West Central Reporter

Western Illinois University Faculty Senate met May 14.

Here is the minutes provided by the Senate:

SENATORS PRESENT VIA ZOOM: J. Albarracin, D. Banash, M. Bean, B. Bellott, J. Choi, S. Cordes, S. Czechowski, G. Delany-Barmann, R. Filipink, J. Franken, D. Hunter, I. Lauer, T. Lough, M. Maskarinec, D. Oursler, B. Perabo, C. Pynes, J. Robinett, M. Stinnett, F. Tasdan, E. Taylor, K. Zbeeb (via teleconference) Ex-officio: Russ Morgan, Associate Provost; Heather McIlvaine-Newsad, Parliamentarian

SENATORS ABSENT: R. Sawhney

GUESTS VIA ZOOM: Steve Bennett, Mark Bernards, Tom Blackford, Lee Brice, Amy Burke, Amy Carr, Julie Curless, Katrina Daytner, Dennis DeVolder, Rumen Dimitrov, Jack Elfrink, Lorri Kanauss, Boh Young Lee, Mike Lukkarinen, Angela Lynn, Stacey Macchi, Sue Martinelli-Fernandez, Rose McConnell, Kristi Mindrup, Russ Morgan, Jill Myers, Kat Myers, Lorette Oden, Renee Polubinsky, Eric Sheffield, Amanda Silberer, Bill Thompson, Heriberto Urby, Josh Wroblewski

Chairperson Pynes asked attendees to mute their Zoom microphones and made it so that all chat communication, except for that between moderators (ExCo), would be public to everyone.

I. Consideration of Minutes A. March 31, 2020

MINUTES APPROVED AS DISTRIBUTED

II. Announcements

A. Provost's Report

Associate Provost Russ Morgan filled in for Interim Provost Clow. Associate Provost Morgan said Student Services asked him to announce a relatively new program called Leatherneck Care Referrals. He read the description, which states that “Because we are committed to the emotional and physical well being of all students as well as their academic success, Student Services now offers an easy-to- use tool to share non-emergency-related concerns about student behaviors and potential barriers to success. Anyone connected with the WIU community can submit a Leatherneck Care Referral.” Associate Provost Morgan noted that any immediate emergency concerns should be called into 911 or the Office of Public Safety at 309-298-1949. He pointed out that with the new alternative format, there is the potential for students to fall through the tracks, so the University is offering counseling and advising services online. He added that all resources for students are still available, and Associate Provost Morgan wants to make sure that people take advantage of those. Chairperson Pynes asked if the Leatherneck Care Referral is a web-based form; Associate Provost Morgan replied that it is. The form is available at http://www.wiu.edu/student_services/srrri/carereport.php.

Associate Provost Morgan announced that Summer 2020 courses will be fully online. He explained this can mean fully online or live stream, but there will not be any face-to-face courses offered this summer. He noted that some courses may still be listed as face-to-face, such as internships or independent study, but they will be in some sort of online format.

Senator Czechowski asked about the status of summer camps. Associate Provosr Morgan responded that, for now, June summer camps have been postponed. He said the administration still hopes that summer camps can be run in July, but that decision will be made further down the road.

Senator Bellott said he has been asked by a faculty member to inquire if assessment data will not be required for this semester and for summer. The faculty member does not think the data will be very useful compared to other years because of the disruptions in classes this semester. Associate

Provost Morgan replied there has been some discussion but at this point the University still has to collect assessment data because the Higher Learning Commission visit is scheduled for next year. He hopes the Commission may be somewhat understanding, but the University still has to move forward with both program and General Education assessment. Associate Provost Morgan promised to take this concern back to Interim Provost Clow and Associate Provost Mark Mossman. Chairperson Pynes related that he received an email from Associate Provost Mossman about this topic, so it will be on the Executive Committee agenda for Tuesday, April 21 in order to get some of this hashed out. Chairperson Pynes noted that program assessment is significantly different than semester assessment, so the Executive Committee will work with the Provost’s office to determine what will be needed and what is reasonable.

Senator Tasdan asked what the deadline is for a decision on Fall 2020. Associate Provost Morgan replied that it is way too early to make a decision at this point. He said the administration is having discussions about this, as is every university in the United States, but it is too soon to say. He added that this decision will be made prior to August because the administration is aware that faculty need the decision to be made sooner rather than later. Chairperson Pynes remarked that Senator Perabo also wanted to have a discussion about this, which might occur at the end of this meeting or at the next Senate meeting. He stated that this will also be added to the ExCo agenda in order for a deeper discussion with the Provost’s office to occur regarding this topic. Chairperson Pynes told senators that he suggested to the administration that WIU move its fall semester up, beginning August 3 and running to the week prior to Thanksgiving, before the flu season typically hits. He noted that some other institutions have already announced that they will be completely online for the fall semester. Chairperson Pynes added that any decision about fall will involve Faculty Senate, University Professionals of Illinois, and other constituent groups. He said that although everyone wants the decision made sooner rather than later, sometimes discussions have to occur first in order to determine what is best for the institution.

