Dear SCU Faculty,

The Faculty Senate Council (FSC) held its first meeting on Wednesday, October 14th. While the highlights are detailed below, I want to say how nice it was to see the faces of my colleagues on Zoom. I hold out hope that perhaps we can meet in person later this year, but am appreciating that the online format may allow for broader participation. All faculty are invited to attend FSC meetings.

We continue to work on improving collaborative governance at Santa Clara University. On October 13th, members of the University Coordinating Committee (UCC) and other governance bodies led a discussion in the Planning Action Council on how to strengthen shared governance. Topics included governance structures, models for effective governance, and what worked and what didn’t in the face of the COVID-19 crisis. In addition, the UCC hosted a meeting with policy committees to combat racial injustices at Santa Clara University. Finally, I presented to the Board of Trustees on October 17th on behalf of the Faculty Senate, addressing steps we need to take to create an anti-racist university, how we can support our lecturers, and how we can protect more vulnerable members of our community during this unprecedented crisis.

Please share your concerns with us, either through this Faculty Senate Feedback Form or by sending an email to: facultysenate@scu.edu. Our next Faculty Senate meeting is Wednesday, November 11, 2020 from 3:30-5:30pm. We hope to see you then!  

Best Regards,

Leslie Gray
Faculty Senate President, 2020-21

• AFLOC representative Andy Wolfe discussed efforts to involve tenure-stream and lecturers in supporting unionization of SCU lecturers:
  • Lecturers can sign the support card; attend monthly AFLOC meetings; and talk to colleagues.
  • Tenure-stream faculty can send support messages to scuAFLOC@gmail.com and support colleagues in your department working on unionization.

• The UCC will prioritize the following issues: unionization of lecturers; the role of shared governance in anti-racism efforts; the continued impact of COVID-19 on SCU’s budget, furloughs, and campus reopening; review and approval of Title IX policy; and improvement and transparency of the collaborative governance process. The UCC is trying to develop a process to track and share policy updates with the community. Any concerns or priorities related to policy proposals or shared governance can be sent to Tim Urdan, UCC Chair, at turdan@scu.edu or Justin Boren, UCC Chair-Elect, at jboren@scu.edu.

• The Faculty Affairs UPC has been meeting weekly to address the issues arising from the impact of the pandemic including: teaching modalities for Fall 2020 and Winter 2021, caregiver concerns for teaching faculty, evaluation processes affecting tenure and promotion, Zoom protocols for recruitment interviews, and changes to Title IX rules and implementation. The Committee will be sending out a survey regarding potential changes to the Fauclty Handbook regarding recruitment and hiring processes for tenure-stream faculty. All Faculty Affairs minutes and agendas can be found here. 

• Winter Quarter Update for Undergraduate Courses: Faculty can decide whether to offer winter classes either fully online or hybrid. Winter quarter will start Jan 4th; the first two weeks must be completely online. There are no changes to graduate calendar or modalities.

• FSC Representatives approved Lisa Kealhofer (Anthropology) to serve a one-year term and Barbara Kelley (Communications) to serve a two-year term to the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate. Additional Faculty Senate members of the Executive Committee include:  Leslie Gray, President; Laura Nichols, President-elect; and Jane Curry, Past President. The Executive Committee helps the Faculty Senate President provide leadership and oversight, and when necessary, meet with the University’s President, Provost, and others to advance faculty concerns. [Faculty Handbook, Appendix A: Section III and Section III.A]

• Thank you to everyone involved in kicking off the second year of tUrn Climate Crisis Awareness & Action, a project of the College of Arts & Sciences Center for the Arts & Humanities. Over 1100 attendees enjoyed 24 HEADLINERS in the fourth week of October. If you attended HEADLINERS in October 2020, please share your responses here. A full report on the fall tUrn Project will be available soon. Spring tUrn will take place from April 19-23, 2021. If you have any questions, or wish to PARTNER with the project, your involvement is welcome. Please email tUrnproject@scu.edu. Thank you for creating time and space to lean in to the climate crisis and solutions.

• The June 2020 minutes were approved by FSC Representatives by a vote of 25-0-10 (Y-N-A). The approved minutes may be viewed here.

