• Provide opportunities for career development and advancement;
• Provide a comprehensive and competitive compensation and benefits package; and
• Follow “best practice” philosophy and align the university’s job and pay structure with the market.

According to Mary Elizabeth Miles, vice president for human resources, the two-year evaluation is on schedule to finish in July, at which time the committees will report findings to university vice presidents, deans and vice provosts. Specifics on implementation strategies are not yet finalized. Communications about Compensation & Total Rewards Study results and strategy communications are forthcoming.

Learn more on the Compensation and Total Rewards Study .

The Staff Senate unanimously approved a letter of support for UofL’s trans community.

“We share the Commission on the Status of Women’s (COSW’s) beliefs that trans rights are human rights, and no UofL student, staff or faculty should be discriminated against based on their race, gender identity or sexuality. All students, staff and faculty deserve equal protection and civil treatment on campus, so they can live, learn, work and thrive in a safe environment.”

The letter also provides recommendations for how the university community can best support the trans community including the review of current university policies, transparency when policy and other issues which impact the trans community are being considered, using the Cardinal Principles as foundations for support and working with various groups such as UofL Trans Rights Alliance to gain a better understanding of trans issues.

Read the complete letter on the Staff Senate .

Staff Senate elections are coming up. All senators, whether their seat expires or not, must complete an application if they wish to serve on the senate for FY24 (July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024).

Applications are due April 15 and are available on the Staff Senate application .

Gary Becker, director of University Parking & Transportation Services, announced a new parking permit renewal process which will begin on Belknap Campus. Those renewing/requesting parking permits and paying for permits through payroll deduction for 2023-24 will receive a “forever permit,” which will have no expiration date on the permit. The following year, permit holders will receive a notification of fees and a deadline to confirm renewal or request changes to permit levels. (Notes: The renewal process will remain the same this year. There will be no increases in parking permit rates for 2023-24.)

The effort is designed to streamline the parking permit renewal process. If successful, the process will be integrated into the Health Sciences Center Campus parking permit renewal process in 2024-25.

Parking information is available on the University Parking & Transportation Services .

The agenda, committee reports and other information from the March 14, 2023, UofL Staff Senate meeting is available on the Staff Senate meetings . The next senate meeting will be Tuesday, April 11, 2023, on MS Teams. See the Staff Senate for details, and email staffsen@louisville.edu with questions.

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.

Dr. Kevin Gardner,��the new��Executive Vice President for Research & Innovation, was��introduced to the senate body and provided a summary of his background��and vision for��UofL’s research enterprise.��

“The vision is that our enterprise represents all the activity here and all that’s in the world: Meeting the needs of��the public. Solving and addressing problems. Presenting ideas and research to the world with the aim that it helps the world,” he said.��

Before arriving to UofL, Gardner served in a similar role at the University of New Hampshire where he��led��that institution’s rise from��its designation as��an R2��university��to an R1��university.��Since starting his position in��late January,��Gardner has��met��with multiple��deans from various colleges, library staff and faculty members to understand the technology��and research development��needs of UofL.

He��will��soon��announce��several different��work��groups to address the most pressing needs based on these conversations��and��three open forums��will��also��be��scheduled.��

Gardner��concluded his introduction with comments on how��he thinks about the��external role��of the enterprise.����

“How are we��helping the university navigate the relationship between the faculty who��are��the lead of an idea, and��then��liaison��with the companies or public that��might be interested?” he asked.��

Rick��Graycarek��, AVP for Budget & Financial Planning, gave a budget update.��His����showcased an overview of the $1.2 billion��current��total��budget, along with an overview of the upcoming FY20-21 budget planning process.��

For action items: the Redbook Committee��will have a on its revised bylaws at the next meeting.���ճ����Academic Program Committee��proposed sending��back a����to the��Provost; and the��Planning and Budget committee��proposed the establishment of a Board of Trustees for the LARRI (Louisville Automation and Robotics Research Institute) Center. Both were approved.����

Student Government reported that elections just concluded and a new president will be named after commencement. The Staff Senate representative reported that their body recently found that of the last seven staff RIFs,��six were above the age of 40. The .��

Faculty Senate Chair��Krista Wallace-Boaz��reported that the��provost search��is��still��underway,��and candidates will��arrive��in April. Senate members will have opportunities to engage with the candidates. Also, a free speech work group that started back in April of 2019 is working to examine current policies on free speech and will build a��page on the UofL website to centralize those policies along with resources.����

Wallace-Boaz also facilitated a discussion on the��new����for��Fiscal��Year 20–21. On behalf of the parking office,��she presented a��summary��of��rates��that spanned from��FY16��to FY21��and��stated the goal was to keep the increase under 3%.��One faculty member expressed��a��grievance for this being a decision without the senate’s involvement in the process. Another member brought up their hope that future rates could be altered for part-time faculty and��be based on��salary level.��

Tracy��Eels��presented updates on behalf of the current Provost, including that the Free Speech policy committee is being co-chaired by Paul DeMarco��and Meg Hancock��to provide an��in-depth��review of student rights and code of conduct in response to the KY Free Speech act of 2019.��

The Committee on Committees & Credentials reported that elections will be coming up in May for new faculty senators. The Part-Time Faculty Committee��reported that they will soon be deploying a survey for part-time faculty.����The Faculty Athletic Representative reported that one of the��university’s��student athletes was named ACC player of the year.��Full committee reports are .��

The next Faculty Senate meeting is��scheduled for April 1 in Chao Auditorium.��

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The Great Places to Work workgroup is comprised of a number of subcommittees, including climate and culture; professional development; compensation, salary and benefits; onboarding, retention, recruitment, hiring and workflow; and transparency.

The Great Places to Learn workgroup is examining three questions to guide its work: what do we do well; how do we build on these successes; and what opportunities should we consider for the future.

The learn workgroup has held two meetings thus far to pore over data such as graduation and retention rates. The group will start meeting once every week to turn around the final report, which is due in May.

The Great Places to Invest workgroup is also considering those same three questions to guide discussions. An to senators asking for their input.��

A list of all three workgroups is now available on the .��

Like the Faculty Senate before it, the Staff Senate reviewed a Values Statement that was created in the fall of 2017 under the Provost’s Budget Advisory Committee. The purpose of the statement is to ensure UofL’s values and principles drive budgetary decisions and not vice versa. The BAC has since been disbanded, but the senates have moved forward to approve the statement nonetheless to inform President Bendapudi about who we are as we go through the Strategic Planning process. The statement – – was approved by the Staff Senate.��

Carcyle Barrett led a discussion about the Staff Senate Bylaws. The document was originally created in 2016 and updates are currently under consideration. Beyond this initial discussion, the Bylaw changes will require three readings before a vote is held. The document as it exists now, with track changes, is .��

Brian Buford from HR provided an update on his new role aimed at leading new professional development opportunities for employees. He said this role aligns with the Great Places to Work objective and asked members of the senate to provide input on what they want to see to bring this goal to fruition. Senators provided feedback such as ensuring living wages are available for those who have been here the longest, supervisor training and offering professional development opportunities for employees across campus and not just those in departments that have bigger budgets.

“Professional development without an opportunity for advancement is hollow,” Chair John Smith said.

A kickoff to the new staff mentoring program will be held within the next week, Buford said.��

Bob Knaster and Gary Becker provided another update on parking and why rates are going up. Currently there are zero dollars in the budget for deferred maintenance budget, which is unsustainable. Becker said there should be about $1 million saved just for maintenance – not including surface lots. A discussion followed in which senators expressed their frustration over the rising costs of parking without getting a raise.

“I don’t care about the benchmark schools in the study. I care about UofL and effectively this is a pay cut,” one senator said.

“Leveraging employees out of parking spots is just wrong,” another senator said.

Knaster has previously noted that one of the worst decisions made was to not increase the cost of parking for six years. “Now we’re under water and playing catch up.”��

Other reports

The Student Government Association’s HSC lighting project is moving forward and the association has secured funding to further improvements across Preston Street downtown.

