9-15-20 Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes

Faculty Senate meeting

9-15-20   Via Zoom

Attending: Julie Bannerman, Sheila Black, Silas Blackstock, Serena Blount, Seth Bordner, Tony Buhr/Spyridoula (Litsa) Cheimariou, Ibrahim Cemen, Jeremy Crawford, Diana Dolliver/Matthew Dolliver, Rona Donahoe, Alexis Davis Hazell, Andrea Glenn/Ted Tomeny, Holly Grout, Heather Gunn, Luvada Harrison, Courtney Helfrecht, Conor Henderson, Jolene Hubbs, Christopher Lynn, Lyndell McDonald, Preethi Nair, Regina Range, Ignacio Rodeno, Rainer Schad, Kelly Shannon-Henderson, Jenny Shaw, Sarah Steinbock-Pratt, Edith Szanto, Bulent Tosun, Vaia Touna, Jonathan Whitaker, John Vincent, Greg Cottrell/Jennifer Nunnelley, Jennifer Dempsey, Todd DeZoort, Chapman Greer, Ruth Ann Hall, Matthew Hudnall, BC Kim, Lexi Lowe Edwards, Mary Stone, Brian Britt, Leah LeFebvre, Bharat Mehra, Alyx Vesey, Steven Yates, Cecily Collins, Suzanne Henson, Nelle Williams, Andrea Wright, Stephanie Buckner/Tracy Hinton, Joy Burnham, Andre Denham, Kelly Guyotte, Latrise Johnson, Michael Lawson/Stephanie Shelton, John Petrovic, Nirmala Erevelles, Sriram Aaleti, Jaber Abu-Qahouq, Ajay Agrawal, Sushma Kotru,

Sundar Krishnan, Patrick Kung, Shuhui Li, John Van Zee, Keith Williams/Mark Weaver, John Latta, Carla Blakey, Wanda Burton, Barbara “Babs” Davis, Michelle Tong, Jeri Zemke, Mirit Eyal-Cohen, Courtney Cross, Heather Elliot, Barbara Dahlbach, Russel Peterson, Susan Appel, Michael Callihan/Betty Key,

Rebecca Owings/Abby Horton, Teresa Welch, Leah Cheatham, Amy Traylor, Donna Meester, Robert Riter, Lynette Campos, Hank Lazer

Absent:  John Yoder, David Taylor

The UA Benefits Office (Erica Shumate, Jay Hailey, David Bertizetti) began the meeting with a presentation of updates concerning healthcare.  Open enrollment will be October 15-30, 2020.  No action is required if the employee wants their benefits to remain the same.

Lifelock is available to employees for identity protection and online privacy is available for $8.89 a month or $15.89 a month for eligible employees and family.

Teladoc provides remote medical care 24/7 for acute non-emergency illnesses for $20 deductible for PPO and $9.00 for HDHP and the cost before the deductible is $45.00 for both plans.

Livongo is a voluntary diabetic management program.

There is a decrease in dental premiums with vision premiums remaining the same.

PPO health plan premiums will increase 2.5%.  PPO health plan premiums for a specialist office visit will increase from $50 to $55.

A cap for physical occupational therapy services increases from 20 to 30 visits per calendar year.

Mail order prescription copays for employees is currently is three copays for a 90-day supply.  This will be reduced to two copays for the same 90-day supply.

Flexible Spending Accounts – annual contribution limit for Healthcare FSA is $2,750 – dependent care FSA is $5,000.  These are use it or lose it accounts.

A High Deductible Health Plan is a high deductible/low premium plan.  There are no changes in the deductible for this year – $1,400 employee only/$2,800 family.  HDHP premiums remain flat for 2020-21.

The Health Savings Account is a savings plan owned by the employee with $3,600 employee contribution limits and $7,200 for family.  Any funds remaining in the account at the end of the year will roll over.

Three virtual information sessions will be held via zoom on Tuesday, September 30 from 10-11 AM; Wednesday, September 22 from 10-11 AM; Monday, October from 2-3 PM.

Dental implants have been added to dental coverage even though premiums did not increase.

During open enrollment employees can switch their health coverage plan.  There. Is a three month grace period to file for incurred reimbursement in 2020-21 through March 2021.

