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 16, 2019

Chair’s Report. Senate Chair Steve Kimbrough announced that the chairperson of the Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Scholarly Communications will be Daniel Raff, associate professor of management in the Wharton School.  A list of committee candidates has been developed, and invitations will be distributed in the coming days.

Past Chair’s Report. Past Chair Jennifer Pinto-Martin reported on the ongoing work of the Provost’s Academic Planning and Budget Committee and the Capital Council.

2019 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 President. President Amy Gutmann shared a progress report on the Penn Compact 2022 across three focus areas: Inclusion, Innovation and Impact.

Update from the Office of the Ombuds. University Ombuds Lynn Hollen Lees and Associate Ombuds Marcia Martínez-Helfman described the work of the Office of the Ombuds. The Office has existed on campus since 1971 as an independent resource for faculty, staff and students to aid in resolving conflict and disputes.  All interactions are off-the-record, confidential, informal, impartial and outside any academic or administrative chain of command. Patterns that surface from the concerns brought to the Ombuds are raised in a de-identified, generalized manner with appropriate leaders at the University, school or unit level while protecting the identities of the individual visitors to the Office.  During discussion with SEC members, Dr. Lees noted that the Ombuds are considering the establishment of office hours at different locations on the central campus to make it easier for their services to be accessed.  Services are primarily tailored to individuals, although suggestions were made to tailor Ombuds materials for different constituencies (i.e., faculty, staff, students). SEC members emphasized the value of clarifying where the Ombuds Office fits with other campus resources, and communicating publicly the conditions in which individuals should seek out the Ombuds Office, so that Penn community members fully understand the mission of the Ombuds Office and the particular needs it fills.

Moderated Discussion. SEC members identified specific topics to address in-depth during the current academic year, focusing in particular on matters related to climate change. SEC members were invited to recommend other topics for discourse at subsequent meetings.