October 17, 2017

ACADEMIC SENATE MEETING

MINUTES

Tuesday, October 17^, 2017

SEVEN HILLS CONFERENCE CENTER

NOB HILL ROOM

2:00 – 5:00 p.m.

 

 

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.

 

ATTENDANCE:

Absences: Denetclaw, Wilfred (exc); Drennan, Marie (exc); Kakar, Venoo (exc); Stowers, Genie (exc); Sev’aetasi, Loretta (exc); Soorapanth, Sada (abs); Tanner, Kimberly (exc); Williams, Aimee (exc);

 

Visitors: Jay Orando, Jason Porth, Claude Bartholomew, Ann Sherman, Tony Little, Brian Beatty, Grace Yoo, Elena Stoian, Katynka Martinez, Serie McDougel

 

·         Representatives of the College of Ethnic Studies and the Cesar Chavez Institute addressed concerns about budget transparency and the importance for student success of supporting the disciplines of the College of Ethnic Studies. They requested that Senate create a task force to assess claims of inequity by the College of Ethnic Studies.

 

CALL TO ORDER: 2:10 p.m.

1.       Approval of the Agenda for October 17, 2017

·                  Sen. Castillo moved that we add an agenda item to discuss the concerns brought forward by the representatives from the College of Ethnic Studies during the Open Floor Period. Sen. Shapiro seconded the motion. Sen. Hines asked whether we should wait until we had the data that had been offered by the representatives who spoke. Sen. Collins noted the importance of looking at Ethnic Studies statewide across the CSU.  The motion passed and the item was added as item #12 to the agenda.

2.       Approval of the Minutes for October 3, 2017

·                  Minutes were approved as submitted.

3.       Announcements from the Floor

·                  Gilgamesh Jeter announced that the Alcademics Wine Club will be holding a tasting on Nov. 7, 5:30 – 7:30, in the Burk Hall Vista Room. He noted that you need to go to the UCorp website and register for the tasting.

·                  Dean of Graduate Studies Mi-Sook Kim announced a virtual grad school fair on Oct. 25.

·                  Chair Gerber announced that CFA is holding an event from 4:30 – 6:00, LIB 286.

·                  Sen. Chloe Campbell from AS announced an event on Oct. 23 from 8:30 – 12:30 called “Cal State Contact Congress,” where participants will engage in phone banking, letter writing, and contacting representatives to advocate for the Dream Act and support for the undocumented.

4.       Reports

4.1.    Chair

·                  Chair Gerber discussed the events of the North Bay fire and how they have impacted SF State and our processes for emergency preparedness. She also reminded faculty to be mindful of fire-related difficulties that students are facing and to be understanding to students who need additional accommodations.

·                  Chair Gerber announced that the Year of Conversation starts this week and that the Senate has a link on senate.sfsu.edu where information can be found about the events and where registration is possible. Registration is not necessary for participation, but is helpful for event coordinators.

·                  Chair Gerber also announced that the University Police Department is looking for 4 – 5 representatives from the Academic Senate or Faculty Affairs for interviewing a new Lieutenant.

4.2.    Standing Committees

4.2.1. Student Affairs Committee

·                  Sen. Shapiro described a presentation last week to SAC by Norma Salcedo from the Dream Center and SAC’s future plans to support Career Services.

4.2.2. Strategic Issues Committee

·                  Sen. Gen announced that SIC is bringing today to first reading a resolution on budget transparency and will be working in the next weeks on a policy about the Administrative Search Pool.

4.2.3. Academic Policies Committee

·                  Sen. Wilson noted that APC is bringing two policies to plenary today (revisions to the Calendar Policy and the First-Year Experience Policy), and will be meeting as EPC about discontinuation of the Arts Edcuation Minor and the Minor in Modern Greek Studies.

4.2.4. Curriculum Review and Approval Committee

·                  Sen. Pasion noted that CRAC reviewed the new Field Trip Policy and a new minor in Comic Studies.

4.2.5. Faculty Affairs Committee

·                  Sen. Roehrman announced that FAC has been working on RTP policies and will be bringing them to the next plenary.

