Minutes for February 6, 2023

The Faculty Senate of Eastern Kentucky University met on Monday, February 6, 2023 via Zoom. Chair Crosby called the fifth meeting of the academic year to order at approximately 3:30 p.m.

The following members were absent:

^* Indicates prior notification of absence
^ SUB Lee Allison attended for J. Blair
^ ALT Raymond Lauk attended for A. Burns
^ ALT Rob Wiese attended for L. Newhart

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

Senator Buck moved to approve the December 5, 2022 minutes as written, seconded by Senator Stevenson.  Motion carried. (YES = 48 votes | NO = 0 votes | ABSTAIN = 0 votes) (See also: Individual Votes)

REPORT FROM THE PRESIDENT:  David McFaddin

Mechanical Engineering Program Launch
The official launch of EKU’s Manufacturing Engineering Program will occur on February 14, 2023, at 3:30pm in the Capitol Rotunda.

Here are a few details about EKU’s Manufacturing Engineering Program that is important for our EKU campus to be aware of:

1. EKU is the only Manufacturing Engineering program in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
2. EKU is one of 16 Manufacturing Engineering programs in the nation.
3. The first cohort goal is 30 students in Fall 2023.
4. EKU leads as the University for Manufacturing Education with our unique blend of programs including Manufacturing Engineering, Engineering Technology Management, and Global Supply Chain Management.

Colonels at the Capitol
Our EKU delegation will be heading to Frankfort on February 15, 2023 for our annual Colonels at the Capitol.

The delegation will be meeting with the following legislative members:

2023 Legislative Session
The legislative session has officially started and Chief Government, Community and Corporate Relations Officer Amy Scarborough has hit the ground running. This is a short session, which means it is a non-budget year running from January 3-March 30, 2023. EKU is making sure our members are aware of our key legislation priorities. (See: EKU Legislative Briefing for review.)

Performance Funding
We are now entering the second official lookback period for the Performance Funding Formula that was adopted in Kentucky back in 2017. Through a collaborative effort with the other public four-year institutions we were able to secure a funding floor in the 2020 lookback period. Priorities for EKU entering the 2023 working group include the following:

1. Sector differentiation Research institutions and Regional Comprehensives separated into separate sectors (preferred)
2. Removal of factor weights between Research institutions and Regional Comprehensives (alternative)
3. Adjust model to reward efficiency in operational components versus sheer volume

The formal recommendations of the working group will be due to the Executive Branch and Legislature in late fall of 2023.

To view our complete performance funding recommendation, please click the link below.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/197PDqKZyySuTZ3F7x0qigrN0LvZkKQiF/view?usp=sharing

Clarification on the State of Hiring at EKU
There has been some recent confusion among faculty regarding the current ability to hire individuals. As you are aware, in December, our university, as do many across the country, halts hiring during the final two weeks of December to ensure we properly onboard employees and don’t have confusion for new employees during the time the University is closed. Once campus opens back up, all hiring resumes. I want to be clear that there is no hiring freeze at EKU. If one were to occur, you would receive official communication from my office and to date that is not the case.

2023 Spring Commencement
Commencement ceremonies will take place at 9am and 6pm on Friday, May 12, 2023. Please mark your calendar to join us in celebrating our students' success. In addition, please book your graduation events with Conferencing and Events as soon as possible.

Enrollment Update

• 2023 Spring Semester enrollment was a 1.79% increase in enrollment from Spring 2022.
• A predictor for Fall enrollment is in our applicant numbers. We currently are up 7.4% in applicants and up 37.24% in applicants admitted from a year ago.

Engagement Activities
Board of Regents Meeting: The next Board of Regents Meeting is scheduled for February 15, 2023, at Berry Hill Mansion in Frankfort, Kentucky. This meeting coincides with our Colonels at the Capitol Day. This is an opportunity for us to engage our General Assembly members, members of the Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE), and other higher education leaders on the exciting things happening at EKU.

