November 8, 2023 Minutes

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Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes

Blackbox Theater

November 8, 2023

3:15pm-4:00pm Business Meeting

4:00pm-6:00pm FS/ASC Social

I.            Call to Order 

a.      Meeting was called to order at 3:19

II.            Approval of FS Minutes from October 25, 2023

a.      Chris Anderson moves to approve. Chris Posbergh seconds. None opposed. Approved. 

III.            FYI Items 

a.      Montana State University will launch SmartBuyMSU this winter, a new all-in-one tool for purchasing, invoicing, and contracting. We will keep you updated as we learn more information, but this tool will be used for vendors such as Amazon and Fisher scientific. https://www.montana.edu/ubs/smartbuymsu/index.html

i.      Believe it is just equipment and supplies

b.      VPRED is building a new document detailing how F&A costs can/will be used. This includes limits on how IRD Support Funds are spent.

c.       Healthy Minds Study: MSU, in conjunction with the University of Michigan, is conducting a campus-wide survey about faculty and staff health and well-being called the Healthy Minds Study.

IV.            Follow-up Items 

a.      Delta Dental 

i.      HR is aware of the issue

ii.      Contact your dentist to talk about it

b.      Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association (VEBA)

i.      How sick leave reimbursements are handled after separation from the university.

ii.      You can learn more about it through the link

iii.      If you don’t take it in a big chunk, you can put it in an expense account to use it for medical expenses and then you don’t have to pay taxes on it. 

iv.      Departments have to vote it in 

v.      Once you get to 59 you will get an email about this

V.            Information Updates 

a.      Introductions: All Staff Council Leadership Johnathan Dove and Molly Lammers

i.      33 total members

ii.      2,000 staff employees

iii.      Currently working on parking issues

iv.      Sit on the President’s Executive Council and other bodies.

v.      You can point any staff member with questions or issues to All Staff Council

vi.      Faculty and Staff have many overlapping issues.

vii.      Colter is on the accessibility committee. He will report back more info after they meet. 

VI.            Undergraduate Courses and Programs 

a.      Course Inactivations – First Reading

i.      NEUR 430 : Neuroethology

1.      No faculty to teach course

ii.      NEUR 435 : Cognitive Neuroscience

1.      No faculty to teach course

iii.      NEUR 440 : Neuroscience of Mental Illness

1.      No faculty to teach course

iv.      NEUR 444 : Modeling Brain Disorders

1.      No faculty to teach course

v.      Concerned that these are being inactivated. They are important courses. 

b.      Courses—Second Reading 

i.      PHOT 355 : The Experimental Color Darkroom

c.       Course Changes — Second Reading 

i.      LSCI 121 : Digital Information Literacy: Library Research Skills

1.      Credit change from 3 to 1

2.      This course was previously a 1 credit course and was modified to meet current student needs. As the needs of our students and our focus on retention efforts have shifted post-pandemic, the Library curriculum committee feels this is the best choice to offer our students an option for success.

ii.      PHOT 374 : The Experimental B&W Darkroom

1.      We are hard numbering a course we have offered under 494, The Experimental Color Darkroom. Sometimes these two courses get confused and one is all silver gelatin black and white, one is all color paper. We will propose to call the new 494/now 3XX class The Experimental COLOR Darkroom and this The Experimental B&W Darkroom to clearly differentiate. That is the only change. It also more closely matches the title of the textbook The Experimental Darkroom.

iii.      HSTR 146IH :The Silk Road: Religion and Globalization 

1.      Title change from History and Culture of the Silk Road.

2.      New title is more accurate to the course and not so broad.

d.      Course Inactivations – Second Reading

i.      ACT 109 : Beginning Racquetball

1.      Course is no longer being taught as there are no racquetball courts on campus.

ii.      DANC 150 : Social Dance

1.      Course is no longer being taught.

iii.      EDEC 271 : Paraprofessional Experience in Early Childhood

1.      No longer being offered.

iv.      EDSP 307 : Exceptional Learners Lab

1.      No longer being offered.

v.      FILM 100IH : Intro to Film & Photography

1.      This course is too similar to FILM 101IH Understanding Film and Media and thus we are eliminating this one and making 101IH the required course. *** Note, this course will be taught SUMMER 2023 and then inactivate Fall 2023.

vi.      HDFS 459 : Reaching the Hurt Child

1.      Course has been replaced by HDFS 451 and is no longer being taught.

vii.      PHOT 304 : Recent History of Photography

1.      This class is being replaced by PHOT 301 Photo: Global Histories and Perspectives. It was supposed to be deleted in the 2023-24 catalog but since it was taught for one last time Spring 2023 we couldn't do it that soon.

VII.            Graduate Courses and Programs 

a.      Course Changes — First Reading

i.      FILM 515 : Science and Natural History Film Production

1.       Credits changed from 3 to 4

A.      The course is listed as a 3 credit course, yet the class meets for the time required for a 4 credit course. The required workload meets our requirement for a 4 credit course as well.  The change to a 4 credit course will better reflect the importance of the course and also better reflect the time commitment students are making to the course and the work requirements.

b.      Courses—Second Reading

i.      ECIV 544 : Civil Engineering Computations

ii.      GPHY 501 : Environmental Planning and Management Toolkit

c.       Program Inactivations — Second Reading 

i.      MADO-CERT : Online Graduate Certificate for Dual Enrollment Mathematics Teachers

1.      Program has not generated interest or applicants.

VIII.            Senators’ Open Conversation 

a.      None

IX.            Public Comment 

a.      SmartBuyMSU: Will there will be online trainings for grad students?

i.      Yes. 

ii.      If you use an outside vendor you will need to use Chrome River. 

b.      Still having a lot of trouble procuring software. 

i.      FS Leadership have been having these conversations. Steph is very involved. We will bring this back and talk about it again. 

1.      Please let us know if we can get involved. 

A.      Email Steph about that

X.            Adjourn and Socialize!

a.      Doug Down seconds. Paul Gannon seconds. Meeting adjourned at 4:05