4.3.    ASCSU

·                  Sens. Yee-Melichar, Collins, and Sinha delivered a report on the ASCSU standing committee meetings and plenary meeting. ASCSU approved four resolutions, which can be read on: Academic Senate of the California State University They expressed support of the DACA program, resistance to the timelines for EO 1100 and EO 1110, and support for California Community Colleges waiving fees for full-time, first-time college students. Senate also approved by acclamation a commendation for Professor Emeritus Leonard Mathy, the first Academic Senate CSU Chair. A resolution about standards for Quantitative Reasoning was discussed in first reading, and the ASCSU Senators are requesting feedback on the resolution from the SF State community. The Senators are also requesting feedback on a report of the Task Force for a Sustainable Financial Model for the CSU. A copy of this report can be found on the Senate ilearn site or on the Chancellor’s website.

 

5.       Luoluo Hong, Vice President of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management- Overview of Equity & Community Inclusion Division

·                  VP Luoluo Hong introduced the new team for the Division of Equity and Community Inclusion: Dr. Manuel Pérez, Interim Assistant Vice President for Equity & Community Inclusion, Aimée Barnes, Interim Director, Office of Diversity & Student Equity, Dr. Serie McDougal, Interim Director, Black Unity Center, and Norma Salcedo, Coordinator, Dream Resource Center. VP Hong related the creation of the new division to support for the Graduation Initiative 2025 goals in closing equity gaps. She also discussed the meanings of inclusion and how the new division will foster a culture of inclusion.  

·                  Sen. Yee-Melichar noted statewide concerns about the smaller amount of male students of color in the CSU and asked how the Division of Equity and Community Inclusion plans to address concerns like these. She also asked about how to reach out to graduate students, who are often on campus at times that offices are not open. VP Hong answered that the division plans to partner with Grad Division and to develop web-based support, which can be used at any time, and agreed that all students of all identities should be a part of discussions about inclusion.

·                  Sen. Sinha asked about how the division plans to advance diversity. VP Hong answered that demographic diversity is not the same thing as fostering inclusivity or social justice, but that fostering inclusivity is an important recruitment tool for achieving diversity.

·                  Sen. Bloom brought up language as an important category of identity, spoke about controversies with the term Latinx, and addressed the need to include indigenous populations in the language and representations in this discussion.

·                  Sen. Reyes noted that the division is a part of Student Affairs and asked about the effects of the organizational chart.

6.       Jason Porth, Vice President, University Enterprises & Jill Anthes, Executive Director, Physical Planning and Development – Physical Master Plan

·                  VP Jason Porth presented the Future State Vision Plan for the state of the campus in 2035, including plans to grow enrollment by 20%, to transition from a commuter to a residential campus, to build the community, to increase housing for faculty and staff, to improve existing and add new academic space, to expand sustainable energy, and to realize partnerships with government, business, and community partnerships. Starting next year, the new master plan will be brought to the trustees for approval, so VP Porth solicited feedback from the Senate.

·                  Sen. Sinha asked about increases in foreign students and asked whether it was possible to create an International Center, perhaps with funding from other nations. He also asked whether we have and should use eminent domain powers. VP Porth answered that we have never used eminent domain to take over parcels.

·                  Sen. Foley expressed student concerns that commuter students will be pushed out or disadvantaged through the transition to a residential campus. She also expressed concerns about retaining the feel of SF State as a city campus. VP Porth answered that much of this effort is being driven by long waiting lists for on-campus housing, suggesting that there is considerable demand for residential status, but acknowledged the need to find a balance.

·                  Sen. de Barros asked whether a conference hotel was still in the plan. VP Porth answered that a 400-bed conference center and hotel is in the plan.

·                  Sen. Collins asked about the trees and green spaces in the plan and mentioned two previous plans for campus development. VP Porth answered that the new plan was a hybrid of the two previous plans.

·                  Sen. Lopez asked about the displacement of students from University Park North and other college properties. VP Porth answered that a temporary loss of beds during construction will be rectified when the new units are opened. Sen. Lopez argued that students are not being allowed now to renew their contracts and asked with whom students could talk in order to address their concerns. She also brought up the increase in rent that is happening next year. VP Porth offered to talk about specific concerns, but noted that this plan is not displacing students because it has not been approved yet.

·                  Sen. Steier described conditions in student housing and concerns about graduating students or retiring faculty members. He also expressed concerns about the actual affordability of the new units and concerns about commercializing the campus.

·                  Sen. Yee-Melichar asked about the process by which faculty will be involved in planning academic spaces.

