Faculty Senate met virtually on April 7 via Microsoft Teams and they were joined by President Neeli Bendapudi. Senators received information on COVID-19 vaccination scheduling and the proposed faculty accountability policy, as well as the findings from the part-time faculty survey and cultural wellbeing survey.
Bendapudi informed senators that as of April 12, the mass COVID-19 vaccination site at Cardinal Stadium will be open to anyone over the age of 16. Information on vaccination appointment scheduling at any of the four Louisville area locations can be found through the UofL Health website here.
“We have the capacity to give about 4,000 vaccines a day. As we look at the registrations, there are still plenty of openings. Receiving the vaccine is something that I strongly recommend,” Bendapudi said.
Senators voted on two certificate proposals from the Academic Programs Committee. A graduate certificate in Family Business Management and Advising from the College of Business was presented to senators, as well as a post-graduate certificate in Pediatric Acute Care Nursing provided through the School of Nursing. Both certificates received unanimous support from the Faculty Senate.
Tracy Eells, vice provost of faculty affairs, presented senators with the proposed faculty accountability policy. In December 2019, the provost charged a committee to make recommendations regarding expectations of faculty behavior and appropriate disciplinary actions. The proposed policy is intended to add consistency and equity in disciplinary actions across all departments and will be independent of the faculty grievance policy. The Faculty Senate will respond to the proposed policy at the next senate meeting in May.
Findings from the 2020 Part-time Faculty Survey, which was administered to part-time faculty between Oct. 27 and Nov. 11, were shared with Faculty Senate. While over 70% of respondents reported being either satisfied or very satisfied with their employment at UofL, the results also identified some concerns for part-time faculty members. Results indicated that some part-time faculty were not receiving, or were not made aware of, annual performance evaluations. Respondents also voiced concerns about the lack of compensation for course preparation time when those courses are later cancelled. Roy Fuller, chair of the Part-time Faculty Committee, indicated that additional research and part-time faculty surveys will be employed to address these concerns.
Members of the W2 committee provided senators with the preliminary findings of the fall 2020 cultural wellbeing survey. The survey boasted over 2,300 responses from faculty, staff, students and alumni. The survey gauged cultural wellbeing using three metrics for inclusion among UofL community members: hope, belonging and trust. The W2 committee plans to align the data from the survey with each of the nine Cardinal Principles, then identify and recommend the lectures, workshops and other ongoing university programs that can improve cultural wellbeing across the university community.
Theo Edmonds, who presented the preliminary findings to senators, stated, “the survey allows us to show that the culture of our organization has empirically improved and improved in a way that supports an increase in inclusive innovation. Using this culture change process, we can support more innovation in the university by finding new ways to unlock the latent potential in all the different groups that are a part of our UofL family.”
Committee reports and a video recording of the virtual meeting can be accessed on the Faculty Senate meetings webpage. The next Faculty Senate meeting is scheduled for May 5 via Microsoft Teams.