Resolution to Discuss Concerns About SCU’s Endowment Use [Resolution ID: FSC2020.10.14.1R]

FSC representatives voted their approval, 33-1-3 (Y-N-A), for the following resolution titled: Resolution to Discuss Concerns About SCU’s Endowment Use at the October Faculty Senate meeting. The Faculty Senate President sent the resolution on October 15th to all faculty and administration listed in the resolution. As set forth in the resolution, the FSC extended an invitation to the Chair of the Board of Trustees, John M.Sobrato, and any other interested Trustees to attend the next Faculty Senate Council meeting scheduled for November to discuss the contents, concerns, and requests of this letter. The Faculty Senate is awaiting a response from the administration and the Chair of the Board of Trustees.

We are in immediate need of additional volunteers to serve on the Technology Advisory Council and the Parking and Transportation committee. Please send an email to facultysenate@scu.edu if you are available to serve on one of these university committees.

Technology Advisory Council

• Thank you to Guy Ramon, Physics, for volunteering to serve.
• Two more volunteers are needed to serve on this committee. This Council provides advice and feedback to the CIO regarding the technology environment (both academic and administrative) at SCU. A full description of the Council may be found here.
• The Technology Advisory Council will hold its first meeting on Wednesday, October 28th, from 1:30-3:00PM.

Parking and Transportation Committee

• Thanks to C.J. Gabbe, Environmental Studies and Sciences, for volunteering to serve. 
• One more volunteer is needed to serve on this committee. Faculty members are appointed to two-year staggered terms by the Vice President of Finance & Administration from recommendations made by the Faculty Senate Council. A description may be found here.

Library Advisory Council

• Thank you to Jane Curry, Political Science, for volunteering to serve. 
• The Library Advisory Council supports the University Library as an essential part of the University’s mission and community life at SCU. The council serves as a forum for faculty and staff input on Library services, resources, and potential new initiatives. Representatives are expected to report back to their areas on the Library’s activities and needs. A full description may be found here.

Dear SCU Faculty,

Thank you to everyone who is serving on committees this academic year. Congratulations to Evangeline Abriel, Madeline Cronin, Stephen Diamond, and Marilyn Edelstein who were recently elected as the FSC At-Large Representatives.

We have just completed the 2019-20 election cycle. The election cycle for 2021-22 service will begin in November. Please watch out for the sample ballots and ask for any corrections including opting in or out of the ballot at that stage. Simply email Ixtlac Dueñas to ask to be added or removed. And then, please do vote when the official ballot comes out. 

Please let Ixtlac and me know if we can answer any questions, if your committee membership or eligibility changes, or of any concerns that you may have. Thank you again for all that you contribute to our community.

Thank you,

Laura Nichols
Faculty Senate President-elect, 2020-21

Election Results & Confirmations 

• Summary for 2019-20 elections

Current Elections

• None in progress. The new election cycle will begin in November.

Upcoming Elections

• University Rank & Tenure -- Sample ballot targeted for November.

Faculty Senate Commitee Membership Lists

• University and School Rank and Tenure
• Promotion to Senior Lecturers
• Faculty Judicial Board
• Grievance

Join the University Finance Office Town Hall

Please be sure to attend the University Finance Office hosted Town Hall on Thursday, October 29, 2020 from 12:00-1:00PM. Michael Crowley, John Ottoboni and John Kerrigan will provide a financial update. Faculty can pre-submit questions here. Zoom details for joining the Town Hall can be found here.

Save the Date for a Faculty Forum

The Faculty Senate will host a Faculty Forum on Winter 2021 addressing teaching and learning as well as COVID-19 reporting, testing, and tracking. Save the date for Thursday, November 12, 2020 from 3:30-4:30PM.

Voice your concern! Share your input! Suggest an agenda topic!

We invite you to share your priorities with us either through this Faculty Senate Feedback Form or by sending an email to: facultysenate@scu.edu. 

Our next Faculty Senate Council meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, November 11, 2020 from 3:30-5:30pm.

All faculty members below the level of dean are welcome to attend FSC meetings in accordance with our by-laws. While administrators at the level of dean or above are not Faculty Senate members, they may attend when officially invited and during the time they are on the agenda.

We hope to see you virtually on Zoom!