The following is published in accordance with the Faculty Senate Rules. Among other purposes, the publication of SEC actions is intended to stimulate discussion among the constituencies and their representatives. Please communicate your comments to Patrick Walsh, executive assistant to the Senate Office, either by telephone at (215) 898-6943 or by email at senate@pobox.upenn.edu

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Actions

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Chair’s Report.  Faculty Senate Chair Santosh Venkatesh informed SEC members that Senior Vice President and General Counsel Wendy White will visit SEC at its February meeting to answer questions from the institutional perspective on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruling in December that permitted graduate students to vote on whether to unionize.

Past-Chair’s Report.  Faculty Senate Past Chair Laura Perna reported on the work of the Capital Council and the Campaign for Community, which is launching a “Campaign for Wellness” in the coming weeks.

Proposal to Extend the Senior Lecturer Term in the Graduate School of Education.  Professor Tom Sollecito, chair of the Senate Committee on Faculty and the Academic Mission (SCOF), presented SEC members with a proposal from the Graduate School of Education (GSE) to extend the appointment term for Senior Lecturers in that school from three years to five years.   SCOF reviewed the proposal and an endorsement from Provost Wendell Pritchett and voted unanimously in support of it. Following a brief discussion and a call to question, SEC members also voted unanimously in support of the proposal.

Update from the Office of the Provost.  Provost Wendell Pritchett brought four matters for discussion with SEC members: junior faculty mentoring; retention of faculty; graduate student unionization; and wellness.  He stated that the Provost’s office is exploring some additional supports for new faculty including the idea of programming that would happen in the second year, after faculty are acclimated to Penn. Such programming would focus on drawing tighter connections among faculty across schools. On the matter of graduate student unionization, the Provost informed SEC members of the details of the NLRB ruling and invited them to prepare questions for Ms. White, a guest scheduled for the February SEC meeting. He asked that faculty members encourage all graduate students to fully verse themselves on the issues around unionization at Penn in preparation to cast an informed vote. The election date has not yet been set. On the matter of student wellness, Provost Pritchett indicated that Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) has been authorized to increase its counseling staff by five full-time-equivalents. University leadership will undertake a full review of CAPS programs (which include other wellness initiatives such as I CARE training and the Faculty Wellness Ambassadors program). The Campaign for Wellness will launch a website that collects all student wellness resources, including resources that faculty can use to assist students. He invited feedback from Penn faculty to inform those efforts.

Update on the Teach-In to be held March 18-22, 2018.  Professor Venkatesh reviewed the various events planned during the Teach-In week of March 18-22, 2018. Planners are reaching out to the Penn community, surrounding neighborhoods, city and state leadership, other nearby universities and local schools to engage them in the activities.

Faculty who instruct classes are requested to incorporate Teach-In events into class assignments to encourage engagement among the student populations. For example, some instructors might opt to require student participation at one or more Teach-In events.  Please contact the Senate office or your school dean for more specifics on this request. The Faculty Senate will be launching a website by the end of January that provides more information on the various events being convened by schools and centers across campus.

Moderated Discussion.  Because of limited time, a moderated discussion of other topics of interest to SEC members was deferred to a later meeting.