From the Senate Office: |
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November 4, 2014, Volume 61, No. 12 |
The following is published in accordance with the Faculty Senate Rules. Among other purposes, the publication of SEC actions is intended to stimulate discussion among the constituencies and their representatives. Please communicate your comments to Vicki Hewitt, executive assistant to the Senate Office, either by telephone at (215) 898-6943 or by email at senate@pobox.upenn.edu
Faculty Senate Executive Committee Actions
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Chair’s Report: Faculty Senate Chair Claire Finkelstein gave a brief update on the actions of the Faculty Senate committees. She noted that Faculty Senate Past Chair Dwight Jaggard could not attend, and he will give his Past-Chair’s report at the November meeting. She reminded SEC members about the Penn’s Way charitable giving campaign, and Faculty Senate Chair-Elect Reed Pyeritz, who is Faculty Advisor to the campaign, encouraged SEC members to participate.
Vote on the 2014-2015 Senate Nominating Committee Ballots: SEC members voted for the members of the 2014-2015 Senate Nominating Committee.
Update on the Task Force on Student Psychological Health and Welfare: Rebecca Bushnell and Anthony Rostain, co-chairs of the Task Force on Student Psychological Health and Welfare, updated SEC on the progress of the Task Force. The Task Force was asked to investigate challenges confronting students that can affect their psychological health and wellbeing; review and assess the efficacy of Penn resources for helping students manage psychological problems, stress, or situational crises; and make recommendations related to programs, policies and practices designed to improve the quality and safety of student life. The Task Force divided into two working groups which included additional faculty, staff and student members. One group focused on Education and Outreach, and the other on Intervention and Treatment. Both groups have been meeting since the spring and plan to issue their final report and recommendations early next semester. The Task Force’s preliminary recommendations include: incorporating a message about the importance of caring for mental and physical health in Penn’s communications to students, initiating a help line where all members of the community can get help and referrals to resources when needed, developing a comprehensive website to centralize information about resources available, providing education and training opportunities for faculty, staff, students and parents on identifying signs of distress and how to follow up, improving communications to students about the benefits of taking leaves of absence for mental health reasons in the hope of removing the stigma attached to it, and developing models for Counseling and Psychological Service to maximize students’ access to counselors, particularly at times of peak need.
SEC members and the guest speakers then discussed: emphasizing the importance of community, faculty education on mental health issues, recognizing cultural differences in dealing with mental health issues; the status of post-doctoral fellows with regard to student resources, availability of confidential resources for students seeking help to comply with new federal mandates, student health insurance for mental health care; and how to help students on leaves of absence.
Update from the Office of the Provost: Provost Vincent Price updated SEC on University initiatives under his purview. New education programs on sexual violence have been initiated, and a new Director of Student Sexual Violence Prevention and Education has been hired as a result of the recommendations of the Report of the Commission on Student Safety, Alcohol and Campus Life issued last spring. The Provost is assembling a consultative committee to advise him on the internal search for a new Vice Provost for Education. The Open Learning Initiative has expanded the infrastructure necessary to support digital education and Structured, Active In-Class Learning (SAIL) initiatives. New digital repositories in the Penn Libraries and the new Center for the Analysis of Archaeological Materials in the Penn Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology have increased opportunities for object-based learning in the humanities. The Provost’s Office continues to work to promote faculty diversity. Hiring of underrepresented minorities has increased from 9% to 15% of new hires, while the percentage of underrepresented minority faculty leaving Penn has decreased. The Perry World House, providing classroom, conference and office space for global education initiatives, will open in the next fiscal year, and the Penn Wharton China Center in Beijing, which will provide logistical support for research in China, will open in March 2015. Dr. Price reminded SEC members that the groundbreaking ceremony for the Pennovation Center will take place on Friday, October 31, and encouraged SEC members to attend.
SEC members and the Provost then discussed: Penn’s Presidential Professorships, the call for proposals for digital learning projects, loss of tobacco settlement funding from Pennsylvania, the Proposed New Student Disciplinary Protocol for Sexual Assault, Sexual Violence, Relationship Violence and Stalking, the effects on Penn of marijuana decriminalization in Philadelphia, recommendations from the Report of the Commission on Student Safety, Alcohol and Campus Life; Career Services and the new online system for graduate program applications. |