The Faculty Senate approved a distilled spirits certificate and endorsed the same values and principles statement as the Staff Senate. A new School of Music dean has been named, and a committee has been formed to update the university’s policy on consensual sexual relations. Both President Bendapudi and Provost Boehm provided updates to the Faculty Senate. .��

Chair John Smith is serving on the Strategic Planning executive committee, which oversees the three workgroups – learn, work, invest. The most recent meeting involved reports from each workgroup identifying themes that emerged in their first meetings, as well as a discussion about the most effective ways to use funds from the Gheens Foundation gift.

Smith also noted that the tuition and fees committee is meeting on an accelerated pace to complete all charges by its deadline. The committee has reviewed or scheduled reviews for 22 different requests.

In the spirit of transparency, the HR salary website will be restored at President Bendapudi’s request. However, there were a number of inaccuracies found and Bendapudi wants those fixed before it goes live. She has appointed a group with reviewing that information. .��

Secretary-treasurer Rhonda Gilliland’s . The senate spent just $17 last month on new name tags.

Marian Vasser’s Vice Chair report is . She also noted that information from the climate survey is being considered a part of the “Great Places to Work” committee.

Committee reports are . Of note, 2019 senate seats are expiring and interested senators need to re-apply if their seat is up. If their seat is not up for expiration, senators have been asked to re-apply anyway to ensure information is current. The application deadline is April 15. Officer nominations will be held at the May meeting, voting will be held at the June meeting and senators will be announced in July.

The next Staff Senate meeting is April 8 in Chao Auditorium.

For the “learn” component, she said it’s important we focus on the whole student, provide them with a transformative, purpose-driven education and ask them what problem they want to tackle. For the work piece, Bendapudi said it was important to commit to personal growth and professional development.

“We have to have a culture where everybody has to live by our values,” she said.

And, for the invest piece, we have to make a demonstrable impact on the city, the Commonwealth and “beyond.”

The first three years of the strategic planning process will be focused on “making sure our house is strong” financially and structurally. The second three years will be focused on bigger picture/aspirational goals, she said.

Bendapudi said she has created a leadership team that includes everyone who directly reports to her, as well as everyone who reports to them.

“So there are two layers of decision makers. We’ve already met four times to talk about topics such as diversity and the budget,” she said. “It’s important to have this group in place so we aren’t stuck in silos.” ��

Bendapudi also said the team is working on a plan to get to the point where employees can expect to get a raise each year. We’re not there yet, but she said we are moving in the right direction.

CFO Dan Durbin piggybacked off that objective with a budget update. He said his biggest objectives – eight months into the job – are to reimagine the budget process, facilitate more engagement and drive efficiencies.

He said we’ve generated $39 million in revenues this year versus $15 million last year, but those numbers – because of allocations or restrictions – actually equate to about $1.2 million more.

“We are not out of the woods yet, but we are gaining strength,” he said. “We just need to keep pushing.” .��

SGA’s��Wyatt Harris provided the Student Government report. Elections for next year’s officers will be held next week. He also announced that the ELSB’s food pantry is now open in the SAC. This initiative has been in the works for years. The SGA is also working on a few pedestrian safety initiatives, including new crosswalks and increased signage on the HSC campus.

Students are working with Mark Watkins, AVP for Business Services, to ensure that internship projects available on UofL’s campus prioritize the hiring of UofL students.

Faculty Senate heard a report from Jim Begany, vice provost for strategic enrollment management and student success, about UofL’s strategy to recruit and retain students. Begany said Fall 2018 yielded our highest new student enrollment numbers, as well as our most academically prepared – as measured by ACT scores – and the highest number of out-of-state students. More information about the Faculty Senate meeting is .��

John Smith provided the Staff Senate Chair’s Report, announcing that the response rate for people willing to volunteer on a Strategic Plan committee was “overwhelming.”

“In the past, we’ve had 100 to 150 people sign up. This year, we’ve had over 1,200,” he said.

Smith, Faculty Senate Chair Krista Wallace-Boaz and SGA President Jonathan Fuller will start conducing HSC office hours, including Feb. 18, March 18 and April 15. His entire chair’s report is .

