The Faculty Senate wrapped up the academic year at its May 5 meeting but left the door open to call meetings over the summer. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and uncertainty about how and when the university will return to "normal" operations, senators agreed to meet if important decisions are needed during the summer.
"The idea is not to waste the senate's time. These meetings would likely be called if there were really pressing issues that needed full senate discussion," said senate president Jonathan Sturm.
Faculty advancement
Senior vice president and provost Jonathan Wickert presented his annual report on faculty advancement, which included decisions on 100 cases for promotion and/or tenure. Among them, 58 faculty were promoted to associate professor with tenure, 39 tenured faculty were promoted to full professor and one associate professor earned tenure. Two cases were not approved.
The promotion and tenure cases both reviewed and granted were equally split between males and females. Among those granted tenure and promotion, 65 are white/Caucasian, 26 are Asian/Asian-American, five are Latino/a or Hispanic, and two are black.
The bulk of the cases considered were from a cohort of 105 faculty hired in fiscal year 2014, of which 86 were tenure-eligible and 19 were hired with tenure. As of this April, 57 cohort members are tenured, 16 have extended tenure clocks, 28 left ISU, two were denied tenure, one moved to a term appointment and one retired.
Wickert also included advancement for term faculty in his report. Promotions for 60 of 62 term faculty were approved across five career tracks -- adjunct, clinical, teaching, practice and research.
Scholarships for home-schoolers
Senators approved changes to the policy the admissions office uses to award automatic scholarships to home-schooled students. To eliminate a possible conflict of interest for grades assigned by parents, only standard test scores (ACT/SAT) will be used for home-schooled students who do not have an independent GPA.
The policy changes will go into effect for fall 2021 applicants. The changes impact six automatic scholarship awards available to direct-from-high school incoming freshmen -- three for Iowa residents and three for nonresidents. Minimum test scores for home-schoolers have been established for the two awards that are solely based on GPA.
Other business
Senators approved:
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The 2020 spring graduation list of more than 5,000 students expected to earn degrees this semester
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A proposal to disband the senate's university services committee and assign its duties to the university resource policies and allocations council
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Proposed changes to the policy and procedures for course changes (for example, dropping a class) during the second period of a semester (sixth class day through the Friday of week 10). Academic affairs council chair Andrea Wheeler said instructor and adviser signatures are required -- not to grant permission, but to show that a conversation with the student happened prior to the change. "It's still the student's decision to drop the class," she said.
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A consistent minimum GPA requirement of 2.25 for all transfer students -- international and domestic -- to simplify admission requirements. Currently, international transfers must have a 2.3 GPA, while international engineering applicants must have a 2.75 GPA.
Senators will vote on a proposed graduate certificate in breeding for organic crops when the senate reconvenes in the fall. The four-course, 12-credit certificate will be delivered online by the agronomy department, which already offers an online master of science program in plant breeding.
Jonathan Sturm (music) passed the gavel to 2020-21 senate president Carol Faber (graphic design). Andrea Wheeler (architecture) assumed the role of president-elect.
