Early Bird

Faculty Senate recap

Several guests, policy reads and an update on proposed changes to Disciplinary Appeals Committee.

By Cory Phare

February 25, 2020

The Wednesday meeting of Metropolitan State University of Denver’s Faculty Senate featured several guests of the Senate and policy discussions.

Senate President Katia Campbell (Communication Studies) and Jessica Weiss (Art History) followed up the discussion from the previous Faculty Senate meeting by noting that proposed changes to general studies and minors are being discussed in close conjunction with the Academic Policy Committee, which is advocating on behalf of the faculty voice.

Faculty Trustee Chris Harder (Mathematical and Computer Science) led attendees through a first reading of proposed changes to language regarding the Disciplinary Appeals Committee in the Faculty Employee Handbook. This includes the creation of a Faculty Appeals Committee to address disciplinary appeals, with the Faculty Senate vice president serving as the convening individual and a confidential hearing panel of three chosen by the appealing faculty member and the supervisor proposing sanction.

Feedback and questions should be send to Maggie Thulson or Harder.

Other items of business included:

• Student Government Assembly President Braeden Weart visited the Senate to provide updates on what the SGA is working on this semester, including engagement, financial literacy, food insecurity and questions around freedom of speech in classes.
• Kim Barron, associate vice president of Academic Effectiveness, stopped by to provide a brief overview of the Higher Learning Commission’s comprehensive accreditation site visit April 26-27, 2021. Barron anticipated that the accreditation-committee membership would be completed and work underway by the end of the spring semester.
• Tisha Townsend, president of the Latino/a Faculty and Staff Association, invited senators to learn more about the LFSA as an advocacy group that provides community and support through efforts such as the Latinx Graduation ceremony, a designated scholarship fund, affinity groups and continuation of work of the HSI Group. Individuals do not need to identify as Latinx to lend support, Townsend noted.
• Jeff Loats of the Center for Teaching Learning and Design reminded attendees of the Tri-institutional Faculty Forum taking place in the Tivoli Turnhalle on Friday from 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m.
• Feedback is requested by Friday on proposed changes to the Faculty Employment Handbook.
• A reminder that provost candidates will be visiting the campus for open forums throughout the week.
• Andrea Maestrejuan (History) took the podium to encourage attendees to join the MSU Denver Faculty Federation. “We work to ensure a strong voice in the decision-making process and believe these two organizations complement one another,” she said. “Only through strong faculty do we fulfill the mission of MSU Denver.”
• Lori McKinney, service-learning specialist, invited faculty members to participate in the upcoming 10^th annual Professional Development Conference, taking place May 20; this year’s theme is about community care and features keynote speaker Travis Heath (Psychology).
• On behalf of the Academic Policy Committee, Weiss provided a second read and vote for the policy on academic policy. She noted minor changes to language that clarified the APC and Curriculum Committee as oversight bodies and established issues of academic nature as the domain of the faculty. The vote passed with 56 in favor, 13 against, with four abstentions.
• Bill Carnes (Management) provided a first read of a Multicultural Committee curriculum-review committee revision proposal, as well as a first read of a proposal to bring the representative of the Colorado Faculty Advisory Council onto the Faculty Senate Advisory Council. Current CFAC representative Jeff London (Criminal Justice & Criminology) also discussed the work of advocating on behalf of faculty members to lawmakers.