College of Arts and Letters

Faculty Council Minutes - Nov. 8, 2022

College of Arts and Letters 2022-2023 Faculty Council
Meeting Minutes

November 8, 2022, Webex I.

1. Call to Order
   Motion to begin; Second; Motion Approved; Meeting begins.

2. Roll Call
   Present: Alamina, Allred, Amialchuk, Baltus, Benton, Black, Branson, Caceres, Carpenter, Cook, Damschroder, Dudley, Emonds, Feldmeier, Foss, Gamble, Geiger, Grazzini, Heberle, Hey, Kistner, Lawrence (for Alam), McBane, McNamara, Mezo, Miner, Monteleone, Montpetit, Nemeth, Peralta, Sakowski, Sapci, Schlemper, Semaan, Smith, Stauch, Stover, Taylor, Thompson-Casado, Whittaker, Yaklin (43)
   Absent: Beatty, Christman, Crookston, Ferris, Jin (4)
   Guests: Gregory, Keith, Montes, Sullivan, Van Hoy (5)

3. Approval of Agenda and Minutes
   Meeting agenda submitted for approval; Motion to approve; Second; Vote: Agenda Approved.
   Minutes from October 25, 2022, meetings submitted for approval; Motion to approve; Second; Vote: Minutes Approved.

4. Dean’s Report: Mel Gregory
   No report.

5. Executive Committee Report: Melissa Baltus
   The committee met and discussed Agenda for today and updates from Committees including today’s Curriculum Committee report. A brief discussion clarifying Council Members and substitutions, and positions still needing to be filled also took place. Provost Dickson will be coming to Council on Dec. 6. 

6. Faculty Senate Report: Suzanne Smith
   November 1 Senate meeting: Dean’s evaluations are moving forward; 8 Deans are scheduled to be evaluated and the survey is planned to be ready in February, before Spring Break.
   
   Provost Dickson said that program prioritization for fiscal responsibility is being worked on in preparation for a Board of Trustees meeting in December. She also stated that College Deans should set their priorities and find a way to pay for their priority programs; the Deans are who are setting the directions for their respective colleges moving forward, not Huron. The Provost’s office is also working on faculty workloads to ensure that everyone is working to contract.
   The Faculty Senate Undergraduate Curriculum Committee presented 18 new course proposals, all for a new proposed undergraduate program in Radiation Therapy in the College of Medicine. An objection was raised that two classes overlap with two physics courses already offered in the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. The Chair of the Physics Department had not been consulted, but the Dean of NSM had. Concerns were also raised about locating a Bachelor of Science program in the College of Medicine. Consideration of the 18 courses was tabled until the November 15 meeting so that the Physics Department can be consulted.
   
   The Senate ad hoc Retention and Recruitment Committee plans to study the enrollment crisis, focusing on recruitment and retention practices and how faculty and staff can help. A report is expected by the end of spring semester.
   
   Matt Schroeder, Vice President of Finance and Administration, spoke at length about the fall 2022 budget performance. UToledo experienced a dramatic drop in tuition revenue based on a drop in FTEs from 19,000 to 12,914 in fall 2022. He stated this equals a sense of urgency from a financial perspective in the near term and next five years, and we need to diversify our recruiting approach. Compared to peer institutions in the state, UToledo is second from the bottom in tuition cost but second from the top for tuition discounting. Vice President Schroeder stated UT is overbuilt in two areas. First, physically there is a need to divest physical assets, including auctioning Scott Park; and second, using a faculty to student ratio based on cost of instruction to FTEs, we are 300 faculty members too heavy. UT benefitted from federal stimulus money; however, that money is gone and we are “back to erosion on the balance sheet in 2022.” Comment from the CAL Council floor: "I think that VP Schroeder’s declaration that we are 300 faculty too many, and unwillingness to countenance discussions of senior leadership compensation should be regarded as a very serious matter for all faculty."
   
   Note: Faculty Senate Minutes are available on their website.

7. Graduate Council Report: Jami Taylor
   President Postel will be attending the November 22 meeting, which will be in-person.
   
   Programs that are moving fully online should consider the impact on international students, who need 6 hours of in-person classes.
   
   Tara Hanna, new Director of Application Management & Admissions Operations, spoke and said to send problems about the new SLATE system or the graduate application process. 11/15/2022

8. Curriculum Committee Report: Renee Heberle
   Program modification: AR-LIBR-MLS – name change to Masters in Interdisciplinary Studies (from Masters in Liberal Studies). Vote: approved. "
   
   Course proposals:
   ENGL 4670/5670 – Asian American Literature. Approved pending separate grad syllabus posted in system (currently one syllabus that does detail separate assignments for each).
   HIST 4110/5110 – Sports, Race, and Power in Apartheid South Africa. Vote: approved.
   AR 1120 – Liberal Arts Careers. Vote: approved. Program proposals: Language and Linguistics Minor. Vote: approved.
   Liberal Arts, Associate of Arts. Vote: approved with approved amendment to clarify World Languages and Cultures requirement.
   
   Deadlines for proposals:
   ▪ Submit to Curriculum committee by
   ▫ November 11 for Nov. 22 Council meeting,
   ▫ November 25 for Dec. 6 Council meeting,
   ▫ January 15 for Jan. 24 Council meeting.
   ▪ Final deadline for Senate consideration is February 11, so anything submitted after January 15 will not make it into the Fall 2023 schedule.

9. Elections Committee Report: Pam Stover
   No report.

10. Constitution and Bylaws Committee Report: Jami Taylor
    No report.

11. Old Business
    Proposed Amendment to Section 5 of College of Arts and Letters Bylaws. Vote: 35 Yes; 1 No; approved.
    
    Provost Dickson will be speaking from 4:00-4:30 at the December 6 CAL Council Meeting.
    
    Curriculum Committee member needed from Humanities.Ben Grazzini volunteers; thank you, Ben.
    
    An At-large Social Sciences representative will be needed for spring 2023.

12. New Business
    None.

13. Announcements
    None.

14. Adjournment
    Motion to Adjourn; Second; Motion Approved; Meeting Adjourned

Minutes Prepared: 11/15/2022, subject to change.

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