The Faculty Senate meeting began with business items.  Committee reports are posted below.

Senate Committee Reports:

 

• Student Life – (Jennifer Dempsey & Ruth Ann Hall)
  • VOTE: Resolutions commending the service of Dr. Kathleen Cramer and Dr. Tim Hebson

• Faculty & Senate Governance – (Ibrahim Çemen & Jeri Zemke)
  • Mediation Committee Nominations are needed immediately.
  • Call for Commencement Marshal Nominations – Will be sent out soon.
  • Faculty Ombudsperson Nominations – Can be from any college except: A&S, Engineering, Business. Must be Tenured with a minimum of 7 years of experience at UA; cannot be a member of the Mediation Committee or Faculty Senate.

• Community & Legislative Affairs – (Joy Burnham & Steven Yates)
  • BE COUNTED! – Please complete the US Census by September 30^th  

• Academic Affairs – (John Vincent & Andre Denham)

• Faculty Handbook Changes Approved and Implemented for Fall 2020:

• • • Chapter 2, Section IV – Change allows faculty applying for promotion to Full Professor to be ‘grandfathered’ under previous promotion guidelines for a 3 year period after guidelines are revised.
    • Appendix J – Change allows Affiliate members of the Graduate Faculty meeting all listed qualifications to chair committees for final projects of professional practice doctorates.

 

• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion – (Mirit Eyal-Cohen & Ignacio Rodeno)
  • Update on Commission on Race, Slavery, and Civil Rights

The Taskforce was active during the summer; later in the fall semester there will be an announcement to launch the Commission in the spring. They are looking to bring speakers as well as an appropriate digital platform to host the event (apparently Zoom cannot hold the volume of participants)

• • Contact with Division of DEI

The Committee is disappointed in the fact that there were practically no meetings with Dr. Taylor last AY. The Committee wants to renew efforts to establish periodic meetings with Dr. Taylor and/or an appointed person in her office. The goal of the Committee is to serve as liaison between the Faculty Senate and the Division of DEI

• • Affinity Groups – The Committee would like to renew efforts to foster the creation, implementation and growth of Affinity Groups. The collaborative breakfast that were hosted by Crossroads have been taken over by the Division of DEI. They are held digitally, but participants need to reserve a spot through Qualtrics.
  • Advocacy for Diversity on Campus – The Committee looks to advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion at UA, especially with regards to hiring and retaining faculty and staff, as well as to foster diversity in the curriculum. Advocacy for underrepresented population at UA was also discussed.

 

• Faculty Life – (Susan Appel & Christopher Lynn)
  • Faculty Life met twice with Carolyn McVicar, who runs the Well Bama programs. This year’s Well Bama program began in August, and UA community are encouraged to enroll. After the health screening, enrollees receive a $50 gift card. After completing two challenges (such as a certain number of steps or health-oriented webinar—there are several choices), those enrolled receive a 2^nd $50 gift card. This is the 6^th year of the program, and there have been changes over the years to improve flexibility of the program to suit individual work-life integration. Last year, 72% of UA employees participated, which included 84% of staff but only 16% of faculty. They would like to see more faculty get involved.
  • MoveSpring is the app people can download to participate in challenges such as step counting.
  • There was a soft opening of psychological counseling services for faculty through UMC in August. This is headed by John Higginbotham and Martha Crowther.
  • The annual Work-Life and Wellness Expo is planned for this fall but is being modified for obvious (COVID) reasons; dates and format will be announced soon.
  • Work-Life/Well Bama have a monthly email newsletter folks can subscribe to on their website to stay up to date on these programs.

• Financial Affairs – (Rainer Schad & Mary Stone)
  • A detailed analysis and comparison with peer institutions of graduate student stipends reveals that UA stipends generally are awfully behind. The data are based on 9-month stipends. There are however a few unknowns in the equation:

• The numbers do not include information about summer support.
• While most universities cover health insurance, the extent of its coverage is entirely unknown.
• While tuition is typically covered, universities also levy fees at college or department level, the costs and coverage of these is typically unknown.
• The costs of living are also not considered.
• The combined value of these unaccounted costs or benefits can unfortunately exceed 50% of the stipend value.
• Given that UA had been falling even more behind in recent years, the Graduate School will work with the Administration on correcting our graduate student support.

