05.18.21 Senate Minutes

Remarks and Announcements:

Donald Mulvaney, Senate Chair Remarks

The Chair opened his remarks by introducing the elected officers of the Senate, the Senate Parliamentarian Al Gage and the Senate Administrative Assistant, Laura Kloberg.

The Chair then noted involvement and activities of elected officials in university governance over the past month and introduced the faculty members of the Senate Steering Committee and the faculty members of the COVID Resource Center.

Chair Mulvaney then moved to identify and recognize resilience and innovation at Auburn University during the COVID era.  The Chair recognized Angela Duckworth for her work on resilience research.  He thanked Duckworth for her work on resilience and thanked faculty for their resilience and grit during the COVID period.

The Chair then invited AU Administrators to make remarks.

Jay Gogue, Auburn University President Remarks

The President indicated he had a few announcements to make.

• Fall freshman enrollment is expected to be around 5000 students. It is the strongest class so far in terms of high school GPA and ACT scores.

• Private giving for the year stands at $84 Million and is on track to meet goals.

• The EAMC Building in the Auburn Research Park is set to open in early June.

• Work is underway across campus to prepare for the accreditation reaffirmation with SACSCOC in 2022 and 2023.

• To celebrate Auburn’s successful navigation of the COVID pandemic and to thank those in governance for their efforts in keeping the University mission moving forward, the President will be hosting events at his home on August 24, 25, and 26.

Question: Duha Altindag (Economics):  Altindag informed the President about Graduate Students being surprised by charges for Summer fees.  He asked why the students were surprised by these fees.  

Provost Hardgrave responded that the Dean George Flowers and Kelli Shomaker will be meeting with the Graduate Student Council to discuss these fees. 

Bill Hardgrave, Auburn University Provost Remarks

The Provost spoke on Fall and Summer enrollment

• Summer enrollment stands at 11,906.  Larger than 2020 and 2019. 70% of the sections for summer are on-campus and 30% remote.  51% of enrolled credit hours for the summer are remote.

• Given the CDC recent announcement, the Provost said that masks can still be required for classes if the requirements are included in the class syllabus.

• The COSAM Dean Search has been halted due to process irregularities. It will restart in the Fall. An interim will be named until the new Dean search is completed.

Action Items

Action Item – Voting on Nominees to serve on Senate Committees

Greg Schmidt, Senate Secretary

Schmidt presented names of faculty selected by the Rules Committee to serve terms on Senate Committees. Schmidt explained that the small list represents a near-completion of the filling of vacancies. He thanked the Rules Committee for their work and then called for a vote on the current list of nominees.

VOTE RESULTS:   55 total in favor, 2 opposed.

The slate of nominees was approved.

Informational Items

Report on EVERFI Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Modules and Upcoming Training

Presenter:  Dr. Taffye Clayton, Vice President and Associate Provost for Inclusion and Diversity

Clayton shared with the Senate the implementation efforts underway for the EVERFI digital Diversity and Inclusion training modules on the Auburn Campus. She began with the background that led to adoption of EVERFI at Auburn. She reviewed the goals of the program and the modules intended for campus employees and for students and then laid out the implementation strategy and timeline for 2021 and forward.

Question: Duha Altindag (Economics): Altindag commented on the current status of representation of minorities in upper AU Administration and asked if there is an effort to recruit diverse administrators.  Clayton responded that the Presidential Task force is discussing how to improve recruitment and retention of underrepresented populations. She noted that though Auburn has made progress in this area, there is room for improvement and growth especially in Deans and Department Chairs.

Question: Gilad Sorek (Senator, Economics):  Sorek asked what dimensions of diversity will be emphasized in the training. Clayton responded that Auburn intends to address diversity in a broad and encompassing manner but will differentiate by aspects of identity, too.  Sorek asked if specific aspects such as religion, ethnicity, and sexual orientation be addressed.  Clayton affirmed that they would.

