Opening Business
Attendance: S. Anglin, N. Baker, P. Blackmon, K. Huckabee, K. Mussett, D. Page, E. Seymour, W. White, M. Agee, J. Barr, M. Comanescu, W. Engelbret, K. Farnan, L. Garvin, H. Huang, D. Kerch, C. Bowman, S. Corle, A. Cramer, L. Haefner, L. Jacobson, L. Lilienthal, A. Marvasti, D. Peterman, S. Shear, I. Basak, P. Basak, V. Brunsden, P. Das, L. Emili, J. Gil, J. Kaminiski, T. Krainer, X. Li, C. Oliver, J. Rosson, M. Weiner, E. Happeny, J. Carnicella, J. Lockard, L. Lysiak, AR. Eckenrode, R. Moran, J. O’Harrow, R. Trumpbour, G. Burton (SGA senator), C. Martin (SGA senator), A. Thedison (SGA senator), B. Black, E. Levri, P. Moran, C. Mahan
Absent Excused: W. Dorabiala, H. Hayford, P. Hopsicker, K. Munly, N. Pyeatt, N. Rowland, J. Ryoo, L. Bechtel-Wherry, D. Zimmerman
Absent Unexcused: S. Findley, K. Latterell, ML. Nemanic, P. Wesley, S. Dillen, A. Plucinski, S. Shen, S. Corle, K. Pearson, K. Adu, Y. Zhu, D. Brinkel, W. Prudencio, R. Singer
Visitors: G. Baird
Thomas called the meeting to order; Minutes approved
Announcements from the Chair
- Faculty volunteers for Early Alert Committee needed (see Appendix Document Two; contact Sean Kelly).
- Recently revised promotion & tenure review guidelines approved by ADAA and Chancellor.
- Slight change in the process to elect FT Promotion Review Committees warranted to meet annual University reporting deadline for Promotion Committees in early October (see Faculty Affairs below).
- Senate Executive Committee approved Special Senate Committee to develop P&T Best Practices. See informational report by the Chair in the appendix for further information (Appendix Document Three).
- Statement of Pride from the Chair (see Appendix Document One)
Reports of the Standing Committees
Curricular Affairs (Beth Seymour)
- B.S. Accounting
Approved by the committee, sent to Senate for a vote. Concerns over faculty short-staffing esp. tenure line. Degree was approved by the Senate as proposed.
Faculty Affairs (Mihai Comanescu)
- Change to recently approved Fixed-Term Promotion Review Committee Guidelines (Juan Gil; see marked-up Appendix Document Four).
Juan offered a motion to change the time line for election to Fixed-Term Promotion Review Committee as proposed in the marked-up appended document. Approved by the Senate.
Working on several issues: laptops to part time faculty, Qualtrics system; extending travel funds at end of fiscal year if faculty professional travel occurs over fiscal year deadline.
Academic Affairs (Mike Weiner)
- Appendix Document Five.
- Faculty input for Provost visit.
Subcommittees looking at priorities gathering information for the Provost. Lisa E. thanked those who had submitted questions. Ann Cramer indicated that they were supplementing initiatives through Kaleidoscope.
Campus Climate and Diversity (Lisa Emili)
See Appendix Document Five.
Reports of the University Faculty Senators (Beth Seymour)
See Appendix Document Five.
Endorsing recommendations for smoke free campuses, 1 year implementation trial, Altoona already ahead, smoking cessation help, strategies to mitigate stepping off campus to smoke.
It was reported that guidelines for multi-year contracts for fixed term faculty are being worked on as well as a report on tenure line faculty, et al
Naomi B. responded to the University Faculty Senate report indicated a problem with the smoke-free environment for the Theater program. Beth indicated that new policy may allow for exceptions to this policy related to academic reasons.
Call for New Business
Remarks from the Chancellor
- Reports from the Chancellor and from Academic Affairs are attached, see Appendix Document Six.
