outcomes and open access publication funding under new models.
4. Enrollment update: 7% enrollment decline at main campus, 14% decline at Commonwealth campuses, 4% application increase
AI Task Force update: Grassroots efforts progressing for academic and operational integration of AI technologies
Alumni recognition update
1. Connor (2011 communications graduate) receiving young alumni award on 2025-03-27
Adjournment Motion: M. Naber, seconded L. Aronne