University Senate - November 20, 2023 Minutes

UNIVERSITY SENATE

Full Meeting Minutes

November 20, 2023

The University Senate was called to order at 3:30 p.m., in 111 Harrison Hall on Monday, November 20, 2023.

Call to Order and Announcements and Remarks – Tracy Haynes, Chair of University Senate Executive Committee
1. Ohio Faculty Council (OFC) met on Friday, Nov 17 and discussed the following:
  1. The House has accepted the 11th version for SB83 which eliminates the no strike provision and allows institutions rather than the chancellor to develop the American Gov/History course. It still contains language about controversial beliefs or policies (climate change, politics, diversity, etc); bargaining cannot occur over retrenchment; post-tenure reviews; annual faculty evals with weighted parameters; and detailed syllabi and instructor information still accessible and searchable on university websites. The last hearing was canceled and there are only 4 sessions left this term so a hearing is unlikely to occur. It is believed that Cerino will continue pushing this legislature. I have links to petitions and contact info for representatives to contact. If you want this information, please email me.
  2. A new award will be given by OFC for outstanding leadership. A call will be going out early next semester so be thinking of a nomination. Current OFC members (Tom, Rosemary, and myself) will decide on one Miami nomination.
  3. Lastly, with regard to OFC, if anyone has a contact at a university or organization that has been affected by anti-DEI legislature, please pass those names on to me. OFC wants to invite a panel to our meeting in March to discuss what they have done in order to be better prepared if some version of SB83 passes. I have been asked to be part of the subcommittee to form this panel.
2. Ted Peters, Assistant Dean of CAS, and Chanelle White, Assistant Dean for FSB have also been added to the Ad Hoc Committee for Midterm Grade Analysis.
Approval of University Senate Minutes
1. University Senate Full Meeting Minutes_11.06.2023 (Results: 41-Yes, 0-No, 0-Abstain)
Consent Calendar: The following items were received and accepted on the Consent Calendar:
1. Curricular Items_11.15.2023
2. Graduate Council Minutes_11.14.2023
3. LEC Meeting Minutes_10.31.2023
Old Business
1. SR 24-05 Proposed Revisions to Internship Policy (Undergraduate) - Carolyn Haynes, Senior Associate Provost - (Results: 41-Yes, 00-No, 00-Abstain)
  1. Senator Comments and Questions
    1. Senator: Page 24, top line: For credit bearing internships, "employers” should. -Are we sure we want to use the word “employer” if it isn’t paid is employer really the right word. 2?(A) We are happy to alter the wording if you would like us too. Example: Internship Sponsors
    2. Senator: Please Clarify that MOU is only required when it is a requirement of the MU program/major?(A) Yes, the MOU is only required when an internship is required for the major/degree.
    3. Senator: This is a revision and not a friendly amendment?(A) Yes, it is an revision
    4. Senator: Can we add that �þ��Ƶs won’t get assessed any additional fees/ charges if the internship puts them beyond the 18 hour threshold in the fall? (A) Carolyn said that was outside the perimeter of this policy, so if you wanted that it would have to go through another avenue, because there is another policy for that.
    5. Senator: Employer is used for unpaid internships, too. It can be confusing. It has to do with workers compensation
    6. Senator: A lot of Non-profit organizations have unpaid internships. It’s common in the arts. (Another senator agreed.)
    7. Senator: Can they add a statement after we vote on it or is it fixed? (A) I believe it is fixed. That we would have to vote on this language.
    8. Senator: Perhaps we could have Carolyn/ presenters here for these discussions in the future, so that she or they can answer our questions as they come up to keep things from getting tabled. (A) Noted. We did take questions ahead of time and she made that change.
    9. Senator: Once something is introduced it is up to the body and not the person who introduced it. Is that not correct?(A) Yes, we can make it say what we want, but then it would have to go back through the other bodies before it could move forward.
    10. Discussion ensued about the friendly amendment ending in a motion to reject the change. (Reject results of amendment: 28-Yes, 06-No, 05-Abstain)
    11. Senator: Made a motion to make a friendly amendment to change it to Internship Sponsor/Employer
    12. Senator: I think this just needs an edit to make the document more consistent with the definitions listed.
    13. Senator: This is more of a procedural question.Do all changes that we make have to go back to COAD? (A) Friendly amendments do not have to go back as long as the presenter thinks that it is a friendly amendment; meaning it changes the language, but that does not change the intention or contain of the policy.
    14. Change to Internship Sponsor/Employer was made as a friendly amendment.
Provost update
1. MiamiTHRIVE will guide the university in reimagining Miami to serve dynamic needs and interests of �þ��Ƶs now and in the future. With this work, together we will:
  Transform our university
  
