Executive Vice President and University Provost Lori Gonzalez provided senators with updated COVID-19 vaccination rates for the university community. As of Oct. 5, 2021, students reported the highest rate of vaccination at 86.1%, followed by 82.7% for staff and 82.1% for faculty at UofL. During the month of October, vaccinated students have the option to enter a drawing for a variety of prizes including priority registration, a blue parking pass, a year of free coffee from the campus Starbucks or a semester of undergraduate tuition.

Gonzalez also addressed enrollment figures. Gonzalez encouraged senators and their constituents to aid in the retention effort by submitting progress reports to identify students in need of academic intervention.

“Last month, I shared that our budget was built on the expectation from the colleges that we would increase our enrollment by 200 students. In fact, we were down 194 students. That means we have 394 less students than our budget was based on,” Gonzalez said. “We are working with the colleges to true up those budgets, but there are some things that can happen at the college level to impact retention from fall to spring semester. The main thing faculty members can do is to complete progress reports for students who aren’t performing well so that we can start academic intervention efforts.”

Executive Vice President of Research & Innovation Kevin Gardner reported that the university received a record breaking $201.5 million in awards during the 2021 fiscal year. Gardner shared additional record-breaking figures from the university’s research, innovation and commercialization efforts.

“Our total award volume in 2020 was $170 million and this year, it was $201.5 million,” Gardner said. “This fiscal year, we’ve had 80 patents issued, $27 million in innovation income and 482 other agreements, such as material transfer agreements.”

Faculty Grievance Officer Cedric Powell provided the to senators. Powell reported that a total of five grievances had been filed from Oct. 1, 2020 to Sept. 1, 2021. Two Type 1 grievances were filed, as well as three Type 2 grievances.

Two grievances were filed from the School of Medicine; however, neither met the jurisdictional requirements for a formal grievance and the complaints were dismissed. Two grievances were filed from the College of Arts and Sciences, and the College of Business and the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law each had one grievance filed. A Type 2 grievance from A&S, a Type 2 grievance from the College of Business and a Type 1 grievance from the School of Law each went forward with the formal process and appeal with the opinion of the Faculty Grievance committee ultimately being affirmed by either President Bendapudi or Provost Gonzalez.

Committee reports and a of the virtual meeting can be accessed on the . The next Faculty Senate meeting is scheduled for Nov. 3 via a hybrid format with the option of remote attendance via Teams, or in-person attendance at Ekstrom Library’s Chao Auditorium.

Faculty Senate Chair David Schultz presented senators with a recent recommendation made by UofL’s COVID-19 Coordinating Committee. Faculty are encouraged to develop student seating charts for in-person courses and provide this information to . Accurate seating charts will make the contact tracing process faster and more efficient and can limit the number of unvaccinated students required to quarantine in the event a classmate tests positive for the virus.

Executive Vice President and University Provost Lori Gonzalez updated senators on the status of student enrollment. Gonzalez reported a decline of 194 undergraduate students and 16 professional students, as well as an increase of 232 graduate students.

“Overall, we are down 194 [undergraduate] students. The issue with that is our budget was built on being over by 200 students,” Gonzalez stated. “The data that we’re looking at right now is how many of those students are out-of-state or non-residents. The budget is still fluid until we know that.”

Gonzalez also reported that data on the vaccination status of students, faculty and staff are currently being analyzed to provide accurate vaccination rates for individual colleges and programs. As of Sept. 3, roughly 67% of UofL students had received the COVID-19 vaccine. Gonzalez encouraged Cardinals to take advantage of the 28 pop-up vaccine clinics that are being offered across the university by Campus Health.

Lidiya Grote, a social sciences librarian with UofL Libraries, presented senators with information on Open ����ֱ��al Resources and the benefits of their use in college academia. High textbook prices lead many college students to forgo purchasing required course materials, and the quality of their education suffers as a result. Expensive textbooks also disproportionally affect students from historically underserved and financially disadvantaged backgrounds. One alternative to high-priced textbooks are OERs, freely available materials that reside in the public domain or are licensed for free use and repurposing.

“A 2016 review of all the published literature found that OERs are comparable to commercial course material in quality and save students, on average, about $1,000 per year. Research also shows that ‘D,’ ‘F’ and ‘W’ grades decrease when a regular textbook is substituted for an open textbook – there’s improved learning performance,” Grote stated.

