UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — At its final meeting of the spring 2022 semester on April 26, the Penn State Faculty Senate approved the addition of a preamble to the senate’s constitution, discussed the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic across the University, and oversaw the transition of senate leadership from outgoing Chair Bonj Szczygiel to incoming Chair Kimberly Blockett, among other business.
“Under Bonj’s stewardship, the senate, in partnership with administrators across the University, has done an incredible amount of really important work this year that will make a very tangible difference for the Penn State community,” said Blockett. “Working to strengthen shared governance and academic freedom is not easy or comfortable work. Sometimes we make brilliant advances and sometimes we get it wrong. But we are in this deeply and devotedly.”
New preamble to senate constitution
In a 127-6 vote, the senate approved the addition of a preamble to the senate’s constitution that affirms the senate’s operating principles and its role in the shared governance of the University. Keith Shapiro, chair of the Senate Self-Study Committee, said the preamble was developed with the aim of adding an aspirational component to the senate’s founding document.
Developed by the Senate Self-Study Committee in consultation with the Senate Committee on Committees and Rules, with input from faculty gathered during listening sessions, the preamble speaks to the importance of shared governance and affirms the importance of the senate as a body that works in close collaboration with the University’s administration and Board of Trustees. This “balanced and meaningful collaboration,” the preamble states, must exist “for our institution to successfully continue to fulfill its mandate.”
Updates from University leadership
In his remarks to the senate, Executive Vice President and Provost Nick Jones provided an update on COVID-19 and the University’s mitigation efforts. He encouraged continued vigilance in masking and testing, and noted that case rates and variants are being carefully monitored across the commonwealth, with plans for the University to mobilize should the circumstances demand it.
Jones also took a moment to address the complexity of Penn State’s budgeting process, sharing information about the University’s annual budget cycle to provide clarity on recent misunderstandings and concerns he has heard about potential budget rescissions.
Following initial comments and questions from the senate chair, Jones explained that the University’s standard annual budget process includes taking a look at anticipated revenues and expenditures and asking units University-wide, as they prepare drafts of their annual unit budgets, to consider ways they might meet expected budget targets with a reduced allocation from central administration. As part of the annual budgeting process overall, units are asked to plan for various scenarios, including rescissions, as many factors — such as the state appropriation and enrollments — that play a major role in budgets are not yet known.
Jones stressed that the current budget process — which is the same as in previous years — is still in progress and final determinations have not yet been made. He noted that at this time, the University has not imposed an across-the-board 3% recission — but it is a scenario that units have been tasked to consider. Jones said it is prudent for units to prepare in advance in case the need arises. The final approved overall budget may include a smaller rescission, according to the provost.
Jones also addressed concerns, expressed by the chair and other faculty members, over a number of recent, non-renewed faculty positions. Jones explained the reductions were not driven by conversations or planning around potential budget recissions, but instead were due to low enrollment in certain programs or for other reasons (such as faculty who were hired to fill in for others on sabbatical). Jones also addressed concerns about position reductions related to budget planning. He reaffirmed the University’s commitment to support faculty across all campuses, and asserted that when decisions are made related to instructional contract renewals, they are “always difficult, not taken lightly, and carefully considered.”
Jones noted that in the past two years Penn State has eliminated fewer positions through attrition, and laid off fewer people, than many of its peer institutions, even in the face of a global pandemic. Over the last 2 years, according to Jones, 52 staff were laid off (out of 35,000 full- and part-time employees) and five non-tenure line faculty did not have their contracts renewed due to reduced enrollments.
Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic
The senate heard two reports detailing the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on different areas of the University.
Associate Vice President for Budget and University Budget Officer Mary Lou Ortiz presented a report on the impacts of the pandemic on the University’s budget and financial operations. Although the University had experienced a total financial impact of $473.5 million as of December 2021, Ortiz stressed that Penn State has successfully managed this impact through a combination of federal aid and strategies to reduce the University’s expenditures.
The University received nearly $302 million in federal and state relief funds, including over $131 million in COVID-19 relief grants that were disbursed by Penn State to students across the University. Remaining relief funds were used for institutional support to cover lost revenue and other financial impacts of the pandemic, including lost room and board revenue and the costs associated with COVID-19 testing and other health and safety measures.
The senate also received an online report on the impact of the pandemic on tenure-track faculty’s progression toward tenure. The senate in October 2021 distributed a survey to tenure-track faculty in which 80% of tenure-track faculty responding reported a “somewhat negative” or “extremely negative” impact on their progress toward obtaining tenure.
The senate’s committees on Faculty Affairs; Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity; and Educational Equity and Campus Environment are conducting an in-depth analysis of these results, which will be presented to the senate in full at a future meeting.
Other business
The senate passed an advisory report recommending the University investigate how to address faculty concerns about Penn State’s health care plans, which the report characterizes as complex and challenging to navigate. Recommendations from the report include seeking definitions for certain terms (such as ‘affordability’ and ‘equity’); asking for more guidance in the selection process; a request for review of costs for certain plans; and greater involvement of representatives of faculty and staff in the initial selection of plan providers and design. The report also supports positive incentives and opportunities to foster a healthy culture.
The senate also held a robust discussion about the possibility of making state and federal general election days non-instructional days to encourage student voting. Senators were generally supportive of the possibility, but some expressed concerns about how to best implement a policy of this nature; the topic is expected to return to the senate floor at a future meeting.
Other items of business included:
- Passing an update to the senate’s policy on deferred grades to clarify unclear and conflicting language in the previous version of the policy;
- Voting to add diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) into the standing rules of its Committee on Curricular Affairs as part of the senate’s efforts to incorporate DEI into the work of each of its committees where appropriate;
- Rescinding the senate’s policy on the proctoring of examinations, whose requirements are already reflected in a separate policy on academic integrity;
- Passing legislation to rename one of its committees the “Senate Committee on Global Engagement,” in order to better reflect the purpose and work of Penn State Global, formerly known as the Office of Global Programs;
- Discussing a report on the College of Medicine’s budget; and
- Discussing the senate’s annual reports on tenure flow and non-tenure line promotion flow.
Regular plenary meetings of the senate will resume on Sept. 13; information will be forthcoming if meetings will continue in a hybrid format or return to being held in person.