AU Senate Meeting
Minutes
03/14/2023 | Via Zoom | 3:30 PM
Mark Carpenter, Senate Chair called the meeting to order at 3:30 pm.
Establish a Quorum
After the chair reminded senators that the attendance record will be based on the canvas quorum polls, a quorum was established with 66 senators indicating present on the poll.
The minutes for the Senate meeting of February 21, 2023 were approved by unanimous consent.
Remarks and Announcements
The Senate Chair introduced President Christopher B. Roberts who then gave updates on Auburn University. After President Roberts concluded his remarks, the Senate Chair introduced Interim-Provost Vini Nathan to give her remarks.
The Senate Chair asked the assembly if there were any questions for the President and/or the Interim-Provost.
Senator Hartfield asked a question about whether Senate leadership was consulted or informed about the parameters of the Internal Provost Search that had recently been announced. Both the Chair and the President indicated that Senate Leadership was informed of the administrative decisions related to the Provost Search. Following this exchange Dr. Michael Stern requested permission to make a statement concerning the Provost search and he was granted permission to do so.
Following Dr. Stern’s statement, Dr. Duha Altindag asked a question of President Roberts about the Administrator to Faculty ratio on the Provost Search Committee and President Roberts replied.
Following Dr. Althindag’s question, Dr. James (Jim) Witte made a statement against the guidance on Interims being disallowed to run for the subsequent permanent position. Senator Calvin Johnson concurred with Dr. Witte’s opinion.
Action Items
Vote on Four Rules Committee Nominations to Replace the Three Senators Rotating Off
Presided by L. Octavia Tripp, Senate Secretary.
The poll was conducted and 64 Senators voted in the poll. The names of the nominees and the percentage of the 64 votes each received are as follows, Murali Dhanasekaren (73%), Roy Hartfield (47%), Andrew Pendola (78%), and Laura Plexico (91%).
The Senate Chair then announced the winners as Senators Dhanasekaren, Pendola, and Plexico.
Pending Action Items Related to the Proposed Faculty Handbook Changes
Presented by Dr. Mitchell Brown, Chair of the Senate Faculty Handbook Review Committee.
Proposed Faculty Handbook (pdf)
There were four changes proposed and these changes will be voted on by the senate in the April Senate meeting. One of the votes will require a full two-thirds majority of the whole Senate to pass (not just two-thirds of the vote of the senators present, but two-thirds of the whole Senate).
New Business
None.
Adjournment
Chair Mark Carpenter adjourned the meeting at 4:51 p.m.
Attendance
Attendance
Senate Officers
Name
Department/Title
Mark Carpenter
Chair
Lisa Kensler
Chair-Elect
L. Octavia Tripp
Secretary
Linda Gibson-Young
Secretary-Elect
Dan Svyantek
Immediate Past Chair
Administration
Name
Department/Title
Kelli Shomaker
VP for Bus & Fin & CFO
Paul Patterson
Dean, College of Agriculture
George Flowers
Dean, Graduate School
Bobby Woodard
SVP for Student Affairs
Jeffrey Fairbrother
Dean, College of Education
Greg Newschwander
Dean, College of Nursing
Calvin Johnson
Dean, College of Veterinary Medicine
Ex-Officio Members
Name
Department/Title
Vini Nathan
Interim Provost
Shali Zhang
Dean of Libraries
John Davin Jones
SGA President
Soolin Jeong
GSC President
Danilea Werner
Steering Committee
Robert Cochran
Steering Committee
Senators by Departments
Name
Department/Title
Roy Hartfield
Aerospace Engineering
Valentina Hartarska
Ag Economics & Rural Sociology [missed Sept. Oct. Nov.-explained in Jan]
Mary (Molly) Gregg
ACES
Jacek Wower
Animal Sciences
Vinicia Biancardi
Anatomy, Physiology & Pharmacology
Kevin Moore
Architecture
Lauren Woods
Art
James Birdsong
Aviation
Anthony Moss
Biological Sciences
David Blersch
Biosystems Engineering
Bryan Beckingham
Chemical Engineering
Wei Zhan
Chemistry
J. Brian Anderson
Civil Engineering
Kevin Smith
Communication and Journalism
Shehenaz Shaik
Computer Science & Software Engineering
Peter Weber
Consumer & Design Sciences
David Han
Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences
Christine (Chris) Schnittka
Curriculum & Teaching
Murali Dhanasekaran
Drug Discovery and Development
Liliana Stern
Economics
Andrew Pendola
Educational Foundations, Leadership & Technology
Michael Baginski
Electrical & Computer Engineering
Sunny Stalter-Pace
English
John Beckmann
Entomology & Plant Pathology
Nathan Whelan
Fisheries & Allied Aquaculture
Zhaofei (Joseph) Fan
Forestry, Wildlife, and the Environment
David King
Geology & Geography
Kimberly Garza
Health Outcomes Research and Policy
Zachary Schulz
History
Elina Coneva
Horticulture
Clark Danderson
Hospitality Mgmt.
Diana Samek
Human Development & Family Studies
Ben Bush
Industrial Design
Christopher (Brooks) Mobley
Kinesiology
Kasia Leousis
Library
Liesl Wesson
Management and Entrepreneurship
Jeremy Wolter
Marketing
Hans Werner van Wyk
Mathematics and Statistics
Sabit Adanur
Mechanical Engineering
Lee Johnson
Music
Chris Martin
Nursing
Kevin Huggins
Nutritional Sciences
David Mixson
Outreach
Peter Christopherson
Pathobiology
Lena McDowell
Pharmacy Practice
Jennifer Lockhart
Philosophy
Luca Guazzotto
Physics
Peter White
Political Science
Amit Morey
Poultry Science
Alejandro A. Lazarte
Psychology
Laura Plexico
Speech Language and Hearing Sciences G. Spray
David Strickland
Supply Chain Management (new)
LTC, Laura Fryar
ROTC Army
Captain, Matthew Roberts
ROTC Naval
Janice Clifford
Socio/Anthro/Social Work
Adrienne Wilson
Theatre
Zachary Zuwiyya
World Lang & Literatures
Absent without substitute
Name
Department/Title
Janaki Alavalapati (Administration)
Dean, College of Forestry, Wildlife, and the Environment
James Weyhenmeyer (Administration)
VP Research
Ashley Reid (Ex-Officio Member)
Staff Council Chair
Clint Lovelace (Ex-Officio Member)
A&P Assembly Chair
Evelyn Hunter (Ex-Officio Member)
Steering Committee
Robert Norton (Ex-Officio Member)
Steering Committee
Elizabeth (Lisa) Miller
Accountancy
Mark Tatum
Building Sciences
Regina Gramling
Business Analytics and Information Systems
Damion McIntosh
Finance
Rich Sesek
Industrial and Systems Engineering
Rebecca Curtis
Special Ed. Rehab. Counseling/School Psych
LTC, Michael Quinn
ROTC Air Force
Robert Cole
Veterinary Clinical Sciences
