Provost Beth Boehm opened her report by��thanking senators for the arduous work they’ve endured throughout the last six months. “For many of us this has been the hardest parts of our careers ever, and I just want to thank you all for all your hard work,” she said.����
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She reported that fall 2020 enrollment has been stronger than what was budgeted. The fall 2020 budget was developed expecting 223 fewer students to be enrolled compared to fall 2019. The actual is an increase in enrollment by 361 students. Summer 2020 enrollment also experienced an increase by 885 students, as compared to summer 2019. One senator pointed out that the higher enrollment numbers indicate the value of offering remote and hybrid courses. He recommended these offerings be a continued strategy to attract more students going forward. Boehm agreed saying, “I think this is the future of higher ed in a lot of ways and we’re significantly going to have to increase the number of adult learners that we have.”��
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Provost Boehm thanked Senators��Reginald Bruce and former Senator Scott��LaJoie, co-chairs of the 2019-2020 Faculty Roles subcommittee,��for their work on that was given to the Faculty Senate and to the Board of Trustees. “The board was quite impressed with the fact that faculty took on this work. I’m��really grateful��to you. We’ve already implemented a number of recommendations,” she said.��

Due to concerns, Provost Boehm clarified the frequency of meetings that take place regarding the university’s continued COVID-19 response. The COVID-19 senior leadership group meets daily to closely monitor the areas of campus health, operations, research and academics. The coordinating committee, which develops university operations in response to COVID-19, and the academic scenario planning committee, which developed UofL’s hybrid learning model, both meet weekly. The ASP Committee is already discussing courses for the spring.��

Boehm announced that free flu shots are coming to campus soon and the university ordered three times the amount they normally do. “While we are not going to mandate flu shots, we are going to strongly urge that you get them because if we get a bad flu season and we confuse it with COVID, we could really flood our healthcare providers and we don’t want to do that,”��she said.

Provost Boehm apologized for not first coming to the senate with the decision to mandate COVID-19 testing for all university members on campus.�� During the summer, when the university first decided to only encourage at-will testing, it was not certain if there were enough tests available to mandate testing. By the first week of fall classes, however, the university was informed it would indeed have access to a high volume of tests. Mandated testing has shown to be a key factor in other ACC universities’ successful navigation of the pandemic, so the decision was made quickly to mandate testing once the university had certainty about its increased access to testing. She also explained that after the second week of at-will testing about 2,000 tests were performed each week. After just one week of mandated testing, the university increased to almost 15,000 tests.��

Senators had multiple questions regarding the operations, privacy and enforcement of mandated testing. Provost Boehm confirmed the university is focusing its compliance efforts at this time with students living in residence halls. Many new FAQs have been added to the����section of the university’s COVID-19 website to address the concerns about testing operations and privacy. She reminded senators of the new��. The dashboard is now being updated on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays by Campus Health Services.

Faculty Senate Chair Krista Wallace-Boaz shared a����of university activity over the summer. A key update from her report included the launch of a����in early August. The Call Center can be contacted via live chat, phone call or email for questions related to UofL’s COVID-19 response. The Call Center is fielding approximately 40 calls per day. Most calls are addressed immediately or within 24 hours.����
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Faculty Senate Officer elections (which were postponed during the spring) were finalized at this meeting. Senator was voted as the new Faculty Senate Chair and Senator was voted as the new Faculty Senate Vice Chair. The����were also approved.����

A new certificate in����was proposed for approval.��The purpose of this stand-alone certificate program is to prepare adult learners who are working in healthcare, public health, private health insurance, and other health-related businesses. The 12 credits students earn from this program may be used toward a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership and learning.��

One senator questioned the value of a certificate that doesn’t need an accompanying degree and expressed concern that as a stand-alone certificate, students might not see the value of pursuing a degree. Another senator argued that the stand-alone certificate helps UofL meet its mission to be responsive to the needs of the local Louisville community— a community that has a variety of needs for a skilled workforce in the healthcare industry. The new certificate was approved.��
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Committee reports and a����of the virtual meeting can be accessed on the��. The next Faculty Senate meeting is scheduled for��October 7 via Microsoft Teams.��

Senator Reginald Bruce and former Senator Scott LaJoie, co-chairs of the 2019-2020 Faculty Roles subcommittee, presented recommendations for how faculty can be more supportive and inclusive of students this fall semester. Bruce shared a mind map��the subcommittee created which��shows how classroom design, classroom policies, class structure, faculty coaching and cultural proficiency can help faculty foster an inclusive and supportive environment for students. LaJoie then shared the following list of pandemic-specific recommendations the committee submitted to the provost for all faculty to follow this fall:��

1. Attendance: Be more accommodating of students who miss class for health, family or other reasons. Avoid requiring doctor’s notes for absenteeism of less than two weeks. Help students make up missing work.
2. Deadlines for Assignments: Be more flexible in deadlines. Avoid language that prohibits extensions for late assignments. Set daytime deadlines for assignment submission (e.g., not 11:59 pm).��
3. Satisfactory Completion of Coursework: Be willing to grant an incomplete grade or encourage a compassionate withdrawal.
4. Clarity in syllabus content and course requirements: State expectations for being successful; write clear learning objectives. Identify resources for academic assistance and mental health.
5. Grading Policies: Timely feedback throughout the semester with expectations on when grading will be returned. Use Bb gradebook. Early warning system to help students asses academic performance.

A full description of all recommendations can be found . This link was also included on page 14 of the planning document released by the provost on June 23.��

Some senators expressed concern with a few recommendations. One senator asserted that faculty should prioritize preparing students for the attendance expectations of their future workplace. Another senator argued that a doctor’s note should be required for sick absences to avoid students taking advantage of the attendance policy.����

Executive Vice President and University Provost Beth Boehm explained the attendance policy recommendations are pandemic-specific. The level of recommended flexibility is due to the university needing to help students navigate the continued pandemic. Regarding doctor’s notes for sick absences, Boehm said,��“We expect that students cannot always get doctor’s notes. If in fact we have a surge and the health clinic is packed… they said they really don’t want to see a lot of students who are not COVID presenting in the fall because it will overwhelm the healthcare system. So, it’s really about trying to find that sweet spot where we can ask students to be responsible, but also not overwhelm the healthcare system that may have a second surge.”

President Neeli Bendapudi provided brief university updates. She emphasized how fortunate UofL was to be able to save and acquire the UofL Health hospital facilities with loans from the government. Although the university is undergoing significant financial challenges in the face of the pandemic, the profit margins of UofL Health have helped support the university’s programs. Bendapudi applauded the ��which outlined multiple questions the university should consider to better demonstrate its anti-racism priority.

Provost Boehm presented an which compared data from 2013, 2016, 2018 and 2019.��

“We have lost faculty across the board at UofL, but the highest number of folks has been our Black African American faculty and our non-resident, non-citizen faculty,” she said.

Since 2016, UofL has lost a total of 115 faculty members— 13 of which were Black faculty. Following Kentucky State University, UofL currently has some of the highest faculty of color numbers in comparison to the rest of Kentucky. Boehm shared that in the fall of 2019 she charged all deans to ensure candidates of color were part of their hiring searches. Moving forward, when hiring freezes are lifted, she will be putting more pressure on deans to bring diversity into their hiring decisions.

A senator asked if the provost would be willing to set a recruitment goal that aims to double the current number of Black faculty. Boehm agreed that the university needs to work harder and said the university also needs more Black faculty in the pipeline. Bendapudi added that Black faculty who are currently with UofL need to be better supported to become higher levels of professors and chairs. Bendapudi agreed that a goal should be set to increase the number and she will bring it to the attention of the Board of Trustees.

The Executive Committee presented an anti-racism Statement of Solidarity to senators. Some senators expressed concern that the statement was too broad and did not have enough concrete actions included. After a discussion, it was decided that the statement was a first step toward future actions and the passed.

Boehm gave an update on the plans presented in the 2020 Pivot to Fall document. The university has capacity for approximately 15,000 people to get flu shots in support of the recommendation that all university members be vaccinated. A high volume of COVID-19 tests have been garnered for those who display symptoms and for anyone returning from “hot spot” locations. Boehm explained that the is still finalizing the process for what will happen when a room has had someone in it that tested positive for the virus.

