25 September 2024

Attendance

Present:

Senators: Henri Akono, Jonathan Barron, Karen Beeftink, Timothy Bowden, Sudarshan Chawathe, Sabrina DeTurk, Paula Drewniany, Alexis Foster, Allison Gardner, Jianjun Hao, Nils Haëntjens, Matt Hawkyard, Liliana Herakova, Ellen Hostert, Lee Karp-Boss, Jesse Kaye-Schiess, Benjamin King, Amanda Klemmer, Garret Lee, Danielle Levesque, Sarah Lindahl, Roberto Lopez-Anido, Ivan Manev, Will Manion, Craig Mason, Shannon McCoy, Derek Michaud, William Nichols, Elizabeth Payne, Jennifer Perry, Aaron Putnam, Deborah Rogers, Amber Roth, MJ Sedlock, Kathryn Slott, Susan Smith, Timothy Waring, Jay Wason, Manuel Woersdoerfer, Todd Zoroya

Guests: Debra Allen, Jason Charland, Vice President Kevin Coughlin, Dean Robert Dana, President Joan Ferrini-Mundy, Angela Fileccia, Dean Giovanna Guidoboni, Dean Emily Haddad, Adam Kirkland, Jude Killy, Interim Dean Ezekiel Kimball, Associate Provost Scott Marzilli, Nolan Merz, Michelle Rogers, Dean Diane Rowland, Peter Schilling, Dean Daisy Singh, Vice President Kelly Sparks, Vice President Kody Varahramyan, Provost John Volin, Dean Megan Walsh, Dean Ellen Weinauer

Absent: 

Senators: Mahdi Al Badrawi, Keith Berube, Jack Buttcane, Seth Campbell, Bill DeSisto, Phillip Dickens, Esther Enright, C. Matt Graham, Cynthia Isenhour, Bashir Khoda, Steven Kimball, Sara Lello, Roberto Lopez-Anido, Colleen Marzilli, William Otto, Glenda Pereira, Robert Rice, Rosemary Smith, Peter Van Walsum, Tingting Ye

Welcome & Announcements

• Amanda Klemmer opened the meeting with the Land Acknowledgement.

Announcements & Updates from Administration

• Provost Volin welcomed everyone back to campus and noted that our retention numbers are strong – approximately 84%.
• Dee Nichols noted that tutoring options have increased and improved and asked about that impact on retention.
• Provost Volin explained the Knack tutoring program and acknowledged its role in supporting student retention.
• Elizabeth Armstrong asked about how we identify risk factors. Provost Volin explained these, including factors such as being first-generation, Pell Grant eligible, etc.
• VP Sparks presented an update on changes in Facilities including retirements and partial retirements and explained that positions have been reconfigured to support preventative rather than reactive maintenance. 
• VP Sparks updated on the housing situation, including a rise in upperclass students and graduate students wanting to live on campus, as well as an increase in transfer students. This surge in student demand resulted in the shortage of available housing this semester; currently some upperclass students in good standing are being housed off campus and in Hotel Ursa. There is work being done to plan for new approaches to housing in future.
• VP Sparks noted that Wells Dining Common has been renovated and is now open. There are new dining bots deployed around campus as well. 
• President Ferrini-Mundy acknowledged that it has been a challenging semester with a lot going on on-campus and around the world. She thanked all senators who provided input on the newly published Research Misconduct Policy, particularly Sean Smith and the members of the Research Committee. The President announced the formation of a Budget Advisory Committee and Space Committee for the campus; both have existed in the past but will have updated charges. The President and VP Sparks will seek input from the Faculty Senate to appoint faculty representatives to both committees. The President encouraged faculty to submit nominations for honorary degree recipients. 

