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.

Vice Chair Vickie Tencer facilitated the committee reports, including her update on the budget process for 2018, which is starting soon. Other reports include:

The Credentials and Nominations committee announced it has filled eight seats and elections for two additional seats will be held later this month.

Policy, Economics, Development: Gary Southard said the committee will meet every second Thursday of the month moving forward and has set three goals and objectives for this year, including bringing a RIFF policy proposal forward, creating more staff training and development opportunities and in and out placement for staff. The committee has met with Jeanell Hughes, interim executive director of HR, to see how they could collaborate with her office on these initiatives. Members hope to have their proposals up for review by the next meeting.

Services and Facilities met Oct 6. Paul Eitel said there were a number of issues discussed, including:

• Discrepancies in the RAVE alerts and how they’re sent to employees’ phones. He said recent incidents have not shown up on some devices. Some employees have also asked for “all clear” follow up messages.
• A grant has been received to fund additional insulation and lighting on walkways throughout campus. This project will be facilitated through a partnership between UofL and LG&E.
• There have been some problems at the Floyd Street crosswalk and confusion about who has the right of way.
• Updates to the Chestnut Street parking garage have been put on hold due to changes at the 620 garage.
• The committee is researching how to get more solar charging tables around campus.

Staff Grievances didn’t meet and no grievances have been reported. According to John Smith, January is the committee’s busiest time and they hope to put communication out about the grievance process prior to then.

SHARE did not meet. There are no pending or new applications for assistance. The committee would like to raise awareness and funds for SHARE so more employees know what it is and how to use it.

Staff Morale and Community Outreach met Sept. 22. Members would like to start acknowledging birthdays and perfect attendance. A proposal has also been made to the Executive Committee for the first outreach project with the Ronald McDonald House.

Secretary/Treasurer Sabrina Haug said the committee has met with Acting President Neville Pinto and CFO Harlan Sands about where the university is headed in its leadership transition. In the budget:

• The SHARE balance is $11,895.70
• The technology balance is $1,613
• The general balance is $16,294.06

Report from Jeanell Hughes, interim executive director of HR

Hughes discussed five points:

1. Open Enrollment is Oct. 17-Oct. 28. Employees will be receiving more information in the mail. UofL has two new vendors, one for vision and one for dental, and there will be a lower premium for both.
2. The university is 90-percent verified as part of its Dependent Audit Verification. There are a few outstanding verifications and a few appeals due to the inability to produce the required documentation.
3. All employees are receiving a “holiday premium” during November. That means anyone who is on UofL’s insurance will not have to pay their insurance premium for this month. More communication will be released about this soon from Dr. Pinto.
4. The university is working on achieving salary equity adjustments with the $2 million set aside for this goal ($1 million for faculty and $1 million for staff). This should go into effect Jan. 1.
5. The Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA) process is underway and each employee should have received communication about their status whether it is changing or not. Those employees going from exempt to non-exempt have until Dec. 1, a month later than originally scheduled. Four sessions have been held already with more information for these employees, and supervisor sessions are planned soon. A new online timekeeping solution is being rolled out for employees.

Report from Patricia Benson, AVP Health, Wellness and Disease Management

Benson also reminded senators about open enrollment and encouraged them to get a health assessment through Get Healthy Now. Assessments will be available through Nov. 17 and can help save up to $40 a month on insurance premiums.

There will be two benefits fairs for employees to get acquainted with our insurance vendors: Oct. 19 and 20 on the HSC campus, and Oct. 25 and 26 on the Belknap Campus, at Get Healthy Now Wellness Center.

Benson said Get Healthy Now has been around since 2005 and has been very successful because of employee buy-in, with an 84-percent participation rate. She encouraged employees to provide feedback and suggestions on programs that aren’t being offered.

Finally, she noted that Get Healthy Now has expanded its partnership with UofL Physicians, which began in 2008. The expansion includes a new hypertension program.��

Report from Dr. Bob Staat, Faculty Senate Representative

Dr. Bob Staat provided a report from the Faculty Senate meeting earlier in October. Senators voted to support a resolution drafted by the Student Government Association asking Governor Bevin to bring the board of trustees into full compliance. More information about the Faculty Senate meeting is .

SGA report

A report was read from Lauren Greenwell from the SGA, including the body’s aforementioned resolution, which passed, and the approval of longer hours at the Ekstrom Library. The SGA is also developing a new safety campaign.

Report from Chair Will Armstrong

Armstrong reported that he met with the budget advisory committee on Sept. 1; with two AVP financial/controller candidates in mid-September; and with President Pinto on Sept. 26 to learn more about his vision. He was also named to the executive committee of the board of trustees on Sept. 22.

On Oct. 18, staff senators are invited to the president’s reception at Amelia Place. Guests for the November meeting include someone from campus police and Justin Mog, assistant to the provost for Sustainability Initiatives.

Report from Ellie Fridell, University-wide Committees

Fridell noted that the community engagement steering committee met in late September to provide a 21^st Century Initiative update and an update on engagement plans. A resource packet is being developed for faculty to get involved in community engagement. She will post all of the other reports online soon.

Other business

Finally, a few other business items were discussed, including:

• There has been a discussion about implementing a new lecture capture system. The current agreement expires in April.
• There is an RFP out for a new printing vendor. The current vendor doesn’t provide incentives to lower costs and that is a desired attribute with a new vendor.

The next Staff Senate meeting is November 14 at Ekstrom Library’s Chao Auditorium.

