SACSCOC is the accrediting agency for higher education institutions in Kentucky and 10 other southern states. The organization removed the probation after a year-long process in which the university addressed nine concerns in areas of governance, administration and finance.

“We are pleased with the decision by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to remove the probationary status,” said UofL Interim President Greg Postel. “Our faculty, staff and administration worked diligently to address the commission’s concerns, and we are on solid ground for the future. Our academic programs continue to be strong, and the SACSCOC decision should assure our students and alumni that a University of Louisville degree will continue to be valued.”

Postel stressed that the university’s academic programs were never in question. SACSCOC had raised concerns related to UofL’s governing board, CEO evaluation/selection, board conflict of interest, board external influence and board dismissal, as well as the university’s financial stability and control of finances.

Due to the probationary status, the university’s regular SACS reaccreditation process was interrupted in December 2016. That process will resume immediately, and SACS will conduct a site visit this spring. Postel said the university is prepared for that visit and expects a positive outcome.

“We need to get our hands around what’s going on to fully understand how to come up with solutions,” she said.

Faculty will be involved in some budgeting decisions at the unit level. Each unit has received a budget they have been tasked with achieving relatively quickly. Trucios-Haynes deferred further budget dialogue to Interim Provost Dale Billingsley, who outlined the general timeframe to achieve budgeting goals.

“Your deans have received a number which includes the actual expenditures from last year, the forecast, merit salary increases and salary equity adjustments. That target is the ceiling under which your unit must stay,” he said.

Billingsley said these goals were put into place to ensure UofL keeps its unrestricted net position above $0. According to the Kentucky Public University Comparison, the unrestricted net position of UofL in 2011 was $96 million. In 2016, it was negative $7 million.

“If this is replicated again this year, we will raise red flags from Moody’s and SACS,” he said.

The budget prospectus is .��

Interim President Greg Postel continued the budget conversation, expressing his concerns and how we will try to weather the storm.

‘We are going to do the very best we can considering the circumstances we are in. We are getting input from everyone including faculty, staff and students,” he said. “I’m frustrated. This is not the kind of work we want to be doing. We are going to try to make this as painless as we can but it will not be fully painless. Hopefully it will just be for one year.”

Postel also encouraged some optimism, noting that the budget should be regarded as a starting point from which to build on.

“We’ve been given a tough set of facts and we have a short period of time. But it’s just the way it is,” he said. “I want to emphasize that this is the starting point. We need to be meeting and coming up with a strategy to beat this miserable budget.”

For example, hiring frosts have been implemented, some construction projects have been slowed and “other low-hanging fruit” decisions have been made to cut costs.

Postel also discussed the SACS accreditation status, noting that we are working internally to get our documents synched and accurate in accordance to state law. UofL administrators hope to be on SACS’ agenda for its June meeting to continue rectifying the situation.

“We do not expect these issues to be resolved in June, but to provide them with an update. Then they will have a site visit in September and in December we hope to know more about our status,” Postel said.

Postel also provided an update on the recent Council on Postsecondary ����ֱ�� meeting, which he said was focused almost exclusively on tuition – which does not affect UofL this year, as its tuition remains stagnant.

Finally, Postel noted that the search for UofL’s new permanent president is underway with the formation of a search committee, which includes 16 members – 11 of whom are appointed board members and five members from the community.

Reports:

Dean David Jenkins from the Kent School of Social Work provided an update from his school, which is .��

Meredith Cooksey, SGA, said four SGA resolutions were passed in February, including one that would bring the Belknap campus up to ADA compliance for Braille, and another resolution that offered solidarity with the university’s international students in light of President Trump’s recently signed travel ban.

Students are joining the Attorney General on March 27 for the Voices of Justice event to raise awareness of sexual assault on campuses.

Ginger Brown provided an update from the February Staff Senate meeting, noting that CAO David Adams, COO Lee Smith and AVP of HR Jeanell Hughes presented updates from their respective areas. Staff Senate Chair Will Armstrong has expressed concerns that recent budget cuts may disproportionately affect staff. It was noted that six employees in the President’s Office were laid off as part of a reduction-in-force decision.

More information about the Staff Senate’s recent meeting is .��

Faculty Senate Chair Enid Trucios-Haynes provided her chair report, including the recent Board of Trustees meeting that discussed the budget issues, a freeze on expenditures and immediate expense reductions in all areas. Her report is .��

Krista Wallace-Boaz provided a report from the Executive Committee, which met twice in February, including with President Postel, Provost Billingsley and CAO David Adams. Members shared their general concerns, including bad morale from layoffs at a time when morale is already low, a continued need for shared governance and faculty input regarding the budget plan, and the need for transparency. The entire report is , as is a full list of general concerns from .��

Committee reports are .��

The next Faculty Senate meeting is April 5 from 3-5 p.m. in Chao Auditorium.