Bob Knaster and Gary Becker provided updates on UofL’s parking strategy, including recommendations provided by a third-party consultant to address potential parking shortages. Knaster said 74 campus spaces will be lost to construction this semester alone, and that 3,813 out of about 6,000 spaces at the stadium are currently programmed to produce revenue for athletics. We are No. 1 in the country for reserved spaces; UofL has about 1,300 spaces that are reserved and the average university has about 40 or 50, Becker said.

There are currently no funds dedicated to operational or deferred maintenance. Some task group recommendations include building a maintenance fund and rolling that into the parking budget, charging for all visitor parking, implementing license recognition technology and introducing new services – such as oil changes – for customer service improvement.

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Other news/reports

Julie Hohmann informed senators that there is a master of arts in higher education administration program available to faculty and staff, and employees may be eligible to complete the program with UofL’s tuition remission benefit. Students must select one of four different concentrations – administration, teaching and learning, policy and equity or sports administration. All courses are offered 100 percent online.

Marian Vasser, vice chair, .��

Secretary/treasurer Rhonda Gilliland reported that there were no monthly expenses in January. Her report is .��

All other committee meeting reports are .

The next Staff Senate meeting is March 11 on the HSC campus.

The body approved a second reading for Redbook changes to the Kent School bylaws, which were mostly procedural updates.

The Student Government Report included concerns about UofL’s online course selection and its correlation with retention efforts.

Chair Krista Wallace-Boaz reported that she will start monthly office hours on the HSC campus, as will Staff Senate Chair John Smith and SGA president Jonathan Fuller.

The UofL Foundation has reported that S&P has boosted the foundation’s rating from negative to stable. The rating is based in part on ULF’s significant steps to restore confidence in governance and improve transparency; governance reform that includes three non-voting constituent members; and changes in senior management.

Additionally, HR has asked for senators’ input regarding what makes UofL a great place to work, as well as what changes are necessary to make UofL a great place to work. The executive committee is currently addressing these questions and the Faculty Senate will continue to provide input. So far, the list includes:

What currently makes UofL a great place to work

• The people
• The location in Louisville
• The diversity of our students, staff and faculty and the institution’s commitment to inclusion and equity
• Rich in both talent and diversity

What changes are necessary to make UofL a better place to work

• Investing in our people
• Re-committing to systemically improving inclusion and equity
• Doing more to build community instead of narrowly focusing on finding efficiencies
• Suffers from a lack of community mission
• Under-resourced in terms of funding and staffing
• Transparent and open communication – more opportunities needed for open communication among faculty and staff
• Work/life balance
• More training and development
• Recognition for hard work
• Strong team spirit (programs and physical environment need to be designed to accomplish this)

A discussion followed the presentation of this list, with some faculty senators expressing concern about systemic issues regarding implicit bias and the lack of investment in buildings and compensation.

The Belknap Academic Building Pedestrian Plaza project is underway. The creation of a drive that replaces Brook Street and maintains service access to the Northwest portion of the main campus has long been desired. The transformation of this portion of Brook Street from vehicle to pedestrian traffic is a major improvement to campus, and the creation of a pedestrian plaza to replace Brook Street will be an amenity to campus. There will be two phases of this project, which are outlined .��

Provost Beth Boehm provided the president’s report in Neeli Bendapudi’s absence, noting that the president has spent much of her time working on HSC issues to ensure the community’s health care needs are met in a time of change. Tom Miller has been appointed as CEO of ULH, which should help with some of this workload.

Strategic planning efforts are underway and Bendapudi has requested feedback from across campus, as well as alumni and community partners, which generated 60 pages of comments. She is hosting an executive cabinet meeting Friday to dive into this information. Among the priorities within that strategic plan are research and professional development/compensation.

Bendapudi’s looking at a three-year plan. She believes that longer plans are not as useful, Boehm said.

Boehm also provided a report from her office, noting that we have been given a clean bill of health from SACS and designated a Carnegie Research 1 institution.

Boehm also shared Bendapudi’s proposed changes to the Redbook so that fewer administrative appointments go through the Board of Trustees. A committee has been appointed to look at potential Redbook changes that clean up obsolete or inconsistent language and to gauge where appointment efficiencies can be made.

