Recap of University Senate’s Jan. 25 meeting

Here is a recap of the University Senate’s meeting on Jan. 25. Minutes from the meeting will be posted on the Senate website closer to the next Senate meeting on Feb. 15.

Chair remarks. In her remarks, Deborah Nichols, chair of the University Senate, shared some of her expectations for the spring semester and thanked senators for their ongoing work within the campus community during the COVID-19 pandemic.

President's remarks. President Mitch Daniels highlighted ongoing Purdue initiatives to foster economic growth in the Greater Lafayette area. Daniels reported that recent successes, in particular the business travel created by the growth of the Discovery Park District, place the Purdue airport in a competitive position to lure the return of commercial air service.  Daniels also discussed how Purdue is preparing to be a COVID-19 vaccination site for the campus community once a supply of vaccine is made available. A presentation can be found here.

Extension of student grade format change deadlines during Spring 2021. The Educational Policy Committee presented for discussion an extension of the student deadline for changing a course from letter grade to pass/no pass from March 22 to April 30 for the Spring 2021 semester. Similar to Fall 2020, the proposal did not propose changes to any rules regarding how passing grades can be used to meet curricular requirements. The rationale proposes that changes will mitigate impairments to student academic performance during the COVID-19 pandemic and cites deadline changes made during the Spring and Fall 2020 semesters as precedent. Senators voted to suspend the rules so that they could vote on the matter after a discussion. Senators passed the resolution.

Extension of student “withdraw/drop” deadlines during Spring 2021. The Educational Policy Committee presented for discussion an extension of the student deadline for withdrawing or dropping a course from March 22 to April 30 for the Spring 2021 semester. The rationale proposes that changes will mitigate impairments to student academic performance during the COVID-19 pandemic and cites deadline changes made during the Spring and Fall 2020 semesters as precedent. Senators voted to suspend the rules so that they could vote on the matter after a discussion. Senators passed the resolution.

Educational Policy Committee student nomination. For the Educational Policy Committee, senators approved the following nominee and proposed term of service: Pratik Kashyap (replacing Vikram Cherupally), Purdue Graduate Student Government, one semester.

University Resources Policy Committee nomination. For the University Resources Policy Committee, senators approved the following nominee and proposed term of service: Kashchandra Raghothama (replacing Jules Janick), Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, one semester.

Senate Equity and Diversity Committee nomination. For the Senate Equity and Diversity Committee, senators approved the following nominee and proposed term of service: Sandra Rossie (replacing Al Heber), Department of Biochemistry, one year.

University Resources Policy Committee nomination. For the University Resources Policy Committee, senators approved the following nominee and proposed term of service: Abigail Engelberth (replacing Richard Meilan), Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, one semester.

Composition of the Visual Arts and Design Committee. The University Resources Policy Committee proposed for discussion three changes to the Visual Arts and Design Committee’s representative structure: the addition of a representative from Campus Planning and Sustainability; a shift in the position held by the manager of the visual arts lending collection (or their designee) from advisor to committee member; the replacement of one faculty representative with an at-large representative. Senators voted to suspend the rules so they could vote on the proposal after a discussion. Senators approved the change. Rationale for the changes is available in Senate Document 20-26.

Purdue University budget update. Chris Ruhl, treasurer and chief financial officer, gave an update on the University budget. The presentation can be found here.