7.       Jennifer Summit, Interim Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs – Update on Tenure Density and Tenure Track Hiring and Retention

·                  Provost Summit gave a presentation about faculty hiring, tenure density, and equity. Tenure density is currently 45%, meaning that 45% of faculty is tenured/tenure-track, which is a very low number but the highest tenure density of the large CSU campuses. She talked about the need to correlate faculty hiring, curricular concerns, and enrollment issues. She also discussed the need for more specific criteria and mentoring for associate professors and their progress toward full professor rank.

·                  Sen. Yee-Melichar asked about the goal to reach 75% density and asked about statewide recommendations to convert lecturer positions to tenure-track positions. Provost Summit argued that converting positions sounds like there is not a difference between lecturers and tenure-track faculty.

·                  Sen. Foley brought up the issue of retention of students who do not see faculty with whom they identify and asked about efforts to hire more diversity, especially to hire men of color. Provost Summit agreed and emphasized the need to diversify our professoriate.

·                  Sen. Sinha asked about the origin of our lack of density. Provost Summit responded by offering a few hypotheses. The data needs to be analyzed, but augments did not help because it put the GE curriculum onto lecturers which hurt retention and recruitment in general.

·                  Sen. Hines described a past committee that looked at hiring practices and suggested that FAC could be more involved in promoting hiring practices that support increasing faculty diversity.

8.       Recommendation from the Academic Policies Committee: Proposed Revision to the Academic Calendar Policy (first reading) - #F17-242

·                  Sen. Wilson moved the item and spoke in favor of the revisions to the policy.

·                  Sen. Gen asked whether the committee considered designating the training days for specific purposes – one for university and college meetings, one for department meetings.

·                  Sen. Yee-Melichar asked whether the Thursday would be the opening faculty meeting and college meetings, and then Friday would be department or school meetings.

·                  Chair Gerber asked whether the third Monday in August was considered, which would be closer to what the table originally said.

·                  Sen. Wilson answered that the goal was to see how late we could start, but that the committee could look at earlier starts.

·                  Sen. Harris discussed possibilities for a return to Advising Day.

·                  Chair Gerber noted that the practice used to be that Advising Day happened before registration, approximately two-thirds of the way through the semester.

·                  Sen. Wilson answered that the committee did not talk about Advising Day, but that they did consider the possibility of a Review Day.

·                  The policy was sent back to APC for further discussion.

9.       Recommendation from the Academic Policies Committee: Proposed First Year Experience (FYE) committee formation policy

·                  Sen. Wilson moved the item and spoke in favor of the policy.

·                  The policy was sent back to APC for further discussion.

10.   Recommendation from the Executive Committee: Resolution in Opposition to the Timeline for Implementation of Executive Order 1100 (revised) (first reading) - #RF17-362

·                  Chair Gerber moved the item and spoke in favor of the resolution.

·                  Sen. Yee-Melichar spoke in favor of the resolution, giving context from the statewide ASCSU and other campuses.

·                  Sen. Foley asked whether it would be possible to bring this letter to ASI in order to include student support.

·                  Sen. Gen proposed to move the resolution to second reading. Sen. Collins seconded the motion. Sen. Yee-Melichar spoke in favor of moving to second reading with student co-signatures to the letter. Chair Gerber also spoke in favor of moving to second reading. The motion was moved to second reading.

·                  Chair Gerber proposed an amendment, to encourage the provost to draft the letter rather than the provost and president, in accordance with instructions from the Vice-Chancellor’s office. Sen. Collins seconded the amendment.

·                  Sen. Way asked whether our letter from the Provost could be clear that we are requesting extensions specifically for Area E and A4.

·                  Sen. Collins called the question. Sen. Foley seconded the motion.

·                  The motion was approved without dissent.

11.   Recommendation from the Strategic Initiatives Committee: Resolution on Implementing Budget Transparency (first reading) - #RF17-363

·                  Sen. Gen moved the item and spoke in favor of the resolution.

·                  Sen. Collins spoke in favor of the resolution and thanked the committee for their work.

12.   Discussion of the College of Ethnic Studies (CoES) Budget Assessment Request to the Leadership of Campus Shared Governance from September 15, 2017

·                  Sen. Castillo moved to table the discussion until the next plenary and to place it at the top of the agenda for next time. Sen. Mooney seconded the motion. The motion was approved.

13.   Adjournment

·                  Meeting was adjourned at 4:56 P.M.