FACULTY SENATE MEETING
APRIL 19, 2022 – 3:30-5:00 PM
APPROVED MINUTES
ATTENDANCE: Paulo Araujo, Nikhil Bilwakesh, Serena Blount, Seth Bordner, Spyridoula (Litsa) Cheimariou, Kim Colburn, Shibin Dai, Susan Dewey, Rona Donahoe, Amanda Espy-Brown, John Giggie, Brittany Gilmer, Courtney Helfrecht, Kim Lackey, Nathan Loewen, Di Luo, Christopher Lynn, Micah McKay, Moises Molina, Luke Niiler, Shanlin Pan, Matt Reynolds, Sara-Maria Sorentino, Edith Szanto, Alexandre Tokovinine, Soledad Sanchez Valdez, Laura Erin Watley, Charlotte Wegrzynowski, Craig Armstrong, Tom Baker, Doug Bish, Chapman Greer, Ruth Ann Hall, Clay Voorhees, A. J. Bauer, Leah LeFebvre, Bharat Mehra, Cynthia Peacock, Steven Yates, Dale Dickinson, Andrea Wright, Joy Burnham, Nirmala Erevelles, Nicole Swoszowski, David Walker, Sriram Aaleti, Xiaoyan Hong, Tonya Klein, Sushma Kotru, Sundar Krishnan, Patrick Kung, Jialai Wang, Ruigang Wang, Kelly McPherson, Thomas Herwig, Charles (Ian) Crawford, Barbara “Babs” Davis, Amy Ellis, Yeon Ho Shin, Jeri Zemke, Heather Elliott, Barbara Dahlbach, Kristi Acker, Michael Callihan, Kim Parker, Amy Traylor, Carrie Turner, Brad Porter-PSA Representative.
ABSENT: Sheila Black, Jessica Goethals, Lyndell McDonald, Tyler Sasser, Erin Stoneking, Todd DeZoort, Matthew Hudnall, Hasan Isomitdinov, Stephanie Buckner, Sara McDaniel, John Petrovic, Weihua Su, Paul Horwitz, Dan Joyner, Rebecca Owings, Robert Riter-Parliamentarian.
ABSENT WITH ALTERNATE: Alessandro Montalbano/Vaia Touna, Gregg Bell/Joy Bradley, Nelle Williams/Meenakshi Arora, Stephanie Shelton/Laura Morett, Sara Whitver/Patricia Ratkovich.
GUESTS: Laura Braddick-Strategic Communications, Tara Mock, Jun Liu, Dimitrios Latsis, Shaheen Kanthawala.
The new senator/alternate orientation meeting was held with a power point presentation at 2:30 PM.
Curt Ward, The University Supply Store Associate Director-Course Materials, Shipping and Receiving, presented information concerning ordering course materials, add/drop deadline, secure access, resource options and payment process. Any questions may be directed to Curt Ward.
Roll call and quorum check by Faculty Senate Secretary Barb Dahlbach.
The Faculty Senate meeting minutes of March 22, 2022 were approved.
President’s Report – (Chapman Greer) President Greer welcomed the new and returning senators.
The Ukranian resolution has been posted to the Faculty Senate web page.
Bob Riter was confirmed as Faculty Senate Parliamentarian.
End-of-year committee reports are due by the end of this month. Each committee should meet and determine a prioritized agenda of projects and issues to focus on in the coming year. One major issue for the coming year will be the establishment of available childcare for faculty, staff and students.
Andrea Wright is no longer able to serve as Faculty Senate Web Master. An email will be sent requesting nominations for a permanent Web Master.
Instructions for senators included: two excused absences are allowed; senators are responsible to secure an alternate to attend in their place when unable to attend the Faculty Senate meetings; and other responsibilities were covered in the orientation.
Secretary Barb Dahlbach directed the meeting locations and co-chair election results.
Each committee met and voted the following co-chairs—
Research & Service – Shanlin Pan & Clay Vorhees
Student Life – Amanda Espy-Brown & Kim Parker
Faculty Life – Heather Elliott & Alex Tokovinine
Faculty & Senate Governance – Jeri Zemke & Ruth Ann Hall
IT & Strategic Communications – Patrick Kung & Xiaoyan Hong
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion – Thomas Herwig & Alessandra Montalbano
Community & Legislative Affairs – Joy Burnham & Steven Yates
Financial Affairs – Todd DeZoort & Tom Baker
Academic Affairs – Rona Donahoe & Babs Davis
Committee Reports –
Faculty & Senate Government – (Jeri Zemke & Ruth Ann Hall) Yong Zhang has been nominated for the Mediation Committee with one vacancy remaining. Dr. Stacy Robinson is the new Ombudsperson.
Faculty Life – (Heather Elliott & Alex Tokovinine) Progress on the childcare policy continues with Professional Staff Assembly and Office, Clerical, Technical Staff Assembly group meetings. The business plan will be presented within the next few weeks.
Community & Legislative Affairs – (Joy Burnham & Steven Yates) The Brewer Porch Teacher and Staff Appreciation Luncheon will be held May 5, 2022 honoring approximately 80 teachers.
Student Life – (Amanda Espy-Brown & Kim Parker) Information concerning the REACH program for foster-care and qualified students was reviewed. There are 600 students needing these services, however, only 38 are registered.
Academic Affairs – (Rona Donahoe & Babs Davis) The Academic Affairs Committee will be working with the Provost’s Office on Faculty Handbook revisions, including Appendix B, Mediation and Grievance Policy, and Chapter 2 Tenure and Promotion – revisions will provide T&P service credit to faculty working with vulnerable/underserved populations. The General Education Reform process is moving forward with a goal of bringing the matter to a full faculty vote in fall of 2022.Compliance Committee – (Babs Davis) Compliance participation has been moved to September and October and efforts are being made to cut any duplications.
Compliance Committee – (Babs Davis) Compliance training has been moved to September and October and efforts are being made to cut any duplications between training courses.
Faculty & Staff Benefits Committee – (Rona Donahoe) Complaints concerning PayFlex were compiled and sent to the Benefits Office. A dedicated liaison is now in place between PayFlex and UA employees. The PayFlex call center was based in other countries resulting in language and communication issues. If you have had problems such as documentation rejection or payment denial on your FSA/HSA accounts, please contact the Benefits Office or UA’s PayFlex representative, Ericka Shumate (eshumate@ua.edu), for assistance.
Taskforce for Transforming Campus Culture – The committee report has been sent to the Office of Academic Affairs for a review of the recommendations.
The next Faculty Senate meeting will be August 16, 2022.
Meeting adjourned 5:00 PM.