April 6, 2022
FACULTY SENATE Minutes
April 6, 2022
Present: Henri Akono, Elizabeth Armstrong, David Barrett, David Batuski, Catharine Biddle, Carla Billitteri, Amy Booth, Tim Bowden, Alice Bruce, Stephanie Burnett, Ana Chatenever, Mauricio da Cunha, Paula Drewniany, Phil Dunn, Nuri Emanetoglu, Allison Gardner, Michael Grillo, Mark Haggerty, Emily Haigh, Heather Hamlin, Sam Hanes, Andre Khalil, Amanda Klemmer, Eric Landis, Sara Lello, Sarah Lindahl, Margo Lukens, Natalie Machamer, Ivan Manev, Dmitri Markovitch, Derek Michaud, William Nichols, Harlan Onsrud, Deborah Rogers, Deborah Rooks-Ellis, Amber Roth, Michael Scott, Mary “MJ” Sedlock, Kathryn Slott, Rosemary Smith, Sean Smith, David Townsend, Peter Van Walsum, Tim Waring, Todd Zoroya, President Joan Ferrini-Mundy, John Volin Provost, Joanne Yestramski, Robert Dana, Emily Haddad, Jen Bonnet (PEAC), Jacob Chaplin (Undergrad Rep)
Absent: Donald Beith, Susan Bennett-Armistead, Debbie Bouchard, Kristina Cammen, Anil Raj Kizha (class conflict), Renae Moran, Elizabeth Payne (sabbatical), Robert Rice, Deborah Saber, Mohsen Shahinpoor, Matthew Wallhead, VP Research Kody Varahramyan, Peter Altmann (CEAC), Hannah Holbrook (Grad Rep)
I would like to open our meeting today by acknowledging our presence on Marsh Island, which is the traditional homeland of the Penobscot Nation, where issues of water and territorial rights, and encroachment upon sacred sites, are ongoing. This Penobscot homeland is connected to the other Wabanaki Tribal Nations—the Passamaquoddy, Maliseet, and Micmac—through kinship, alliances, and diplomacy, and the University of Maine recognizes that the Penobscot Nation and the other Wabanaki Tribal Nations are distinct, sovereign, legal and political entities with their own powers of self-governance and self-determination. As we conduct our business this afternoon, I invite us all to consider how we live and work on this land, and to attend carefully to the roles we play as elected faculty senators in shaping future relationships with the land and among people.
I. Welcome, Announcements and Comments
David Townsend asked that more faculty members volunteer for commencement. He said it is an opportunity to have the best seats but seriously, more people are needed. It shows students and their families respect for their accomplishments.
Dee announced that the Chancellor will be visiting campus on April 12. He has requested to meet with faculty from 10:45 – 11:30 on the 3rd floor of the Collins Center. Send Dee or Heather Hamlin a message if you can attend. They will discuss the UMaine System Strategic Plan and would like input from faculty. President Ferrini-Mundy said a plan needs to be done every five years. They have contracted with Huron, and they will meet with people on campus, not the Chancellor.
The next Elected Members meeting will have guests starting promptly at 3:00 pm. At the meeting will be the Director of Computer Science, the CLAS Dean, and the Engineering Dean. They will be discussing the Maine College of Engineering, Computing and Information Science (MCECIS). President Ferrini-Mundy and Jake Ward will also be discussing the Master Plan. Dee requested committee chairs upload their reports to Google Drive instead of reporting at the meeting due to time constraints.
II. Approval of Minutes
March 9, 2022
Approved
III. Announcements and Updates from the Administration
At the UMaine System level there will be discussions about getting ready for fall and what will be required, vaccines, masks, or testing. Students being up to date, how to enforce it, testing regularly, etc. There are many options including blocking registration, complete testing, etc.
Enrollment is down slightly but everyone is hopeful the numbers will go up. Enrollment Management is working hard.
