Executive Vice President and University Provost Lori Gonzalez provided senators with updated information on enrollment, endowments and the recent federal COVID-19 mandate. When compared to figures from fall 2020, enrollment is down 48 students. Although institutions nationwide are experiencing a drop in enrollment, the national average is a loss of only 2.3 students. Gonzalez reported that student retention was also down by 4.3%. Senators were informed that student enrollment and retention will be a targeted initiative for the university and administration for the foreseeable future.

Gonzalez also provided senators with information on the current state of the university’s endowment funding.

“So many of our endowments were previously underwater, but this past year they’re all above water,” Gonzalez said. “Our return on investment for our endowments was 33%. This means endowments will go up for the next fiscal year, since they are done on a three-year rolling average.”

A university-wide informed members of the Cardinal community of a recent federal mandate regarding COVID-19 response. The executive order requires all federal contractors and covered contractors to implement a COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Due to the numerous federal contracts that the university depends upon for operation, this federal ordnance will apply to UofL.

“The federal government allows medical and religious exemptions; however, the state-approved conscientious objector exemption is not allowed by the federal government. It’s my understanding that Kentucky’s attorney general may be challenging this rule, but we must wait for the outcome of that decision on conscientious objector exemptions,” Gonzalez said.

Executive Vice President of Research & Innovation Kevin Gardner gave a presentation on UofL’s impressive fiscal year 2021 research impact. The presentation highlighted the record-breaking $201.5 million in competitive research funding, which was over $30 million more than the previous record set in FY20. Gardner also featured several UofL research initiatives that addressed the three Grand Challenges of research and innovation outlined in the : empowering our communities, advancing our health and engineering our future economy.

Committee reports and a of the meeting can be accessed on the . The next Faculty Senate meeting is scheduled for Dec. 1 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 provided senators with updated COVID-19 vaccination rates for the university community. As of Oct. 5, 2021, students reported the highest rate of vaccination at 86.1%, followed by 82.7% for staff and 82.1% for faculty at UofL. During the month of October, vaccinated students have the option to enter a drawing for a variety of prizes including priority registration, a blue parking pass, a year of free coffee from the campus Starbucks or a semester of undergraduate tuition.

Gonzalez also addressed enrollment figures. Gonzalez encouraged senators and their constituents to aid in the retention effort by submitting progress reports to identify students in need of academic intervention.

“Last month, I shared that our budget was built on the expectation from the colleges that we would increase our enrollment by 200 students. In fact, we were down 194 students. That means we have 394 less students than our budget was based on,” Gonzalez said. “We are working with the colleges to true up those budgets, but there are some things that can happen at the college level to impact retention from fall to spring semester. The main thing faculty members can do is to complete progress reports for students who aren’t performing well so that we can start academic intervention efforts.”

Executive Vice President of Research & Innovation Kevin Gardner reported that the university received a record breaking $201.5 million in awards during the 2021 fiscal year. Gardner shared additional record-breaking figures from the university’s research, innovation and commercialization efforts.

“Our total award volume in 2020 was $170 million and this year, it was $201.5 million,” Gardner said. “This fiscal year, we’ve had 80 patents issued, $27 million in innovation income and 482 other agreements, such as material transfer agreements.”

Faculty Grievance Officer Cedric Powell provided the to senators. Powell reported that a total of five grievances had been filed from Oct. 1, 2020 to Sept. 1, 2021. Two Type 1 grievances were filed, as well as three Type 2 grievances.

Two grievances were filed from the School of Medicine; however, neither met the jurisdictional requirements for a formal grievance and the complaints were dismissed. Two grievances were filed from the College of Arts and Sciences, and the College of Business and the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law each had one grievance filed. A Type 2 grievance from A&S, a Type 2 grievance from the College of Business and a Type 1 grievance from the School of Law each went forward with the formal process and appeal with the opinion of the Faculty Grievance committee ultimately being affirmed by either President Bendapudi or Provost Gonzalez.

Committee reports and a of the virtual meeting can be accessed on the . The next Faculty Senate meeting is scheduled for Nov. 3 via a hybrid format with the option of remote attendance via Teams, or in-person attendance at Ekstrom Library’s Chao Auditorium.

Michael Wade Smith, vice president for external affairs and chief of staff, informed senators of the university’s continuing commitment to providing fair compensation for faculty and staff. The identified the equitable compensation of employees as a critical aspect of institutional success. To honor the university’s commitment, Human Resources will lead two university-wide over the next several months. The studies will assess employee wages and Total Rewards, which include all available benefits such as health insurance, retirement and tuition remission.

“We are trying to increase compensation in spite of the limited resources that we do have and the turbulent time that we’re in,” Smith said. “We have our larger university-wide effort that’s underway; that’s going to take some time. But in addition to that, we are trying to make incremental gains wherever we can.”