  Honor our mission
  
  Realize our potential
  
  Innovate programs and offerings
  
  Value our people
  Embrace excellence
  1. Current Context
    1. The higher education landscape is evolving significantly, creating both opportunities and pressures for all universities
    2. For Miami, we have continued to innovate our offerings, programs, services, and approaches to stay in front of these changes
    3. Given the increasing pace of change and level of disruption that is taking place in our industry, the Board of Trustees has initiated a project to identify opportunities to strengthen Miami to better support its teaching, research, and service missions
    4. A key focus of this effort will be on reimagining Miami to better serve the dynamic needs and interest of �þ��Ƶs now and in the future
  2. MiamiTHRIVE is a multi-step process. Step One will be an Environmental Scan - The information contained in this document constitutes protected and proprietary trade secret information subject to �þ��Ƶ’s Confidential Information policy. Disclosure of this information is strictly prohibited.
  3. Approach and Next Steps
    1. Stand up a Steering Committee and working teams comprised of 60+ faculty, staff, Board, and �þ��Ƶ leaders from across �þ��Ƶ
    2. Launch workstreams focused on Miami’s future strategy, academic programs, enrollment strategy, and operational improvements
    3. Begin a higher education environmental scan to understand current state and innovations in the sector
    4. Conduct an inclusive process to gather ideas and inputs from faculty, staff, �þ��Ƶs, alumni, and others
    5. Provide additional opportunities for involvement and input through the effort, with more information to be shared in the coming weeks
    6. Continue to share updates as the work unfolds
  4. Working Teams will identify opportunities to strengthen Miami’s programs, offerings, and position within the higher education landscape
    1. Miami Bold Strategy - Evaluate �þ��Ƶs needs and how those needs will evolve to develop bold strategies and paths forward to meet those needs
    2. Academic �þ��Ƶ - Define what academic program options Miami should consider to support Miami Bold Strategy
    3. Enrollment Strategy - Explore and develop opportunities that Miami and optimize �þ��Ƶ enrollment
    4. Operational Improvements - Assess how Miami is performing across key operational areas and identify opportunities for MIami to improve in these areas.
  5. A Steering Committee composed of leaders from the Board of Trustees and Executive and Academic Leadership will provide support and guidance to the working groups.
    1. Board of Trustees - Mary Schell (Chair), Steve Anderson, Trustee, Biff Bowman Trustee, Mark Sullivan Trustee
    2. President’s Executive Cabinet members - Gregory Crawford, President, Liz Mullenix, Provost & EVP for Academic Affairs, Jayne Brownell, SVP Student Life, David Creamer, SVP for Finance and Business Services and Treasurer, Ande Durojaiye, VP, Miami Regionals, Ted Pickerill, Chief of Staff and Secretary to the Board of Trustees, Jessica Rivinius, VP, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, David Seidl, VP for IT and CIO, Brent Shock, VP, Enrollment Management and Student Success, Amy Shoemaker, VP and General Counsel, Randi Thomas, Esq., VP, ASPIRE