In the last year Earmarks were reinstated by Congress. The administration has centralized the process to get ideas to representatives. This year is almost done but they are getting the process together for next year which should start earlier.
Provost Volin said that enrollment last year was the fourth largest class, up 4% from the previous year and 8% above the national average. Public universities were down overall so UMaine did very well. There was a large, deferred group last year because of the pandemic; there were 2,225 first years. Last Friday they ran simulations which showed 2,150 to 2,260, so either down or up. It is difficult to run numbers now because they keep moving. There will be 34 accepted student events this spring. A recent article stated that elite college numbers are up, but that most universities are not up. UMaine has done well with the second largest number of applications this year.
The search for the Dean of MCECIS is underway. The committee is set for the Dean of Libraries search and next week they will be meeting with the selection committee for the UMaine Machias search.
Regarding commencement, there are 130 faculty signed up for the graduate ceremony on Friday night but there are about 70 signed up for Saturday’s two sessions. It is so important being the first commencement after two years of a pandemic.
Dee announced that President Ferrini-Mundy was appointed to the President’s Committee on the National Medal of Science by President Biden.
IV. Questions of the Administration
Q. Regarding the Division of Lifelong Learning, what is the discussion around rethinking DLL?
A. Provost Volin said he cannot say right now but there have been discussions about a major reorganization. The report had recommendations, and some have already been put in place. A lot of pieces are coming together and maybe by May he can speak about it.
Q. Can faculty weigh in?
A. Yes, right now there is a $2.26 million deficit in Academic Affairs, so they are looking at all options. Provost Volin said as things move along, he would reach out.
Q. Any idea what the returning student numbers are?
A. Fall to spring retention numbers were the same as the year before. They anticipated retention to be higher since the incoming class had higher GPA’s. It was approximately eighty percent, which is steady every year. First years 76-78% even though they thought it would be higher.
Comment: Some students seem unmotivated. Provost Volin said it is true and it is the same across the US.
Q. With the email that came out about the masking policy and gatherings, how does that relate to commencement?
A. Masks will not be required but people will need to show a vaccination card or a negative test within 72 hours.
V. New Business
Election of Officers:
President – MJ Sedlock
Vice President – Todd Zoroya
Secretary – Kathryn Slott
Motion to accept the slate as presented, seconded.
Vote: Approved
Motion 1. To Change Bylaws (William Dee Nichols)
Preamble
On August 3, 2021, elected members of the senate were sent a letter from the Faculty Senate President that included the task of comparing the Bylaws and Constitution revisions to our current Constitution and Bylaws posted on our Faculty Senate web site. As previously noted in the welcoming letter, the Constitution and Bylaws Committee diligently worked over the past two academic years on needed revisions to our Constitution and Bylaws. After multiple meetings, including face to face, survey data, special meetings and multiple executive committee meetings, the Constitution and Bylaws committee completed their task and submitted revisions and edits to the President of the Faculty Senate. The August third letter included the revised attachments to the constitution and bylaws. Senators were requested to read all of the attached documents and then go to the Faculty Senate Webpage https://umaine.edu/facultysenate/ and compare.
The motion to amend the Faculty Senate Constitution and amend the Bylaws articles I-VI have all been approved by the Senate, President, and Chancellor where necessary. In addition, many of the sections on committee functions and membership in Article VII have also been approved. Attached is the approved document in its entirety for reference. Today’s motion is to approve the remaining sections of the Bylaws Article VII-Article X.
Therefore, the Constitution and Bylaws Committee makes the motion to the University of Maine Faculty Senate to make the following changes to Article VII sections: 5 (General Education) 7 (Finance and Institutional Planning), 8 (Research and Scholarship), 9 (Program Creation and Reorganization Review), and 14 (Elected Members Committee); Article VIII Subcommittees; Article IX Special Committees; and Article X Amendment; of our Bylaws to read as follows:
Article VII:
Section 5. GENERAL EDUCATION COMMITTEE
A. Function. To serve as a liaison among all administrative committees dealing with general education, i.e., Undergraduate Program Curriculum Committee, and Committee of Student Learning Outcome Assessment & Improvement; and to bring to the attention of the Academic Affair Committee issues relating to general education that are within faculty purview.