Comments for the Good of the College
Grant Burton, a SGA student representative, provided a report. SGA would like to collect data in classes. He talked about the need to extend common hour in order to foster more student engagement in clubs/activities. SGA is also interested in having an opportunity for students to complete evaluations or reviews of academic advisors. He requested feedback from the Faculty Senate regarding these issues.
Bill E. offered input regarding the common hour extension. He indicated that the subcommittee would like to obtain input from students more generally and not just student leaders since student leaders may have a greater interest in more common hour time than students generally.
Mike W. asked about whether the removal of the Senate Chair from the Academic Leadership Council had been resolved as a point of contention for the Faculty Senate. Thomas provided context to this question and offered a report in response that is appended as Document Seven.
Mike offered a passionate response suggesting that the Faculty Senate Chair should have a spot on the ALC because this is our representation. He argued that concerns about confidentiality are not a reason to remove any faculty member from the ALC since faculty are responsible professionals who understand how to operate within the confines of confidentiality.
Bill W. moved that the Senate should issue a Censure to the Interim Associate Dean for removing the Senate Chair from the ALC; the motion was seconded by Victor B. Some discussion of meaning and implications of censure ensued. Thomas stated the motion and called for a vote: Vote to censure the Interim Associate Dean was unanimously approved.
Adjournment (1:10 pm)
Appendix
- Point of Pride and Identity (Thomas Krainer)
- Early Alert Committee (Sean Kelly).
- Informational Report about P&T Initiative and Special Senate Committee (Thomas Krainer)
- Marked-up changes to Fixed-Term Promotion Review Committee Guidelines (Juan Gil)
- Committee reports from Academic Affairs and Campus Climate & Diversity and University Senators
- Reports from the ADAA and the Chancellor
- Senate Chair remarks on faculty representation on Academic Leadership Council
DOCUMENT ONE
Chair’s Remarks: A point of pride and identity
Penn State Altoona’s Research & Creative Accomplishments
At her annual State of the College address, the Chancellor asked what the faculty and staff in attendance are proud of.
I personally take pride in the contributions and accomplishments of Penn State Altoona faculty to their scholarly and professional communities. By these works, our faculty insure that Penn State Altoona is put on the map at numerous academic institutions and professional societies all over the country, and all over the world.
This creates opportunities! We have faculty who can pick up the phone and call distinguished professors at premier Universities to tell them about this particularly gifted student at Penn State Altoona who they believe should be given the chance to participate in that prestigious summer program, or be given the opportunity to be admitted to the graduate program. Our recommendations carry weight due to the respect that we have earned through our scholarly work. Our degree programs and their graduates are respected by our professional peers not because it says “Penn State” on the diploma, but because our peers know first-hand the faculty who stand behind that degree.
Penn State Altoona faculty serve their scholarly communities through their research and professional service, and bring the very best of these communities back to our College to inspire our students to take pride in their own educational and academic pursuits, and to have the opportunity to become a part of something much larger than our College alone.
This is a vital component of Penn State Altoona’s identity for me that I am tremendously proud of.
DOCUMENT TWO
Early Alert Committee (Sean Kelly)
The Early Alert Committee is seeking representatives from faculty to participate.
The main purpose of the program is to be proactive in assisting students by identifying students of concern and intervening early with students who appear to be having academic or health/safety issues.
What are the goals of the program?
Early identification of students who are at risk in one of the following areas:
- Academic progress that is unresolved with faculty intervention; students not responding to faculty attempts related to class attendance, course performance, etc.
- Personal health or wellness; students who continue to exhibit symptoms of impaired health, even after appropriate referral to a health provider
- Students exhibiting behaviors or expressing comments which have the potential to impact the safety of self or others
- Students exhibiting behavioral patterns that have the potential for disruption to others and impaired performance; or extreme changes in behavioral patterns ( i.e. hyperactivity or very rapid speech, depressed or lethargic mood, deterioration in hygiene, etc.)
The Early Alert Committee meets bi-weekly, or weekly when a large number of submissions exist, to review the information submitted and determine appropriate disposition. Meetings generally last for an hour.
