Senate Committees Collaborate on Issues

The work of the University and Faculty Senates is accomplished primarily through their 22 standing committees, as well as numerous subcommittees and task forces. Faculty, academic professionals, civil service staff, students, alumni, and administrators have designated positions on most committees. 

Trans and Gender Non-Conforming Equity Policy

Melinda Lee, assistant director, Gender and Sexuality Center for Queer and Trans Life, consulted with a number of committees on a proposed administrative policy on trans and gender non-conforming equity. They visited the Senate Committee on Student Affairs (SCSA); the Senate Committee on Educational Policy (SCEP); the Social Concerns Committee; and the Equity, Access and Diversity Committee (EAD). Members provided valuable feedback; the Social Concerns Committee stressed the importance of being inclusive of Two-Spirit individuals in the Native community, and SCEP brought up the issue of preferred names and making sure students are clear on where preferred names entered into PeopleSoft will or will not be used. All committees consulted indicated support for the proposed policy.

Training Module on Responding to and Reporting Incidents of Sexual Misconduct

In response to the resolution passed at the University Senate in spring 2017, a training module on responding to and reporting incidents of sexual misconduct has been purchased from Everfi, the vendor that supplies the student version of the training. Tina Marisam, director, Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action, and Boyd Kumher, chief compliance officer, presented a demo of the training to several committees and are now incorporating feedback into the training module. Committees consulted include the Faculty Consultative Committee (FCC); the Senate Committee on Faculty Affairs (SCFA); the Academic Freedom and Tenure Committee (AF&T); and the P&A and Civil Service Consultative Committees, among others. The training is slated to go live spring semester 2018.

Tax Reform

The Republican tax reform plan, passed recently in the House of Representatives, that would impose taxes on graduate student tuition benefits is of great concern to members of the University community. President Kaler voiced concern about the plan at the November University/Faculty Senate meeting and urged those present to contact their representatives. A number of students also denounced the plan at that meeting. In addition, the Faculty Consultative Committee released a statement regarding the plan, commenting that taxing tuition remission as part of assistantships “will reduce the accessibility of graduate education, in turn reducing the nation's historic commitment to upward mobility, reducing diversity among graduate students, and diminishing the nation's highly skilled workforce and leadership in industry, research, discovery, and creativity.”

DACA and Immigration

The Trump Administration’s travel ban (affecting individuals from Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Chad and North Korea, as well as some groups of people from Venezuela) and the closing of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program have been topics of intense discussion at many senate committee meetings. Marissa Hill-Dongre, director, Immigration Response Team, has been a frequent visitor to committee meetings this fall, having spoken with the Senate Research Committee (along with Stacey Buachart and Mark Schneider, directors of two of the student and scholar visa programs in International Student and Scholar Services); the Senate Committee on Student Affairs (SCSA); and the Social Concerns Committee. In addition, Minnesota Student Association (MSA) President Trish Palermo and MSA Ranking at-Large Representative Guillermo Pérez Soberanes, recently visited the Senate Committee on Educational Policy (SCEP) seeking input on, and faculty signatures to, a letter in support of students affected by these actions. By signing the letter, faculty members agree to assist students in finishing their degrees in the event that they are deported or disallowed to continue their studies physically in the United States. In the spring, SCEP will further discuss tangible ways to support these students in terms of educational policy and procedures.