Faculty were encouraged to identify and incorporate high-quality OER material into their courses when possible. Individuals can also contribute to the initiative by creating or revising existing OERs. Additional information and guides to and are available on the Ekstrom Library webpage.

Committee reports and a of the virtual meeting can be accessed on the . The next Faculty Senate meeting is scheduled for Oct. 6 via a hybrid format with the option of remote attendance via Teams, or in-person attendance at Ekstrom Library’s Chao Auditorium.

Bendapudi provided senators with current information on the mass COVID-19 vaccination site located in the purple lot of Cardinal Stadium. The 28-lane vaccination location, which estimates a 10-minute wait time for scheduled vaccine recipients, is currently open to anyone from Kentucky over the age of 16. Information on vaccination appointment scheduling at any of the four Louisville area locations can be found through the UofL Health website .

“You should be proud of your university for stepping up and doing this for the community,” Bedapudi said.

Benapudi also responded to senators’ concerns about the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. The one-dose vaccine was provided through UofL Health in the beginning of April, but current administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been suspended by the CDC and the FDA pending an investigation into some rare cases of blood clotting. 

“Out of the 6.3 million vaccinations, there were about six people who developed blood clots. It truly is one in a million, but that doesn’t mean it’s trivial. The CDC is putting out information, and we will be sure to share that,” Bendapudi said.

At present, UofL Health is only administering the Pfizer vaccine and will stay informed of the CDC guidelines and recommendations concerning the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Those who receive the vaccine and develop severe headaches, blurred vision, slurred speech, leg swelling or severe abdominal roughly one to two weeks after administration are encouraged to contact their health provider or Campus Health Services. Additional information was shared through a university-wide update on April 14, which can be found .

Jennifer Steier, chair of the Credentials and Nominations Committee for the Staff Senate, shared the results of the committee’s proportion calculations for senate seat distribution among departments. The J.B. Speed School of Engineering, the School of Dentistry, the School of ����ֱ��, the School of Business, the Office of the Executive Vice President of Research and the Office of the President gained one seat; the Office of the Provost gained two seats. The Chief Operating Officer lost two seats, the VP of Health Affairs lost one seat and the School of Medicine lost five seats.

A total of 49 seats will be up for election in 2021, and 50 seats will be vacant in 2022. Applications for Staff Senate are currently closed. Additional information on the Staff Senate voting process will be presented at the May Staff Senate meeting.

The Staff Grievance Committee reported one grievance since the last full Staff Senate meeting. The hearing committee is being led by Barbara Bishop, the committee vice chair, and interviews concerning that matter are currently ongoing.

Committee reports and a of the virtual meeting can be found on the . The next Staff Senate meeting will be held on May 11 via Microsoft Teams.

Bendapudi informed senators that as of April 12, the mass COVID-19 vaccination site at Cardinal Stadium will be open to anyone over the age of 16. Information on vaccination appointment scheduling at any of the four Louisville area locations can be found through the UofL Health website .

“We have the capacity to give about 4,000 vaccines a day. As we look at the registrations, there are still plenty of openings. Receiving the vaccine is something that I strongly recommend,” Bendapudi said.

Senators voted on two certificate proposals from the Academic Programs Committee. A graduate certificate in Family Business Management and Advising from the College of Business was presented to senators, as well as a post-graduate certificate in Pediatric Acute Care Nursing provided through the School of Nursing. Both certificates received unanimous support from the Faculty Senate.

Tracy Eells, vice provost of faculty affairs, presented senators with the proposed faculty accountability policy. In December 2019, the provost charged a committee to make recommendations regarding expectations of faculty behavior and appropriate disciplinary actions. The proposed policy is intended to add consistency and equity in disciplinary actions across all departments and will be independent of the faculty grievance policy. The Faculty Senate will respond to the proposed policy at the next senate meeting in May.