All information is kept confidential by all members. Information regarding students may be shared on a strictly “need to know” basis in order to refer the student to the correct campus resource or intervene as appropriate. FERPA allows for communication to be shared among “school officials” who have a legitimate educational interest. Under FERPA, there is clear exception for any risks to health or safety.
DOCUMENT THREE
Report on an Initiative addressing Tenure & Promotion at the College Level for Tenure-Line Faculty
Informational Report by the Senate Chair to the Senate
October 2017
In response to an initiative by Dr. Carolyn Mahan, Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies, the 25 full and distinguished professors of the Altoona College who do not presently hold administrative positions that entail responsibility for academic personnel were invited to meet on August 24, 2017, to discuss the existing guidelines and policies pertaining to tenure and promotion of tenure-track and tenured faculty at the College level.
In preparation of the meeting, Dr. Mahan shared with the group the Faculty Tenure Rates Annual Report issued by the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and the Department of Planning and Institutional Research (dated January 2017), as well as relevant excerpts of the current tenure and promotion policies and guidelines of Penn State Altoona, Penn State Behrend, Penn State Harrisburg, the University College, Penn State College of Agriculture, Penn State Eberly College of Science, and the College of Arts and Architecture. These excerpts demonstrate that there are varying policies, criteria, and guidelines for promotion and tenure among academic units at Penn State.
After a review of the various policies, it was determined that an Affirmation Statement (see Appendix A) of the existing tenure & promotion policies and guidelines at Penn State Altoona be laid before the group for endorsement in a secret online ballot. This Affirmation Statement was subsequently endorsed by the group with a vote count of 19 in favor and 2 opposed.
In parallel to affirming the existing policies and guidelines, the group of professors voted in favor of a specific proposal to form a special Senate Committee tasked with developing Best Practices that are intended to accompany the policies and guidelines pertaining to tenure and promotion at Penn State Altoona in the future. The Executive Committee of the Altoona College Faculty Senate subsequently approved this special Senate Committee as described in Appendix B in their meeting on October 10, 2017.
Appendix A: Affirmation Statement
We, the full professors of Penn State Altoona, affirm the policies, criteria, and guidelines presently in place at Penn State Altoona that govern tenure and promotion for tenure-track and tenured faculty at the College level. They are appropriate and in line with the mission of the Altoona College and the University as a whole, and we find it desirable to maintain them in their current form. This includes all expectations and criteria pertaining to the Scholarship of Research and Creative Accomplishments, the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, and the Scholarship of Service to the University, Society, and the Profession.
Appendix B: Special Senate Committee on P&T Best Practices
Charge
Develop a Best Practices Document with guidelines and recommendations that centers around issues pertaining to tenure & promotion at the College level for tenure-track and tenured faculty. This document should accompany the existing guidelines and policies of the Altoona College pertaining to tenure & promotion and will not be a policy document itself. It will neither replace nor modify existing policies in any way.
Issues to be addressed in the Best Practices Document may include recommendations on the hiring process of tenure-track (or tenured) faculty; resources and support available at the College for tenure-track faculty and tenured faculty seeking promotion in the future; training and expectations for members of Tenure & Promotion Committees; training and mentorship for tenure-track faculty; the procedures pertaining to the tenure and promotion review process as far as they are controlled by the College (solicitation of external review or collaborator letters, etc.); as well as other issues considered relevant by the Special Committee as these pertain to best practices to accompany the existing tenure & promotion policies and guidelines of the College.
In conducting its work, the Special Committee will seek input from the faculty and from administrators of the Altoona College in the form of open forums, meetings (including possibly individual meetings), as well as provide opportunities for anonymous input, as appropriate. The Special Committee will also research best practices at peer institutions both within and outside of Penn State to inform its work.
The Special Committee will issue a report to the Altoona College Faculty Senate after completion of its work, which should ideally occur during the Spring 2018 semester.
Composition of the Special Committee
- The Chair of the Senate, the Chair Elect, and the Secretary will serve as both the Nominating and Tellers Committee to determine membership for the Special Committee.
