Coming Attractions for Faculty Senate

The Senate Executive Committee meets in advance of each meeting of the Faculty Senate to, among other things, plan the upcoming agenda. Based on discussion at our most recent meeting, the Faculty Officers wanted to share the following updates and expectations for future discussion. We hope that sharing this information now facilitate productive discussion in Senate.  This update is written by Amy Fountain, Secretary of the Faculty.

Please be advised, however, that these notes are informal – and in an attempt to get them to you quickly, they have not undergone review. Any errors or omissions are Amy’s, and you’re welcome to direct questions, comments or concerns to her at avf@email.arizona.edu. The Senate Agenda for November will be posted as soon as possible (it is not yet available at the time of posting this page), with supporting materials added as soon as possible.

Below is a brief summary of updates and prospective Senate agenda items based on discussion at the Senate Executive Committee meeting of October 21.

Updates

• leadership from the Campus Pantry has been meeting with SAPC, APPC, and SPBAC, all with a goal of better supporting the needs of the UA community. The UA will participate in a national survey on food insecurity in coming months. 
• GPSC and SPBAC are working to better support student parents, and the UA Libraries will soon be opening a family study room.
• APPC is taking the lead in reviewing the model policies on donor interference, in light of information shared at open session at the October meeting of Senate.
• proposals for projects to be funded by the Provost’s Investment Fund are under review, and the Provost’s office will be looking at the pattern of submissions to ensure that future competitions are managed in a way that ensures diversity of participation
• Undergraduate Council notes that processing for new undergraduate certificate programs will begin soon, after a hiaitus; and is considering a proposed change to policy around graduate students teaching in Tier Two general education
• the recently approved policy on professional conduct is now available online.

Expect future discussion about:

• revision and updates to the memorandum of understanding on shared governance [current version here; link to most current version draft coming soon]
• a graduate faculty policy proposal [link to most current draft/version coming soon]
• the work of UA Global with a focus on microcampuses
• the work of the Committee on Faculty Membership especially with regard to the roles that designated campus colleague (DCC) faculty play in our University,
• proposals to streamline the academic program approvals process to improve responsiveness while ensuring appropriate faculty oversight
• questions around appropriate faculty oversight of ‘success course’ offerings
• ASUA proposals to help ensure that students are able to vote in local, state and national elections
• discussion of the roles and training for faculty who are supervisors under UCAP, with a goal of improving performance management for employees who have faculty supervisors

We will be working to ensure early access to key documents in advance of meetings in the hopes that we can reserve Senate time for informed discussion, and devote less time to 'presentation' mode.  Stay tuned for more information, and we'd be delighted to see you in Senate!