Improved academic efficiencies were on the agenda for the Dec. 7, 2022, University of Louisville Faculty Senate meeting. At the meeting, senators approved the closure of a Master of Engineering in Industrial Engineering degree program. Faculty Senator Candace Harrington presented the report and said closure of the program was duplicative to the Master of Science in Industrial Engineering degree program also offered by the Department of Industrial Engineering. In addition to the review and approval by the Faculty Senate, the proposal was reviewed by and approved by the Speed School’s Industrial Engineering Committee and the Graduate łÉČËÖ±˛Ą Committee.

President search follow-up

In his report, Faculty Senate President Eugene Mueller provided a follow-up to the Nov. 30 announcement of Kim Schatzel as the university’s new president. Mueller, who served on the Presidential Search Committee, emphasized that the university “will be in excellent hands” when Schatzel begins her service on Feb. 1, 2023.

Mueller also acknowledged some concerns by the faculty about the access to presidential candidates throughout the search process. He said that the need for confidentiality among the candidates was necessary to avoid any potential issues with the candidates’ current employers and assured senators that he “represented strenuously” the faculty’s needs, interests and concerns throughout the screening process.

Part-time faculty resources

Part-Time Faculty Committee Chair Roy Fuller announced that Rose Mills is retiring from teaching. As such, her vacated Faculty Senate seat will need to be filled. Mills has been a longtime instructor in the English Department and has served for many years as a part-time faculty senator. The committee agreed to invite Tim Roberts, also from the Department of English, to rejoin the committee. Until this past May’s election, Roberts had been a part-time faculty senator.

Fuller also announced that the Office of the Provost will soon hire a faculty affairs department coordinator tasked with supporting part-time faculty.

AAPI at UofL

Andrew Zhao, an associate professor in the Department of Anthropology, was among the guest speakers at the meeting. Zhao was on hand to share the successes of the . The employee resource group was established in 2021 to build community, address the needs and lift up the unique perspectives and experiences of UofL’s AAPI community. According to Zhao, more than 700 UofL employees identify as AAPI. Over the past year, the group hosted several events including the AAPI Heritage Week in April, the Welcome Back event at the Health Sciences Center in September and the . Zhao said the AAPI leadership team is growing and looking for leaders to take the employee resource group to the next level. Those interested in joining must complete the online interest form by Jan. 17, 2023.

The next meeting of the University of Louisville Faculty Senate will be held Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023, in the Ekstrom Library Chao Auditorium on Belknap Campus. The meeting is open to the public. Committee reports, meeting minutes and other information from the Dec. 7, 2022, faculty Senate meeting are available on the .

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.

It was hard to plan much as she juggled her full-time job as a high school counselor at Central High School and taught COMM 111 on campus, while also raising her daughter. But now her daughter (Taylor Brown) is 24 – “old enough to take care of herself” – and is finishing her master’s degree in physiology at UofL, which has afforded Brown more time to focus on her scholarship goal.

And so on Derby night, May 6, from 8 p.m. to midnight, Brown and her bandmates in NightBreeze will play in the University Ballroom to raise money for the new Gloria Jean Churchill Scholarship. The goal is to sell 200 tickets and award one Central High School senior a $1,000 scholarship to attend college.

“My sister always expressed wanting to help children accomplish their dream. I wanted to use every avenue that I have and pull every person that I know who is an educator to get that help,” Brown said.

During the event, Brown, the vocalist for NightBreeze, also wants to collect donations for Safe Place on Crittenden Drive, which houses students who cannot return home due to poor circumstances such as abuse.

“I have to send students there regularly who are in abusive environments. Every school in Jefferson County has had to send kids to Safe Place and people don’t like to talk about what happens when kids are in those environments, but this is real,” Brown said.

She is seeking donations such as shampoo, deodorant, feminine hygiene products, new underwear in all sizes, comforters and blankets and African American hair products.

Brown picked Derby night to host the fundraiser because it’s “Louisvillians’ Christmas.”

“There is a spirit of love and giving and camaraderie and helping one another during Derby time. That is the spirit I am trying to embody,” she said. “Yes, people like to party, but let’s do it with a purpose. Let’s listen to great music and dance and eat and still make a difference in somebody’s life.”

NightBreeze plays jazz, top 40 and R&B music. The event will also include a DJ, food and a cash bar. Tickets for the NightBreeze Derby Celebration are .