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From the Senate Office: Faculty Senate Executive Committee Actions

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, October 10, 2018

2018 Senate Nominating Committee.  Pursuant to the Faculty Senate Rules, the members of SEC were requested to submit the name of a member of the Standing Faculty to appear on the Nominating Committee ballot.

Update from the Office of the Provost.  Provost Wendell Pritchett offered an update on a number of topics. The Provost’s Office and the Online Learning Initiative are co-hosting a summit on campus October 12, 2018, with the University of the Future Network to discuss how globalization, online learning and other changes that are transforming the university of the future. The Take Your Professor to Lunch program continues during 2018-2019, and a notice will be sent to students in the coming weeks. Benoit Dubé is focusing his initial efforts as Chief Wellness Officer on student wellness initiatives; Provost Pritchett thanked the Faculty Senate for its role in recommending the establishment of the Chief Wellness Officer position. The Penn First Plus program has been created to support first-generation and high-need students; two faculty co-directors, Camille Charles and Robert Ghrist, have been appointed to lead the effort. Several faculty development initiatives are in place to try to further the development of faculty at all levels, including the Penn Faculty Fellows program and other efforts to support both junior faculty who are working toward promotion and tenure and faculty who are in management or leadership roles. The Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty helped host the conference “Changing the National Conversation: Inclusion and Equity” held in September, which included participation by presidents and provosts from more than 100 universities; a report will be issued later this year. A conversation between the Provost and SEC members ensued.

Human Capital Management Project Update. Vice Provost for Faculty Anita Allen and Associate Provost for Finance and Planning Mark Dingfield described progress on replacing Penn’s existing payroll and faculty management systems with new cloud-based products Workday and Interfolio, respectively. The cloud-based systems will replace current mainframe systems, which will make them more secure. Almost every constituency in the University will be impacted, and the new products will reduce inefficiencies and streamline processes for faculty hiring, recruitment, promotion, tenure, sabbatical-tracking, and more. The systems will launch on July 1, 2019, and a period of disruption during summer 2019 is expected as users acclimatize to them. It is anticipated that both products will be adopted widely across the University. Hands-on training will begin in April and will include classroom-based training sessions and online training modules. On-demand training will be available (e.g., for faculty search committees).

Moderated Discussion. SEC members discussed which specific topics to address in an in-depth manner during the year. Several topics were identified, of which two will be selected at the next meeting.

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