[Faculty] Senate Update

Mon Mar 25 09:15:18 MST 2024

Dear CALES faculty,

We are a bit behind in getting you an update on the last Faculty Senate meeting. Below are a few important things to know about the March 11th meeting. We will alert you in the next week or so when the April 1 agenda is released.

  1.  Gary Rhoades of the General Faculty Finance Recalibration Committee (GFFRC) gave an update on issues and recommendations. We recommend reviewing the presentation slides<https://facultygovernance.arizona.edu/sites/default/files/2024-03/March%20GFFRC%20Deck%20-%20FINAL.pdf>, and if time, the report<https://facultygovernance.arizona.edu/sites/default/files/2024-03/GFFRC_Interim%20Report_03.02.2024.pdf>. One of their points, which has been made prior, that a uniform cut for all units on campus is not needed and justified given the varying financial statuses of the units. They recommended a continued review of the UAGC merger, where redundancies in personnel and programs can be identified.

  2.  Steve Patterson, Interim VP and Chief Safety Officer, gave an update. He noted trainings are ongoing, and commended the significant percentage (85% of faculty and staff) who have participated in the trainings. He noted they are working on placing more bleed kids and AEDs throughout campus and are going to work to update the active shooter drill. He also noted he is doing evening “safety strolls” with students this year to identify areas of campus where they feel safe and don’t feel safe (parking garages) at night. The goal is to do one with staff and faculty next year. He did note in closing to be supportive as the Dr. Meixner nursery trial is to begin later this spring.

  3.  Dr. Tyson Swetnam of the ad hoc Committee on Information Technology gave a presentation<https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1F9bHXK9hy2FT76sylrr7GY0Ne8lHCv09IMC3s0_dI1c/edit#slide=id.p> and shared a report<https://facultygovernance.arizona.edu/sites/default/files/2024-03/IT%20Report%20Combined.pdf> on updates on IT integration and other topics. The committee pointed out that in 2018 UA was found deficient in 23 IT areas. So far, only five have been implemented, 12 partially, and six have not been implemented. They raised concerns about the communication around these deficiencies to the larger university. With the centralization of IT this has raised concerns around the “domain-specific” knowledge IT has been able to support their specific units. They also noted UA has fewer IT staff and spends less on IT than ABOR and AAU peers. Thank you to the additional CALES staff and faculty on the committee for contributing to the report.

  4.  Interim Provost Marx shared that the All Funds budget meetings have been insightful, and it will be a challenge to meet the budget demands. He noted that the Deans, President Robbins, and he are meeting weekly about reclassification around IT.

  5.  Chair Hudson, during her opening statements, made another call that all job cuts should be done in a transparent manner to ensure any cuts are clearly justified.

Thank you for your continued engagement in shared governance. If you have thoughts/ideas/comments on any of this, we welcome them (via email or our Qualtrics survey: https://uarizona.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_a4vcRICRZwxfebc).

Tim, Bobby, and Katie

Timothy M. Ottusch, Ph..D.

Associate Professor of Practice and Program Chair, Human Development and Family Science
THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

McClelland Park, Room 315K
PO Box 210078 | Tucson, AZ 85721
ottusch at arizona.edu
norton.arizona.edu<https://norton.arizona.edu>
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