Findings from the 2020 Part-time Faculty Survey, which was administered to part-time faculty between Oct. 27 and Nov. 11, were shared with Faculty Senate. While over 70% of respondents reported being either satisfied or very satisfied with their employment at UofL, the results also identified some concerns for part-time faculty members. Results indicated that some part-time faculty were not receiving, or were not made aware of, annual performance evaluations. Respondents also voiced concerns about the lack of compensation for course preparation time when those courses are later cancelled. Roy Fuller, chair of the Part-time Faculty Committee, indicated that additional research and part-time faculty surveys will be employed to address these concerns.

Members of the W2 committee provided senators with the preliminary findings of the fall 2020 cultural wellbeing survey. The survey boasted over 2,300 responses from faculty, staff, students and alumni. The survey gauged cultural wellbeing using three metrics for inclusion among UofL community members: hope, belonging and trust. The W2 committee plans to align the data from the survey with each of the nine Cardinal Principles, then identify and recommend the lectures, workshops and other ongoing university programs that can improve cultural wellbeing across the university community.

Theo Edmonds, who presented the preliminary findings to senators, stated, “the survey allows us to show that the culture of our organization has empirically improved and improved in a way that supports an increase in inclusive innovation. Using this culture change process, we can support more innovation in the university by finding new ways to unlock the latent potential in all the different groups that are a part of our UofL family.”

Committee reports and a video recording of the virtual meeting can be accessed on the . The next Faculty Senate meeting is scheduled for May 5 via Microsoft Teams.

Senators were joined by Executive Director of Campus Health Services Phillip Bressoud, who provided information on the positivity rate of COVID-19 on campus. Bressoud reported that positivity rates declined from 4.1% on Jan. 4 to 1% as of March 1.

Bressoud also informed senators of the new guidelines issued by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The guidelines state that fully vaccinated individuals should still wear a well-fitted mask and practice physical distancing when in public, adhere to preventative measures when visiting with unvaccinated individuals, avoid medium and large in-person gatherings, and get tested if they are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. Other CDC guidelines about vaccinated individuals can be found . At this time, all the university’s health protocols and the required testing program, are still in effect.

The commonwealth, in cooperation with Campus Health and UofL Health, will be opening a in the purple lot of Cardinal Stadium on April 1. Vaccinations will be more readily available to faculty and staff as a direct result of this new vaccination location.

Bressoud stated, “Our plan is that all university faculty and staff who have not been vaccinated by April 1 will participate in the first couple days of that operation, and we will finish vaccinating faculty and staff at that time. If you can get the vaccine somewhere else, you are free to do so, but you will be able to receive that vaccination there if you have not already.”

Katie Partin, director of the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, and V. Faye Jones, senior associate vice president for diversity and equity, presented senators with information on the Employee Climate survey. The survey was redesigned in 2017 and is divided into two modules that are administered to faculty and staff on an alternating annual schedule. Data collected from previous surveys has been used to measure improvements on campus, create and implement action plans and increase accountability and transparency to the campus community.

The survey was initially planned the fall 2020 semester; however, it was postponed until spring of 2021 due to overlap with the Wellbeing and Resilience Survey. For this reason, invitations to complete the survey were sent out by the Office of Institutional Effectiveness via email on March 15. The survey is scheduled to close on March 28 but could be extended past this date depending on response rates. Findings will be available approximately 30 days after the close of the survey. Previous results from the Employee Climate Survey can be found .

Committee reports and a of the virtual meeting can be found on the . The next Staff Senate meeting will be held on April 13 via Microsoft Teams.

Beth Boehm, outgoing executive vice president and university provost, provided senators with updates on COVID-19 vaccine availability. On the afternoon of March 2, invitations for the COVID-19 vaccination were sent via email to all faculty, staff and students between the ages of 60 and 69. Boehm encouraged those who fall within this age range and did not receive the email from Student Health Services to contact Phillip Bressoud, executive director of Campus Health Services.

Boehm introduced her successor to the executive vice president and university provost position, Lori Stewart Gonzalez. Boehm was thanked for her years of service by Faculty Senate Chair David Schultz and other members of the Faculty Senate. Gonzalez, a Kentucky native, will assume the role on April 1.

Boehm stated, “I just wanted to thank you all for welcoming me back to the senate these past three years. It’s been an honor to serve in the role of the provost and to work with all of you.”