Office Hours: Over this semester I am going to provide office hours for faculty to have an additional opportunity to talk about things impacting them. I will have Friday office hours on the following dates:

• Friday, February 17, 2023 from 10-11am
• Friday, March 24, 2023, from 10-11am
• Friday, April 21, 2023, from 10-11 am

Lunch and Learns: Last semester’s Lunch and Learns were very popular amongst faculty. It provided an opportunity for me to share topics of interest and faculty to share opportunities and strategy recommendations to continue to advance EKU. In the coming weeks, Senate Chair Richard Crosby will forward upcoming dates and topics.

President's Excellence Awards: Celebration is a key value in our Strategic Plan. If you have a colleague deserving of being nominated for the 2023 President’s Excellence Award, you have until Friday, February 17 to submit nominations.

After the report, President McFaddin touched on a topic that Chair Crosby asked him to address concerning the recent news coverage on the use of personal email addresses to conduct university business. President McFaddin stressed that university business is not handled outside of the university process. We are committed to making decisions in a transparent and engaged way. We want to make sure that the fiduciary responsibility of decision making, which lies with the Board of Regents, is always explained to them in an open way for them to make decisions.

REPORT FROM THE PROVOST: Sara Zeigler

The spring round of faculty position requests have been approved and the positions should be posted soon.

The call will be going out soon for the next class for the Provost Internship Program. The deadline to apply is April 14 and the application is available at https://fctl.eku.edu/application-process. Our 2022-23 inaugural class of six interns has been working on projects and learning plans with people in my office over the course of the year. At the end of this year, they will form an Advisory Committee to help me keep in touch with faculty concerns. 

The second day of the Faculty Leadership Institute is scheduled for Friday, February 24 at the Mule Barn. Registration is available at https://fctl.eku.edu/2023-fli-registration.

The next Provost Reception is scheduled for March 31st at 5pm. This also happens to coincide with the grand reopening of the Giles Gallery. The School of Music will provide us with some wonderful music for the opening of that event.

Finally, the GA allocation process for fall 2023 is beginning now. Dean Baggett sent out the allocation information and the request forms to the Deans early this morning, and so they will be filtering that process down to chairs and faculty and graduate program coordinators. It will be a pretty systematic and organized process like last year. However, this time, since we're getting an earlier start on it, we will be able to solicit a lot more input from deans and colleges on exactly how those vacant GA lines are allocated.

GUEST SPEAKERS:

Governmental Relations. President McFaddin introduced Amy Scarborough, our new Chief Government, Community and Corporate Relations Officer, and asked her to talk a little bit about our legislative priorities. Ms. Scarborough shared that in the first week of January, the Legislature introduced 53 bills that EKU is watching that could potentially impact us in some way. The Legislature starts back tomorrow and there are 26 days left in session. Ms. Scarborough plans to reach out to members of the campus community as bills are introduced to get feedback, so she can advocate not only for the University as a whole, but also for students, faculty, and staff.

Ms. Scarborough was excited to share that starting tomorrow seven EKU students will begin working at the Capitol as legislative interns. She also noted that all the legislators she contacted immediately said they would like to work with EKU students.

Rollout of New Laptops. Jeff Whitaker and Jeremy Steele were in attendance to provide a progress report on the rollout of new laptops. This time around there are only two options available—a Dell laptop or a MacBook Pro M2 laptop. In addition, everyone eligible for the rollout can receive one new 27-inch monitor as well as a keyboard, mouse and docking station.

The rollout started around the middle of last September. Staff was targeted first because their rollout expired first. In mid-November faculty were given the opportunity to sign up prior to the winter break. At this point, there are approximately 100+ staff and about 200+ faculty who still need to receive a Windows machine. Mac users are expected to be targeted in early March. The rollout for the Macs was delayed because an in-house product had to be created to move data from one Mac to another Mac due to issues with Migration Assistant. The work around is still being tested, but we’re hopeful that it will be ready by the first part of March.

