Faculty Senate Minutes - August 2025

Behrend Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes

August 2025

  1. Call to Order
    1. David Dieteman, Faculty Senate Chairperson
  2. Approval of minutes from April Faculty Senate Meeting
    1. Motion M. Naber and seconded by J. Bennett
  3. Appreciation of New Constitution, Faculty Senate and Committee Introductions by D. Dieteman
    1. 1st year under new constitution, appreciation to J. Bennett
    2. If you notice issues with the Constitution, please alert D. Dieteman
    3. Move to Representative model has begun
    4. Introductions
      1. Faculty Senate Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, part-time representative, Parliamentarian, Ombudsman, and alternate Ombudsman
      2. Committees in the Faculty Senate and their chairs
      3. Faculty Senators in University Senate
  4. College Updates
    1. Ralph Ford, Chancellor
      1. Welcome back
      2. Strategic direction
      3. Enrollment update, 1050 FYS, 988 transfers
        1. Issues
          1. Closing of campuses
          2. Enrollment flat
          3. Official Census October 6th
          4. UP took incoming through August instead of May
        2. Direction
          1. Retreat at PSU Beaver, different, optimistic
          2. Official visit in Oct.
          3. AI is direction of Commonwealth Vice President
    2. Greg Filbeck, Vice Chancellor and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs
      1. Emailed update week prior, will do monthly updates moving forward
        1. Retention 82%, move to 90% is goal
        2. Demographic cliff in NW PA in 2028
        3. Tutoring, R. Pflueger says 79% of tutored were guided by professors to LRC
        4. EI model rollout- identifies students with low EI scores
          1. NSO students with low EI scores were directed to course loads deemed appropriate for individuals.
        5. Strategic Plan 26-30 due December 25
        6. Behrend Policies (55) have been updated
        7. Final Program Reviews
          1. C. Harben- Is this data available?
          2. G. Filbeck- Quality of incoming students’ demographic information is available from A. Konkol
          3. R. Ford- Predictive Academic Index, not changing the bar.
          4. Vice Chair- Does the PI say the classroom experience influences the student and index?
      2. New programs
        1. BioBehavioral Health
        2. Second Degree in Nursing
        3. AI and society (certification)
        4. Building AI Intelligence (certification)
        5. 3 years Degrees (5 new programs)
    3. Alicyn Rhoades, Vice Chancellor and Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies
      1. Current and future state of graduate programs.
      2. Slide of Partners and Pillars
        1. Ranked changes in research
          1. 451st in 2011, 250th in 2023
          2. Our research sets us apart from other Commonwealth campuses
            1. 23/24 346 students $271,742, 24/25 282 students $26,4320
          3. No travel funding from UP, Behrend will pick up $800 per student.
            1. Use funding carefully
            2. Spend money, no carryover.
        2. Self-promotion
          1. Want to promote research faculty
          2. Interviews
          3. Update for sharper image
          4. Faculty Showcase Jan/Feb 2026
    4. Amy Bridger, Assistant Dean for Innovation and Corporate Strategy, not present. A. Rhoades presents.
      1. Center for Manufacturing
        1. Breaks ground Spring 2026
      2. Career Fair Sept. 25th
        1. No tests this day.
        2. Student and Faculty presence expected at Fair
      3. Chris Harben? What about non-academic research and consulting?
      4. A. Rhoades Interesting Question, lets talk.
      5. V. Chair What AI and its use overall?
      6. A. Rhoades Good question.
        1. Ethics
        2. Promote original work
        3. No official statement
      7. Career Fair
        1. If you know of any companies that should be there, send to Susan Shorts.
  5. Introduction of new School Director (D. Dieteman)
    1. Introduction of new School Director School of Science- Cora Macbeth
  6. Introduction of new faculty by School Directors (D. Dieteman)
    1. Cora MacBeth, School of Science
    2. Melanie Hetzel-Riggin, School of Humanities and Social Sciences
    3. Ozgun Demirag, Black School of Business
    4. Tim Kurzweg, School of Engineering
  7. Updates/Announcements
    1. Student Athlete Academic Summary – Chuck Brown
      1. Combined GPA all teams 3.0 or higher, actual 3.3 (373 students)
      2. Highest 3 GPA’s
        1. Women's Cross Country 3.7
        2. Women's Basketball 3.6
        3. Men's Basketball 3.57
      3. 2011 GPA 2.9, 2025 GPA 3.39
    2. Behrend Graduation Rates
      1. 2019 80.5%, 2025 86.1%, student body 67%
        1. Students all have a mentor
        2. Missed class sheet helps faculty and students know missing only for games and comp
        3. Vice Chair
          1. Accolades to Athletic Programs.
          2. What is the retention rate of Athletes compared to student body?
          3. Is there anything we can do to support teams? Athletes?
        4. C. Brown
          1. How numbers are explained
          2. Promotion
          3. Faculty mentorships
        5. L. Arrone- Does D3 require student athletes to attend study hours?
        6. C. Brown- No.
  8. Presentation of Faculty Awards
    1. Council of Fellows Excellence in Teaching Award- Todd Cook
    2. Guy W. Wilson Award for Excellence in Academic Advising-Brian Young
    3. Council of Fellows Faculty Research Award- Gamini Mendis
    4. Council of Fellows Faculty Excellence in Outreach Award- Melanie Ford
  9. Adjournment motioned by J. Amicangelo, seconded by L. Arrone