Senators received information on student enrollment by Vice Provost of Enrollment Management and Student Success Jim Begany. Begany reported a peak in enrollment during the fall 2020 semester with over 23,000 students. While public 4-year universities nationwide saw an average 10.5% decrease in enrollment during the fall 2020 semester, UofL reported a 2.7% increase in student enrollment. The university also saw an increase in the 6-year graduation rate, which is the common measure among institutions. The current 6-year graduation rate is at 60.4%, an improvement from the 52.9% rate reported in 2015.

When addressing the current 6-year graduation rate, Begany stated, “this is what I’m most proud of. This is a university-wide effort. It’s our faculty working with students in the classroom, our advisors, our student affairs, our entire university. When we see numbers that are improving, it’s reflective of all the work that we’re all doing to get our students to graduate.”

Updates about the Canon printer policies were provided by Chief Procurement Officer Sally Molsberger.  

Under the updated Canon printer policy, existing single function and desktop printers can continue to be used until they are non-functioning, at which time they may not be repaired or replaced. Toner and ink for existing single function and desktop printers will not be provided through Canon and should be ordered through the contracted office supply vendor, Staples. All paper purchases should go through the university . The policy further states that university funds cannot be used to pay for desktop printers or personal printing. Those with questions or concerns about the updated printing policy were encouraged to contact either or with Procurement Services.

Vice Provost of Faculty Affairs Tracy Eells provided the current draft of the intimate relationships policy. In December 2019, Boehm charged a committee to review and make necessary changes to the policy on intimate relationships between students and members of faculty and staff. The policy will apply to all university employees.

Four types of intimate relationships will be prohibited under the policy:

• An instructor, staff or administrator and an undergraduate student
• An instructor, staff or administrator and a graduate or professional student, when the instructor, staff or administrator has a current or expected supervisory or instructional role with the student or when the instructor, staff or administrator and student are in the same academic school, college, program or department
• A graduate or professional student and an undergraduate, graduate, or professional student when there is a supervisory or instructional role
• A supervisor and the supervisor’s direct report.

Committee reports and a of the virtual meeting can be accessed on the . The next faculty meeting is scheduled for April 7 via Microsoft Teams.

Bendapudi provided senators with updates and reminders about the COVID-19 vaccine. State government constraints limit the number of available vaccines, which restricts how quickly vaccines can be offered to the entire university community. Bendapudi further reminded senators that age will be the determining factor for when vaccines will be offered to employees. An email notification from UofL Health will alert those who are next in line to receive the vaccination. All staff, faculty and students were encouraged to take advantage of the vaccine when it is made available to them.

“If you have a chance to get a vaccine please do it, as all of the scientific evidence right now is that you’re better off taking the vaccine,” Bendapudi said.

Bendapudi presented key findings from the Counsel on Postsecondary ����ֱ��, which oversees all Kentucky higher education institutions. The counsel assesses all colleges and universities on 29 different metrics of progress. Bendapudi reported that since the 2015/2016 academic year, the university has improved on 26 of the 29 measured metrics. Adult learners over the age of 22, diversity of tenure track staff and student performance in English were among those areas with room for growth. The CPE findings further highlighted fall 2020 enrollment rates for the university.

“In fall of 2020, we led all Kentucky public colleges and universities by actually growing our freshmen enrollment by about 2.5%, when nationally the trends were down. This is the direct result of staff contribution at every level,” Bendapudi said.

Senators were also joined by M. Rehan Khan, vice president of information technology services and chief information officer, and Katherine Stevenson, executive director of enterprise technology services. As part of the ongoing effort to keep the university secure, access to campus resources will be restricted for devices with unsupported operating systems.

Stevenson informed senators that now obsolete operating systems, including Windows 7 and early variations of macOS, are no longer receiving necessary patches. As a result, these operating systems are increasingly exposed to vulnerabilities and possible cybersecurity threats.  

“It’s important that people keep their operating systems up to date to receive these patches. If you don’t, your machine is very vulnerable to ransomware and other forms of malicious software,” Stevenson stated.

