March 19th, 2024

Academic Senate

Plenary Meeting Minutes

Tuesday 19 March 2024

Hybrid – Seven Hills & Zoom

2:00 PM

 

 

 

 

 

OPEN FLOOR PERIOD:  2:00 - 2:05 PM

The Open Floor Period provides an informal opportunity for campus community members to raise questions or make comments directed to Senators, Senate officers or to university administrators. Please arrive promptly at 2:00 PM. Please limit comments to not more than three minutes per topic. Senators may make announcements under Item 3 below.

 

Chair Goldman explained the open floor period.

 

Vice Chair Harvey gave notice that The Center for Equity and Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CEETL) and Academic Senate will celebrate all faculty and staff colleagues at a book reading and coffee-tasting event on Tuesday 19 March 19, 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM in Library 121. Faculty who published a book in 2023-24 will be invited to read and discuss their books. All faculty are invited to bring a copy of their published books (they want to promote) to display at this event. Kaveri Coffee, a woman-owned third-generation coffee roaster and small business, will provide a coffee tasting at the event. https://ceetl.sfsu.edu/book-reading. Vice Chair Harvey then noted a food insecurity event for the afternoon of March 19 hosted by Food+Shelter+Success in collaboration with SparkPoint.

 

Sen. Way offered thanks to the numerous teams who contributed to the success of the Regional Admitted Student Receptions (7 were held around California).

 

CALL TO ORDER: 2:06 PM

1. Approval of the Agenda for 19 March 2024

 

Vice Chair Harvey moved to relocate the Distance Education Authorization (DEA) items, points 12-15, to Consent Items section of the agenda.

 

Sen. Wilson seconded the motion.

 

Agenda was approved as amended at 2:07pm.

 

2. Approval of the Minutes for 5 March 2024

 

Minutes were approved as read at 2:07pm.

 

3. Announcements from the Floor

 

Sen. Pasion announced that Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) in the Department of Biology will host a seminar by SF State alumni Evon R. Hekkala, Professor of Biological Sciences at Fordham University and a research associate at the American Museum of Natural History. The seminar will take place Thursday, March 21, 2 to 3 PM In HSS 154. Dr. Hekkala’s seminar will be titled “Time Traveling with Ancient DNA from Caves, Cabinets, and Crocodiles. Sen. Pasion invited interested parties to reach out to her.

 

Sen. Way gave notice that SF State is guaranteeing housing for all incoming freshmen. West Campus Green is expected to open fall 2024, thus housing will be available without long waitlists.

 

Sen. Lynch gave notice that undergrad admissions will be sending out emails promoting Explore SF State. She called for support in promoting this event, help on April 20, 2024.

 

 

4. Reports
   1. Chair’s Report 

Chair Goldman reiterated the faculty book celebration event co-hosted by CEETL and the senate. As such, he will try to adjourn the day’s plenary meeting in time for the start of the event. He then gave notice that UBC will hold its meeting the coming Thursday and encouraged everyone’s attendance.

 

1. 2. President’s Report

President Mahoney corrected a recent SF Chronicle claiming that the university is failing to meet Title IX obligations. She explained that the university is in compliance and has one of the largest implementation committees in the CSU system. President Mahoney then encouraged attendees to work with union reps, student associations, and state legislators to vocalize displeasure with the deferral of the Governor’s Compact. She then vocalized support for Jamillah Moore, VP of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, for her work on behalf of students, and overall recruitment and retention.  President Mahoney then described two recent initiatives designed to make education at SF State more affordable for students. These include an affordable housing program connected to West Campus Green (where 750 of our lowest income students will pay 25% less for housing) and the San Francisco Foundation’s Black Excellence Scholarship for SF State (who will award $2,500 scholarships to 35 SF State students each year).

 

 

1. 3. Provost’s Report

Chair Goldman gave notice that the provost will not attend the day’s plenary.

 

 

1. 4. Standing Committee Reports
      1. Academic Policies Committee

Sen. Chou gave notice that APC has one item to bring to the floor, a revision to S21-296 Curriculum and Course Standards Policy (in first reading).

 

1. 1. 2. Campus Curriculum Committee

Sen. Hellman spoke in place of Sen. D’Alois and offered that CCC has many items in first reading to bring to the floor.

 

1. 1. 3. Faculty Affairs Committee

Sen. Holschuh gave notice that FAC has one item of continuing business to bring to the floor, a revision to S20-145 Department Chairs and Equivalent Unit Directors Policy (in second reading).