    3. Deans - Jerome Conley, Dean and University Librarian, Jenny Darroch, Dean, Farmer School of Business, Jason Lane, Dean, College of Education, Health, and Society, Chris Makaroff, Dean, College of Arts and Science, Beena Sukumaran, Dean, College of Engineering and Computing, John Weigand, Dean, College of Creative Arts
  6. Working teams are comprised of academic & administrative leadership:
    1. Miami Bold Strategy - Michael Crowder (Chair), Associate Provost and Dean of Graduate Students, Jayne Brownell, SVP Student Life, Brad Bundy, VP Advancement, David Creamer, SVP Finance and Business Services, Brooke Flinders, Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs and Professor of Nursing, Eric Hodgson, Associate Professor, Technology in Business and Design, Cody Powell, AVP Facilities Planning and Operations, Melissa Thomasson, Associate Dean for Faculty Excellence and Professor of Economics
    2. Academic �þ��Ƶ - Carolyn Haynes (Chair), Sr. Associate Provost for Strategic Initiatives, Cristina Alcalde, VP for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, Renee Baernstein, Senior Associate Dean and Professor of History, Anne Farrell, Professor and Interim Chair of Accounting, Nancy Parkinson, Clinical Faculty Kinesiology, Nutrition and Health, Anna Radke, Associate Professor, Psychology, DJ Rao, Associate Professor of Computer Science & Systems Analysis, and Drew Raffett, Associate Dean for Edu. Excellence and Professor of Accountancy
    3. Enrollment Strategy - Brent Shock (Chair), VP Enrollment Management and Student Success, Amy Bergerson, Associate Provost and Dean for Undergraduate Education, Greg Brainard, Sr. Dir. of Miami Online, Cathay Heinz, AVP Enrollment Marketing and Communications, Bethany Perkins, AVP Admissions, Jessica Rivinius, VP and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, BaShaun Smith, AVP and Dean of Students, Student Leaders (individuals to be confirmed)
      1. Advancement: Brad Bundy (Chair), VP, University Advancement, Bruce Guiot, Associate Treasurer, Chief Financial Officer, Miami Foundation, Mackenzie Rice, President and Chief Administrative Officer of the �þ��Ƶ Foundation, AVP for Advancement, Donor, Engagement, and Board Relations
      2. Auxiliaries and Facilities: Cody Powell (Chair), Associate VP, Facilities Planning and Operations, David Sayler, Dir. of Athletics, Geno Svec, Special Assistant, Housing, Dining, Recreation & Bus. Services.
    4. Operational Improvement
      1. Finance: David Ellis (Chair), AVP for Budgeting and Analysis, Lindsay Carpenter, AVP for Budget and Analytics, Bruce Guiot, Associate Treasurer, Chief Financial Officer, Miami Foundation, Jennifer Morrison, CAO, Jeff Pidcock, Dir. of Budgeting and Business Transformation
      2. Human Resources: Dawn Fahner (Chair), AVP of HR, Kenya Ash, AVP for EEO, Title IX Coordinator, Section 504 and ADA Coordinator, Gary Barnes, Dir of Comp., Ruth Groom, AVP for Academic Personnel
      3. Instruction and Research: Susan McDowell (Chair), VP for Research & Innovation, Lindsay Carpenter, AVP for Budget and Analytics, Tom Mays, Associate Professor of Commerce, Darryl Rice, Associate Professor of Management, Padma Patil, AVP Office of Research and Effectiveness
      4. IT Services: David Seidl (Chair), VP IT and CIO, Troy Travis, AVP Enterprise Operations
      5. Procurement: Mark Taylor (Chair), CPO, Allen Sizemore, Associate Director of Analytics and Data Administration
    5. How the Committees will work:
      1. Project Team Interviews
        
