Minutes
Faculty Senate Meeting
April 2, 2014
Professor Nelson called the meeting to order at 2:35 PM
Present: Professor Candice Nelson, Lacey Wootton, Barlow Burke, Daniel Abramson, John
Douglass, Todd Eisenstadt, Artur Elezi, Larry Engel, Bryan Fantie, Joe Graf, John Heywood,
Clement Ho, Gwanhoo Lee, Stacey Marian, Glenn Moomau, John Nolan, Arturo Porzecanski,
Gemma Puglisi, Jerzy Sapieyevski, Chris Simpson, Matthew Taylor, Elizabeth Worden, Provost
Scott Bass and Dean Phyllis Peres
Chair’s Report – Candy Nelson
Professor Nelson stated that the at-large Grievance and Hearing Committee elections will be
closing at the end of the week and asked Senators to encourage their colleagues to vote. The unit
elections for the remaining committees and senate seats are in process and should be complete by
next week.
Professor Nelson stated that she had spoken with Assistant Vice President of Human Resources
Beth Muha who said the emergency care program that went into place in January has been a
tremendous success. There are more people signed up than expected and the service is being
used.
Presidents Report – Neil Kerwin
President Kerwin thanked the senate for having him come to speak. He stated he usually comes
annually to give an overall report of the condition of the university almost always drawing
exclusively on our own data and assessments, but this year he has the benefit of a once in ten
year opportunity that comes our way to use the data from the Middle States Accreditation. This
happens every ten years and at this time the university is in the final stage. The process began
with a self-study which started 18 months ago. The committee was chaired by Robert Blecker
from the Department of Economics and Karen Froslid-Jones, Director of the Office of
Institutional Research and Assessment. The person selected to head the site visit team comes to
campus for a preliminary visit to meet with the President and other members of the campus to
help organize the visit and make recommendations as to the type of individuals who should be on
the team. Vice Chancellor and Provost Eric Spina from Syracuse University was selected as the
site visit chair. President Kerwin stated that the exit interview went very well. The draft report
should be received shortly and along with himself and Provost Bass they will have the
opportunity to review the report for factual errors only. There will be a very substantial list of
suggestions and three recommendations. If the commission accepts the recommendations those
will be the only items that will need to be acted on between now and the periodic update which
happens in five years.
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President Kerwin stated that the three recommendations were:
1. Being self-conscious of what it will take to sustain the progress the institution has made
over the past decade.
2. They were very impressed with the faculty and what the faculty and the administration
have done over the past few years. They complimented the work of the Senate on the
Faculty Manual and the Academic Regulations.
3. Changes to the undergraduate student body. They indicated that this student body will
need a higher level of support than past student bodies in AU’s recent history. They asked
AU to spend more time on retention and whatever it takes to help these students succeed.
President Kerwin said that overall he hopes that when he is allowed to share the draft report with
the community, everyone will be pleased with what they read and proud of what everyone has
accomplished.
President Kerwin stated that the general condition of the university is sound. The fiscal year
2014 will end in balance. Fiscal year 2015 will begin on May 1 and there are a couple of areas of
revenue uncertainty. Some have been triggered from events this year and some are still
developing. He stated that there had been a very aggressive number set in regards to retention of
our students from fall to spring which was not achieved. This caused an embedded problem not
only for this year but for next year as well. Provost Bass and Associate Vice President Doug
Kudravetz are working on correcting the modeling and this will help to know what revenue
challenge this represents. We do know it is in the low millions. Additionally, there was a lower
applicant pool for both freshman and transfer students. This does affect about 65% of the
operating revenue so we will be watched to see how it develops.
President Kerwin stated that the number of applications is not good news. He said that he has
heard out in the industry that there are a series of events that are held around the country at this
time of year. Compared to last year the prospective student attendance at these events is up 43%
and deposits are up 16.7%. There were some changes to the application process which should
have helped weed out the less than serious applicants at the freshman level. The transfer level
numbers might have changes thanks to the matriculation work done which pretty much lets the
transfer students know exactly what credits will transfer over. At this time we do not have any
numbers on summer or graduate students.
President Kerwin said that there is a lot of building happening on campus. The weather has not
been kind so the construction is running about 5 weeks behind at the Tenleytown Law School
site. SOC has gone a little slower than hoped but faculty have moved in. East campus is
scheduled to begin work this summer. He said he, along with Provost Bass, have reviewed plans
for the buildings that will go on East Campus, which include the three residence halls and one
academic building. There is still an outstanding law suit against the zoning commission. The
District of Columbia is challenging elements of the order which allows AU to build on that site.
This does not affect the capacity to move forward but it does require the zoning commission to
provide the court of appeals answers to a series of questions which the court has posed as a result
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of the challenge of the neighbors. The expected move in date to East Campus is the summer of
2016. At that point we will then begin renovations on 4801 Massachusetts Ave, the building
vacated by the Washington College of Law. The remaining effort will be to see if the university
can get a science facility funded and ready to go. With all the changes the university will meet
the requirement to house 67% of the undergraduates on campus which is a fixed requirement of
the District of Columbia. This is a tough requirement to meet but the lowest of any university in
town.
