Minutes waiting to be approved by Faculty Senate

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Slide Presentaion

Faculty Senate Meeting

Harrison Hall 123

October 8, 2025

3:15pm-4:30pm

I.            Call to Order 

a.      Meeting was called to order at 3:16pm

II.            Approval of FS Minutes from September 24, 2025

a.      Jim Meyer moves to approve. Sara Rushing seconds. None opposed. No abstentions. Approved. 

III.            FYI Items 

a.      Annual Founder’s Day faculty award nominations due Nov. 15.

b.      Veterans Park dedication, Friday, Oct. 10, 3PM

c.       AIH outdoor arbor opening, Monday, Oct. 13, 11AM

d.      Academic advising for SP26 starts, Monday, Oct. 13

e.      Provost Lecture, Virginia Bratton, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 7PM (MoR)

f.        Faculty Symposium on the 29th of October. 

IV.            Undergraduate Courses and Programs 

a.      New Courses-Second Read

i.      ECIV 453 : Transportation Safety

ii.      ECIV 458 : Traffic Flow Fundamentals

iii.      LS 335 : Food, War, and Migration: Eating Across Cultures in an Age of Turmoil

iv.      LSCI 420 : International Angling and Fisheries Research

b.      New Courses-First Read

i.      EDU 480 : Personalizing Learning with Competency-Based Education

ii.      EMEC 456 : The Science and Engineering of Outdoor Sports Gear

c.       Course Changes-Second Read

iii.      HDFS 337 : Personal and Family Finance I

1.      Major changes to learning outcomes

iv.      HDFS 419 : STEAM: Clothing & Textiles Instruction in FCS

1.      Major changes to learning outcomes

v.      HDFS 494 : Seminar/Workshop

1.      Major changes to learning outcomes

vi.      KIN 330 : Motor Learning and Control

1.      Major changes to learning outcomes

vii.      MAS 110 : DAF Heritage and Values I

1.      Title change from Department of the Air Force (DAF) Professionalism

2.      Changes to learning outcomes

d.      Course Changes-First Read

viii.      HEE 430 : Instructional Design in Health Enhancement

1.      Change in credits from 3 to 1

2.      New learning outcomes

3.      Changes to prereqs

e.      Program Changes-Second Read

i.      ARTG-BFA : Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design

1.      Title changed from Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art-Graphic Design Option

2.      Clean up of and small changes to program details

ii.      ARTS-BFA : Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Arts

1.      Title changed from Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art-Graphic Design Option

2.      Clean up of and small changes to program details

iii.      SFHD-BS : Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Food and Bioenergy Systems - Sustainable Food Systems Option

1.      New learning outcomes

2.      Changes to program details

f.        Program Inactivations-First Read

i.      FDEN-OPTION : Hospitality Management-Food Enterprises

1.      Students did not enroll in this option but were interested in some of the coursework. A certificate of Food Enterprise is being proposed.

V.            Graduate Courses and Programs

a.      New Courses-First Read

i.      EDU 580 : Personalizing Learning with Competency-Based Education

ii.      EDU 593 : Graduate Study Abroad

b.      Course Changes-First Read

i.      NRSG 620 : Advanced Pharmacology II-FNP

1.      Title changed from Adv Pharm II

2.      New learning outcomes

ii.      PSYX 505 : Psychology of Teaching and Learning

1.      Title changed from Teaching of Psychology

2.      Credit change from 1 to 3

3.      Changes to learning outcomes

c.       Course Inactivations-First Read

i.      GEO 583 : Applied Geological Hydrology

1.      Course hasn't been taught since Fall 2007; no faculty member to teach it anymore.

d.      Program Changes-First Read

i.      MOSE-MS : Master of Science in Science Education

1.      Changes to learning outcomes

VI.            Information Updates 

a.      Visit and remarks by Dr. Alison Harmon, MSU Vice President for Research and Economic Development

i.      Alison led us through the RED website

1.      FY25 Expenditures

2.      Question

a.      Pie chart is just federal funding? 

i.      Yes. 92% of all of our grants/funding/

b.      Do you anticipate the pie chart changing?

