Editor’s note: Amy Barkley, executive assistant to the CSU Faculty Council, wrote this article for SOURCE on key reports and discussion items at the May 7 Faculty Council meeting. It is published here on behalf of the Faculty Council Executive Leadership. Details of the reports and presentations referenced below are available in the meeting minutes on the Faculty Council website once they are approved at the September meeting.
Faculty Council met in a hybrid format on May 7 for a busy final meeting of the 2023-2024 academic year.
Members received reports from President Amy Parsons and Provost and Executive Vice President Marion Underwood, heard a budget update from Vice President for University Operations and Chief Financial Officer Brendan Hanlon, and had presentations from CSU Writes and the Office of Equal Opportunity.
President’s report
Parsons attended the final Faculty Council meeting of the academic year to provide updates from the Board of Governors and around campus. Parsons confirmed the announcement that the management of CSU Spur would be transferred to the CSU Fort Collins campus, with Associate Vice Chancellor Jocelyn Hittle now reporting to the Office of the President. Parsons said there will be work over the summer to assist in this transition and consider academic offerings at CSU Spur. Parsons also addressed the uncertainty of the landscape of intercollegiate athletics, as well as the protests on campus.
Questions from members centered around the transition of the CSU Spur campus to CSU Fort Collins management and what that would look like. Parsons said that Underwood and Chief of Staff Rico Munn would be utilizing some committees over the summer to help work through the transition and envision academic offerings and leadership at the CSU Spur campus.
Provost report
Underwood gave updates to Faculty Council members on leadership searches currently underway, enrollment numbers for summer and fall, and some task forces that have begun their work. Underwood announced that Michelle Stanley will be taking over for current interim Vice Provost for Undergraduate Affairs Thomas Siller following his retirement in June, while the search for that position is completed. The deliberation processes for the finalists for the dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences was beginning soon, she said, and the open forums for the finalists for the dean of the College of Liberal Arts were underway.
Underwood described the work of two task forces that are also underway. The first task force will help develop academic offerings at CSU Spur, and the second task force will consider revising institutional learning objectives and innovating in the core curriculum. Underwood told members that enrollment for Summer 2024 is up 9.28% in undergraduate and graduate student credit hours from Summer 2023 and explained where the Fall 2024 enrollment numbers are in the context of FAFSA deadlines and the new cycle timelines.
Questions for Underwood centered around enrollment, aspirations to become a Hispanic-serving institution and faculty support for online teaching to help serve demand in the summer. Underwood stated that being a Hispanic-serving institution remains a goal and is something being discussed by the CSU Spur task force and will likely be discussed by the task force on institutional learning objectives and innovating the core curriculum.
Budget update
Hanlon gave Faculty Council members an update on the fourth and final version of the budget that was presented to and approved by the Board of Governors. Hanlon walked members through the scenarios and budget lines, including mandatory costs, reallocations and compensation. Hanlon also described the process and provided context behind some of the decisions made.
Questions from members included clarification around the changes in tuition per credit hour and around the 1% salary increases for faculty, administrative professionals and graduate students. Hanlon explained that the change in tuition per credit hour was due to an evaluation of what peer institutions were doing and changing ours to better match those. Hanlon indicated that the base tuition would remain the same.
Update from the Office of Equal Opportunity
Assistant Director and Deputy Title IX Officer Audrey Swenson and Director of Title IX Programs and Gender Equity Araiña Muñiz visited Faculty Council to provide an update on the Office of Equal Opportunity. Swenson reported that their offices were undergoing a merger into a single office, and explained what situations that office handles. Swenson gave an overview of policies and reporting procedures through their office.
Questions from members included clarification around procedures following previous incidents, as well as where to report. Muñiz and Swenson provided information about confidential reporting resources on campus and explained the new centralized reporting that their office will help streamline, simplifying the process for anyone going through the process.
Other Faculty Council highlights
- William Sanford is this year’s recipient of the Faculty Council Harry Rosenberg Award. Sanford has been involved in shared governance for more than 20 years and most recently has been the chair of the Committee on Scholarship, Research and Graduate Education, as well as a member of the Faculty Council Executive Committee.
- Faculty Council approved the creation of three new centers through the Committee on University Programs: the Animal-Human Policy Center, the Center for Participatory Science, and the Brain Research Center.
- Andrew Norton provided his final report as the Faculty Council Board of Governors faculty representative. Chair Melinda Smith expressed appreciation on behalf of Faculty Council for all the work Norton has done in this role. Jennifer Martin was elected in March as the new Board of Governors faculty representative and will be providing her first report at the June Board of Governors meeting.
- Kristina Quynn, director of CSU Writes, visited Faculty Council to discuss the services that CSU Writes offers the CSU community. Quynn stated that CSU Writes will be finalizing a needs assessment survey over the summer to be sent out to the CSU community in the fall to help figure out how the program can support various writing needs across campus.
The next Faculty Council meeting will be on Tuesday, September 3, 4-6 p.m. Location and format will be determined closer to the start of the academic year, and members and the CSU community will be notified. For the schedule of Faculty Council meetings, approved minutes and agendas, lists of members of the Council and its committees and other information, visit the Faculty Council website.