B. Membership. The chair is a member of the Academic Affairs Committee and is appointed by the chair of the Academic Affairs Committee in consultation with the Faculty Senate President. The members are represented as much as possible by at least one faculty senator from each college and Cooperative Extension. This committee has no set number or requirement of elected faculty senate membership and encourages a broad representation of faculty members from various colleges and units. Additional ex-officio members of the committee include the faculty representative to the Undergraduate Program Curriculum Committee, Director of Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning, a representative from the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment, and the Associate Provost for Student Success and Strategic Initiatives.
Section 7. FINANCE AND INSTITUTIONAL PLANNING COMMITTEE
A. Function. The Committee on Finance and Institutional Planning reviews and makes recommendations to the Senate in matters relating to administrative organization, institutional planning, and budgetary issues affecting university priorities and allocation.
B. Membership. The members of the Committee on Finance and Institutional Planning are represented as much as possible by at least one faculty senator from each college and Cooperative Extension. Additional ex-officio members of the committee are the Chief Financial Officer, Provost or the designated appointee, and one undergraduate and one graduate student government representative.
Section 8. RESEARCH AND SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE
A. Function. The Committee on Research and Scholarship reviews and makes recommendations to the Senate in matters relating to research and scholarship including research priorities, research funds, patents, the protection of human and animal subjects, and research safety.
B. Membership. The members of the Committee on Research and Scholarship are represented as much as possible by at least one faculty senator from each college and Cooperative Extension. Additional ex-officio members of the committee are the Vice President for Research or a designated appointee, the provost or a designated appointee, and one graduate student government representative.
Section 9. PROGRAM CREATION AND REORGANIZATION REVIEW COMMITTEE
A. Function. The Program Creation and Reorganization Review Committee has the responsibility to receive and review proposals for the creation, elimination, and reorganization of academic programs. After the information is gathered and evaluated, the committee will present a recommendation to the faculty senate for its approval.
B. Membership. The members of the Program Creation, Review and Reorganization Committee is represented as much as possible by at least one faculty from each college and Cooperative Extension with the preference being two from each college.
Section 14. ELECTED MEMBERS COMMITTEE
A. Function. The Elected Members Committee is charged with exploring issues of interest to its members. The committee may take up issues and topics placed before it by majority vote of the committee or by agenda. This will not limit the committee from accepting commitments referred to the committee by the Faculty Senate. Although the membership of this committee comprises the majority of the Faculty Senate, this committee may not issue statements of any type in the name of the Faculty Senate of the University of Maine. Ordinarily, the committee shall not report to the Faculty Senate unless expressly listed on the agenda of the Faculty Senate.
B. Membership. The members of the Elected Members Committee include all members of the Faculty Senate who have been elected by their respective faculties. The Chair shall be the President of the Faculty Senate or his/her designate.
ARTICLE VIII: SUBCOMMITTEES
Each standing committee may create such sub-committees as will expedite its work. Subcommittees may include faculty members, administrators, and students, but the chairperson must be a member of the parent committee and a majority of members must be Faculty Senators. Each subcommittee shall be responsible to the parent committee and report directly to it.
ARTICLE IX: SPECIAL COMMITTEES
Other Ad Hoc Committees may be created for time limited periods as voted on by the full Senate.
ARTICLE X: AMENDMENT
These bylaws may be amended by a two thirds vote of the Senate Faculty Members present and voting, provided that the proposed amendment has been submitted to the Secretary of the Senate at least forty five days prior to the vote on the proposed amendment. Upon receipt of the proposed amendment, the Secretary shall forward it to the Chairperson of the Committee on Constitution and Bylaw. The Secretary shall then notify the members of the Senate in the next regular meeting printed agenda that such a proposal has been received and forwarded to the Committee on Constitution and Bylaws in conformance with this section of the bylaws. This committee shall review the proposed amendment and make recommendations. The proposed amendment and the action of the Committee on Constitution and Bylaws shall be distributed by the Secretary to the membership of the Senate at least fifteen days prior to the meeting at which action is to be taken.