        60 completed with faculty, staff, and alumni
        
        70 interviews ongoing with each Department Chair and Assoc Dean
        
        Additional interviews coming with focus groups, surveys, and other engagements with many more faculty staff, �þ��Ƶs, alumni.
    6. Share your ideas! They want as many good ideas about what our future looks like. We are actively seeking ideas from across our campus constituents to contribute to MiamiTHRIVE, and will continue engaging our people in the coming months - Ways to provide input into MiamiTHRIVE now
      1. Submit your ideas inbox - Visit the MiamiTHRIVE website on miamioh.edu and submit your ideas and feedback
      2. Connect with your department chair or associate dean - Share ideas with your department chair or associate dean, who can relay your feedback to the program team in upcoming discussions
      3. Reach out to a working group member - Connect directly with a working group member to share your thoughts for the relevant workstream
      4. We will also be running additional focus groups, surveys, interviews, and other engagement in the coming months to gather additional ideas and feedback.
2. Senator Comments and Questions
  1. Senator Question: Is there no librarian representation on the steering committee other than our Dean? (A) Yes, that is correct. Currently there is only the Dean. Senator Follow-up Response: I would like to make a recommendation that we add additional librarians.
  2. Senator: The Steering Committee is working on the environmental scan, is it the same one that will be working on the strategic plan going forward or will the committee be named later? (A) No, this is just for the first environmental scan process.
  3. Senator: I noted that Chris Makaroff was not on the list last week and now he is. Was that a change or was he just added on? (A) Yes, Chris has been added.
  4. Senator: Global Initiatives, study abroad is not represented, nor have we been a part of the first round of interviews. (A) Your dean will speak for you and department chairs too, but that is very important and something that we will look at.
  5. Senator: How much does this cost? (A) The board of trustees recommended this and spoke with our foundation board. This is coming out of our endowment and it is costing $4M. In the past, Bain has saved other institutions significant amounts of money that is more than this amount.
  6. Senator: We get these strategic plans, get little feedback on what we accomplish as a result of them, and it’s a top down instead of bottom up process .It would be great if this could reflect the faculty as opposed to the board. What can we do to help this reflect our vision? (A) A vision that did not include the faculty or their buy-in would not work. The environmental scan is not the strategic plan. We can look outside of our institution and they will make recommendations about what they feel would be strategic for us. If we don’t agree, we don’t have to accept it.
  7. Senator: I see the BoT, President Executive Council, and Deans. It would be great to have a fourth category that reflected the Senate and the Faculty. As it stands, I see no input from faculty. (A) I would imagine that the Steering committee for the strategic plan will be faculty-run as it was last time.
  8. Senator: Is there a commitment to be made that faculty will play a role in the steering committee going forward? This is a fundamental shift. People aren’t catching it. It would be good to have reinforced the strategic planning process that is similar to what has gone before. (A) Yes. And, last time it felt that it was too faculty-heavy and that there were not enough staff representatives.
  9. Senator: How does this relate to the mission statement as it doesn't feel connected and I think we should? (A) We have just formed a new Mission Statement Committee that is being co-chairing by Gwen Fears and Amy Bergerson and they have started working on this. We have to have the Mission Statement in place to submit for accreditation this summer. These will converge and be aligned by the summer.
  10. Senator: It would be nice for however faculty and staff are selected, there would be a bottom up approach to that. So often, the administration chooses who gets to be included. (A) Last time people were appointed, but yes I hear that.
  11. Senator: At UT, the environmental scan was done and they rehired Bain to do further work on procurement. Is there any chance that we will do the same? UT has spent over $20M. (A) that’s a different kind of school. I haven’t heard that at all. I would think that this would be all that we are going to spend on this.
  12. Senator: What does the Board need to do? Bain’s website that says “how financially resilient is your college”? You can select Miami and adjust conditions. Miami is in the top 20% of institutions if we choose the status quo. If we choose disastrous conditions, we actually go up. What the heck? We’re lean, we’re doing better than most, why are we spending money? (A) For regional universities, public universities, they are projected to take the most challenges in terms of the factors we face. We dipped into reserves for the first time to the tune of $8M last year and this year will be $19M. At this time we have enough reserves to last us about three years down the road like this. So we need to figure out how to generate more revenue and make sure we balance our budget. We aren’t in as bad shape as other universities, but what is coming is concerning enough that they want to make sure we are as strong as we can be for what we are going to face in the future. I am proud of Miami because we are a little bit ahead of most universities and they want to make sure we stay ahead of this and stay sustainable going forward.
  13. Senator: What is our strategy and how do we win? (A) The BoT feel like we don’t have the luxury of deciding for ourselves what that strategy will be, because of all the unknowns. I can’t give you an abbreviated answer here about Miami’s current strategy, but it stands on our reputation. The Miami RISE strategic plan might reflect that. Our next plan will think bigger about the future.
Humanities Futures – We had a great workshop with guests from all over campus. We generated ideas about Miami Plan and Honors College, marketing, and interdisciplinarity. There is excellent work that is getting sketched out and we’ll be calling on folks to help out.