Smith further acknowledged that the university’s compensation initiative contributed to the recent improvements in employee wages. In addition to the 1% salary increase that went into effect earlier this year, UofL staff and faculty also received a $1,000 bonus in August. 

Executive Vice President and University Provost Lori Gonzalez provided senators with her insight on the current student enrollment figures. Both Smith and Gonzalez reported an increase in graduate school enrollment by 232 graduate students, but a decline of 194 undergraduate students. Gonzalez reported that universities nationwide are experiencing a decline in undergraduate enrollment due to COVID-19 and highlighted the impact of the enrollment efforts made by UofL employees.

“I want to point out that we started out at about 750 students down. We are now only 194 students down. This was a Herculean lift from our enrollment management team and the Cardinal family, and now this year we will be focused on retaining those students,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez also encouraged senators and their constituents to contribute to the Cardinal community of care by vaccinating for the upcoming flu season. UofL will offer flu shot clinics on both the Health Science Campus and the Belknap Campus until Friday, Oct. 1. Dates, locations and hours of operation for the clinic can be found on the .

“When we talk about a community of care, the one thing that people can do to make sure this a safe campus is to get vaccinated,” Gonzalez said. “Now in addition to COVID-19, we are getting ready to move into flu season. Just like we’re encouraging you to get your COVID-19 vaccine, please get your flu shot as well.”

Brian Buford, executive director of university culture and employee success, presented an overview of UofL’s reimagined employee onboarding experience. Launching in January 2022, the improved onboarding process aims to address issues that were identified through numerous focus groups and interviews conducted by the Employee Success Center.

New aspects of the process will include a full year of onboarding support through the Employee Success Center, increased onboarding support at the departmental level, a revamped new employee orientation, as well as a welcome gift during the first week of employment and again on the one-year employment anniversary.

Buford also announced that each department will have a designated liaison known as an onboarding navigator. As the point-of-contact for onboarding employees, navigators will strive to create a spirit of welcome for new hires within their department. Those interested in serving as onboarding navigators for their departments will have the opportunity to volunteer and receive training in the coming months.

Committee reports and a of the virtual meeting can be found on the . The next Staff Senate meeting will be held on Oct. 11 via Microsoft Teams.

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.

In preparation for the return to campus, President Bendapudi and Provost Gonzalez stressed the importance of in-person work through a .

“This fall, we expect to offer a majority of in-person classes and highly engaging experiences on campus that support the whole student body. To do that, we must have a strong, welcoming presence in our classrooms and student-service areas. This means front-facing and student-service positions will need to have a consistent presence on campus,” the communication noted. 

Although many have eagerly awaited the return to pre-COVID conditions, the impending transition back to in-person work has left employees throughout the nation feeling anxious. Over the past year and a half, individuals rose to the occasion and adapted to the difficulties of isolation and remote working conditions. Just as employees have fully adjusted to these changes, employers are now requesting personnel to return to in-person operations. Several universities have proposed stringent policies that will make remote work difficult for employees, which has caused mounting tensions and high turnover rates among university workers nationwide.

While there is an emphasis on in-person work at UofL, leadership has been committed to providing flexible work options for employees when possible. The went into effect on July 1 and allows UofL employees to request remote work arrangements with their respective department leaders. To help supervisors and employees navigate the process, HR provided a series of training sessions during the month of May to review both the Remote Work Policy and Remote Work Agreement.

The flexibility offered through UofL’s Remote Work Policy intends to lessen the anxieties of both faculty and staff as they resume on-campus work. Employees like Kevin Ledford, enterprise systems programmer with Information Technology Services, see potential for lasting positive changes for employees at UofL.

“During COVID-19, our staff has been largely acting remotely and been doing a fantastic job in the face of challenges. We have proven that a number of our workers can work remotely and be as effective, if not more so, than they were before,” Ledford stated. “Allowing workers flexibility goes a long way towards making UofL a great place to work. Giving the worker the flexibility to request what works best for them and work with their department to come up with a plan is a good step forward.”

Despite the flexibility of working from home, many faculty and staff members have been yearning for in-person interactions with students and colleagues. Sherri Wallace, professor of Political Science, is among the employees eager to return to campus this August.

“I’m looking forward to the energy I get from my students during in-person instruction, the looks on students’ faces that indicate where they are and the dynamic discussions that emanate from being in the moment or in the room. I’m looking forward to the casual or vigorous intellectual exchanges that occur in the hallway or on the way to a meeting with colleagues and staff,” Wallace said. “I realize and appreciate virtual or electronic discussions are now part of the norm for communication; however, nothing can or will ever replace social interaction from working in-sync and in-person with those around you.”