Vote: Approved
A Motion From the University of Maine’s Faculty Senate Program Creation and Reorganization Review Committee (PCRRC) for consideration by the Full University of Maine Faculty Senate
Regarding the Maine Business School’s Proposal for a New B.S. Degree Program in
Business Information Systems and Security Management (BISSM)
April 6, 2022
Background:
Proposals for new degree programs at the University of Maine, and subsequent actions on those proposals, follow procedures detailed in UM System BOT Policy 305.1, APL X-P.1 Academic Program Approval (https://www.maine.edu/students/office-of-the-vice-chancellor-of-academic-affairs/apl-x-p-1/), and also procedures in “The University of Maine 120-Day Process for Approval of New Academic Degree Programs” (Chapter 2; revised Oct. 16, 2019, https://umaine.edu/facultysenate/committees/pcrrc/).
Key steps are:
1) The Unit or College produces a written description and rationale for the new program in 250 words or less (this is called a “Program Request”);
2) To go forward that “Program Request” must be approved by the Provost, the UM System Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (VCAA) and the Chief Academic Officers Council (CAOC);
3) If approved, the sponsoring College or Unit prepares a “Full Program Proposal”, which is filed with: The Provost’s Office; The chair of the Undergraduate Program Curriculum Committee (UPCC) or, if a graduate program, the Associate Vice President for Graduate Studies for the Graduate Board (GB); and, The chair of the Program Creation and Reorganization Review Committee (PCRRC) of the Faculty Senate for review and recommendations;
4) The PCRRC distributes the “Full Program Proposal” to all members of the Faculty Senate for information and review;
5) The PCRRC schedules and hosts a PCRR Committee meeting to discuss the “Full Program Proposal” with the primary proponents of the proposal;
6) After #5, the PCRRC schedules and hosts a “Campus-wide Hearing” to gather further comments regarding any concerns by the university community;
7) Because it is customary for Senate motions to presented to the Full Senate for discussion two weeks prior to taking a vote, the PCRRC will briefly discuss the “Full Program Proposal” at a ‘Members-only Meeting’ of the Senate, and will introduces two potential motions, only one of which will to come up for a vote at an upcoming Elected Senators Meeting – e.g., either in support or non-support of the new program proposal – with the specific motion to be as determined following the “Campus-wide Hearing” (#6);
8) A official vote will be taken by the Faculty Senate to report to the President the Senate’s recommendation either in support of, or not in support of, the creation of the new degree program.
Motion:
With steps #1 through #7 having taken place, and the members of the PCRRC (Program Creation and Reorganization Review Committee) of the University of Maine Faculty Senate being favorably inclined, having heard no significant opposition to the proposal, the Faculty Senate hereby moves to recommend to the President that the Maine Business School’s Proposal for a New B.S. Degree Program in Business Information Systems and Security Management (BISSM) go forward.
Vote: Approved
VI. Committee Reports
BOT – Mike Scott
The last BOT meeting had 50 faculty members, 28 from UMaine, approved for tenure and promotion. Fifty percent of the 28 from UMaine were women. The BOT accepted a recommendation from the HR and Labor Relations Committee to ratify the PATFA collective bargaining agreement and AFUM after each unit meets. The BOT also accepted a recommendation from the Academic Affair Committee to approve, from the College of Engineering, Yonghao Ni to professor.
They also accepted the recommendation of the Integrated UMaine and UMaine Machias Organization Chart, effective July 2022. The BOT also accepted a gift of a 9,500 sq ft Maine Potato Board research building on the Aroostook Farm.