Chairperson Pynes asked if there is any update on spring graduation plans. Associate Provost Morgan responded that there have been discussions and quite a few ideas, but it has not yet been decided what will be done to replace the cancelled May ceremony. He promised there will be some sort of commencement activity for the spring graduates, but he does yet know when, where, and how that will occur.

Senator Oursler observed that the University has offered to help students from MacMurray College, which is scheduled to close, to enroll at WIU. He asked if there is any idea yet how many students may be looking to transfer. Associate Provost Morgan replied that the Provost’s office worked on this last week with CAGAS and put together a memorandum of understanding to encourage MacMurray students to enroll at WIU. He said the memorandum of understanding tries to make it as seamless as possible for their students to transfer. He stated that 15 MacMurray students had applied as of about a week and a half ago, but he has not heard an update since then. Chairperson Pynes asked if WIU is the main public university for their students to transfer to and whether the other memorandums of understanding MacMurray has in place are with private institutions; Associate Provost Morgan replied that is his understanding.

C. Student Government Association Report – None 

D. Other Announcements

1. Election of Senate Officers a. Chair

Chairperson Pynes handed the (virtual) gavel to Vice Chair Lauer to run the election.

Motion: To nominate Christopher Pynes (Pynes) Motion: To nominate Rich Filipink (Bellott)

Vice Chair Lauer asked the two candidates to explain why they would like to serve as Chair. Senator Pynes observed that Faculty Senate has a lot of important things going on right now, first of which is the choice of a new president. Senator Pynes currently serves as co-chair of that search, and if re-elected as Senate Chair he would continue in that role. Senator Pynes said he has tried to do a good job over the past couple of years in defending the faculty voice and shared governance on campus and would like to continue in that role. He has tried to separate out Faculty Senate business from that of other kinds of constituent groups which are coincident but not the same, namely University Professionals of Illinois (UPI). Senator Pynes stated that he likes to work well with the Union, but he believes that Faculty Senate is a separate body, which is why he thinks it is important that the Senate have a strong faculty voice. Senator Pynes said that there are a few more things he would like to achieve as chair. He noted that senators know his record since he has been chair for four of the last five years and said that he would like to continue in that position.

Senator Filipink stated that he has served in faculty governance for quite some time, including chairing CAGAS twice and serving on Faculty Senate. He believes he works well with the administration as well as occasionally in opposition to the administration. Senator Filipink said that his record also speaks for itself. He would like to take Faculty Senate in a similar direction but on a more aligned track with both faculty and administrative goals working in tandem.

Parliamentarian McIlvaine-Newsad emailed Google surveys to the new and returning senators in attendance. Senator Lauer told senators that in order to test this system both he and the Recording Secretary tried to double vote, and the system would not allow for it; the results were also anonymized.

Incoming Senator Mark Bernards asked what Senator Filipink meant by “in tandem.” Senator Filipink responded that that he meant that he can facilitate working with the administration both in the capacity as Chair of the Faculty Senate as well as in his UPI role without any conflicts of interest and will promote both faculty and administration goals where they coincide.

Parliamentarian McIlvaine-Newsad reported that 20 senators voted of the 22 who are eligible to vote, and the result was a tie. Senator Lauer asked for Senators Pynes and Filipink to make additional comments, if desired, while a second vote was administered by Parliamentarian McIlvaine-Newsad.

Senator Pynes said he has really appreciated being able to be the leader of this body and would like to have the opportunity to continue the project of hiring the next president. He said that he has a good working relationship with Board of Trustees Chair Polly Radosh and Patrick Twomey. Senator Pynes pushed to have a meeting with the three search firms who made bids so that this process can be moved forward because it is one of the most important things the University is doing right now, and a meeting is scheduled for April 21. Senator Pynes thinks it is important that there be a clear separation between the Union and the Faculty Senate; he appreciates Senator Filipink’s work as UPI Grievance Officer but does not think someone in this position should chair the Faculty Senate. Senator Pynes thinks Senator Filipink would do a good job as Chair, but he would like to be able to finish out his third year in this term as the Senate’s Chair and leader.

Senator Filipink appreciates the work that Senator Pynes has done as Chair over the past two years through some extraordinary times. Senator Filipink believes that he would be able to wear both hats and appropriately manage both positions without a conflict of interest. He pointed out that a transition will have to happen at some point, and he thinks that having it happen now may benefit the University since we are going through a very transitional period, both nationally and on campus as the University completes the search for a new president.

While the voting process was underway, Senator Lauer drew senators’ attentions to a link in the UPI newsletter to donate to the Genesis Gardens food bank with the money going directly to feed people in McDonough County. He noted that our county is particularly vulnerable to food scarcity, which is an issue that is on many people’s minds right now. Incoming Senator Carr asked how long the UPI match will be open; UPI President Bill Thompson replied that it will stay open until it is filled.

