Minutes of the Faculty Senate
Regular meeting held via Zoom
August 18, 2022
Present: Senators Almotairi, Oden, Petty, Pfannenstiel, S. Schroeder, Schneiderwind, Tucker, Schroeder, White, Fanning, Paulson, Overholser, Hudgens, Nelson, Samples, Logan, Djiguimde, Valenzuela
Ex-officio and guests: David Lanoue, Donna Allen, Shawana Reed, Jennifer Rowsam, Robin Sronce, Gerald Plumlee, Jessica Samples, Karen Landry, Abdel Bachri, Connie Wilson, Vanda McLelland, Adrian Showalter, Jessie Filburn, Deborah Wilson, Trey Berry, Lashanda Ivory
Call to order: 3:41 pm
Reading of Proxies: Tucker proxy for Coppersmith
- Approval of Minutes
Minutes from April 21, 2022 were approved (motion – Fanning, second – Nelson).
- Special Orders of the Day
New Standing Committees of the Senate
President Oden shared the current list for Standing Committees of the Faculty Senate
Handbook Committee: Djiguimde; White; Petty; Logan
Budget Committee: Samples; Tucker; Schneiderwind; Valenzuela
Faculty Parking, Buildings, and Grounds Committee: Nelson; Hudgens; Pfannenstiel; Almotairi
Senator White motioned to approve new Standing Committee members (with minor edits), Nelson 2nd, motion was approved.
Report from the Faculty Senate Budget Committee (Senator Tucker)
Senator Tucker indicated the Committee will continue attending the University Budget Committee Meetings but have no formal report for the Senate.
Report from the Faculty Senate Handbook Committee (Senator Overholser)
Senator Overholser mentioned the 21-22 changes to the Tenure and Promotion language from the Handbook Committee, but had no formal report for the Senate.
Report from the Faculty Senate Parking, Facilities and Grounds Committee (Paulson)
Senator Paulson noted that during 21-22 the committee revised their name and overall mission and will work with the campus Sustainability committee in the future. No formal report for the Senate.
- New Business
Questions for the Administration
1). How is intellectual property created for use in teaching at SAU treated?
- Lanoue discussed how intellectual property is respected as it pertains to SAU by utilizing language from the handbook:
Section F #3 states: Ownership of Copyright or Patent:
Intellectual property created, made, or originated by a faculty member shall be the sole and exclusive property of the faculty, author, or inventor, except as the faculty member may voluntarily choose to transfer such property, in full, or in part, except when the work qualifies as a “directed work” or “work for hire” by meeting the three criteria stated in the definition of such work, found above.
Ownership of Copyright of Course Materials:
Material created for ordinary teaching use in the classroom or for distance or online courses or programs, such as course content/materials, syllabi, assignments, tests, activities, and exercises, shall remain the property of the faculty author, but institutions shall be permitted to use such material for internal instructional, educational, and administrative purposes, including satisfying requests of accreditation agencies for faculty-authored syllabi and course descriptions.
2). Was the school shooting video shown at the back-to-school meeting approved beforehand? The content seemed overly violent and shocking in such a way that may have taken away from the message of campus safety. Could this information have better been communicated in a different format?
Dr. Lanoue noted the severity of the issue and that in the future a trigger warning for viewers may be appropriate.
Comments from President Berry
President Berry noted several points of cautious optimism for the Fall 2022 semester include; successful move in day, enrollment numbers, Blue and Gold Day, etc. He also noted that various campus initiatives i.e. homeschooling program, increasing retention rates, transfer programs, have converged in a healthy way.
Comments from Provost Lanoue
Provost Lanoue remarked about the large freshman class, zoom policies (an email was sent to faculty regarding this previous to the meeting), and the current COVID-19 situation. He also noted that Dean searches will occur over the course of the 2022-2023 academic year for the Department of Education and Human Performance and the Department of Liberal and Performing Arts.
Comments from Senate President Oden
President Oden welcomed the members of the Senate and encouraged open communication throughout the course of the year.
- Adjourn
Motion to Adjourn (Motion – White, second – Logan). Motion carries without opposition. Adjourn at 4:13 pm.
