Sangamon Sun

At a recent meeting, the University of Illinois Campus Senate discussed the results of the annual budget survey.

Below are the minutes from this meeting, as provided by the Senate.

University of Illinois-Springfield is located at One University Plaza, Springfield.

To Be Approved

UIS Campus Senate Meeting

August 26, 2016

CAMPUS SENATE MEETING

AY 2015/2016

Friday, May 6, 2016

11:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M.

PAC G

Senators Present: D. Anthony, S. Antoun, R. Barnett, M. Buxton, H. Chen, S. Cordell, B. Goulet, E. Hadley-Ives, A. Hanson, R. Karri, J. Laubersheimer (via Skype), X. Li, F. Nation, R. Neginsky, T. Nielson, K. Piskin, E. Sahebkarkhorasani, A. Strahle, L. Vazquez, and K. Novak presiding.

Senators Absent: L. Chen, T. Wang.

Ex-Officio: L. Pardie.

Guests: B. Moore, C. Cornell, K. Moranski, G. Joseph, M. Yoder, J. Villegas, D. Ruez, J. Ermatinger, R. Gilman-Opalsky, S. McMinn, A. Beaton, R. Croke.

Chair Novak called the meeting to order at 10:02 A.M.

Approval of the Agenda

Strahle moved to approve the agenda; Sahebkarkhorasani seconded. The agenda was approved.

Approval of Minutes Two sets of minutes were presented, both from April 22. Barnett moved to approve the minutes from the last meeting of the 2015/2016 senate (10:00 am – 11:00 am); Strahle seconded. The minutes were approved. Barnett then moved to approve the minutes from the first meeting of the 2016/2017 senate (11:00 am – 12:00 pm); Nielson seconded. The minutes were approved.

Elections – Senate Chair and Vice Chair Piskin moved to discuss the nominations; Strahle seconded. Novak said there were two nominations so 35 far, for Senators Karri and Novak. There were no additional nominations. A vote was taken by paper 36 ballot, resulting in ten votes for each candidate. Li suggested that each candidate make a statement before a second vote. Karri and Novak each spoke briefly and a second vote was taken. Karri was elected on the second ballot by a vote of twelve to eight. Novak continued to preside over the election of the senate vice chair. Goulet had been nominated at the previous meeting. Sahebkarkhorasani nominated Antoun. Nation moved to close the nominations; Li seconded. The nominations were closed. A vote was taken by paper 41 ballot, and Goulet was elected by a vote of sixteen to four.

Reports

Chair – K. Novak Novak offered the Chair report. The Chancellor recently met with the Senate Executive Committee to discuss the search for a new Provost. The SEC will submit 15 or 16 faculty member’s names to the Chancellor, who will select ten faculty to serve on the search committee. The committee will also include academic professional, civil service, and student members.

Goulet thanked Novak for serving as chair, and acknowledged the tremendous amount of time and work that goes on behind the scenes before each senate meeting. Senators offered a generous round of applause in appreciation.

Karri then took over presiding duties. He thanked senators for their support, and thanked Novak for her service.

Provost – L. Pardie The Provost offered an enrollment update, with positive results for both the summer and fall terms. The Provost, who is retiring at the end of May, said she has appreciated working with the senate over the last five years. Serving in the senate is no small matter, and she has been impressed with the thoughtfulness, 2 circumspection, and decorum that have been exhibited even while representing a diversity of perspectives. For shared governance to work well there has to be mutual trust and respect, and she has appreciated that all those involved want the best for the institution. She thanked the senators, and said it has been her pleasure to work with them. Senators responded with a round of applause.

Barnett offered a special thanks to the Provost on behalf of UIS Academic Professionals.

University Senates Conference – J. Villegas Jorge Villegas, one of three UIS representatives on the USC, said the USC had a very good conversation with BOT Chairman McMillan, UI President Killeen and Vice President Pierre. Villegas said he would not go into all the details, but he did highlight some action items. The first was the appointment by Governor Rauner of John Bambenek as the faculty representative to the Illinois Board of Higher Education. Villegas said Bambenek is a lecturer at UIUC so he may not be as fully engaged in higher 75 education as we might expect the faculty representative to be. Secondly, his outlook on many issues may not resonate with faculty. His resume and writings indicate he may not be a good representative for faulty on the IBHE. Villegas encouraged the senate to consider this issue and deliberate and take action as the senate may deem appropriate.

Villegas also noted that changes for the Statutes and General Rules may be coming in the next academic 81 year.

Student Government Association - A. Mehmet Austin Mehmet, newly elected President of the SGA, offered the report. Mehmet said he sees his position as being a liaison between students, administration and faculty. The SGA is currently getting student input on the proposed new scheduling model that includes Friday classes. SGA has also started looking 87 into student employee hiring and employment practices.

