March 5, 2019

ACADEMIC SENATE MEETING

MINUTES

Tuesday, March 5, 2019

SEVEN HILLS CONFERENCE CENTER

NOB HILL ROOM

2:00 – 5:00 p.m.

Attendance:

 

Absences:

 

Guests:

 

OPEN FLOOR PERIOD:  2:00 - 2:10 p.m.

The Open Floor Period provides an informal opportunity for campus community members to raise questions or make comments directed to Senate officers or to university administrators.  Please arrive promptly at 2:00 p.m.

CALL TO ORDER: 2:10 p.m.

1. Approval of the Agenda for, March 5, 2019

• Approved with one change (item 4.3 was struck from the agenda) 2:12pm

1. Approval of the Minutes for February 19, 2019

• Approved as submitted @ 2:12pm

1. Announcements from the Floor

• Sen. Yee-Melichar: Chancellor’s office seeking nominations for 2019 CSU Faculty Innovation and Leadership award. Tenure, tenure-track, and lectures are eligible. Deadline is May 3.
• Associated Students hosting a campus forum on SFSU President search, Wed., March 13^th, 12-2pm in the Caesar Chevez lobby. All are students, faculty, staff are invited.
  • 150 online surveys have been completed.
• Sen. Collins: Happy Mardi Gras!
• Sen. Hines: Estuary and Ocean Science Center Discovery day will be on April 28^th.

1. Reports
   1. Chair

• History of GE in the CSU and on the SF State campus

1. Standing Committees
   1. Faculty Affairs Committee

• Two items on the agenda today

1. Student Affairs Committee

• Three items on the agenda today

1. Strategic Issues Committee

• Two presentations at last meeting:
  • Sheldon Gen – ways to assist staff and faculty in first time home buying
  • Overview from A&F discussing their recent employee engagement survey
  • Upcoming will be a discussion about staff representation in campus governance
  • Still awaiting a report about international students/faculty on campus, possible resolution to follow.

1. Academic Policies Committee

• Have been discussing Academic Calendar, and it will return to plenary with changes
• Also discussing continuous enrollment, which must be renewed if we intend to continue it.

1. Curriculum Review and Approval Committee

• Five items on today’s agenda
• Six new proposals will be discussed in committee in the next few weeks.

1. Provost

• NO REPORT – Due to Provost not being on campus

OLD BUSINESS

1. Recommendation from the Curriculum Review and Approval Committee – Proposed Graduate Certificate in Software Engineering; second reading

• Passed unanimously @ 2:39pm

1. Recommendation from the Academic Policies Committee - Proposed Revision of #S11-187, Reasonable Accommodation for Employees with Disabilities; second reading

• Passed unanimously @ 2:41pm

1. Recommendation from the Faculty Affairs Committee -- Proposed Revision of #F16-241, Retention, Tenure, and Promotion; first reading

• Returned to committee @ 2:43pm

NEW BUSINESS

1. Recommendation from the Curriculum Review and Approval Committee – Proposed Master of Science degree in Statistical Data Science, first reading

• A concern was brought up about the proposal’s mention of encouraging women in the field but people of color are not mentioned.
• Returned to committee @ 2:50pm

1. Recommendation from the Curriculum Review and Approval Committee – Proposed Certificate in Computational Linguistics, first reading

• A concern was brought up about how culture is integrated into the certificate
  • The director of linguistics program explained that culture is integrated in nearly every course within the certificate.
• Returned to committee @ 2:55pm

1. Recommendation from the Curriculum Review and Approval Committee – Proposed Minor in Queer Ethnic Studies, first reading

• Sen. Collins: Was there a discussion about socio-economics of queer identities in the committee?
  • Associate Dean Esquivel answered by explaining that the content is discussed within the courses.
• Sen. Dariotes: Was there a discussion about how marriage equality laws have informed this curriculum.
  • Associate Dean Esquivel answered by explaining that legal precedent, but more importantly the experiences from other activist communities, inform these courses and this curriculum.

