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, February 12, 2020

Chair’s Report. Faculty Senate Chair Steven Kimbrough reported that the Vice Provost for Education welcomes comments on the proposed 2022-2023 academic calendar, which was shared with SEC members.  Comments may be submitted to jcanose@upenn.edu through March 18, 2020.  

2020 Senate Committee on Committees. The roster for the 2020 Senate Committee on Committees was discussed and additional new members were identified.

Past Chair’s Report. Faculty Senate Past Chair Jennifer Pinto-Martin offered an update on the 2019 Your Big Idea Wellness program. Three initiatives were funded and have been launched. The Penn Food and Wellness Collaborative (http://www.cphi.upenn.edu/cphi/Penn-Food-and-Wellness-Collaborative.html) is leading the creation of the “Penn Park Farm,” Penn’s first campus urban farm. Construction of a garden and greenhouse is in progress at the farm. The farm will be host to a wide variety of programming including class visits, internships, workshops, volunteer opportunities and events, with an emphasis on promoting wellness on campus. NatureRx at Penn (http://www.cphi.upenn.edu/cphi/nature-rx-at-penn.html) based on a successful model at Cornell University, engages Penn students, faculty and staff to spend time in nature in order to reduce stress and anxiety, increase energy and have protected, restorative time. A “prescription pad” and app directs users to one of 12 green spaces in walking distance from the central campus. In addition, ongoing themed wellness walks (http://www.cphi.upenn.edu/cphi/Weekly-Themed-Wellness-Walks.html) welcome from 10 to 50 participants each week. Any community member may register to host a wellness walk.  

The theme of wellness has infused the campus community. The Office of Student Conduct’s Restorative Practices at Penn (https://www.osc.upenn.edu/mediation-conflict-resolution-mediation) emphasize a shift in resolving violations of the Code of Student Conduct away from punitive measures and toward health-and-wellness-focused measures of resolving conflicts in productive ways. Stickers and flyers with information about accessing behavioral wellness resources were distributed to all, courtesy of the Department of Public Safety and the Office of the Vice Provost for Education. 

Update from the Office of the Provost. Provost Wendell Pritchett continued the discussion on civically engaged scholarship that SEC began with President Amy Gutmann in January 2020.  Provost Pritchett reminded SEC that the matter of civically engaged scholarship is a longstanding personal passion of his, as evidenced by his Graduate Academic Engagement Fellowship Program (https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/inaugural-provosts-graduate-academic-engagement-fellowships-awarded). Although University rules require excellence in research, teaching and service, tenure standards in each of these areas are set at the department or School level rather than at the University level. Provost Pritchett suggested that because “cultural” change (in determining which activities are considered excellent and merit tenure) largely originates at the grassroots level, SEC members should initiate conversations on these matters at the departmental level. He stated a willingness to start a discussion with the deans and a willingness to consider whether development of school-level conversation starting points for use by deans would be beneficial.

Moderated Discussion. Professor Kimbrough encouraged SEC members to begin dialogues on the role of public engagement in promotion and tenure with constituents in their departments.  A short-term goal might be to ask departments or schools (as appropriate) to add a question to annual faculty activity reports: “Did you engage in any other activity that you believe shows evidence of excellence and does not readily fit into the categories of research, teaching, or service?” SEC members concurred that “innovation” should be included in this fourth category, and that the term “broader impacts” should be used rather than “engagement” to minimize language having potential political connotations. SEC members also encouraged that a similar question be added to the Vice Provost for Faculty’s next climate survey.