Questions of the Administration

• Sarah Lindahl asked about the situation in Student Accessibility Services – lack of staffing and ability to provide support services.
  • Provost explained plans that are in place to address a short-term issue.
  • Dean Dana explained that there were some unexpected, late summer resignations and that stop-gap measures are in place but hiring is ongoing.
  • Follow up question – could a testing center help alleviate problems? Dean Dana said this has been discussed and is still a topic of discussion. President F-M asked senators to share any models of centers at other universities that they feel work well.
• Amanda Klemmer shared questions that had been submitted to her by other faculty.
  • Current recommendation is to budget $32,000 for PhD students on grants which is higher than previous and has an impact on small grants. Is there any update on what that amount will be? The administration confirmed that due to ongoing bargaining with the graduate student union this is not a topic for discussion. Faculty should budget using existing rates.
• Paula Drewniany reported on a question from a faculty member about a recently created joint position between Math and Engineering that the department chair was not aware of. President Ferrini-Mundy confirmed that this has been brought to the attention of the administration and that the issue is being addressed.
• Todd Zoroya asked if any information could be shared about the IT layoffs at the system level. President Ferrini-Mundy explained that the system chose to hold the information very closely for issues of privacy. She encouraged faculty to read the communications from system administration (Robert Placido) regarding the restructuring of IT to support campuses.
• Craig Mason offered a follow-up comment that as the restructuring process moves forward it would be good to have faculty input on the needs at campus level. The President recommended that Amanda invite Robert Placido to a senate meeting for further discussion. John Volin recommended that staff (e.g., CITL) also be included.
• Amanda Klemmer shared a question from a faculty member about administrators returning to faculty roles and what the process is, particularly as it might pertain to units staffing needs and requests. President Ferrini-Mundy confirmed that there is a process to work with units in this situation on a case by case basis.
• Dee Nichols shared a question from a colleague in his department about the decision to allow the VPR to work remotely, recognizing that there are personnel issues that need to be confidential. President Ferrini-Mundy acknowledged that there are personal issues which can’t be discussed and that this is a pilot situation and that there will be opportunities throughout the year to assess how this is working. VP Kody Varahramyan acknowledged the importance of spending time on campus to learn a role but noted that he has lived near campus for 6 years, then in Portland one year and that he will continue to make regular visits to campus. He expressed his appreciation to the administration for making this arrangement work for him.
• Jay Wason asked about the process for deciding how to fill faculty positions following unexpected resignations. Provost Volin explained some of the data that is used to make decisions about how to allocate faculty lines. He explained the impact of the SRI program and noted that although we are net 30 faculty lower since that incentive program, we maintain a 15:1 faculty ratio and continue to work strategically to add faculty in high-growth areas. Jay clarified that his particular concern is with situations where faculty leave after only a short time in a position and could there be a commitment to immediately refilling that position. The Provost replied that even in two years things could change enough to mean that a different decision might be made. VP Sparks confirmed that response. President Ferrini-Mundy noted that the SRE process is meant to help with defining the areas that the University wants to invest in and that in current circumstances we cannot assume that a position will be filled in the same area in which it is lost.
• Amanda Klemmer requested an update on the SRE from the administration. President Ferrini-Mundy explained that this is a UMaine/UMM (not system-wide) effort to take on the challenge of saying who we want to be in the future and how we will describe that for ourselves and our students. She noted that we are about to end the second phase of the project and will continue to refine our process as we go along. She emphasized that there has been strong engagement from the community throughout the process and that this is still a time to submit ideas. Provost Volin added that there is a fourteenth theme that is being added to the work to look at administrative optimization and a working group will be established for that theme as well.
  • Esther Enright brought forward concerns from school faculty around the timing of the process being largely over the summer and a tension around creativity and crisis. There was a request for more clarity around what is being perceived as a budget crisis – e.g., scope of structural budget deficit and implications if that is not addressed. There was also a request for additional/increased communication about the efforts.
    • The President acknowledged the difficulty of the timeline but cited realities of the budget cycle and need to not fall behind that. She explained that the budget issues are not new but are challenging our desires to do new things. She would prefer to engage in collective, rather than unilateral work to address how we make decisions about what we prioritize. VP Sparks recommended reviewing the President’s town hall presentation from May 2024 for an understanding of the budget deficit.
  • Dee Nichols asked about the 14th theme and how that will be communicated to faculty. PFM said that the language for this theme will be put forward with a call for interest in participating in that working group.
  • Allie Gardner asked about the tension between directives to find efficiencies and areas to cut while at the same time seeing specific areas of growth (e.g., earmarks, new buildings). Why keep investing in things that we get one time funding for when we can’t support what we have now? President Ferrini-Mundy responded that we need to take advantage of opportunities that are presented to us and can’t pause the work of the university to make decisions about what we’d want to do differently so we try to balance strategy and opportunity. VP Sparks explained that there are three new buildings coming on line but most of the new investments are in improving existing structures and addressing deferred maintenance. The Space Advisory Committee is working to identify criteria that can help in deciding where to focus our investments.
  • Craig Mason asked whether there can be a way to create a way to monitor the results of the strategic re-envisioning process to ensure that choices made have the intended results. President Ferrini-Mundy acknowledged that this kind of work does not have a clear solution but that reporting back on a regular basis would be possible and desirable.