President Kerwin said that he wanted to commend the student athletes this year. Not only the
basketball team. There were a lot of major accomplishments amongst many of the teams. He
also stated that looking ahead the university will begin the process of setting new objectives
under the strategic plan for year seven and eight sometime this spring. This will run in parallel to
an impanelling of a new university budget committee sometime in August or early September.
The committee will be co-chaired by the Provost and Associate Vice Provost Doug Kudravetz.
The budget will be for fiscal year 2016-2017 and will take us through most if not all of the
financing for all of the facilities that are on line now. The university will also begin taking the
first steps to implementing what the Middle States commission requires.
Professor Eisenstadt stated that he was present at the meeting with the faculty and Middle States
and wanted to make clear the three crystal clear points made by the faculty group:
1. A need for more resources for faculty transitioning from Associate Professors to Full
Professors.
2. Sponsored programs and post award coordination.
3. Collaboration between schools. Being able to cross list courses and encourage
collaboration.
Provost’s Report – Scott Bass
Provost Bass stated that he would like to start with a response to the comments from Professor
Eisenstadt. He stated that in regards to mobility in position, it is something that is taken very
seriously in the Provost’s office. The DAA has instituted a variety of programs that would work
with junior faculty or senior faculty. Related to administrative expenses post award costs money
to manage. He stated he agreed that this is a matter that needs attention. As a result, the
university brought in a three person review team right before Middle States review who were
from NCURA and he stated he should have their report soon. As for the cross unit collaboration
this is an important issue for this administration and he stated that he has worked with the Deans
on this issue. He also stated he has support of the BOT and the Senate and was highly
complemented by the Middle States team.
Provost Bass stated that the Middle States review team expressed that AU is “a transformed”
institution. It is not the same institution that was reviewed six years ago. He said that he will
provide a summary of the report at his annual address to the community. He will speak on 1)
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recognition and the understanding of who AU is, 2) identity and the accomplishments that AU is
recognized for, 3) international and domestic recognition.
Provost Bass said that on April 27, 2014 the Faculty Recognition Dinner will take place. He
hopes that all senators will be there to recognize their colleague’s accomplishments.
Professor Simpson asked for an explanation from the Provost of the role of the CFA and his
interpretation of the committee’s duties.
Provost Bass stated that the interpretation is from the faculty manual where the duties of the CFA
are charged. He stated that the CFA makes an overview of the material after reading it and they
do read the material. They also will insure the independence of the file which is part of their
duties. This is not a content or subject review but they are reviewing the file to make sure the
letters are independent, all the required items are in order and the file has gone through all the
proper stages. This is very important before it arrives to the DAA/Provost’s desk. They are
making substantive and intellectual votes on the materials they receive. This is what the manual
calls for.
Professor Simpson stated that he has heard that the basis for the votes by the CFA is to determine
if the candidate has fulfilled the terms of the guidance created at the unit level. He asked does the
committee make its own interpretation of what quality in a given field might be?
Provost Bass stated that the CFA is not a “rubber stamp.” They make their own judgments. He
stated he cannot speak for the individuals on the committee as he or the DAA does not know
what they say, but he can assure that what they are providing is their own review of the material,
and they make judgments and they either agree or disagree with the prior reviews. As you know
well not all levels agree with each other. The CFA provides additional input before it arrives at
the DAA/Provost level for review. Their reviews are distinct and important and are read on their
own merits in terms of a complete file.
Professor Simpson asked what role do the unit guidelines play in the process.
Provost Bass stated that every stage of the process makes it own judgement based on the
guidelines of the unit. It is not an aggregated process that comes up because one unit says this
and the next unit agrees. Every unit makes its own judgement based on the guidelines and based
on their assessment of the file. They make judgements based on a file and the record that is in the
file and not everybody agrees with the reading of the material. I would assume the CFA as a
group of 8 or 9 individuals make those judgements as thoughtfully as they can as a body. There
are dissents in that review and they provide the vote and what the dissentingnding position is.
Professor Fantie stated that he thinks it would be helpful to have classes listed to explain the
portion of online time and classroom time a class has. He said that he gets this question from
students when they are registering and this might help them when planning their schedules.
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Provost Bass stated that he had a meeting with the OUR and the details of online, face to face
and hybrid classes will be made clear. This will also help with assigning classrooms.
Professor Puglisi stated that she is concerned about the late night classes that AU offers. She
asked has there been any discussion of not having classes start so late.
Provost Bass stated that this is actually quite the opposite of the direction of our students. They
are pretty much just getting going and there are other institutions that have implemented
midnight classes or later. Students really do not get started until after what we call lunch time.
