Minutes waiting to be approved by Faculty Senate

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Faculty Senate Meeting

Harrison 123

February 5, 2025

3:15pm-4:30pm

I.            Call to Order 

a.      Meeting was called to order at 3:15pm

II.            Informational Updates: VPRED Dr. Alison Harmon, updates on federal grant funding

a.      Background

i.      When you get a grant, we don’t have the money here. It works like credit.

1.      Foundation grants may provide money in advance

2.      Department of Defense, we contract with and invoice them.

ii.      1600 grants we are administrating at any given time

iii.      How we manage FNAs (IDCs)

1.      Annual Research Expenditure Report 

a.      Last year we spent 33,022,721 million

i.      19.7% was collected in IDCs

1.      See breakdown on website

2.      If we don’t get reimbursed, we don’t collect IDCs and cannot pay quarterly payments

iv.      Monday we started to see reimbursements again

1.      Don’t know how long that will continue

b.      Don’t even know if what they are doing is legal

c.       Guidance is, continue to work on your grant and purchase things that you need. You may want to conserve funds that were for travel. Don’t stop spending unless you are told to spend it. 

i.      Use your judgement on what is more important to spend on. 

d.      Guidance for spending IDCs

i.      Advice is to be VERY conservative in spending

ii.      Ensure that you are in compliance with all of your reporting, so there is no other reason that your grant could get pulled. 

iii.      Say something positive: Priorities change all the time. If we can weather this storm, believe we will be able to adapt to future opportunities. Please help the junior faculty in your departments. Be a good resource. Ensure them research stands here at MSU. 

e.      Internal grants are postponed for this spring

f.        Probably won’t be able to distribute IRD funds this semester

i.      IRD=institutional research and development

g.      Faculty Excellence funds are not research funds

h.      Elimination of Dept. of Education

i.      We do have grants funded by the Dept. of Education, so that will affect us. 

i.        If you have a student whose tuition is paid by a grant, please check in on that. It may be paid in a lump sum.

i.      For graduate students, can we dispense funds right up front? Do not think we can pay bi-weekly pay up front. 

j.        Incentive program for researchers: As long as faculty get paid by grants, they should continue to get IPR. 

k.       Can we pay grad students’ stipends from IRP? Yes.

l.        Should researchers continue to work on their proposals? Yes. 

m.    Are faculty searches in jeopardy? Will be having a conversation with the Provost. 

n.      Email Alison if you have more questions. 

o.      More guidance will come out ongoing.

III.            Approval of FS Minutes from January 22, 2025

a.      Brian D’Urso moves to approve. Doug Downs seconds. None opposed. No abstentions. Approved. 

IV.            FYI Items 

a.      Volunteers still needed: Working Group on Undergraduate Degree Requirements

i.      Advisory group for BOR policy 301.11: https://mus.edu/borpol/bor300/301-11.pdf

ii.      Collaborate with Tracy Dougher (on MUS working group currently revising this policy)

iii.      Contact Tracy (tracyaod@montana.edu) 

b.      Call for applications: Associate Vice President of Research

i.      1.0 FTE, 3-year renewable contract

ii.      Job posting: https://jobs.montana.edu/postings/45052

iii.      Contact: harmon@montana.edu or shanahan@montana.edu

c.       Internal grant applications for spring 2025 are paused (REF and S&C). Send questions to Liz Shanahan (shanahan@montana.edu) 

d.      OCHE accepting applications for MUS Teaching Scholars program to design and facilitate faculty learning communities. Comes with $1500-2000 from MUS and $3500 from provost’s office

i.       https://mus.edu/che/arsa/mus-teaching-scholars/ 

e.      Outreach and Engagement Seed Grant: up to $8000 per grant, Due April 4, 2025

i.      https://www.montana.edu/outreachengagementcouncil/seed-grant/2025/index.html 

V.            Information Updates, Committee updates

a.      Graduate Council

i.      See slide presentation

b.      University Council

i.      See slide presentation

ii.      When will the parking go away due to the hotel site?