Faculty Senate Chair Krista Wallace-Boaz shared a of university activity for the month of July. She shared that the Board of Trustees recently approved the FY21 operating budget, tuition rates for the 2020-21 academic year have been finalized, and that have been established for returning to campus. She also shared the university’s retirement contribution (which had been put on hold for May, June and July 2020) will be partially restored at 2.5% for all employees, plus a 2.5% match of employee contributions beginning August 1, 2020.

Committee reports and a video recording of the virtual meeting can be accessed on the . There will not be a meeting held in August. The next Faculty Senate meeting is scheduled for September 22.

Here are the key actions for the fall semester:

• Undergraduate classes begin Aug. 17 as scheduled
• Move-in will be extended throughout multiple days and longer hours to promote physical distancing
• In-person classes will meet on campus through Weds, Nov. 25, and then will be online-only through finals. Dorms will remain open.
• Units can offer up to 50% of their courses online, but over 50% of courses will be taught in a hybrid model – both in-person and online.
• Students may choose to take a fully online schedule, but not all courses will be available in an online-only format.
• Fall break will continue Oct. 5-6 as planned
• Both the Fall 2020 and previously-postponed Spring 2020 commencement ceremonies will be held in December.��

Here are the key safety guidelines for students, faculty and staff:

• All students, faculty and staff must comply with state and federal safety guidelines
• All members of the campus community must wear masks and practice physical distancing in public areas, including when entering and leaving buildings, classrooms, offices and bathrooms and in classrooms and labs. UofL will provide on washable mask to every employee and student on campus.
• Flu shots are highly recommended for all students, faculty and staff. The university will provide free flu shots
• UofL will make testing available to all faculty, students and staff, with emphasis on those displaying COVID-19 symptoms
• UofL will conduct contact tracing in order to monitor and prevent the spread of infection
• Floor markings, table arrangements, room density management, sneeze guards, extensive signage and other efforts will be made to support physical distancing throughout campus
• Physical Plant will enhance cleaning and disinfecting throughout campus
• The availability of hand sanitizer and disinfection kits will be dramatically increased in classrooms and other high-touch areas like food service.
• Air flow/fresh outside air exchanges will be increased through buildings where possible.

Safe Return to Work Committee: Control Measures, Testing, Tracing

The Safe Return to Work Committee was charged with establishing the processes and activities that would protect the health of our students, faculty, staff and others on campus. The committee focused on three areas: measures to reduce the risk of incidences and spread of COVID-19, testing and tracing.

The control measures include prevention of incidents by keeping potential carriers away from campus (Elimination); providing services in ways that reduce face-to-face interaction (Substitution Controls); configuring facilities to enhance safety (Engineering Controls); and enforcing proper hygiene and recommended actions to prevent spread (Administrative Controls).

Control measures

Elimination

• Do not come to campus/work if ill, quickly identify, test and contact trace symptomatic cases.
• All employees are expected to check their symptoms daily and may not come to work if they have had any of the following symptoms since their last day at work:��Fever of 100.4 or higher;��Cough; Shortness of Breath; Sore Throat; Muscle Aches; Chills; Gastrointestinal symptoms (i.e. nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, etc., unrelated to an underlying medical condition or pregnancy)
• Wear a mask�� or face covering

Substitution Controls

• Work from home when possible to reduce office density
• Modify job duties for staff and student workers when possible
• Conduct classes in online or hybrid formats to achieve physical distancing in classrooms

Engineering Controls

• Increase air flow in buildings
• Maximizing outside air
• Provide HEPA filters in buildings where possible
• Consider rearrangement of furniture and remote work to achieve physical distancing when possible

Administrative Controls

• Enhance cleaning and disinfecting of surfaces
• Use masks and face coverings
• Wash hands frequently and use hand sanitizers

Daily symptom screening is important, and it is critical to self-isolate, call your doctor or campus health and get tested immediately if you have any symptoms of COVID-19. As a community of care, the most important step we can take is to exercise accountability to one another as Cards; this is our first and most effective approach to keeping the vulnerable people in our community safe and limiting the spread of coronavirus. We must trust one another to do the right thing for the entire community, and we must constantly communicate our expectations of students, faculty and staff.