- The Nominating Committee will issue an open call for nominations in each of the four divisions to identify eligible faculty members who are willing to serve.
Eligible to serve as divisional representatives are tenured faculty who do not hold administrative positions that entail responsibility for academic personnel (Division Heads or Academic Deans are not eligible). - The tenure-track and tenured faculty from each division will vote for one eligible faculty member (as defined under 2.) to serve on the Special Committee from their respective divisions. The ballots will be handled by the Tellers Committee for each of the four separate divisional elections, and the method of voting will be approval voting.
- After voting for divisional representatives is completed, the Nominating Committee will issue an open call for nominations of full/distinguished professors of the College who do not have responsibility for academic personnel in order to identify candidates for an at-large election.
- The tenure-track and tenured faculty of the College will elect three full/distinguished professors in one at-large election who will join the four divisional representatives on the Special Committee. Balloting will be handled by the Tellers Committee, and the method of voting will be approval voting.
DOCUMENT FOUR
Fixed-Term Promotion Review Committee Guidelines
Review Committees
The purpose of a College level of review for promotion of full-time, fixed-term or standing non-tenure-line faculty is to apply criteria related to the College mission and standards, and to ensure that criteria are applied evenly across Divisions. Thus, the College review will bring broad faculty and administrative judgment to bear and will also monitor general standards of quality and equity of academic unit policies and procedures. It is at the academic unit level that specific expectations and standards are given and evaluated.
Composition
Each committee shall consist of five members elected from the Altoona College full-time, fixed-term or standing non-tenure-line faculty as follows:
- One member elected from the Division of Arts and Humanities;
- One member elected from the Division of Business, Engineering, and Information Sciences & Technology;
- One member elected from the Division of Education, Human Development and Social Sciences;
- One member elected from the Division of Mathematics and Natural Sciences; and,
- One member elected at-large.
Selection
Each division with an open seat will provide at least two candidates for a college-wide election in which the full-time, fixed term or standing non-tenure-line faculty will vote for one person from each division. The candidate in each division receiving the greatest number of votes will be the division representative. A separate election will be conducted for an open at-large seat, for which each division will provide at least one candidate, and the candidate receiving the most votes will be the at-large member. This election should be conducted only after results from any division seat elections have been made public. This will allow all potential candidates, including those remaining from division seat elections, to run for the at-large seat. Only full-time, fixed-term or standing non-tenure-line faculty members are eligible to vote.
The term of committee membership will be two years. Terms shall be staggered so that half of the committee is elected each year. In the first year, half of the terms will be for one year. After each term, members are eligible for re-election.
In the case of ties for division members, the division will be responsible for resolving the tie. Ties for the at-large member and replacements for elected members who become unable to serve will be decided by a vote of the full-time, fixed-term or standing non-tenure-line faculty. Should a tie remain after this vote, the Chancellor will select the at-large member or replacement from the remaining candidates.
The Chair of the Faculty Senate shall be responsible for ensuring that the election of these committees is completed by the end of the second week in April. November.
Each committee will select its own chair.
Eligibility
Any Altoona College full-time, fixed-term or standing non-tenure-line faculty member holding a second rank (Assistant Teaching Professor for faculty without terminal degree or Associate Teaching Professor for faculty with terminal degree) or higher is eligible to serve on the Altoona College Fixed-Term Promotion Review Committee.
Only faculty of higher rank than the candidate should make recommendations about promotions. However, should there be an insufficient number of higher-ranked fixed-term or standing non-tenure-line faculty to serve on the Fixed-Term Promotion Review Committee, exceptions to this provision may be requested from the Executive Vice President and Provost. The Altoona Senate Faculty Affairs Committee shall be responsible for making recommendations on how to deal with exceptions for a cycle of three years. Once approved by the Altoona Senate, recommendations will be forwarded to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.
Duties
The Altoona College Fixed-Term Promotion Review Committees shall be responsible for conducting the college-level review of all full-time, fixed-term or standing non-tenure-line faculty seeking promotion at the Altoona College.