1.      Do not know that information. Will try and get it. 

c.       JAGs

i.      See slide presentation

VI.            Old Business

a.      Graduate school policies – Second Reading

i.      1 Credit Extension Policy

1.      Discussion

a.      How is this different than what we have right now?

i.      What we have now doesn’t have clear language on timing. In the past, it has been from day “A,” to the beginning of the next term and that is not regular. This is just making it uniform for all semesters. 

2.      Doug Downs moves to vote. Susanne Cowan seconds. None opposed. No abstentions. Approved. 

VII.            Undergraduate Courses and Programs 

a.      Courses – First Reading

i.      CJLE 105: Police Patrol Procedures

ii.       CJLE 106: Basic Police Firearms Training

iii.       CJLE 130: Practical Scenarios for Law Enforcement

iv.      CJLE 140: Patrol Operations

v.       CJLE 150: Life Saving Skills

vi.      CJLE 160: Communications for Public Safety

vii.      CJLE 170: Montana Criminal Code

viii.       CJLE 180: Health and Wellness in Everyday Policing

ix.      CJLE 209: Criminal Investigation

x.       CJLE 212: Defensive Tactics

xi.      CJLE 298: Internship

xii.       CJUS 231: Criminal Evidence and Procedure

b.      Course Changes – Second Reading

i.      WRIT 472: Science Writing and Journalism 

1.      Number change from 372 to 472

2.      Title change from Science Writing for Popular Non-Fiction

3.      Changes to prereqs

ii.      WRIT 474: Magazine Editing and Production

1.      Number change from 374 to 474

2.      Title change from Magazine Editing

3.      Going from 1 lecture, 2 lab to 3 lecture

iii.      WRIT 476: Public Rhetorics and Writing

1.      Number change from 376 to 476

2.      Changes to prereqs

VIII.            Graduate Courses and Programs 

a.      Course Changes – Second Reading

i.      Moving from face-to-face to online-part of online program

1.      EDU 511: Teaching Culturally and Linguistically Diverse K-12 Students

2.      EDU 512: Literacy Development for Culturally & Linguistically Diverse K-12 Students

3.      EDU 513: Assessment of English Language Learners

4.      EDU 514 : Culturally Responsive Pedagogy

ii.      LRES 564: Fundamentals of Environmental Monitoring

1.      changing from 2 credits to 3

iii.      LRES 584: Soil Science for Middle and High School Teachers

1.      Title change from Twelve Principles of Soil Science for Teachers

iv.      MUSE 575: Professional Paper and Project

1.      Credit change from 1-4 to 3

v.      NUTR 520: Nutrition, Public Health, & Systems Change

1.      Title change from Advanced Diet and Disease Systems

IX.            Senators’ Open Conversation 

a.      Do you feel the teaching side of things will be affected by what is happening in DC?

i.      Potential impact to services and programs funded by government agencies. Depending on how the dept. of education will be split up. Don’t know what is going to happen day to day. 

b.      Is there something that MSU can do altogether, as a cohesive group to have a louder voice, or do that not respect our voices?

i.      Administration has been reaching out to congress people. 

ii.      Do we have lobbyist who could help with this?

1.      We do have a firm that works for the MUS system. Much of that goes through the commissioner’s office. 

iii.      As a Faculty Senate, we need to think about it. 

iv.      A comprehensive list of the research that will have to stop could be compelling. 

v.      Scholarship dollars. Number of undergraduates who could be affective. 

vi.      This isn’t just MSU. Every major research university is affective. 

vii.      Expecting congress to come out against the administration at this point is not likely. 

1.      They may pay attention to the people who vote for them

2.      Local economies will be affective also. We could get those voices involved. 

3.      Reach out to MUSFAR and see what we could do to make a bigger impact. 

viii.      How do you prioritize people’s livelihoods? It is disheartening. 

X.            Public Comment 

a.      None

XI.            Adjourn 

a.      Scott McCalla moves to adjourn. Michael Walach seconds. Meeting adjourned at 4:08pm.