Minutes for October 21, 2019

Approved October 28

UC members present: Campagnola, Halverson, Sandgren, Ventura (interim chair), Wolf

UC members not present: Warfield

Others present: Jane Richard, Michelle Felber, Amol Guyol, Heather Daniels, Nick Tishler, and others in the text below.

Interim chair Venture called the meeting to order at 1:20 without quorum until 1:25, when quorum was achieved.

Ventura reported on his visit to Ann Arbor for the Big 10 Academic Alliance. The minutes for the meeting of October 14, 2019 were approved by consent.

Committee on Women in the University (CWU) co-chairs Marah Curtis and Kate Moran were joined by Lindsey Stoddard Cameron (Office of the Secretary of the Faculty) to present the committee’s last two annual reports. CWU has been very active: it will distribute a survey to evaluate functions and charge, making sure to include 3^rd shift employees, explore how to find/what to do with data related to hostile and intimidating behavior, and continue discussion of topics of inclusion and diversity. CWU has a request to edit the language in Faculty Policies and Procedures on electing and appointing co-chairs.

Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Lori Reesor gave an update on campus climate: posters seen on campus late last week which were not from white supremacists but a reaction by an activist group, and a new student group, Student Inclusion Coalition (SIC), who may’ve created their own video as part of a protest (“sick of UW”). VCSA likes the awareness and conversations arising (what can we do, what can we learn, requests for training, what is the admin/provost planning) from all of this.

Reesor stayed and teamed with Laurent Heller, Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration to discuss protest guidelines, and went over 2 documents: a protest policy handbook from 2018 and a comparison of campus and regential policies. The vice chancellors are particularly focused on finding balance between free speech and campus safety, which drives a lot of the campus guidelines. Campus guidelines are anticipated to be under continual review. Heller got a group together with joint governance representation that will result in a new report that should be reviewed frequently. A lively discussion ensued.

Chris Barcelos, the chair of the Committee of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transsexual, and Queer People (GLBTQ) in the University presented the annual report. Major issues for engagement include: inventorying gender neutral bathrooms; addressing how data on gender is collected and reported in campus documents (FOIA documents, grad school applications, etc.); establishing an affinity group with Diversity Officer Sims’ shop; requesting an ombuds for LGBTQ concerns, and re-establishing domestic partnership benefits.

Sandgren moved to convene in closed session, which was seconded and all in favor at 2:41. The UC approved one dual role waiver and started a conversation on a tenure clock extension request.

There was a motion to reconvene in open session and Chair Ventura adjourned the meeting at 3:35.