• IT & Strategic Communications – (Matthew Hudnall & Patrick Kung)
  • The Committee is working with the Faculty Life Committee to investigate concerns about the security of personal and medical data collected during Verily registration for GuideSafe Sentinel testing.

 

• Research & Service – (Ajay Agrawal & Kelly Shannon-Henderson)
  • Committee discussed OVPRED’s Annual Report: http://ovpred.ua.edu/files/2020/08/Annual-Report-ORED-Year-One-08.24.20.pdf  Based on Committee feedback, co-chairs met with VPR and requested additional metrics for the next such report that would take account of research excellence in fields where external funding is not the norm (e.g., external awards and honors, books published).
  • Committee discussed a policy suggestion circulated by the VPR to eliminate the policy of calculating percentage of “credit” for each faculty member on each grant. Committee co-chairs met with VPR and reported committee’s feedback that faculty surveyed opposed this proposed change and wanted “credit” to continue being calculated as previously.
  • Committee is investigating reports of Return on Overhead (both departmental & PI’s personal accounts) being “taxed” to offset budget shortfalls in colleges/departments. This will be discussed in our next committee meeting and we hope to draft a resolution on the issue for consideration by the Senate.

 

The resolutions written by Ruth Ann Hall and Jennifer Dempsey and approved by the Student Life Committee commending Dr. Kathleen Kramer and Dr. Tim Henson for their outstanding service and contribution to The University of Alabama has been distributed.  Following a call to question the Faculty Senate unanimously approved the resolutions.  These will be sent to the individuals and copied to UA administration.

There is an urgent need for nominations for the Mediation Committee with Friday, September 18, 2020 as the deadline.  The committee is composed of six faculty members.

Everyone is encouraged to fill out the Census form.

There are concerns about identity information security for GuideSafe users.  This is being investigated by the Information Technology and Strategic Communications Committee.

Meeting adjourned 4:00 PM.

The Town Hall meeting began with comments from Robert Riter, Faculty Senate Parliamentarian, stating the meeting would abide by Robert’s Rule of Order by being recognized before speaking and not speaking again until everyone wising to speak had done so.

Participants in the Town Hall meeting are Vice President for Financial Affairs Matt Fajack, UA Provost Jim Dalton, Legal Counsel for UA Systems Office Norma Lemley, UA Government Relations Office  Charlie Taylor, and Chad Tyndal UA President’s Office.

Vice President Matt Fajack presented information about the 2020-21 budget in the areas of enrollment, tuition, appropriations, residence halls, dining and parking.  Tuition is about half of UA’s revenue.  UA’s enrollment for undergraduates, graduates and professionals is 37,840 total which is less than a one percent decline over last year.  Graduate school student enrollment totals 6,000 for a 16% increase.  The decrease in out-of-state students resulted in a $30 million dollar budget cut.  Freshman enrollment was only down 255 students.  State appropriations increased 3.9%-$6.7 million dollars.  Covid19 related costs were above Cares Act funding although a $3 million dollar grant was obtained for academic distancing learning expenses.  Usual total revenue from residence halls, dining and parking usually averages $34.5 million dollars.  If refunds due to depopulating campus by September 14, UA would lose $24.9 million dollars, if depopulated by October 15, UA would lose $18.5 million dollars.

Dr. Jim Dalton addressed the needs on campus due to Covid19 included plexiglass partitions.  Air circulation issues were corrected immediately.  Dr. Dalton has communication to all colleges, deans and faculty concerning modes of instruction.  At the beginning of the semester about 84% of classes were face-to-face, hybrid or class-to-class.  UA classrooms are safe due to social distancing, wearing masks and Plexiglas installations resulting in no classroom transmission of Covid19.  Dr. Dalton encouraged faculty to teach face-to-face whenever possible.  Questions included pre-recorded lectures, faculty time spent retooling instruction modes, zoom for smaller student groups and interaction needed between students and instructors.  Positivity rates are decreasing with single digit faculty positives in five weeks.

Conducting a student survey concerning types of instruction was discussed and might be done at the end of the semester.  Dr. Dalton encouraged faculty to have interaction with students and to offer opportunities for student learning.  Further discussion included faculty anxiety, tenure clock extension and promotion and larger spaces for testing for Covid19.

