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, September 2, 2020

Welcome and Introductions. After introductions, Faculty Senate Chair Kathleen Hall Jamieson welcomed the members of the Senate Executive Committee (SEC) and offered a brief review of the Senate and its structure. She indicated that the responsibility of SEC is to be the central mechanism for input and feedback between faculty and Penn leaders. She urged SEC members to serve as conduits for communication between the Standing Faculty and the Senate leadership. A full roster of SEC members is available on the Senate’s website (https://facultysenate.upenn.edu/). In particular, the “Tri-Chairs” including Kathleen Hall Jamieson (Chair), Bill Braham (Chair-Elect), and Steve Kimbrough (Past Chair) work in concert and arrive at decisions by consensus. 

Prof. Jamieson recapped the Faculty Senate Seminar Series and highlighted the utility of providing questions and comments to guest discussants in advance in order to enhance engagement between the discussant(s) and the faculty. This model was piloted with separate discussions between SEC and President Amy Gutmann (see SEC minutes of January 2020) and Provost Wendell Pritchett (see minutes of February 2020) on the topic of “engaged scholarship” and the role it plays in promotion and tenure discussions. From those discussions, it was agreed that SEC members should encourage their departments to clearly enunciate what role engaged scholarship should play in those decisions, if any. This model will continue throughout the year, including with President Gutmann at the next SEC meeting on October 14, 2020.

Support for Faculty Research and Teaching. Prof. Jamieson recognized the unique demands placed upon faculty to deliver a world-class Penn education in virtual space. Doing so will require faculty members to prioritize teaching to an even greater extent than in non-COVID times. This re-prioritization will entail trade-offs in time spent that would be otherwise devoted to research and service. Traditional faculty reward structures do not envision that teaching will be prioritized to the extent required now. As a result, the Tri-Chairs are emphasizing the need for Penn leaders to clearly communicate to all teaching faculty that expending additional time on teaching and in the process downplaying some other activities will not be penalized. At the same time, departments should work to ensure that junior faculty have the wherewithal to complete the teaching, research, and service required to reach the thresholds they need to meet under the extensions that are now available. 

Prof. Jamieson addressed concerns raised by faculty members this summer about ownership of instructional materials delivered online. “Guidance on Recording Classes” was announced from Vice Provosts Emanuel, Perna, and Winkelstein on September 3, 2020, the day following the SEC meeting.

Prof. Jamieson shared a summary of efforts being made by schools and by Penn Athletics: virtual backdrops to be used in Zoom in particular to be used by students to avoid disclosing any socioeconomic markers that might disadvantage them or their learning experiences. The summary will be shared with SEC to share with its constituents. The Tri-Chairs encourage all schools to make these Zoom options accessible and available.

Finally, Prof. Jamieson showed an example of a three-minute “wellness break” video produced by Penn Athletics for use during class breaks of multi-hour classes. The example includes a greeting by a student, a stretching routine by a Penn Athletics official, and a brief clip of a Penn women’s basketball game. Penn Athletics will release a new video weekly throughout the fall semester, and the Tri-Chairs are working to produce similar videos from other areas of the campus. 

Faculty Senate Select Committee on Rules Review. Prof. Jamieson announced the creation of an ad hoc committee that will systematically review the Faculty Senate Rules. SEC members will be invited to provide feedback on how the rules can be both reformed and modernized, and a meeting of the full Faculty Senate is planned for Spring 2021. Details will follow in due course.

Structure and Function of Senate Committees. Cross-committee liaisons are being informally arranged to preserve and share good ideas across committees. This year, for example, each of the standing Senate committees has a common charge: “Assess and evaluate ways to change University structures, practices, and biases (at the University, school, departmental, and individual levels) that perpetuate systemic racism as they apply to the committee’s general charge [and] facilitate the changes identified….”

Discussion and vote on draft Charges for Senate Standing Committees, 2020-2021. The specific charges of the Faculty Senate standing committees were reviewed and approved.

Update on CIRCE (Senate Select Committee on the Institutional Response to the Climate Emergency). Prof. Braham described CIRCE’s current projects, which are provided in greater detail in an article that appeared in Almanac on August 25, 2020. In addition, CIRCE will sponsor an event as part of Penn Climate Week: “How Faculty and Staff Can Reduce Their Carbon Footprint at Home.” This webinar is open to the public (registration required) and will be held on Friday, September 25, 2020, at 2 p.m. EDT.

Update on P4 (Senate Select Committee on Planning for Post-Pandemic Penn). Prof. Kimbrough described P4’s recent work.

Faculty Senate Seminar with Associate Provost and Chief Wellness Officer Benoit Dubé. All faculty were invited to this hourlong virtual Faculty Senate Seminar, the fourth in a series begun in the summer. The video from all four seminars are available for viewing “on demand” at https://provost.upenn.edu/senate/faculty-senate-seminar-series