January 25, 2023 Minutes

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Faculty Senate Meeting (Leon Johnson 346)

1.25.2023

3:15pm – 4:30pm

I.            Call to Order

a.      Meeting was called to order at 3:15pm.

II.            Approval of FS Minutes from December 7, 2022

a.      Tomas Gedeon moves to approve. Chris Posbergh seconds. None opposed. No abstentions. Approved.

III.            Welcome to new Senators/Reminder of Faculty Senate Purpose

a.      Faculty Senate is the chief governance body of the faculty of Montana State University. Within the authority and constraints of the Montana University System powers as described in the Constitution of the State of Montana, Faculty Senate has the authority to frame policies, procedures, and standards of the Faculty Handbook.  These policies, which are incorporated in and made part of the faculty member’s annual Professional Employment (Board of Regents) Contract, foster a climate of academic freedom; promote consistency in tenure, promotion in academic rank, workload, and salary; uphold academic standards, and uphold standards and procedures of accountability concerning faculty ethics and responsibilities.  Faculty Senate provides a means for faculty and administration to interact and discuss University business including strategic planning, budgeting, curriculum, accreditation, and graduation requirements.

IV.            FYI items

a.      Faculty Senate Office Hours for Spring 2023

i.      These will be held via Webex Tuesdays from 1 pm to 2 pm https://montana.webex.com/montana/j.php?MTID=md6415031583eaa89a165a284fcc33dc8 

And Wednesdays from 2 pm to 2:45 on senate weeks and 3 pm on non-senate weeks

https://montana.webex.com/montana/j.php?MTID=m1df55571962e2d316b41c52e26888079 

b.      Reminder about legislative involvement

c.       Congratulations to the recipients of the Spring 2023 Founders Day Faculty Award. Please plan on attending and promoting the recognition on Thursday, February 16, 2023, 8:30 am – 10:30 am in NAH, Inspiration Hall.

d.      Save the Date: 100th Day of Student Recognition May 5, 2023

e.      ORD Internal Funding Opportunities

i.      HASS Grant Program: Feb 13, 2023

ii.      Research Expansion Funds (REF): Feb 21, 2023

iii.      Scholarship and Creativity (S & C) Grant Program: Feb 21, 2023

iv.      Proposal Enhancement Grant (PEG) : Rolling

V.            Information Items

a.      Export Control Policy – Kirk Lubick – Director, Office of Research Compliance

i.      Is it required for every transfer?

A.      No. This involves materials, not information. Best practice would be ask to be sure. 

ii.      Does this cover regular research transactions with collaborators? 

A.      Yes. It could be a violation depending on what is going on. 

b.      Preregistration of Freshman- Dr. Durward Sobek, Vice Provost

i.      In music, incoming freshmen have a music advisor for their degree and also another advisor outside of music. Which advisor would do this?

A.      Nothing is set in stone yet. I would think it would be the Advising Commons Advisor. Up for suggestions. 

ii.      Have advisors been notified?

A.      We are in the process of doing that. 

iii.      Tomas’s question/idea. Could faculty help with the advising?

iv.      Have been waiting 25 years for something like this.

v.      Thank you for your effort. I’m sure you will have buy-in from families. It is  very stressful for them. 

vi.      Data pull on upper-level courses that do not have prereqs. 

vii.      In many cases, those students who come last are those who don’t have as much money. This will give them a better chance at a decent schedule. 

viii.      Freshman 15: Some of them are not ready to take 15 credits. 

A.      No one is forced to take 15, but that may be the starting point. It is on our radar. Those that take less than 15 the first semester probably won’t graduate in 4 years. 

ix.      Music students have bands, groups, and ensembles, etc. that we don’t know about until they are here. 

A.      Could add a question about those things on the intake survey. 

x.      Would students have the option to opt out and choose their own classes?

A.      At this point that is not an option if they sign up for orientation. 

xi.      When they chose a registration, will they know the August one is different?