Special Reports
1. Library �þ��Ƶ for Retention - Jason Ezell, Head, Learning and Engagement, Nate Floyd, Student Success Librarian for Foundational Learning and Laura Birkenhauer, Student Success Librarian for Campus Engagement
  1. Existing & Emergent Initiatives - Student Success with �þ��Ƶ Libraries
  2. Our Team: Laura Birkenhauer, Student Success Librarian (Campus Engagement), Nate Floyd, Student Success Librarian (Foundational Learning), Andy Revelle, Instructional Technologies Librarian, Jaclyn Spraetz, Information Literacy Librarian, Jason Ezell, Head, Learning & Engagement
  3. Broad Success Strategies
    1. Facilitate the Student’s Path - Before enrolling, First year experience, Major programs, Culminating experiences, After graduation
    2. Engage the Whole Student - Personal/ Social Life, Civic Life, Professional Life, Scholarly Life
  4. Student Success Initiatives - 3 Broad Strategies
    1. Campus Engagement
    2. Foundational Learning
    3. Curricular Embedding
  5. Campus Engagement for Student Success
    1. Promoting active involvement of �þ��Ƶs with library resources, services, and programs
    2. Engaged �þ��Ƶs in university libraries participate in various library-related activities, workshops, and events, and they take advantage of the diverse resources and services offered by the library.
  6. Curricular Embedding for Student Success - Subject Librarians
    1. Positioning relevant discipline - and assignment - specific library instruction and research consultations at the point of �þ��Ƶ need - within programs and courses.
    2. Embedding strategies include Canvas librarian roles/modules; assessments with re-learning opportunities; and scaffolded learning at early and advanced stages in course or program.
  7. Personal Librarians
    1. Personal Librarians are assigned to all new undergraduate �þ��Ƶs, including new transfers. Personal Librarians help �þ��Ƶs:
      1. Take full advantage of all the Libraries has to offer
      2. Connect with Library resources, programming and services needed to be academically successful.
    2. PL+ is a pilot extension of the Personal Librarian program.
    3. Tailored to meet the unique needs of special �þ��Ƶ populations
    4. Powered by EAB Navigate - Data & Best Practices
  8. Campus Engagement for Student Success - EAB webinar, Building a sense of belonging for Black and Latino men: The 3 relationships that matter most for college success. Three critical relationships: Peers, Mentors and Role Models, Parents and Families
  9. Campus Engagement for Student Success - Students who have strong relationships with their peers tend to have a greater sense of belonging in college, which is correlated with higher retention and graduation rates.
    1. Study Spot Tours
    2. Study Buddies
  10. Campus Engagement for Student Success - Relationships with mentors are critical to �þ��Ƶ success, providing invaluable guidance, encouragement, and a sense of belonging.
    1. Syllabus Dropbox
    2. Appointment Campaign
  11. Campus Engagement for Student Success - Parents and Families play an influential role in �þ��Ƶ retention and success. Webinar: Libraries + Parents: Partnering for Your Student’s Academic Growth
  12. Campus Engagement for Student Success - Explore KIng and Late Night Study Break. Lead and participate in initiatives to support �þ��Ƶs’ basic needs:
    1. Emergency Resources Textbooks Fund
    2. Snacks for Success
    3. Health and Wellness Kits
    4. Leisure Reading
  13. Foundational Learning for Student Success - Recruiting, Summer orientation, Pre-semester programming, Libraries orientation, First-year experience, Finals week support
  14. Foundational Learning for Student Success - Information literacy, Instructional videos, Ask Us! Chat reference, Online modules, Research Guides
  15. Curricular Embedding & Foundational Learning
    1. UNV 101: First-year �þ��Ƶs plan to make the most of their time at Miami, and establish a foundation for academic and co-curricular success. Librarians introduce �þ��Ƶs to the role the Libraries play in facilitating their success.
    2. ENG: First-year �þ��Ƶs learn about the research process, including how to find, evaluate, and utilize information sources as evidence when writing research assignments, providing them with their initial exposure to information literacy principles.
    3. UNV 171-172: First-year �þ��Ƶs in HASS and STEMM programs learn and apply the research process and share projects at the Undergraduate Research Forum.
  16. Academic Libraries & EAB Navigate
    1. Add personal / subject librarian to Navigate Student
    2. Record library instruction & research consultations for identified research-intensive courses (gateway methods / capstone courses) in all programs
    3. Add subject librarians to Navigate’s My Success Teams and integrate them into alert system for the above courses
    4. Use Navigate campaigns to promote research consultations phased to research-related assignment due dates
    5. Include research consultations as a “Success Marker” intervention strategy in (research-intensive) gateway courses
  17. Senator Question and Comments
    1. Senator: I believe there is a committee for �þ��Ƶ success. Are you involved in that?(A) Yes, we have recently gotten involved in some of these committees and the Provost just invited us to speak to that full committee too.
    2. Senator: I wish that this had been around when I was an undergraduate! Thank you.
    3. Senator: Faculty does research on grants and such. Is there a team that we could tap into for support in this area?(A) We are working on building a team to help with grants and stuff like that and we will make sure that information gets passed out to the faculty.
    4. Senator: Are they allowed to take the weighted blanket home with them or do they have to use them in the library?(A) Some do use it in the library, but there is a check out period for these items up to seven days, so they can take them home with them. We are also looking at possibly having a sensory room and a family room for people who have sensory needs or need to bring their children with them to study. We are trying to make sure we address everyone's needs.
    5. Senator: What is it that you’re not doing now, because this is a lot? Providing Health and Awareness is such a great need that didn’t used to be there. (A) New Roles that didn’t exist in the last 10 years. Traditionally, subject specialists were there, we have some of those duties, but it’s not anywhere near to what our colleagues who are subject specialists do. It’s a changing face of what a librarian is.
    6. Senator: Do you have anything specific for grad �þ��Ƶs, like study carousels?(A) A lot of our focus is on undergraduates and the support for grad �þ��Ƶs falls significantly on the subject specialists. We have a dedicated graduate reading room on the second floor.
Adjournment
Reconvene and Approval of Abbreviated University Senate Minutes
1. University Senate Abbreviated Meeting Minutes 11.20.2023 (Results: 41-Yes, 00-No,00-Abstain; Abbreviated minutes are approved)
Adjournment

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