The final vote tally was 12 votes (54.5%) for Senator Pynes as Chair and 10 votes (45.5%) for Senator Filipink with all 22 senators present voting. Senator Pynes was declared elected as Senate Chair. Chairperson Pynes thanked everyone who voted for him and thanked Senator Filipink for running because he thinks contested elections are important.

b. Vice Chair

Motion: To nominate Ilon Lauer (Lauer)

Motion: To nominate Marty Maskarinec (Bellott)

Senator Maskarinec declined the nomination. There were no further nominations, and Senator Lauer was declared elected as Vice Chair. Chairperson Pynes stated that Senator Lauer has been a fantastic Vice Chair and he appreciates the work he has done.

c. Secretary

Motion: To nominate Brian Bellott (Robinett)

Motion: To nominate Lee Brice (Carr)

When asked why he wishes to be Senate Secretary, Senator Bellott responded that he has been on Faculty Senate for awhile and wants to take the next step and contribute to the Executive Committee in some way while also assisting the Recording Secretary in her duties. Incoming Senator Lee Brice responded that this will be his third or fourth time serving on Faculty Senate, and he has served as Senate Secretary before so he knows how the position works with the Recording Secretary and the rest of the Executive Committee. He said that when he served on ExCo before he took the job very seriously, asked pointed questions, and made sure that he took the views of other faculty into account.

Of the 22 senators who voted, Senator Brice received 12 votes (54.5%) and Senator Bellott received 10 votes (45.5%). Chairperson Pynes thanked Senators Brice and Bellott for their willingness to serve, and Senator Brice was declared elected. Chairperson Pynes stated that Senator Brice will be invited to the last regularly scheduled Executive Committee meeting on Tuesday, April 21.

2. Election of Senate Nominating Committee (SNC) Representatives

Chairperson Pynes stated that SNC Chair Senator Robinett did a fantastic job this year. He said that this is a difficult job made only a little easier by the assistance of the Recording Secretary, Ms. Hamm, similar to the way chairing Faculty Senate is also made easier by the efforts of the Recording Secretary.

a. College of Arts and Sciences

Motion: To nominate Jongnam Choi (Choi)

b. College of Business and Technology

Motion: To nominate Mark Bernards (Bernards)

c. College of Education and Human Services

Motion: To nominate Jeremy Robinett (Robinett)

d. College of Fine Arts and Communication

Motion: To nominate Josh Wroblewski (Wroblewski)

There were no further nominations for any of the vacancies, and the slate of candidates was declared elected. Senator Robinett explained that the primary goal of the Senate Nominating Committee is to find and recruit faculty to serve on Senate committees and councils as well as other University committees as assigned. He stated that the Committee holds two rather lengthy meetings; otherwise the work is done electronically. He added that the Recording Secretary makes it easy to figure out who is eligible to serve, so the Committee is able to fill the vacancies fairly quickly.

e. Senator Nominating Committee Chair

Motion: To nominate Jeremy Robinett (Lough)

There were no other nominations for chair, and Senator Robinett will continue in that position.

III. Reports of Committees and Councils

A. Council on Curricular Programs and Instruction (CCPI) (Steve Bennett, Chair)

1. Curricular Requests from the School of Law Enforcement and Justice Administration

a. Requests for New Courses

i. EM 441, Disaster Management, 3 s.h.

ii. EM 465, Evacuation Planning and Response, 3 s.h.

iii. EM 480, Senior Comprehensive Exam, 0 s.h.

iv. EM 491, Emergency Management Internship Summary, 3 s.h.

NEW COURSES APPROVED

b. Requests for New Minors

i. Emergency Management - Operational (for non-EM Majors)

ii. Emergency Management - Tactical (for non-EM Majors)

iii. Emergency Management - Operational (for EM Majors)

iv. Emergency Management - Tactical (for EM Majors)

School of Law Enforcement and Justice Administration (LEJA) Director Jill Myers explained the purpose of the different minors is to build upon the strengths already present in the LEJA program in the fire science and law enforcement sides of the house. She related that after September 11, 2001, all agencies began working together in a tactical or operational manner, so LEJA is trying to cross-educate students so that they can respond in tandem with other agencies at either the tactical level (going out and responding on-site, such as to an active shooter or tornado) or the operational level (managers and executive teams doing planning, such as for evacuations). She said that this is a way to tie into what LEJA already has, and students can also minor in whatever else they want to.

NEW MINORS APPROVED

c. Request for Change of Major

i. Emergency Management

Director Myers explained that the entire Emergency Management curriculum needed to be updated. She said that those involved looked at where the program might move in the future with the goal of accreditation. She added that the courses were changed to align with what the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Homeland Security, and the National Emergency Management System (NEMS) might want in the future. Director Myers added that majors graduating from this program could either work in the military as a civilian employee or for any of the public safety agencies or large corporations as an emergency management individual.