Political Science B.A. Program Review Richard Gilman-Opalsky, Chair of Political Science, offered a brief summary of the review. The review was written in spring 2014 and submitted in September 2014, and much has happened since then, including the addition of a fully online B.A. program. There was a soft launch of the online degree in 2015, and there were 15 admitted students in the first year. The department has also created a new B.A. in Public Policy, which was recently approved by the IBHE and will begin accepting students in fall 2016.

The main thing to come out of the program review had to do with assessment, which has been an issue with the department. Several initiatives are underway to improve assessment. First is the addition of an undergraduate closing seminar that includes an exit survey. The department has also created an exit 98 survey for Master’s students. Gilman-Opalsky said he has reached out to Patty Byrnes, Chair of the Committee on Assessment of Student Learning, to solicit advice on how to fully implement an assessment plan. The department has also created a sub-committee to review and improve assessment.

Public Affairs Reporting M.A. Program Review Charlie Wheeler, Director of the Public Affairs Reporting Program, offered a brief summary. The Public Affairs Reporting M.A. is a one-year program that prepares students to be working reporters. Of the approximately 500 students who have gone through the program since its inception in 1972, the majority are working for the media or in media related positions. The internship offered as part of this program sets it apart from other graduate reporting programs. Students work full time for an established media outlet from January until June in the state house covering government and politics. This gives them a body of work that can be used when they pursue post graduate employment. The main challenge for the program is that there are fewer bureaus in the state house, so there are fewer internship opportunities. The program was at one time able to accommodate 22 students, but there are currently only 13 placements available. There was some discussion about how the program might be able to accommodate more students.

Senate Committee Reports

Intercollegiate Athletic Committee – A. Strahle

Senator Strahle, who is also Chair of the IAC, offered the report. The IAC has three goals: to improve the 19 knowledge base regarding activities and personnel between the athletic department and the IAC; to serve as a sounding board and a recommendation body for the growth of UIS athletics; and to serve as a sounding board and recommendation body for new policies in the athletic department. The IAC meets with different coaches throughout the year, along with the director of academic support services for athletics. The committee reviewed and responded to a proposed master plan for athletics; had discussions about how head injuries and concussions are dealt with in the classroom for student athletes; participated in a faculty development workshop on how faculty communicate with the athletic department considering HIPAA rules and privacy laws with regard to injuries. Finally, the committee reviewed the Academic Integrity Policy as it relates to the role of coaches in academic support.

Faculty Athletic Representative – M. Yoder

Yoder offered a strong endorsement for the work of outgoing Director of Athletics Kim Pate, whose commitment to running a model Division II program was unparalleled. Yoder’s report focused on the academic success of the athletic department. Yoder thanked Nicole Hager, the Director of Academic Support Services for Athletics, for her contributions to the academic success of student athletes. Yoder pointed to some highlights from his report, which was attached to the agenda. Overall, academics in the 135 athletics department are going well. For the most recent year, UIS student athletes have a higher G.P.A. 136 (3.25) than other full time students (2.93). UIS is a member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference, which is one the best Division II academic conferences in the country, typically one of the top three or four nationwide. Recent statistics indicate a UIS graduation rate for student athletes at 74% (11th in the 139 GVLC), versus the federal rate of 64%. Yoder also noted that recent data indicates that incoming student athletes are better prepared academically than the general student population (based on high school GPA).

Campus Planning and Budget – S. McMinn 143 Stephen McMinn, Chair of the CPBC, said that the lack of a state budget created some unique 144 circumstances for the CPBC this year. The annual budget survey of the campus community had a good 145 response rate, and the results were similar to past years, with salary competiveness once again cited as a 146 main concern. Academic quality and degree programs were also cited as priorities by a majority of respondents. The CPBC will recommend having more contingency planning for situations such as the campus faced this year with a lack of a state budget.

Anthony returned to the Provost’s report to ask about the status of the College of Public Affairs and Administration dean search. The Provost said the on campus interviews for both the CPAA and Library dean searches have been completed. The plan is to advance the names of recommended hire to the Board of Trustees in July so that we have new deans on board for the fall semester. Dean Ermatinger, who will serve as Interim Provost beginning on June 1, will continue to serve as Interim Dean of CPAA for the summer term. Karri offered some closing thoughts before adjournment, saying it is important for senators to talk with their departments and colleagues about any issues that may have policy implications, as well as student or curricular related issues so that the senate can take a proactive role in shaping policy along with the administration. Karri asked senators to forward any ideas or thoughts they may have to improve the participation of senators.

Adjournment

Hadley-Ives moved to adjourn; Strahle seconded. The meeting adjourned at 11:34 a.m.