IT does require a 24-hour turnaround time for getting laptops back to faculty. However, the amount of time required will be significantly less if faculty back up their documents prior to their appointment. Call 622-3000 if you need assistance to guide you through the backup process.

Aramark Sensors Placed in Offices. AVP Bryan Makinen gave a brief explanation on the sensors that Aramark placed in offices and other areas. An email was sent out on December 7th about installing the sensors, but only two people provided feedback prior to the installation.

AIWX (Aramark Intelligent Workplace Experience) is an Aramark system that Aramark is using to gather quantitative data to evaluate space utilization, so they can allocate the appropriate number of resources in the right place at the right times to ensure that services are being provided as needed. Aramark invested in a 6-month trial with the University and placed sensors in approximately 39 locations throughout campus. The trial period is over now and it was a great success. For example, in the Rowlett building the heaviest utilization is between 11am and 2pm. Custodians were not scheduled to come in until 3pm, so the experience was not good in that space. As a result of the data, the custodians are now coming in at 11am to address the peak utilization that we experienced in the restrooms. So, the sensors are providing Aramark with quantitative data that goes along with the qualitative data gathered from surveys in order to provide better service to our community.

Furthermore, we will probably be expanding the use of the sensors, at the university’s expense, as this has proven to be a great way to determine not only the busiest times of the day in buildings but also the areas in those buildings that have the heaviest usage.

Please be assured that these sensors are absolutely not cameras or audio devices. They are absolutely not a measure of productivity in any way, shape or form, because we know productivity occurs in the classroom, in collaboration spaces, oftentimes outside the office. But for those who are in the office, it's not a measure of productivity of what's occurring inside that office. It’s simply counting the number of times that sensor threshold is broken to indicate utilization of a space. Again, this is an Aramark system utilized for Aramark purposes only. EKU is not using any of that data.

At the recommendation of several senators, AVP Makinen stated that he will share with others the concerns raised about:

• removing sensors from faculty offices.
• removing sensors from laboratories that Aramark does not have access to.
• considering other technologies available to collect quantitative data rather than using the sensors.

As a side note, AVP Makinen remarked that, at the expense of Aramark, the Library, new Science building, and the Perkins building will be receiving robotic cleaners in the near future to help augment their custodial needs.

NEW BUSINESS:

Face-to-Face or Zoom Meetings Next Year. After discussion, Chair Crosby stated that the Executive Committee would invite someone from Conferencing and Events to their next meeting to find out if it’s feasible given our current technology to have hybrid meetings for large groups with in-person and Zoom participants and if so, what facilities should be scheduled for those meetings. He will provide a recommendation to the Senate at the March meeting.

Executive Committee Election (1 vacancy). Chair Crosby announced that Jamie Shaffer has taken another position elsewhere and Alternate Sheri McGuffin will be completing the part-time representative’s term. Ms. Shaffer’s exit leaves a vacancy on the Executive Committee. Senator McGuffin self nominated. Senator Sands moved to elect by acclamation. Motion carried unanimously.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

The Faculty Senate Social is scheduled for Monday, February 13 at 3:30pm in Walnut Hall, Keen Johnson. Please bring your appetites and your conversation. There will be some standing tables and some sitting tables and plenty of beverages and snacks.

There will be an open AAUP forum on Thursday, February 16 at 4pm in Walnut Hall, Keen Johnson building to discuss the Faculty Grievance Policy.

GENERAL & STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS

REPORT FROM SENATE CHAIR: Senator Crosby

The Executive Committee met on Monday, January 20. The bulk of the meeting was discussing the format for next year’s Senate meetings.

Chair Crosby also informed the members of his decision to retire from the university in the spring of 2024.

REPORT FROM FACULTY REGENT: Senator Marion

The last meeting of the Board of Regents was on December 1. The next meeting of the Board of Regents remains scheduled for Wednesday, February 15.