CHANGE OF MAJOR APPROVED

2. Curricular Requests from the Department of Chemistry a. Request for New Course

i. CHEM 433, Polymer Chemistry, 3 s.h.

Chemistry Chair Rose McConnell explained that the department is seeing a number of students who are going into jobs working with materials such as new plastics, new polymers, and biomedical polymers, and this course will give both majors and minors a little more information in this area. Senator Hunter remarked that CHEM 330 or 333 with a grade of C is a prerequisite for the course. He asked whether the department would accept a P grade to meet this requirement if this course were offered in Fall 2020. Chairperson McConnell responded that the department has agreed that they do not want to accept a P grade as a prerequisite for upper division courses because it could allow students who would have received a D or D- in a prerequisite course to enroll, and the department does not think these students could be successful in upper division CHEM courses. Senator Hunter asked if advisors would inform students of this; Chairperson McConnell replied that they will. Chairperson Pynes clarified that what Faculty Senate approved last week was only that students have the option of choosing a Pass/Fail grade rather than a letter grade for a Spring 2020 class. He stated that Faculty Senate did not say that departments had to accept a P for a C prerequisite; that is being left up to each department.

NEW COURSE APPROVED

3. Curricular Requests from the Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology

a. Requests for New Courses

i. SPA 223, American Sign Language III, 3 s.h.

Speech Pathology and Audiology professor Julie Curless stated that the department currently offers American Sign Language I and II and wants to offer the additional courses in order to make the program more comprehensive. She stated that SPA 223 would add in conversational styles, literary aspects, and poetry, and would expand the foundational skills introduced in the first two classes.

ii. SPA 225, Deaf Culture, 3 s.h.

Professor Curless explained that this course will look at individuals who consider Deafness as part of t heir identity and will look at Deaf culture as it relates to Deaf schools, Deaf theatre, and Deaf clubs, and how Deafness is not seen as an impairment.

iii. SPA 325, Teaching Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students, 3 s.h.

Professor Curless said this course is intended to broaden the scope and increase students’ understanding of the services available for individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing, such as universal design for learning, cochlear implants, accommodations and modifications offered in school settings, and technological advances.

Regarding universal design, Chairperson Pynes suggested that now that faculty have found themselves having to teach in alternative modes, anything that Speech Pathology and Audiology use in their department that they can offer the faculty more broadly through CITR training might be appreciated. He thinks many faculty would be very glad to have this information. Professor Curless stated that she would be happy to collaborate with CITR.

NEW COURSES APPROVED

b. Request for New Minor

i. American Sign Language (ASL)

Professor Curless stated that the new minor puts all of the pieces together – the expansion of sign language courses, the addition of Deaf culture, and accommodations for the hard of hearing. Additionally, the Oral Rehabilitation course has been modified. Speech Pathology and Audiology Chair Amanda Silberer added that the department already offered American Sign Language I and II as well as two other courses in the major (SPA 390 and 494) that can be taken by those taking this minor.

Chairperson Pynes asked how many minors like this one there are in the state. Chairperson Silberer responded that there are not many. She told senators this is the most requested thing at Discover Western from potential students. At the request of Interim President Abraham, Chairperson Silberer got in touch with the Provost from MacMurray State since Deaf Studies is their most popular program and they are looking for places for their students, and now two MacMurray students have enrolled in WIU’s program for the fall. Chairperson Silberer stated that the department wanted to offer this minor for some time but did not have the faculty; now that Professor Curless, who completed an emphasis in sign language in her graduate work, is at WIU, the program can go forward.

4. Curricular Requests from the Department of Kinesiology 

a. Request for Change of Major

i. Dietetics

Kinesiology professor Lorri Kanauss explained that the biggest change involves the change in title to Dietetics and Nutrition, which was suggested last spring. She said that the biggest journal in the field has also changed its name to be more inclusive with nutrition. She believes this change will help with marketing to students since not everybody is clear initially on what dietetics is but everyone is clearer on what nutrition is.

Professor Kanauss stated that NUTR 190, Introduction to Professional Practice, is the last course remaining from when the Dietetics major was located in the Department of Dietetics, Fashion Merchandising, and Hospitality, and before that the Department of Family and Consumer Services. She explained that NUTR 190 is being removed because it is more specific to nutrition, and the Dietetics major already has a pre- internship class, Principles of Safety, Security and Food Sanitation in Hospitality, that will take its place. Professor Kanauss said the major will still require students to become certified, but they can do that online in a less expensive format. She added that removal of NUTR 190 will help bring the major’s hours down to 120, which has not happened since she has been at WIU.

Professor Kanauss noted that the major is also being changed from requiring BIOL 100 and 101 to requiring ZOOL 100. She explained that the Biology courses are for non-science majors, and Dietetics is considered a science major since it requires seven hard science courses. She added that the department wants to make sure that students are adequately prepared to progress through the Dietetics curriculum. Professor Kanauss said the other changes to the major were that CCPI suggested that students have more alternatives for the Economics courses, and STAT 171 was changed to specify “or equivalent” rather than listing specific options, some of which have not been and may not be taught for quite awhile.

