FACULTY & STAFF

March 29, 2021 – Minutes

Senate Secretary Alicia Kimbell absent: Louis Reis takes roll; Boris Teske takes minutes

Have quorum

Agenda posted to chat, contains links

February meeting minutes: Jerry Berg motion to approve, Louis Reis second; approved

Updates

• Open Enrollment period for optional (dental & vision) insurance coverage via Corestream re-opened until March 31
• Roth 403B plan, as payroll deduction, available (see December 11, 2020 email)
• Guice announced at COES college town hall meeting: summer teaching rates back to 8% of salary for 3 CR course; policy, to define duties, expected by summer
• Nina Collum: Has cap changed?  MS: No comment from Dr. Guice at APC or town hall
• Guice also announced: one-time federal dollars coming to Louisiana Tech, to offset lost revenue, not just losses due to COVID pandemic; MS knows neither how much nor when
• Dr. Guice included among his presidential priorities “one-time bonuses” for staff pay, also funds for Workday and renovations to Carson Taylor and GTM

Tenure Clock Extension due to COVID Pandemic

MS: Peer and aspirant peer institutions have implemented various sorts of special policy:

one-year extension either added automatically or procedure to request

MS correspondence with Provost re: Senate proposal to add one year automatically unless candidate chooses to opt-out

MS proposes that Senate request Provost to authorize instructions to decision makers

John Worsencroft [chat]: extension would have to be for “one year and counting”

Kathleen Heiden: Discretionary Extension of Probation policy limits to two requests for year-long extension

MS: Does COVID year+ count against them?

Provost went to auditor Robert Grafton: policy needs to be “revised” via APC

MS calls for Senate discussion

Lynne Stratton:  specify not to have to explain COVID pandemic as reason for DEoP

Q:  only asking for one-year extension?  MS: Senate may need to ask for more than 1 year later

Nina Collum:  COB faculty member obtained two extensions for childbirth, went up early, revoked them

John Worsencroft: conference travel still limited; opt-out option alleviates automatic extension

Lynne Stratton: journal article submissions, academic press book publishing schedules, grants … all slowed, delayed; need additional protection for unknown [uncertain] future

MS: Does Senate need opt-out with additional language to the effect that there be no impact upon [prejudice against] future [additional] extension requests? “Some fields may be more back-to-normal than others

Boris Teske: Shouldn’t Senate proposal fold-in [rather than oppose/challenge] what Provost said [March 22 email to MS] about DEoP? Can’t proposed automatic COVID extension co-exist with DEoP?

MS: one year automatic + DEoP

Comment: there are other issues besides COVID

Q: Provost doesn’t want to change DEoP policy

MS: proposes “interim policy” include sunset provision? To affect “everyone in tenure-track when COVID began”

Nina Collum: “interim policy” approach sounds good

MS: will of the Senate approves: to propose automatic one-year extension for everyone with opt-out option; asks for volunteers to re-draft, else MS will

Nominations for F.J. Taylor [Undergraduate Teaching] Award

Senate Executive Committee seeks one nominee per college: senators to consult in Zoom meeting breakout rooms

Spreadsheet of nominees by college; none from COB

Award will be voted on at May Senate meeting [online voting]; presented at Fall Convocation

Lynne Stratton: Executive Committee representatives to solicit nominees per college for University Senate and Virgil Orr awards

John Worsencroft: CoLA nominates Judith Roberts for F.J. Taylor Award

MS: email to Lynne Stratton

Adjournment