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Kentucky State University

Minutes of Faculty Senate Meeting

October 15, 2021

At 9:01 a.m. the meeting began with a quorum of senators present.

Agenda was approved unanimously as submitted.

A senator raised a question about the level of detail and specificity of the minutes, saying they were more like a transcript of the meeting instead of a summary of presentations, discussion and actions. President Clay said this concern would be addressed in Executive Committee. The minutes were approved with one senator opposed and one abstaining.

Review the CDC guidelines and follow them. Concerns or questions at KSU may be addressed to covid19@kysu.edu.

Provost Meeting: President Clay met with Provost Hamilton to discuss university committees, faculty participation in the advising process, the possibility of using the CourseLeaf technology, possible centers of excellence and ideas about a center for teaching and learning.

Executive Committee: There was no meeting last week.

Announcements: A committee has been convened to draw up a strategic plan for academic affairs. The person to contact about this is Scott Wicker.

All Senate documents are now on Teams and available to all faculty.

Last day to drop with a “W” is October 22. Spring advising starts November 1. Students will leave campus for the semester November 19.

September 28 Regent Herman Walston met with the Board chair for orientation at Hillcrest. Lisa Lang, Jason Robinson and Acting President Stamps also participated. Regent Walston was sworn in and given an overview of board bylaws and relevant state statutes in a meeting that ran two and a half hours. There is a called board meeting October 19. Regent Walston had yet to receive documents for any action items to be considered at that meeting.

General Education: Bruce Griffiths reported that the general education committee is working on a report for CPE. Please respond quickly if information is requested.

Distance Learning and Technology: Michael Dailey reported that Walk-in Wednesdays are going well. The service is also being offered on Teams. The Distance Education Committee is meeting today to work on Quality Matters and support for faculty. Dr. Dailey noted that the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) is a valuable vehicle for faculty professional development.

University College/Advising: Margery Coulson-Clark announced that one percent of faculty have still not posted midterm grades. Please do so. The next board meeting will consider software purchases that could help automate the advising process. There is an in-person career fair October 28. October 22 is the last day to drop classes. A senator raised a concern about students not attending classes. Dr. Coulson-Clark asked that we report those students to her.

Micah Glenn introduced himself as the new director of grants and sponsored programs. He will be meeting soon with the Senate Budget and Academic Support Committee to work on grants training for faculty. Dr. Glenn reported that agriculture just received a $750,000 grant for equity in agriculture. STEM faculty was recently given a grantwriting training. A survey is coming soon to identify resources on grantwriting.

Academic Policy Committee: APC had no meeting last week. Survey on the four-day class schedule is coming soon.

Curriculum Committee: Curriculum had no meeting. Proposals are coming in for future meetings. Committee chair, Senator Wang, is still working on tracking down the status of previously approved action items. President Clay noted that some were just sent to the registrar from last semester.

Professional Concerns Committee: Committee Chair, Senator Stratton, reported that his committee met briefly last Friday. He also reported the Faculty Senate resolution on the presidential search process has been transmitted to Acting President Stamps, the Board of Regents chair and Dr. Aaron Thompson.

Regarding the Faculty Senate Resolution on University Governance, the committee considered the polling data reported at the last Senate meeting. The committee amended the resolution to state that KSU has been here 135 years instead of 134 and approved the amended resolution. The committee is now bringing the resolution back to the Faculty Senate for a vote.

A senator offered a friendly amendment to change “ensure” to “insure” in the last paragraph of the resolution. This amendment was accepted. After some discussion about the purpose of the poll of the entire faculty on this resolution, another friendly amendment was offered to remove a note at the bottom of the resolution text that said the resolution was approved by a majority in a vote of the full faculty. This amendment was accepted, and the note was removed.

The amended text of the resolution is below:

Resolution of the Faculty Senate on University Governance

From: The Kentucky State University Faculty Senate

To: Dr. Aaron Thompson, Council on Postsecondary Education

Subject: Kentucky State University Board of Regents

Date: Friday September 24, 2021

Whereas for 135 years Kentucky State University has been a beacon of hope and progress for Black Kentuckyians and

Whereas, in recent decades Kentucky State University has offered opportunity to underserved students of all backgrounds and

Whereas we, the faculty of the university are entrusted with carrying out the university's mission of teaching, research and service and carrying forward its historic role in the Commonwealth and

Whereas, disturbing public reports have appeared in recent days suggesting that negligence on the part of the university's governing body, the Board of Regents, and the current administration has contributed to a grave financial crisis that threatens the integrity of the university's core mission and

Whereas, these reports further suggest that the Board’s discussions of this crisis with the university’s past president may have been inappropriately conducted in closed session and

Whereas, this same Board of Regents is now engaged in the process of selecting a new president for the university

Therefore Be It Resolved that the Faculty Senate, representing the entire faculty of the university, urges the Council on Postsecondary Education to work with the governor's office to make any changes in the procedures and composition of the Board that may be required to ensure accountability and transparency at the highest levels of the university's governance.

A senator moved for a vote on this resolution. There was a second.

Another senator spoke to request that the vote on this resolution be conducted by secret ballot. A vote was called on the question of secret ballot which was approved by 17 senators, with none opposing and none abstaining.

KSU Institutional Research conducted an anonymous vote of Faculty Senate members and the result was 13 “yes,” four “no” and seven abstentions. So the Faculty Senate Resolution on University Governance was approved and will be transmitted to Dr. Aaron Thompson.

Budget and Academic Support Committee: Committee chair, Senator Ballard-Kang, reported that the committee is collecting information on instructional spending at peer institutions. The committee is also examining the issue of course fees being returned to the units that offer the courses instead of absorbed into the general fund.

Other Business: There was no other business.

Adjournment: The Senate adjourned at 10:10 a.m.

Bruce Griffiths

Absent: Rene Desborde, Fariba Bigdeli-Jahed

Excused: Bobby Walter