CHANGE OF MAJOR APPROVED

5. Curricular Requests from the School of Education 

a. Request for New Course

i. ECH 481, Early Childhood Internship, 10-12 s.h.

School of Education professor Boh Young Lee explained that there are specific students who are seeking careers in educational settings that do not require Illinois teaching licensure, but they do need to have Gateway Credentials awarded and recognized by the state Department of Human Services Bureau of Childcare and Development. The new course is being proposed in order to support these students, who would be able to complete this internship course in place of student teaching. Professor Lee stated that the course, which will qualify students for Gateway Credentials, is necessary from a marketing standpoint.

NEW COURSE APPROVED

b. Request for Change of Option

i. Early Childhood Education

Professor Lee stated that only two courses are affected: STCH 459, Student Teaching, and ECH 410, Senior Seminar in Early Childhood. She explained that students typically take STCH 459 with ECH 410; ECH 410 is not being removed but it is specified as being non-applicable for those students who are working with the non-teaching licensure program.

Senator Hunter asked how the school determines whether the ECH 481 internship will be taken for 10 s.h. or 12 s.h. Dr. Lee responded that ECH 481 is a 14-week internship because students need to arrange for their placement and work with the teachers in the workplace for the first week, and in the last week students apply for their Gateway Credentials. She added that the number of semester hours depends on the number of Credentials that students want to work on – either Infant/Toddler Credentials or Director Credentials. She stated that if students want to work on both of these Gateway Credentials, they would need 12 s.h.

CHANGE OF OPTION APPROVED

6. Curricular Requests from the Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Administration

a. Request for New Course

i. RPTA 300, Lodging Industries, 3 s.h.

Senator Robinett, representing the Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Administration (RPTA), stated that RPTA 300 will take the place of some courses being phased out as the department begins to form its new options. He added that it streamlines two courses which have been taught separately up to now and falls into line with the way some other RPTA courses are offered in this field, such as RPTA 362 and 367.

ii. RPTA 464, Issues and Trends in Therapeutic Recreation, 3 s.h.

Senator Robinett explained that the standards in order to sit for the certification exam in therapeutic recreation have changed. He stated that, through feasibility studies, the Therapeutic Recreation program is being brought into congruence with national standards that must be followed, one of which is the addition of course to be specifically designated a final capstone course for Therapeutic Recreation, and RPTA 464 will be that course.

NEW COURSES APPROVED

b. Requests for Changes in Minors

i. Event Planning and Management

Senator Robinett explained that, holistically when looking at the new program, the department wanted to design the minors to stand independently of the new options. He stated that one-third of the department’s students complete minors within RPTA and the others

complete minors outside the program. Senator Robinett said the department wanted to eliminate redundancy between the options and the minors, which led to the changes to make the minors more specific.

ii. Hospitality Management

Senator Robinett explained that as Hospitality Management potentially goes away as a major, the department wanted to make the Hospitality Management minor much more specific in order to make sure that students who want that discipline are able to have the capacity to pursue it.

iii. Therapeutic Recreation

Senator Robinett explained the department wanted to make sure that the program was aligned with National Council on Therapeutic Recreation standards, which is being accomplished with six Therapeutic Recreation courses and required fieldwork. He pointed out that 18 hours of supporting coursework is required to go along with this minor, so students will be taking courses from across the campus before they are eligible to sit for the certification exam.

CHANGES IN MINORS APPROVED

c. Request for New Minor

i. Youth Leadership

Senator Robinett explained that the department has had an interdisciplinary concentration in Youth Leadership within the Independent Studies major, but enrollment has gone down over time, and the majority of those still enrolled are in their junior or senior years. He stated that the majority of coursework in the concentration was within the RPTA department, so, with the blessing of the Provost’s office and Independent Studies, the department decided to move from a concentration in Youth Leadership to a minor in Youth Leadership.

NEW MINOR APPROVED

d. Request for Change of Major

i. Recreation, Park and Tourism Administration

Senator Robinett told senators the department wishes to move from being an all-inclusive major to providing student with five specific options, one of which is the RPTA major as it currently exists. He said that the department has spent a lot of time and energy working with their advisory board, industry leaders, and alumni to make sure these changes will align students well as they move forward. He explained that one challenge faced by current RPTA students as they graduated is that the RPTA major did not address the types of jobs they wanted to enter as vocational or career fields. Senator Robinett said the options are designed with an eye toward the occupational fields that students may want to enter into. He added that the department collected information from sister schools, comparative schools, current students, the departmental advisory board, and industry leaders to inform these changes.

