Early Bird

Faculty Senate update

Presidential transition, Diversity Committee report and C2 Hub highlighted in this year-end wrap-up.

By Cory Phare

May 13, 2019

The last Faculty Senate meeting of 2018 was also the final for Senate President Matt Makley (history), who finished his third term at the helm of the governing body before handing executive leadership over to Katia Campbell, associate professor of Communication Arts and Sciences.

“It has been my distinct honor and pleasure to represent the faculty of MSU Denver,” he said. “We worked hard to build relationships with the administration; I’m proud of the work and the progress we’ve made.”

Makley noted the recently minted online-teaching policy, which details intellectual-property rights related to course development in the faculty member’s control.

“A lot of (policy) you’ll find elsewhere is the exact opposite; the president and provost worked hard with us on this faculty-centered effort too,” he added.

Several attendees thanked Makley for his service, including Metropolitan State University of Denver Provost Vicki Golich, longtime Sen. David Kottenstette (communication arts and sciences), secretary Bill Carnes (management) and outgoing secretary Jo Bailey (social work).

“You’ve served this institution tirelessly and with authenticity – not to mention you’re really cool,” said Bailey. 

After a vote to adjourn, an interim session was presided over by Sen. Peter Vigil (education); after statements from candidates Campbell and Zsuzsa Balogh (civil-engineering technology), the vote was held. Campbell won with 56% of the ballots cast.

Liz Goodnick (philosophy) subsequently became vice president following Bailey’s withdrawal of candidacy; Carnes successfully ran to stay on as Senate secretary.

President Campbell concluded the session and wished everyone a great summer. 

Other business included:

• Vice President for Student Affairs Will Simpkins and Executive Director of Classroom-to-Career Initiatives Adrienne Martinez stopped by to provide an update of progress on the C2 Hub. This highlighted building on the successes of robust partnerships; new technology implementation, including an employer-facing database, career-exploration software and an artificial-intelligence-driven résumé-assistance program; and four pillars leading to future success: transforming counselors into industry navigators, moving from career services to career engagement, establishing faculty-centered teams and streamlining civic engagement and service.
• Goodnick, Elizabeth Ribble (mathematics and computer science) and Chalene Lechuga (Chicana/o studies) presented preliminary findings from the most recent Diversity Committee survey. The group said the majority of 488 participants responded that by and large they feel welcome, but 30% experienced some form of bullying while 25% reported encountering discrimination; one out of five respondents reportedly witnessed discrimination. The interactive web application visualizing the mixed-methods data set will be available on a secure website for faculty members to delve into themselves.
• Keah Schuenemann (earth and atmospheric sciences) provided an overview of the General Studies Task Force; changes included a consolidation of social and behavioral science category 1 and 2 courses. More information can be found on the MSU Denver General Studies webpage.
• The University’s contract with BlackBoard is expiring; a brief usage survey is being sent, and faculty are encouraged to provide feedback.
• Balogh provided Curriculum Committee updates, including planned work on the curriculum manual over the summer by a subcommittee; feedback will be solicited through deans/chairs/directors, and a report for vote is planned for the first Senate meeting of the fall semester.
• New committee members nominated and selected include Paula McGuire for Curriculum (two seats remain open), Chereka Dickerson for Diversity, Kelly Conroy for General Studies and Lisa Ortiz for Professional Leave.
• Jeff Parker (theatre) was nominated and selected to serve on the Tenure Appeals Committee.