As faculty, staff and some students return to campus this summer, we will be in a phase of the pandemic characterized by moderate community spread of COVID-19; we expect to be in this phase when the majority of students return in August as well.

As such, the following policies will be in place:

• Flu shots are highly recommended for all students, staff and faculty in the fall to limit the number of people with COVID-19-like symptoms. Flu shots will not prevent COVID-19 but will limit the number of people who exhibit COVID-19 symptons and will make testing for COVID-19 more efficient and effective. Additionally, flu shots will keep flu patients from overwhelming campus and community health systems, allowing COVID-19 patients access to medical care The university will provide free flu shots, but students and employees may get their shots at their pharmacy or doctor’s office. As a community of care, we expect those without a health concern or religious objection to get flu shots this year to keep the community as healthy as possible.
• Cover your cough or sneeze
• Use of hand sanitizer, available at entrances to high touch areas like food service, is expected.
• Face coverings, such as masks, scarves, bandanas or hijabs that cover mouth and nose are required in all of the following areas:��A face covering is required when entering and leaving public spaces to include buildings, bathrooms, classrooms, offices and meeting spaces;��face coverings are required in classrooms and labs; face coverings are required in locations that have posted university approved signage that masks are required; face coverings are required in all other public areas—consistent with current CDC guidance where physical distancing from others cannot occur.

The university will provide one washable mask to every employee and student on campus but students, faculty and staff should provide their own backup masks. (Exceptions to required masking possible for health reasons; contact Campus Health for more information).

Additional elements of prevention that the university is taking include:

• Installation of barriers/sneeze guards in reception areas, food service areas and other high traffic environments with face to face interaction.
• Physical distancing support including floor markings, table arrangement, room density management, technological solutions for meetings and classes, one-way traffic flow in and through buildings and stairways and extensive signage.
• Enhanced cleaning and disinfecting throughout campus.
• Extensive availability of hand sanitizer and disinfection kits for classrooms.
• Increased air flow/fresh outside air exchanges through buildings where possible.
• Limitations on campus visitors (such as in the libraries and the SAC) and logging of visitors to campus offices for contact tracing purposes.

Testing

UofL is making testing available for COVID-19 for its student body, faculty and staff. UofL has ample testing capacity, and our strategy is to focus on those with COVID-19 symptoms and those who may have been exposed to people with COVID-19. Anyone who is concerned they may have COVID-19 or may have been in contact with someone who is positive for COVID-19 should contact Campus Health immediately to get advice on isolation and testing.

Contact tracing will continue to be conducted to identify people who need to isolate and get tested. A 15-minute test is available in our Campus Health Center, and people may also get tested by getting in touch with their preferred health care provider.

UofL also will be monitoring coronavirus infection rates in the community, and if warranted due to increasing infection levels, we will implement randomized, broad-based testing to identify, isolate and trace in order to limit infections and spread of the disease. The current rate of infection in metro Louisville continues to be low at < 1%.

Contact Tracing

UofL will continue to conduct contact tracing in combination with its testing program to limit the spread of COVID-19 in the community, as it has done throughout the pandemic. Contact tracing will be done by people trained and qualified to conduct tracing and in coordination with our local health department.

With rapid testing, robust tracing, and multiple and different types of control measures, we can return to campus and maintain a safe environment for living, learning and creating.

Academic scenario planning

The Academic Scenario Planning Committee has agreed to the following parameters for fall academic programs but know that these “decisions” could change if the governor or the CDC or the course of the virus requires them to; they could also change in response to campus feedback about how to do things better.

• On-time start on Aug. 17 (for undergraduate students and most graduate students; professional students should check with their programs for their start dates) but early end to face-to-face instruction, which will conclude on Nov. 25, at the start of Thanksgiving break.
• The final two days of classes post-Thanksgiving (Nov. 30 and Dec. 1) and final assessments and exams will be online.
• Students may stay or return to campus housing for the remainder of the term, and the library and SAC will remain open for students to study and access wifi and other essential resources.
• Students will have remote access to advising, necessary student services such as the Writing Center and REACH and their faculty from Thanksgiving to the end of finals.
• Graduate students should plan on continuing their research, creative activity and service or teaching duties through the end of the semester in accordance with the university’s safe return to work policies and following the EVPRI’s protocols for reducing COVID-19 exposure in the research environment.
• The University is still planning to host both May 2020 and December 2020 commencement ceremonies in December.

