Editor’s note: For more detailed information, including meeting minutes, visit the Faculty Senate website.

A report by University of Delaware Provost Domenico Grasso and presentations on community engagement, bias reporting and an update on general education reform were among the items discussed when the UD Faculty Senate held its regular meeting on Monday, Oct. 10, in Gore Hall.

Grasso told senators that University President Dennis Assanis has asked that UD increase its undergraduate enrollment by 1,000 students.

"Next year, our first-year class target enrollment is going to be 4,200 students," Grasso said. "This is a number that we have seen before, and we adapted to it."

Grasso noted that the Office of the Provost is working with deans, department chairs and all campus academic units to make the process as seamless as possible.

"We will be discussing what we will need to give the students the best possible experience," Grasso said. "President Assanis said we will be doing this without sacrificing quality in any way."

Grasso also noted that UD is exploring recommendations suggested by the strategic plan to establish a graduate college.

"Ann Ardis, senior vice provost for graduate and professional education, will be taking the leadership in organizing a group of individuals to look at this," Grasso said. "This is an opportunity that doesn't come along very often, so we should take advantage of it."

Grasso also noted that representatives from Academic Analytics, a firm that provides intelligence data and solutions for institutions of higher education, will visit the UD campus on Oct. 26-27 to provide training and to meet with interested faculty members.

Senate actions

Prasad Dhurjati, president of the Faculty Senate and professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, conducted an election to fill two open senate positions.

Alan Fox, professor of Asian and comparative philosophy and a former president of the Faculty Senate (2007-08), was elected senate secretary. Robert Opila, professor of materials science and engineering and past Faculty Senate president, was elected to serve as member-at-large on the Committee on Committees and Nominations.

Emily Davis, chair of the Senate Committee on Diversity and Inclusion, also noted that a presentation by Jackson Katz, “More than a Few Good Men: The State of American Manhood," will be held at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 27, in the Multipurpose Rooms of the Trabant University Center. The event is sponsored by the Office of Equity and Inclusion and cosponsored by the SAPE committee and Men's Action Network.

During the new business portion of the meeting, senators gave the green light to several resolutions concerning revisions to the Faculty Handbook.

Resolutions passed include a process for updating the Faculty Handbook that is maintained jointly by the Faculty Senate and the Office of the Provost. All changes are implemented and recorded using a new form. There is a requirement that all revisions to the Faculty Handbook made without the prior approval of the senate shall be removed, subject to Section 3.2.3.2 of the UD Board of Trustees Bylaws.

A resolution that the terms for Faculty Senate acting president and members of the Executive Committee will run from July 1 to June 30 passed unanimously.

Also approved was a resolution to extend the term of the Committee on Committees and Nominations chair to two years.

To address the issue of replacement of senate officers who resign in mid-term, senators approved a resolution permitting the Senate Executive Committee to appoint a temporary replacement to serve as a non-voting acting officer during the period of vacancy until an election is held.

Senators also approved a resolution to increase the membership of the Academic Priorities Review Committee by three additional members who have served as past presidents of the Faculty Senate. The resolution calls for the committee to appoint a replacement for the past president should a vacancy occur on the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate.

Community Engagement Initiative

Dan Rich, University Professor of Public Policy, and Lynnette Overby, professor of theatre, discussed UD Engage, the University's Community Engagement Initiative.

The initiative builds on the accomplishments that earned UD the Community Engagement classification from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in 2015.

"Since last spring we have been mobilizing this initiative, and we want to give you an update on where we are and where we are headed," Rich said. "We also want to tell you why we think this is important and why we specifically think it is important for the Faculty Senate."

Community engagement, Overby said, involves accessing the knowledge, skills, resources and energy of the University to address the challenges facing communities both local and global.

"One thing we always talk about is that effective community engagement must be reciprocal, mutually beneficial and collaborative in the exchange of knowledge and resources," Overby said. "We know that together we can have a definite support system that will work for UD."

General education reform

An update on the progress of general education reform was presented by Christopher Knight, General Education Committee chairperson and professor of kinesiology and applied physiology.

"On April 15, 2015, the General Education Task Force outlined an implementation plan for general education that was brought to the Senate as a set of resolutions," Knight said. "Five resolutions passed and our emphasis has moved from design to implementation, while still considering how we might accomplish the best ideas that were contained in the one resolution that did not pass."

More information on the General Education Initiative can be found at this website.

Non-discriminatory policy

José-Luis Riera, dean of students, and Susan L. Groff, director of institutional equity and Title IX coordinator, reported on the status of UD's non-discrimination policy.

"We have been working on this for the last year," Riera said. "Last year, Sue Groff and I charged the Bias Reporting Policy and Procedure Working Group co-chaired by Fatimah Stone (then senior associate director of the Office of Equity and Inclusion) and Adam Cantley, associate dean of students, to look at the policy itself and see if anything needed to be changed, and to see what other institutions are doing, with a real emphasis on reporting and resolution."

Riera noted that students were concerned about how to determine if bias actually occurred and, if so, what to do about it.

"Students wanted to know where do you report this, who do you tell, how does the institution weigh in on what happened and how do we resolve the issue," Riera said. "We also had to look at the bias report team and also at communication in creating some type of sustainable plan."

Groff said the Committee on Diversity and Inclusion submitted a report in the spring of 2016, with recommendations.

"One was to talk about the non-discrimination policy and how it reacts to claims of harassment and discrimination, looking at a comprehensive sweep, a comprehensive policy for students, faculty and staff,” she said. “The major difference that jumped out in sexual misconduct in this policy was the offering of an informal resolution process."

Riera said the Bias Reporting and Procedure Working Group does not recommend the implementation of a bias response team, and recommends a Case Advisory Board to advise the director of the Office of Equity and Inclusion in determining appropriate responses to reports of harassment and discrimination, which can include education and prevention efforts.

A final policy is expected to be effective July 1, 2017.

The next scheduled meeting of the Faculty Senate is Monday, Nov. 7, in 104 Gore Hall. For more detailed information, visit the website.