Whether employees are returning to campus, continuing remote work or some hybrid fashion of the two, a cautious optimism is felt throughout as UofL begins transitioning back to pre-COVID operations. For more information on the Remote Work Policy and the return to campus, students and employees can refer to . All remote work requests should be submitted and finalized by Aug. 1, 2021.

“We have so many employees who are dedicated to creating meaningful educational experiences for you. Many have really gone above and beyond expectations to provide support to you as you navigated this very difficult year. I want to bring attention to these individuals on our campus who have been steadfast in their support when it was most needed. As provost, it is important for me to know who on our campus has provided critical support to help you succeed.”

Over 1,100 students submitted the two-minute survey provided in the provost’s email, yielding 778 different faculty and staff member names. This inaugural recognition effort from the provost’s office honored all the nominated employees as Student Champions. Twenty-one schools, colleges and offices were represented in the 778 Student Champions.

The College of Arts and Sciences boasted the most nominations, with student submissions recognizing 243 faculty and staff across multiple departments within A&S. Students also recognized 87 employees in the College of ����ֱ�� and Human Development, 61 employees from the School of Medicine, and 50 employees from the J.B. Speed School of Engineering as Student Champions.

Many recipients of the award received multiple acknowledgements from the student body. , director of Multiple Pathways and assistant professor with the College of ����ֱ�� and Human Development, was nominated by 14 different students – the most of any employee. , a clinical assistant professor also with College of ����ֱ�� and Human Development, received 12 acknowledgements and , an academic advisor with A&S, received eight student submissions.

In order to facilitate a student-first culture at the university, the recognition of the Student Champions and their contributions toward making UofL a great place to learn will be conducted annually. Student Champions and the leaders of their respective colleges, schools and offices were recognized by Provost Gonzalez and President Bendapudi via email, and a certificate honoring their commitment to student success will be awarded to them later this summer.

All faculty and staff names that were submitted as Student Champions can be viewed

Jim Begany, vice provost for enrollment management and student success, presented updated enrollment figures. As of June 1, overall enrollment was down by 636 students. Begany reported a 710 decrease in undergraduate enrollment, a decrease of 17 in professional enrollment, as well as an increase of 91 for graduate enrollment. No change was reported for the total of incoming freshmen students.

In order to address these declines, the Enrollment Lightning Response Team was formed to assist with student registration. The ELRT is currently reaching out to non-registered students through multiple channels, including email and one-on-one meetings. In addition to the efforts made by members of the ELRT, faculty were encouraged to reach out to non-returning students.

“We have lists of these (non-registered) students that we can break down by major. A student’s connection with faculty is extremely important, and we encourage faculty to reach out to these students,” Begany said. 

Executive Vice President and University Provost Lori Gonzalez reported that email notices were sent to faculty members concerning tenure and promotions. Gonzalez informed senators of plans to compile past tenure and promotion decisions in order to provide interested faculty members with transparent and useful data. Past decisions will be organized by college and the names of the faculty members will be omitted.

“My approach to tenure and promotion is that there should be no secrets for anyone. You should know at every step what is happening,” Gonzalez stated.  

Gonzalez also announced two recent staff appointments in the Office of the Executive Vice President and University Provost. Douglas Craddock Jr. from the College of ����ֱ�� and Human Development will serve as chief of staff, and Sarah Lopez from the Office of Communication and Marketing will serve as deputy chief of staff. Gonzalez stated that the appointment of Craddock and Lopez will increase the responsiveness of the Office of the Provost.

Executive Vice President of Research & Innovation Kevin Gardner informed senators that new awards for fiscal year 2021 are at an all-time high. Gardner reported 60 research disclosures to date and an all-time high in sponsored research agreements.

“Through March, our awards are higher than they were all of last year. Between the record levels of awards and an anticipated increase in endowment spending, that should see us in good stead for our research expenditures, which is how we get measured as a research university,” Gardner said.

Senators were presented with three proposed program closures by the Academic Programs Committee. The programs included a bachelor of science in atmospheric sciences through the College of Arts and Sciences, as well as a master of education in instructional technology and a master of education in literacy education both through the College of ����ֱ�� and Human Development. All three proposed program closures received unanimous approval by the Faculty Senate.  

Committee reports and a of the virtual meeting can be accessed on the . The next Faculty Senate meeting is scheduled for July 7 via Microsoft Teams.

Bendapudi informed senators that the university recently received positive ratings by Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s. These credit rating agencies evaluate several different industries, including higher education institutions.

“We were downgraded by these agencies for a couple of years, but this year, they took notice of the fact that we have stabilized our finances. We took some important corrective measures that we needed to, and I am pleased to tell you that both of them changed the outlook of the university from negative to stable,” Bendapudi said.

