CAL Faculty Council Minutes - April 18, 2023
College of Arts and Letters
2022-2023 Faculty Council Meeting Minutes
April 18, 2023, Webex
- Call to Order
Motion to begin; Second; Motion Approved; Meeting begins. - Roll Call
Present: Alamina, Allred, Baltus, Benton, Black, Caceres, Christman, Compora (for Geiger), Cook, Dudley, Emonds, Feldmeier, Foss, Gamble, Grazzini, Heberle, Hey, Jin, Kistner, McBane, McNamara, Mezo, Miner, Monteleone, Montpetit, Nemeth, Peralta, Sakowski, Sapci, Schlemper, Semaan, Smith, Stauch, Stover, Taylor, Thompson-Casado, Whittaker, Yaklin (38)
Absent: Alam, Amialchuk, Beatty, Branson, Carpenter, Crookston, Damschroder, Ferris (8)
Guests: Al-Hariri, Cheng, Hottell, Keith, Lingan, Orloff, Sullivan (7) - Approval of Agenda and Minutes
Meeting agenda submitted for approval; Motion to approve; Second; Vote: Agenda Approved.
Minutes from April 4, 2023, meeting submitted for approval; Motion to approve; Second; Vote: Minutes Approved. - Dean’s Report: Melissa Gregory
No report. - Executive Committee Report: Melissa Baltus
The committee met Friday to set the agenda for today, received reports from committees for today’s reports, and discussed elections. The committee also discussed which departments had reported their representatives for next year. - Faculty Senate Report: Suzanne Smith
The Executive Committee met with President Postel to discuss Senate Bill 83. He has met with all 14 university presidents in Ohio for the purpose of coordinating a response. Faculty are encouraged to add comments to the link provided in a March email so that these responses can be included in the University’s response to the Bill. Faculty are also encouraged to sign the AAUP petition posted on their web page.
Provost Dickson recommended that UToledo remain “measured” on Senate Bill 83 and “make it work for us.” She and many university officials in Ohio met with the sponsors of the Bill, who she said seemed “defensive” and “entrenched.” The Provost has been one of those asked to draft suggestions for amended parts of the Bill.The debate about HEAL 2100 – Living Well and having it added to the core curriculum continued. Discussions included its proposed identity as a Social Sciences Core Course, and the fact that it would not meet Ohio Transfer 36 guidelines. Core Curriculum Chair Catherine Johnson presented data showing that only 57% of our current core courses are part of Ohio Transfer 36. Jami Taylor pointed out that one of the goals of the recently passed Strategic Plan calls for aligning our Core Curriculum with Ohio Transfer 36, and that we should not add courses to the Core that do not meet this objective. After robust discussion, the course was again tabled.
Stephen Ciucci, Chair of the Board of Trustees, gave a presentation to offer his independent views on the state of the University. He said that enrollment is the number one problem, and he appreciates efforts and participation to reverse it using data trends from the Faculty Senate Recruitment and Retention Committee. UToledo continues to lose FTEs and it is time to improve marketing and branding strategies, and we must reevaluate the changing needs of the marketplace and adjust our curriculum profile and degree programs. He stated that coordination between enrollment and the rest of university administration and the individual colleges needs to improve. Our “sweet spot” for recruitment efforts is not only Ohio, but areas within a 3–4-hour drive from Toledo. Ciucci requested that we not focus on headcount, as it includes part-time students, but to look at the net tuition revenue, of which we have lost $21.7 million and are on pace to lose $30 million. Costs are stable, but revenue is declining. Freezing open positions is a good short-term tool but not a long-term strategy. We need to invest in infrastructure and technology; we can no longer defer this. He expects a further decline in the 5-year financial plan before it rebounds, and we need a number of strong years to recover tuition revenue. We lost 3500 FTEs in one year, which is more than the size of one year’s graduating class.
Ciucci shared some personal visions and goals for the next 5 years: to be part of a growing, not shrinking organization; to be a top 100 public research institution within the next 10-15 years (we are currently 146 of 207); to see increased demand from students; and to have greater focus on what will help UToledo grow, which includes reallocating resources and program prioritization. He wants to see a strong health and clinical side as well as a strong academic side.
In responding to questions from the floor, Ciucci agreed that we need someone in charge of enrollment. He also believes that athletics are a huge part of what students come to UToledo for and they are also a very big aspect of the Toledo community. He knows athletics does not cover its own costs and said that the clinical side can subsidize athletics. He would like to stay in Division I, calling the athletic program our “front porch.” Athletes pay tuition and provide marketing.
Note: Full Faculty Senate Minutes are available on their website. - Graduate Council Report: Jami Taylor
President Postel attended and discussed UToledo hosting Governor DeWine and Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur at UTMC. There is discussion of adding a psychiatric unit at the hospital. He also noted that the provost search is ongoing, and that a new campus masterplan is needed because the current one is outdated. He also mentioned the importance of online education and expressed some dissatisfaction with those who are holding out on that. He announced that there will be meetings and Town Halls about the Strategic Plan and is encouraging people to attend.
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President Postel attended and discussed UToledo hosting Governor DeWine and Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur at UTMC. There is discussion of adding a psychiatric unit at the hospital. He also noted that the provost search is ongoing, and that a new campus masterplan is needed because the current one is outdated. He also mentioned the importance of online education and expressed some dissatisfaction with those who are holding out on that. He announced that there will be meetings and Town Halls about the Strategic Plan and is encouraging people to attend.
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Elections Committee Report: Pam Stover
Election results are in:
■ Lecturer at-large: Michael Kistner
■ Lecturer (Arts): Norm Damschroder and Kelly McBane
■ Lecturer (Humanities): Bashar Al-Hariri and Ben Grazzini
■ Lecturer (SS): Abiye Alamina and Larry Cook
■ Humanities at-large: Linda Rouillard
■ SS at-large: Aliaksandr Amialchuk
■ CCAP Arts: Lee Heritage
■ CCAP Humanities: Ben Stroud
■ CCAP SS: Beth Schlemper -
Constitution and Bylaws Committee Report: Jami Taylor
No report. -
Curriculum Committee Report: Renee Heberle
No report. -
Old Business
Departments should be discussing their open seat(s) for Council for the 2023-2024 academic year. Email Sheri Benton or Stephen Sakowski with department representative decisions by April 14. -
New Business
Newly elected Council representatives and new department representatives should plan to attend the May 2 meeting. The second half of the meeting is the first meeting of the 2023-2024 Council, and the Vice-Chair, Secretary, and Executive Committee division representatives will be elected. -
Announcements
The Edward Shapiro Showcase of Student Writing is April 19-20.
The final weekend of Blood at the Root is April 21-23. -
Adjournment
Motion to Adjourn; Second; Motion Approved; Meeting Adjourned