 

1. 1. 4. Strategic Issues Committee

Sen. Trousdale gave notice that SIC has no new business to bring to the floor.

 

1. 1. 5. Student Affairs Committee

Sen. Christensen spoke in place Sen. Olsher and gave notice that SAC has no new business to bring to the floor. She then offered a few updates noting that SAC is working on a resolution affirming support for multilingualism and multilingual students, as well as a draft policy for student educational leave.

INFORMATIONAL ITEMS

An informational item is a statement announcing the completion of a process, carried out in accordance with Senate policy, and requiring formal notification of the Senate at its conclusion.

Attachment 1: Written report from Faculty Trustee Darlene Yee-Melichar. Oral report is scheduled for 9 April 2024.

Attachment 2: Information for Senate Elections.

 

Chair Goldman summarized the attachments and gave notice that Trustee Yee-Melichar will deliver her report on April 9, 2024. Chair Goldman then encouraged people to run for senate positions and to become active I committees.

 

CONSENT ITEMS

A consent item is one deemed by the Chair to be non-controversial, requiring no debate. Any Senator may call the item to the floor, in which case it is considered as new business in first reading. If no Senator calls it to the floor, it is considered approved. It may be read into the record, or we may move directly to the next agenda items.

         No Consent Items

 

Chair Goldman gave notice that we will move agenda items 12-15 to the consent calendar, indicating that doing so will allow the senate to move through the agenda mor quickly. Senators may call any of these items to the floor, and then it will move to new or old business for discussion. The items are:

 

12. BA Asian American Studies, Distance Education Authorization

13. BA Race and Resistance Studies, Distance Education Authorization

14. BA Latina/Latino Studies, Distance Education Authorization

15. BA American Indian Studies, Distance Education Authorization

 

No objections. Chair Goldman moved to item 5 in the agenda.

 

CONTINUING BUSINESS

Continuing (once called Old) Business involves items returning to the Senate, usually in Second Reading, but occasionally still in First Reading. Items in Second Reading belong to the Senate as a whole rather than to an individual or committee. Comments on Second Reading items should be confined to those for or against or proposing specific amendments. We ordinarily limit each speaker to three minutes. Senators may yield their time to non-Senators if needed. Amendments and the final document are passed or not passed by majority vote.

 

5. Recommendation from the Faculty Affairs Committee: Revision to S20-145 Department Chairs and Equivalent Unit Directors Policy, in second reading.

 

Sen. Holschuh brought the item to the floor. She summarized the revisions, noting that they concern lines 20-22. These revisions give increasing latitude to individual departments to make decisions based on the needs of the department. She then noted that FAC consulted with CFA San Francisco Executive Board President Brad Erickson to confirm that no conflicts exist with the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

 

Sen. Wilson spoke in support of the revisions.

 

Sen. Hellman spoke in support of the revisions, underscoring the equity this provides lecturers.

 

Brad: spoke in support of the revisions, and emphasized the positive impact this will have for lecturer faculty.

 

The item was put to a vote.

 

Yes: 34

No: 1

Abstain: 7

 

The revision was passed. Chair Goldman offered thanks and congratulations to all for their hard work.

 

 

Recommendations from the Campus Curriculum Committee, in second reading (Time approximate 2:30 PM):

6. Minor in Empowerment for Self Defense, revision

 

Sen. Hellman: was joined by Stephanie Cyr and noted that a lot of work wet into this item. Both emphasized their support and then opened the floor for comments.

 

The item was put to a vote.

 

Yes: 31

No: 1

Abstain: 7

 

The revision was passed. Chair Goldman offered thanks and congratulations to all for their hard work.

 

 

 

7. Minor in Health Education, name change from Health Ed to Public Health

 

Sen. Hellman noted that this is simply a name change, explaining that the proposed name is more accurately reflective of the program.

 

The item was put to a vote.

 

Yes: 37

No: 0

Abstain: 3

 

The revision was passed. Chair Goldman offered thanks and congratulations to all for their hard work.

 

 

8. BS Interior Design & Architecture, library info added

 

Sen. Hellman brought the item to the floor. He explained that any questions he had about this item have been resolved (regarding library access).

 

Sen. Kavuri-Bauer sought clarification about the name of the degree (i.e. that it does not suggest that it prepares students to become architects).

 

Dean DeWitt explained that this concern was brought to Family, Interiors, Nutrition & Apparel Department Chair Gus Vouchilas. Dr. Vouchilas updated the proposal to clarify that point (i.e. that the degree does not prepare students to become architects, though it may act as a pathway for students seeking further education to that end).