There is a concern that there is not enough offered in the time frame they work in. He has
received complaints that the computer labs are being locked at 11:00 PM which is just when they
want to get in and use them. This is just a different group of students that live on a different time
schedule.
Professor Eisenstadt asked since there is a slippage in applicants selecting AU what can be done
to prevent this in the future?
Provost Bass stated that selectivity in applicants may be an advantage because we want a
stronger match to the students that apply. Of the 15,000 students that applied over 6,000 filled
out 8 essays to get here and of that 6,000, 1600 applied to two programs requiring 16 essays. The
SAT scores are about the same, the GPAs are the same if not better, the diversity is more and the
early decision is more than previous years. Maybe being a little tougher up front but maybe not
as much as this time, and being a little clearer on who we are and what is expected will provide
us with a better pool of students. We are monitoring this new outreach to see what is working the
best.
Athletics Report – Billy Walker
Director of Athletics Billy Walker thanked the senate for having him. He stated that annually the
senate invites the Director to come and give an overview of the athletes at AU. He stated that the
AU athlete is also an outstanding student. When recruiting prospective students it is made clear
that their main focus is academics but at the same time they can get a Division 1 experience. The
average GPA this past fall for approximately 264 athletes was a 3.34. 16% of the athletes were
on the dean’s list, 45% had a GPA of 3.5 or higher and 88% were above a 3.0. Director Walker
stated that they have had three “scholar athletes of year.” This is a very impressive number and a
big deal in the Patriot league. These awards were given to Jessie Reed, a sophomore on the
men’s basketball team, Alexis Dobbs, a senior on the woman’s basketball team who has won the
award her sophomore, junior and now senior years, and the third winner is Monika Smidova, a
junior. AU is a Division 1-AAA school which means that we have basketball only, no football.
Two of our women’s basketball players have been selected to be on the Scholar-Athlete team,
Jen Dumiak and Arron Zimmerman. Ten players are picked for this team and AU has two.
Director Walker stated for the team academic awards the AU field hockey team has the highest
GPA at 3.6 for all hockey teams in the country. The men’s swimming team has the third highest
GPA at 3.39. The women’s swimming team had the 19th highest GPA at 3.46.
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Director Walker stated that the athletes are using many of the services offered at AU. They have
603 hours of tutoring for AY 2013-2014 as of 3-31-14 and 1340 meetings with the academic
counselors. Additionally the students use many of the Life Skills Programs including the
Freshman Transition Workshops, the Financial Literacy Program, the Leadership Development
Program and Career & Graduate School Preparation. This is the objective of the athletic
department to give the best experience and academic support possible to our athletes.
Professor Puglisi and Professor Fantie stated that the student athletes they teach are extraordinary
and a pleasure to teach.
Changes to the Undergraduate Regulations – Lyn Stallings
Vice Provost Lyn Stallings stated that the Undergraduate Regulations needed some editorial
changes made. The terminology needed to be updated and special thanks to University Registrar
Alice Poehls who had taken the time to go through the document to make sure that everything
matches. The following changes were made:
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Transfer policies for transfer credits. This change reflects what is currently on the
admissions page for transfer students.
Good academic standing policy was changed to be more consistent to what good
academic standing means. This means that there is nothing standing in their way to
register the next semester.
General Education requirements will only apply with a grade of a C or better.
Non-degree students may only apply no more than 30 non-degree American University
credits.
Individualized majors and minors will reflect the proposal that the senate Undergraduate
Curriculum committee revised.
Dual Degree language was added to reflect that students need to meet with financial aid
to make sure they understand how the change in credits will affect their financial aid
packages.
New language was added to the Honors Program section to reflect the new American
University Honors Program approved by the senate last April. Individual teaching units
will be able to offer an honors in the major as the current process will end after the final
graduating class completes their current degree.
Three Year Bachelors has changed the name to be Degree-Completion Scholars
Programs.
Combined bachelor’s and master’s credit hours with an updated table to clarify the hours
required for the master’s degree.
Withdrawal from a course or from all courses included specific dates to be recorded and
filing a petition for withdraw after eight weeks of class.
Reduction of Course Load Due to Medical Reasons - requires student to meet with
medical documentation, appropriate meetings with specific administrators and the filing
of a petition approved by the Vice Provost of Undergraduate Studies.
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
Language clarification of temporary leave and medical temporary leave which can be
ordered by the Dean of Academic Affairs with documentation to leave and return.
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Separation from the university when a student’s grades led them to dismissal may not
voluntarily separate and students who separate from the university will not be readmitted
again if they separate a second time.
The senate requested the proposed Academic Regulation changes presented for Internships be
revised and brought back to the senate at the May 2014 meeting.
The senate VOTED on all other Academic regulation changes and they were passed
unanimously in favor.
Provost Bass stated that he hopes this process of review of the regulations is something that
happens periodically. This is a living document and as things change they will need to be
updated.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:45 PM
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