CHANGE OF MAJOR APPROVED

B. Senate Nominating Committee (SNC) (Jeremy Robinett, Chair)

1. Nominations for Fall 2020 Vacancies

SENATE COUNCILS AND COMMITTEES:

Council on Admission, Graduation and Academic Standards

Laila McCloud, Counselor Education/CSP replacing Laila McCloud 23 E&HS

Julie Cox, Speech Pathology & Audiology replacing Josh Wroblewski 23 FA&C

Council on Campus Planning and Usage

Tim Roberts, History replacing Jongho Lee 23 At-large

Council on Curricular Programs and Instruction

Paige Goodwin, Psychology replacing Elgin Mannion 23 At-large

Hoyet Hemphill, Engineering Technology replacing Leaunda Hemphill 23 B&T

Courtney Blankenship, Music replacing Eun Go 23 FA&C

Council on General Education

Sherry Lindquist, Art/Design replacing Sherry Lindquist 23 Humanities/Fine Arts

Lia Petrocovici, Math/Philosophy replacing Greg Baramidze 23 Math/Natural Science

Emily Shupe, Kinesiology replacing Karen Zellman 23 Human Well Being

Council for Instructional Technology

Kyle Mayborn, EAGIS replacing Clifton Ealy 23 A&S

Nilanjan Sen, Computer Sciences replacing Binto George 23 B&T

Deb Allwardt, Health Sciences/Social Work replacing Eric Gurzell 23 E&HS

Emily Sevcik, Music replacing Amy Burke 23 FA&C

Brian Clark, Library replacing Brian Clark 23 Library

Council on Intercollegiate Athletics

Mei Wen, Health Sciences/Social Work replacing Tim Piper 23 E&HS

Council for International Education

Sarah Haynes, Liberal Arts/Sciences replacing Fuyuan Liang 23 A&S

Anna Valeva, Economics/Decision Sciences replacing Samit Chakravorti 23 B&T

Council on Writing Instruction in the Disciplines (WID)

Janice Gates, Management/Marketing replacing Anna Valeva 23 B&T

Kaycee Peterman, Health Sciences/Social Work replacing Lorri Kanauss 23 E&HS

UNIVERSITY COUNCILS AND COMMITTEES:

Bachelor of General Studies Advisory Board

Sean Cordes, Library replacing Casey LaFrance 22 A&S

Mark Bernards, Agriculture replacing Janice Gates 22 B&T

Lori Smith Okon, Health Sciences/Social Work replacing Hal Marchand 22 E&HS

Damon McArthur, Art/Design replacing Brian Locke 22 FA&C

Bureau of Cultural Affairs

Brian Clark, Library replacing Brian Clark 23 At-large

Elgin Mannion, Sociology/Anthropology replacing Davison Bideshi 23 At-large

Center for Innovation in Teaching and Research (CITR) Advisory Committee

Martin Maskarinec, Computer Sciences replacing Janice Gates 23 B&T

Robert Kelly, LEJA replacing Tammi Bories 23 E&HS

Sean Cordes, Library replacing Linda Zellmer 23 Library

Distinguished Faculty Lecturer Selection Committee

Rich Filipink, History replacing Bill Knox 23 A&S

Eric Mansfield, Education replacing Eric Mansfield 23 E&HS

Diversity Council

Julie Eggleston, RPTA replacing Lysa Fox 23 At-large

Jenny McGarry, Accounting/Finance replacing Leslie O’Ryan 23 WIUQC

Honorary Degrees (Committee on)