Other calendar issues

• Derby is expected to take place Sept. 5, with Thurby and the Oaks Sept. 3-4. Sept. 3-4 will be online instruction days (not vacation days) in order to accommodate possible traffic and parking issues for faculty, staff and students.
• The ASPC recommends keeping the Fall Break as scheduled. After much discussion with students and feedback through forums and the COVID-19 website, the committee was persuaded that students need the break in October to catch up on work and that physical plant needs the long break to do a mid-semester deep-cleaning of campus facilities. Student Affairs, SGA and the Provost’s office are committed to providing free “Student Well-being” and “Healthy Campus” events during Fall Break to encourage students to stay on campus and recharge for the remainder of the semester.

Scheduling concerns and course delivery options

No unit with undergraduate programs may offer more than 50% of its portfolio of fall courses as totally online courses. Online courses will be designated on the schedule of classes as either DE (Distance Ed, 100% digital instruction with no designated meeting times except possibly for exams) or RT (Remote, 100% instruction with synchronous sessions available at the time and days designated in the schedule; faculty are encouraged to record all sessions for possible asynchronous participation).

At least 50% of a unit’s courses should be taught as hybrid courses, noted on the schedule of classes as HY and defined as having 25%-75% of the course taught face-to-face, with the remaining taught online. For example, for a course requiring 44 contact hours, the minimum for face-to-face interactions translates to 11 contact hours; SACSCOC also suggests that for every contact hour, students should be expected to spend 2 additional hours outside of class learning the material, working on projects or assessments.

Students who wish to take a fully online course schedule for Fall should be able to do so. Faculty may choose to allow students to complete some hybrid courses fully online, but not all courses may be available in an online-only format.

Special consideration should be given to providing face-to-face experiences for first-year students; units must make sure not to schedule all sections of first-year courses as online courses to allow students to select hybrid courses if they wish.

Decisions about course options (whether a course is hybrid or online only) must be made by July 1 and entered clearly in the schedule of courses to allow students opportunity to switch courses.

• Units should consider dropping some low-enrollment electives from their calendar of courses and shifting faculty to offer more sections of required courses and courses for first-year and second-year students (including Cardinal Core options). Special consideration should also be given, when possible, to courses necessary for students planning to finish in the fall.
• We encourage faculty to provide required assignments online and record lectures or class discussions to post so those unable to attend may make up the work. We know this is an additional burden for faculty, but continuity of instruction includes making sure students have continuity of learning.
• Professional programs may seek variances from these guidelines due to accrediting requirements, the need to accommodate pedagogical or clinical approaches specific to particular disciplines, and so on.

Hybrid course delivery was chosen because it combines traditional face-to-face instructional activities with some online learning activities and can capture the best features of both when well-planned and well-executed. It also allows faculty to divide students into smaller groups for face-to-face learning to gain greater physical distancing in the classroom. Additionally, while we are planning to be on campus until Thanksgiving, should we be unable to continue face-to-face instruction at some point earlier in the semester, the hybrid model prepares both faculty and students to transition to online learning in a thoughtful way. Hybrid also allows faculty to provide continuity of instruction if the faculty member gets ill and students continuity of learning if someone should be ill for several days or must quarantine due to exposure to COVID-19.

Additional information, including faculty concerns, modifications to fall teaching schedules, staff concerns, graduate student concerns and more, is .��

More information will be available soon regarding plans specific to HR policies, reopening of facilities and enhanced safety efforts.����

The pivot to fall plan continues to be a work in progress, and we will continue to respond to the guidance of our public health officials and the governor of Kentucky, the latest science, advice from our researchers and faculty working on COVID-19 and input from our employees and students.