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Bradley discussed his objectives for the dental school, including a focus on a group model and cutting-edge, contemporary curriculum.

“The model of dentistry is changing. The days of boutique dentists may be coming to an end. The challenge is to prepare our students for a future that is not quite here yet,” he said.

Bradley is also focused on increasing class sizes to help fund clinic renovations, is working now to get a strategic plan in place that is in line with the university’s 21^st century initiative, and is looking for partners to increase community outreach.

After Bradley spoke, Senate Chair Enid Trucios-Haynes called for the approval of minutes from September’s meeting. Other action items included the approval of a certificate in Structural Engineering, the approval of a certificate in Transportation Engineering, and the approval of minor updates to the Redbook’s language on promotion and tenure at the Brandeis School of Law.

Staff Senate report

Ginger Brown provided a report from the Staff Senate, which recently held its annual retreat. A recap of Staff Senate’s September meeting is .

Brown also mentioned that there are 19 open seats and asked faculty senators to encourage their staff colleagues to join.

Faculty Senate Chair report

Trucios-Haynes provided the Faculty Senate Chair report, which is also . She then presented the Student Government Association’s resolution asking Governor Matt Bevin to appoint a board of trustees with a compliant racial makeup.

Trucios-Haynes asked the body if they wanted to support the SGA’s resolution or create their own resolution on the matter. Senators agreed to add their support with the added language encouraging Governor Bevin to “work toward bringing the board into full compliance,” including political affiliation.

SACS 2017 Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) Proposal presentation

Riann van Zyl and Beth Willey provided a report on the proposed QEP, which is required as part of the SACS re-accreditation process. The main objective with the QEP is to create a better environment for student learning with a heavy focus on second-year students.

“We looked at what we knew about our own students and there is a drop off in retention from their second year to their third year. We think that is because there is tremendous support from First Year Initiatives during their first year, and there is not during their second year,” Willey said. “We are focused especially on undeclared majors and pre-unit students and how to keep them engaged for their third year.”

The 30-person committee worked with a consultant, attended conferences and studied best practices to come up with how to meet this need. Among their ideas were active engagement of students and normalization of their common challenges; creating opportunities for exploration; inviting discovery; and supporting them in finding ways to connect with friends and areas of interest.

The proposal is to make this happen through a 3-credit-hour (elective) seminar taught by faculty with an “integrative advising” component. Continued outreach, student focus groups and follow ups would also be components of the initiative. The committee is hoping to offer the QEP seminar by the spring of 2018.

QEP information sessions are planned in the coming weeks. A discussion followed about the idea, with some senators wondering if a seminar was the best way to encourage retention.

Report from President Pinto

Acting President Neville Pinto provided updates on the performance budget model proposed by the state. The latest idea is to combine the three proposed model into one model. More information will be presented during two meetings in November and the universities hope to have recommendations by the end of November.

Pinto also addressed Governor Bevin’s executive order regarding dual credit, which relates to a reduction in cost for higher education by providing money to high school students to finish two college courses prior to graduation.

Additional updates included:

• UofL is planning for its budget early this year to navigate the stagnant tuition for 2016-17. New sources of revenue are being considered.
• Pinto said we are not doing a new budget model this year. “It is not appropriate for a transition year,” he said.
• He encouraged all faculty senators to educate to their students and colleagues about the that provides alerts about any safety issues on campus.
• Pinto is visiting every unit on campus and has completed three visits so far: law, social work and dentistry. He said these meetings have been engaging and productive.
• Finally, Pinto said the UofL Foundation is “making progress on getting back into alignment with the university and supporting our mission.” The board members were appointed after a robust nomination process, including discussion on each candidate. The Foundation board includes 10 non-UofL-affiliated community members, four board of trustee members and the university president. A joint committee was established to oversee an audit of the Foundation and an interim executive director will be appointed soon to oversee the Foundation.

“I will advocate strong control of the foundation and the university having a strong influence on how resources of the Foundation are being used,” Pinto said. “We’re going to be very responsive to open records requests and transparent.”

Report from Tracy Eells, associate dean for faculty affairs

Tracy Eells provided a report on behalf of the provost, including an update on current dean searches. There are three candidates for the College of Business position and the law school search is underway, with an appointment expected in July.

The Libraries’ Dean Bob Fox’s 5-year review is also underway.

Jim Begany has been hired as vice president for strategic enrollment and student services; Beth Willey has been named faculty fellow to assist with undergraduate affairs; and Cedric Powell has been appointed faculty grievance officer. The search for a new ombudsman will start soon.

Eells also provided an update on the , a process which began in the fall of 2015 in response to a report showing that UofL faculty earn 92 percent of what faculty at benchmark intuitions make. To close this gap, $6.6 million is needed. Deans of each unit are currently providing feedback and identifying any inaccuracies in the data, and nine out of 12 schools have finished their review.

Report from Bob Fox, dean of University Libraries

University Libraries has rolled out a new product called to help manage student electronic theses and dissertations. Currently, a soft launch of Phase II is underway, which includes faculty-produced content. The second phase includes “selected works” and a concise place for faculty to list their scholarship and who they are. It is optimized for web searches, Fox said.

Also, a large portion – 60 percent – of University Libraries’ budget goes toward journals and databases and the staff is currently looking at data on these databases’ utilization to see if there can be any way to make this resource more efficient.

All committee reports are either already or will be soon.

The next Faculty Senate meeting is Nov. 2 in Chao Auditorium at Ekstrom Library.