Bruce Western, Management/Marketing replacing Bruce Western 23 At-large

Steven House, Theatre/Dance replacing Ricardo Sepulveda 23 At-large

Honors Council

Tawnya Adkins Covert, Sociology/Anth replacing Brian Bellott 23 A&S

Alla Melkumian, Economics/Decision Sciences replacing Hongbok Lee 23 B&T

Young Gin Choi, RPTA replacing Young Gin Choi 23 E&HS

Josh Wroblewski, Theatre/Dance replacing Richard Hughey 23 FA&C

Intellectual Property Oversight Committee

Mark Boley, Physics replacing John Determan 23 At-large

Tim Roberts, History replacing Mei Wen 23 At-large

Internet Technology Advisory Committee

Ryan Hunt, Management/Marketing replacing Binto George 23 B&T

Provost’s Advisory Council

Patrick McGinty, Sociology/Anthropology replacing Binto George 22 At-large

Radiation Safety Committee

Saisudha Mallur, Physics replacing Esteban Araya 23 At-large

Student Laureate Selection Committee

Christina Davis, Sociology/Anthropology replacing Redina Finch 23 A&S

Suzanne Bailey, LEJA replacing Gary Daytner 23 E&HS

Talent Grants and Tuition Waivers (Council on) – Macomb Campus

Courtney Blankenship, Music replacing Richard Hughey 23 At-large

Talent Grants and Tuition Waivers (Council on) – Quad Cities

Victoria Eudy, Museum Studies replacing Tammy Werner 23 WIUQC

Traffic and Parking Committee

Phil Entzminger, LEJA replacing Susan Meiers 23 At-large

University Benefits Committee

Denise Gravitt, Engineering Technology replacing Daniel Atherton 23 At-large

University Conduct Board

Karen Zellman, Health Sciences/Social Work replacing Oswald Warner 23 At-large

Davison Bideshi, Sociology/Anthropology replacing Stacey Macchi 23 At-large

University Technology Advisory Group

Amy Ekanayaki, Math/Philosophy replacing Steve Bennett 23 A&S

Yeongkwun Kim, Computer Sciences replacing George Mangalaraj 23 B&T

Deb Allwardt, Health Sciences/Social Work replacing Christine Anderson 23 E&HS

Jeannie Galioto, Theatre/Dance replacing Jeannie Galioto 23 FA&C

Leslie O’Ryan, Counselor Education/CSP replacing Khaled Zbeeb 23 WIUQC

Sean Cordes, Library replacing Bill Thompson 23 Library

Student Publications Board

Jeff Hancks, Library replacing Richard Ness 23 At-large

Senator Robinett stated that there were 82 faculty members who responded to the interest survey. Those responses were used to try to fill the 63 vacancies; six vacancies remain to be filled. Senator Robinett stated that, for comparison, last year there were 97 responses to the survey and 65 vacancies to fill. He pointed out that the SNC recommendations for service reflect the committees that faculty volunteered to serve on. Chairperson Pynes thanked Senator Robinett for chairing the Senate Nominating Committee and the Recording Secretary for her hard work helping the SNC. Senator Robinett stated that the committee members have been great to work with and thanked those senators who served this year. Chairperson Pynes pointed out that proportionately there may be more faculty who filled out the survey this year than last because the total number of faculty is down significantly. There were no further nominations, and the slate of candidates was declared elected.

IV. Old Business – None

V. New Business

A. Proposed Revision to Final Exam Policy

Chairperson Pynes stated that the Final Exam Policy was first approved in 1988 and revised in 2006. He stated that 2006, from a higher education standpoint, is a long time ago from where the University is now in terms of online learning. Chairperson Pynes explained that one of the things that was lacking in the current policy was how to handle final exams for courses that do not have regularly scheduled exam times. He said faculty have asked whether they should hold their final exams this semester according to the normal final exam schedule; if faculty have been teaching their classes online asynchronously, it would seem odd to force students to show up at the regularly scheduled exam time. Chairperson Pynes related that the Executive Committee discovered there was a gap in the current Final Exam Policy and, with the help of the Registrar, added item #10 to the existing policy. He explained that this addition states that final exam times are not automatically assigned for irregularly scheduled classes (not meeting the full semester), summer session offerings, or for emergencies. The addition also specifies that faculty cannot force students to take the final exam before the regularly scheduled exam would have occurred. Chairperson Pynes stated that he opens his online exams for a window of time, and probably most faculty who teach online do the same.

Senator Filipink pointed out that there is a summer final exam policy listed on the Final Exam Policy site which states that final exams are scheduled on the last day of a summer session class. Registrar Lynn stated that when she and the Executive Committee were working on this section, they were thinking about those times that are not consistent with the regularly scheduled class times, such as a longer period of time that is scheduled separately from the regularly scheduled class time, but she has no objections to striking “summer session offerings” from the proposal. This change was accepted by the Executive Committee as a friendly amendment.

Chairperson Pynes stated that the change is proposed to give faculty some guidance so that they will realize that they do not have to schedule their exams according to the existing Final Exam Policy while they are teaching in an alternative format.

Motion: To approve the proposed changes with friendly amendment (Oursler/Filipink) MOTION APPROVED BY ROLL CALL VOTE 22YES–0NO–0ABSTENTIONS

Chairperson Pynes stated that Faculty Senate will distribute the revised policy, once approved, to faculty and chairs so that chairs can articulate that the point of this is to give maximum flexibility to students and faculty. He added that ideally there will not be a situation where students are taking too many exams on the same day.

B. For the Good of the Body

Senator Perabo appreciated the Executive Committee’s conversation about what the University might do in Fall 2020 and thinks it might be valuable for Faculty Senate to discuss some of the different options. Senator Perabo would also like to know how these conversations will be structured; she has spoken to the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Associate Provost Mossman, and CITR Director Roger Runquist about some things she is thinking about, but she thinks these conversations should include a lot of people. Senator Perabo’s inclination is that the University needs to be prepared to go entirely or mostly online in Fall 2020, although hopefully that will not be necessary, and a lot of people are wondering what this might look like. She thinks there should be a number of different options and that the University should start pulling these together fairly quickly.