i.      Things smoothed out after the bill was passed. Now we are in a shut down. Right now, we don’t have a problem. There will be delays in getting spending reimbursed from the DOD. If we get stuck, there will be consequences for MSU. We may have to restrict spending. 

c.       Has the success rate changed across the board? The forecast is bleaker, but when we look at amount and number of awards, there are some big declines. There are fewer things available. Expenditures are still high. We have momentum. Will what we have in the bank carry us? Time will tell. 

d.      What is the issue with getting reimbursed from USDA?

i.      Having trouble getting reimbursed, but it could just be a glitch. We are getting to the bottom of it. 

e.      Cost return rates? What kind of ripple effects will there be?

i.      We may be charged for some of the things that we usually have funding for. 

f.        Have we reconsidered what our obligations are to grad students if something fiscally does change? Living in Bozeman is already hard enough. 

i.      If their funding gets cut? Our commitment to grad students is strong. We will help them find other funding, etc. 

3.      Rural Health Transformation Center-you can submit input to them on their state plan for funding.

a.      How much are DPHHS and Rural Health developing grant opportunities of their own design? Do not know. 

4.      Carl Yeoman is the new Associate Vice President for Research 

a.      If you see opportunities or experiences issues, please reach out to Carl. He is here to solve problems in research. His office is in the Research Alliance office.  

b.      Council Updates (Grad Council, University Council, Research Council, ...)

i.      President Tessman and Provost Mokwa joined Grad Council. 

1.      Conversation highlights in slide presentation

2.      Questions

a.      Are there thoughts of granting master’s degrees while on the road to getting a PhD, across the board? We can ask them to consider it. 

i.      In some departments it is an option

ii.      Academic Council

1.      Questions

a.      What would AI institute do?

i.      Focus research and teaching surrounding AI. Not telling anyone what to do, just focusing efforts. 

iii.      University Council

1.      Questions

a.      Is the research misconduct policy on the website?

i.      On the University Council website. You can add comments to it. 

iv.      Core Committee

1.      Have been working on a process for designing new core courses. 

c.       Faculty Senate orientation and introductions:

(9/24:  Letters & Science , Ag , EHHD)

10/8:  Engineering, Arts & Architecture, Nursing, Business, Extension

d.      Small group conversation: Noteworthy accomplishments for you and your colleagues?

VII.            Senators’ Open Conversation 

a.      Are rec and parking come to speak to Senate? Yes. 

i.      Montana Code has a statute on alumni not being given below-market rates at the rec-center, but why does our rec center apply that rule to university employees? Don’t think there is a university rule on that. 

ii.      Remember these are student funded facilities. 

b.      Why are we changing four-year limit on PhDs for international students?

i.      It is a federal proposal, not an MSU thing. 

c.       From the Library: Accessible PDFs in Canvas.

i.      Use Library Permalinks instead of PDFs. 

ii.      If using multiple PDFs use Acrobat Pro to remove tags. 

d.      AI statement for Physics department. Is the University working on an AI statement?

i.      Yes. The Center for Faculty Excellence is working on that. Shannon Willoughby is the person to contact. 

e.      Concerns about first amendment issues regarding faculty members making personal statements on their own social media. They do have the right to do that, within the guidelines. Getting guidance to remind everyone of their guidelines. 

i.      Cannot use university resources, of any kind, to make these statements. 

ii.      What is the status of faculty put on leave for their social media posts? Do not have that information. 

iii.      Conversations that occur in the classroom that are brought up by students that may be divisive: Can you put a disclaimer in your syllabus stating that this type of thing may occur? Would that help protect you legally? We will need to contact legal counsel. 

VIII.            Public Comment 

a.      Provost Mokwa: Thank you all for the updates on councils and committees. President Tessman and the Provost will be visiting all the colleges and their leadership teams. Plan is to visit every department every year. Be aware of it. Think about what topics might be pertinent to you and your department. Include things you have accomplished and are proud of. 

IX.            Adjourn

a.      Jim Meyer moves to adjourn. Tim McDermot seconds. Meeting adjourned at 4:33pm.