Norma Lemley, Legal Counsel Office, addressed the legal confidentiality aspects of Covid19 test results.  To answer any question the ADA, FERPA, HIPAA, Breach Notification Law and Alabama State law must be consulted.  Whether test results can be disclosed depends on the facts, the state and its laws, applicable student privacy laws, the entity releasing the data and to whom, reason for disclosure and who is releasing the data.  Alabama law requires that cases of notifiable diseases and health conditions be shared by a physician/school with ADPH (I.e., Covid19 test results) and states this information is confidential.  Breach of confidentiality is a misdemeanor and could serve as basis for state breach of privacy claim

Under FERPA revealing that an “unnamed person tested positive in the class is not permitted if the identity oof the person can be readily identified (directly or indirectly through linkages with other information).  UA defends and indemnify faculty if acting within the scope of employment and does not represent/cover employees charged with a crime or who blatantly violates policy or UA directives.  The Alabama Breach Notification Law of 2018 states releasing information in an email indicating test results to unauthorized persons requires notification to an individual within 45 days if reasonably likely to have caused substantial harm which would result in a $5,000 fine per day if failed to notify.  Other breach notification laws apply to their residents and large breaches require notification to Attorney Generals and credit reporting agencies.  HIPAA has breach notification provisions while FERPA does not.  Under Alabama law mandatory reports to Public Health are confidential.  The exceptions are when a student/employee has a contagious disease that endangers the health and welfare of others or notify a third party when there is a foreseeable, real or probable risk of disease transmission.  A person violating this would be guilty of a Class “C” misdemeanor.  If there is a positive test detected, a report should be sent to the Covid19 hot line support team, isolation and include a list of people with whom they have been in close contact.  Close contact is defined as fifteen minutes within six feet of a positive person.  Face masks and physical distancing rules apply.  State laws are more restrictive than FERPA.  Student records are protected by FERPA and faculty cannot say a student tested positive or is absent due to Covid19.  That lies strictly with UA administration and officials. Oral conversations/personal observations are not protected unless documented in UA records.  A student can give written permission under Alabama law which is more protective of medical information.  Designated UA officials responsible for Covid19 testing data determine who needs to know if a particular student tests positive versus just needs to know to excuse from class.  If a school determines there is a significant threat to health and safety of a student or other individuals, it may disclose information from education records to any person whose knowledge of the information is necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other individuals and the school must maintain a record of each disclosure.  ADA requires employers to maintain all information about employee illnesses as a confidential medical record.  Employers can share with Public Health authorities and should make every effort to limit the number of people who get to know the name of the employee along with notifying those who may have come in contact with the employee without revealing the identity of the employee.

Charlie Taylor, UA System Government Relations Office, gave an update on the Dashboard and GuideSafe status.  Dashboard statistics are broken down into faculty, staff and student categories.  Quarantine occupancy and entry testing results are also reported.  Positive testing results have decreased from 165 to 42 a day.  Isolation and occupancy has dropped from 45% to 15% and continues to drop.  There is less than one percent positivity rate across the UA system.  Sentinel testing results are not posted daily because it takes a week to identify participants, test and receive test results.  The number of sentinel tests given will be posted.  The goal is 1,300 faculty, staff and students tested per week.  There are confidential and privacy concerns about the health questions and test results including with whom the information would be shared and who controls the information.  Any further questions or concerns can be emailed to Charlie Taylor.

The Cares Act provided $20.7 million dollars with $10.6 million dollars designated for students.  UA received an additional three million dollars for distance learning expenses.  State appropriations are a 3.9% increase.

Meeting adjourned 6:15 PM.

THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA

Resolution

Thanking Dr. Kathleen Powers Cramer for her Service and Dedication to TheUniversity of Alabama

WHEREAS, Dr. Kathleen Cramer received three degrees from The University of Alabama; a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish and Higher Education Administration, a Master’s degree in Higher Education Administration, and her PhD in Higher Education Administration;and

WHEREAS, Dr. Cramer began her career at The University of Alabama as the Assistant to the Dean of Student Life; she then led the office of Office of Student Life; Cramer was promoted to Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Director for Student Life; then served as Associate Vice President for Student Affairs; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Cramer created and supported many initiatives at The University of Alabama. Those include the creation of Big Al, the founding of the Blackburn Institute, reinstating the Student Government Association, and the creation of the Crimson Promenade; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Cramer received numerous awards and recognition over her tenure at The University of Alabama. Those include the Higher Education Fellow for the 1994 Interfraternity Institute, Minnie C. Miles Endowed Excellence Award in 2003, in 2004 the UA Student Affairs’ Sybil R. Todd Award for Excellence in Partnerships, and in 2008 NASPA Pillar of the Profession; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Cramer also taught graduate school courses for eighteen years. She also had many works published in the areas of institutional governance and student leadership; She is a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma and served over a decade as The University of Alabama’s Panhellenic adviser and co-chaired the KKG Building Committee; honor societies included Blue Key, Omicron Delta Kappa, Anderson Society, Phi Beta Delta, Order of Omega, Golden Key, Carl Elliot Society, Alpha Lambda Delta, Phi Kappa Phi and XXXI; and

​WHEREAS, Dr. Cramer also served in many ways outside of the University community. Such work included NASAP, Association of Fraternity Advisers, National Order of Omega, Commission on Colleges for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. She also served on the Junior League of Tuscaloosa, University Club, Kappa Kappa Gamma Alumni, and President of the Episcopal Church Women for Christ Episcopal Church; and

WHEREAS, the Faculty Senate desires to recognize Dr. Kathleen Cramer for her outstanding service and leadership to The University of Alabama

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Faculty Senate of The University of Alabama that it hereby expresses its appreciation and deep gratitude to Dr. Cramer for her contributions to The University of Alabama.

THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA

Resolution

Honoring Dr. Timothy S. Hebson on his Retirement from The University of Alabama

WHEREAS, Dr. Tim Hebson received  a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Mobile, a Master’s in Education from Samford University, and a Doctorate in Higher Education from The University of Alabama; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Hebson began his career at The University of Alabama as the Director of Judicial Affairs and was promoted to Associate Dean of Students and Executive Director for Student Development in the Division of Student Affairs; and

WHEREAS, in 2007, Dr. Hebson became the Dean of Students and has created lasting changes on campus that will impact generations to come; and

WHEREAS, in 2010, Dr. Hebson established the Believe UA mentoring program, which connects student mentors to students who need guidance during their early years on campus; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Hebson also oversaw, and served as an advisor to, numerous other student organizations, including the Student Government Association, the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life, the Women and Gender Resource Center, Student Care and Well-Being, Student Involvement, Graduate Student Services, Crisis Management, Campus Ministries, Office of Veteran and Military Affairs, Parent Programs, and Student Council; and

​WHEREAS, Dr. Hebson has received numerous awards in recognition of his service including, the Amanda Grace Taylor Watson Distinctive Image Award, given by the Capstone Men and Women; the Division of Student Affairs Sybil R. Todd Award for Excellence in Partnerships; the Susan Herndon Caples Award; the UA SGA Foundation Award; and the Black Student Union’s Autherine Lucy Foster Award; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Hebson, a member of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity, dedicated his time to the advancement of Greek life, serving as mentor and advisor to numerous Greek organizations; served in leadership positions for Pi Kappa Phi including Secretary, Chaplin, and Historian; awards include Order of Omega Outstanding Fraternity Advisor Award, the Theta Chi Carlton Butler Award, and the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Province Outstanding Greek Adviser; the Greek Excellence Award for the Most Outstanding Male Fraternity is named the Timothy S. Hebson Award in his honor; and

WHEREAS, in 2017, Dr. Hebson was selected as a Honorary Jason, the oldest honor society at The University of Alabama; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Hebson also served his community as a member of the Tuscaloosa County Community Corrections Board; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Hebson has served as Assistant Director for the Alabama Boys State; he was instrumental in bringing the Boys State program to the University of Alabama; and

WHEREAS, the Faculty Senate desires to recognize Dr. Tim Hebson for his outstanding service and leadership to The University of Alabama

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Faculty Senate of The University of Alabama that it hereby expresses its appreciation and deep gratitude to Dr. Hebson for his contributions to The University of Alabama.

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Contact: Sarah Miesse, semiesse@culverhouse.ua.edu