A.      Yes. 

VI.            New Business

a.      Introduction of Sustainability in the Curriculum Initiative

i.      Sustainability at MSU – Sustainability at MSU is the process and actions through which the campus community lives out the Land Grant mission by cultivating resilience for our natural environment, economic viability, and social welfare to meet the needs of our campus and Montana’s urban, rural, and tribal communities. 

ii.      Sustainability in the Curriculum – Sustainability in the MSU Curriculum empowers students to become local and global citizens and live out the Land Grant mission by cultivating resilience for the natural environment, economic viability, and social welfare to meet the needs of our campus and urban, rural, and tribal communities.

VII.            Undergraduate and Graduate Programs

a.      OTHER : HHD Department Reorganization

i.      Reorganization of the Dept. of Health and Human Development into three separate Departments. 

A.      The Department of Food Systems, Nutrition & Kinesiology will include the following academic programs: Kinesiology, Health Enhancement K-12, Food & Nutrition, Sustainable Food and Bioenergy Systems, Hospitality Management and 1 minor in coaching.  The nutrition and dietetics programs, both undergraduate and masters are accredited through the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND). The Health Enhancement K-12 program is a teacher education program and is accredited through the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). The department will be supported by a .5 FTE Dept. Head, a team of 3 administrative assistants shared with the other 2 departments. 

B.      The Department of Human Development and Community Health will include the following academic programs: Human Development and Family Science, Early Childhood P-3 and Community Health.  The Family Consumer Science and Early Childhood P-3 academic programs are accredited by CAEP. The department will be supported with a .4 FTE department head and 3 administrative assistants.  

C.      The Department of Counseling includes academic programs in Marriage, Couple & Family Counseling, Mental Health Counseling, School Counseling and 2 graduate certificate programs in Addictions Counseling and Mental Health Support. All master's degree programs are accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). CACREP accreditors expect to see counseling programs operating as independent academic departments due to the clinical nature of the degree. This department will be supported by a .3 FTE Dept. Head and a team of 3 administrative assistants shared with the other 2 units.

b.      The reorganization will result in a more manageable workload for department leaders and contribute to a more sustainable leadership model. The new organizational structure will facilitate improved curriculum management and increase the visibility of all programs for student recruitment purposes. The reorganization will also contribute to greater name recognition and identification for each new department and enhance both student and faculty

c.      Questions

i.      Will the faculty have a choice is where they go?

A.      Faculty already know about it and have already decided who is going where. It is “money neutral.” 

ii.      How many faculty in each program? 

A.      Went more by programs that fit together and not faculty numbers. 

VIII.            Graduate Courses – First Reading

a.      ARTH 538 : Constructions of Gender & Sexuality in Art

i.      To be co-convened with existing course ARTH 437, Graduate students are expected to do additional work including a longer paper, in-class mentoring and discussion, and supplementary readings.

IX.            Old Business

a.      Updates on previous discussions

i.            International Travel Policy

ii.            Compensation

iii.            Graduate Student Policies

iv.            Honors college curriculum review

A.      Will have an advisor board made up of someone from each college

X.            Senators’ Open Conversation

a.      Has MSU considered a photo roster for classes so you can learn who the students are in your courses, and their names? The option on D2L is not a usable photo. Students could opt out.

i.            The new platform we are working on may have those capabilities. There are some privacy issues we are working on. Getting close.

b.      SESAC: Glad to see movement. Would like to see Paul Lachapelle back to talk about the climate change push. 

c.       Can we recommend that the bookstore put more resources into getting textbooks? We are still without textbooks. Book orders go in the beginning of October. They seem more worried about selling mugs and sweatshirt. 

i.            They are no longer organized by course, but by author name. Can’t find my own book. 

XI.            Public Comment

a.      Provost Mokwa: Welcome back everyone. We have a lot of initiatives in the works. Many we’ve been working on for years. A lot of this takes time. 

XII.            Adjourn

a.      Karie Orendorff moves to adjourn. Susanne Cowan seconds. Meeting was adjourned at 4:42pm.