Minutes of the Faculty Senate

Regular meeting in Blanchard 204

March 14, 2024

Present: Senators Valenzuela, Logan, Faucett, Pfannenstiel, Oden, Lowther, Djiguimde, Al-Shami, White, Tucker, McLelland, Filburn, Greathouse, Karim, Nelson, Fanning, Samples

Ex-officio and guests: David Rankin, David Lanoue, Sheryl Edwards, Donna Allen, Shawana Reed, Josh Kee, Kim Bloss, Jennifer Rowsam, Robin Sronce, Abdel Bachri, Connie Wilson, Marisa Grippo, Gerald Plumlee, Brian Logan, Karen Landry, Makenzi Hamilton, Tim Schroeder

Call to order: 3:40 pm

Reading of Proxies: Logan for Wise, Lowther for Coppersmith

1. Approval of Minutes

Minutes from February 15, 2024, were approved (motion – White, second – Nelson)

2. Special Orders of the Day

Reminder: At-large Faculty Senate elections to be completed by April 1^st. College Senator nominations and elections will follow.

The at-large election will be done through email and completed by April 1^st. Afterwards, each college will hold elections for open spots before the final faculty meeting on April 18^th.

Remarks from Dr. David Rankin, Interim President of SAU

There are sixteen people on the search committee, and applications will begin to be considered on April 1^st. There will likely be ten finalists interviewed by Zoom, with three finalists recommended to the Board of Trustees after that. The new president should help in the search for a new VPAA, so Dr. Sronce will serve as the interim provost after Dr. Lanoue leaves, with Dr. Plumlee serving as the interim dean during that time.

With Robbie Nash retiring, Kyle Newton will be promoted to director of the physical plant. Both Keith Labit and Laurie Burks will be promoted to associate directors.

A good case scenario would be losing only 50 undergraduate and 100 graduate students next year. The state appropriation will drop by just over $71,000 next year, which is better than most colleges in the state aside from University of Arkansas – Fayetteville. There is a battle going on with scholarships, and the budget is being looked at. Cost of living for faculty and staff is a high priority.

Repairs are being looked at on-campus. The buildings next to Highway 84 need to look first-class for those who drive through that area. The university will get new farm equipment, repurpose the aquatic center, and spend money on A/V equipment.

Comments from Dr. David Lanoue, Provost and VPAA

Due to the eclipse, Dr. Lanoue suggested making April 8^th an asynchronous day for instruction. After debate on issues involving potential exams and nursing students, the faculty senate voted unanimously to agree to with Dr. Lanoue’s suggestion.

3. Question for the Administration

Dr. Lanoue answered questions for the administration, with input from Sheryl Edwards.

1. Can faculty request software or hardware that is not on the approved list sent out by ITS? There are a number of academic and professional reasons why faculty members will need items not currently approved by ITS.

• The list is a list of software and hardware that is known to be compatible with our system. It is a living document that can be updated. Administration is committed to making sure students and faculty have important software and hardware.

4. Reports of Committees

Report from the Faculty Senate Budget Committee (Senator Oden)

The committee met with Shawana Reed to get important information about the budget. The faculty senate budget committee will serve on the university budget committee this upcoming year. Funding for supplies and equipment are going to be submitted as budget items for consideration.

Report from the Ad-Hoc Committee on Artificial Intelligence (Senator Oden)

The committee is stressing that AI policies be explicit in syllabi. Students must be taught about ethical use of AI and personal data should not be fed into a language machine. The committee will work in tandem with the Academic Integrity Committee, which is moving the workshop for academic integrity violations online. Senator White motioned for the proposed AI policy to be moved to the Handbook Committee, and Senator Nelson seconded. The motion passed unanimously. A vote will likely be held at the next faculty meeting.

Report from the Faculty Senate Parking, Building, and Grounds Committee (Senator Nelson)

There have been incidents of students and outsiders parking in reserved spots. Brian Christenson stated that the first call should be to the police to give them a ticket. Repeat violators may get their cars towed.

Report from the Faculty Senate Handbook Committee (Senator White)

Proposed updated language for the faculty handbook regarding student course surveys was submitted to the Faculty Senate. The mention of the scale has been removed, and statements telling students the survey should be anonymous and not taken together will be added. A motion passed unanimously, and the changes will be amended and sent out to faculty.

5. Old Business

No old business to report.

6. New Business

A 5-minute update from SAU NCAA Faculty Athletic Representative (Senator White)

The NCAA has required a Faculty Athletic Representative (FAR) to be appointed. The FAR will handle issues related to academics and athletics under NCAA guidelines. Student welfare is of primary importance.

7. Additional Comments

Adjournment at 4:52 PM. Senator Tucker gave the motion, seconded by Senator Greathouse.