Submitted by Danny Collum, Secretary

9:02 a.m.

President Clay noted that January 25-29 will be “Safety Week” at KSU with a special emphasis on stopping the spread of Covid 19. He also reported that, according to the Council on Postsecondary Education, all higher education employees will be included in the 1(c) category for Covid 19 vaccinations. Registration for this category will open January 28 and vaccinations will begin February 1.

President Clay announced that Senator Bruce Griffiths had been nominated to fill the now- vacant position of Senate Vice-President. There were no other nominations and Senator Griffis was elected by a unanimous vote of the Senate.

President Clay reported that, at an executive committee meeting last week, he solicited suggestions for topics to take up in his regular meetings with the Provost. These included issues around registration, scheduling and advising and the need for a clear process for faculty to opt in or out from in-person teaching during the pandemic.

Also at the executive committee meeting there was discussion of protocols for the conduct of Faculty Senate meetings, with an eye toward focusing the discussion and keeping it on topic. Following on that discussion President Clay reminded senators that the Blackboard Collaborate “chat box” was not part of the official proceedings of the Senate and comments or questions placed in chat would not be included in the minutes. He also asked that senators use our Blackboard profile to identify ourselves on-screen as senators and that call-in guests who are identified only as a phone number should identify themselves by name when speaking to the Senate.

Senator Valentine reported, on behalf of the Elections Committee, that nominations for University Committees would be open January 20-21, with voting to be conducted online January 27 and 28.