At the close of business on Feb. 26, these unsupported operating systems will no longer be able to access the campus VPN. At that time, devices running Windows 7 and the obsolete versions of macOS will not be able to access PeopleSoft HR. Employees were encouraged to take advantage of the free upgrade to Windows 10 through the university’s Microsoft contract. Updates to macOS are also available free of charge. Up to five personal devices can be updated to compatible operating systems by contacting the

Brian Buford, director of employee development and success, provided senators with information about the launch of the new Employee Success Center. The ESC was formed as part of the 2019-2022 to help make the university a great place to work. Leadership training, mentoring and coaching will be provided through the center to improve workplace culture and promote employee engagement.

To celebrate the launch of the Employee Success Center, President Bendapudi will host a virtual fireside chat with special guest, Simon Sinek, on Feb. 22 at 1 p.m. Sinek is a renowned speaker, author and presenter of the third most watched TED Talk of all time. Employees can register for the free virtual event

Committee reports and a full video recording of the virtual meeting can be found on the . The next Staff Senate meeting will be held on March 9 via Microsoft Teams.

As of Jan. 10, spring semester enrollment was up by 578 students compared to 2020. Bendapudi acknowledged that new online learning opportunities in both the College of Business and the College of ����ֱ�� and Human Development heavily contributed to this figure. She thanked advisors, admissions staff, the financial aid office, student success coordinators, and faculty members for their efforts and contributions toward student success and retention.

Bendapudi provided senators with information regarding the COVID-19 vaccine availability. Vaccination of all university health care faculty and staff is expected to be completed by late January. Next, the vaccine will be offered to UofL employees and students in order of their age groups. “Our best judgement is to distribute it by age, which is what the best science is telling us. Whether you are faculty, staff, or a student, those who are 65 or older will get it first,” Bendapudi said.

Executive Vice President and University Provost Beth Boehm provided additional information on the age categories for vaccine distribution. They will be available to students, faculty and staff over the age of 65, followed by those 50 and older, and then those under 50. Boehm further noted that there will be four rounds of required testing for individuals operating on campus. Those working completely off campus are not required to be tested. 

Boehm addressed senator concerns about recent vandalism at the Belknap Theatre building on the corner of Floyd and Warnock. The damage has been repaired and the building will have increased security as the matter is investigated further.

Faculty Senate Chair David Schultz presented the charge for the ad hoc committee on inclusion, diversity, anti-racism and equity. The committee will be comprised of one faculty representative from each of the 12 senate units, as well as chair and vice-chair of the Faculty Senate. While non-senators will have the opportunity to serve on the committee, a majority of the representatives must be faculty senators. 

Gary Becker, director of University Parking & Transportation Services, provided updates on campus parking. Parking fees were approved for increase in the year 2020, but the increases were suspended due to the pandemic. Becker reported that the previously approved increase will be recommended to move forward in 2021. The increase will vary between the different types parking permits and will range from a $10 to $21 addition to annual fees.

Becker further reported that university parking has an expected $1.3 million revenue loss due to COVID-19. This expected loss has deferred maintenance on some university parking facilities. Becker informed senators that maintenance on all university parking facilities is planned to occur in the next three to five years.

Committee reports and a of the virtual meeting can be accessed on the . The next faculty meeting is scheduled for Feb. 3 via Microsoft Teams.

Some UofL faculty have served on the Mayor’s task force for the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness project. Other faculty and students are helping with check-in and screenings, administering vaccines, assisting with volunteer supervision and training, and observing individuals post-vaccine to ensure they have no adverse reactions.

“I’m helping because I have a commitment to service,” said Master’s Entry into Professional Nursing student Matt Livers. “I believe we have an opportunity to turn the tide on this pandemic and I would much rather be doing something than waiting for something to happen.”

Livers says this experience will help him gain extra experience in giving vaccines, along with serving as a resource for those who have questions about the COVID-19 vaccine. Educating the public, he says, is key to community acceptance and willingness to become vaccinated.

This isn’t the first time nursing and other health professions students and faculty have provided help for a drive-thru vaccination clinic in Louisville. In 2009, thousands of doses of the H1N1 “swine” flu vaccine were administered by UofL faculty and students at Cardinal Stadium.

Health professions students and faculty will help staff the COVID-19 vaccination drive-thru event through February, or as long as the city’s health department continues the effort. ­­­The health department’s mass vaccination site is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and is offering the Moderna vaccine by appointment only. It is first focused on the Tier 1a group, as mandated by the federal government. Frequently asked questions and answers about the mass vaccination site can be found .