Bendapudi also provided senators with preliminary information on budgeting priorities. She asserted that her highest priority will be the restoration of retirement benefits, pending approval from the Board of Trustees. If passed, retirement benefits will be restored to 7.5% effective July 1.

Bendapudi also addressed her priority on employee healthcare, stating “we are making a commitment that there will not be any health care cost increases. Last year, we felt that given everything going on, the university would absorb those additional costs and not pass it on to our employees. So, I am pleased to tell you that for a second year in a row, the university will absorb those increases.”

Mary Elizabeth Miles, vice president for Human Resources, informed senators about upcoming training sessions for the Remote Work Policy. The policy was developed over the past year with the assistance and feedback of several members of the university community, including the Policy and Economic Development Committee of the Staff Senate.

Referencing the Miles stated, “department leaders may offer flexible work options to employees as long as a strong presence is in our classrooms and student-service areas are maintained and the overall operations of our schools, colleges and departments are continued without compromising the quality or productivity.”

The new Remote Work Policy and the Remote Work Agreement will be released on June 1. At that time, employees wishing to work from home may submit the Remote Work Agreements to their first- and second-line supervisors. Any denials will be directed to the department head for final review and determination.

In response to feedback from staff and faculty members, HR will be providing a series of supervisor and employee HRtalks training sessions to review the Remote Work Policy and Remote Work Agreement. All faculty and staff were encouraged to attend the upcoming trainings, which can be accessed from the .

Executive Vice President and University Provost Lori Gonzalez announced that her office is interviewing for a chief of staff to the provost. Gonzalez stated that the position will increase the responsiveness of the Office of the Provost. Four candidates were interviewed for the Dean of the College of ����ֱ�� and Human Development, and Gonzalez announced that a decision should be expected in the near future. 

Committee reports and a of the virtual meeting can be found on the . The next Staff Senate meeting will be held on June 8 via Microsoft Teams.

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.

Beth Boehm, outgoing executive vice president and university provost, provided senators with updates on COVID-19 vaccine availability. On the afternoon of March 2, invitations for the COVID-19 vaccination were sent via email to all faculty, staff and students between the ages of 60 and 69. Boehm encouraged those who fall within this age range and did not receive the email from Student Health Services to contact Phillip Bressoud, executive director of Campus Health Services.

Boehm introduced her successor to the executive vice president and university provost position, Lori Stewart Gonzalez. Boehm was thanked for her years of service by Faculty Senate Chair David Schultz and other members of the Faculty Senate. Gonzalez, a Kentucky native, will assume the role on April 1.

Boehm stated, “I just wanted to thank you all for welcoming me back to the senate these past three years. It’s been an honor to serve in the role of the provost and to work with all of you.”

Senators received information on student enrollment by Vice Provost of Enrollment Management and Student Success Jim Begany. Begany reported a peak in enrollment during the fall 2020 semester with over 23,000 students. While public 4-year universities nationwide saw an average 10.5% decrease in enrollment during the fall 2020 semester, UofL reported a 2.7% increase in student enrollment. The university also saw an increase in the 6-year graduation rate, which is the common measure among institutions. The current 6-year graduation rate is at 60.4%, an improvement from the 52.9% rate reported in 2015.

When addressing the current 6-year graduation rate, Begany stated, “this is what I’m most proud of. This is a university-wide effort. It’s our faculty working with students in the classroom, our advisors, our student affairs, our entire university. When we see numbers that are improving, it’s reflective of all the work that we’re all doing to get our students to graduate.”

Updates about the Canon printer policies were provided by Chief Procurement Officer Sally Molsberger.  

Under the updated Canon printer policy, existing single function and desktop printers can continue to be used until they are non-functioning, at which time they may not be repaired or replaced. Toner and ink for existing single function and desktop printers will not be provided through Canon and should be ordered through the contracted office supply vendor, Staples. All paper purchases should go through the university . The policy further states that university funds cannot be used to pay for desktop printers or personal printing. Those with questions or concerns about the updated printing policy were encouraged to contact either or with Procurement Services.

Vice Provost of Faculty Affairs Tracy Eells provided the current draft of the intimate relationships policy. In December 2019, Boehm charged a committee to review and make necessary changes to the policy on intimate relationships between students and members of faculty and staff. The policy will apply to all university employees.

Four types of intimate relationships will be prohibited under the policy:

• An instructor, staff or administrator and an undergraduate student
• An instructor, staff or administrator and a graduate or professional student, when the instructor, staff or administrator has a current or expected supervisory or instructional role with the student or when the instructor, staff or administrator and student are in the same academic school, college, program or department
• A graduate or professional student and an undergraduate, graduate, or professional student when there is a supervisory or instructional role
• A supervisor and the supervisor’s direct report.

Committee reports and a of the virtual meeting can be accessed on the . The next faculty meeting is scheduled for April 7 via Microsoft Teams.