Associate Professor Andrew Winters, who is the former director of the doctor of social work program in UofL’s Raymond A. Kent School of Social Work and Family Science, was elected senate chair over the summer and formally assumed his responsibilities from outgoing chair, Eugene Mueller, at the senate’s Sept. 3 meeting.

“I am excited and honored to take on this responsibility,” said Winters, who previously served on the senate’s Redbook & Bylaws Committee. “I am a strong advocate of this body’s work and of shared governance. I learned a lot from the excellent work Eugene (Mueller) did during his time as senate chair, and I hope to carry that spirit forward during my term.”

Winters joined UofL’s faculty in 2018. During his time at the Kent School, he has worked on a breadth of research projects focused on improving youth outcomes, strengthening youth development practices at youth-serving organizations, challenging oppressive service delivery systems and critically evaluating organizational practices in child welfare.

Administrative search updates

• At the end of September, the search committee will begin reviewing submissions to fill the open position of executive vice president and university provost. See the for more information about the search.
• The search for the School of Music dean will not begin until the school’s accreditation process concludes in March 2026.

The next meeting of the University of Louisville Faculty Senate will take place Wednesday, Oct. 1, 3-5 p.m., Clinical Translational & Research Building, rooms 101/102, Health Sciences Campus. Senate meeting information, meeting minutes and committee reports are available on the .

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.

Executive Vice President and University Provost Lori Gonzalez informed senators of plans to restore employee retirement benefits. Retirement benefits were moved back to 2% at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 and were recently raised to 6%. Gonzalez informed senators that retirement benefits are estimated to be returned to the original 7.5% by July 1, pending approval from the Board of Trustees.

Gonzalez also addressed plans for future health care costs stating, “the administration is committed to not passing any increases to health care costs. There will be no change in premiums for the second year in a row for employees at the university.”

Both Gonzalez and Faculty Senate Chair David Schultz reported that the mass COVID-19 vaccination site at Cardinal Stadium will stop taking first-dose patients in the coming weeks. Gonzalez cited low patient turn out as one contributing factor of the upcoming closure. Schultz informed senators that alternative vaccination site locations will be available.

Senators were presented with the second readings of the revised bylaws for the School of Nursing and the J.B. Speed School of Engineering — both of which were approved unanimously. Two academic certificate proposals, a graduate certificate in Health Care Ethics and an undergraduate certificate in Ethics both through the College of Arts and Sciences, were also unanimously approved by the senate.

Mary Elizabeth Miles, vice president for Human Resources, informed senators on two changes to employee flexible spending accounts. After reaching out to those affected, the decision was made to increase dependent care FSA to $10,500. In addition, there will be a roll over for FSA from 2020 to 2021 and then 2021 to 2022.

“What that means for our employees is that if you had any money left in your dependent care or in your medical FSA at the end of 2020, it will now it roll over into 2021. Whatever you have left this year, you will be able to use that money for 2022 through Dec. 31,” Miles stated.

Schultz later led a senate discussion on the proposed Faculty Accountability Policy, which was presented during last month’s Faculty Senate Meeting. In December 2019, former Provost Beth Boehm 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 departments.

The policy was shared with senators during last month’s meeting to allow time for feedback and suggestions. During the discussion, senators voiced concerns, suggested amendments and recommended changes to the proposed policy. The recommendations of the senate will be shared with the Office of the Executive Vice President and University Provost.

Committee reports and a of the virtual meeting can be accessed on the . The next Faculty Senate meeting is scheduled for June 2 via Microsoft Teams.

While teaching in the Department of Biology, Schultz has focused on cellular and molecular biology, intermediary metabolism and medicinal plant biochemistry. Schultz’s research experience in plant biochemistry is applied in his lab to instigate specialized plant metabolites with therapeutic applications, such as breast cancer treatment, as well as plant lipids that can act as renewable petroleum replacement products.

After serving as a senator on the Faculty Senate for three years, Schultz assumes his position with two clear objectives in mind: representation and acknowledgement of additional faculty efforts outside of the classroom.

“I want to ensure the voice of the faculty is heard by making certain we have faculty representation in administrative decisions. The Faculty Senate has standing representatives on numerous administrative committees, and we are also asked to make many additional suggestions for appointments to other administrative committees.�� I have tried to make certain we have representation from diverse disciplines,” said Schultz.

“The Faculty Senate has done a good job of representing the teaching and service aspects of faculty life to the administration; I would like to address the research, creative and professional aspects of faculty efforts, and work to ensure all faculty are given sufficient time to pursue these efforts. This will strengthen our Carnegie R1 classification.”

Schultz spoke with UofL News about his professional and personal background.

