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, March 20, 2019

Chair’s Report. Faculty Senate Chair Jennifer Pinto-Martin reported on a number of matters.  (1) The Faculty Senate will convene a Teach-In session on April 10 from 6 to 8 p.m. called “What We Know about Race–For Sure.” The session will be held at the Central Parkway Library’s Skyline Room with participation from Penn faculty members John Jackson, Jr., Dorothy Roberts and Sarah Tishkoff. The session will be moderated by WHYY’s Tracey Matisak. The event is open to the public and faculty and students are encouraged to attend. (2) The “Your Big Idea” Wellness contest received more than 450 submissions; 14 semifinalists will “pitch” their ideas before a judging panel on April 25 at 4:30 p.m. in Houston Hall’s Bodek Lounge. The audience will have a chance to cast “live” votes during the session. (3) The Penn & Slavery Project symposium will be held April 3-4 at Van Pelt Library; participation is open to the public. (4) Proposals are now being welcomed for the Provost’s Excellence through Diversity Fund; the submission deadline is April 12.

Past Chair’s Report. Faculty Senate Past Chair Santosh Venkatesh reported on the work of the Capital Council, the Provost’s Academic Planning and Budget Committee, and the Campaign for Community.

Update from the Office of the Vice Provost for Research. Vice Provost for Research Dawn Bonnell described initiatives from her office that take a “strategic approach to navigating the research landscape.” (1) The Postdoctoral Fellowships for Academic Diversity will be renamed the “Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellows”; the program’s goal to increase the pool of underrepresented groups in academia will remain unchanged. (2) Vice Provost Bonnell described a number of activities designed to promote networking and professional development for researchers at Penn, including the Penn Research Excellence Initiative to support credible, rigorous research initiatives and to “provide researchers with the context with which to influence external stakeholders to support research excellence.” A regional symposium was recently convened on this topic, out of which a multi-use video training archive will soon become available to researchers. Electronic Research Notebooks are now freely available to researchers at Penn. The notebooks provide a cloud-based platform for storage, organization and sharing of research materials within labs and in research courses. (3) An Impact Report on the University Research Foundation for the period 2010-2017 is now available. (4) Two new research funding opportunities are now available and accepting proposals. The “Discovering the Future” research grant program is designed to support “high-risk discovery-based research” in which research initiatives could have transformative impacts. The “Accelerating from Lab to Market” program serves to support “translational research with commercialization potential.” Kim Craig, Research Compliance Officer, described a proposed Policy on Controlled Substances for Research Purposes; SEC members voiced no objections to the proposed policy draft.

Moderated Discussion. SEC members discussed several matters, including principles of academic freedom in research at Penn, continuing efforts by a Faculty Senate standing committee to understand the roles and perspectives of Academic Support Staff within departments, and undergraduate admissions practices at Penn.