Early Bird

Faculty Senate update

Meeting addresses support for students with autism spectrum disorder, graduate studies and committee openings.

By Cory Phare

September 11, 2019

It was an unusually light agenda for the Sept. 4 Metropolitan State University of Denver Faculty Senate meeting.

Items of business included:

• Siva Santhanam, Ph.D. (SLHS), addressed the Senate to discuss the Integrated Support for Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders in College program coordinated out of the Speech, Languages, Hearing Sciences Department; a yearlong faculty learning community is underway for those who’d like to learn more about direct and indirect
• Tammi Vacha-Hasse, Ph.D., dean of the Graduate College at Boise State University and president of the Western Association of Graduate Schools, stopped by as a guest of the Senate. She has been assisting MSU Denver’s Office of Graduate Studies with processes and policies, including graduate catalog
• A proposed bylaw change to appoint a Faculty Senate Executive Committee seat to the Graduate Council had a second reading and was approved in a subsequent
• Cynthia Erickson, D. (Psychological Sciences) volunteered as Learning Management System RFP chair to explore potential alternatives to Blackboard.
• Several committees are still looking for participants; those interested should email Faculty Senate President Katia Campbell, Ph.D., or Maggie Thulson, assistant to the vice provost for faculty affairs. Specific representative openings solicited were:
• Physical Sciences – student affairs, instructional resources and rules
• Social Sciences – curriculum, instructional resources, multicultural and rules
• Arts and Humanities – budget; diversity; student affairs; reappointment, tenure and promotion; and rules
• General Studies and Budget Committees also have at-large seats

The next Faculty Senate meeting is scheduled for Sept. 18 at 3:20 p.m. in Tivoli 320.