Approved by the Altoona College Faculty Senate on September 19, 2017
Approved by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs on September 20, 2017
Approved by the Chancellor and Dean on September 22, 2017
DOCUMENT FIVE
Report from the Academic Affairs Committee (Mike Weiner)
- Our committee is currently liaised with the Campus Climate & Diversity committee to prepare questions for Provost Nick Jones’ visit in 2018.
2. The subcommittee on Admissions, Records, Scheduling, and Student Aid is currently looking into the SGA’s request for additional common hours.
3. The subcommittee on Teaching is looking into whether we want to have a website with boilerplate language for our syllabi to link to.
4. The subcommittee on Teaching is also looking into creating best practices when it comes to sustained teaching overloads (including online courses).
Report from the Campus Climate and Diversity Committee (Lisa Emili)
The Campus Climate and Diversity committee met on September 28th to discuss our three charges (in order of prioritization): 1) report on questions in advance of the Provost’s visit, 2) assistance to SGA reps and report on budget inequities and shortfalls among Penn State Altoona units, 3) report on tuition/education benefits among PSU peer institutions.
1) All committee members have been asked to submit questions by September 12th.
2) Sub-committee meetings (Budgets, College Planning, and University Development; Subcommittee on Student Life) are in the process of being scheduled.
3) Research tasks on peer institutions will be divided among all three subcommittees.
Report from the University Faculty Senate
Notes from the Senate Council Meeting held on October 3, 2017 (Nicholas Rowland)
Nick Jones (Executive Vice President and Provost): The administration is in the process of supporting “Seed Projects” that are in alignment with the University’s current Strategic Plan; they received +/-60 submissions and intend to fund +/-10 projects.
Kathy Beischke (Vice Provost of Faculty Affairs): There is variability among the units in terms of how they are implementing HR-21 (policy on fixed-term faculty, the trouble being that implementation in the first year of the policy going live implies that the policy must be violated modestly and those exceptions must be granted by the Vice Provost of Faculty Affairs). New titles for fixed-term faculty, which is also part of changes to HR-21, have been implemented quickly among most units although some units are taking 1-3 years to make the transition, which is consistent with the statement made by administration regarding implementation.
Rob Pangborn (Vice President and Dean for Undergraduate Education): Publishing full count of enrollment for the year will be available shortly. Admissions update for 2018 application year is opening soon.
DOCUMENT SIX
Report from Academic Affairs (Darin Zimmerman)
- The search the Assoc. Dean for Academic Affairs is underway with the search committee presently reviewing applications. We intend to interview candidates in the next several weeks in hopes of making an offer before the winter break.
- We are presently drafting a proposal to P-3 transfer PS-Behrend’s Mech. Eng. degree. The team has visited with Behrend program faculty is also consulting the programs at Berks, and Harrisburg.
- Three new online courses are under development: KINES 345 (Peter Hopsicker), RTE 301 (Gary Weisel), and ENVST 100 (Tim Dolney). The first of these, KINES 345, we hope to have ready for Summer 2018, with the other two to follow in FA2018; some of this will be dependent on the availability of a full-time instructional designer.
- The PaSSS committee met to discuss how to improve processes and our schedule for next summer’s bridge program (including LEAP). We intend to have a total of 50 PaSSS students, a 25% increase from last year. A new core, “summer program” committee has been formed and separate sub-committees will focus on PaSSS, LEAP, and other opportunities that arise.
- Program assessment is taking center stage once again this year. The Learning Outcomes Assessment committee will be working with program coordinators and faculty as well as staff from the Office of Planning and Assessment to continue systematic evaluation of our programs. One of the key aims is to have the assessment process drive decisions about resource allocation for enhancing programs, increasing retention, and meeting program/student needs. On Tuesday, October 31st Suzanne Weinstein, Interim Associate Vice Provost for Learning Outcomes Assessment, will be meeting with individual program coordinators and faculty to continue discussions begun last year.
