February 21, 2014
Highlights from the Feb. 11 Faculty Senate meeting
These are the highlights from the Feb. 11 Faculty Senate meeting. Previous meeting minutes are available on the Faculty Senate website as they are approved.
Guests:
• Kenneth Stafford and a few members of his unit were present and received a resolution of commendation from FSCOT to Information Technology Services in recognition of their work on the transition from Zimbra to Office 365.
Consent agenda:
• Course and curriculum changes as presented in the consent agenda were approved.
Standing committee and Student Senate reports:
• Student Senate: Kyle Nuss reported on the work of the Tuition Strategies committee. He also updated Senate on the recommendation sent to the Environmental Health and Safety committee regarding proposed changes to the current campus smoking policy, encouraging a ban on smoking on campus except in designated areas.
• Academic Affairs: In addition to all the items that came forward in the consent agenda, Senator Andy Bennett reported the committee continues its work on the Approval, Routing, and Notification procedures for course and curriculum changes. He also briefly reported on the Course & Curriculum Approval Process Improvement Committee’s, or CCAPIC, work.
• Faculty Affairs: Senator Betsy Cauble brought forward for a vote the Post Tenure Review Policy, which was a mandate from the Board of Regents. After brief conversation about the policy it was passed. It was noted this will first need approval by the Kansas Board of Regents before it is put in place at K-State. Proposed revisions to Appendix G of the University Handbook were submitted for first reading. Faculty Affairs is also going over Section F revisions to the University Handbook.
• Professional Staff Affairs, or PSA: Senator Danielle Brown reported the committee met with the Faculty Senate General University Caucus this past month to discuss their common goals and interests. The committee will continue gathering information and reviewing sections of the University Handbook that pertain to professional staff.
• FSCOT: Senator Don Crawford reported there continue to be Office 365 training sessions this month. These also serve as good opportunities to ask questions you may have about the system.
• FSCOUP: Senator Barbara Anderson reported that FSCOUP, at their most recent meeting, reviewed sections of the University Handbook that pertain to their charge. They also reviewed informal information collected by Faculty Senate Caucus chairs regarding how FY14 reallocations were made and what impact that has had on the colleges.
Announcements:
• President Keen updated senators on the Cats in the Capitol event being held on Feb. 19.
• President Keen directed attention to Attachment 5, an update on the Climate Survey Committee’s work as reported on by co-chairs Ruth Dyer and Tom Vontz.
• President Keen reported the Spring open forums were held with the university president and provost on Jan. 31 in Salina and Feb. 6 in Manhattan. In person attendance at the Feb. 6 Manhattan event was slightly lower due to the winter storm and the campus being closed the previous two days; however, there was good attendance via the web-streaming.
• President Keen reminded senators that Faculty Senate elections are beginning.
• President Keen reported on the progress of the KBOR Social Media Policy Work Group. She also reported that Faculty Senate passed a resolution to be submitted to the Board of Regents at their upcoming meeting on Feb. 12. K-State’s classified senate and student senate also endorsed this resolution.
New business:
• An Honorary degree was approved for the May 2014 spring commencement.
Julia Keen, P.E., HBDP, PhD
Faculty Senate President
Associate Professor
Architectural Engineering and Construction Science
Kansas State University
248 Seaton Hall
Manhattan, KS 66506
785.532.3575