Update on Cybersecurity Protocols, OIT Activities and Privacy

Presenter:  Jim O’Connor, VP and Chief Information Officer; CIO – VP IT and IT Admin

O’Conner gave information on ongoing cybersecurity threats to the University and the actions OIT is taking to meet them.  The presentation included data on cybersecurity trends, OIT statistics on malicious attempts directed at Auburn University in March 2021, expenses incurred by Auburn relating to cybersecurity, and the role of AU employees in maintaining vigilance. O’Conner also included remarks on of Federal requirements for cybersecurity as they pertain to federally funded programs. Regarding privacy concerns, O’Conner noted that the Division of Institutional Compliance and Privacy (DICP) manages Auburn’s Electronic Privacy Policy, and that OIT acts under the direction of the DICP.If anyone has concerns over confidentiality of their personal non-work-related communications and data, they are encouraged to use non-AU IT resources.

In response to questions from chat, O’Conner gave advice on the use of VPN from home to reach campus resources. VPN use is recommended for some resources but not necessary for others. OIT will advise the campus community on the details. Regarding the use of HTTP and HTTPS URLs from campus, O’Conner described this as a “mixed bag” and noted that in some cases the secure HTTPS is not possible due to the nature of research on campus. A comprehensive “HTTPS only” stance is not possible because of the diversity of faculty research.

A&P Assembly Update

Presenter:  Paige Patterson, A&P Assembly Chair

Patterson gave the Senate an overview of the constituency, officers, representatives, meetings, committees and goals of the A&P Assembly. Her presentation included links to relevant information at the A&P Website.

COVID Resource Center (CRC) Update 

Bob Norton, COVID Resource Center Faculty Representative

Chris O’Gwynn, Director, CRC

O’Gwynn began by stating that self-reporting numbers for COVID are at a new low.  Sentinel testing has been paused for the summer. Resumption for the fall is being considered depending on disease metrics as fall approaches. AU Med Clinic cases are also at a low and  the campus vaccination program will soon be open to all AU students and employees and their families.   

Question: Susan Youngblood (Senator, English): Youngblood asked which vaccines were being administered on the AU campus and how family relations were determined for vaccine eligibility on campus. O’Gwynn said that Auburn has all three vaccines now and is orienting the Pfizer vaccine for administration to children 12 and up.  Anyone signing up for vaccines on campus can do so if they have the Banner ID number of an AU employee.

Question: Mitchell Brown (Political Science): Brown asked about the HealthCheck App and how long Auburn intends to continue with it.  O’Gwynn responded that the app will remain in use through the Summer but that compliance is extremely low. When Brown asked if it would be required for class attendance, O’Gwynn answered that he was unsure if it was a requirement for class attendance in the summer.

Robert Norton reiterated the Provost’s remark that mask requirements for classrooms must be incorporated into the syllabus.

Conflict of Interest Update

Presenter: Kristen Roberts, Compliance Manager, Office of Audit, Compliance, and Privacy

Roberts gave an update on Auburn’s CoI management program and provided statistics for FY2021 reporting year. She covered CoI management, processes, and timelines at Auburn and related the process to the Alabama Ethics Law and Nepotism Law. She closed with a discussion of the Statement of Economic Interest and noted that training will be made available via Zoom on June 24 and July 27, 2021. She gave links to the ethics violation reporting tool for Auburn as well as a link to the monthly report Case in Point.  

In response to a question from chat on the public availability of disclosures, Roberts responded that disclosures are not publicly available.

SGA “Did You Know Corner”

Presenter: Rett Waggoner, SGA President

Waggoner noted that the SGA is in the process of settling their Summer meeting schedules. SGA executive goals for the coming year are finalized and waiting to be fully approved.  Waggoner intends to present them to the Senate in June. Waggoner closed his remarks with a discussion of the passage of an SGA Bill on April 19 entitled “Consistency and Accountability for Fall 2021 Academics.” The bill contains 3 resolutions relating to potential modality changes from face-to-face to virtual classes. The SGA affirmed a desire for the standard modality to be-face-to-face.  Waggoner will give the bill to Chair Mulvaney for distribution to faculty.

New Business –

none

Unfinished Business -

none

Adjournment

Hearing no objections, Chair Mulvaney declared the meeting adjourned at 4:54pm

Respectfully Submitted,
Greg Schmidt
Secretary, University Senate

Attendance