 

Brief discussion was had about whether the title would create any disciplinary concerns among the departments of architecture and Interiors, Nutrition & Apparel Department. This is not known for certain. 

 

The item was put to a vote.

 

Yes: 20

No: 6

Abstain: 13

 

The revision was passed. Chair Goldman offered thanks and congratulations to all for their hard work.

 

9. Minor in Special Education, reduction in number of units, technically substantive

 

Sen. Hellman brought the item to the floor and indicated that the item was reviewed thoroughly. The floor was opened for comments and questions.

 

Sen. Grutzik spoke in support of the reduction. She explained that this this is a very popular minor that also supports other programs.

 

The item was put to a vote.

 

Yes: 35

No: 0

Abstain: 3

 

The revision was passed. Chair Goldman offered thanks and congratulations to all for their hard work.

 

 

10. Minor in Finance, correct a suspension that never actually took place, update courses

 

Sen. Hellman brought the item to the floor and opened for questions and comments.

 

Sen. Collins spoke in support of the item.

 

The item was put to a vote.

 

Yes: 35

No: 0

Abstain: 4

 

The correction was passed. Chair Goldman offered thanks and congratulations to all for their hard work.

 

 

11. Minor in Global Music and Dance World Music and Dance, name change to world dance & music Global Dance & Music, re-situate program, update courses

 

Note: the text above was corrected to accurately reflect how the minor is titled in CourseLeaf.

 

Sen. Hellman noted that this is a feel-good revision then opened the floor for questions and comments

 

Sen. Collins spoke in favor of the item and cited the incredible interdisciplinary collaboration around this.

 

The item was put to a vote.

 

Yes: 34

No: 0

Abstain: 6

 

The revision was passed. Chair Goldman offered thanks and congratulations to all for their hard work.

 

Chair Goldman moved to pause the meeting for a five-minute break.

 

Sen Lynch gave notice that the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Recruitment is in the process of updating it campus tour experience and is seeking feedback. She invited all to complete and circulate this form: https://sfsu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4VDzmiaXUcv9HZY

The current (outdated) tour is available at: https://www.youvisit.com/tour/sfsu.

 

Chair Goldman moved to resume the meeting and carry on to New Business (item 16).

 

 

 

12. BA Asian American Studies, Distance Education Authorization

Note that this has been moved to the Consent Schedule

13. BA Race and Resistance Studies, Distance Education Authorization

Note that this has been moved to the Consent Schedule

 

 

14. BA Latina/Latino Studies, Distance Education Authorization

Note that this has been moved to the Consent Schedule

 

15. BA American Indian Studies, Distance Education Authorization

Note that this has been moved to the Consent Schedule

 

 

NEW BUSINESS

New Business items are brought by a committee or individual to the Senate in First Reading, during which open discussion and debate may occur. We ordinarily limit each speaker to three minutes. Senators may yield their time to non-Senators if needed. The item is then returned to the Committee for further revision, to be brought back as Continuing Business in Second Reading.

16. Recommendation from the Academic Policies Committee: Revision to S21-296 Curriculum and Course Standards Policy, in first reading.

 

Sen. Chou explained the revisions and directed everyone’s attention to page of the document. She explained that some of the changes are, in part, due to a need to lighten the workload for people. It will also allow students to make more confident decisions about which courses to take.

 

Discussion was had about the use of the word program throughout the document, with an observation that its use may be inconsistent (particularly where program and department appear to be used interchangeably).

 

Chair Goldman noted that suggested revisions can be sent to the committee via email.

 

Recommendations from the Campus Curriculum Committee, in first reading:

17. Graduate Certificate in Inclusive Early Childhood Practices-reorganization

Sen. Hellman noted that this is a good recommendation and requested that this and subsequent items be moved to second reading (barring any need for revisions, of course).  

 

Vice Chair Harvey clarified that the request to move items to second reading (from first) constitutes a motion and therefore discussion must be had before voting on such a motion.

 

Sen. Grutzik spoke in support of the recommendation for the Graduate Certificate in Inclusive Early Childhood Practices. She explained that this includes courses from three different departments in her college.

 

Sen. Collins offered thanks to the committee for their hard work and spoke in favor. He voiced appreciation for the certificate’s breadth and noted the inclusion of internationalism and allyship (both unique).