The Secure Laboratory of the Advance Structure Composite Center has been accepted. The UMaine System has been authorized to spend $2.254 million on the 4,000 sq ft space. The reuse of Colburn and Holmes Halls was accepted, spending an additional $1 million for a total to $3 million to pursue a public partnership with Radner Property Group. This will allow for redevelopment of the two buildings as well as adding an addition to Holmes Hall. The additional funds will come from annual capital budget expenditures. There were also presentations from Athletic Student Success and Retention. There are 17 varsity sports: 9 women’s and 8 men’s for a total of 550 varsity athletes.
During Citizen Comments UMaine students spoke out about fossil fuels and divestment. Trustee Martin stated that they are working with a consultant and looking to have adjustments to the policy at the May meeting.
Loretta Shields shared policy and review procedures update. They are currently reviewing all procedures and hiring policies. They are looking at developing DEI initiatives for more diverse pools of candidates for searches. Ryan Low gave a legislative update. The legislature voted in a $7.5 million debt service to the UMaine System to cover $88 million in capital budget: this is part of the base budget for the future. There will be a one-time $1 million gift to freeze tuition for next year and $3 million was appropriated for the Maine Economic Investment (MEIF).
Vice Chancellor Aceto presented the enrollment data, and it is on the UMaine System dashboard.
Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation, President Ferrini-Mundy, updated on the R1 designation and the ability to attract students, draw world class faculty, increase grant activity and collaborations. Also key to developing the state’s R&D. It will expand research to other campuses. There is an MEIF for small campus initiatives. Unified Accreditation and Unified Catalog was discussed by Jeff St. John. On Friday, May 13th he will share the catalog final draft. The final version will be shared by June 15. The NECHE team leader will visit campus in late May. The UMaine System will ask that the team visit each campus in the system.
MCECIS will go before the BOT for action at the May meeting. There will be two presidents and two provosts on two campuses. The funding comes from the Alfond Grant. There is a $75 million match where an additional $75 million will need to be raised. Renaming the College of Engineering to MCECIS means the School of Computing and Information Science will become a department where it is currently a school. There will be an MOU to address concerns of USM to have their own degree program and keep their faculty. Shared governance will need to be worked out between the two campuses.
Ryan Low gave a finance report including forecasts. There was a gap of $10 million that is now $24 million due to enrollment and bargaining unit agreements. Joanne Yestramski stated that the appropriation for bonding is all good news. They bonded the debt service of $68 million in capital projects and the state gives us $7.5 million every year. There is a large project which is the next phase of MCECIS so that is part of the $75 million match. The renaming of the UMaine College of Engineering to MCECIS comes up in May. President Ferrini-Mundy said the School of Computing and Information Science becoming a department is not accurate. It is now in the process of determining what it will be.
Regarding the match funds, the $240 million of the Alfond Grant requires $170 million in match from across the whole UMaine System. There are committees, including the UMaine Foundation’s, that will be looking at ideas on how this can happen, like philanthropic counting as a match and the Alfond Foundation’s agreeing to three other categories. One is federal funds which can be part of written grants, state funds through bonding, and corporate philanthropy. All of these will go toward the match.
Academic Affairs – Michael Grillo
The student survey will not be distributed until next year instead of going up against the end of the semester.
Gen Ed – Subcommittee of Academic Affairs – Sam Hanes
No report.
Constitution & Bylaws – Amanda Klemmer & Kathryn Slott
No report.
Research & Scholarship – Sean Smith
The committee is working on meeting with the administration before the end of the year to discuss compliance and shared services. The committee also has the findings from the pandemic survey and may be making a motion from those results. The last meeting will be to discuss what will be worked on prior to fall.
Comment: Mike Scott said Sean should attend the FIPCE meeting with the administration which will discuss shared services.
Finance & Institutional Planning – Mauricio da Cunha & Mike Scott
There will be a meeting with the administration soon. One item discussed during the last committee meeting was shared services, and the possibility of having invited guests from the UMaine System to the next FIPCE meeting.