President Bendapudi��focused her report on university updates around issues of racial inequity.��

“What a time it has been hasn’t it? We all were dealing with COVID-19 and figuring out what to do and then an epidemic that has been around a long time also came to the surface, and that is of course the systemic racism that we experience, and we see.”������

Bendapudi shared��national statistics on racial inequity and said the university is pledging to take on an anti-racist agenda that tackles issues of systemic racism.��

“I’m calling this our year of accountability,” she said.��������

In her recent meeting with the��Black Student Union, students requested that the university change the name of the Honors House and that UofL divest from Louisville Metro Police Department.����

Bendapudi��explained that she did not realize the Honors House was still called the Overseers Honors House and she asked Chief Operating Officer Mark Watkins to immediately��take action. Watkins painted over the sign and an official name change and sign replacement will take place after board approval.������

Bendapudi��reminded senators that over a year ago, she also noticed that the university advisors to the president were called the Board of Overseers. She requested at that time for the name to be changed due to the term “overseer” having historical ties to slavery. The group is now called the President’s Council.��

With regard to��divestment from LMPD, Bendapudi explained that as an urban university it would not be possible. Multiple city streets intertwine with university campuses, especially the Health Sciences Center and Shelby campuses. She clarified that the University of Louisville Police Department does not have any written contract or formal partnership with LMPD. ULPD does, however, rely on LMPD officers to��provide assistance��with security and traffic control at athletics events, for example. The university will��look into��ways it can reduce that need over time.��������

There are more initiatives happening across the university to advance UofL’s anti-racism agenda. Chief of Police��Gary Lewis will ensure that ULPD is the lead law enforcement body for any investigation dealing with a member of the university. He is also leading a plan to ensure all ULPD officers undergo training that has input from faculty, staff and students. An academic equity audit is being led by Cherie Dawson-Edwards, chair of the Department of Criminal Justice. The audit will entail a thorough review of curricular content that identifies strengths, deficits and opportunities to improve Criminal Justice education around social justice priorities. Many LMPD officers are enrolled in UofL’s criminal justice courses.��

Detailed descriptions of actions being taken can be found in Bendapudi’s letter to the Black Student Union.
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A few senators expressed their concerns about nontenured faculty of color needing more support and that there should be visible demonstrations of the university’s commitment to black faculty.����

Bendapudi��agreed that the university must do more. She shared that she and other local college and university leaders have committed to finding solutions to end racial inequity. This written commitment can be found��online.������

Provost Beth Boem��shared that she has strongly supported leadership development opportunities for faculty of color. She hired two executive positions last year that were filled by people of color—the Dean for the School of Music and the Chief Information Officer. Additionally, three of the five people registered for the ACC leadership development programs this year were faculty members of color.����

“I��really believe it’s important for us to recruit and retain faculty of color and I am sorry whenever we fail to retain,” she said.��The Faculty Diversity Update��Presentation from last year can be accessed��.��Provost Boehm will provide an updated report at the next Faculty Senate meeting.����

Boehm��shifted her report to address the����provided in her recent��.�� ��

“What we have��[in the plan] is a hybrid model and one that seeks some kind of capacity to start one way and shift if we need to,” she said.������
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Some senators expressed concern with asynchronous learning plans and a discussion followed about the pros and cons of the hybrid learning model. Boehm answered questions and encouraged senators to continue��submitting��feedback.��The Pivot to Fall Coordinating Committee will utilize feedback to reshape the plan for fall.����������

EVPRI Kevin Gardner shared the ways in which research work is slowly reopening. Regular research town halls are being facilitated and they are open to the entire university community.��The research Grand Challenges as part of the strategic plan are being moved forward. The three challenges include: empowering our communities, advancing our health, and engineering our future economy. Gardner emphasized these are critical issues for the university and he plans to advance those challenges over coming months.����
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Faculty Senate Chair Krista Wallace-Boaz reported that Faculty and Staff Senates are expanding their standing executive committees to form a COVID-19 Advisory Committee to Faculty and Staff Senate leadership. Once confirmed, membership will be posted on the Faculty and Staff Senate websites.

The Redbook Committee had their second reading of the University Libraries revised����and��. Also, the Academic Programs Committee presented two certificate proposals: Human Resources Leadership and AI in Medicine. Both Libraries documents passed and both certificates passed.������

Committee reports and a video recording of the��virtual meeting can be accessed on the��.�� The next Faculty Senate meeting��is scheduled for July 1 via video conference.��