 

Sen. Collins moved to progress the recommendation to second reading. Sen. Hellman seconded the motion.

 

The motion to move the recommendation to second reading was put to a vote.

 

Yes: 32

No: 3

Abstain: 5

The motion was carried. The recommendation was moved to second reading.

 

The senate then voted on the adoption of the recommendation itself.

 

Yes: 33

No: 1

Abstain: 4

 

The recommendation was passed. Chair Goldman offered thanks and congratulations to all for their hard work.

 

 

18. Graduate Certificate in Decision Sciences-new

Sen. Hellman brought the item to the floor and explained that this, like others, moved through the committee quickly and with no difficulties. He then opened the floor for comments.

Chair Goldman recommended that this comes back to in second reading next plenary.

19. BA in Africana Studies-distance Education Authorization
20. Minor in Russian-name change and other requirement
21. Minor in Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Studies-name change
22. Minor in Human Sexuality Studies-name change
23. Minor in Feminist Health Justice-name change

Sen. Hellman proposed that items 19-23 be batched.

Chair Goldman sought clarification for the “other requirement” in The Minor in Russian.

Sen. Hellman was uncertain and noted that item 20 will need closer evaluation.

Chair Goldman asked for any objection to batching items 19, 21, 22, and 23. No objections were offered.

 

The motion to move items 19, 21, 22, and 23 to second reading was put to a vote.

 

Yes: 27

No: 1

Abstain: 7

The motion was carried. The items were moved to second reading.

 

The senate then voted on the adoption of the batched items.

 

Yes: 28

No: 1

Abstain: 6

 

The recommendations were passed. Chair Goldman offered thanks and congratulations to all for their hard work.

 

Chair Goldman suggested the senate now move to the day’s presentation. He further noted that items 20 and 24 will be held for the next plenary meeting.

 

24. BA Ethnic Studies- Move from CPaGE to State support and other issues

 

PRESENTATION(s)

 

25. Dr. Fred Smith (Equity & Community Inclusion- Bias Incident Education Team), Lori Makin-Byrd (Equity Programs & Compliance), Larry Birello (Office of Student Conduct), and Reginald Parson, Assistant Vice President & Chief of Police. “Introducing the Reporting Portals and Conflict Diffusion Workgroup.” Time definite 3:41 PM.

Dr. Smith, Title IX Coordinator Makin-Byrd, Manager Birello, and AVP Parson presented information about the various reporting portals staff and faculty may find helpful and to the work in their home departments. The facilitators introduced themselves, and the team took turns speaking about mandatory reporting responsibilities and why to report incidents of bias, when and why students should be referred to the Office of Student Conduct, what qualifies as disruptive behavior, options for reportage, how the Bias Incident Education Team (BIET) responds to reported incidents, BIET’s relationship to Title IX and DHR, SF State’s stated policy around bias, misconduct or other instances of problematic behavior, the categories of protected status (e.g. age, disability, gender, ethnicity, etc.), how to file a Title IX or DHR report, what information must be included in such reports, how the Division of Campus Safety (UPD) intervenes in these or other incidents on campus, example instances where UPD does not need to intervene, the instances where UPD should be contacted and how to do so, and what acts are protected by freedom of expression policies. Dr. Smith then offered to meet with any unit on campus to explore these topics in greater detail.

 

Discussion was then had about instances where Campus Safety facilitators have unnecessarily stopped BIPOC faculty, and what UPD is doing to address the issue. There was also discussion about how changes in the Chancellor’s Office may impact incident reporting and policy efforts on our campus.    

 

Chair Goldman invited all to attend the faculty book event in LIB 121 then moved to adjourn the meeting at 4:11pm.

 

 

 

 

Adjournment: Time definite 4:11 PM

The Center for Equity and Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CEETL) and Academic Senate will celebrate all faculty and staff colleagues at a book reading and coffee-tasting event on Tuesday 19 March 19, 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM in Library 121. Faculty who published a book in 2023-24 will be invited to read and discuss their books. All faculty are invited to bring a copy of their published books (they want to promote) to display at this event. Kaveri Coffee, a woman-owned third-generation coffee roaster and small business, will provide a coffee tasting at the event.

 

Attendance

 

Absent

 

 

Guests

 

 

POST-PLENARY FLOOR PERIOD

This is ordinarily an informal opportunity for senators and guests to meet, exchange information, or follow up on items or questions emerging from the meeting. It will ordinarily run for thirty minutes from the end of formal business, but not beyond 5:00 PM, if people remain online or in the room.