Executive Committee Minutes

09/15/2021 03:30 PM - Online, Zoom Webinar. Please email univcouncil@uga.edu for information.

View Related Documents Online The University Council Executive Committee met on September 15, 2021, via Zoom Webinar for its first meeting of the 2021-2022 academic year. A quorum being present, Chair Barbara Biesecker called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m. Those in attendance to present action items were Susan Sanchez, University Curriculum Committee; Elizabeth St. Pierre, Committee on Statutes, Bylaws, and Committees; Janette Hill, Faculty Affairs Committee; Cindy Hahamovitch, Franklin College Faculty Senate, and Scott Nelson, Committee on Facilities. Guests to the meeting included Jiye Bae, Maggie Blanton, Paige Carmichael, Steven Casadont, Joshua Cash, Tim Chester, Melissa Garber, Leonard Goff, Keith Herndon, Lawrence Hornak, Kenneth Johnson, Khushi Kapadia, Jennifer MacDonald, John Maerz, Frederick Maier, Simran Malhotra, Abhyuday Mandal, Charlotte Mason, Paul Matthews, Kristy McManus, Alexander Medina, John Miller, Megan Mittelstadt, Nicole Moon, Nontalie Morrow, Stacey Neuharth-Pritchett, Naomi Norman, Sarah Quinn, Lakshmish Ramaswamy, Aria Rechenbach, Kristin Roberts, Usha Rodrigues, Rahul Shrivastav, Catherine Simpson, Alton Standifer, William Vencill, James Warnock, and Erin Yates.

Dr. Biesecker began the meeting by welcoming members and explaining the role of the Executive Committee in the faculty governance process. Next, Secretary of the University Council Fiona Liken explained to members the voting procedures for the meeting in accordance with the Georgia Open Meetings Law.