UofL News: What is your favorite thing about UofL?��

Schultz: I was attracted to UofL because of the blend of teaching, research and service.�� I grew up in an urban area and am a first-generation college graduate, so the feel and culture at UofL were good fits for me.�� I’m also a big fan of college athletics and so the blend of strong academics and nationally recognized athletics was important for me.

UofL News: How do you spend any free time you have?��

Schultz: I have a number of things I do with my free time. I enjoy weight training with my children. I enjoy gardening and beekeeping with my wife. I have a workshop at home and enjoy doing household/home repair and woodworking projects.

UofL News: What is your favorite thing to do in Louisville outside of work?��

Schultz: I enjoy hiking and bike riding on the Louisville Loop.

UofL News: What has motivated you to teach?

Schultz: I enjoy seeing others learn and succeed. One of the most rewarding things is when former students let me know that my courses have helped them succeed in life. I enjoy seeing the progression of students from lower level courses to higher level courses and seeing how much knowledge each has mastered and applied to complex problems.

UofL News: How long have you been involved in Faculty Senate and why did you join?

Schultz: I’ve been in the Faculty Senate for about three years. I saw the senate as a way to help ensure faculty viewpoints are represented to the administration. I have been fairly active in my department, college and at the university level, so my involvement in the Senate was a natural progression of my previous service work.

UofL News: What compelled you to seek out the chairmanship?

Schultz: I had contemplated taking on more impactful leadership roles. I decided to run for the chair of the senate because there was a need, and I felt that I could balance the high demands of this position while maintaining my current teaching and research commitments.��

UofL News: What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?��

Schultz: I have two similar points. Both are research related, each from one of my doctoral research dissertation advisors: Never spend clean thinking on dirty data. Your results can never be better than the research materials you start with.

Despite the work and long hours endured by her predecessor () in the chair’s role, Wallace-Boaz didn’t hesitate to pursue the role.

“There are many changes at the university that are occurring at a staggering rate. New leadership, including the office of the president, has established a strong partnership with the faculty and is openly committed to shared governance,” she said.

She is especially looking forward to working with President Neeli Bendapudi.

“(Bendapudi) is student focused and completely committed to an equal partnership with the faculty, staff and students. I appreciate the deep love for the university that she has demonstrated in her few months on campus, and I am excited to work closely with her on both internal and external issues,” she said.

Wallace-Boaz, a Somerset native, has been teaching at UofL since 2000, and also earned her bachelor of music degree in Piano Performance here before going on to Northwestern University, where she earned master of music and a doctor of music in piano performance and pedagogy degrees.

Following her doctoral hooding ceremony from Northwestern, Wallace-Boaz lived in the Chicago area for eight years. However, she missed Kentuckiana and moved back in 1999 to teach at Indiana University Southeast for a year.

“After accepting the position at the University of Louisville in 2000, I was completely excited to be returning,” she said.

This marks Wallace-Boaz’s eighth year as a faculty senator. She has served as chair of the Redbook Committee, vice chair of the senate and chair of the Executive Committee. Taking over as chair seems like a natural progression.

“I remember my very first Faculty Senate meeting during which I was impressed with the commitment to shared governance demonstrated by my colleagues,” she said. “While the past three years have been filled with turmoil and unique challenges, I believe that the students, faculty and staff form the strong heart of the university, and that we will continue to be a leader in higher education for the persistence and demonstration of transparent communication and shared governance.”

Wallace-Boaz said her leadership style in this role focuses on two key points – listening and process.

“I believe strongly that communication begins with the ability to listen and understand the details of the issue and how it is affecting all parties involved. No issue is too small, and never should one apologize for sharing a problem or concern,” she said. “How issues are addressed is critical. Taking five minutes to discuss methods and processes can be the difference in effective and poor communication.”

In fact, communication is one of her main priorities.

“Effective communication is critical but challenging in an institution of this size,” she said. “I will continue to work closely with campus partners to optimize our methods of communication.”

Getting to know Wallace-Boaz

We asked Wallace-Boaz a quick round of personal questions to get to know her a little better.

Favorite thing about UofL: “The people!”

Favorite spot on campus: “That is a tough one. I love the campus and how it has transformed since my undergraduate years (1988-1992). To pick one, I would choose Grawemeyer Hall and the Oval. I love studying The Thinker, reminding me of the necessity to take time for thought and reflection during these busy days, and then walking up the steps into Grawemeyer, thinking of all the students, faculty, staff, administrators and many others who have walked these steps over the past decades with the ultimate goal of creating a strong university for the present and the future.”

What do you do in your free time: “I love to read (I am currently in two book clubs on campus) and to draw Zentangles.�� People are surprised when I do not list ‘playing piano.’ I LOVE the piano, it is my artistic life and central to my teaching and research and creative activities. It is an important part of each day, especially when preparing for a concert or recording, so I do not include it when considering free time.”

Best piece of advice you’ve ever received: “Be yourself.”