AU Senate Meeting

Establish a Quorum

• A quorum was established, with 51 Senators.

• Prior to approval of the minutes Luke Oeding suggested instead of having a detailed written account of the meeting, that the secretary write basic facts, since more details can be found in the recording and transcripts. The chair asked Luke if he is making a motion. Luke said that it was not a motion but an objection. The objection was noted.

• With no objections to the minutes for November 15, 2022, the minutes were approved with no corrections.

• The Chair then invited the AU Administrators to make remarks.

Remarks and Announcements

AU President: Christopher B. Roberts

• Spoke on the university budget and his visits to various departments on campus. He shared information about the freshman enrollment for the Fall class of 2023. He shared that the BOT would meet February 3, 2023, at the Montgomery campus. The president made mention that the School Hospitality Management was named the HAUTS Schultz school of Hospitality Management, the approval of the Education Bldg. to move forward and hopefully to move forward later with the new STEM Building.

AU Interim Provost: Vini Nathan

• Spoke to senate on the following. The placement of the students in the College of nursing, a new proposal to be presented for a Bachelor of Science in Public Health which is being put forward by the college of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Nathan gave updates on Dean searchers – Pharmacy, Engineering, and Business.

• Dr. Nathan made the following announcement: Dr. Robert Boyd will become Assistant Provost for Institutional Effectiveness, Dr Emmett Winn will be Associate Vice President for Administrative Effectiveness, Dr. Norman Godwin Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs, and Dr. Julie Huff Assistant Vice President for Strategic Initiative and communications.

Information Items

Rules Committee Volunteers Process

Presented by L. Octavia Tripp, Senate Secretary.

• Octavia Tripp provided information about the Committee Volunteer Process. The rules committee will look at the list of individuals volunteering and meet in the following week to start the beginning of the approval process.

Announcement of Senate Officer-Elect Nominees

Presented by Don Mulvaney, Chair of the Senate Officer Nominations Committee and Senate Past Chair.

• In the following pdf, Officer-elect Nominees (pdf)

Auburn Reaffirmation Update

Presented by Dr. Mark DeGoti, SACSCOC Liaison.

SACSCOC Presentation (pdf)

• The presentation explained in full what Auburn Reaffirmation is and what to expect when SACSCOC visit. Further detailed information can be found the pdf presentation listed above.

Annual Report on the Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics

Presented by Beverly Marshall, Chair of Intercollegiate Athletics and FAR.

CIA Presentation (pdf)

• Beverly Marshall gave the final report on Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics. After the report Dr. Beverly Marshall received several questions by Dr. Michael Stern.

Action Items

Vote for on the Motion to Form an Ad Hoc Committee to Develop Proposal for Rank Above Professor

Presented by Mark Carpenter, Chair.

• The Chair reminded the senate members that there was a motion made by Zach Schulz and seconded by Anthony Moss to create an ad hoc committee for Rank above Professor.

• Todd Stuey gave history about the motion being considered. After Todd spoke, the chair asked for senators to vote for the motion being presented.

• There were 41 yes, 22 no, and 3 abstain. The motion carried with 66 people voting.

New Business

• Mark Carpenter, Senate Chair asked if there was any new business to address.

• Dr. Brian Anderson asked questions concerning Chat GPT and writing issues on campus. To address the question regarding Chat GPT, Asim Ali shared guidelines on Chat GPT. The general advice to take a more constructive approach and that AI is going to be a growing part of our professional lives. Asim continued by saying one needs to help students to use it in a constructive way. It should be used as a tool. Engage experts on campus and have everyone to be part of the discussion of AI and Chat GPT. Several faculty expressed an interest in being part of a working committee to further address the topic.

Adjournment

Chair Mark Carpenter adjourned the meeting at 5:05 p.m.