The Mayor’s Office has urged UofL to offer more computer-savvy degrees. There are currently 120 such degrees offered on campus, mostly through Computer Information Systems in the College of Business or through the Speed School of Engineering. The idea is to bring in more programs that can be leveraged by analytical areas, such as philosophy and English. The goal is to get to 720 programs.

“The Mayor is also asking UK and Bellarmine to do more here. I don’t want to lose this opportunity to those institutions,” Boehm said.

Senators held a discussion about timing and expressed concerns about resources.

Bob Knaster and Gary Becker provided an update on the Parking Strategic Plan.

UofL’s parking issues include constrained space, zero budget for operational and deferred maintenance, limited availability for visitors and events and decreasing proximity increases safety issues. The parking office has engaged a consulting firm to look at these issues and the firm returned 70 recommendations. Among them are:

• Budget and plan for new parking
• Add maintenance to the parking budget
• Charge for all visitor parking
• Implement LPR enforcement
• Promote transit services and cross parking
• Add transportation services, augment cameras and lighting
• Implement zone-based parking permits
• Introduce new services to improve the customer experience

LPR technology means license plate recognition. Knaster said this could free up hours a day for police officers who are tasked with monitoring permits.

A lengthy discussion was held on the office’s next steps. In response to some concerns about proposed rate increases, Knaster said, “one of the worst decisions we made was to not increase the cost of parking for six years. Now we’re under water and playing catch up.”

The Parking Strategy presentation is .��

The next Faculty Senate meeting is Feb. 6 at 3 p.m. in Chao Auditorium

Gary Becker, from Parking Administration, updated the senate on parking rate increases, which do not affect blue permit holders. He said a decision was made to increase rates because it hasn’t been done in six years.

“Our goal is to balance the budget, not to turn a profit. But we have to pay for things like maintenance and equipment,” he said.

As the university continues to grow, it will cost more to park on the core of campus versus the periphery, Becker added. His team conducted a market study, which shows UofL has considerably lower rates than other institutions. The constant goal is to ensure guaranteed spots for blue permit holders, and parking will oversell spots if necessary to achieve that goal, especially as the university continues to grow.

A Q&A was held in which senators brought up the lack of raises putting pressure on employees with these increased rates, and whether or not parking plans to outsource its operations (no such plans are in the works).

Todd Kneale, director of total awards, provided the FLSA Audit results, which are . During the December 2016 FLSA changes, 115 jobs at UofL were reviewed and changed from exempt status to nonexempt status based upon amended guidance from the Department of Labor. There were approximately 700 employees in the 115 jobs that were changed to nonexempt.

Jessie Morgan, manager of outpatient pharmacy services, provided results from the new pharmacy initiatives that were put into place in April and May. These initiatives led to total savings of $296,012. .��

A prescription drug update is , outlining prescription drug spending at UofL versus the market.��

Senators heard an update from Vince Tyra, who was named director of athletics in March.

Tyra said he’s been busy mitigating backlash from various issues that have come up within the past year and is trying to shape the culture to move forward.

“I know where we sit in the food chain and I want us to have a consistent message – not just athletics this or academics this,” he said. “That’s what we’re trying to do and why I took the job, to provide leadership across campus and represent UofL, not just UofL athletics. Being in sync with what (President Bendapudi) wants is important for the success of our university.”

Tyra said he now attends the president’s cabinet meetings, which didn’t happen before. The athletics department has also facilitated summer school aid and provides more money for trainers and managers – who are not restricted by the NCAA – which helps generate revenue for the university. Tyra added that the department has cut $1.6 million and has facilitated meetings with student groups, including the Ville’ns, to generate more engagement and new traditions.

“We have a lot of initiatives going on with our students. I want our fans to see our students in sync,” Tyra said. “It takes time to heel, but we are being patient with the process. I’m excited to get another season going.”

Committee reports from the . There is no Staff Senate meeting in August. The next meeting is Sept. 10 at 2:30 p.m. in Chao Auditorium.