- The College is drafting a re-enrollment process for students who earn academic suspension. The need for a new process results from the fact that students can no longer return from suspension and be placed into non-degree status; rather, they have to be admitted to a particular College. The goal is to provide these students, who must remain out for at least two consecutive semesters, with the proper advising from the time they go on suspension to when they attempt to return to Penn State, with the hope that they can finish their degree. In order to proper advise these students, there needs to be transparency from all the UP and campus Colleges about academic expectations for re-enrollment.
- Maggie Slattery, Asst. Dean for General Education, will be meeting with with us on Friday, Nov. 3 to discuss the general education course requirements. An email went out to faculty and staff to inform about the schedule for her visit.
Report from the Chancellor (October 18, 2017)
- State Budget: President Barron gave an update on the State budget situation at yesterday’s University’s Faculty Senate meeting. Through recent emails faculty, staff and students have been encouraged to contact their legislators to advocate for continued state funding for Penn State. If our state support would be withdrawn, Penn State would be the first state-related university in the country to not receive state support. There are many who are advocating for and support continued funding for Penn State and they understand implicitly the direct impact that this funding has on our students and our ability to keep tuition rates affordable for students in our Commonwealth.
- In response to students’ needs and our request, Amtran has added a 5:20 p.m. bus connecting the Downtown Campus to the Ivyside Campus beginning Monday, November 6. The #3 Flash will depart the downtown Transit Center at 5:20 p.m. and will stop on 15th Street at the Devorris Center at 5:21 before heading back to the Ivyside Campus. Please note the #14 Evening Flash will start at 6:00 p.m. rather than 5:00 p.m. beginning November 6.
- Beth Colledge, Director of Development and Alumni Relations, and I have been visiting several donors and working to reach our goal for the university’s campaign, A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence.
- Our Philanthropic Council met on October 3rd. We have several major gift proposals in the pipeline.
- The priorities for the Campaign include:
- Open Doors
- Create Transformative Experiences
- Impact the World
- We recently closed five gifts in support of student scholarships:
- Harold (Had) C. Richards Memorial Open Doors Scholarship
- Phillip B. Sky Entrepreneurship Memorial Scholarship
- William J. Rossman Entrepreneurship Memorial Scholarship
- Charles Marshal Endowed Scholarship for Rail Transportation Engineering
- Lockheed Martin to create scholarships for our EMET students
Recently we honored our latest Alumni Fellow Award recipient, Stephen Betza
(Lockheed Martin), at an award ceremony at University Park. Steve spent a day and a half on our campus presenting in various classes and meeting with students. We hosted a dinner for him and students prior to his departure.
There are several matching programs to incentivize donors:
– 2:1 Match program for a minimum $30,000 gift towards a scholarship
– First Time Donor Match (1:1 for a $50K gift)
– Early Career Professorships (25% match for a $400K gift)
– Leadership Gift Matching Program (1:1 for $1M gift)
– Economic Development Match Program (1:1 for $1M gift)
- The Adler Athletic Complex Ribbon Cutting and Dedication will be held on October 27. Tours begin at 3:00 p.m. A private reception for Reliance Bank, who named our Fitness Center, will be held prior to the dedication.