As the first order of business, a motion was made by Elizabeth St. Pierre to approve the minutes of the April 7, 2021, meeting. The motion was seconded by Savannah Hembree. A vote was called, and the minutes were approved with 19 in favor and 7 abstentions.
Action Items:
1. From the Executive Committee:
  1. Next, Dr. Biesecker called for nominees for the election of a member of the Executive Committee to serve a three-year term on the University System of Georgia Faculty Council. Elizabeth St. Pierre nominated Janet Westpheling. The nomination was seconded by Janette Hill. Janet Westpheling accepted the nomination. Janette Hill was then nominated by Jeff Netter, but the nomination was declined. Hearing no objections from the Executive Committee, Janet Westpheling was unanimously approved to serve as the representative to the University of Georgia Faculty Council for 2021-2022. Next, Dr. Biesecker discussed an email she sent to the Executive Committee containing the agenda and documents from the September 9 Board of Regents meeting, which included such proposed changes to post-tenure and annual review as the introduction of new criterion for the evaluation of faculty: “student success activities”; the introduction of an annual evaluation into the tenure review process; a new policy regarding remediation; and a new policy regarding post-tenure dismissal. Dr. Biesecker then called for nominations from University Council to serve on the UGA Retirees Association and asked for nominations to be emailed to her.
2. Proposals from the University Curriculum Committee:
  1. Proposal to terminate the Undergraduate Certificate in Organic Agriculture. A vote was called, and the proposal was unanimously approved to be placed on the September 29, 2021, University Council agenda.
  2. Proposal for a new minor in Elementary Agricultural Education. A vote was called, and the proposal was unanimously approved to be placed on the September 29, 2021, University Council agenda.
  3. Proposal for a new Undergraduate Certificate in News Literacy. A vote was called, and the proposal was unanimously approved to be placed on the September 29, 2021, University Council agenda.
  4. Proposal for a new Undergraduate Certificate in One Health. A vote was called, and the proposal was unanimously approved to be placed on the September 29, 2021, University Council agenda.
  5. Proposal for a new Graduate Certificate in International Law. A vote was called, and the proposal was unanimously approved to be placed on the September 29, 2021, University Council agenda.
  6. Proposal to change the name of the major in Conservation Ecology and Sustainable Development (M.S.) to Integrative Conservation and Sustainability (M.S.). A vote was called, and the proposal was unanimously approved to be placed on the September 29, 2021, University Council agenda.
  7. Proposal for a new major in Regenerative Bioscience (B.S.). A vote was called, and the proposal was unanimously approved to be placed on the September 29, 2021, University Council agenda.
  8. Proposal for a new major in Data Science (M.S.). A vote was called, and the proposal was unanimously approved to be placed on the September 29, 2021, University Council agenda.
  9. Proposal to offer the existing Master of Biomanufacturing and Bioprocessing (M.B.B.) at the Beijing University of Chemical Technology. A vote was called, and the proposal was unanimously approved to be placed on the September 29, 2021, University Council agenda.
  10. Proposal for a new University of Georgia Research Institute. Following a brief discussion, a vote was called, and the proposal was unanimously approved to be placed on the September 29, 2021, University Council agenda.
  11. Proposal for a new Academic Affairs Policy Statement No. 23, Improvement and Documentation of Teaching Effectiveness. Following a brief discussion concerning the proposal document, a vote was called, and the proposal was unanimously approved to be placed on the September 29, 2021, University Council agenda.
  12. Proposal to revise Policy 4.06-5, Air Force ROTC Commitment and Summer Break. A vote was called, and the proposal was unanimously approved to be placed on the September 29, 2021, University Council agenda.
  13. Proposal for Connect and Complete: Persistence Framework. A vote was called, and the proposal was unanimously approved to be placed on the September 29, 2021, University Council agenda.
  14. Proposal to change the number of hours a student can register for without an override. A vote was called, and the proposal was unanimously approved to be placed on the September 29, 2021, University Council agenda.
3. Proposals from the Committee on Statutes, Bylaws, and Committees. Prior to presenting the following action items, Dr. St. Pierre presented information item C.2.a.:
  1. Proposals to elect chairs of standing committees by July 1 and to revise the Bylaws of the Program Review and Assessment Committee to elect a chair by July 1. A vote was called, and the proposal was unanimously approved to be placed on the September 29, 2021, University Council agenda.
  2. Proposal for Executive Committee to review and recommend changes to public facing information on the University Council website. A vote was called, and the proposal was unanimously approved to be placed on the September 29, 2021, University Council agenda.
  3. Proposal to add a new standing committee on Information Technology. Following a brief discussion, a vote was called, and the proposal was unanimously approved to be placed on the September 29, 2021, University Council agenda.
4. Proposals from the Faculty Affairs Committee:
  1. Proposal for revisions to the Lecturer Appointment and Promotion Guidelines. During discussion, Chair Janette Hill offered friendly amendments to the proposal to add “professors” in the overview of changes in the Lecturer Guidelines. The friendly amendments were accepted. A vote was called, and the proposal with the friendly amendment was unanimously approved to be placed on the September 29, 2021, University Council agenda.
  2. Proposal for a COVID-19 letter for endorsement by University Council. Following extensive discussion on the proposal concluding, a vote was called, and the proposal was approved to be placed on the September 29, 2021, University Council agenda with 23 in favor and 2 abstentions.
5. Proposal from the Franklin College Faculty Senate:
  1. Proposal for a resolution related to COVID-19 for University Council endorsement. Dr. Hahamovitch offered a friendly amendment to the proposal to remove item 9 in the proposal that was accepted. Discussion concluding on the proposal, a vote with the friendly amendment was called, and the proposal was defeated with 6 in favor, 16 against, and 3 abstentions.
6. Proposal from the Committee on Facilities:
  1. Proposal for a resolution supporting mandatory COVID-19 vaccination and indoor mask use at all times for all UGA faculty, staff, and students. Following discussion on the proposal, a vote was called and the proposal was approved to be placed on the September 29, 2021, University Council agenda with 23 in favor, 1 against, and 1 abstention.
Information Items:
1. From the Committee on Statutes, Bylaws, and Committees:
  1. Second Reading: Proposal to revise the Bylaws for the Committee on Student Life. This proposal will appear on the September 29, 2021, University Council agenda for a second required reading and vote.
2. From the Executive Committee Subcommittee on Baldwin Hall:
  1. Follow up on resolutions from 2020-2021 academic year. Subcommittee Chair Amy Rosemond offered the Executive Committee a follow up on the resolutions approved by the University Council at the April 21, 2021, meeting. A motion was made by Dr. Rosemond to place this information item on the September 29, 2021, University Council agenda. The motion was seconded by Dr. Biesecker. The Executive Committee unanimously approved placing the information item on the September 29, 2021, University Council agenda.
Old Business:
1. The Executive Committee briefly discussed the proposed changes to post-tenure and annual review from the Board of Regents that were discussed at the beginning of the meeting.
There was no new business.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 5:40 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Fiona Liken, Registrar
Secretary to University Council

Executive Committee Members Present
Laura Bierema
Barbara Biesecker
Abigail Borron
Trisha Branan
Wayde Brown
Subhraleena Deka
Stephan Durham
Savannah Hembree
Janette Hill
Jack Hu
Derrick Lemons
Fiona Liken
Anthony Mallon
Milton Masciadri
Carter Marks
Luke Naeher
Jeff Netter
Kerry Oliver
Rachel Reed
Amy Rosemond
David Shipley
Elizabeth St. Pierre
Pamela Turner
Joseph Watson
Janet Westpheling
Teena Wilhelm

Voting Results of September 15, 2021, Meeting