Chairperson Pynes said that besides the Executive Committee’s discussion with Interim Provost Clow, he sent an email yesterday to Interim President Abraham, Interim Provost Clow, and UPI President Thompson suggesting, based on his readings of what other institutions have been doing, that WIU’s fall session start August 3 and finish before Thanksgiving break because that would get the University done before the flu season hit and give people additional time in case the coronavirus comes back and the University has to go completely online in Spring 2021. He pointed out that this would give faculty from Thanksgiving until the third week of January to prep their courses. He did not hear back from Interim President Abraham, but his sense is that Illinois will probably do everything together as a state. He does not think any institution will do anything as an outlier and does not expect that WIU will be the only institution to go completely online in the fall. Chairperson Pynes suspects that either Illinois State or the University of Illinois will make a decision, and that decision will then cascade down to WIU. He does not know if WIU has the political capital or the muscle to make this decision without the assistance of the others. Although Chairperson Pynes is sympathetic and thinks that UPI, Faculty Senate, CITR, and others should be involved in this decision, what will probably happen is that presidents at state institutions and UPI at the state level will work this out. Chairperson Pynes stated that this is on the Executive Committee agenda for Tuesday, April 21, and he will also try to get Interim President Abraham to let him know what university presidents are thinking statewide, but he thinks as a state the schools will either be all-in or all-out.

Senator Perabo stated that while this makes sense, she thinks that faculty, colleges, and departments need to get ready for those kinds of decisions. She noted that there are many kinds of decisions that each department will have to make if the University goes online for fall because it is pretty complicated. She theorized that the University may shoot to have 75 percent of the General Education classes online for fall on the assumption that not every class can be put online, but there are a bunch of things that would have to be considered. She thinks each department will have to start thinking these things through for their programs. Senator Perabo suspects that Chairperson Pynes is right that the state may make this decision together, but she thinks that as an individual institution WIU should try to be as far ahead of the curve as possible to figure out what is feasible for the University to do.

Chairperson Pynes has been developing an online course for over a decade and improves on it every summer, and he had forgotten how much actual work it is to do that, let alone to do it well. He observed that going online is a significant amount of work for faculty, especially if they are teaching a class for a whole semester; this is a ton of work that faculty were not anticipating, and it would require UPI to have an agreement with the administration that is separate from Faculty Senate. He noted that what faculty are doing now is a lot more work than what they were doing a few weeks ago, especially if their face-to-face courses were already prepared. Senator Perabo thinks this is a good reason to start thinking about who would be interested in taking their classes online and who would be able to, and then provide those faculty with ACEs over the summer to work on this. She noted that there was discussion of surveying faculty about what problems they have encountered with taking their courses online and what they anticipate going forward, but she thinks it is important to get a sense of how many faculty are interested in or capable of getting their classes online in order to know how many could be converted. She noted that it may not be feasible to do this to a great degree, and this needs to be assessed quickly. Chairperson Pynes stated that the administration is a little gun shy to survey the faculty given what happened the last time they tried to do so in a way that UPI thought was improper, so UPI and the administration will need to get together to decide what kind of faculty surveys are appropriate. He agrees that these conversations need to occur because not every faculty member will want to have their courses online; he can imagine that some departments may want students in their labs because they are critical for Biology, Chemistry, Geology, and other disciplines. Senator Oursler remarked that it is hard to teach sculpture online. He thinks this will be a huge recruiting issue for majors that are like that. Senator Oursler stated that if some departments go completely online and some cannot, it is hard to explain that to students who need that hands-on experience, and he thinks this will be an issue. Chairperson Pynes remarked that this is also an issue for those areas that need to collaborate together, such as Musical Theatre and Dance. He noted that it is difficult to react to someone via zoom, particularly when your major is about dancing and playing together. He added that this is at the forefront of the University’s concerns.

Senator Banash has heard that Boston University is considering suspending all classes until January 2021; places with bigger endowments are considering taking one to two months off. He stated that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is considering something similar. He finds this worrisome. Chairperson Pynes added that Brown University is also considering something similar. He pointed out, however, that WIU does not have a $3 billion endowment to support everyone for a semester. He noted that Senator Czechowski has pointed out that Zoom is not a college education.

College of Arts and Sciences Dean Sue Martinelli-Fernandez related that she was afraid Nursing would be unable or find it hard to deliver their major, but she was surprised how quickly they were able to convert their classes to online format, which is difficult because Nursing has clinicals. Dean Martinelli-Fernandez related that Nursing consulted with their professional organization, and she recommends that other departments try to reach out to their colleagues and professional organizations to see what they are doing. She related that Nursing also had an online component for each of their classes already, which helped when they were asked to convert to entirely online.

Chairperson Pynes reiterated that this is on the Executive Committee’s radar and will be discussed next Tuesday, April 21. He agrees with Senator Tasdan that having to teach mathematics or logic online is not easy; Chairperson Pynes found that drawing Venn diagrams for videos to put on YouTube took an amazingly long time. He recognizes that it is a different kind of work, and, given the time costraints, it is not perfect.

Motion: To adjourn (Filipink)

The Faculty Senate adjourned at 5:51 p.m.

http://www.wiu.edu/faculty_senate/meetings/Minutes%204-14-20.pdf