- The Penn Building dedication was held on October 14th from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
- Highlights from the October 16, 2017 Academic Leadership Council meeting:
- Office 365 Initiative – Michael Kubit, VP for IT and CIO of PSU: Reported that Penn State will be transitioning this year to a single email and calendaring system, based on Microsoft Office 365, for all faculty, staff and students. Benefits: 1.) Provide seamless access to email and calendar from any Internet connected device; 2.) Single email directory; 3.) Provide access to Office products (each user can download Office products to personal computers, tablets, and mobile devices); 4.) Improve collaboration and increase productivity; 5.) Improve user support experience by reducing number of supported solutions; 6.) Integration with other applications, including Canvas, provide opportunities for faculty and student collaboration. Rationale:) Reduces University’s security threat; 2.) Optimizes PSU investment in a commodity technology; 3.) Encourages “digital fluency” of our students; 4.) Offers a modern suite of collaboration tools to support research, teaching, learning and service. Security Risk: 1.) One out of every nine email users encountered email malware in first half of 2017; 2.) An email user is almost twice as likely to encounter malware through email than they are through the next most common infection method; 3.) Span rate for first half of 2017 reached 54%, and is expected to continue to climb; 4.) Without spam filters, a business employs two people to manage spam for every 100 employees. Improving Security: 1.) Single email system with consistent security baseline to monitor and protect; increasing efficiency and effectiveness; 2.) Reduces the attack surface; 3.) Includes pre-built tools to assist with a variety of audit and compliance-related issues, e.g., litigation holds and eDiscovery; 4.)Malware and spam detection; 5.) Email verification, with detection of links to malicious sites or content. Multiple Cost Benefits: Will reduce multiple support models, duplication of efforts, reduce multiple cost models (e.g., storage), reduce confusing processes/infrastructure, projected savings via efficiencies with storage and infrastructure = $5,411,990 over 5 years. Implementation Timeline: November 2017 through July 2018, with 4 stages over the year: Pilot Group; Early Adopters; Mid-Adopters; Late Adopters. PSA is in Mid-Adopters group scheduled for March through April 2018.
- An expansion to Eiche Library (on the west side towards Smith and adjacent to the Reflecting Pond) is included in our Master Plan. We will be inviting Dean of Libraries, Barbara Dewey, and others to our campus to discuss resources and steps necessary to get this project moving forward.
DOCUMENT SEVEN
Chair’s Remarks on Senate Representation on Academic Leadership Council
The Associate Dean of Academic Affairs let the Chair-Elect and me know over the summer that he decided to discontinue the long-standing practice to have Faculty Senate representation on Penn State Altoona’s Academic Leadership Council effective this academic year.
The local Academic Leadership Council, ALC for short, is chaired by the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs. Members are the Chancellor, the Division Heads, and the Assistant Dean for Policy and Planning, and up until recently the Chair of our local Faculty Senate. It is arguably the most significant academic decision-making council of our College.
The local ALC is modeled after a larger University-wide ALC that is chaired by Provost Jones, with the University’s top administrators and academic Deans as members. The Chair of the University Faculty Senate continues to be a member of the University-wide Academic Leadership Council.
Upon my inquiry as to the reasons for discontinuing faculty representation on the local ALC, the Associate Dean explained that this council frequently discusses confidential matters that are outside of the purview of the Faculty Senate. He stated that he is committed to continue to work with the Faculty Senate, but he plans to seek input on academic matters using the Senate Executive Committee as a forum instead of the ALC in the future.
The Senate Executive Committee, in their meeting on October 10, unanimously passed a resolution to request that the Associate Dean reconsiders this decision and continues to have Faculty Senate representation on Penn State Altoona’s ALC. The consensus of the Executive Committee was that removing faculty representation from the ALC is contrary to the spirit of shared governance. In response, the Associate Dean suggested on October 19 that the Senate Chair join a larger more broadly operating, but ultimately less impactful, Academic Affairs Council that includes various academic unit leaders. This council so far did not have Senate representation. At the same time, the Associate Dean reaffirmed his position to remove faculty representation from the ALC.
I personally remain firmly convinced that our College fares best if faculty and administration bundle their strengths and work together in a true spirit of inclusiveness and shared governance. Just this past Spring semester, our local Senate amended its Constitution and added the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, the Associate Dean for Research, as well as the Assistant Dean for Policy and Planning to the official plenary Senate membership – they have not been members before, and they continue to be non-members of the Executive Committee. We had to defend this particular amendment against concerns raised by the Unit Oversight Committee of the University Senate that our local Senate has too many administrative members. We successfully claimed an exception for our Senate, citing Penn State Altoona’s long-standing commitment to inclusiveness and collaboration.
Under its current leadership, the Faculty Senate will remain committed to shared governance and inclusiveness. The Faculty Senate will continue to promote an environment of open doors where all voices are heard, in our plenary meetings, the Executive Committee, as well as in all other Senate Committees.