1. Recommendation from the Curriculum Review and Approval Committee – Proposed Minor in Critical Pacific Islands & Oceania Studies (CPIOS), first reading

• Sen. Collins: Is “Pacific Islander” clearly defined? And how is the sovereignty of Pacifica Islanders affected and addressed?
  • It was confirmed that there are clear definitions

1. Recommendation from the Executive Committee – Proposed Resolution on the ASCSU General Education Task Force Report, first reading

• Sen. Yee-Melichar shared her experience as a Task Force member and gave the senate body a detailed explanation of the process from her perspective and the upcoming process, as she understands it including the response processes.
• Sen. Wilczak: Expressed concern about the timing especially in light of our SSGI. The consultation is coming too late. It should come at the beginning. Several resolved clauses were suggested.
• Prof. Tiwald (guest): this GE report, if followed, would lay waste to many of the smaller programs, which depend on GE courses to run their programs. Also, the removal of the double-count will wreck havoc on our students. Even accepting the report would be suggesting that the faculty had something significant to do with the report.
• Prof. Getz (guest): the ASCSU should vote to not receive it. Once it goes into the record it becomes “faculty opinion” and can be read back to us by the CO saying “this is what you wanted.” There seemed to be purposeful action to keep faculty out of the Task Force process. Consultation would be before and during, not after. The report is one of the least inclusive items to come out of the CSU CO in years.
• Chair Gerber: There are several concerns, but there are also many ideas in the report that are good. In particular the interdisciplinary nature. Suggestions about double counting and pathways are both problematic. There will always be a collision of timelines when something like this come up.
• Sen. Stowers: It’s not just individuals or LCA that is concerned. The reduced number of units in American Institutions is of great concern, particularly in this political atmosphere. Also agree that the removal of double counting is not a workable solution for our students.
• Sen. Albiniak: This is a chance to consider what kind of students we want to produce. Send feedback to ExComm so it can be integrated. We don’t necessarily need consensus, but we need to determine what items carry the most weight.
• Sen. Collins: Encouraging everyone to send feedback to him as well. With respect to tenants of shared governance: there should be deep consultation whether contentious or not. Consider this: To what extent could this document undermine our students?
• Sen. Wilczak: Acknowledge those who have worked on this and
• Prof. Goen-Salter (guest): underscore the point that the many of us were a part of the earlier E.O.s (1100) and have found that some documents have been used against the faculty in the past. Urge the senate to urge the ASCSU to not receive the document. The good things in the document are not enough to accept the report, they should be used to develop a new document.

1. Recommendation from the Executive Committee – Proposed Resolution in Honor of the ’68 Student Strike at SF State, first reading

• Sen. Dariotes: 3^rd World Liberation Front consisted of more entities that are not currently included. Our College of Ethnic Studies should be called out as a separate whereas clause. Will send a list.
• Returned to ExComm @ 3:49pm

1. Recommendation from the Executive Committee – Proposed Revision of #S09-212, Observance of Religious Holidays, first reading

• Sen. Dariotes: some feedback from College of Ethnic Studies pointed to the fact that there might be a need for a committee or other entity that could identify an inclusive list of holidays.
• Sen. Collins: the new language lends itself well to students who want to declare their own level of importance of holidays or other observances. This is especially important for American Indian students who might have spontaneous occasions to celebrate.

1. Recommendation from the Executive Committee – Proposed Revision of #F13-267, Academic Freedom Principles, first reading

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1. Recommendation from the Student Affairs Committee – Proposed Resolution in Support of a Student Ombuds, first reading

• Sen. Wilhem: There is some concern that going to Administration to report about faculty or administrator is not a reasonable action for students to have to take. There should be a person that students can talk to that is independent of the typical administration/faculty.
• Sen. Wilczak: support in general. Having the faculty ombudsperson wear two hats has been problematic, so we should have an independent office.
  • Sen. Hines: agreed. That is why the suggestion is for an independent office under the office of the president.

1. Metro College Success Program update – Mary Beth Love, Executive Director

• Excellent presentation about the Metro Program

1. Recommendation from the Student Affairs Committee – Proposed Policy on a Student Grievance Code, first reading

• tabled

1. Recommendation from the Student Affairs Committee – Proposed Policy on Student Grievances Procedures, first reading

• tabled

1. Recommendation from the Faculty Affairs Committee -- Proposed Revision of #S03-158, Hiring Policy for Tenure Track Faculty; first reading

• tabled

DISCUSSION ITEMS/PRESENTATIONS

1. Metro College Success Program update – Mary Beth Love, Executive Director

• tabled

1. Adjournment – @ 4:32pm