The university’s constituency groups then provided the following reports:

• The Student Government Association passed four pieces of legislation at its most recent meeting, including a resolution thanking Dr. Neville Pinto for his service. SGA President Aaron Vance signed the Pamona letter calling for the U.S. to uphold and continue DACA. UofL’s inaugural “Unity Week” was called “very successful,” and was the first of three total events that will run throughout the spring semester. The event’s theme was “I Belong.” The themes for the subsequent events will be “You Belong” and “We Belong,” respectively. On Feb. 13, UofL students rallied in Frankfort for higher education policies. SGA representative Meredith Cooksey said the goal is to get 100 students to show up and rally on behalf of universities across the state.
• The Staff Senate did not meet in January. Chairman Will Armstrong has compiled a list of issues compiled from Meet Your Senator sessions recently held on campus, and has met with UofL’s new Chief Administration Officer, David Adams. A concern was raised about employees affected by the salary equity initiative receiving their letters of notice at the same time as their supervisors.
• Chairman Enid Trucios-Haynes provided the Faculty Senate Chair report. She shared the body’s suggested characteristics of an A+ university president with the Board of Trustees. She also sent a resolution to members of the UofL Foundation board asking for representation from the university’s constituencies on that board. Trucios-Haynes facilitated a special meeting among faculty to address State Bill 107. Senators agreed to create an abstract of the , which has been endorsed by the senate. In the abstract, it was suggested language be included to bring the Board of Trustee membership back up to 17.

Dale Billingsley, interim provost, provided an update about SB107. Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers has asked for UofL’s comments about the bill, as well as comments from universities across the state. Faculty senators and members of the administration have suggested edits to the bill, including the language that focuses on the wholesale dismissal of the board and the “immoral misconduct” terminology. Senators expressed concern about the broad interpretation of that factor as it applied to faculty and suggested, if changed at all, it could be replaced with the specification of a felony conviction.

Billingsley deferred the rest of his report to Professor Beth Willey, who is leading the Gen Ed “Cardinal Core” proposal, which is now under review by all units. Some differences between the old Gen Ed requirements and the new CC requirements include:

• 31 total credits, versus the current 34
• Cultural Diversity courses will no longer be standalone courses, but rather any CC course can carry Diversity 1 or Diversity 2 designations
• Diversity classes have been separated into two categories: Diversity in the U.S. and Global Diversity
• Students should show proficiency in skills before completing 30 degree-applicable credit hours

Units are asked to provide their input about the proposal, .��The goal is to have this curriculum in place by the fall of 2018. A series of workshops is planned this spring to re-work syllabi and prepare for the new curriculum.

Dr. Greg Postel, acting president, was introduced to the Faculty Senate for the first time since moving into the leadership position earlier this month. He said he will spend the next few weeks getting more familiar with the Belknap Campus, since he is located on the HSC campus.

Postel provided a brief overview of his background: he graduated from the College of Wooster and received his medical degree from Case Western University, both in Ohio. He then worked at the Cleveland Clinic before moving to Minnesota for a fellowship at the Mayo Clinic.

In 1994, an “exciting opportunity” was presented to him to open a neurology division at the University of Louisville.

“I had never even been to Kentucky,” he said. “It has been an unexpected and exciting journey.”

Postel has spent 18 years as chairman of radiology and helped develop UofL Physicians, where he served as the founding board chair and CEO. In 2015, Postel was named interim EVP of Health Affairs.

“I like challenges. I like cleaning things up and fixing things so that the people after me have an easier go of it,” he said.

Postel said the challenges we face are well known, but they include a small number of issues that are unusual and overshadow 90 percent of the news from UofL that is good.

“That bothers me. We need to increase our stock value and share more of that good news,” he said.

Postel’s initial top priorities include the SACS accreditation issue and budget issues.

“We’ve been spending more money than we’ve been taking in. To fix that, it will require thought, creativity, and hard work. We have no available pool of money to make strategic decisions and that has to change,” he said. “Fortunately, we have tremendous support from the new board of trustees.”

Postel ended his report by stating he “feels pretty good” about where we are with the SACS accreditation progress.

“We know what SAC’s concerns are and we are standing on our heads to address those concerns,” he said.

David Adams, chief administrative officer, was introduced to the Faculty Senate for the first time since taking on his new role in January. Adams also serves as the CEO for the Institute for Product Realization at UofL.

He provided a brief bio to senators, including his history as a first-generation college graduate. He received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Speed School of Engineering and, now, both of his children attend UofL.

Adams spent a number of years in the private sector before moving to the public sector in 2005 as part of Indiana’s Public Employee Retirement System. That public experience led him to the opportunity at UofL. His objective in working with the IPR is to “connect more tightly with industry to get more industry dollars,” citing the GE FirstBuild partnership as an example.

Adams said his first priority in the new CAO role is to talk to the university community to create objectives, and to gauge progress via quarterly scorecards. He also intends on incorporating shared governance as part of his team’s decision-making process.

Committee reports

Academic Programs: N/A

Committee on Committees & Credentials: N/A

Redbook and Bylaws: Clarification changes to the Speed School bylaws were approved. Changes for the Dental School, including the addition of a diversity committee, were also approved.

Part-Time Faculty: N/A

Planning and Budget: The Planning and Budget Committee has held discussions on how to be more involved in the university’s Strategic Plan.

Executive Committee: The Executive Committee has held discussions about Senate Bill 107, endorsed the proposal of having UofL constituency representation on the UofL Foundation board, and endorsed a letter sent to former President Pinto concerning undocumented students. .

Faculty Athletics Representative: Delegates approved a number of legislative proposals at the January NCAA convention, including many that relate to relieving student-athletes of some of their time demands. .��

Human Resources Advisory Committee: HRAC is evaluating a restructure to broaden participation and bring increased focus to key strategic HR initiatives. The goal is to create targeted HR advisory resources composed of individuals across the university with knowledge and skills that complement the knowledge and skills of UofL’s HR team. The committee has expressed concern about shared governance being eliminated from the new structure and will follow up with HR to ensure that does not happen.

The next Faculty Senate meeting is March 1, from 3-5 p.m. in Chao Auditorium.