Committee Updates

Committee on Committees

• No report

Academic Affairs – Dee Nichols and Allie Gardner

• The General Education Stewardship Committee completed its annual report to the Senate. Discussions around categories and outcomes are continuing and a motion will be forthcoming. There is ongoing conversation around experiential learning and how to infuse these opportunities into their curriculum. There is also conversation about general education pathways.
• The Academic Affairs committee has not yet held their first meeting but agenda items for the year are being developed.

Research & Scholarship – Danielle Levesque and Ben King

• Committee is scheduling the first meeting. 
• It appears that there will need to be further revisions to the academic misconduct policy and the committee will be working on those with the compliance office.

Finance & Institutional Planning – Henri Akono

• Committee met on 9/18 for planning purposes and reviewed responses to motions from last year. They will be starting work on AY24-25 agenda items shortly, including meetings with select SRE working groups/Provost’s Fellows.

Environment Committee –Elizabeth Payne and Timothy Waring

• No report at this time; working to schedule the first meeting.

Program Creation & Reorganization Review – MJ Sedlock

• MJ Sedlock raised the question of whether anyone on the Senate feels that we need to do a more formal review of a proposal for a major in Criminal Justice that is currently scheduled for review by the Faculty Governance Council. She asked for senators to send any comments to her within the next week. Dee Nichols moved that we approve the document as it stands; Craig Mason seconded. Jay Wason proposed a revision to the motion: that we reaffirm the previous approval; Craig seconded. The senate voted to reaffirm the previous approval of the program.

Library – Jonathan Barron

• No report.

Faculty Information Technology Committee

• No report.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion – Timothy Bowden

• No report.

Board of Trustees Representative – Ivan Manev

• Public comments at the BOT meeting on Sept 16: there were many passionate opinions about the sale of the Hutchinson Center in Belfast. The originally announced sale to Calvary Chapel was withdrawn because of a flaw in the process. Bids are being reevaluated and a decision will be made on September 26.
• Enrollments are up on all campuses
•  Increased funding was approved for a 14,000 sq ft Sustainable Aquaculture Workforce and Innovation Center (SAWIC) at UMaine. $1.5 million had been previously approved; additional funding was requested and approved for ~$9.5 million, for a total of ~$11 million. Funding comes from:
  – Maine Job & Recovery plan $3.3 million
  –  Congressionally directed spending $6.9 million
  –  USDA $300K
  –  UMaine $150K and other sources.
• Building renovations for the Maine Graduate and Professional Center in Portland were approved for $650K: design and engineering work for the buildings at 300 Fore St and 7 Custom House St. This will be in preparation for the purchase of these buildings in 2026 with funding from the Alfond Foundation ($55 million total), plus matching fundraising for renovations.

Adjourn

Time adjourned: 4:29pm

Prepared by,
Sabrina DeTurk