The location of the meeting occurring on February 15th will be in Frankfort corresponding with the Colonels at the Capitol event that morning. The Board meeting is scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m. in the Music Room at Berry Hill Mansion, which is managed by the Kentucky Division of Historic Properties, and is also proximal to the State Capitol Complex.

There was limited Board activity over the holiday break and since the beginning of this academic term. At the request of the Board Chair, I summarized the results of the Board’s self-assessment and shared my draft summary to the Board Chair for his review. The draft has not been vetted by the Board or Ad Hoc Governance and Evaluation Committee, but the execution of survey methodology was conducted as directed by the Board and Committee at the last Board meeting. The Chair may choose to have the draft summary discussed at the February 15 meeting. In addition to this work, I’ve had two regular check-in meetings with the President, and the Board Chair, who both independently meet with the staff regent and me to discuss any potential agenda items or topics either of them should consider. For the February 15 meeting, I’ve been advised by the Chair and President, that the agenda is likely going to be light.

In addition to this brief update, I am thankful for the opportunity to engage with you and my faculty colleagues, and I’m appreciative of the Provost’s recent receptions this last term and this term. Through these events, I’ve been able to not only catch up with colleagues, meet new faculty members, and learn updates about lives and programs, but I also get to hear candid feedback on issues and topics impacting our efficiency, performance, and morale as faculty. Many of these I’ve been able to share with Chair Crosby, President McFaddin, Chief of Staff Colleen Chaney, and/or Chair Eaves. Several topics have been addressed by our Problem Solvers meetings. Some have been discussed by the Faculty Senate Executive Committee, the Problem Solvers group (Chair Crosby, Vice-Chair Kay, Provost Zeigler, and I) or have made it on the Faculty Senate agenda. When needed or upon request, I have forwarded or shared these concerns in a manner to respect confidentiality. While there are still existing challenges or problems impacting our efficiency and our quality of life as faculty, and while new ones will emerge, I am humbly obliged to learn from my colleagues and work to find solutions or route issues appropriately.

STANDING COMMITTEES

Academic Quality Committee. Senator Sands reported that the committee is busy working on their charges. There should be a couple of surveys ready for send out in early March. One is on Bartleby and the other is from the Provost Ad Hoc Committee regarding the calendar.

Budget Committee. Senator Stevenson stated that the committee continues to work on their report and the goal is to present it to Senate for review next month.

Elections & University Nominations Committee. Senator Spira reported that the committee met on January 30th for a second review of their internal procedures. The draft was then shared with the Rules Committee for further review. A finalized version should be available for Senate review later in the spring semester.

Information Technology Committee. Senator Hight stated that at their January 30th meeting they worked on the voting forms needed for today’s Senate meeting. In addition, they followed up on information on myEKU. That discussion will continue at the next meeting on Monday, February 27.

Faculty Rights and Responsibilities Committee. Senator Brent stated that the committee continues to cover the status of the Grievance policy. He reminded that on February 16th, the AAUP is holding an open forum to discuss the policy. In addition, Lauren Keeler has held various listening sessions on campus on the policy. Related to that, we are still working on what the Ombud/Faculty Advocate position is going to look like within that policy and how that’s going to fit within the university infrastructure.

During discussions at our last meeting and given the gravity of the Grievance policy, our committee would like to identify how draft team committees are formed and the processes through which that takes. We hope to work with the Provost Office and Lauren Keeler to learn more about that process.

We’re also keeping tabs on what’s going on with the open education resources initiative on campus and how that’s going to affect the rights and responsibilities among faculty members.

The next meeting is scheduled for tomorrow.

Rules Committee. Senator Kay announced that the next meeting is scheduled for February 8th.

Welfare Committee. Senator Manning stated that the committee is working on updating last year’s survey and working on the IRB process. Once approved through IRB, the survey will be distributed to faculty.

ADJOURNMENT:

Senator Kelley moved to adjourn at approximately 5:30pm, seconded by Senator Cizmar.

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(See Also:  Polling Results by Motion & Senators)

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