January 24, 2025
2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Data Science Room 305 & Zoom Webinar
Senators Present: Peter Abramenko, Kim Acquaviva, Huiwang Ai, Dana Albon, Aaron Bloomfield, Aniko Bodroghkozy, Matthew Bolton, Cathy Campbell, Andre Cavalcante, Stephen Culp, Eve Danziger, Nomi Dave, Todd DeLong, Thomas Druzgal, Nabil Elkassabany, Rob Garrod, Avik Garrod, Jennifer Greeson, Vanessa Gregg, Bryon Gustafson, Natoya Haskins, Juliet Hatchett, Meredith Hayden, Matthew Hedstrom, Gustav Heldt, John Hott, Richard Hynes, Matthew Jull, Michael Kennedy, Anne Kenworthy, Jason Kerrigan, Brad Kesser, Jim Lambert, Tracy Larson, Matthew Lazzara, Craig Lefanowicz, Ilya Levental, Alicia Lopex Opere, Stephen Macko, Katya Makarova, Carol Manning, Charlotte Matthews, Amy Ogden, Thomas Pajewski, John Pepper, Paul Perrin, Lisa Peterson, Brian Pusser, Eric Ramirez Weaver, Michael Rasbury, Anne Rotich, Sue Saliba, Patrik Sandas, Jeri Seidman, Jessica Sewell, Judith Thomas, David Vander Meulen, Mark Whittle, Brian Williams, Brian Wright, Kenan Yount, and Eli Zunder
Ex-Officio & Guests Present: Brie Gertler, Maite Pearce Brandt, Scott Ballinger, Lori McMahon, Ian Baucom
Call to Order: 2:00 PM by Jim Lambert
Welcome (Jim L., Jeri, Michael K.)
Review/approval of draft minutes from 12/13/24:
Provost Baucom:
May 4 review: Mary McCord, former Assistant US Attorney, is leading the investigation. She will develop a timeline of events, review UVA policy on campus safety and security, and determine if any changes to be made. Her focus will be on the actions of UVA not the actions of the police. The intention is for the report to be made public. Mary was on grounds in January and will return to talk to students. Ian and Jim do not know who she is meeting. Provost encourages all to talk to her.
Health System/SOM Investigation: Williams & Connelly’s investigation is nearing completion. W&C have reviewed thousands of documents and talked to more than 90 people. The report will be shared with the Board of Visitors at the end of February.
Margot Rogers, Vice President for Strategic Initiatives, and Julia Smith, Executive Director for Federal Relations & Special Assistant to the President
Both are focused on tracking the new Administrations changes and making sure the information flows to the appropriate person at UVA. They are grouping the changes into three categories:
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Immediate action
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Two to four months’ timeframe
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Timeline is unclear.
Lori McMahon, VP of Research, suggested everyone keep their program officer in the loop and communication should be shared for guidance.
There are many resources to help with the changes from VISA questions to career services.
Julia stated that there are changes and reviews with every administration.
Each federal agency is different, but she asks that senators let everyone know to reach out to her if their funding has been cancelled or if communication has stopped. As of now, DEI personnel in the federal government have been placed on leave with pay. The goal is to have the reviews complete by February 1 so funding and communication can be opened again. A note to keep University policies in mind if scientific societies or other organizations are asking you to reach out to the press or contact government representatives.
Margot stated that the University is in a wait and see mode as we wait for guidance from federal agencies. Some executive orders have been challenged in court. In the meantime, her office is available to help. If there are questions about research reach out to Lori McMahon, communication questions reach out to Brian Coy, and Federal questions reach out to Julia.
Reminder from Provost Baucom that UVA’s values have not changed but they are bound by the law. Reach out to the Provost’s Office or a specific Vice Provosts with questions. Lori McMahon reminded everyone to reach out to her office with grant related questions.
Provost Baucom announced that he will be the next President of Middlebury College. Brie Gertler will be the Interim Provost.
Welcome by Jim:
Lucien Bass passed away. President Ryan is representing the University.
Ran through the agenda for today and reminded everyone that the Faculty Senate has bylaws and a handbook to help run the meeting.
Michael Kennedy made a motion to approve the December meeting minutes. Motion was seconded by Aaron Bloomfield. All in favor. None opposed. Motion passes.
BOV Report:
There’s an Executive Compensation subcommittee meeting on January 27
On January 28, there’s a subcommittee of Audit, Compliance, and Risk committee. Next BOV meeting is March 6 & 7. Michael read a letter from Rector Robert Hardie regarding the Investigation of the Medical Center and then read a statement from Rachel Sheriden and Porter Wilkinson. There will be a special BOV meeting on February 25 dedicated to the Williams & Connolly Law Firm regarding the investigation.
Motion on Provost Policy 004 passed with 31 For, 26 Against, and 7 Abstaining.
BOV FS Representative Candidate speeches from Kim Acquaviva, Jim Lambert, and Charlotte Matthews. Faculty Senate will present BOV with one candidate and two alternates.
Motion to create ad hoc committees: Two motions from EXCO that have now come to the full senate to create two ad hoc committees. One to review the Faculty Senate bylaws and one to look at Representation/Governance. Members determined by nominations and self-nominations. Both motions passed.
Academic Freedom & Faculty Discipline Working Group update by Jennifer Greeson and Aaron Bloomfield: Three types of misconduct: Academic, Research, and Non-Academic. There are many committees that investigate misconduct, but this committee is focusing on Academic misconduct. They are suggesting that the Provost Office create the Committee on Faculty Academic Conduct. The committee will be composed of faculty members from all schools that are trained to investigate best practices. An HR employee will advise the committee. The working group is looking for feedback.
Scott Ballinger presented on the Free Expression Programming Initiative.
The strongest suggestion has been to start with a series of moderated discussions. President Ryan has offered to moderate a topic. A suggestion many people liked was the 2023 Stanford Law School incident. He needs to find both internal and external participants. This example highlights the pros and cons of time, place, and manner restrictions on free speech. Scott asked for volunteers to help pull it together. He also needs help to open this initiative up to more than debates and help involving the arts.
Standing Committees: please send read aheads to update Senators on the committee’s work.
Policy: Thank you for your feedback on Provost Policy 017. Please log into Policy’s box to see what policies are under review.
Grievance: Peter Hallowell is the new chair.
AAC: Monday’s meeting location has changed to Data Science Room 300
FRRRW: the committee last met in December when Maite presented faculty exit survey data. They are discussing a new faculty wellness program and will meet in the next week or two.
Finance: The committee discussed asking Julia Smith to come talk to them but may need to rethink with how busy she is.
DEI: Religious Diversity and Belonging Task Force is coming to speak to them.
RTS: The committee met with OSP last year. Their next meeting is next Friday.
Jim announced that Data Science is hosting a reception at 4:00 for senators.
Nominating Committee is looking for more people to serve on the committee. Their next charge is to recruit candidates for chair elect and open exco at large seats.
Motion to adjourn Brian Pusser, seconded by Michael Kennedy.