University Environment – Amanda Klemmer & Harlan Onsrud
There was a town hall on DEI in the College of Natural Sciences, Forestry & Agriculture. Different units discussed what they are doing, and they heard from Deb Allen about the climate survey from last year. Some results were a little disheartening, but the college has good pathways to deal with those results. There is a new hire, Bonita, to help the college with the issues of DEI.
Harlan said there is a Zero Carbon meeting coming up. The white paper and survey were distributed to scientists, graduate, and undergraduate students, etc. All responses have been written up, addressed, or accommodated in the documents. The survey will be distributed shortly. It was suggested they distribute it at the end of the semester when students are checking their email for grades. There is a lack of access to consultant reports and internal reports. Provost Volin said he would check with the committee and get back to Harlan.
Service & Outreach – Debbie Saber
The committee met and is working to refine the motion discussed at the Elected Members meeting last month. Provost Volin said Debbie is coordinating with the Extension group and Deb Allen on the outreach and service Key Performance Indicators (KPI) dashboard to better track outreach.
Committee on Committees – Heather Hamlin
An email was sent out requesting nominations for the Faculty Athletic Rep, representing the university with the NCAA. Dave Townsend said there are three conferences but most activity is with American East. The next person will need to be active but there is a stipend.
Heather also asked that people serving on a committee think about succession planning.
Comment: Dee said that during the summer work is done to see who will remain on committees, who would like to join and if chairs of committee remain or if a new one is needed.
Program Creation & Reorganization Review – David Townsend
We are moving to the next step on the Food and Agriculture BS. One week from today there will be a full campus meeting. Now the proposal goes to the full campus and members will discuss it for a motion in May.
Library Committee – Deborah Rogers & Robert Rice
No report.
Faculty Information Technology Committee – Todd Zoroya
Beginning on May 8th, 2022 you will be required to log into your UMS Zoom account using your maine.edu Single Sign-On (SSO) username and password. You should have received an email from Maine IT regarding this change.
Elected Members Committee – Ad Hoc System Shared Governance – Ivan Manev
Ivan reported that the Faculty Governance Council (FGC) met on March 22 and discussed the APL Annual Academic Review, now called Programs for Examination. There are 30 indicators per program every year. Many factors are pay, professional advisors, prerequisites, etc.
Also, the process was interesting: the elected members are there to pass on information. There are committees within Faculty Ssenate that deal with academic affairs. So, there will be a charge from the Chancellor of Academic Affairs to each senate’s Academic Affairs so they can review changes that come up for approval.
There was no discussion on the reconciliation charge.
Other Senates and Assemblies have letters and/or resolutions going to the BOT. There was a statement from the USM Senate that urges the Chancellor and BOT to replace full time faculty lost to retirement, due to incentives, with new equivalent lines because losing faculty without lines to replace them could be devastating to keep offering programs.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion – M.J. Sedlock
The committee is still working on issues from the previous meeting. At the last meeting we discussed how to incentivize DEI training or activities for faculty. One idea that came up was how to write it into tenure and promotion for departments. It cannot be done with a motion since it is up to each department. Dee suggested looking at Motions on the Faculty Senate website. There was a motion he seemed to recall regarding best practices on evaluating teaching beyond student evaluations. There were recommendations regarding best practices. He thinks it was 2018.
Comments: Provost Volin suggested checking benchmarks because DEI is not just teaching. It is currently in the promotion and tenure documents.
Reports of Faculty Members on Committees of the Administration – Heather Hamlin
Dee asked Meredith Whitfield if there were any updates on the search for the Vice President of Finance. They just completed the job description, and it should be posted any time up through the end of May. She also mentioned that there are currently 25 +/- volunteers for commencement and 75+ are needed. The lack of volunteers is risking the success of holding commencement.
VII. Old Business
No reports.
Adjourned 4:30 pm
Respectfully submitted,
Kathryn Slott
Prepared by Kim Junkins